Relentlessly Approaching the Poison-Tongued and Indifferent Beauty to Tickle the Cutesy Reactions out of her [Dropped] - Chapter 9 - Preemptive strike through the smartphone

However, soon enough, Koyuki coughed to show her discomfort.

“For now… there’s no need for you to go out of your way to walk me home. The station is close by, and I’ll be going home with my younger sister after her club activities.”

“Oh, I see. You have a younger sister.”

“Yes, she’s a good kid who does well in school. She just contacted me after I left school… Ah.”

Just as she was about to take out her smartphone, Koyuki suddenly stopped and slowly looked back and forth between her phone and Naoya.

Naoya tilted his head, but Koyuki grinned mischievously, like a child who has come up with a prank.

“Hey, Sasahara-kun. Let’s exchange contact information.”

“Huh, are you sure?”

“Of course. Rather, do it quickly. Hurry up!”

Following Koyuki’s urging, Naoya operated his smartphone. Soon enough, an entry for “Shirogane Koyuki” appeared on his contact list. The icon was a picture of a cat, a pure white one with sharp eyes that looked a little like Koyuki.

Exchanging contact information with the person you like is an event that can’t help but raise your spirits, but Naoya could only shake his head.

“I’m happy, but… what’s the deal?”

“Hehehe~, it’s simple.”

Koyuki grinned and held up her phone.

“If it’s just exchanging messages, your weird skill won’t work. In other words, even if I get embarrassed, it won’t be oblivious to you… And you won’t be able to have an upper hand during that time.”

“Oh, I see. You’ve thought this through.”

“Of course. I’m not the type to just take whatever is done to me.”

Koyuki smiled proudly.

It’s true that when Naoya sees through someone’s lies, he uses visual information like their gaze and body language, as well as auditory information like their breathing rhythm and accent. In a conversation over a smartphone, the information is limited, so it’s difficult to gauge the other person’s true intentions.

But…

‘She is admitting the fact that she gets embarrassed when I flatter her huh… I wonder what sides of her are still left to explore. I can’t wait to see more of her hidden side when that happens.’

He must have let his guard down for this to transpire.

She’s apparently always at the top of her class, but… she’s still a bit of a klutz.

“Alright then, see you later, Sasahara-kun. I’ll play with you plenty from tomorrow!”

“Yeah, sure. Take care.”

Without noticing that Naoya had a lukewarm look on his face, Koyuki swiftly left the scene and headed towards the station.

Flashback ends here…..

Moving away from the ticket gate at the station, the two of them walked towards the school. Perhaps due to the early morning hours, there were only a few people walking on the streets.

Under the lazy spring sunshine, Koyuki cleared her throat and said, “Hmm. It’s a shame that my attempt to stay ahead failed… but the counterattack starts from here.”

She then leaned in towards Naoya’s face and smirked like a little devil. She held out her smartphone. “For starters… How was it, Sasahara-kun? Did you feel a little nervous from my special messages last night?”

“Huh?”

Naoya could only respond in bewilderment.

“What’s with that reaction? I sent you a bunch of messages last night, didn’t I?”

“Oh, yeah. You did send a few.”

Naoya stopped and operated his smartphone. Koyuki’s messages quickly filled the screen, including a concise invitation to go to school together in the morning…

And a photo of a cat, and a photo of food…

“What was there to be nervous about from a cat picture and a food picture?”

“What, you didn’t feel anything!?”

Koyuki’s eyes widened in surprise.

What kind of person did she think Naoya was?

Naoya was at a loss for words, but Koyuki was staring at her smartphone with a serious look on her face.

“It’s strange… My sister said that pictures of cats and food are the safest and most stable on social media.”

“Why would your sister give advice like a manga artist who’s afraid of internet backlash…?”

He was very interested in what kind of person she was.

Anyway, with this, one of the mysteries was solved.

Without any warning, a picture of a fierce-looking white cat and a regular family dinner photo were sent silently, leaving Naoya bewildered, unable to understand their intentions.

At least, she seemed to be trying to communicate with him in her own way.

‘Well… if that’s the case, it might actually make my heart race.’

Her earnest awkwardness was unbearably endearing. Regardless of the direction, it was impossible for one’s likability not to increase when shown such a cute and clumsy side.

However, Koyuki was not aware of any of this. Naoya chuckled at her continued murmuring and pointed to the screen of his smartphone.

“By the way, this cat is unique and cute. Is it a pet of the Shirogane family?”

“Hmm? Yes, it is. She’s still only one year old and very affectionate.”

“I see. What’s her name?”

“Her name is ‘Sunagimo’.”

“That’s a nice name! It’s really unique!”

“Haha, I know, right? The whole family calls her ‘Su-chan.’ Look, even when she’s napping, she’s so cute. I am giving you special permission to look at it.”

“Uh, okay.”

Koyuki happily operated her smartphone and showed various pictures of her cat.

Thanks to that, they became unusually close. The sweet fragrance peculiar to girls tickled Naoya’s nose, and he could see every single one of her long eyelashes.

‘As I thought, she’s unbearingly cute…’

Naoya simply fell into a trance as he was looking at Koyuki from the side as she was happily showing the cat pics to him… But suddenly… 

“Oh, it’s Naoya.”

“Hm…?”

A cheerful female voice resounded from behind them.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

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TL : Zenon#4120