Lin Ye hadn't taken part in the Service Club's after-school activities for quite some time now—he'd very nearly become a ghost member.
Yukino Yukinoshita would basically never refuse Lin Ye's requests for leave, but every now and then she would still require Lin Ye to attend the Service Club's activities.
No matter what, Lin Ye was a member of the Service Club, and he definitely had to take part in the activities.
And on this particular Thursday,
she had proactively required Lin Ye to attend club activities today.
Even if no commission came through the door today, even if they simply sat in the club room as usual doing their own things, she still needed Lin Ye to put in an appearance at the club.
If Lin Ye really had become a ghost member, then going by her consistent attitude and way of handling things, she would definitely have demanded that this member quit the club.
But when it was Lin Ye, she knew she couldn't bring herself to say those words.
That being the case, all she could do was have Lin Ye attend club activities from time to time, so as to keep him from becoming a ghost member in the truest sense.
The Service Club—after who knew how long, everyone was present today, even Isshiki Iroha.
Unlike Yui Yuigahama, Isshiki Iroha still hadn't submitted a formal membership application form even now. Yukinoshita had never asked about it, and only Yui Yuigahama had ever asked, but Isshiki Iroha would usually dodge the question, never stating her position outright, instead keeping things at a relatively ambiguous stage.
And today,
a blonde high school girl paid a visit to the Service Club.
This wasn't her first time coming to the Service Club, either.
Her purpose in coming here was still the same matter as last time she'd come to the Service Club—the commission she'd put forward.
"Student Yukinoshita, how's my commission coming along so far?"
The golden-haired young girl, Miura Yumiko, stood with her posture straight and tall, her eyes fixed on Yukino Yukinoshita, who sat in the head seat.
Lin Ye and Isshiki Iroha were both simply ignored by her, and as for Yui Yuigahama, since she was her friend, Miura Yumiko merely spared her a couple of extra glances, putting the greater part of her attention on Yukino Yukinoshita.
"I haven't been feeling well these past couple of days…"
Yukino Yukinoshita gave an answer after quite a while.
"Oh, so even the perfectly healthy Yukinoshita can feel unwell?"
Having waited all day today with no reply, Miura Yumiko couldn't bear the wait and had come to the Service Club once again, and upon hearing this answer, she was of course dissatisfied.
Having done it but gotten no result, versus not having done anything at all—these two situations were completely different in nature.
Miura Yumiko held a fairly high degree of trust in Yukinoshita and had placed her hopes in her, but this woman hadn't taken her matter to heart at all, hadn't done a single thing about it—how was she supposed to accept that?
"Student Miura also looks quite healthy, but I never imagined your head would be a touch muddled,"
"Erm,"
Miura Yumiko immediately understood that Yukinoshita was being sarcastic,
"I'd suggest you go to the hospital and get it checked."
"There's no need to trouble yourself worrying on my behalf, Student Yukinoshita. Compared to my health, what I care about more is my commission to the Service Club. I wonder whether everyone in the Service Club has gone to inquire about any relevant information."
Not completed, but inquired about—
the reply Yukino Yukinoshita had prepared lost its usefulness.
She wasn't the kind of girl who would make up excuses and lie.
She really hadn't paid much mind to this matter of Miura Yumiko's; during the May Day Golden Week she hadn't set aside any time, and after the Golden Week, her energy and time had all been put on Lin Ye,
and so Miura Yumiko's commission concerning Hayama had been put off indefinitely.
More than half a month had already passed; she had indeed been in the wrong.
Yukinoshita wanted to apologize, but facing this blondie, in her heart she was extremely unwilling to apologize.
"Yumiko, um, this… actually, we…"
Just as Yui Yuigahama was about to speak up, Miura Yumiko waved a hand. "Yui, there's no way you'd know, and there's no need to explain,"
If Yui Yuigahama had gotten any news, Yui would definitely have told her the first chance she got, rather than there being no word at all up to now.
Isshiki Iroha nudged Yui Yuigahama's waist, asking with a puzzled look in her eyes,
and the pink-bun girl organized her words and briefly explained the situation.
"So that's how it is!"
She remembered it too.
"How about I go ask around today! Of course, I can't guarantee I'll be able to find out the real situation from Hayama-senpai."
Isshiki Iroha couldn't make any guarantees, but she was willing to give it a try.
She wasn't a member of the Service Club at present, but she was willing to step forward of her own accord and contribute to the club, so that coming here in the future in the capacity of a non-member wouldn't pose any problem.
Miura Yumiko gave a snort, but didn't refuse; it was just that the look in her eyes as she gazed at Yukinoshita grew even more steeped in an air of mockery.
Clearly,
this was the people of this club scrambling to make up for it, wanting to do it now—
but if they'd only just realized they ought to do it now, then what had they been doing all this while?
Granted, Yukinoshita had never promised that she would definitely help her get that answer, but failing to act at all—that behavior was too despicable.
Miura Yumiko had found a side of Yukinoshita that didn't match the impression of her, and she wanted to use it to strike at Yukinoshita, to let this aloof, frosty woman get a taste of what it felt like to be mocked.
The apologetic feeling that had only just risen in Yukino Yukinoshita's heart instantly sank back down.
Apologizing to this woman—she couldn't afford to lose that much face.
"I'll go,"
A male voice rang out.
Yukino Yukinoshita looked over at Lin Ye, stunned.
He had spoken these words for her, one step ahead.
She had already planned to personally head to the Sobu High sports field afterward to question Hayama Hayato; whether or not Hayama gave an answer, the commission would count as having been worked on.
If Hayama was willing to tell the truth, that would be best, and if he wasn't willing to tell, then Miura Yumiko could at least accept it—at most she'd toss out a few more jabs about Yukinoshita's incompetence.
On that, Yukino Yukinoshita could accept it.
It was just that she'd never expected Lin Ye would actually speak up one step ahead of her.
Was he planning to go question Hayama?
Yukino Yukinoshita's dark navy eyes reflected Lin Ye's face, and a warm current flowed and spread through her heart, lifting her whole mood considerably.
Whether or not an answer could be gotten wasn't important; what was important was the concern that Lin Ye's action displayed.
"It's more appropriate for me to go ask. If a girl goes to ask, the chances of Hayama-kun opening up and telling the truth aren't very high—there's a certain distance that exists between the sexes,"
Lin Ye hadn't imagined that this commission of Miura Yumiko's still hadn't been completed,
and, busy with his own affairs, he had long since forgotten this matter completely.
Had today not come around, he probably still wouldn't have remembered there was such a matter.
"A boy can do it?"
Miura Yumiko responded with skepticism.
It wasn't as if she hadn't asked several of the male friends around Hayama, but not a single one of them had gotten an answer.
Although Hayama had returned to normal these recent days, every so often one could still catch the sorrowful expression Hayama let slip. Miura Yumiko had taken all of this in, and she still wanted to get to the bottom of the truth and the whole story of this matter.
"I can't speak for other boys, but in my case, there's no problem. I can only say that you're rather lucky, Student Miura, to have run into me,"
Miura Yumiko slowly typed out a few question marks.
You're this confident of getting an answer without even having asked yet?
"What, don't believe me?"
Lin Ye knitted his brows.
"I have my doubts,"
Miura Yumiko was very direct too, voicing the truth in her heart rather than clinging any longer to basic understanding and impressions.
"Wah, I'm more inclined to believe Senpai. If Senpai says he can get a result out of it, then he definitely can,"
Isshiki Iroha cut in, blinking her starry eyes, and went on with a grin, "But if Miura-senpai really doesn't believe it, then let's make a bet! If Senpai doesn't get a result, Senpai agrees to do one thing for Miura-senpai; conversely, if Senpai does get the answer, then Miura-senpai agrees to do one thing for Senpai."
Isshiki Iroha blinked her eyes, her smile brilliant.
Senpai was a famous blonde beauty—
tall, with a great figure, and her personality was a tad on the poor side, but she was still quite popular among the boys at Sobu High,
plenty of men admired her,
and she figured Senpai must have at least some good feeling toward her! Just going by that face and figure, he'd have to feel something!
She, Isshiki Iroha, had gone to enormous lengths for Senpai's future and his happy life,
so Senpai really ought to reward her properly.
"What use is having him agree to do one thing for me?"
I want one, though!
That was Isshiki Iroha's thinking.
And the thought in Yukino Yukinoshita's heart was exactly the same.
If that bet were handed to her, the first thing she'd do would be to make Lin Ye break up with Mai Sakurajima.
"Sigh, so Senpai doesn't dare after all. As expected, Senpai's scared too—she also knows that Senpai really can get the corresponding result out of Hayama-senpai,"
"Scared?"
Miura Yumiko's eyes went cold as she stared at Isshiki Iroha. "Me—Miura Yumiko—scared? Impossible,"
She set her gaze on Lin Ye. "I agree to it. If you can't do it, the thing I want you to agree to is this: every single time you run into me at school, you immediately step aside for me and don't appear within my line of sight."
This was Miura Yumiko's demand.
The golden-haired young girl folded her arms across her chest, her manner fierce and full of pressure.
Lin Ye glanced at Isshiki Iroha. This kind of guaranteed-win bet did, in some respects, give one a sense of being dull and uninteresting,
but with the stakes set, it would add a bit of fun, wouldn't it!
"Fine,"
Lin Ye agreed as well.
"What's the thing you want me to do?"
Miura Yumiko asked first,
and Isshiki Iroha spoke up first. "It's simple! My Senpai wants a girlfriend, so Miura-senpai, you come and…"
"Impossible,"
Miura Yumiko vetoed it flatly, the disgust in her gaze growing even more pronounced. "There's no way I'd agree to that kind of condition,"
"Isn't Senpai very confident in herself?"
"This is different. That demand—I won't agree to it."
"Aw, my Senpai really is quite the catch, you know!"
"Since you think he's such a catch, then you go for it yourself and be his girlfriend."
"I'm an underclassman, it wouldn't be suitable! Senpai and I are way too familiar with each other—even if Senpai were willing, I wouldn't be."
Isshiki Iroha and Miura Yumiko started squabbling with each other,
and now, Yukinoshita found neither of them at all pleasant to watch.
This underclassman Isshiki Iroha was actually, right in front of her, trying to find a man for her boyfriend and fiancé.
This girl—sure enough, she was going into the little black book, marked down as a key entry.
Yui Yuigahama spoke up several times wanting to dissuade them, but she couldn't find a suitable reason.
Lin Ye gave up on dissuading them and turned instead to enjoying the quarrel between the two girls.
A quarrel between girls
actually had a flavor all its own.
At last,
the two of them finished their squabbling.
"Senpai, what should you have Senpai agree to do for you?"
Miura Yumiko watched haughtily with her arms folded. "Hurry up and think of one."
She wasn't going to let Lin Ye put it off and bring it up later once he'd thought of it.
"How about having Miura-senpai go on a date with you—keep you company for a whole day!"
The little underclassman blinked hard, the implication of her hint already far too obvious—even Yui Yuigahama caught on, shaking her head hard with a flushed face and reaching out to try to stop her.
Yukino Yukinoshita added yet another mark against Isshiki Iroha. This underclassman, acting like this right in front of her, was practically no different from courting death.
The grinning Isshiki Iroha suddenly felt a chill run down her back; that cold, prickling sensation made her instantly rein in her smile. She knew it definitely came from Miura-senpai's warning.
If she kept going, she'd probably end up suffering a brutal blow.
At the mere thought of being bullied at Sobu High, Isshiki Iroha felt thoroughly out of sorts.
Bullying among girls could be very severe indeed.
If she really were bullied by Miura-senpai, she'd definitely go ask Senpai for help and have Senpai protect her.
After all, it was for Senpai's happy life that she was getting bullied!
"You! Sooner or later you're going to get beaten,"
"Eh-eh, with Senpai here, with Senpai protecting me, I'll be fine!"
she said with a grin, shooting Miura Yumiko a sideways glance. She marveled at how she and Senpai were of one mind—Senpai's remark just then had let her naturally bring up her backer.
Whoever dared bully her, Senpai would protect her.
"I'm in no mood to protect you,"
"I don't believe that. I'm your… most, most, most adorable underclassman—Senpai's definitely going to protect me."
Isshiki Iroha very nearly threw herself onto him.
Miura Yumiko took all of this in, and she didn't care at all. "Out with it—what's the condition."
"A confession,"
"Ha!"
After her shock, she raised a trembling hand and pointed it at Lin Ye. "Y-you-you… you want me to confess,"
Yukinoshita, Yui Yuigahama, and Isshiki Iroha—all three were astonished. The condition Lin Ye wanted was actually a confession.
"You… want me to confess to you? Impossible, absolutely impossible, there's no way I'd ever confess to you,"
Miura Yumiko recalled the matter of Lin Ye confessing to Yukinoshita and being rejected by Yukinoshita.
And Lin Ye putting forward this condition gave her the immediate impression that he wanted to use it to strike at her: Lin Ye had confessed to Yukinoshita and been rejected, and her confessing to Lin Ye and being rejected—
working out this inequality, wouldn't that make her far inferior to Yukino Yukinoshita?
She couldn't accept it—couldn't accept it in the slightest.
"I don't need you to confess to me, though,"
"Ah,"
"Hayama,"
Miura Yumiko was even more shocked.
"If I complete your commission and help you get the relevant information, then you confess to Hayama!"
What he most wanted to see was, naturally, the scene of Miura Yumiko getting rejected and then parting ways with Hayama.
Once Miura Yumiko confessed and took that step, her relationship with Hayama could never continue again.
A friendship?
There'd be no way to maintain it,
for if the friendship could still continue, Miura Yumiko wouldn't have kept putting off the act of confessing for so long. It was precisely because she knew this that she didn't dare cross that line.
Lin Ye decided to give it a push.
He very much wanted to see what would unfold afterward.
Miura Yumiko's face went dark.
"Impossible,"
"That's worse than confessing to you."
Lin Ye: ???
What do you mean by that—are you mocking me, or praising me?
"Pick a different one,"
"No swapping."
"Swap it…"
"No swapping,"
Miura Yumiko couldn't accept this condition.
Having her confess to Hayama was utterly impossible.
If she carried out the act of confessing, then the current relationship she maintained with Hayama would be over too, without the slightest sliver of luck to be had.
On that, she was all too clear.
"You just can't do it, so you're deliberately making things hard for me—heh heh heh,"
Miura Yumiko gave a couple of snorts.
"Don't think you can muddle your way out of it like this. If you won't do it, then have Yukinoshita do it. Yukinoshita, it's time for you to fulfill your agreement—time to go ask Hayama,"
Compared to Lin Ye, she trusted Yukinoshita more, even though Yukinoshita's earlier attitude toward this commission had indeed been rather poor and she hadn't paid it much mind.
"Mm."
Yukino Yukinoshita gave an "Mm" in response. That said, she, like Lin Ye, had a thought of her own—she too very much wanted to see how things would develop after that scene—but this blondie definitely wouldn't be willing,
and there was no point tangling over it any further.
Better not to waste time; finish this commission soon and put an end to it!
Yukinoshita thought of Hayama.
Barring the unexpected, even if she stepped forward herself, there was no way Hayama would tell the real reason.
If her sister stepped forward, there might be that possibility, but for her to ask her sister to step forward?
No,
there really wasn't any need to go that far for the sake of a Service Club commission, for the sake of Miura Yumiko.
Taking everything into consideration,
Yukino Yukinoshita's stance was merely to step forward and give the questioning a try—anything beyond that, there'd be none.
She rose to her feet, ready to set off, but Lin Ye, who had also stood, pressed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll handle it,"
Lin Ye said to Yukinoshita.
"But…"
"Trust me,"
Those two words struck the heart of the girl with long black hair. She gave up arguing any further and accepted it instead.
"Mm."
"I'll keep the call connected, and you can all listen to the answer over the phone then,"
This made Miura Yumiko's eyes light up.
That was far better than listening to Lin Ye relay it.
"Alright,"
"Senpai, Senpai, I'll come with you."
"If you come along, you'll just get in the way. I can manage on my own,"
After that, Lin Ye bid farewell to the girls, walked out of the Service Club, and left the club building.
Meanwhile, the four girls in the Service Club found it nearly impossible to keep sitting there in the Service Club.
They wanted to see it with their own eyes—not just hear it, but witness it live, even if from a bit of a distance.
"I… my stomach's not feeling well, I'm going to the restroom,"
As she spoke, Isshiki Iroha clutched her belly with an unpleasant look on her face and made to leave, but she was halted by a single word from Yukino Yukinoshita.
"Wait,"
She looked at Isshiki Iroha, then over at Yui Yuigahama and Miura Yumiko. "Let's go together!"
The several of them were instantly delighted.
"But keep a bit of distance—don't get too close."
"Okay, okay, okay,"
The smile on Yui Yuigahama's face couldn't be concealed.
And although Miura Yumiko said nothing, the look in her eyes was already the best proof.
They all wanted to see it with their own eyes too, even if only from afar.
When Lin Ye left the club building, he deliberately cast a glance in the direction of where the Service Club was located.
Under his perspective, the obstructing walls couldn't form any barrier,
and Lin Ye saw that the several girls of the Service Club had already left the club building and were heading toward the stairwell.
"I knew it,"
Yukinoshita could hold back, but there was no way Isshiki Iroha could; and in her heart, Yui Yuigahama definitely wanted to come; as for Miura Yumiko, who counted as the party concerned, she definitely wanted to witness it firsthand.
"They shouldn't get too close, either. Even if they do get closer, it won't be much of a problem."
The odds of the superpower Hypnosis being seen through from a distance were very small.
All he had to do was mind his own words.
Lin Ye walked toward the sports field.
Along the way,
high school boys and girls in athletic wear were brimming with youthful vigor, sweat flying.
And at the soccer field,
beyond the sidelines, high schoolers in twos and threes gazed at the several high school boys active inside the soccer field.
The majority of them were girls,
and their gazes were mainly concentrated on that blond handsome guy on the soccer field—he had become the undisputed center of attention.
This wasn't the first time Lin Ye had seen Hayama Hayato. Just like in the original work, he was a cheerful, sunny, handsome fellow, so it wasn't anything strange that he was popular.
"Excuse me, when does the soccer club's training session finish this time?"
Going by the principle of proximity, Lin Ye asked the nearest high school girl about the training situation of the soccer club Hayama was in.
"Probably… about three more minutes!"
Sure enough,
asking these girls was the right call.
Lin Ye didn't rush it; three minutes—he could afford to wait.
And as he looked around, he also spotted the several girls who had sneakily tailed him, hiding behind the nearest corner of a wall.
The moment he caught sight of Yukinoshita's slightly tense expression, he couldn't help but smile.
It really was a rare thing to see such an expression on the girl.
The soccer club's training came to a temporary stop and entered a rest period.
Hayama Hayato walked to the spot where belongings were laid out, took out the water he'd brought, and tilted his head back to drink a few mouthfuls, easing the dryness in his throat.
Several girls watched, wanting to step forward but not daring to.
Only Lin Ye walked forward. By this time he had already placed the call, and Yukino Yukinoshita had answered as well.
"Shh…"
Yukino Yukinoshita signaled the girls to keep quiet, to avoid drawing the attention of the Hayama on Lin Ye's end.
"You're… that exchange student from Class J,"
Hayama Hayato's memory was actually quite good; he still had a certain impression of this exchange student from another country who was in Class J. After all, Lin Ye had once confessed to Yukinoshita, and after being rejected, he had now even joined that Service Club.
That alone was enough for him to know of a figure like Lin Ye.
"So Hayama-kun even knows of a passerby classmate like me."
"Student Lin is no mere passerby classmate. The status of an exchange student is enough to make you memorable."
"Hahaha, thank you for the compliment."
Lin Ye gave a hearty laugh.
"Student Lin, you've come looking for me, right? What's the matter?"
Hayama Hayato didn't think Lin Ye had come here to stir up trouble for no reason; the first thing that came to his mind was that Lin Ye had received a request from Yukino Yukinoshita and had come in Yukinoshita's stead to ask something, to put forward some demand.
Apart from that, he really couldn't think of any other possibility.
"Someone asked me to inquire about something with you,"
"Who?"
"Who isn't important."
Hayama Hayato frowned,
but on the other end of the line, Miura Yumiko's heart had already leapt into her throat; she thought Lin Ye was about to sell her out.
Fortunately, he didn't.
Lin Ye hadn't spoken her name; he chose to keep it confidential.
Otherwise, if Hayama found out, how would she face Hayama from then on.
"Hayama-kun, please do me this small favor. I'll treat you to a meal as thanks."
Lin Ye looked at the man before him and, in a manner difficult to detect, began to use the superpower Hypnosis.
"I can't guarantee I'll definitely answer you,"
Hayama's wariness was cranked to the maximum.
Being able to ask a stranger to come inquire about his affairs—it couldn't be anything trivial.
He felt the probability of his refusing to answer was the highest.
"I believe Hayama-kun will answer me. Do me this small favor—many thanks."
On the other end of the line,
Miura Yumiko and the others, listening to this simple manner of persuasion of Lin Ye's, all fell into silence.
There was no way they could believe that Lin Ye could successfully persuade Hayama with just these few words, getting Hayama to speak that secret in his heart.
"Student Lin,"
"Please tell me the real situation behind your grief and pain!"
"Hmm?"
Lin Ye then went on to speak again, "A while back—that is, before the May Day holiday, those days last month—I saw that you were in pretty low spirits. Could you tell me the reason? The one who contacted me is very concerned."
Lin Ye asked outright, without the slightest beating around the bush.
"Please answer me! Hayama-kun, I'm sorry to trouble you,"
Under Lin Ye's words, Hayama went from initial refusal to gradually softening,
and those few seconds of silence made Miura Yumiko unable to resist griping, "As if he'd tell that easily,"
"He really has way too much confidence in himself,"
"If it were really that simple, I'd have known long ago—would I have needed to ask you all?"
...
In the end, Miura Yumiko griped about the Service Club along with him too, questioning the Service Club's competence.
As the President, Yukino Yukinoshita was extremely displeased.
Although she too felt that Lin Ye was being far too direct and simple, making it seem like there was no way to get an answer,
on this matter, she could say so, but Miura Yumiko, an outsider, had no right to.
This was Yukino Yukinoshita's thinking.
Don't be fooled by her everyday coldness—she was unexpectedly protective of her own.
Even if Lin Ye weren't her boyfriend and fiancé, merely on the basis of his being a club member, she would still want to defend her own member.
"Shut up and listen."
In the end, Yukinoshita couldn't hold back and blurted it out.
She had already turned off her phone's microphone, so the other end couldn't pick up the sound, but this voice still gave Miura Yumiko a start,
and Yui Yuigahama and Isshiki Iroha's hearts raced too as they stared in astonishment at this girl with long black hair who had always been calm and composed.
Yukino Yukinoshita, this icy beauty, seemed… to be angry!
Miura Yumiko wanted to flare up, but at the thought that the place and timing were inappropriate, and that the other party was exerting effort for the sake of her commission, she ended up holding it in.
But in her heart, she was still somewhat dissatisfied.
Sure enough,
if she wanted to get the reason behind Hayama's low spirits, she'd still have to rely on herself.
So thought Miura Yumiko.
And at this moment,
Hayama Hayato's voice came through from the other end of the line.
"I understand. I'll tell you,"
Miura Yumiko slowly typed out a question mark.
It was that… simple?
She began to doubt herself.
...
...
____
Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 40 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉