"Huh?!"
Hōjō Suzune's eyebrows furrowed into an inverted V, and she stared coldly at Hasegawa Saori. Initially, when she saw this tall, clumsy girl suddenly come over and open the door on her side, Hōjō Suzune instinctively felt a little scared. The woman moved with an unthinking confidence that was almost animalistic.
However, after hearing her pitifully ask Seiya to sit in her spot, like a pick-me girl, she was first stunned, then realized what was happening. Her shoulders unconsciously tensed, and she bristled like an angry cat, saying without ceremony, "Who are you?"
"?"
Hearing the harsh voice, Hasegawa Saori shifted her gaze from Seiya, tilted her head, and looked at the girl in front of her with confusion, as if she didn't understand why she was so self-righteous. Her tone was calm, carrying the same matter-of-fact quality as saying the sky is blue, "You're sitting in Saori's spot."
"Huh? Sitting in your spot? Where does it say your name is on this seat?" Hōjō Suzune said, pretending to look for the other person's name by casually scanning a few times, then stated directly, "Where does it say your name is here?"
As she spoke, Hōjō Suzune cautiously glanced at Shiratori Seiya out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that he said nothing, she continued, "Besides, no matter what, there should be a first-come, first-served rule, right? Since you came late, just sit in the back obediently."
"?"
Hearing her words, Saori narrowed her eyes slightly, her pursed lips curving into a slight line, and she asked softly, "Did Seiya know you before he and Saori started dating in middle school?"
She was clearly asking Hōjō Suzune, but she looked up at Shiratori Seiya. The question hung in the air, gentle but devastating.
"You…" Hearing such a question, Suzune's almond eyes narrowed, as if a fox had its tail caught. Her entire demeanor weakened, and she retorted, forcing herself to maintain her composure, "What's wrong with knowing him earlier…"
Her words clearly admitted that she was the latecomer.
Hasegawa Saori nodded, indicating she understood. Then, without waiting for Shiratori Seiya to speak, she directly grabbed Hōjō Suzune's shoulder and pulled her out of the car.
"Eh?" Hōjō Suzune cried out in surprise, feeling a strange force pulling her. The woman's hand felt like a robotic arm, pinching her shoulder blade painfully. "You, you…"
The girl's small face was completely twisted, her lips bitten, and she instinctively tried to resist, her slender legs flailing wildly.
Seeing her still resisting stubbornly, Hasegawa Saori swayed her waist slightly to dodge her kicking legs. She moved her right hand down, trapping Suzune's legs with her elbow, and grabbed her waist with her other hand, continuing to pull her down. Hōjō Suzune dug her fingers into the seat like a drowning woman clinging to a lifeboat.
Where did this super-strong woman come from? How could Seiya like such a barbarian?!
Watching the two of them wrestling, Shiratori Seiya felt his head ache even more. He quickly reached out and patted the steering wheel, coughing twice as he called out, "What are you two doing?! Saori, let go first."
Hasegawa Saori naturally obeyed him, meekly saying, "Oh," and immediately released her hands.
Hōjō Suzune stood up, and then heard Shiratori Seiya say, "Suzune, sit in the back!"
"I…"
Hearing this, Hōjō Suzune felt even more wronged, and round tears welled up in her eyes. The sting of rejection burned in her chest like acid.
"Good girl, be obedient." Shiratori Seiya covered his head with one hand and comforted her softly. Then he looked at Saori, who was standing still, met her gaze, and said softly, "Saori, you sit in the back too."
Meeting Shiratori Seiya's gaze, Hasegawa Saori's clear black and white eyes blinked, and she nodded obediently. However, she then stared at Hōjō Suzune, unmoving.
"…"
'Hmph!'
The other person's action was too obvious; it was clear that if she didn't move, Saori wouldn't either. Hōjō Suzune lifted her chin and let out a soft snort, then touched her reddened knee, opened the back car door, and sat inside.
The thought of this violent woman making her look ugly in front of Seiya filled Hōjō Suzune with anger. But now, she thought, if I can't sit there, then neither of us will. Hōjō Suzune immediately felt much better, and not so wronged anymore. At least Seiya still cared about her. He still liked her.
And seeing that she wasn't causing trouble anymore, Hasegawa Saori closed the front passenger door and followed her to the back.
The car finally became quiet. Shiratori Seiya exhaled, rubbed his temples, and turned up the car's music by two notches. The melody filled the space, a fragile buffer against the tension simmering in the backseat.
The car drove for a few minutes. Hōjō Suzune sat curled up by the window, hugging her knees, and observed the woman beside her out of the corner of her eye. The more she looked, the deeper her frown became. She only looked a bit tall, so how could she have so much strength? Where did this woman get such monstrous power?
Hōjō Suzune frowned and 'tsk'ed, thinking about what she had just said and Seiya's way of addressing her. Her eyes darted around, and she recalled what her sister had said when she dropped her off: 'Seiya said he wants to marry Hasegawa Saori…'
The thought that the person Seiya wanted to marry was her. Hōjō Suzune couldn't help but close her eyes, as if that could help her escape reality. Her delicate eyebrows were knitted together, and a pained expression appeared between them.
Pat, pat.
Tears flowed from the corners of her eyes, hitting the seat, muffled by the music, seemingly making no sound at all.
Hasegawa Saori tilted her head, curiously observing the girl beside her. Seeing her crying, a look of surprise flashed in her clear black and white eyes. Then she looked at Seiya in the driver's seat and said, "Um, Seiya, do you have tissues?"
"What's wrong?" Shiratori Seiya asked casually, handing over the tissue box from the armrest compartment.
Hasegawa Saori didn't speak; she just took the tissue box, pulled out two tissues, shuffled her bottom closer to Hōjō Suzune, and said softly, "I'm sorry, Saori used too much strength just now. Did I hurt you?"
"…"
Hearing this, Hōjō Suzune felt a tightness in her chest. She 'whooshed' open her eyes, which were red and glistening with tears, and shot a sharp gaze directly at the other person.
Hypocritical.
She knew the other person couldn't possibly be genuinely kind; if she were, she wouldn't have pulled her so roughly just now. However, if she acted ungrateful in front of Seiya, it would only annoy him.
Thinking this, Hōjō Suzune could only swallow her anger, forcing a smile on her face and saying, "It's fine, thank you."
She snatched the tissues, wiped her face haphazardly, took a deep breath, and said nothing more.
It wasn't until Shiratori Seiya drove the car to the hotel that Hōjō Suzune didn't rush out. She thought for a moment and then said, "Thank you, Seiya. Oh, and I'll be moving in two days… so I won't trouble you to pick me up then."
As she spoke, she opened the car door. As one leg stepped out, her figure suddenly paused. She bit her lip lightly and said with tender affection, "Seiya, Suzune won't see you for these two days. Even if no one can help, please take good care of yourself…"