"You're overthinking it. You should know that the people who want to court this lady could circle the academy. Do you think you can win over my family with just this little? Don't even think about it, so give up."
At this moment, Hiratsuka Shizuka shamelessly bragged about herself, and the moment she said that, she immediately received a look full of disdain from Shiro.
"Oh, come on. Your words might fool others, but they can't fool me. Or rather, you can't even fool people who know you even a little."
"Someone better than me could circle the entire school? What kind of international joke is that? People who know your situation know it very well. If there were even one such person, you'd probably wake up from your dreams laughing with happiness."
Shiro's meaning was clear: "You've always wanted to get married, but you haven't succeeded and you're still single. Where do you get the confidence to say things like that?"
When Hiratsuka Shizuka heard those openly mocking words, her hands on the steering wheel unconsciously tightened.
After all, putting everything else aside, the truth is sometimes like a sharp knife, and this knife was fast and merciless. If someone with conditions like this guy had really come to propose to her or court her, she would probably have gone crazy with happiness.
"And even if you really have that many suitors, have you ever thought about what kind of people they are? A bunch of weirdos."
"Now that I think about it, hmm? There's a reason why you're still single. First of all, you're beautiful and have a good figure, so there's no reason for you to be alone. Putting everything else aside, if you let me take you on a date tonight, I guarantee I'd cancel everything."
Hiratsuka Shizuka heard those words, which were somewhat rude but also pleasing at the same time, and merely let out a tsundere-like snort.
"It's not like I don't have anyone chasing after me."
"But the problem is that you're still single, which means they're either simply scumbags who want to take advantage of you."
"To be completely honest, they're people with ulterior motives. And those so-called successful men who supposedly suit you either don't like your terrible personality."
"Or, if it's not that, then they're a little too full of themselves as well. In turn, they look down on you, thinking that someone like them, a so-called 'top-tier catch,' should find a gentle woman, and you... well, those who know, know."
Hiratsuka Shizuka felt something stab straight into her heart when she heard that. Just how thoroughly had this bastard investigated her life?
"If you don't speak, nobody will think you're mute. And you're invading my privacy!"
While waiting at a traffic light, she smacked the hand he had resting on the steering wheel and shouted from the bottom of her heart.
"Oh, come on, what privacy!"
"Do I need to guess such things? Didn't I see you on a blind date once?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka froze when she heard that, then turned toward Shiro with a confused expression. She didn't remember ever meeting this guy on a blind date, and recently only one such event came to mind.
"I don't remember meeting you back then."
At this moment, Hiratsuka Shizuka was completely certain. After all, how could she forget a scoundrel like him? She would definitely have been on guard if she had seen him back then. If this guy had seen her in that situation, he would surely have mocked her about it at school, so how could she not have noticed him?
"I didn't say it was last time. I meant earlier."
"Once, I took Mikan out for dinner and happened to see you on a blind date. I was sitting at the table next to yours and happened to overhear your conversation."
"Mikan was even confused at the time, wondering how you could fail a blind date. It didn't make any sense!"
"Or was the other person just that good?"
"But Mikan and I also concluded that the two of them were the same: one was a guy who smoked, drank, and acted like an old man, while the other was far too full of himself."
"So I know you go on blind dates. Is it really a problem that I know the reason why you'd brag after meeting a slightly better but overly confident man? Mikan and I sat there and listened to the entire conversation."
Hiratsuka Shizuka's face froze when she heard that, and countless question marks appeared in her mind.
Then she looked at Shiro with an incredulous expression, as though searching through her memories to verify whether she had really met him before. The problem was that if this guy could say all of this and even mention his unborn younger sister Mikan, then it was certain that the two of them had indeed run into her.
Shiro saw the disbelief in her eyes and immediately shrugged.
"It's perfectly normal that you don't remember me, isn't it? For someone with an appearance as average as mine, it would be a miracle if you remembered me."
Shiro knew what she was thinking, so he shrugged, rolled his eyes, and gave her that explanation.
Hiratsuka Shizuka: ...
Hiratsuka Shizuka had to admit that what he said made sense. It was perfectly normal to forget someone like him, so she couldn't blame herself for not remembering who he was; she could only blame him for being too ordinary.
At the same time, she felt a toothache; she had been caught red-handed.
"I didn't expect you, you bastard, to be such a gossip."
Hiratsuka Shizuka thought for a long time and could only stick that label on Shiro, but what she didn't expect was that Shiro looked completely calm at this moment and not at all ready to accept the blame.
"Let me tell you something: you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want, okay?"
"What do you mean eavesdropping? You need to understand one thing: back then, we were separated by nothing more than that thin partition."
"And the other person's voice while complaining about you was a little loud. Do you think I couldn't hear it? Not to mention my level of ability; even if you had been whispering, I still would have been able to hear it. It's not that I intentionally listened, it's that my abilities didn't allow me not to hear."
As Shiro said this, he looked up at the car's ceiling, appearing helpless.
Still, those words left her with no response. After all, there was nothing she could do about it; he hadn't done it on purpose. It could only be said that it had all been a cursed coincidence.
At the same time, she didn't understand, truly didn't understand, why she had so many chance encounters with this guy. It made no sense.
"You're wondering why all of this is such a coincidence? I can only say that it's fate."
"Look, we're so connected by fate. How about we just get together?"
Shiro never missed an opportunity to court her, but after hearing his words, she merely rolled her eyes at him.
However, she didn't continue the conversation. The main reason was that this scoundrel's shameless behavior throughout the entire trip had made her no longer want to say anything. If she responded to him, he would definitely become even more shameless. It was entirely possible that it would take them another hour or two longer to reach their destination, and she didn't doubt his character in that regard in the slightest.
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