"Hey, Kanji, good morning."
"Yo, Ken, what brings you to class so early today?"
"Hey, did you see Kikyo this morning?"
Yamauchi, who had just entered the classroom behind Sudou, asked instinctively.
"Nope. I even went out of my way to buy her a special breakfast."
Ike also looked confused.
"What?! Kanji, you told me just yesterday that you were broke, and now you suddenly have money to buy breakfast? No way, that breakfast is mine now!"
The class was already used to these two acting like a pair of monkeys every morning. But just like Ike and Yamauchi pointed out, Kushida usually came to class with a group of girls. Yet today, she only arrived in a hurry right before the lesson started.
During the break, her close friends like Wang Meiyu and Inogashira gathered around to check on her.
"Kikyo-chan, you don't look so good. Are you feeling sick?"
"Yeah… should we take you to the nurse's office?"
Kushida waved her hand and showed her usual bright smile. "No need to worry. I just had a bit of trouble sleeping last night. It's nothing serious."
More girls came to ask about her, but after they left, the two monkey boys and the other guys also stepped forward, as if doing so would make them seem like "kind and caring gentlemen" in Kushida's eyes.
"Hey, Kikyo, is it that time of the month? You should drink more warm water!"
"Kushida, you should take care of yourself. Do you want some cheesecake? I can go buy it for you right now."
A group of boys surrounded Kushida, chattering nonstop. This was nothing new—so common that no one found it surprising anymore. Even if she was sick of it inside, even if she had cursed them in her head hundreds of times, Kushida still kept her bright, cheerful smile.
"That looks exhausting."
From a distance, Hikigaya watched the all-too-familiar scene unfold. Thinking back to Kushida's true personality from last night, he couldn't help but admire her. So this was how she lived her daily life—smiling after cursing in her head countless times.
Always wearing a mask, dealing with a bunch of airheaded idiots all day long... No wonder she needed to vent like she did last night. Even a trash can has its limits—if you keep filling it up, one day it's going to overflow. If she didn't let off steam, the pressure would eventually crush her.
But Hikigaya had no intention of judging or interfering in someone else's life. After all, everyone had their own way of surviving.
After finally getting rid of Yamauchi, Ike, and the others, Kushida instinctively glanced in Hikigaya's direction.
The moment she saw him, all the frustration from last night seemed to resurface at once. She glared at him fiercely, but in the very next second, she returned to her usual friendly expression.
Yikes.
That… that was terrifying!
A chill ran down Hikigaya's spine. He quickly raised his book to cover his face. All he did was see something he shouldn't have and accidentally touch something he shouldn't have—was that really worth holding a grudge over?
This big-breasted airhead!
More importantly, *Hikigaya Hachiman was completely passive in all of this!*
Just then, his phone vibrated.
[Friend Request Received]
It was from the class group chat. Class D had a group chat where everyone was added, but Hikigaya had long since muted it completely. In reality, the "class group chat" was more symbolic than useful—hardly anyone actually talked in it. Everyone had their own little friend groups where they really communicated. It was just an unspoken rule.
Of course, the two idiot duo were an exception. They treated the group chat like some kind of dating forum, filling the chat history with all sorts of ridiculous messages since the beginning of the school year.
[Friend request from: "A Midsummer Night's Dream"]
If he remembered correctly… Hikigaya instinctively looked up at a certain someone.
At that exact moment, his eyes met Kushida's. She was still wearing that familiar warm, bubbly smile. But to Hikigaya, it felt *terrifying.*
Then his phone vibrated again.
[Friend Request Received]
Even after clicking "decline," the requests kept flooding in like a blizzard. For a moment, Hikigaya thought his phone had been hacked!
Without hesitation, he tossed his phone into the drawer and, with a completely blank expression, flipped open the latest light novel he had just bought from the convenience store—completely ignoring the little angel who was now emitting a dark, ominous aura just a few seats away.
Even from the corner of his eye, Hikigaya noticed his seatmate was also reading.
Sakura—no, Horikita.
Hikigaya knew that Horikita was a book lover, much like himself. With almost zero social interaction, she spent most of her time alone, and naturally, books became her escape.
She was holding another world classic—Dostoevsky's *Demons.*
If he remembered correctly, the last book she read was *Crime and Punishment.*
Hikigaya was surprised—was Horikita really *that* into Russian literature?
Wasn't *Demons* a bit too intense for her?
Then again, Hikigaya had been the same way. There was a time when he deliberately sought out the most extreme, obscure, and unconventional books. The more niche something was, the more he wanted to read it. Meanwhile, he ignored all the popular, well-known books—almost as if doing so would make him different from the people around him.
Looking back now, Hikigaya found it a bit embarrassing.
He had refused to conform to anyone, yet ironically, everything he did was just his way of proving to others that he *wasn't* conforming.
What a joke.
Horikita suddenly furrowed her brows slightly, as if sensing his gaze.
But unlike before—when she had been completely cold and unapproachable—her expression now seemed just a little softer.
Though, to most people, she probably still looked just as intimidating.
Realizing that staring was rude, Hikigaya was about to look away when Horikita suddenly spoke.
"Hikigaya."
"Hmm?"
He was a little surprised. But then he noticed that she wasn't actually looking at him—she was looking at the cover of his book.
Hahaha, yeah right. No way. There was no way this ice queen was—
"Where did you buy that book?"
"..."
Hikigaya blinked, thinking he had misheard. Horikita's expression stiffened for a moment as if she had just realized she had spoken her thoughts out loud. Luckily, her face didn't show any emotion.
"I... I was just curious. The convenience stores I usually pass by never have these on the shelves."
"It's the one near the teachers' dorms. Right now, that's the only store that sells the latest volumes of light novels."
Hikigaya didn't notice Horikita acting strange and answered casually.
"I see..."
Horikita seemed to understand, but then a hint of doubt appeared on her face. "Teachers' dorms?"
Hikigaya tensed up, cursing himself for talking too much. "I got lost on campus when school started and just happened to pass by."
"Oh."
Horikita didn't ask any further and returned to her book. Seeing that she wasn't suspicious, Hikigaya let out a small sigh of relief. But just as he was about to continue reading, he suddenly froze.
He looked at the title of the light novel in his hands... and fell into deep thought.
"Even Though She's My Little Sister, She Can't Be My Girlfriend" Volume 3… Now on Sale.
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pat reon.com/GMadman
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