~ 💎 WEEKLY POWER GOALS 💎🔥 60→1ch | 100→2ch | 200→5ch ⏰ Resets Monday!
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Zeyong Taisuke immediately joined in from the side.
“That’s right, that’s right!
Kotonoha-san, Ito spent all day picking this out, went to several shops for it.
Come on, take it and see if it fits!” As he said it, he nudged Ito Makoto with his elbow, winking conspiratorially.
Katsura Kotonoha’s brow furrowed.
She looked at the box being held out toward her and instinctively stepped back half a pace.
Kendo…
She didn’t actually like it.
It was only because her body was prone to anemia.
Her doctor had advised occasional exercise to improve her cardiopulmonary function.
So she had chosen the Kendo Club, the option that seemed most practical.
What she truly admired, deep down…
Was Iaido.
That razor-sharp intensity erupting from utter stillness.
The cold, austere beauty of deciding life and death in a single stroke.
Hyoudou Issei’s heart lurched.
Crap!
He’d completely forgotten that bastard Ito was still holding that stupid box!
His eyes darted.
He immediately made a show of turning back toward his own seat.
His foot caught, and his whole body pitched out of control straight into Ito Makoto beside him.
“Whoa!” CLATTER!
The shout and the impact hit at the same time.
Hyoudou Issei crashed solidly into Ito Makoto.
The neatly wrapped box flew from Ito Makoto’s hand and hit the floor between them.
“Ah — Ito, sorry, sorry!
Lost my footing.
Are you okay?” Hyoudou Issei steadied himself quickly, face plastered with apology, and bent down first to grab the box.
Maybe from too much rushing.
His hand shook as he picked it up.
The lid slid open.
The contents fell out.
They landed lightly on the clean pale floor of the classroom.
Time seemed to press pause.
Li Ancheng’s lips curved, just slightly.
The apology on Hyoudou Issei’s face froze solid.
His mouth drifted open.
In its place was a blank, dazed bewilderment.
He stared at the object on the floor.
It was a piece of…
Women’s underwear.
Pale nude, with delicate lace trim along the edges.
Ito Makoto looked as if a thunderbolt had split him straight down the crown of his head.
His entire body locked up on the spot, eyes bulging wide.
N-no.
Impossible!
His mind went completely blank.
He bought a sports wristband.
He was sure of it.
How could it have turned into…
This?!
In a flash, he whipped his head around, gaze snapping to Saionji Sekai like a blade.
The gift, from purchase to wrapping, she had handled it in between.
Zeyong Taisuke had handled it too, but as his closest friend, there was no way he’d do something like this.
Saionji Sekai’s face wore the same surprise as everyone else’s.
But the instant her eyes met Ito Makoto’s, a flicker of confusion crossed her gaze.
Why was he looking at her like that?
What did this have to do with her?
No time to work it out.
As Kotonoha’s only friend, Saionji Sekai crossed quickly to Katsura Kotonoha’s side and asked carefully, “Kotonoha, are you okay?” Zeyong Taisuke was just as lost.
He looked at the glaring object on the floor, then at the ashen-faced Ito Makoto.
“Ito, you…
wasn’t it a wristband?” Then his expression shifted.
Something lewd crept into his eyes as they drifted between the underwear and the pale-faced Katsura Kotonoha.
“Still though…
judging by the size…” He dropped his voice to a mutter.
“Heh heh.
Ito-kun did his homework, didn’t he…” That remark was a drop of cold water into scalding oil.
The awkwardness, the shock, and a certain ugly voyeuristic thrill all detonated at once.
Kiyoura Setsuna stared at Ito Makoto and Zeyong Taisuke, unable to believe what she was seeing.
That faint, hazy warmth she’d felt toward Ito Makoto after he’d helped her during the opening ceremony.
It felt like it had been ground to dust right now.
So this was what he was actually like.
And at the center of all of it.
Katsura Kotonoha.
Her pupils contracted to pinpoints.
Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
No sound came out.
Only rapid, shallow breathing.
Her body began to tremble.
On the floor, that pale lace fabric seemed to warp and twist in her vision.
Crashing into a dark fragment buried deep in her memory.
After elementary school, walking home…
That dim, barely-traveled alley entrance…
A stranger’s arm, reeking of cigarette smoke and sweat, grabbing her from behind without warning…
The nauseating touch against her chest.
“Uu…” A tiny, strangled whimper pressed itself out from her throat.
“You made Kotonoha cry!” Saionji Sekai shot a fierce glare at Ito Makoto and raised a hand to gently pat Katsura Kotonoha’s back.
“Don’t cry, Kotonoha.
We’re not paying him any attention.” “Ko, Kotonoha!
Just let me explain!” Ito Makoto finally clawed his way back from the blank shock that had swallowed him.
He fumbled helplessly, jabbing a finger at the pale lace fabric on the floor.
“It’s not what you think!
What I bought — what I bought was a wristband, I swear!
Something must have gotten mixed up!
How — how did it turn into this?!” He was rambling.
His face had gone bright red, fine cold sweat beading along his hairline.
“H-how could I possibly…
ever give you something like that, Kotonoha!” Their classmates’ gazes swept the room.
Back and forth between the faintly trembling Katsura Kotonoha, the panicked Ito Makoto, and that piece of intimate clothing lying on the floor like it had no business being there.
Then.
TAP!
Li Ancheng rose from his seat and walked out.
His pace was unhurried.
Almost leisurely.
But every pair of eyes in the room found him anyway.
He crossed to the center of it all, didn’t spare a single glance at the offending thing on the floor, and simply lifted his foot.
The underwear was kicked cleanly aside.
It drifted light as paper and came to rest beside the trash bin at the back of the classroom.
Then he stepped sideways and planted himself directly in front of Katsura Kotonoha.
His broad back dropped like a curtain, cutting off every stare in the room in an instant.
Katsura Kotonoha was entirely hidden within his shadow.
“Don’t be afraid.” He didn’t turn around.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it reached her clearly.
“I kicked it away.” Only then did he lower his gaze, eyes settling on Ito Makoto, who stood frozen in place, face cycling from red to gray.
Li Ancheng stood at 185 centimeters.
Ito Makoto barely cleared 167.
The contrast was stark and, in this moment, merciless.
He was just standing there.
But the weight of that downward stare pressed like something physical.
“Giving something like this to a girl.” Li Ancheng’s voice was level.
“What exactly is going on in your head, Ito-san?
Wasn’t it just yesterday you tried to chat up my maid and got beaten for it?” The words landed.
The air in the classroom seemed to freeze for a full second.
Then every gaze aimed at Ito Makoto changed nature entirely.
The initial shock and rubbernecking burned off fast.
What replaced it was undisguised contempt.
Disgust.
Something colder and deeper than either.
“Ito, what the hell is wrong with you?!
Did you already forget getting knocked out yesterday?!” Hyoudou Issei seized it immediately, voice loud and carrying.
“You actually tried to give something like that to Kotonoha-san!
Is this seriously all you think about?!
Pervert!
No wonder you and Zeyong Taisuke get along so well!” ➤ Next: Saionji’s Declaration: I Like Ancheng-san!