After deciding to give up, I became popular

“Miss Kaguya! I would like to remind you that it is already 11:30 PM, and it's time for you to rest.”

“But I can't sleep!” The airheaded young lady suddenly sat up, pouting in a spoiled manner, as if flowers were blooming around her head, instantly filling the room with a pink, girlish aura.

“Hehe, the Chairman even held my hand, I wonder what will happen next…”

“Miss, if I may be frank, instead of constantly thinking about these things, why don't you just send a message to Master Kawa and invite him to hang out tomorrow?” Hayasaka Ai pointed to the phone Kaguya was clutching in her hand, reminding her.

Her silly Miss has been glued to her phone ever since they got back, saying she's waiting for Master Kawa to take the initiative to message her.

What a dream!

Just holding hands, and only because Miss took the initiative, and she thinks she can win over that scumbag? Miss, aren't you being too naive!

“Oh no, that won't do. Inviting the Chairman to hang out would be progressing too fast!”

“…” Hayasaka Ai was speechless, thinking, 'You've already held hands and you think hanging out together is progressing too fast? Do you think holding hands is easier than inviting someone to hang out?'

As expected of her Miss, she's so innocent.

“What's with that expression? Holding hands is definitely nothing, hanging out together is the hard part, okay! Who knows what might happen…” As she spoke, she started rolling around on the bed again, making “eee-yah” sounds.

“…” But you were just rolling around on the bed because you held someone's hand!

Hayasaka Ai sighed, feeling at a loss for what to do.

Her Miss is completely hopeless, completely smitten with that scumbag Chairman.

If the other party liked Miss Kaguya, it would be fine; she would just keep giving advice and assisting, but after so many attempts to probe, she can't figure out what his attitude is.

If he doesn't like Miss Kaguya, why does he keep teasing her, maintaining a close relationship with her, and even running over to "flirt" with Miss today, even at the risk of being misunderstood? If he does like her, why did he confess to her, the maid, before…

Could it be that he really wants to be a two-timing scumbag?

But the information she gathered before doesn't suggest that, which is frustrating.

Hayasaka Ai has a feeling that her Miss's road to love will be exceptionally bumpy.

……

At the same time, Kawa Souya, who had been lying on his bed for over an hour, couldn't fall asleep, his mind filled with the scene from this afternoon where Kaguya Shinomiya had taken the initiative to clasp his hands.

Shinomiya… could she like him?

But shouldn't she like Shirogane Miyuki?

Or has he been misunderstanding all along, and Shinomiya actually likes him?

“……”

Confusion, that's all there is, especially confusion.

Kawa Souya's brain was really about to overheat, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't believe the possibility that Kaguya Shinomiya actually liked him.

He would rather believe that Fujiwara Chika liked him than believe that Kaguya Shinomiya, who always had a cold face and competed with him, liked him.

Don't even mention liking him; before this afternoon, he even suspected that she didn't have a single good impression of him.

How is he supposed to think about this?

A cold-faced subordinate who originally hated me to death suddenly shows me a gentle and beautiful smile one day, and the reason behind it is actually because she likes me?

This level of fantasy could be written into a light novel.

At least Kawa Souya is more inclined to believe that she suddenly fell ill, damaged her brain, or was pretending to be attentive for some other purpose.

Unless Kaguya Shinomiya is really good at disguising, able to bury her true feelings deep in her heart without revealing them, but her behavior towards the person she likes in the original work isn't like that…

Moreover, there is another point that he cares about even more—

He seems… to no longer "like" them as he used to.

If it were the him from before, he might have confessed to Kaguya without hesitation when she suddenly smiled gently at him and said, "Chairman, is there anything I can do for you?"

From the "Ice Princess Kaguya" to being able to show a smile, that kind of transformation is enough to prove that Kaguya truly cares about him, maybe she has a good impression, maybe she really likes him, but in any case, he would definitely go for it.

But now… he doesn't dare.

He doesn't dare to say the words of confession, afraid that after being rejected, he won't even be able to be friends; he also doesn't dare to test his true feelings again, afraid that if she really agrees, he will become even more confused…

So he replaced it with other things.

He said to her, "Please continue to be my vice-chairman," instead of "I like you, please go out with me."

From the surface, he seems to be retreating, not daring to confess, but in reality, this is a more serious performance.

Just like what he thought that day, his feelings for Kaguya Shinomiya shouldn't be real love, but something else.

The former him would definitely firmly believe that his love was genuine, and even if it wasn't sincere, he would turn it into sincerity by continuing to associate, but now he would think that this is a wrong idea.

Maybe he has really grown up, but it is likely that everyone has taught him this truth—

Having an insincere love and associating with others is itself a mistake, even if he is not purposeful, but simply does not know his true heart.

Fake is fake, even if it comes true, it's just adding some costumes.

So he didn't dare to test it anymore, unless one day he could correctly determine his true feelings.

And when that day really comes, then he will definitely no longer be humble, afraid of being rejected, but will be able to stand upright in front of his beloved girl, and say loudly and proudly to her: "I like you, please go out with me!"

Of course, it would be best to agree, he would pick her up and spin her around in place to express his joy, even if he was rejected, it doesn't matter, he would smile and wish her to find true love.

Maybe he would hide in a corner where no one is and cry bitterly afterwards, but that must be his true feelings and not regretting that his long-term efforts have been wasted.

Well, sure enough, he really grew up.

Even if he is no longer as decisive as before, but becomes worried about gains and losses, but only in this way can he prove that he is considering more and prove that he cares more about emotional matters…

“Good night……”

The me of the past.

064. Farewell to the Angel, Welcome to the Demon

Judging by the standards of a single person, Kawa Souya is undoubtedly a textbook answer—regular work and rest, healthy diet, attention to personal hygiene, and will not often bring women back to his home.

He is a perfect single male high school student.

However, the truth is that if his life doesn't become so healthy, the angel next door will point fingers at his bad performance, and then forcefully intervene in his life, trying to turn him into a waste…

He naturally doesn't want to be a waste again, so he has to try to learn to be good.

At least, he must do this in front of the angel who has become more and more presumptuous recently and doesn't even say hello when entering his house.

“Good morning, Souya.” Shina Mahiru, who was watching TV, ran over immediately when she saw him.

“…Good morning.” Kawa Souya responded while yawning.

He wouldn't be surprised anymore, even if he saw a charming cook who suddenly appeared in his house and prepared breakfast for him.

Even while eating the nutritious breakfast she had carefully prepared, Kawa Souya had time to think about even more rude things—Shina, could she also be a bit tsundere?

For example, saying that he should be prepared for something, but in fact, the angel's recent actions are no different from usual, at most, she has evolved from only making dinner for him to occasionally making him breakfast, lunch bento, and cleaning his house.

If it's just these things, it can't be said that he needs to be prepared for something…

But to be honest, he was really startled at first, and he didn't want to agree so easily, but he couldn't resist Shina's cute spoiled appearance and angry little emotions, so he had to let her mess around.

During this period, some embarrassing things happened, such as when the angel was planning to wash the clothes Kawa Souya had placed in the basket, she found a pair of underpants in a strange state, so she was startled.

After that, she blushed and scolded Kawa Souya severely and ran back to her house, and since then, she has refused to help him wash clothes.

Although he didn't mean that in the first place.

“Does Souya have any plans for today?”

“Yeah, I'm meeting up with a friend.” Kawa Souya nodded.

The angel has really become more and more like a housekeeper recently. If it weren't for some things that he still does himself, he would feel like he was really going to be raised as a waste.

“Then… be careful on the road, remember to send me a message when you get back.” Shina Mahiru nodded lightly, but didn't ask him for the specific situation.

For people she cares about, if she interferes too much in their personal life, it will make them afraid and stay away from her.

“Uh… does Shina have no plans for today either?” Kawa Souya slightly averted his gaze, not daring to meet her eyes.

The gentle and virtuous angel has too much killing power on him, especially at this time when he just woke up, she is so warm and within reach that it is easy for him to misunderstand that he has "fallen in love" with her again.

“I originally wanted to spend it with Souya, but since you have something to do, I'll go find Katou-san.”

“Katou?” Kawa Souya was slightly stunned, but he didn't expect to hear Katou Megumi's name from Shina's mouth, “Are you two that close?”

If he remembers correctly, the two people's first meeting was only last weekend, right? In just one week, Katou has conquered the angel?

As expected of you, Katou, Kawa Souya silently admired in his heart.

“It's okay, we've been chatting on LINE these past few days.” The angel's pretty face was red, with a somewhat embarrassed look.

Kawa Souya didn't understand why she was like this. Isn't it a good thing to make friends?

But there are many things he doesn't understand, and he doesn't lack this one, so he continued to eliminate the food in front of him.

After eating, and tidying up his clothes, Kawa Souya went out.

“I'm leaving.”

“Be careful on the road.”

……

After taking the train for a few stops and walking for a while, he soon arrived at the place he had agreed to meet.

A cute girl was standing there looking forward to it, looking like she had been waiting for a long time.

“Senior, you're finally here!” The little devil junior wearing a white shirt and a brown striped skirt suddenly appeared, it was Iroha Isshiki.

“Senior is too slow, Iroha was almost falling asleep waiting!”

“I'm not late, you came too early.” Kawa Souya shook his phone at her, the time on it showing 8:55, still a bit away from the agreed time.

“Oh, anything about dating, as long as you come later than the girl, it's considered late!” So the little devil junior started arguing.

Kawa Souya keenly noticed something was wrong.

“Dating?”

“Yes, dating.” She replied.

“I'm going back.”

So Kawa Souya turned around to leave, but was quickly grabbed by the corner of his clothes by Iroha Isshiki.

“It's a rehearsal, a rehearsal! It's considered research, to let me familiarize myself with the dating process…”

“……” This time Kawa Souya couldn't refuse.

But in his heart, he still thought that it would have been better if he had refused, but he really valued the list of supporters…

It can only be said that if you want to gain something, you must pay something.

Fortunately, he is also familiar with "research" and the like, and he often did it with his senior and Eriri in the club before.

“Where are we going? Let me state in advance that I'm not familiar with the stores in this area.” Kawa Souya said truthfully.

“Oh, it doesn't matter, I've already made a detailed plan, Senior just needs to follow in Iroha's footsteps.” The little devil junior looked confident, but what she said made Kawa Souya want to complain.

Since you can plan it all out, why don't you just go and implement it with the person you want to date? Why bother pulling him for a research rehearsal first?

It's really a bit redundant.

But despite what he thought, his body still honestly followed.

The first stop for the two was a movie theater.