“Is there something you need?” Shirakawa Natsu looked at Uesugi Shikato, who was over 1.8 meters tall with a cheerful smile, the kind of sunny boy who was most popular in school.

As he sized him up, Uesugi Shikato was also sizing him up, and asked with a hearty laugh, “Are you two dating?”

Shirakawa Natsu didn’t finish speaking, but just looked at him strangely.

“Natsu and I are good friends~” Jingu Nao said with a smile, nudging Shirakawa Natsu with her elbow and showing an innocent smile (silly grin).

“I see.” Uesugi Shikato scratched the back of his head, seemingly hesitant, but finally, as if making up his mind, he took a deep breath: “Jingu-kun, I’ve been watching you ever since I met you. Can we go out together?”

After he finished speaking, a chorus of jeers erupted around him.

Jingu Nao is beautiful, but her reputation isn’t very good. Uesugi Shikato is the most popular boy in the class.

The sudden confession caught most people off guard.

Shirakawa Natsumi’s lips twitched. Young people these days are really direct. He glanced at Jingu Nao out of the corner of his eye.

Even though we haven’t known each other for long, I know he’s the kind of person who falls for someone quite easily.

“Sorry, Shika-kun, you’re not my type~” Jingu Nao replied with a smile.

Shirakawa Natsu blinked. In the Eastern Kingdom, even if a confession is rejected, the rejection is usually done in a tactful way. It’s rare to be so direct as to not give any chance at all.

He looked at Shikato Uesugi, whose face stiffened, and he opened his mouth as if to say something.

Jingu Nao grabbed Shirakawa Natsu’s arm and shouted, “Yamato~ Yamato, run outside!”

With her arm grabbed, Shirakawa Natsumi was too weak to resist and could only be dragged along.

Seeing that the confession had ended so abruptly and there was no excitement to be had, the other students chatted and laughed as they left.

These things are all too common on university campuses.

However, when the most popular guy confesses his love to a girl with a less-than-stellar reputation, it only elicits a casual remark or a sigh of “maybe bad women are more attractive,” and that’s it.

Shortly after the two left, a blond-haired man ran up to Uesugi Shikato, his face grim: “That bitch actually refused! What do we do now? Today is the deadline. If we don’t introduce female college students to the Bamboo Union’s nightclubs, they’ll definitely kill us. We should call the police.”

“No way.” Uesugi Shikato shook his head: “If the yakuza report our debt to the school, we’ll all be expelled.”

“What should we do then?” The blond-haired man was clearly anxious.

Uesugi Shikato pondered for a moment, then a ruthless look appeared on his face: “I’ll call her and ask her to come and help me. I’ll trick her into coming first, then say that I’ve been kidnapped by the underworld. I’ll get those Bamboo Union guys to play along with us. Then we’ll half-heartedly force her to come. They’re good at taking pictures.”

“Isn’t this illegal?” The blond-haired man hesitated.

“Or you can go tell them you can’t find anyone?” Uesugi Shikato put a hand on the blond-haired man’s shoulder. “And don’t you want to go?”

The blond-haired man swallowed hard, thinking of Jingu Nao’s beautiful appearance and her long, straight legs in black stockings, and nodded vigorously.

On the other side, when Shirakawa Natsu and Jingu Nao walked out of the school gate, they saw Kimura Momo standing there, smiling at them.

“Xia-kun, would you like a ride with me?” Kimura Momo asked with a smile.

“No need, my friend is on his way to pick me up,” Shirakawa Natsumi said. “Ms. Zaono can wait for us over there.”

“Ring ring ring.” As the two were talking, Nao Jingu’s phone rang. She answered, “Hello~ Hello~”

“Oh, it’s Uesugi-kun. Okay, got it.”

Jingu Nao hung up the phone after saying only a few words, then turned and waved to Shirakawa Natsu: “You guys go ahead, I’ll be there soon~”

After she finished speaking, without waiting for Shirakawa Natsu’s reply, she skipped and hopped into the crowd and disappeared.

“Uh…” Shirakawa Natsu opened his mouth, but before he could even ask a question, he realized he couldn’t find Jingu Nao anymore. His hand froze in mid-air. He heard her answer the phone; it was Uesugi Shikato, who had just confessed to her. He was quite worried that this pretty, clueless girl would get hurt.

Kimura Momo smiled and said, “Mr. Natsu, then we’ll see you later.”

After she finished speaking, she walked towards her car, an ordinary and unremarkable Dongfang sedan.

Shirakawa Natsu waited for a while before the Hummer SUV pulled up in front of him with an indomitable spirit.

“Something on your mind?” Mikoto, sitting in the driver’s seat, looked serious after Shirakawa Natsu fastened her seatbelt.

“It’s nothing, I guess I’m overthinking it.” Shirakawa Natsumi felt that someone who had just been rejected wouldn’t immediately call for help; they probably wanted to keep bothering her.

Although she didn’t know what the other person said, that silly girl Jingu Nao went anyway, always feeling that this pretty little girl would suffer a loss.

He took out his phone and found that he didn’t have the other party’s number.

He sighed, put his phone away, knowing that doing anything now would seem like an overreaction; perhaps the other person was a good person.

The Hummer quickly arrived at the agreed location, a typical Japanese barbecue restaurant, with small private rooms that could seat six people, separated by sliding doors.

When the two entered, Kimura Momo was already sitting there with various grilled skewers in front of her.

When Kimura Momo saw the two of them come in, she smiled and said, “Sorry, it was so delicious that I couldn’t help but eat some first.”

“Hmm.” Shirakawa Natsu was taken aback and looked at the table. Sure enough, there were several skewers of bamboo sticks that had been eaten.

Looking surprised, Kimura Momo, whose every move exudes elegance, actually ate first.

Could it be that yakitori, or various grilled chicken dishes, really has such an irresistible allure?

Shirakawa Natsuya reached out and picked up a skewer of grilled chicken leg, put it in his mouth and chewed, the tender meat with the unique charred aroma of barbecue.

It was alright, but not particularly delicious.

“Mr. Xia seems to be unable to drink.” Kimura Momo smiled, picked up a sake bottle, poured a cup for Minoki, and gracefully pushed it towards him.

Mi no Shi didn’t say anything, picked up the small wine cup, and drank it all in one gulp.

Shirakawa Natsu had been wary of Kimura Momo, but soon realized she was overthinking it. Kimura seemed to have completely immersed herself in the food, taking sips of wine and bites of meat, savoring every bite.

She would always fill Miyuki’s cup with wine.

Mi Zhi Shi was not to be outdone, and they each took a bite. Before long, she collapsed on the table, unconscious.

“…” Shirakawa Natsumi’s lips twitched. Why do some people always want to do things beyond their capabilities? He then obediently picked up the skewers and started eating.

The atmosphere in the private room became quiet; no one spoke, and everyone focused on eating their skewers.

Shirakawa Natsu put down the skewers after only a few bites, took out her phone to check, and saw that they had been eating for half an hour and Jingu Nao still hadn’t appeared.

That’s completely unlike her personality.

“Excuse me, Ms. Zaono.” Shirakawa Natsu asked, “Do you know Jingu Nao’s phone number? She hasn’t arrived yet. I’d like to ask her where she is.”

“Yes.” Kimura Momo smiled, took out her phone, and handed it over; there was a number on it.

“Thank you.” Shirakawa Natsumi immediately dialed the number, and the phone rang with a “beep beep” sound.

Soon, the call ended automatically because no one answered.

Shirakawa Natsu’s heart skipped a beat, and a strong sense of foreboding rose within her.

He quickly dialed again, but after several rings, no one answered. With each ring, his mood sank a little lower.

Just as the call was about to end again, it was suddenly connected.

“Hello, hello~ who is it~” Jingu Nao’s energetic, signature greeting came through the microphone.

“Phew…” Shirakawa Natsumi let out a long breath, cursing himself for being an idiot. Reality isn’t a melodramatic TV series; there aren’t that many plots where people take revenge after a failed confession.

“It’s me.” Shirakawa Natsumi pretended to be nonchalant, her tone casual: “We’re almost finished eating, if you don’t come, we’re leaving!”

“Ah, no~” Jingu Nao pleaded, “Something came up and I’m a little late, I’ll be there soon, please don’t go~ please, I haven’t had barbecue in so long~ la la…”

Shirakawa Natsu put her phone on the table, too lazy to listen to the incessant chatter on the other end.

Only after the other end of the phone finally quieted down did she pick up the phone again and say, “Anyway, come quickly, we’re waiting for you.”

“Yes, sir!” The person on the other end said and then hung up.

“This guy.” Shirakawa Natsu shook her head and handed Kimura Momo’s phone back: “Momo-sensei and Jingu-kun seem to be on good terms?”

“Yes.” Kimura Momo nodded and smiled, “Because she is also a very interesting person.”

“Hmm.” Shirakawa Natsu nodded, thinking of the loud and boisterous Jingu Nao, who was indeed a very interesting person.

It was rare for him to reach a consensus with Mōyō Kimura on certain aspects.

The atmosphere in the private room became oppressive again. After Shirakawa Natsu stopped worrying about Jingu Nao, he noticed that Kimura Momo was smiling and glancing at him from time to time. Her gaze was strange, reminding him of how he would look at his pets in the same way when feeding them.

This made him feel very uncomfortable.

This didn’t last long. Hurried footsteps sounded outside, and before anyone could be seen, a voice called out, “Xia, I’m here!”

A figure appeared in front of the three. Jingu Nao grinned, looked at the table, picked up two skewers of chicken, and said while stuffing them into her mouth, “I’ll go order some more~”

After she finished speaking, she skipped and hopped off to the counter to order barbecue.

Before Shirakawa Natsumi could say a word, she disappeared in a flurry of noise.

Miyuki suddenly raised her head, her expression serious, her eyes unfocused. She twitched her nose and suddenly said, “There’s a smell of blood.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Shirakawa Natsu nodded in agreement and handed her a glass: “Drink some water.”

Miyu picked up the water glass and drank it all in one gulp. She shook her head, as if she had become a little more awake.

With Jingu Nao joining them, the atmosphere in the private room instantly became lively.

“I really envy you two, growing up together since childhood.” Jingu Nao said, her eyes shining as she looked at the two of them while eating meat. “Why don’t you two date? That would be so romantic.”

“She was popular with girls since she was little, and people often asked me to deliver love letters.” Shirakawa Natsu shrugged and said from memory, “Then I also had to comfort those hurt girls so they wouldn’t do anything rash. I’m the kind of girl that nobody likes.”

“No~” Jingu Nao said with a smile, “I just really like summer.”