After Kushida's explanation, Kaoru Mitoma roughly understood why Kei Karuizawa had clashed with Class C.

She had knocked over a girl from Class C at the café, and then coincidentally ended up in the same group as Shiho Manabe and her friends, who happened to be friends with the victim.

So, they directly confronted Kei Karuizawa.

Kaoru Mitoma had seen the list of members in the Rabbit Group.

Aside from Kei Karuizawa, the students from Class D included Wataru Ijuin, Teruhiko Yukimura, and Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

Faced with the aggressive Shihou Manabe and with Mio Ibuki as another member of the group, Kei Karuizawa's first instinct was to seek out her fake boyfriend.

This was when Kaoru Mitoma overheard their conversation at the stairwell.

"Anyway, that's how it is. I heard they ran into each other again at the restaurant yesterday, and Karuizawa-san absolutely refused to apologize," Kushida said with a hint of helplessness in her eyes.

If she made a mistake, why not just apologize?

However, she could also understand Kei Karuizawa's reluctance to apologize.

Kei Karuizawa was the leader of the girls' group in Class D, the absolute center of the circle, with more than half of the girls surrounding her.

On one hand, her appearance was quite intimidating—her unbeatable gal-style outfit made her look like a boss, naturally attracting many girls to follow her.

On the other hand, she had managed to win over Yosuke Hirata within the first few days of school, using his popularity to further solidify her position in Class D.

Therefore, as the Leader, apologizing to a girl from Class C in public would be somewhat embarrassing for Kei Karuizawa.

Of course, one could say she needed to maintain her strong persona, but regardless, it seemed she lacked the ability to resolve the issue.

This was the crux of the conflict.

"Her boyfriend is Hirata-kun, right? Why isn't he helping his girlfriend with this?" Kaoru Mitoma asked knowingly.

Kushida hesitated, "I don't know, but I always feel like there's something off between them. Even though they seem close, Hirata-kun has never called her by her first name."

Yes, Yosuke Hirata always referred to her as Karuizawa-san, just like everyone else in the class.

In Japan, if two people call each other by their first names, it usually implies a close relationship, such as lovers, close friends, or family.

"Maybe Hirata-kun is just shy. He might have already helped his girlfriend behind the scenes," Kaoru Mitoma pondered.

"I remember during the deserted island test, didn't Ibuki-san steal Karuizawa-san's socks?"

Kushida's expression turned strange, and she said quietly, "Are you really planning to make a move on Karuizawa?"

Kaoru Mitoma remained silent.

Seeing this, Kushida couldn't help but glance at him sideways, "You admitted it so straightforwardly before. Why are you silent now?"

"I need to understand how the people around me would react, especially since she has a boyfriend," Kaoru Mitoma said with a slight fear in his voice.

"I don't want to be stabbed to death, beheaded, and dismembered for trying to make a move on her."

Kushida initially found it amusing, but then she suddenly thought of something and her face darkened.

"Let me make this clear, I absolutely don't count as one of your 'ships.' I was just forced by you!"

"I wasn't talking about you," Kaoru Mitoma said casually.

Immediately after, Kushida stared at him expressionlessly.

"What's wrong?"

"Sometimes I think you really deserve to die."

"It's too early for that."

Kaoru Mitoma averted his gaze, and Kushida couldn't help but smile again, her delicate eyes carrying a hint of mischief.

"Forget it, I already knew you were a pervert, but I won't help you with that," Kushida paused, then added.

"Also, Hasebe-san is different from Karuizawa-san. Although she's very cute, she's not very active in class. She leaves right after school and hardly has any friends."

"You can't be friends with her too?" Kaoru Mitoma asked.

"Don't underestimate me. I definitely have her contact information, and we occasionally talk," Kushida said, but for some reason, she averted her gaze.

So, it's just a very ordinary relationship?

Seemingly noticing the pity in Kaoru's eyes, her face flushed red as she explained.

"It's not about me. Some people are naturally slow to warm up and passive, like Sakura-san and Koenji-san. They're mostly alone, and I can't just force myself into their lives."

"No, seeing that you also have such ordinary friends actually makes me feel relieved," Kaoru Mitoma said.

"Trying hard to get along with everyone is exhausting."

Kushida was momentarily stunned, her heart suddenly racing, her mouth dry, unsure of how to respond. A

fter a brief silence, she finally said, "I don't need the approval of a pervert."

"That's why I've never interfered with your thoughts. Everyone has some personallity that others don't understand, and that's perfectly normal."

Kushida quietly turned her face away.

Didn't he realize how embarrassing it was to say such things?

"I know, someone like you must be constantly thinking about doing perverted things with me."

Unexpectedly, Kaoru Mitoma admitted straightforwardly,.

"Perverted thoughts are a biological instinct. I do really want to do perverted things with you."

"Disgusting!" Kushida immediately retorted, unable to hide her blushing face.

After a while, she suddenly realized something.

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

It was strange.

Had she ever told him that she wanted to be friends with everyone?

Kushida tried hard to recall past memories, only remembering that she had been caught by Mitoma while scolding someone.

"If you didn't think that way, you wouldn't have shown me your panties back then, would you?" Kaoru Mitoma looked at her strangely.

To go to such lengths for her image, the perverted one should be herself.

"T-that was because you forced me!" Kushida's face turned bright red. "Forget about it quickly!"

"I can't forget. I even took a photo," Kaoru Mitoma said with a look of wanting to remember it for a lifetime.

"Delete it! That photo isn't cute at all, it's so ugly!" Kushida was both angry and anxious, completely forgetting the humiliation of that moment, now only feeling instinctive shame.

Of course, Kaoru Mitoma wouldn't delete it.

After all, her expression at that time was no less impressive than Suzune Horikita's, even slightly surpassing the latter.

"Yo, Mitoma, are you here on a date again?"

Suddenly, Ryuen's voice came from behind.

"Now that the exams are over, it's time to relax, right?" Kaoru Mitoma smiled. "Ryuen, are you here because you have a date too?"

Ryuen dismissed his question with a scoff.

"I'm not interested in women. They're just too troublesome!"

In an instant, both Kaoru Mitoma and Kushida were stunned.

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