[They are just childhood sweethearts! They are not dating!]
The bold, enlarged black characters on the phone screen almost seemed to jump out and slap Yanami Anna in the face.
However, Yanami Anna just blinked and looked at the agitated and slightly trembling Koma with a look one might give an idiot.
"Komari-san, I know that, of course."
Yanami Anna's voice carried a hint of helplessness. "You already emphasized that to me in the exact same way yesterday."
She paused, reaching out a finger to lightly tap the line of text on the phone screen, her tone carrying the gentle guidance of someone who had 'been through it'.
"But, Komari-san, think about it carefully."
Her gaze turned toward the direction where the President and Vice President had just left, a meaningful smile appearing on her face.
"President Tamaki and Senior Tsukinoki, do you really think they are... 'just' childhood sweethearts?"
Yanami Anna deliberately emphasized the word "just."
"That way they act as if no one else is around, that conversational rhythm only the two of them understand, and Senior Tsukinoki's reaction just now, which was like marking her territory..."
She counted off the points on her fingers for Koma Chihana, analyzing them one by one. "I'll bet that the next step for them might be to officially announce they're together."
This Imaizumi-style speech instantly popped the bubble named 'childhood sweetheart' that Koma Chihana used to protect herself.
The color quickly drained from Koma Chihana's face, leaving her somewhat pale.
She opened her mouth but found she couldn't say a single word.
Because everything Yanami Anna said were facts she had seen with her own eyes but didn't dare to think about.
In the silence, she could only instinctively tap out her final resistance on the screen.
[...B-But... they are... just child...hood sweethearts...]
This time, even the action of typing seemed weak.
"Yes, yes, just childhood sweethearts."
Yanami Anna echoed in a perfunctory tone, not taking Koma's defense to heart at all.
She leaned forward slightly, whispering into Koma's ear like a demon tempting someone to fall, posing the next fatal question in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper.
"So? Komari-san."
"Since they are just childhood sweethearts... do you have any plans to confess?"
Con... Confess?
Those two words exploded in Koma Chihana's mind.
Her body jerked violently, and her entire being froze.
In those eyes that always dodged others, there was now only terror and panic.
"Con... con-con... confess?! Th-that sort of thing!"
Koma Chihana's voice became incredibly shrill due to the excessive shock. She suddenly bounded up from her seat, her hands waving wildly in the air as if trying to chase that terrifying word out of the atmosphere.
"I... I-I-I... why would I... do... that sort of thing!"
Watching Koma Chihana's stress response, a feeling that was a mixture of guilt and... refreshment suddenly welled up in Yanami Anna's heart.
This feeling was very familiar.
It was just like... not long ago, when Imaizumi used all sorts of twisted logic to make her blush and her heart race, that teasing smile he had on his face.
So bullying an honest person...
No, could teasing such a pure-hearted girl really make one feel this happy?
This thought made Yanami Anna's heart skip a beat uncontrollably.
She subconsciously stole a glance out of the corner of her eye at the culprit, who was leaning against the square table reading a book as if none of this concerned him.
Could it be that Imaizumi guy is addicted to this kind of bullying pleasure, which is why he never misses an opportunity to tease her?
As if sensing her gaze, Imaizumi Keita slowly moved his eyes away from the book and looked over toward her.
His eyes were full of the warning "What bad idea are you up to now?" mixed with a bit of helplessness.
Being looked at like that, Yanami Anna immediately averted her gaze guiltily, and the thought of the prank she had just conceived was instantly extinguished.
Forget it, forget it. Bullying a girl like Koma is still too immoral.
*Cough, cough.*
Yanami Anna cleared her throat and forced her expression and tone back to normal, no longer pursuing the previous question.
She pointed at the book Koma had just been holding, a friendly smile returning to her face.
"Speaking of which, Komari-san, what was that book the President recommended to you just now? It sounds quite interesting. Can I take a look too?"
This blunt change of topic successfully pulled Koma Chihana's attention back from the panic of "confessing."
"Ah... the book..."
Koma Chihana also snapped out of it. She lowered her head, a lingering blush still on her cheeks, not daring to look into Yanami's eyes.
She picked up the bunko book from the table that she had already flipped through many times and began to introduce it to Yanami haltingly.
"Th-this one is... 'My Oshi, Big Flamewar'... it's... by an author the President likes very much..."
Her voice grew smaller and smaller as she spoke, as if just mentioning the President's name was enough to make her sink back into her own world.
"...On the... bookshelf... there should be... another copy..."
After Koma Chihana finished speaking, she stood up from her seat clutching the book, preparing to go to the bookshelf to help Yanami find it.
Perhaps because her emotions had fluctuated too much just now, or perhaps because she stood up too quickly, her footsteps were a bit unsteady.
"Ah!"
A short cry of surprise.
Koma Chihana's foot somehow got tripped up by the table leg. Her body instantly lost its balance, and she fell forward.
Just as it looked like she was about to have an intimate encounter with the hard floor—
An arm reached out from the side just in time, steadily grabbing her arm and firmly supporting her body as she was about to fall.
"Be careful."
Imaizumi Keita's voice came from above her, flat with a hint of helplessness.
Being supported like this, Koma Chihana's entire body froze.
What came from her arm was the warm and powerful touch of another person, and lingering in her breath was that unique, refreshing scent of his.
This sudden physical contact caused her already chaotic brain to completely crash.
A sense of shame and embarrassment even stronger than when she was asked about "confessing" instantly flooded her.
"S-s-s-s... Sorry!"
Koma Chihana almost shrieked her apology, then violently broke free from his support and rushed back to her seat in three steps, once again completely hiding her face behind her book.
The entire sequence of movements was smooth and seamless.
Imaizumi Keita looked at the figure huddled in the corner, steam practically rising from the top of her head, and couldn't help but sigh again.
He turned his head and shot a glare at Yanami Anna, who was standing nearby not knowing what to do, with a look that said, "This is all the trouble you've caused."
Receiving the signal in Imaizumi Keita's eyes, Yanami Anna stuck out her tongue and gave a somewhat guilty, pleasing smile.
Then she immediately walked toward Koma Chihana and began to clean up the mess she had personally created.
"Um... Komari-san, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it just now..."
Imaizumi Keita watched Yanami begin to soothe the overly startled little animal and stopped paying them any mind.
He turned and walked to the window, pulled out a chair and sat down, casually picking up an ignored hardcover pure literature book and flipping open the cover.
He didn't take in a single word on the pages.
He just needed something to occupy his vision so that his brain could quietly think about some things regarding the upcoming summer vacation.
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