Because of the sudden compliment, Yanami Anna's heart skipped a beat without warning.
Cute...
Imaizumi said I'm cute.
Yanami Anna's heart pounded wildly, and she felt her breathing grow rapid.
A wave of heat surged up from the base of her neck; she could clearly feel her cheeks and ears heating up at an embarrassing speed.
"I-I am not!"
Yanami Anna subconsciously raised her voice, trying to hide the panic that was about to overflow.
"Who-who's jealous! I wasn't thinking that at all!"
Her gaze began to wander uncontrollably, not daring to meet his eyes at all.
She remembered how Imaizumi Keita had teased Koma Chihana yesterday in the same way about "being happy all by herself."
In this guy Imaizumi's eyes, did her current state look no different from Komari-san's silly state of unrequited love?
This thought brought a wave of inexplicable bashful annoyance.
"Oh? Really?"
Seeing her tsundere reaction, Imaizumi Keita wore a knowing smile.
He nodded and said slowly in a highly agreeable tone, "Yeah, I don't think you were thinking that either."
"Eh?"
This unexpected answer instantly left Yanami Anna, who was ready to continue her rebuttal, at a loss for words.
"Right! I told you..."
"Yeah,"
Imaizumi Keita interrupted her, his eyes looking at her with great interest. "I'm not saying you're jealous of Sousuke."
He paused, seemingly enjoying her face shifting from annoyance to confusion, then dropped the second half of the sentence.
"I just think the way you were jealous because of me just now, yet stubbornly refused to admit it, was quite cute."
As soon as Imaizumi finished speaking, with a clack, Yanami Anna's hand slipped, and the half-eaten rice ball fell back into the Bento Box.
For a moment, she felt her brain stop functioning entirely; the only thing left in her ears was the sound of her own heartbeat, growing louder and louder.
After a long while, as if all her strength had been drained, she slowly and mechanically lowered her head, picking up her chopsticks to poke at the food in her bento.
Only the sound of their deliberately softened breathing and the rustling of leaves in the breeze remained in the air.
After some time, Yanami Anna forced a new topic in a muffled tone.
"Speaking of which..."
She didn't look up, staring at the Octopus Sausage in her Bento Box as she spoke to herself.
"Imaizumi, lately, you don't seem to say mean things as much."
"...Hm?"
"You know, when we first met."
Yanami Anna's chopsticks unconsciously poked the poor sausage as she reminisced. "Back then, you were really over the top, super mean. Every word was like a knife, showing no mercy at all."
"Is that so? Did I say things that were that bad?"
Imaizumi Keita wore an innocent expression; clearly, it was just that Yanami's behavior back then had been too much.
"Of course you did!" Yanami Anna couldn't help but look up and glare at him, but she quickly looked away guiltily. "So, why now..."
Why have you become so... gentle now?
She couldn't bring herself to ask the second half of the question.
"Oh, that."
Imaizumi Keita seemed to understand what she meant, a look of realization appearing on his face.
He leaned back against the bench, crossing his arms as he looked Yanami Anna over, then asked curiously.
"Could it be that you have a... well, an M Tendency, Yanami?"
"Huh!?"
"The type where you actually feel uncomfortable if I don't say something mean to you?"
Imaizumi Keita's expression looked incredibly serious, as if he truly wanted an answer from Yanami.
"How could that be possible!"
Yanami Anna's cheeks burned up again instantly. She grabbed an unfinished rice ball beside her and, without thinking, threw it at Imaizumi Keita.
Naturally, he nimbly reached out and caught the rice ball, then placed it back into his own lunch box.
"Since you like hearing it so much,"
Imaizumi Keita completely ignored her protest. His expression even took on a hint of "Since you've asked so sincerely, I shall graciously grant your wish."
He cleared his throat to set the mood, then spoke slowly.
"Speaking of which, I haven't had the chance to talk about you yet..."
"Someone like you, who's still hung up on her ex and can't let go at all, while Sousuke might have already—"
He deliberately drew out his words, and under Yanami's horrified gaze, he slowly spat out the last few words in an extremely malicious tone.
"—put it in."
This sentence instantly shattered Yanami Anna's sanity.
"Aaaaaah! Imaizumi Keita, you pervert! Demon! Trash!"
She screamed frantically and lunged at him, her soft fists raining down on his chest and shoulders.
"How could you say something like that! You're the worst! Absolutely the worst!"
Imaizumi Keita calmly took her harmless attack, an evil, successful smile on his face.
He even reached out and gave her puffed-out cheek a gentle pinch.
"Wasn't this what you asked for?"
"I did not ask for that!"
Yanami Anna's hammering motions stopped involuntarily when he pinched her cheek.
A familiar feeling, a mix of shame and panic, welled up in her heart once more.
Yanami suddenly realized a fact that terrified her.
As she pummeled Imaizumi, she felt the force of her fists weakening uncontrollably.
Why... wasn't she as angry as she thought she'd be?
That malicious smile on his face was clearly so hateful, so why was her heart...
She felt the warmth from where he pinched her cheek; a warm current of shame and throbbing excitement spread from the point of contact, making her body feel weak.
A terrifying thought surfaced: It seemed she... didn't hate this feeling of being bullied.
Did she really have a bit of... that tendency?
"Hey, Yanami?"
Imaizumi Keita looked at Yanami, who had fallen into a daze, and waved his hand in front of her eyes in confusion.
"What's wrong? You suddenly stopped moving."
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