Imaizumi Keita did not back down because of Shioyaki Lemon's confusion.
In his view, since things had reached this point, it was better to cut the Gordian knot and have Lemon accept reality all at once.
"How about it?"
Imaizumi Keita repeated it once more, persuading Shioyaki Lemon in front of him.
"Since you don't believe what I say, Lemon, if Anna tells you herself, that should be convincing, right?"
"I..."
Shioyaki Lemon opened her mouth, wanting to argue or ask Imaizumi Keita to think of another way.
By this point, she already believed seventy or eighty percent of it in her heart.
After all, Kin-chan was willing to go this far just to make her believe him; what else could she say...
To put it another way, Kin-chan didn't even give her a chance to be unreasonable...
Dating a smart boy with good grades like Kin-chan brings this kind of trouble...
Shioyaki Lemon suddenly felt a bit resentful, blaming her own stupid head that only knew about sports and was a total mess when it came to studying...
But then again, Anna was different from her...
Then Anna... what exactly was she thinking?
Why could she accept something as absurd as Kin-chan two-timing?
Seeing Shioyaki Lemon's silence, Imaizumi Keita took her behavior as tacit consent.
He pulled out his phone and tapped the name 'Yanami Anna' at the top of his recent calls list to dial out.
Shioyaki Lemon watched Imaizumi Keita put the phone to his ear and instinctively wanted to stop him.
"Wait, Kin-chan..."
As soon as the words left her mouth, her movement froze in mid-air.
Stop him?
Why stop him?
Wasn't what she wanted to know most right now Anna's true thoughts?
If she missed this opportunity today, she might never have the courage to touch upon this issue again.
Maintaining this "underground romance" amidst anxiety and suspicion—wasn't this exactly the kind of relationship she no longer wanted?
Then what reason was there to stop this?
She let out a sigh and withdrew the hand she had halfway extended.
Seeing Lemon's hand retract, Imaizumi Keita didn't mind and gave her a smile, then put a finger to his lips in a 'be quiet' gesture.
The waiting tone "Beep— Beep—" came from the phone's receiver.
A few seconds later, the call was connected.
Imaizumi Keita cooperatively turned on the speakerphone so that Lemon beside him could also hear clearly.
"Moshi moshi? Keita?"
Yanami Anna's slightly lazy and playful voice came through the speaker.
Even over the phone, Shioyaki Lemon could imagine her cute appearance at this moment, probably lying on the bed or leaning on the sofa, rubbing her cheek against a pillow or cushion.
"It's me." Imaizumi Keita's voice was quite calm. "Is it a good time to talk?"
"Hmm... it's okay. What's up? Calling so suddenly, didn't you just send a message?"
Yanami Anna's tone held a bit of confusion, then she suddenly became excited. "Could it be that you... are lonely again, Keita? I clearly just fed you full two days ago..."
This suggestive conversation made Shioyaki Lemon's cheeks burn instantly.
She instinctively leaned back, feeling as if she had crawled into the bed of Kin-chan and Anna, feeling completely out of place.
Imaizumi Keita smiled apologetically at Lemon, comforting her embarrassment.
Then, without refuting Anna's teasing, he followed Yanami Anna's topic and said, "Then Anna, are you free this afternoon? I'd like to invite you to my Apartment."
"Huh? To your place?"
Yanami Anna's tone was full of wariness, showing that her previous words were just a joke.
"What for? I wanted to go to the bookstore to look at some materials this afternoon... You guy, you aren't really having some bad thoughts, are you? Let me tell you first, my body isn't convenient today, so don't even think about tossing me around again!"
"I don't have any messy thoughts." Imaizumi Keita's tone carried a hint of helplessness. "I have some serious business I want to talk to you about in person."
"Serious business?" The voice on the other end was full of doubt. "What serious business could you have? Fine, fine..."
She seemed to sigh as if resigned to her fate, but her tone became lighthearted again.
"I get it, I really can't do anything with you. Who told you to be my boyfriend. I'll head over this afternoon."
Although she said words of dislike, Yanami Anna still agreed to Imaizumi Keita's request with a lot of dependence and obedience.
Even if Keita really had some requirements, there were other ways to solve it if her body was inconvenient...
Yanami Anna thought so.
"Okay, see you this afternoon."
Imaizumi Keita hung up the phone decisively and then looked at Shioyaki Lemon.
Shioyaki Lemon's gaze was somewhat complex, clearly not knowing how to face this situation.
For her, just racking her brains to come up with that solution for how to deal with everyone's strange looks was already the limit.
She never expected that her first boyfriend would involve such a complicated situation...
Her boyfriend was really quite popular...
No, if he wasn't popular, maybe Kin-chan wouldn't be her boyfriend in the first place...
Shioyaki Lemon began to slowly sort through her thoughts again...
"You heard it too."
Imaizumi Keita reminded Lemon, "I've asked Anna to come over, and I didn't tell her that you're here too, Lemon."
"So now the choice is in your hands, Lemon. If you want to know the truth and want to believe that I didn't lie to you, then come back to the Apartment with me to see her. I will explain everything clearly in front of you."
Shioyaki Lemon's heart instinctively hesitated for a moment.
To go... or not to go?
That was the question.
Rationally, of course, she should go.
But the shame and cowardice in her emotions made her instinctively want to escape.
Facing Anna as a "competitor" or even a "third party"...
This was a hundred times more nerve-wracking than starting a race in the finals of the National Track and Field Meet.
Although she didn't know how nervous it would actually be to start a race in the finals of the National Track and Field Meet...
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"