Chapter 142: The Outcome
Aoki Tsukasa flipped through the survey forms in the office, and before long, he found the stack belonging to Fujiwara Miao’s class.
He swiftly picked up the pile and ran through the edges several times with one hand. Before long, he found a sheet of draft paper tucked inside. Aoki Tsukasa glanced at it and, sure enough, it was covered in all sorts of nauseatingly sentimental lines. It was downright shocking. No wonder the boy had refused to sign his name on the manuscript and had been so desperate to steal it back. If anyone saw this thing, it would not only be Fujiwara Miao who would need to take a week or two off to recover emotionally—even Aoki Tsukasa might have to do the same.
The page was filled with lines like, “You are the wind, and I am the sand,” “You are a swan, and I am a toad,” and “You are salted fish, and I am braised meat.” Aoki Tsukasa needed only one glance before gooseflesh rose all over his body from sheer disgust.
With a sigh, Aoki Tsukasa stuffed the draft paper into his pocket and began tidying the desk, trying to restore the stacks of forms to their original arrangement.
However, just as he finished stacking the last bundle, a familiar name on the form placed at the very top caught his attention.
“Upperclassman Saeko’s survey form? Wasn’t she absent today? Did one of her friends fill it out for her?”
Aoki Tsukasa curiously skimmed a few lines. By the time he realized that peeking at it was probably inappropriate, he had already read nearly the whole thing.
Sorry, sorry! Aoki Tsukasa felt a little guilty. But... was Upperclassman Saeko in a situation similar to his own? Why had she written only about her father while leaving the section about her mother blank? Had something happened to her mother as well?
Unable to resist, Aoki Tsukasa tried to sneak another glance. But just as he leaned over for a second look—before he could see anything—the office door suddenly opened.
“Tsukasa?”
The unexpected sound of Kokomi Teruhashi’s voice made Aoki Tsukasa freeze in place.
He hurriedly turned around and pretended nothing was wrong. “Huh? What brings you here, Kokomi?”
Seeing the cold sweat gradually forming on Aoki Tsukasa’s face, Kokomi Teruhashi studied him suspiciously. Her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as she smiled.
“Nothing much. I came to hand in my survey form.”
The boys outside—Fujiwara Miao and the others—had been acting strangely just now, and Tsukasa looked flustered too. What were they trying to hide?
A sharp glint flashed through Kokomi Teruhashi’s narrowed eyes.
Aoki Tsukasa scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. “That’s good, then. I came here because I wanted to ask the teacher about something, but he happens to be out. I’ll come back another time. Well, I’ll be going now!”
“Oh, all right.”
Kokomi Teruhashi nodded as Aoki Tsukasa hurried past her and left the room.
She took two steps forward and carefully placed the survey form she was holding on the desk. She even slid Aoki Tsukasa’s form beneath the others.
The way that unfamiliar male student had peeked at Tsukasa’s survey form had made her suspicious.
But what had Tsukasa been looking at before she opened the door?
Kokomi Teruhashi carefully examined the desktop. Before long, her eyes settled on a survey form bearing the name Saeko Busujima.
Could it be...? Surely not?!
The color drained from Kokomi Teruhashi’s face. She staggered back two steps on suddenly weak legs, only to realize that she had kicked something. Looking down, she saw a crumpled sheet of draft paper beside her foot.
She remembered clearly that the floor had been completely empty when she entered.
Could Tsukasa have dropped it?
Kokomi Teruhashi reached down and picked it up. When she unfolded it, the contents made her eyes widen in shock.
“How could this... How could this happen...?”
As though she had seen some kind of monster, Kokomi Teruhashi took a fearful step backward. The paper slipped limply from her hand and fell to the floor, while her expression went blank.
Had Tsukasa written this?
Why was his handwriting so ugly? And why was it so unbearably, unbearably cloying? And who had he written it for?
Kokomi Teruhashi thought of Saeko Busujima’s name, and her face turned even paler.
“Um...”
Aoki Tsukasa pushed open the office door and saw the draft paper slowly slipping from Kokomi Teruhashi’s hand. He hurried forward, picked it up in two strides, stuffed it into his pocket, and raised an awkward eyebrow at her.
“This isn’t mine. Don’t get the wrong idea.”
Kokomi had probably been struck speechless by those lines too, hadn’t she? Thinking of her having seen those deathly nauseating sentences, and then recalling Fujiwara Miao’s despairing expression, Aoki Tsukasa felt an urge to laugh.
Although Aoki Tsukasa claimed that the paper was not his, his expression was barely able to conceal his amusement. A chill immediately spread through Kokomi Teruhashi’s heart.
In a somewhat downcast voice, she asked, “Then... whose is it?”
Should he sell out Fujiwara Miao directly?
Aoki Tsukasa thought it over and decided he ought to show some loyalty. With a smile, he said, “I can’t tell you that. But it really does belong to a friend of mine.”
“Oh...”
Kokomi Teruhashi nodded blankly and mechanically began walking toward the door.
It was over. It was all over! Something terrible had happened!
Alarms began blaring throughout Kokomi Teruhashi’s mind. This was a catastrophic crisis!
What should she do? Pull yourself together, Kokomi! You are destined to become the most perfect beautiful girl among the seven billion people on Earth! You are the girl of millions of girls’ dreams! You absolutely cannot give up here! Get a grip!
Kokomi Teruhashi screamed desperately inside, but her expression remained utterly incapable of smiling. Still looking dazed and foolish, she followed behind Aoki Tsukasa with vacant eyes.
After stepping outside, Aoki Tsukasa cast an annoyed glance at Fujiwara Miao, who was waiting by the door with an ingratiating grin. He smacked him lightly on the head and pointed at his pocket.
Only then did Fujiwara Miao relax. He smiled gratefully.
“Let’s go, boss. Coffee’s on me today!”
“Don’t forget about us!”
Maeda Tora and Matsusaka Daibu laughingly threw their arms around his neck.
And so, the group headed downstairs with relaxed expressions—with the exception of Kokomi Teruhashi.
Once they had gone down, a figure crept stealthily into the dean of students’ office.
It was Haruta Kawamoto, who had failed to get a clear look at the survey form earlier. After handing all the forms to Kokomi Teruhashi as soon as he reached the upper floor, Haruta Kawamoto had hidden in the distance for quite some time. Only after watching Aoki Tsukasa and the others disappear did he dare enter the office.
“Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?”
Haruta Kawamoto frantically rifled through the survey forms on the desk, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
There it was!
His eyes widened with excitement. He hurriedly pulled out his phone, took a picture of the survey form, and sent it to Kindaichi Shi.
“Phew. It’s finally done.”
Only then did Haruta Kawamoto truly relax. He slipped his phone back into his pocket.
However, before he could return the survey form to its original place—
Clack.
The office door opened. A sturdy middle-aged man stared in astonishment at the flustered Haruta Kawamoto and barked, “Which class are you from? What were you looking for just now?”
Haruta Kawamoto stammered in panic, while the sweat on his forehead ran down his face in exaggerated streams.
It was over!
Haruta Kawamoto’s vision darkened, and he wailed inwardly.
After this, even if Kindaichi Shi beat him to death, he would never associate with him again!
It would be far better to shave his head and follow Aoki Tsukasa than to go on living such a miserable life!
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P.S. The author stared at all of you expressionlessly and held out his hand.
“I’m the author. Give me your votes.”
“Not giving me any?”
The author’s brows gradually furrowed.
Plop.
His legs suddenly gave way, and he fell to his knees. His expression remained icy.
“My foot slipped. I’m the author. Give me your votes.”