Considering the crowd around them, it was clearly not suitable for some couple-like actions, so the two waved goodbye and left the second-floor corridor.

In the afternoon, wispy clouds floated in the sky and the slightly warm sunlight fell on Kaoru Mitoma's shoulders as he picked up a drink from the vending machine.

On such a day, iced soda was undoubtedly a necessity for humanity.

Speaking of which, the cafeteria seemed to provide afternoon tea.

Kaoru Mitoma remembered seeing someone enjoying crisp, chilled watermelon yesterday.

As he pondered whether to have some watermelon, he noticed a few girls walking out of the nearby café, one of whom looked familiar.

Mako Amikura.

She first smiled and said goodbye to her friends, then walked towards Kaoru Mitoma.

However, after taking a few steps, she noticed him and her expression momentarily stiffened.

Kaoru Mitoma thought she would ignore him, but to his surprise, she quickly regained her composure, approaching him with an extremely serious expression, her little legs kicking as she came closer.

"Good afternoon, Amikura-san."

He took the initiative to greet her, after all, he couldn't ignore Mako Amikura, especially since she was already blushing to her neck.

"Are you wandering around alone again?" Mako Amikura feigned indifference. "It seems like it's been a while since I've seen you. I thought you were hiding in some corner, gathering dust."

"Sorry, I've been thinking about the exam lately," Kaoru Mitoma replied.

"Is it that tough? Our group finished the exam in no time. I wonder who discovered the VIP's of our class" Mako Amikura's group was the Tiger group, which had wrapped up the exam quickly.

"By the way, why you never sent me a message?"

Mako Amikura stared at the shameless guy in front of her, feeling both angry and amused.

"Please don't go too far. It's clearly you who never sent me a message, and even if you did, it was always something like 'show me your legs' or 'show me yours.' Don't you feel embarrassed?"

"Didn't you say that if I just asked, you'd send me photos?"

"T-That was because…" Mako Amikura's face turned red again, regretting that she shouldn't have sent those photos to Kaoru Mitoma.

"It was just to show you the effects of the spa, don't think too much about it, you pervert."

Kaoru Mitoma recalled her photos and then said, "The effects look great; your skin is so fair and smooth. I want to touch it."

Hearing this, Mako Amikura felt a little happy, but a shadow quickly crossed her eyes.

To hide her emotions, she punched the nearby vending machine, the loud sound momentarily silencing Kaoru Mitoma.

Not only that, but Mako Amikura herself seemed startled, but she quickly suppressed her surprise and warned Kaoru Mitoma.

"P-Please don't sexually harass girls anymore, or I'll get angry."

Had she gotten stronger after just a few days?

[Mako Amikura: Conflicted, troubled, melancholic, guilty…]

[Suggestion: Conduct life guidance, confess, grop her breast and engage in more intimate actions to effectively increase her favorability.]

It seemed Mako Amikura had encountered some deeply troubling issues.

"Sorry, I spoke my mind without thinking. I'll be more careful in the future," Kaoru Mitoma looked at her fist. "But just hitting the vending machine won't make it spit out coins. What do you want to drink?"

"Not only can't you say it out loud, but you can't even think it," Mako Amikura hid her hands behind her back, clearly in pain.

"I don't want anything; I'm going to hang out with Honami-chan later."

As she spoke, she suddenly revealed a hesitant expression, her inner turmoil so evident that Kaoru Mitoma could see it.

"Um, actually… I have something I want to tell you…" Mako Amikura stammered, her head slightly lowered, seemingly staring at her toes.

Seeing her like this, Kaoru Mitoma's gaze couldn't help but fall on the girl's slender legs.

Her thighs were slightly plump and they must feel nice to the touch.

"Are you going to confess to me?"

"W-Wait, who's confessing to you? Definitely not!" Mako Amikura suddenly raised her head, her face flushed.

"Besides, I have a crush!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she realized what she had said and quickly shut her mouth.

"Crush means someone you like, right?" Kaoru Mitoma said calmly.

At this point, Mako Amikura couldn't deny her feelings, even if her impression of her crush was quite vague; she would still try to remember.

"Yes, I have someone… I admire."

"A crush, huh?"

"He went to another school. I was planning to forget about him."

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"Um, I'm sorry, but I might not be able to forget him for a while."

Looking at Mako Amikura's dejected expression, Kaoru Mitoma finally understood what she had been struggling with; she had been treating him as a potential romantic interest.

However, upon reflection, from Mako Amikura's perspective, he did indeed resemble a suitor.

"Since that's the case, why not confess to him?" Kaoru Mitoma thought for a moment. "The reason you came to ANHS was to advance to the university you want, right? Do you want to go to his university?"

"Not entirely for that reason." Mako Amikura unconsciously played with her hair, her gaze drifting.

At this point, the atmosphere between them grew a bit cold and Kaoru Mitoma wondered if he should show a sad expression.

"Hey, that person seems to be Mitoma-kun?"

A surprised voice came from not far away, followed by a flurry of chatter from several girls.

Kaoru Mitoma turned to look and saw several girls from Class D waving at him, with Karuizawa among them.

"Good afternoon, everyone."

Since it was a girl he had seen before, Kaoru Mitoma also greeted her.

"Yo, long time no see, Mitoma-kun."

For some reason, Kei Karuizawa greeted him very casually, showing no trace of her demeanor from yesterday.

Although she and Mako Amikura both had their hair tied up in high ponytails, Kei's gal-style outfit was particularly eye-catching.

In comparison, Mako appeared more pure and lively.

[Kei Karuizawa: Nervous, shy, anxious, uneasy, wanting to run away, furious, timid...]

[Suggestions: Bully the target face-to-face, touch the chest to effectively lower the target's guard.]

"Where are you guys planning to go?" Kaoru Mitoma asked proactively.

"It's too hot, so we're planning to go to a restaurant for afternoon tea. I heard they have ice-cold watermelon!" one of the girls replied.

Kaoru Mitoma looked surprised, "What a coincidence, I was planning to go eat watermelon too."

Hearing this, Kei Karuizawa's body suddenly stiffened.

"Hey, in that case, why don't you join us, Mitoma-kun?" the girl naturally invited.

Kaoru Mitoma glanced at Kei Karuizawa, who immediately averted her gaze.

It was obvious that even the strongest heart would feel somewhat awkward facing a man who had groped her breasts.

"Next time, I've already had some soda, so I'm pretty cool."

Hearing Kaoru Mitoma's refusal, Kei Karuizawa couldn't help but be taken aback.

"Ah, what a pity!"

"Forget it, since he doesn't want to, let's not force him. Let's go, Shinohara" Kei Karuizawa started ushering them away.

"If we're late, there might not be any watermelon left. Matsushita, hurry up and follow."

After they left, Kaoru Mitoma took another sip of his soda.

"Your popularity seems to be greater than I thought," Mako Amikura suddenly remarked.

"It's not really popularity. They think I look like a celebrity, so the girls in class occasionally strike up conversations with me," Kaoru Mitoma touched his chin. "If I had to say, it's definitely because of the celebrity effect."

There wasn't anything particularly complicated about it.

If a guy saw someone who looked like a famous person, they'd probably go up and take a photo too.

Mako Amikura gave him a strange look and hesitated before saying, "Is that girl who's been secretly watching you from behind also trying to strike up a conversation?"

Kaoru Mitoma was startled and couldn't help but turn around, just catching a glimpse of a figure hurriedly hiding behind a pillar.

Half a minute later, he looked expressionlessly at Miki Yamamura standing in front of him.

Perhaps sensing the awkward atmosphere, the girl timidly said.

"I... I got lost."

"Since when?" Kaoru Mitoma felt a headache coming on.

He really wasn't good at dealing with such low-profile girls.

Maybe it was because he was used to being in front of the camera, so he subconsciously ignored the gazes around him.

Miki Yamamura looked at him, then at Mako Amikura, seemingly deciding to be a brave captive who sacrifices herself, tightly closing her mouth.

"It seems she's been following you all along," Mako Amikura pondered for a moment. "When I saw you earlier, she was standing in the corner behind you."

Kaoru Mitoma was even more surprised and tentatively asked, "You saw her just like that?"

Mako Amikura looked at him strangely, as if it were obvious, "She's been watching you all the time, of course I would notice her."

Kaoru Mitoma fell silent.

Then, Mako Amikura snapped back to reality, her face flushed as she waved her hands repeatedly.

"I-I didn't mean it like that, I just thought she was suspicious!"

Setting her aside for now, Kaoru Mitoma continued to look at Miki Yamamura.

"You can remain silent, but I will tell Sakayanagi-san that Yamamura-san's tracking skills are terrible; I spotted her at a glance."

In an instant, Miki Yamamura showed a panicked expression and suddenly grabbed Kaoru Mitoma's sleeve.

"N-no, don't do that. I'll do anything, please don't tell her."

After saying this, she quickly withdrew her hand as if she had touched something she shouldn't have.

But Kaoru Mitoma could still see the anxiety in Miki Yamamura's eyes, her lips tightly pressed, cautiously looking at him.

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