Once they were gone, the classroom exploded.
"That damn Yumiko! She's totally showing off, right? She's absolutely showing off!"
"Just because you're in the same club as Kaito-kun, you think you're hot stuff? Try bringing me in too!"
"If I could join the Supernatural Research Club, I'd even be willing to make Kaito-kun my boyfriend!"
"?? Girl, why are you taking both things?"
[Clubroom]
As soon as they entered, Yumiko blinked and asked curiously, "President, I heard a girl stopped you for a confession this morning?"
Hearing that, even Bocchi, who liked hiding in the corner pretending to be a mushroom, secretly perked up her ears.
"News spreads that fast?", Kaito, with his long legs, had already walked to the bookshelf. He casually pulled out a manga and flipped through a few pages, a bit surprised.
"President, you really have", Yumiko clasped her hands behind her back, pretending to be an old-timer, and sighed, "No clue how popular you are!"
As the most talked-about student in Shuka Academy, without a doubt, Kaito's fame had even spread to the neighboring Hanasakioops, Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy.
The school forum had already built a confession thread for him, with tons of people bumping it daily. The comment section was a full-blown madness zone.
Yumiko had gotten especially into browsing the forum lately, just to see what crazy love letters the students of Shuka wrote each day. It brought endless amusement and a weird thrill.
'You never expected it, huh!'
'The untouchable god-tier guy in your eyes, I get to ride him every night!'
'Cough cough, okay, saying "every night" might be a bit of an exaggeration.'
That ecstasy of passionate harmony was certainly unforgettable, but it really did take a toll on the body.
Yumiko had to take a few days off before she felt up to it again.
The afternoon sun sliced the golden light into pieces, its drunken warmth lighting up the tiny floating dust in the air, creating a Tyndall effect.
A faint floral scent drifted in with the breeze, lifting the short hair by the window and revealing those shallow chestnut eyes. Deep like whirlpools, drawing in moths to the flame.
In the quiet room, only the occasional soft sound of a page being flipped echoed. Yumiko bit her lip, in the silence, she could clearly hear her own heartbeat.
She wanted to kiss, to hug, to go on dates, to count his curled, dark lashes in the middle of the night.
If it were a random outsider, they'd probably just fantasize about dating the campus heartthrob and end up hiding under the covers, softly moaning to themselves.
But Yumiko was different, she and Kaito were in a serious relationship.
'Don't you get the value of being the official girlfriend? (tactical lean back)'
'What do you want to do?'
Seeing the girl slowly inching closer, Kaito raised an eyebrow and asked with his eyes.
'Of course, kiss! kiss!'
Yumiko's beautiful eyes sparkled, and behind her, one could almost see a fluffy big tail wagging, reminiscent of a golden retriever begging for affection.
Kaito glanced at the pink-haired girl in the corner. Bocchi was currently facing away from them, seemingly replying to messages?
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining. You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y
Chapter 55: He Can Be Replaced
'Didn't you want to hide our relationship from Bocchi?'
Kaito continued to give her a meaningful look with his eyes, 'Aren't you afraid she'll find out?'
As expected, Yumiko hesitated a little.
But people always tend to be hopeful, especially when the little head controls the big head.
'Anyway, Bocchi looked super busy right now. If I move fast enough, there's no way she'd notice~'
'Besides, this kind of sneaky, secretive thrill, gotta admit, it is kinda exciting...'
That feeling, it's just like in the movies, where the oblivious husband invites his boss over for a drink, completely unaware that after getting dead drunk, his virtuous and gentle wife had already.
'No, no! I'm the real girlfriend here!'
'Even if there's competition, it shouldn't be Bocchi-chan, okay!'
Yumiko shook her head like a rattle drum, finally shaking off those dangerous fantasies.
Still, with the mood broken, she gave up on her original idea.
'Anyway, there's plenty of time ahead, no need to rush it,' so she switched to another topic that had piqued her interest, "Speaking of which, Golden Week is just around the corner."
It was the last day of April, just a step away from the arrival of May.
For students, the most important things were two: grades and holidays.
Golden Week referred to the stretch from late April to early May in Japan, when several holidays lined up one after another, so most companies would shut down during this period, giving employees a whole week off.
Many Japanese people would deliberately choose to travel during Golden Week, making this period a booming time for the tourism industry.
Shuka Academy had already announced the holiday in advance: starting from May 1st until May 10th, a full ten days. Of course, one had to take advantage of this opportunity to fully enjoy youth.
Normally, Yumiko would make plans with her friends to go shopping, watch movies, visit amusement parks and zoos, and have fun together.
As for now...
She had a boyfriend, she didn't feel like talking to her still-single girlfriends anymore.
"A rare ten-day break. Kurumizaka-kun, Bocchi, do you two have any places you want to visit?", Yumiko had a bright, excited expression, though she actually already had a plan in mind.
There was a small town a bit outside Tokyo called "Hoori," and it was said the shrine there was very effective in granting love fortunes. Many couples would visit it specifically, praying that the gods would bless them to grow old together with their loved one.
Girls, after all, loved these kinds of romantic, mysterious rituals. Whether the shrine was effective or not didn't matter, what mattered was who you went with.
'Besides, the hot spring inns in Hoori are also quite famous. After visiting the shrine, we can naturally stay the night. Soaking in the hot spring together at night and then doing those fun and intimate things, won't that be just perfect?'
Kaito used to be a bit of a homebody.
In his last life, he was picked up by his master right after entering the cultivation world, and as the only disciple of a peak-level elder, he never lacked resources. So unlike rogue cultivators, he didn't need to fight other cultivators over opportunities and treasures.
Though he had gone out for training, every time it would attract countless witches and demonesses who tried to knock him out and drag him back to their caves for dual cultivation.
Although Kaito wasn't afraid of these threats, he had both lightning and fire spiritual roots, plus a peerless sword technique. When it came to fighting power, he could take on ten people of the same level.
He wasn't afraid, but it was still seriously annoying.
Beat the younger ones, the older ones would come. Beat the old ones, even older ones would show up.
If the cultivation world lacked anything, it definitely didn't lack ten-thousand-year-old baby-faced seniors.
When Kaito had just entered the Golden Core stage, he was once targeted by a Nascent Soul stage demoness during a training journey. She wanted to make him her cultivation partner. If his master hadn't happened to pass by and stepped in to help, he probably would've already been knocked out and dragged into a wedding ceremony.
Situations like that happened a few more times later too. But those ill-intentioned female cultivators were always chased away by his conveniently passing master. Eventually, his master outright strongly suggested that he stop going out randomly, to avoid attracting more butterflies.
Because of those experiences, even after Kaito broke through to the Soul Transformation stage and became stronger than his master, earning himself a fearsome reputation across the cultivation world, he still couldn't shake off his stay-at-home habits.
'But that was all in the past. Now I am not in the cultivation world anymore, going out with Yumiko for a little trip can be a rare and pleasant experience.'
'As for little Bocchi though it might be a bit tough. Forcing a socially anxious person to reject an invitation was basically more painful than stabbing her.'
Luckily, Yumiko noticed her inner struggle and asked curiously, "Bocchi-chan, is there something you want to say?"
"U-um... it's just, Niji... Niji and the others"
The little introvert looked like she had done something wrong, stammering, "After the band ended... we all agreed to go on a trip together"
Though Japanese students had many holidays, Golden Week was the first small long break after the start of the school year, and its value was self-evident.
Nijika had planned a camping trip at Lake Kawaguchi. As one of the Fuji Five Lakes, it was a great photography spot where you could capture the reflection of Mt. Fuji on the water.
The lakeside was full of maple trees, about five thousand of them. Actually, autumn was a better time to go, since that's when tourists came in droves. Spring didn't have the pretty red leaves, but it did offer some peace and quiet.
"I see", Miura Yumiko thought for a moment. She knew Bocchi-chan had a band, though she'd never seen the other members.
So she suggested, "Why don't we just all go together? It's more fun with more people anyway."
Bocchi was very tempted by the idea, but she still wanted to check with the band first.
She called Nijika, the big angel hesitated at first, worrying they'd inconvenience others, but when she heard that Kaito from their school would be joining too, she immediately agreed.
As for Ryou and Kita, the former didn't mind going anywhere as long as it wasn't part-time work, and the latter wanted to take some nice scenic shots for promotional photos, maybe even use them as background pages for the band's account.
Everyone agreed instantly.
Since the members of the band were technically guests, they followed the host's plan. And the trip destination was finalized as Hoori Town.
Kaito was a man of action. Since they already had a plan, he just went online and booked the rooms at a hot spring inn. He wasn't short on money, so he went ahead and booked out the whole place.
"Ah... now that I think of it, maybe I should buy a new yukata?", Yumiko raised a delicate finger and lightly tapped her soft lips.
'After soaking in the hot spring, I will definitely have to change into something fresh. Too bad summer is still two to three months away. Won't wearing yukata and attending a fireworks festival with Kaito-kun be way more romantic?'
"Y-Yukata, huh", Little Bocchi also looked forward to it. All her life, she'd never attended a fireworks festival or any kind of lively event. She'd never even traveled before. This would be her first time going on a trip far away with friends. Nervous? Sure. But even more soexcited.
'I-if I could dress up a little prettier too'
The young girl cautiously glanced at the beautiful boy not far away. A certain thought planted by her mother was quietly taking root and sprouting.
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining. You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y
Chapter 56: World-shocking Wisdom Is Activating
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, evening arrived.
The last ray of sunset also disappeared into the distant horizon, and the sky gradually darkened.
Tomorrow was the start of a short holiday. One could tell that the students were all in high spirits during dismissal. Quite a few students had even made preparations to stay up all night. After all, a holiday without pulling an all-nighter, what's the difference from not having a holiday at all?
There were also some rare couples scattered in twos and threes, planning to go shopping on a date, and do the things they loved to do.
Yumiko Miura had originally planned the same. After resting for a few days, the weather cleared, the rain stopped, and she felt that she had recovered.
This wasn't arrogance. In fact, after that night, Yumiko did feel that her body seemed to be gradually changing.
For example, her stamina was stronger, her strength greater, and her spirit more energetic. Even staying up until two or three in the morning didn't make her feel sleepy, and even if she only slept three to four hours a day, she still felt full of energy.
Even her friends said her skin had improved a lot recently, smooth like a freshly peeled egg. They were even curious about what kind of cosmetics she had been using to get such remarkable results.
Of course, she hadn't used any cosmetics. Though she had eaten quite a bit of protein.
Although Yumiko didn't understand where this change was coming from, she could more or less guess it had something to do with Kaito.
So she really wanted to verify it personally again.
Mm, this was done in the spirit of serious scientific researchno investigation, no right to speak.
Unfortunately, tonight Kaito had already agreed to Ms. Nagasaki's invitation to visit her home as a guest.
Yumiko felt a bit regretful, but a qualified girlfriend certainly couldn't hold her lover back in his career. Besides, even if she missed tonight, there would be plenty of opportunities during the Golden Week trip.
The appointment with Ms. Nagasaki was set for seven o'clock in the evening. She would send a private car for pickup, so there was no need for him to trouble himself.
The current time was six in the evening, an hour away from the scheduled appointment.
After returning home, Kaito first went into the bathroom to take a bath. After coming out, unlike usual, he didn't lie on the couch playing games with the fat cat.
Instead, he entered the bedroom and took off his uniform, changing into a new set of casual clothes.
On top, he wore a white hooded long-sleeve hoodie, with a cute blue cat pattern in the center. On the bottom, a pair of light gray loose straight pants. A very refreshing outfit, like the male lead of a k-drama.
Kirara even tried to sneakily follow behind him, trying to sneak into the bedroom stealthily, not planning to avoid even when he changed clothes. She stared wide-eyed with an innocent look, trying to get by with cuteness.
Unfortunately, she was still grabbed by the scruff of her fate's neck by Kaito and thrown cold-faced outside the door.
