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n“Did you bring your gift?” Shishio didn’t focus on Yumiko for so long and looked at Ebina.

n“Of course!” Ebina nodded, “I have brought all my limited edition collections for Yui.”

n“…..” Shishio and Yumiko.

nWhile they had some ideas about what kind of collections Ebina decided to give Yui, they decided to shut their mouths smartly at this moment.

n“How about you, Miura-senpai?” Shishio asked.

n“Well, I brought something normal,” Yumiko said subtly.

n“So, should we go now? They should be waiting at the service club.” Shishio had finished his ice cream and threw the stick of ice cream right into the trash can.

n“Wait!”

n“Hmm?”

n“Can I buy the ice cream for a moment? It’s my first time to be here,” Ebina said while looking at the vending machine ice cream.

n“Sure.” Anyway, there was still a time before the surprise, so it should be okay for them to buy the ice cream. He then looked at Yumiko and asked, “How about you, Miura-senpai?”

n“Yes.” Yumiko was also curious since she had never been here.

nMany people might doubt their words. After all, whether Ebina or Yumiko had been in this school for a year, why had they never been on this ice cream vending machine?

nThe answer was obvious, and it was because they had never tried to walk to this place.

nHowever, people were animals that were affected by habit.

nIt was like you would subconsciously choose the same road to go to school or work. Even if you felt bored or sleepy, you would choose the same way as what you had done previously.

nThe school was the same since instead of going to the place you had or seldom visited, many people often spent their time at the place they usually stayed.

nAll of this action was caused by a habit and the taxing of making a choice.

nMany people might not have trouble making a choice, but many also have trouble making a choice.

nStill, without a doubt, making a choice took their time and energy, so they decided to follow their habits to save time and energy.

nHowever, when one was on the adventure, strangely, they had this power when they could try many things without worrying.

nShishio sat on the bench and looked at Ebina and Yumiko, who had chosen their ice cream.

nHowever…

nEbina sat next to him without hesitation, but Yumiko hesitated for a moment before she also sat next to him.

n“……”

nShishio suddenly sat between two girls. Still, he couldn’t help but remind them, “You should eat while we walk there since Yui-senpai might come anytime.”

n“I know. I know.” Ebina tore the package of the ice cream and licked the ice cream with her small, pink tongue. “It’s okay. I eat quite fast. Yumiko is also the same.”

nYumiko didn’t say anything and also licked the ice cream like Ebina.

nStill, while Yumiko was quite normal, Ebina seemed to be trying to provoke him.

nShishio knew this wasn’t his imagination, but when Ebina licked her ice cream, she kept glancing at him from time to time with a smile. However, he must admit the way she licked her ice cream wasn’t something an amateur could do. Her pink tongue moved so lively and unexpectedly. Her tongue was quite long, and it was enough to wrap around the ice cream.

nEbina noticed Shishio’s gaze, and her movement became even more intense.

nWhile Yumiko didn’t realize anything, Ebina and Shishio gazed into each other.

nWatching her pupil staring into his, Shishio wondered what made Ebina so interested in him.

nWas it the fact that he didn’t care about her hobby?

nProbably.

nWhile Ebina might not seem to care what people thought of her toward her hobby, Shishio knew how sensitive she was toward them.

nPeople generally didn’t have a good view of BL.

nShishio was the same since if he could avoid it, he would avoid it. However, he wouldn’t say bad things or look at them with disgust. He would treat those people normally as if nothing had happened.

nAs for why he had such a reaction, it wasn’t because he accepted them. Instead, it was his indifference toward those people since he just didn’t care.

nHowever, this indifference put Ebina at ease.

n“Now that you’ve mentioned it, is your relationship okay?” Shishio asked while looking at Ebina and Yumiko.

n“Our relationship?” 2x

nThe two looked at Shishio and couldn’t understand your relationship.

n“I mean, nothing happened between you and Hayama-senpai’s group after the last tennis match, right?” Shishio asked since he was quite curious about this matter. While he had heard the situation from Yui’s mouth, he wanted to hear it from Ebina and Yumiko, especially Yumiko since she was the de-facto leader of the female group in her class.

nAs for Yui and Ebina, they were just tagging along behind Yumiko.

nEbina didn’t say anything and looked at Yumiko.

n“Well, it’s okay.”

nEven if Shishio was blind, he could tell that Yumiko didn’t want to talk about this matter. “Well, leaving this matter aside, I’m surprised you two can become best friends like this.”

n“Hey, what do you mean by that, Shishio-kun?” Ebina pouted, feeling annoyed since she was teased.

nYumiko was surprised since it was her first time seeing her friend acting so chummily with a boy. After all, when she introduced Ebina to someone, Ebina would act coldly like an iceberg. Ebina would even ignore her like she was nothing, abandoning their friendship like it was nothing. It was also why she had introduced Ebina to a boy again.

n“So, how did you two meet?” Shishio asked curiously.

nStill, while Yumiko was surprised, hearing his question, she answered.

nGenerally, people would gather around the people they were familiar with or similar with.

nThis was what had happened between them.

nYumiko, Yui, and Ebina became friends since they were the cutest in the class. Their relationship was also okay, so they became friends.

nStill, it was impossible to say something like that, so Yumiko told him they had met in the same class during their freshman year.

nShishio was also a good listener and was also good at asking questions, which made Yumiko talk deeper, deeper, without even realizing it.

nWhile they were about to reach the climax, his phone suddenly vibrated.

n“I’m sorry. Let me answer this first.”

nShishio put his phone in his pocket, and it was someone he was familiar with. He accepted the call without hesitation and heard the familiar cold voice.

n“Where are you? Yuigama-san is going to come!”

n“Wait a minute. We’re going to come.”

n“We? You’re with someone?”

n“Yahallo, Yukino**a-san. It’s me, Ebina, and Yumiko.”

n“Oh… I see… then, go to the Service Club.” Yukino**a just hung up the call without waiting for his answer.

nEbina looked at Shishio with a smile and said, “She is angry at you.”

nShishio rubbed Ebina’s head, causing her hair to be messy, like a

n“Hey! Hey! What are you doing?!’

n“….” Yumiko stared at Shishio and Ebina and thought their relationship was too close, right?

n—

nAfter getting the call from Yukino**a, the three arrived at the Service Club.

nInside, Yukino**a and Hikigaya were already waiting.

n“By the way, isn’t it quite lonely without a cake?” Yumiko suddenly asked.

n“Don’t worry. We have a cake already,” Yukino**a said and took Shishio’s bag naturally. She took out a tiramisu from a box of food containers. While the appearance wasn’t as good as those birthday cakes in the store, it was already good enough. She also took out the candle and skillfully put it on the top of the cake, as if it wasn’t her first time doing it.

n“…..” Shishio was silent, wondering whether Yukino**a was just skillful or had trained several times to put a candle on the cake. After all, he knew that before she met him, she didn’t have friends. Her relationship with her family also wasn’t that good either, so he was quite confused.

nStill, he wasn’t stupid enough to say all the things in his head.

n“Is this okay?” Yukino**a asked while looking at Yumiko.

n“…well, it’s okay.” Yumiko wasn’t sure why, but she felt she had to fight this woman somehow.

nOn the other hand, Hikigaya sat on the chair lazily, without caring as if this matter had nothing to do with him.

n“What about Yui? Where is she?” Ebina asked.

n“Hiratsuka-sensei has handled this situation,” Yukino**a said smoothly, as if she had expected all the problems beforehand.

nRight before the class ended, Hiratsuka called Yui to help her, so it would give them time to prepare for the surprise.

nHiratsuka had reminded Yukino**a that Yui would come soon, so everyone waited in the clubroom patiently.

nShishio thought of using a confetti popper, but when he thought about how messy it would be, he decided against it. He didn’t want to waste his time cleaning up the classroom after all.

nThey waited for a while, with somehow anticipation on their faces.

nEven if Yukino**a and Yumiko didn’t seem to have a good relationship, they decided to make a truce.

nThen, the door opened, and Yui came. “Yahallo~! Sorry for being late!”

n“Happy birthday, Yui!”

n“Happy birthday, Yuigahama-san.”

n“Congrats.”

nEach of them was different, and it was quite chaotic, but Yui didn’t care, and she was looking at everyone in shock. “Eh… Eh… Ehhh….?!” She approached them with a smile that couldn’t be hidden. “Ev-Everyone… this is…?”

n“It’s your birthday celebration,” Yukino**a said calmly, but she had a warm smile on her face.

n“We don’t prepare much, but how about you blow the candle? It’ll be terrible if all the candles melt because of the fire.” Shishio brought the tiramisu to Yui.

nIt might be because Yukino**a was so excited that she asked him to turn up the candle early, but because of this, the candle was about to melt.

n“Yes! Yes!” Yui nodded excitedly.

n“Wait! Wait! Let’s sing some songs first!” Yumiko said.

n“What song?” 2x

nYukino**a and Hikigaya were confused.

n“….” Yumiko forgot that they were all loners.

n“Ah, the candle is all about to melt!” Ebina quickly reminded everyone.

n“Let’s sing later. Go and blow the candle,” Shishio said.

nIt was chaotic, and their talks were all over the place, but Yui only laughed and blew the candle.

nWhen the fire on the candle was blown off, everyone clapped their hands together.

nHiratsuka also joined since she had heard that Shishio made the tiramisu.

n“Thank you, everyone! I’m so happy!” Yui was almost in tears and received gifts from everyone.

nWhile the girls were talking, Shishio and Hikigaya ate a cake together.

n“It’s almost summer. What do you plan to do?” Shishio asked.

n“Nothing. I plan to hole up in my house,” Hikigaya said simply.

n“…”

n“Say something.”

nShishio put the tiramisu in his mouth, chewed it lightly, and then said, “Maybe, you won’t have such a peaceful day in the summer later.”

n“…You’re joking, right?”

nShishio didn’t answer Hikigaya’s question. Instead, he looked at Yui, who wore the glasses he had given her.

n“What do you think, Shishio? Do I look smart?” Yui asked while wearing glasses.

n“You look like an idiot.”

n“How cruel!”

n“But well…” Shishio gave a light smile and said, “It suits you well.”

n“Really? Ehehe…” Yui laughed like an idiot.

nShishio rolled his eyes and sipped the warm tea prepared by Yukino**a before he noticed Hiratsuka’s glance. He nodded, and she made the most beautiful smile today, which made him anticipate his following days since the summer vacation was about to come.

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