Chapter 2

: It was this overly perfect face that made Naoko constantly question the reality of the world.

She slapped his hand away, sat up, and rubbed her eyes. "No, I just wanted to get some sleep. But, what did you wake me for?"

"Next period is physical education."

"Oh. I don't want to go. I want to stay in class and do my test. I bought a new set yesterday."

Unlike Tomie Amamiya, who ace her exams without much effort, Naoko was a true "go-getter."

She was determined to apply to a school in a big city.

"No," he dismissed the suggestion without hesitation.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you're bringing me water," he said, as if it were a matter of course.

Such an offer would be irresistible to anyone at Kamikawa Academy—except Naoko.

"No." The mere thought of it made her feel like she was having a social anxiety attack. "With so many people bringing you water, I wouldn't need one more. Besides, there must be a lot of people there."

It was true. When Amamiya played, the stands were always packed, and she hated crowds.

"But, no matter how many people there are, they're not as good as you, Naoko. I just want to drink the water you bring me."

His words were ambiguous and meaningful, but Naoko knew it was just one of his unscrupulous tactics, essentially no different from holding a knife to her.

Fearing he'd lose his temper if she continued to refuse, she reluctantly nodded: "Okay, but I'll be leaving after I send you off."

He pulled her up and pushed her into the locker room.

Kamikawa Academy has a history of fifty years. It's said that Naoko's parents also studied here, so you can imagine how old it is.

Since Naoko enrolled, it has undergone several major renovations. In short, it has become a famous tourist attraction in the surrounding towns.

It might be an unfounded association, but she felt it was thanks to Amamiya-kun.

The renovated basketball court is large and beautiful, and the number of people in the stands has increased by more than ten times.

Amamiya found the best spot to watch the game and gestured for her, "Sit down."

Naoko and the classmate sitting there exchanged a wide-eyed glance. "But, there's someone sitting there..."

"Really?" His expression remained unchanged, still gentle and friendly, but his words were a bit provocative. "Can you move away? I want her to sit in your seat."

His blunt and rude words landed, and the classmate quickly stood up, blushing. "Yes, of course! Amamiya-kun, you can have whatever you want!"

Naoko had been a little worried about getting a beating, but now she realized once again: the world truly revolved around Amamiya-kun.

"Okay, he's gone now. You can sit down now, right?" He smiled with his eyes curved, and at first glance, he didn't look like a jerk at all.

Amamiya had been doing this kind of thing since he was a child. He would do anything to get what he wanted, which was why she didn't dare to constantly provoke his anger.

She could only silently apologize to the classmate in her heart.

Although she couldn't understand the rules of the game, judging by the enthusiastic cheers from the crowd, Amamiya must have played well.

She wasn't the only one confused, because as she dozed off, she heard the voices of her female classmates discussing Amamiya's outfit. They argued over whether he looked better in a black or white T-shirt.

Their argument didn't last long, as they quickly came to the conclusion:

Amamiya looked good in anything.

Not far away, he scored another goal. His fair, smooth muscles bulged slightly, reflecting a beautiful halo in the sunlight.

He glanced casually toward the stands.

Naoko, of course, didn't notice, for she had already fallen asleep, soundly asleep, leaning back against her seat.

How heartless!

She slept so soundly, oblivious to the day.

At some point, silence fell, but soon, louder exclamations erupted.

Naoko felt a hand forcefully yank the bottle of water from her hand.

Amemiya's voice, as if laced with ice, rang out:

"Ha, Naoko, is this how you bring me water?" Naoko,

Naoko, Naoko, Naoko...

Only Amemiya-kun would call her so relentlessly, like a mantra.

Yes, she was still watching Amemiya-kun's game.

She sat up straight, realizing that she had suddenly been surrounded by people, all staring intently at her next to Amemiya.

"I was so sleepy, I just accidentally dozed off for a while..." Her voice trailed off. "

It seems like more than a while. Did you stay up late playing those boring love games again?" He drank the water, then, as if to vent his anger, twisted it into a ball and tossed it into the trash can.

"Alright, let's go."

"Huh?"

"Are you stupid again, Naoko? It's time for dinner."

"Oh."

She stood up, her head still bowed. She nearly fell as she climbed the stairs, but a pair of warm hands behind her helped her up.

Even though he had just done strenuous exercise, there was no strange smell on his body, only his unique fragrance, lingering in her nose.

"Naoko, are you an idiot? You can fall down while walking?" His voice sounded a little annoyed and a little overwhelmed.

Her palms felt warm, and Naoko was held by his hand, breaking through the crowd and walking out as if no one was around.

This feeling was so humiliating that she only dared to stare at Amemiya's heels with her head down the whole time.

"Amemiya-kun, I still think we should keep some distance."

They usually went to the rooftop for lunch because it was quiet and the view was good, and more importantly, it was just her and Amemiya.

In the past, many people would come one after another, but of course, without exception, they were all rudely driven away by him.

Amemiya-kun picked a seat and sat down, then asked, "Have you entered your rebellious phase recently? This is something we've been used to for a long time, right?"

"Yes, but if that's the case, no one else will want to be friends with me."

"Naoko doesn't need friends other than me." He made his own conclusion, and seemed surprised by the firmness of her idea, raising his eyebrows.

"Of course I do, I'm completely different from popular people like Amemiya-kun."

Amemiya didn't take her words seriously, opened his lunch box, glanced at it, and prepared to exchange hers.

"I don't like carrots, so I want to exchange with you."

As expected, she quickly forgot what she was thinking about: "But there is corn in my lunch box, and you said you didn't like it last time."

Amamiya's family was far better off than hers. Although his parents often worked abroad for business, they hired a nanny who cooked delicious meals for him.

His lunchbox was open, revealing fresh, plump seafood sushi neatly laid out on the oil-wrapped paper, looking incredibly tempting.

However, she longed for her mother's crispy fried pork cutlets even more than the lovely sushi.

He persisted, "I'm starting to like it now. Besides, I wasn't really craving sushi today."

"But why did you ask Auntie to prepare it for you when you clearly didn't want it?"

"I did, but you kept me waiting for ages, and you even fell asleep while I was playing basketball. Now I just want the portion you have in your hand. Is that too much?"

He deftly shifted the blame.

Childish! Boring! He just wanted to steal her pork cutlet! His

temper was more unpredictable than a needle in the sea!

She clenched her fists in anger, but she didn't dare confront him head-on. She slowly nudged her lunchbox a little closer to him.

Before she could get far, he snatched it away.

As if sensing her dilemma, Amamiya scoffed and tossed the fried pork cutlet into her bowl.

"Never mind, since your eyes are practically falling into the bowl, I'll give it to you. I don't like it anyway."

"Really?" Naoko said sheepishly. "But then, Amamiya-kun, you won't have anything to eat."

"I'm glad you've come to your senses, Naoko," he said, pinching her cheek. "You're already a high school student, but you still look like an elementary school student."

It was unclear what she ate, but Amamiya's stature stood out from the crowd in the entire academy.

Meanwhile, Naoko, who grew up with her, was the pitifully average height of a Japanese high school girl.

Add to that her skinny frame, and she looked like an underdeveloped bean sprout.

Fortunately, perhaps because the difference was so great, even among the neighbors, few compared her to Amamiya, sparing her from a lot of insidious self-esteem.

She slapped his hand away. "That's why I need to eat more. Don't bother me."

Naoko was truly hungry, wolfing down her food. Amemiya, chin in hand, stared at her from beside her.

"Why do you eat like a mouse?"

"You mean a hamster? Why a mouse?"

He laughed for a moment before saying, "It's cute, Naoko."

She didn't understand what was so funny, and even felt a deep blow.

On her first day of school, Amemiya had so irritated her that she refused to walk home with him that afternoon.

"You'd better not go home with a mouse,"

Naoko said, walking far ahead, insisting on carrying her own backpack.

There was a soft sound of footsteps behind her, and someone held her down. She felt the hot breath of someone's nose on the top of her head.

Damn, how tall is he?

She quickened her pace.

"I want to go home alone today, Amemiya-kun, please don't wait for me."

Amemiya easily grabbed her backpack and stopped her in her tracks. He even had the leisure to threaten her:

"Really? Naoko, you're not afraid anymore? For example, a creepy uncle will suddenly jump out on the side of the road."

"Without Amemiya-kun, this kind of thing would never happen."

She was safe, very safe when she was alone. Things would become wrong only when he was involved.

"Anyway, I want to be alone, so don't ask any more questions." She covered her ears, as if refusing to communicate with him.

"Okay, if you insist."

The surroundings became quiet, and when Naoko looked back, Amemiya was no longer there.