When Tomoya looked toward Takashi, Takashi also noticed him.
To be precise, he noticed the two people beside him— Eriri and Utaha.
His heart suddenly skipped a beat.
His body stiffened slightly.
'How did I run into them here?'
Takashi was puzzled. Was there nowhere else to go in Chiba?
Fortunately, his ability to adjust was quite good, and he quickly regained his composure.
Right now, he wasn't wearing any disguise and was using his real appearance. Utaha and Eriri had never seen him before, so they shouldn't be able to recognize him.
Yeah, no big deal.
The advantage was his.
"Megumi-san, are they your friends? They've been looking at us this whole time."
Megumi was using a handkerchief to gently wipe the matcha powder off Takashi's hair, her back turned to Tomoya and the other two.
Hearing his words, she glanced to the side.
Then, she revealed a surprised expression.
"Huh? Aki-kun, Sawamura-san, Senpai, what are you doing here?"
Megumi hadn't expected to run into the three of them here either.
"....."
Tomoya's face turned extremely grim, as if his wife had run off with another man.
No matter what, he never expected that after just stepping out with Utaha to gather material, the heroine in his heart would end up getting picked up by some delinquent with white hair who appeared out of nowhere.
(Takashi: Are you even being polite?)
He hadn't even started dating her, yet he was already experiencing the bitterness of NTR.
Tomoya felt like he was in a league of his own.
'Maybe I should dye this thing yellow?' Takashi thought as he stared at his white hair.
If Takashi were a villain in a novel, or the classic yellow-haired guy in an NTR story, he should be saying something ambiguous right now to make Tomoya misunderstand his relationship with Megumi.
Maybe Tomoya would get angry and punch him, and then he could take the opportunity to fall to the ground, open an app to browse cars, and maybe even get Megumi to come to his house to take care of his injuries.
Unfortunately, he wasn't the type to do something like that.
He had his principles and wouldn't lower his standards.
Not even once.
This was like cheating. Once you crossed the line the first time, there would be a second, a third, and eventually, you would completely change as a person.
Besides, his opponent was Tomoya, not some rich heir, so he wouldn't even get much compensation. Takashi figured it wasn't worth it.
"...Who... Who is he?"
Tomoya struggled for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a question.
Compared to Utaha being ambiguous with another guy, he found it even harder to accept seeing Megumi with someone else.
"He's—"
"I'm—"
"Takashi, a special invitee to Aoba Academy. He entered as the top student of his year, a Tokyo-born genius who can get into the University of Tokyo on academic ability alone."
Three voices spoke almost simultaneously.
The first was from Megumi, who was about to introduce Takashi to the three of them.
The second was from Takashi himself—he didn't want his real name to be exposed.
Though he had changed his surname, he hadn't changed his given name.
There was still some risk.
He wasn't willing to take any risk at all, so he rushed to speak, intending to change even his given name.
His plan was good, but Utaha's voice shattered it.
'Damn it, how does she know my name?'
Takashi was truly caught off guard—he hadn't expected Utaha to recognize him.
He wasn't even a celebrity, was he?
"Takashi?"
Eriri reacted the moment she heard the name "Takashi."
She narrowed her eyes and began to scrutinize the guy she had originally thought was just some random delinquent for entertainment.
Takashi started to feel a bit nervous.
He prided himself on his top-tier disguise skills, believing no one could see through him.
But no matter how much he changed his appearance, he couldn't alter his height and body shape.
What if Eriri noticed something?
Takashi was feeling the guilty conscience of a thief.
"Tomoya-kun, standing before you is someone even more academically gifted than me, a true genius who could rival the Four Families' heirs or Shirogane Miyuki from Shuchiin Academy,"
Utaha said with a smirk, fanning the flames, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.
To be honest, even Utaha was shocked.
She hadn't expected Megumi to know Takashi.
"More gifted than you, Senpai? That's a joke, right?" Tomoya's voice trembled slightly, his tone clearly filled with disbelief.
Utaha chuckled in response.
But there was a trace of bitterness and loneliness in her smile.
"Tomoya-kun, perhaps in your eyes, I am a genius. But in Aoba Academy and Soubu High, geniuses are the most common thing."
Different educational resources led to different surroundings and perspectives.
Utaha's worldview was much broader than Tomoya's, so she was more aware of the gap between public and private schools.
Public schools were funded by the government, open to everyone, with students of varying levels.
Private schools, on the other hand, were established by foundations, corporations, or individuals.
In terms of education quality, private schools generally provided superior education compared to public ones.
"Being a genius is merely the entry ticket to those schools."
Takashi glanced at her with slight surprise.
He hadn't expected that, when it came to matters unrelated to emotions, she was actually quite perceptive.
"Aki-kun, may I call you that?"
Takashi's sudden question startled Tomoya.
"W-what?"
Even though modern society preaches equality, people still mentally categorize themselves and others, adjusting their attitudes accordingly.
Even though Takashi hadn't achieved anything grand yet, he was already leagues apart from an ordinary person.
Standing before Takashi, Tomoya couldn't help but feel a growing sense of inferiority.
"No need to be so tense, I don't bite," Takashi said warmly, showing no arrogance despite his status as a top student.
"I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, Megumi-san and I aren't involved in anything. We just happened to run into each other."
Takashi didn't feel like he was lying.
It really was just a coincidence that triggered a chain of events.
"I... I see."
Tomoya forced a smile, clearly unconvinced.
There was no way he'd believe something so coincidental.
Moreover, Takashi's friendly tone gave him an uncomfortable feeling, as if he wasn't even worth taking seriously.
That sense of humiliation burned inside him.
"The movie is about to start. Megumi-san, do you still want to watch it?"
Seeing that Aki Tomoya didn't believe him, Takashi couldn't be bothered to explain further.
He wasn't Utaha or Eriri—he had no reason to indulge him.
"Mm, Aki, Sawamura-san, Senpai, I'll be going now."
Megumi stood up from her seat, gave the three of them a slight nod, and turned to leave with Takashi.
Takashi was surprised by how decisively Megumi made her choice.
"What is it, Kitahara-kun?"
Megumi noticed his surprised expression and tilted her head slightly.
"I thought you would reject me," Takashi admitted honestly.
He had only asked out of politeness.
He had already prepared himself for rejection.
"Why would you think that?" Megumi gave him a strange look.
'Because Aki Tomoya is someone you like too,' Takashi thought as he glanced at the system panel.
If it had been Utaha or Eriri in this situation, he would definitely have been the one left behind—just like the date he had planned today.
"Thank you, Megumi-san."
Takashi didn't answer her question. He simply looked at her with genuine gratitude.
If she hadn't chosen to come with him just now, he would have experienced the feeling of being abandoned twice in a single day.
"?"
Megumi tilted her head in confusion.
"Kitahara-kun, you're acting really weird."
…
Not far away, watching the two figures gradually walk away, Tomoya felt as if his heart was being cut by a dull knife, the pain excruciating.
His fists were clenched tightly.
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