I have pure love with them

As if she was a well-trained politician, the girl in front of him leaned forward and bowed to apologize to Quan before Quan could even react.

The voice that sounded 'very energetic' immediately attracted the students who were attending school nearby. They looked at Quan and the girl named Kita with strange eyes, which made Quan a little confused.

"This should be the first time Kita-san and I meet, right?"

"Yes...but...I did something that might have hurt Chihaya-san, so I decided to apologize in person."

Kita Ikuyo looked at the boy in front of her, bit her lip, and began to explain sincerely.

"The letter that Chihaya-san received earlier... was the one I put in Chihaya-san's shoe cabinet."

All the content that Izumi had forgotten was remembered again by Kita as he explained. His eyes fell on the girl in front of him, and he slowly narrowed his eyes, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

"I see. Was it a prank at that time?"

"...No, that is indeed my contact information. I... like Chihaya-san very much, so..."

Kita Ikuyo didn't know how to explain it. She felt a little shy and uneasy at the same time. She didn't know how to describe her feelings, so she bowed again and apologized to Izumi.

"I'm really sorry!"

Then, with a red face, he ran into the campus without looking back, leaving Quan standing there, looking at the other's back, lost in thought.

'Did she just say she liked me?'

It was very happy to be confessed by a cute girl, but the situation just now always made people feel that it was a bit meaningless. Izumi didn't know what Kita was thinking. He shrugged his shoulders lightly, didn't think too much, and walked towards the campus...

"You were confessed to by Kita-san from Class C?"

But not long after entering the classroom, Hiroto Shioyama, who was sitting at the table in front of him, turned around and looked at him.

"…Why do you know this?"

Quan, who had just arrived in the classroom, felt a little puzzled. It was obvious that the incident had just happened not long ago outside the school, so why did other people already know about it when he, the person involved, had just arrived in the classroom?

Is the speed of transmission a little too fast?

"You know, gossip usually spreads at the speed of sound. Before you arrived, someone who had seen you and Kita-san ran into the classroom and told everyone else."

"No, I do not know."

"Now you know."

Hiroto Shioyama put his hand on Quan's shoulder and looked at him with complicated eyes.

"Hey, can you teach me how to get along with two... no, including Xuan--"

A chill ran up Hiroto Shioyama's back, and he got goosebumps. Under the "warning" that kept appearing in his mind, he choked back the name he was about to say.

"Shioyama-san, are you talking to Chihaya-san about what happened just now?"

Ci Xuanji walked to the side of Hiroto Shioyama with a smile, asked Hiroto Shioyama to take back his hand on Izumi's shoulder, turned around to look at the smiling Ci Xuanji, laughed and touched his head.

"Ahaha? What? I don't know anything. Oh, toilet, toilet..."

Hiroto Shioyama turned around and left the classroom, leaving Akatsuki Ci looking at Izumi with a complicated look.

"You're very welcome, Chihaya-kun."

"Well, I'm pretty good after all. Do you want to admit defeat? It would be a lot easier if I admit defeat now, right? It takes courage to admit that you're weak."

"It will win."

There was no one else around. Even if someone was watching the two of them, they deliberately lowered their voices, so only the two of them could hear the content of their conversation. Everyone else could only hear it vaguely.

After leaving behind a sentence full of confidence, Xuanji Ci did not even look at the expression on Quan's face and went back to her seat.

After watching Ayatsuji Ci sit down, Izumi looked at Goto Ichiri.

The girl was still lying on the table, and it was unclear whether she was avoiding other people's gazes or simply catching up on her sleep.

"Ah...Kita, Kita Ikuyo, the lead singer?"

When his eyes fell on Goto Ichiri, Izumi remembered the identity of the red-haired girl just now.

"Yangjiao..."

He remembered that Kita Ikuyo seemed to be longing for Yamada Ryo who was walking on an unusual path, but he didn't expect that she would be interested in him now, which made Quan confused.

'Do I look unusual in any way?'

Reaching out and gently tapping his chin, Quan thought for a moment and didn't quite understand Kita Ikuyo's thoughts.

"Speaking of which, I haven't read her second letter yet, so I don't know what's inside... I'll take a look when I get back."

Judging from Kita Ikuyo's personality and behavior pattern, theoretically she shouldn't be a heavy girl, but the two consecutive letters she wrote seem a bit heavy.

noon.

Originally, Izumi was supposed to have dinner with Xiaodou and the others, but considering that Kita Ikuyo confessed to him, it was very likely that Xiaodou had already known about it. Given that guy's personality, he would probably complain a lot about "why I'm not welcome". Izumi decisively hid in the library with Goto Ichiri to avoid Xiaodou.

However, what surprised Izumi was that after entering the library with Goto Ichiri, Goto Ichiri looked a little embarrassed. She lowered her head holding the lunch box, and her eyes occasionally glanced at Izumi beside her.

"what happened?"

Looking at Goto Ichiri's reaction, Quan was a little confused.

"Um... when I got home yesterday, I told my father and mother what Chihaya-san said... Mom said, 'You can come anytime, just bring it over when the time comes,' and my father said, 'We'll be waiting for you, Chihaya-kun'... Um... what does that mean?"

102. You have to learn to restrain yourself when facing Goto-san

The last time Goto Ichiri visited Chihaya's house, the souvenirs he prepared would not seem problematic if viewed individually, but would become problematic if put together.

Dried squid, kelp, and dried bonito were the souvenirs Goto Ichiri's parents prepared for her.

At first glance, as some common cooking ingredients in daily life, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with them. However, if you have some knowledge of traditional culture or have participated in a Shinto wedding, you will understand the special meaning of these three souvenirs.

The first is dried squid, which is also called "Shou Liu Nu" because of its pronunciation, representing the wish for "eternal happiness".

Kelp, also known as konbu, and 'zishengfu', represents the wish for 'prosperous descendants and a large house full of offspring'.

Dried bonito is called "Katsuo Samurai" and symbolizes "strong masculine power".

These are three of the nine items of betrothal gifts commonly seen in the Kanto region. The other six are the betrothal gift money, white linen thread, white fan, willow barrel, Takasago doll, and long iron.

If Izumi wasn't being too sentimental, then the meaning expressed by Goto Ichiri's parents was already very clear.

“These are gifts that contain good wishes.”

Faced with Goto Ichiri's doubts, seeing that she didn't know what a souvenir was, and perhaps also didn't know the meaning of the souvenir, Izumi didn't tell her about the preparations. He was worried that the girl sitting next to him would run away because of excessive shyness.

Goto Ichiri was a little skeptical. Her eyes fell on Izumi. Seeing that her expression did not waver at all, she pursed her lips slightly, hugged her slender and soft white legs with both hands, leaned her body against her legs, and her eyes seemed a little confused.

"Um, Chihaya-san, what kind of job do you think would be suitable for me in the future?"

"That doesn't seem like a question Goto-san would ask."

Looking at the confused Goto Ichiri beside him, Izumi found it hard to imagine how he had jumped from the topic of souvenirs to the topic of the 'future'.

"I... have poor grades and am not good at talking to people. Up to now, Chihaya is the only one I can communicate with. When I graduate from high school, it will be difficult to continue my studies... I don't know what to do. Chihaya is smart, so I think she can definitely give me some good advice."

Feeling the depressed mood of Goto Ichiri, Izumi, who was sitting next to her, understood Goto Ichiri's worries. When he was not paying attention, Goto Ichiri was also seriously thinking about her own future.

It is not impossible to carefully analyze the current situation for Goto Ichiri and give her some useful suggestions, but high school has just begun and it is a bit too hasty to think about these things.

"High school has just started, and you're already thinking about this?"

"..."

Looking at Goto Ichiri who was silent beside him, Izumi extended his hand to Goto Ichiri.

Goto Ichiri, with dull eyes and filled with confusion, slowly lowered his head after noticing Izumi's movements, staring at the white palm, then looked along the arm to Izumi beside him, not knowing what he meant.

But after Goto Ichiri looked at her, Izumi raised her palm and placed it on Goto Ichiri's soft and warm jaw, gently supporting her chin, causing a trance to appear in Goto Ichiri's blank eyes. Then her cheeks gradually became rosy, and her body subconsciously shrank back.

Quan's hand, which was originally resting on her chin, fell to her shoulder.

"There's a bookshelf next to it, be careful."

“…Eh, ah…”

Goto Ichiri, whose body was a little stiff, gradually relaxed after hearing Izumi's words. She then turned her head to look at the bookshelf beside her. She bit her lips lightly, curled up her body, and slowly looked at Izumi with a somewhat nervous gaze.

"that……"

Goto Ichiri looked at Izumi and was about to ask what the other party's action just now meant, but Izumi, who had been semi-silent until now, spoke first.

"There's no need to worry about the future now. It's just right to consider it when you need to fill out the admission application form. For Goto, the more suitable options are to join the band or continue to update your video account. But no matter what you do, I will support you behind the scenes."

His eyes fell on Izumi's face. Looking at her gentle expression, Goto Ichiri gradually clenched his hands, and a flame seemed to be ignited in his heart.

"Yeah! I'll try my best!"

"come on."

After comforting Goto Ichiri and seeing that the other party had temporarily forgotten his previous actions, Izumi also breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

When he looked at Goto Ichiri's expression just now, he always felt that she was a little cute, so he subconsciously stretched out his hand, like he used to raise a cat, wanting to stroke her gently, but after stretching out his hand, he realized that Goto Ichiri was not a small animal.

'Without a little bit of aggression, it's easy to forget to maintain boundaries with her... I'll have to be careful next time.'

Although Izumi doesn't think he is an excessive person, when getting along with Goto Ichiri, some instincts that have been suppressed deep in Izumi's heart always unconsciously surface in his heart, prompting him to do some intimate actions that he would not normally do to other people.

'Easy to get along with', 'I won't mind', 'I won't be angry', these thoughts unconsciously appeared in Quan's mind, testing Quan's own bottom line and making him do something that would make Goto Ichiri feel embarrassed.

Seeing Goto Ichiri being shy but not angry will further lower Izumi's bottom line for Goto Ichiri.

"People who won't refuse anything are also scary."

After lunch break, when they returned to the classroom, some people looked at Izumi who entered the classroom with Goto Ichiri. Their eyes were filled with curiosity and gossip. They were very concerned about what would happen between Izumi and Kita, a classmate from Class C.

'Everyone in the class, are you looking at me?'

Goto Ichiri, who entered the classroom with Izumi, also noticed the gazes of the people around her. At first, she thought they were just looking at Izumi, but after she sat down, she noticed the looks those people were giving her and confirmed that they were not just looking at Izumi.

Goto Ichiri, who was unaware of the specific situation, was just about to lower her head to avoid the gazes of those around her when the girl sitting next to her clenched her right hand towards her and made an encouraging gesture.

"I will support Goto-san!"

From the slightly opened and closed mouth shape and the faint voice, Goto Ichiri discerned what the other party meant, but it made Goto Ichiri feel confused instead.

'Support? What?'