Why wasn't I the one who got the male lead's script?

"So, I've been wanting to get closer to people like Futaba-san...if I'm lucky enough."

"No, it's okay if you don't make me seem so unattainable."

A slight blush crossed Futaba's face and she immediately held up her hand to deny Kato's statement. It seemed that she was actually very vulnerable to this trick. (No)

"This is just a normal thing for me. If you change the person you are asking the question to, Xingjian, he will definitely be the same."

"Hey...are you two the kind of friends who don't have any possessiveness towards each other?"

"Probably... that's the case. Anyway, I've never asked him such a question."

"Eh……"

Kato just responded softly, as if thinking about something, and then blinked.

"Well, anyway, please take care of me from now on, Futaba-san."

"........."

Miss Futaba turned her head away and gently covered her mouth with the hand that was originally supporting her cheek. She seemed to be avoiding Kato and was unwilling to meet his gaze. He also did not give her a corresponding response.

"Um...Futaba-san?"

In contrast, Kato just stared at her with his head tilted, looking not impatient at all, and even waiting for her reply obediently.

"Oh, really. I get it. There's no need to ask about this kind of thing over and over again. It's a waste of time to talk too much."

The gray-haired girl still did not look directly at Kato, but turned her face away completely, without even leaving any expression for Kato.

However, this time, her usually cool and calm voice seemed to be tainted with a hint of haste and impatience, and even the volume was unconsciously amplified due to her annoyance.

“Hmm…Hmm?”

And this just happened to be the final push to wake up the black-haired boy who was half asleep and half awake - his face suddenly slipped from his palm, and Xingjian, who woke up immediately before hitting the table, rubbed his eyes, then shook his head and looked at the two of them.

"Oops... I fell asleep without realizing it."

His still sleepy eyes were filled with confusion. After all, he seemed to have heard something just now, but when he woke up, the two girls beside him were silent.

"If you didn't get enough rest last night, it's okay for Hoshimi-kun to lie down on the table and rest for a while."

Kato gave him an empathetic smile, but Xingjian patted his cheeks and tried to stay awake - he had no intention of continuing to sleep.

"No, it's okay..."

What happened? He didn’t stay up until eleven or twelve last night, so how come he still fell asleep?

Or maybe the problem isn't with him...?

Xingjian, who was completely unaware of the previous conversation between the two girls, shook his head to restore himself to normal state, then sat up straight and turned to the first page of the book in his hand.

I don't know how many times I have started reading from the title page.

Strangely enough, Xingjian felt as if his memory had been slightly flawed. He was certain he had read the story after the title page, but he couldn't quite place the specific plot or development.

And the further he turned, the more blurred his memory became, and the corresponding tiredness became stronger and stronger - even he couldn't help but close his eyes just now.

When I recall it now, the only thing left in my mind is a rough impression that “this book is a bit boring”.

Not right.

No matter how I think about it, it doesn't seem right.

"........."

The expression on the boy's face was no longer as peaceful and leisurely as usual. He frowned slightly, then stood up with the book in his hand and walked towards the bookshelf.

To verify an idea in his mind.

"...Xingjian, what are you doing?"

This time, it was Futaba, who was holding "Physics and Philosophy" in her hand, who called out to the silent Hoshimi in a voice neither too loud nor too soft. The latter immediately turned around and smiled at the two girls who were sitting in their original seats.

"I'm going to change a book to read and will be right back."

He pointed to the bookshelf where literary works were placed next to him. After Futaba's gaze gradually changed from confusion to approval, he nodded politely to the two girls, then walked towards the bookshelf with the book.

"..."

While the two were interacting like this, Ms. Kato never concealed the fact that she was observing them - this also made Futaba, whose expression returned to normal after Hoshimi left, raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Why? Kato, do you have anything you want to say?"

“…That’s not the case.”

After a brief silence, the girl with short black hair smiled and held her cheeks with both hands, meeting Futaba's eyes gently and naturally.

"Sure enough, it's hard not to envy this kind of friendship—I'm just sighing like that."

"...Stop saying that. It sounds so hypocritical."

It is obvious that Futaba is not very adaptable to Kato's straightforward personality of speaking his mind - of course, Kato's straightforwardness is only compared to her.

"You're so hypocritical... I think it's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Well...never mind. Whatever you think."

Similarly, Futaba found it difficult to resist Kato's warm smile, which was as gentle as the spring breeze - she was really not good at dealing with people who smiled as purely and non-aggressively as a child.

As the two of them responded to each other with completely different attitudes, Xingjian came back from the bookshelf with a book in his hand - judging from the packaging, he had indeed changed to another book to read.

This also made Futaba, who noticed this, sigh helplessly. Could it be that this guy had forgotten why they came to the library?

"Hey, Xingjian."

"I know what you want to say, Futaba...but I just fell asleep reading that book. Let me change my mood for a while."

He smiled wryly and waved the book in his hand, which had been flipped through a little and was covered with densely packed words, at Futaba.

"But to be honest, I think this book is quite interesting. Futaba, do you want to take a look?"

"...Xingjian, you know I have no interest in modern literature, online literature, or even classical literature."

Miss Futaba's face clearly showed the resentment and warning of "Don't give me sleeping pills."

----

Completed today's update 1/37

I will try to give you another update before 12 o'clock this time orz

Kasumigaoka Utaha is unlikely to be out of ideas: Chapter 6: They each have their own concerns (Part 3)

"Haha, I know, I know. So, let's put aside the appreciation of literature this time and simply express your opinion from the perspectives of the article's structure and the development of the plot and atmosphere."

Xingjian smiled and sat back in his original seat. Then, under Futaba's still hesitant gaze, he turned the book in his hand to the first chapter and handed it to Futaba without even looking at it.

"………well."

Although Futaba looked like a high school student who was assigned to read boring study materials, with a face full of reluctance as if "a forced melon is not sweet", she finally accepted the book handed to her by Hoshimi with courtesy, suppressed her impatience and patiently started reading from the beginning.

"Ah, you don't have to read the whole book, just read the first chapter."

The young man Hoshimi added to the explanation with a smile, fearing that Futaba would feel dissatisfied with something and put the book down.

"Then tell me what you think after you watch it."

"...Wait, is it too much to force me to write a summary and review? You know I'm not good at this."

"Just tell me how you feel, Futaba. There's no need for a long, detailed analysis."

“…I really have no idea.”

Miss Futaba shrugged listlessly, and although she looked unhappy, she still patiently continued reading. Seeing this, the young man Xingjian beside her hurriedly stood up, and very sensibly ordered a cup of American coffee for Futaba from the automatic coin-operated beverage machine next to her, and then handed it to Futaba solemnly.

There was no eye contact or verbal communication between the two throughout the whole process, but whether it was Hoshimi standing up to order coffee, or Futaba taking the coffee cup with naturalness, it all seemed so natural - as if this was just a common and unremarkable little fragment in their daily life.

Miss Kato glanced at the boy who was patiently waiting for Futaba's response, then looked at the gray-haired girl who was concentrating on reading a book, the unhappiness and irritability on her face fading a lot, and finally just quietly drank a sip of water in the cup.

This is the water cup she brought from her home.

After a few brief minutes, Futaba, who had finished reading the first chapter, gently closed the book—her expression seemed somewhat complicated.

"How about it?"

Hoshimi immediately cast a curious look at Futaba.

"...Well, I rarely read literature. Even world-famous classics are only my first impressions. So, I might not be able to draw inferences about the storytelling the way a professional book reviewer can."

The gray-haired girl pushed her glasses. When faced with professional fields that she was not good at, she was still able to be serious and meticulous, but she seemed a little weak and overwhelmed.

"...But if I had to give it a rating, it would be one of the few literary works I've read that's in the upper middle class—the characters are novel, the plot unfolds interestingly, and at least it makes you want to keep reading."

At the end, Futaba raised her eyebrows again and spread her hands helplessly.

"Of course, it's probably because I'm not that well-informed and don't quite understand the routines of novelists that I find this subject matter and setting so novel—I think it's best to reserve my opinion on this for now."

Even if Futaba is just making a casual comment, he will always be as rigorous and realistic as possible.

“…As expected.”

"What do you mean? By the way, Xingjian, what's the name of this book?"

Futaba was so focused on reading the main text that she didn't turn to the cover to confirm the title and author.

And now when she closed the book and looked at the cover, all she saw were the words "Pride and Prejudice" accompanied by exquisite decoration and illustrations.

She raised her eyebrows in confusion.

The story's writing style is clearly modern popular literature, and the plot is also campus-style, close to real life - how could it be related to a classic like Pride and Prejudice?

"...!"

However, Futaba's eyes lit up as if she had thought of something, and she quickly and carefully removed the book cover from the outside of the book.

Sure enough, the name of the book was another one, and the author was not the famous Jane Austen.

Futaba cast a somewhat confused look at Hoshimi who was sitting next to her - but happened to meet his calm and indifferent gaze.

He must have seen everything I said and did just now, but he didn't show any surprise.

“…Xingjian, could this be you…?”

Even though she already had a definite answer in her mind, in order to ensure that her guess had a zero error rate, Futaba still gave him a look that sought the truth.

Xingjian didn't say anything, but just nodded slightly, using the same gaze fixed on her to express "that's what you think."

He had just left the reading area, so there was nothing wrong with him saying he was going to exchange books - he just changed the covers of two books.

Futaba narrowed her eyes slightly after receiving a positive answer, then looked away thoughtfully. As clever as she was, even though she still didn't understand some of the information, her thoughts had already progressed to the same level as Hoshimi's.

The two men, their thoughts now clear, looked up and smiled at each other - it seemed that they had reached the same conclusion.

The specific symptoms of puberty syndrome that appeared in Kasumigaoka Utaha are about to emerge.

Looking at Futaba and Hoshimi's focused looks when they were lost in thought, and the tacit understanding when they finally smiled at each other, Miss Kato simply withdrew her gaze indifferently, and used the action of drinking water to cover up the unconscious slight rise of the corners of her mouth.

She doesn't dislike people who are smart and good at thinking. It's better to say that she likes them so much that she can't wait.

"But, just being left alone and watching them do the same thing...it still makes me feel a little uncomfortable."

She just muttered this quietly in her heart.

"Well……"

Ms. Kato glanced at the empty water cup beside her, then turned her gaze to Xingmi who had just come to a conclusion, and broke their silent joy with the most calm tone.

"Um, what kind of drink would you like, Hoshimi-kun?"

She stood up and stopped in front of the boy before walking towards the drink machine.

"If you forgot to pick out your favorite flavor when you bought a drink for Futaba-san just now, I can bring it to you now."

She looked at the glass of water on her table which was now empty, then smiled at Xingjian.

Not only Hoshimi was freed from her thoughts by Kato's words, but also Futaba, who was still immersed in the satisfaction of smooth logic.

"Ah... no need to trouble you, Kato. I can go by myself."

"It's okay, no need to be so polite. After all, I just wanted to buy some drinks, so I just stopped by."

Kato's smile was so peaceful and gentle that it made it impossible for anyone to refuse.

I have to say, sometimes blindly rejecting someone's kindness will actually make the other person embarrassed - that's why there's a saying that rejection is an art.

"...Okay, a glass of orange juice then, please."

Hoshimi scratched his cheek and accepted Kato's kindness with some embarrassment. Futaba, who was sitting next to him by the window, just glanced at Kato and then looked away naturally.