After several hours, Shiina Chisa finally woke up.
Instinctively, she reached forward with her hand, but finding her hands empty, she opened her eyes and sat up, feeling a slight sense of loss.
But then, she noticed Suzuki Yu lying quietly behind her, apparently asleep as well.
Her mood immediately improved. Just as she was about to move, she noticed a faint pain coming from her left foot.
Shiina Chisa looked over and discovered that her bandage had been changed, and there was the faint smell of medicine around her.
There was no doubt—this was definitely the handiwork of the boy beside her.
With this thought in mind, she leaned down slightly, quietly watching Suzuki Yu’s sleeping face.
He truly seemed exhausted; in his sleep, he appeared unusually relaxed, even defenseless toward her.
She had never seen him like this before.
It seemed that getting hurt this time was actually worth it.
Shiina Chisa’s fingertips rose slowly without her realizing, hovering in mid-air for a moment, then, finally, she carefully and gently touched the boy’s cheek before her.
He didn’t react at all. Seeing this, a smile appeared on her face.
However, upon noticing that her clothes were still perfectly intact and the surroundings were spotlessly clean, she felt a little dissatisfied.
Was she really not attractive?
Thinking back to how naturally he had interacted with Shiraishi Ayaha at the tennis court, she felt a bit unwilling to accept it.
At that moment, Shiina Chisa suddenly had a thought—strictly speaking, it was something she had always wanted to do but never dared, nor had the chance.
Holding her breath, she slowly leaned down, drawing closer to Suzuki Yu’s sleeping face.
Her heart thumped in her chest. With her cool lips, she gently pressed a kiss to his forehead.
It was over in an instant.
She sprang back as if shocked, her cheeks flushing faintly.
After all, although she always acted bold around Suzuki Yu, those kinds of things she’d only ever seen in certain suggestive videos.
She had no experience herself. Now, even doing something as simple as this made her heart race.
Though her movements had been small, Suzuki Yu’s eyelashes trembled slightly, his brows knitting unconsciously.
A moment later, he opened his eyes.
He immediately saw Shiina Chisa looking at him.
“Uh… good morning?”
“It’s probably already evening now.”
Shiina Chisa spoke as she sat up, pointing outside the window where the setting sun was about to dip below the horizon.
Then, the girl shrank back down and said, “Yu, I’m really glad you didn’t leave.”
“Ah, is that so…”
Suzuki Yu, hearing her words, also remembered what happened before he fell asleep.
He recalled that after Chisa had gone to sleep, he had wanted to get up and find a doctor, but for some reason, there were hardly any medical staff nearby.
So, he had no choice but to treat Shiina Chisa’s ankle himself, using medicine as he’d done in the past.
He had originally planned to leave after that, but on second thought, it might not be safe to leave Chisa, a girl, here alone, so he stayed.
Then, somehow, he’d fallen asleep… and he seemed to remember someone touching his forehead in a dream?
Must have been his imagination.
Right now, Suzuki Yu looked at Shiina Chisa, who was unconsciously smiling, and found it rather curious. He said, “When you smile like this, you look so cute. Usually you seem cold and unapproachable.”
Upon hearing this, Shiina Chisa blinked several times and asked, “Do you like me being like this?”
Suzuki Yu’s expression froze; the question was far too direct.
“Uh…” He instinctively averted his eyes. “I just meant you look better smiling than when you’re expressionless. That’s all.”
“Is that so?” Shiina Chisa pondered for a moment after hearing this.
Just then, Suzuki Yu sat up and looked around. “It’s already this late. Is there really not a single doctor around?”
“The doctors were all called away. While you were carrying me, I used my phone to message my assistant.”
Hearing this, the corner of Suzuki Yu’s mouth twitched, and he could only sigh helplessly. “Alright, will someone come to pick you up later?”
“Are you going to take me home?”
“If you really have no other way, I’ll take you.”
Suzuki Yu spoke, and Shiina Chisa once again looked out the window, reluctantly saying, “Just take me to the school gate. My family will send someone to pick me up.”
“Alright.”
A subtle glint flashed in Shiina Chisa’s eyes. She said nothing more, quietly straightening her already tidy tennis outfit.
Seeing this, Suzuki Yu stood up as well, stretching his stiff neck.
“Let me help you up, then. Shall we… head out?”
“Mm.”
He reached out, and Chisa naturally rested her cool hand on his forearm. With a gentle motion, Suzuki Yu helped her up from the bed.
The girl was light, but she leaned almost all her weight on him, her left foot barely touching the ground, clearly not daring to put any weight on it.
“Looks like you’re really hurt.” Suzuki Yu frowned, sighing in resignation. “Hold on tight.”
He bent down, one arm slipping under her knees, the other supporting her back, lifting her in a classic princess carry.
“Remember to get plenty of rest after this,” he said.
“Okay.” Shiina Chisa answered, her cheeks slightly red, but she clung tightly to Suzuki Yu, clearly enjoying the moment.
“Are you really okay with carrying me to the gate like this?” she asked again.
“Thanks to the journalism club, I’m already labeled a scumbag. So it doesn’t matter anymore. Besides, as the Shiina family’s young lady, your reputation should matter more to you, right?”
“As long as I can be with you, none of that matters to me,” Shiina Chisa said in a voice barely above a whisper.
Of course, Suzuki Yu didn’t hear her. He just glanced down at the girl in his arms, then looked forward and continued walking.
For some reason, she seemed even cuter today.
As they were about to leave the teaching building’s lobby, a voice Suzuki Yu least wanted to hear drifted over:
“Ara, Suzuki-kun, Chisa-chan? What are you two… up to?”
Jinguu Amane stood in the shadows of the lobby, dressed in the student council uniform as if waiting there on purpose, her amber eyes studying Chisa in Suzuki Yu’s arms with interest.
“Ankle injury,” Shiina Chisa answered, raising her head from Suzuki Yu’s arms and meeting Jinguu Amane’s gaze, her tone returning to its usual coolness. Not only did she not let go, she snuggled even closer to Suzuki Yu, as if staking her claim.
“Oh my, that does look serious.” Jinguu Amane said, then looked at Suzuki Yu. “You must have had a tough day, Suzuki-kun.”
“It’s alright. If only the president’s arrangements were a little less, I’d have it much easier,” Suzuki Yu replied, exasperated.
Today’s mess with Ayaha and Chisa running into each other was basically this person’s doing.
Still, in a way, she had warned him about someone spiking the drinks, which was a good turn, so he didn’t say much more.
“Sorry, sorry, I just wanted to see an exciting match, that’s all.” Jinguu Amane said, stepping closer to Suzuki Yu, then added, “And, you’ll probably be even busier tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
“Tomorrow, Aoi’s clubroom will have a guest,” Jinguu Amane’s face showed a sly smile.
“You mean Hasegawa-senpai’s partner? Don’t tell me that was your doing too?”
“Of course not. They were after Aoi from the beginning. That’s what my partner said; I just found out a few hours before you.”
A chill crept over Suzuki Yu’s scalp.
He felt that even if Jinguu Amane hadn’t planned something, she’d still enjoy adding fuel to the fire.
“Well, I won’t keep you. Please continue, Suzuki-kun. See you tomorrow.”
She walked away on light steps, disappearing into the evening glow.
“I’ll never understand what goes on in the president’s mind,” Suzuki Yu muttered after Jinguu Amane left, still carrying the girl in his arms.
“She’s always been like that since middle school,” Shiina Chisa’s voice came from his arms, tinged with weariness. She looked up, meeting his eyes. “You’re going to the music club tomorrow?”
“Mainly for training,” Suzuki Yu didn’t hide it, lowering his head to look at her. “And I need to figure out how to convince senpai to join the competition with me.”
Suzuki Yu briefly explained the situation with the chamber music competition and Hasegawa Aoi to Chisa.
“So, you want to defeat Jinguu?” Shiina Chisa asked curiously after listening.
“…I suppose you could call it an ambition.” Suzuki Yu met her gaze, his tone unusually serious.
“If you need help, remember to ask me. As long as it’s something I can do for you, I’ll help.”
“I probably won’t need it for now, but I’ll be busy with training for a while.”
What he meant was that he’d be busy and wouldn’t be able to spend time with her.
Apparently, Shiina Chisa understood, and she held onto him even tighter, saying, “It’s fine. I have things to do too, important things.”
“I see…” Suzuki Yu guessed inwardly that it was probably related to the Shiina family business.
By now, without realizing it, they had reached the school gate, where a black sedan waited quietly.
Suzuki Yu set the girl in his arms inside. Her hands still clung tightly to his neck, unwilling to let go.
But in the end, she did let go.
The sedan slowly pulled away. Suzuki Yu remembered Jinguu Amane’s words, took out his phone, opened his contacts, and looked for Hasegawa Aoi.