Chapter 528

"You actually read shoujo manga?"

Natsume Chikage laughed, his tone relaxed:

"I was bored yesterday and found my sister and her friends talking about shoujo manga."

"There was a pile of them on the table, and since I had nothing to do, I just picked one up to read."

"It was unexpectedly good, so I kept reading."

Yukimura Suzune actually rarely read shoujo manga, though she read plenty of the literature that girls liked.

At this moment, a hint of curiosity rose in her heart.

"Can you bring the first volume of this manga tomorrow? I want to read it too."

"I'll let you read this mystery novel of mine then."

Natsume Chikage was stunned, and then his smile became even brighter.

"Of course."

Seeing Natsume Chikage’s smile become even more radiant, Yukimura Suzune couldn't help but freeze for a second, burying half her face behind the book she held upright.

Afterward, the ears beneath her smooth, long black hair quietly turned a deep red.

But because they were hidden by her thick hair, it went unnoticed.

However, because Natsume Chikage was the complete opposite of his usual slightly distant, ascetic, and aloof self—unexpectedly full of smiles while chatting with her—it couldn't help but stir ripples in Yukimura Suzune’s calm heart, and she began to let her imagination run wild uncontrollably.

The train slowly pulled into Hibiya Station.

The doors opened, and the crowd poured out.

Most of them were students in school uniforms.

However, just as Natsume Chikage and Yukimura Suzune stepped out of the carriage and onto the exit path, preparing to head toward school.

Suddenly.

A light drizzle.

Began to fall without warning.

The sky at this moment seemed to be covered by a gray veil, becoming much gloomier.

A slight, cold breeze, carrying damp moisture and the scent of earth, blew toward them, drifting over the crowd at the station exit.

Many students froze in place, letting out annoyed sighs because of the sudden rain.

But there were also some students who had checked the weather forecast and had long since taken out umbrellas prepared in their bags.

With a "swish," they opened them and stepped calmly into the rain to leave.

Some who didn't have umbrellas walked with friends, squeezing under the same one.

And those who had no friends nearby and no umbrella could only stare at each other, helplessly stranded under the exit passage, waiting for the rain to let up.

Natsume Chikage and Yukimura Suzune looked at the dense curtain of rain before them, both stunned, and stopped in their tracks.

Clearly, neither had expected the rain to start just as they were about to exit.

Natsume Chikage looked up at the gray sky and smiled helplessly:

"It's actually raining now. If the train had been just a bit faster, we wouldn't need umbrellas and could have gone straight to school."

Yukimura Suzune carefully tucked the novel into her bag, also looking up at the fine rain, and softly agreed:

"It really is... looks like it's going to rain for a long time."

But it wasn't a big problem.

She was the type of careful girl who checked the weather forecast every morning.

So she had known it would rain today and had long since prepared a neatly folded umbrella in her bag.

Just as her fair fingers touched the handle of the umbrella, intending to take it out.

At this moment.

A few female students from the private Moonlight Academy nearby noticed that Natsume Chikage didn't seem to have opened an umbrella yet, and they couldn't help but feel restless, exchanging glances.

After all, Natsume Chikage was the most popular male student in the school right now.

Not only was he handsome and outstanding, but his shogi skills had also reached a semi-professional level.

He was simply handsome, talented, and had a clean aura.

How could the girls not be moved?

So they all secretly thought about taking advantage of this rare opportunity to offer to share an umbrella with Natsume Chikage and walk to school together; just imagining it made their hearts beat faster.

But before they could muster the courage.

A short-haired girl who looked quite cheerful and bold had already stepped forward first, a shy blush on her face, and said:

"Natsume-kun, it suddenly started raining... You didn't bring an umbrella, right? I have one. You're much taller than me, so why don't you hold it... and we can walk together?"

Yukimura Suzune’s movement of taking out her umbrella paused imperceptibly, and she calmly took the umbrella completely out of the side pocket of her bag and held it in her hand.

The girl who had stepped forward was stunned, but her eyes didn't retreat.

Everyone in school knew, more or less, that Yukimura Suzune just happened to be on the same route as Natsume Chikage and took the same train to school.

The two were actually at most friends who got along well, not lovers at all.

Even Natsume Chikage himself had once casually admitted as much.

So there was nothing to back down from.

However, the next second.

They saw Natsume Chikage take a deep blue folding umbrella out of his own bag, unhurriedly, and smile softly at the girl:

"Thank you very much for your kindness, but there's no need. My sister specifically told me this morning that it would rain today, so I brought an umbrella."

The girl froze, her shoulders slumped slightly, and she forced a smile to hide her embarrassment:

"Haha... th-that's good."

After saying that, she turned and left, feeling somewhat dejected, and blended into the crowd of people with umbrellas.

She just felt unlucky; Natsume-kun actually brought an umbrella, and she hadn't been able to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to "walk in the rain together."

As for Yukimura Suzune, upon discovering that Natsume Chikage also calmly had an umbrella, she couldn't help but be silent for a moment, her fingers tightening slightly on the handle.

It was also at this moment.

A hypothetical thought uncontrollably surfaced in her mind: If she hadn't been in such a rush to take out her umbrella just now...

But as soon as this thought emerged, her cold, fair face couldn't help but flush with a faint, cherry-blossom-like blush.

She hurriedly shook her head slightly to shake off the strange thoughts in her mind, feeling that she had been thinking about weird things lately.

Private Moonlight Academy.

Cherry Blossom Path.

Since several days had passed since the peak of the cherry blossoms.

The blossoms on the trees on both sides were becoming sparser by the day, no longer the magnificent sight of clouds of pink.

Even the dreamlike scene of petals falling to the ground to form a long, gorgeous carpet was gradually fading, no longer what it once was.

Yukimura Suzune and Natsume Chikage, each holding their own umbrella, walked together along the path to school, which had been dampened by the rain.

Also, because it was a rainy day.

The students on the road were in a hurry, and no one came over to greet or chat with Natsume Chikage like they did in the sunny weather before.

Natsume Chikage was happy to have the peace and quiet, enjoying the tranquil moment undisturbed, with only the sound of the rain and the light pitter-patter on the umbrellas in his ears.

And Yukimura Suzune, beside him, felt the same.

She herself liked quiet and was particularly fond of the unique, tranquil atmosphere of a rainy day.

And now, with Natsume Chikage by her side, despite the umbrellas and the few steps of distance between them, for some reason, she felt her mood was much more tranquil and gentle than when she walked alone in the rain, even faintly tinged with an indescribable joy.

Also because of the rain.

The empty baseball field on the left had small puddles, and naturally, there were no figures of baseball team members running or shouting during morning practice.

It was completely silent.

But on the right, from the orchestra club in the first-floor teaching building, as always, came the melodious and layered orchestral music through the glass windows and the curtain of rain, adding a touch of artistic brightness to the wet morning.

The intellectual and stunning Tsukishima Rin had just finished a piece and slowly put down her cherished violin.

As the concertmaster, she elegantly raised her hand to signal the members who were practicing intently to stop for a moment and take a break.

However, just as she intended to rest and picked up her water cup, her gaze inadvertently swept across the rain-blurred window and clearly spotted the figures of Natsume Chikage and Yukimura Suzune walking side by side under their umbrellas on the cherry blossom path outside.

Watching the two of them, so harmonious and well-matched in the curtain of rain, Tsukishima Rin’s cheeks puffed out imperceptibly, and a familiar sourness and jealousy couldn't help but rise in her heart again.

Thus.