Chapter 341: Chapter 339: Asano Nazuki’s Guess
"Do you think Shirakawa might be secretly dating someone?" Tsukimi sakurazawa hesitated, "Given his personality... if he were dating, he probably wouldn’t be living with Orikin..."
"But what if? What if Hayakawa Kashi is forcing him to keep it a secret..."
"Hey... I mean, Konatsuori... you seem to have an exaggerated view of Hayakawa... even if that’s the case, what’s in it for him to force Shirakawa to keep it a secret?"
"If I were in love, I absolutely couldn’t stand a secret relationship!" proclaimed the whimpering creature earnestly. "There’s no way I could hide it, not even in a million years."
Little Transparent clenched their small fists and nodded emphatically in agreement.
"Hmm? Minister Sakurazawa is really that assertive? If it were me, I’d weigh the benefits of hiding versus not hiding... if there’s a profit to be made, it might be worth keeping it under wraps."
"Eh? What kind of relationship needs hiding... unless it’s an idol or something?"
"You never know... wait... weren’t we just talking about the relationship between Hayakawa and Shirakawa!" Black Hearted Lolita snapped back to reality, correcting the topic, "Don’t you think there’s something off about the two of them?"
"Well... now that you mention it, Konatsuori, there might be something... Shirakawa and Hayakawa do exchange glances quite often... feels like they’re communicating something, but I can’t quite pin it down..."
"Right!" Black Hearted Little Girl said excitedly, "It’s exactly that feeling! You know they’re plotting something against you! But you just don’t know what they’re scheming!"
"Eh, not to that extent... Shirakawa may not be so gentle with us, but he’d never plot against us..."
"Maybe it’s a misunderstanding..." Little Transparent softly explained, "Shirakawa is usually pretty good to his friends..."
Asano Nazuki couldn’t believe it, these Calligraphy Club folks had no sense of danger, not reacting to Hayakawa Kashi’s advances!
What’s this! When you all get your homes wrecked and lives disrupted by that heartless woman, don’t blame me for not saving you!
I’m warning you! That heartless woman is a devil without empathy! With your attitude, there’s no way you can outmatch her!
The Black Hearted Lolita, unable to express her frustration further, moved on as the three of them watched TV on the couch. Tachibana Tomoku suggested they should start prepping food to make things easier for Shirakawa Sawahei when he returns.
The whimpering creature happily accepted the suggestion, taking Little Transparent to the kitchen, just as the goofing off girl and rookie editor Morihara Tomona emerged from the room where they had been discussing things.
"Uh... Teacher Hei Bai, I’ll be leaving now... are you going to be okay?"
"Don’t worry, don’t worry! I can handle these small matters! I’ve dealt with it before, it’s understandable... It’s Miss Morihara who needs to work hard next!" Ise Yu Yuzhijin said nonchalantly, and Morihara couldn’t help but smile seeing her unbothered.
"Alright! Let’s work hard together! Um... where are Teacher Hei Bai’s friends?"
"They seem to be downstairs... huh? Did they leave? I just heard their voices..." The goofing off girl glanced downstairs, recalling something, and quickly said, "Oh right, Miss Morihara! In front of my friends, please don’t call me Teacher Hei Bai... it’s a bit embarrassing..."
"Then what should I call you?"
"Just call me Ise Yu, or like Sister Yin, you can call me Jin..."
Morihara was slightly surprised, "How could I! Teacher Hei Bai is a doujinshi artist I greatly respect, and now a manga artist I work with, how could I just call you by name?"
"No way! Absolutely not! There’s no way I could directly call Teacher Hei Bai by their name," the rookie editor, who still harbored admiration and hope for the goofing off girl, said.
"I’ll be off now... looking forward to your next work!"
"Shh... keep it down a bit..."
After sending off the editor, the goofing off girl finally let out a sigh of relief, slightly clenched her fists, and started looking for her friends.
"Shirakawa~ Huh? Sakurazawa-chan, where’s Shirakawa?"
"He went out with Hayakawa to buy cooking ingredients... Orikin, come help us too... what does Shirakawa like to eat?"
"Um... let me think... twice-cooked pork?"
"What’s that? Chinese cuisine? Is it tasty?"
"It’s pretty good... let me help..."
Tsukimi sakurazawa handed her the dish seasoning, curious, "By the way, Orikin, was that friend of yours just now? Seems like you talked for a long time?"
"Ah, that one, a friend I know, Shirakawa knows them too, so they came over... speaking of which... how long has Shirakawa been gone."
Cute little Ise Yu clearly didn’t want to dwell on the topic and swiftly changed the subject, "Should we ask them?"
"Well... probably not necessary..."
"We should! Why not!" Black Hearted Lolita decisively took the lead, "What if they bought a lot and need help? This is the perfect time to ’accidentally’ disturb—oh I mean, check in, it’s totally fine!"
Urged by Black Hearted Lolita, the whimpering creature hesitantly called Shirakawa Sawahei, not expecting the call to be hung up immediately without even being answered.
Tsukimi sakurazawa: ???
"Konatsuori, I think your suspicions aren’t unwarranted..." the whimpering creature seriously remarked, "Shirakawa might really be up to something behind our backs..."
"Otherwise, why would he be so guilty that he’d hang up my call!"
"I told you!" Black Hearted Lolita said excitedly, "There’s definitely something going on between those two!"
"What’s going on?" Cute little Ise Yu asked, confused, "Isn’t it just a hang-up? Shirakawa often hangs up when I ask him to bring takeaway..."
"You think... maybe they’re at a love hotel..."
Asano Nazuki’s words left the girls stunned. Tsukimi sakurazawa hesitated, "No...no way..."
"Even though we always joke that Shirakawa is a pervert... he’s actually quite upright... and..."
Besides, Hayakawa Kashi isn’t even as ’bigger’ as me, the whimpering creature silently added in her heart.
Looking at our squad, a loli, an energetic cute girl, a soft cute little darling, and a big-breasted beauty... why would Shirakawa sacrifice us four just for Hayakawa Kashi’s looks?
Pretty? Pretty means nothing in front of a 404!
"Don’t panic, let me analyze this for you..." Black Hearted Lolita was about to start a mini-lecture, detailing the likelihood and feasibility of Shirakawa Sawahei and Hayakawa Kashi checking into a hotel, when the door clicked open.
"Tsukimi?"
Shirakawa Sawahei’s voice came through, making the whimpering creature joyful as she immediately leaned out and waved, "Shirakawa~ you’re back."