Fate, destiny, soulmates, childhood friends, future husband, an exceptionally special bond...
These things had surrounded Asahina Nazuna since childhood.
Even in her naive, ignorant years, people around her had already begun praising her playmate.
The perpetual top student, the undisputed genius boy—all these titles belonged to him, while her own name was often mentioned simply because she frequently appeared by his side.
Since their families lived close by, Asahina Nazuna would often see his parents and always greeted them politely.
Over time, their relationship grew increasingly familiar.
Later, his parents would occasionally invite Asahina over for visits.
She didn't think much of it—after all, he was the "model child" her parents always talked about.
Even if she didn't go, her parents would encourage her to interact with him more.
Thus, Asahina gradually grew closer to him.
In the beginning, she actually disliked this guy—always acting so superior, treating people poorly, completely inconsiderate of others' feelings.
As time passed, she slowly grew accustomed to their relationship.
They often walked to and from school together.
When classmates saw this, they couldn't help but tease them, calling them "the little couple."
It always made Asahina extremely uncomfortable.
No matter how many times she explained, no one believed her.
Not only that, some would even retort, "Don't all childhood friends end up getting married?"
Asahina didn't know where this notion came from.
Everyone seemed convinced that every pair of childhood friends were destined to be future spouses, natural soulmates—even though she just happened to live near him.
After hearing it so often, the young girl became numb to it.
She even secretly visited a shrine to consult the gods.
The first fortune slip she drew was "small blessing," followed by "medium blessing" and then "great blessing."
Frustrated, Asahina threw the slips away, only for the shrine maiden to retrieve them for her.
After that divination, Asahina began resigning herself to fate.
If this was heaven's will, she wouldn't struggle against it.
After all, there was no one around more outstanding than him.
Just when Asahina thought she would resign herself to this fate, Kaoru Mitoma suddenly appeared.
Fate could be changed after all.
Childhood friends weren't necessarily destined to be together.
Perhaps in the future, someone even more suitable than him might appear.
To be honest, Kaoru's actions at that time truly shocked Asahina.
It was the first time she had seen someone with such incredible luck.
Because it was too good, it made Asahina somewhat skeptical.
After returning, she kept pondering this question—what is the essence of fate?
Until today, Kaoru gave her an answer.
Was it truly liking someone, or believing that she was supposed to like someone, that led her to fall for them?
Was her fate to become Nagumo Miyabi's heroine as everyone expected, or to become the protagonist of her own life?
"I... don't dislike Miyabi..." Asahina spoke up, her voice strained as if squeezing through her throat, tinged with pain.
Yet the moment the words left her lips, she suddenly felt a surge of relief and unconsciously quickened her pace.
"But I don't like him either. I don't understand why everyone assumes I should be with him. If I wanted to be with him, why would I have dragged it out until now?"
"Besides, everyone should have seen how he usually behaves, right? As long as someone is good-looking, he'll find a way to flirt with them. How is he suitable for me?"
"To take a step back, even knowing he has me, he still goes around flirting. Doesn't that put me in an awkward position? And some girls don't even reject him. Am I supposed to personally catch them in the act? If I don't, they'll openly mingle, and if I show up, they'll just give me awkward looks. Every time, I have to pretend it doesn't matter."
"But I don't want to revolve around him. I want my own life. I want to have a boyfriend too. I want a normal high school life!"
If she hadn't met Kaoru, Asahina would never have voiced these thoughts.
All the emotions bottled up deep inside her erupted at this moment.
Kaoru observed his senior's expression.
Today, she was wearing her school uniform—a white shirt tucked beneath her blazer, her full chest rising and falling, outlining a plump, enticing curve.
Below her skirt, her legs were clad in black thigh-high socks, tightly wrapping around her calves and revealing a small stretch of pale, delicate thigh.
Perhaps feeling slightly cold, she unconsciously pressed her legs together, the smooth skin faintly showing the blue of her veins, looking delicate and tempting.
"Senpai," Kaoru closed the distance slightly. "Calm down. Someone might pass by."
Asahina shot him a glance, her expression almost amused.
Who else would pass by here besides him?
"It's strange. Even Miyabi couldn't tell what I was thinking. How did you know?"
Recalling Kaoru's words to her, Asahina eyes grew distant as she lightly pursed her lips.
"Is my acting that bad?"
"Not bad. I just thought you didn't like Nagumo-senpai." Kaoru moved even closer, his dark eyes fixed on her.
"If you did, you wouldn't have let him keep fooling around, nor would you have dragged it out until now."
Asahina instinctively tried to pull back, but her fingers accidentally brushed against his.
A strange ripple surged in her heart, and her pulse suddenly quickened.
"Ah well, perhaps I never really cared about Miyabi's flirtatious nature in the first place. With so many people around, getting jealous over each one would simply exhaust me to death."
At this moment, the young girl attempted to maintain her seniority demeanor.
"If you still choose to stay with Nagumo, I'll be very upset," Kaoru no longer bothered to hide his feelings, dropping all formalities when addressing her.
"After everything I've done, if you still prefer him, then I'll have no choice but to take matters into my own hands."
Meeting his gaze, Asahina felt a flicker of panic.
She suddenly realized she shouldn't have said those words in front of him—wasn't that just encouraging him?
But before she could react, Kaoru had already taken her small hand in his, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Today, I finally heard your true feelings, and it makes me happy. It proves you're not as blindly devoted as I thought—knowingly accepting a fate you don't want would be foolish."
Asahina Nazuna felt she should be angry. Her authority as a senior was being challenged, and she was far from foolish.
"L-Let go," her voice came out weak, barely daring to meet his eyes.
"No. Because you know what I'm thinking, just as I know what you're thinking," Kaoru replied matter-of-factly, tightening his grip on her hand.
"Why did you want Nagumo expelled? Because you are the reason."
Asahina froze, her eyes flickering with unease.
This wasn't the first time someone had confessed to her, but due to Nagumo Miyabi's presence, hardly anyone had dared to approach her afterward.
She did want to fall in love—but she wasn't sure if she liked Kaoru.
It was all too sudden.
Shouldn't there at least be some meaningful experiences first?
"I'm sorry, I understand what you're saying, but I think this is..."
"It's fine. I don't expect you to accept me right away," Kaoru cut her off with a faint smile.
"I'm worse than Nagumo. If there's something I want, I'll stop at nothing to get it."
Before Asahina could process his words, her phone suddenly rang.