Chapter 90: Full of Questions
Monday, a school day.
Compared to usual, Kaede was in an even better mood after waking up today. From the moment he woke up until he finished washing up and went downstairs for breakfast, he wore a smile, which caused his parents considerable confusion.
What was wrong with their son? They had never seen him act like this so early in the morning.
Asakura Reiko looked at her son and quickly asked, "Kaede, are you in a good mood?"
"Hmm? It's alright."
After glancing at his parents, Kaede replied, "The weather is nice today, and I slept very well last night. Isn't it normal to be in a slightly better mood when you wake up?"
You call this "slightly better"?
Regardless of whether they believed him, Kaede stuck to his story. He certainly wouldn't let them know about his relationship with Eriri too soon.
Although his family wouldn't interfere with his dating life, Kaede still felt a strange sense of dread about his parents knowing. He decided to prepare himself mentally first.
After finishing breakfast, Kaede grabbed his school bag and left.
Looking at the closed front door, Asakura Reiko glanced at her husband and said, "Dear, I feel like something is wrong."
"I feel the same way."
Nodding, Asakura Kiichi said, "But I can't figure it out. Do you have any ideas?"
"None."
Asakura Reiko pondered and said, "But I have a feeling that something good happened while Kaede was out these past two days. It's a mother's intuition!"
"...But that still doesn't tell us anything, does it?"
Asakura Kiichi chuckled, stood up, and said, "Alright, let's not guess wildly. As long as the boy is fine, that's what matters. If it really is something good, we'll find out sooner or later, won't we? I'm heading off to work now."
"Mhm, be careful on the road."
...Even if Kaede knew about his parents' speculations at home, it wouldn't ruin his good mood today. Since he wasn't riding his bicycle, he left home a bit earlier today and took the bus to the vicinity of the school.
After waiting for a few minutes while looking at his phone, he saw Eriri getting off the bus that stopped in front of him.
Eriri also saw Kaede waiting for her. As soon as she got off the bus, she happily jogged over.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No, about six or seven minutes."
Shaking his head, Kaede looked at the brightly smiling Eriri. He wanted to do something affectionate, but realizing there were many students around, he restrained himself.
"Let's go to school."
"Mhm mhm!"
As they walked, Eriri asked, "Are you sure it's okay not to ride your bike? There are quite a few people who take the bus to school in the morning, right?"
"It's fine." Kaede smiled. "Mainly, I wanted to walk with Eriri for a bit. If I rode my bike, I'd have to push it, which would be troublesome."
"It's only a short walk, though, hehe..."
As she spoke, Eriri couldn't help but laugh herself.
Since they officially started dating, Eriri felt that her mood was exceptionally good every day, even after Kaede dragged her to the library to study all day yesterday.
Although she was a bit depressed at first, she quickly recovered her spirits, and even studying no longer felt boring.
As they got closer to the school, there were more and more students around, and some people noticed Kaede walking and chatting happily with Eriri.
Although not many people recognized Kaede, plenty knew Eriri.
This blonde, half-Japanese beauty, who had gained considerable popularity across all grades since the start of the semester, was actually walking with a boy early in the morning, and the atmosphere between them was excellent. This was a major event worth paying attention to.
Furthermore, in the small groups of students, some who recognized Kaede began discussing quietly.
In these discussions, besides Kaede's name, there was also the name of one other person.
That was Utaha.
Although he had gradually learned to ignore the surrounding stares, Kaede still felt a bit strange right now.
Eriri also noticed the change in Kaede's expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shaking his head, Kaede glanced around and said, "I feel like there are some malicious stares directed at me. It's probably just my imagination."
"Stares?"
Eriri looked around in confusion and said, "I don't see anything. Maybe you're overthinking it."
Kaede thought about it. She was right; he hadn't provoked any enemies at school, so why would there be malicious stares?
"Let's ignore it then. How about we talk about lunch instead? Should we eat together in the club room?"
"Are you serious?" Eriri was naturally delighted, but she was also a little worried. "But doesn't the club president often go to the club room for a nap at noon?"
"Leave that to me. It might not be possible every day, but just for today, it won't be a problem."
"Hehe, that's great." Eriri nodded happily. After returning home last night, she had thought of many things she wanted to do with Kaede now that they were dating, and eating lunch boxes together was one of them.
"Then I'll tell Mizuki this morning that I won't be having lunch with her today."
Hmm... did Usami feel a bit pitiful?
But the sympathy that arose in his heart instantly vanished after Kaede glanced at Eriri.
It's fine, Usami will understand us.
After entering the school building and changing their shoes, it was time to head to their respective classrooms.
After Eriri changed into her indoor shoes and turned around, she saw Kaede's open shoe locker and immediately remembered the love letters she had taken from it previously.
Those love letters were still locked away in the drawer of her desk in her bedroom.
For a moment, Eriri didn't know how to bring up the subject with Kaede and started to hesitate.
Soon, Kaede finished changing his shoes as well. Eriri quickly managed her expression, deciding to think about the problem later.
After the two separated and went to their respective classrooms, Kaede felt that the atmosphere was somewhat strange as soon as he stepped inside his classroom.
Sitting down in his seat with a puzzled expression, Kaede looked at Takasu Ryuji and asked, "What's going on? I feel like something is off."
"Emmm..."
Takasu Ryuji's expression was conflicted. After hesitating for several seconds, he finally got up, went over to Kaede, and whispered, "Well, it seems a rumor has spread from somewhere, saying that you and Senior Kasumigaoka..."
"???"
"Who?"
Kaede was utterly confused. Had the world line shifted? How was it that he, the person involved, didn't know about this?
Meanwhile, Eriri, on the other side, also indirectly heard this information, and her expression was exactly the same as Kaede's.