As the approaching figure drew closer, the students of Css B collectively swallowed hard.

  Who… is it?

  Something felt off.

  The shadowy figure…

  Looked kind of small.

  Slowly, realization dawned on them—they had overlooked something crucial.

  All the boys from Css B were present.

  Which meant…

  What about the girls?

  As the figure stepped further into the light, her silhouette became clearer—undeniably female.

  No way.

  An unexpinable feeling rose in the hearts of both Uesugi and the Css B students.

  Who could it be?

  Uesugi immediately ran through the roster of those involved in the operation.

  A name surfaced in his mind, perfectly matching the figure before them.

  Could it be…?

  No. He refused to accept the possibility until the st moment. He had to fight back against the conclusion forming in his mind.

  Taking a deep breath, he spoke into the earpiece.

  "Amikura, you talked to Shiranami about this earlier, right? Why isn’t she here?"

  The entire css fell silent, waiting for Amikura Mako’s response.

  After a long pause, a hesitant voice crackled through the headset.

  "Um… I asked her if she was free after school today. She told me she had something really important to do and asked me not to disturb her no matter what…"

  SMACK!

  SMACK! SMACK!

  …

  The entire css simultaneously smacked their foreheads.

  Confirmed. It was her.

  "So… what do we do now?"

  Kanzaki Ryuji sighed, turning to Uesugi for guidance.

  They were in a huge dilemma.

  Eavesdropping on a cssmate’s confession was a massive invasion of privacy—none of them were comfortable doing something like that.

  But if they ran away, Ichinose and Shiranami would definitely notice, exposing the fact that they had been spying.

  And once that happened, Shiranami’s position in Css B would become incredibly awkward.

  Even if the rest of the css didn’t mind, she herself absolutely would.

  So how could they handle this?

  How could they make sure neither side felt awkward?

  All eyes turned to Uesugi, filled with desperation and hope.

  Oh, mighty Uesugi, our divine strategist! Please use that all-powerful brain of yours to save us!

  You guys think I’m Doraemon or something?! How am I supposed to pull a solution out of thin air?!

  Uesugi was completely stuck.

  By now, Shiranami Chihiro had stepped fully into view—she was about to reach Ichinose.

  Come on, Uesugi! You’re carrying all our hopes—don’t lose now!

  The entire css mentally screamed encouragement at him.

  She was standing in front of Ichinose now…

  Hurry!

  At the very st second, Uesugi clenched his teeth and came up with the only possible solution—even if it was incredibly dumb.

  "Everyone—cover your ears! DO NOT listen! Whatever happens, we didn’t hear a thing!"

  If we can’t hear it, then it never happened.

  This is the legendary "If I don’t see it, it’s not real" strategy.

  The css instantly understood.

  So that’s how we get out of this!

  Without hesitation, everyone cmped their hands over their ears.

  Of course, they could still see Ichinose and Shiranami’s expressions.

  Shiranami nervously spoke, Ichinose tried her best to respond…

  Slowly,

  As the conversation went on, Shiranami became more and more emotional, while Ichinose looked increasingly flustered, awkwardly attempting to console her.

  If nothing unexpected happened, the likely outcome was clear—

  Shiranami Chihiro’s confession would end in failure, and she’d run away crying.

  But according to the w of this universe—

  Nothing ever goes as expected.

  A gentle breeze swept through the area, carrying with it a single strand of Ryūen’s red hair, which floated right in front of Shibata Sō’s tightly shut eyes.

  And suddenly,

  A powerful urge surged through his body.

  A reflexive reaction, unstoppable, surging forth like a tidal wave.

  Even as he desperately cmped his hands over his nose and mouth, it only built up more pressure—

  "AAAAH-CHOOOO!!!"

  The thunderous sneeze boomed across the entire back of the gymnasium.

  OH SHIT, SHIBATA…

  The entire css stared at him, eyes wide in horror.

  Ichinose and Shiranami immediately turned toward the noise, their conversation cut off mid-sentence.

  They were coming this way.

  Reacting instantly, Uesugi yanked off Shibata’s headgear and earpiece, shoved him forward with a mighty kick, and ordered:

  "Make up an excuse! Whatever you do, don’t let Ichinose find out we’re all here!"

  Shibata looked back in shock and pointed at himself.

  Me? You want ME to trick Ichinose?!

  But there was no time to argue—Ichinose was already almost there.

  If he didn’t go out, the entire male squad, plus Ryūen, would be completely exposed.

  There’s no turning back now!

  Shibata had no choice but to steel himself and step forward.

  Forcing an awkward smile, he greeted them.

  "A-ahaha, what a coincidence, Ichinose-san, Shiranami-san! I was just out here… uh… training my sprinting skills!"

  "…"

  Bruh.

  That was literally the worst excuse ever.

  She hadn’t even asked yet, and he already blurted out an answer.

  Ichinose didn’t seem to buy it—instead, she narrowed her eyes and gnced toward the spot he had come from.

  Without looking back at him, she casually asked,

  "Where’s Uesugi-kun? He’s not with you?"

  Her internal Uesugi radar was bring—telling her that he was definitely nearby.

  Hearing her question, Shiranami subtly clenched her fists behind her back.

  It was supposed to be me first…

  "H-he wouldn’t be with me! He’s probably back at the dorms pying games or something."

  Oh no.

  Uesugi immediately realized the problem.

  Everyone here who normally shares their phone location had left their phones at Keyaki Mall under his arranged cover.

  If Ichinose checked her phone now, she’d immediately know Shibata was lying.

  "This is where you train, Shibata-kun? But this area isn’t very spacious. Is there a specific reason?"

  Ichinose continued her casual interrogation, tilting her head and gncing at the area behind him.

  Shibata hurriedly blocked her view.

  "N-nothing special! I just train here to improve my dodging skills!"

  It’s over.

  Uesugi completely gave up.

  Speaking into the headset, he commanded:

  "Everyone—take off your headgear and earpieces. We’re going out."

  If they didn’t, and Ichinose actually came in, their beating up of Ryūen would be fully exposed.

  And as for why he wasn’t going to step out first…

  Shiranami would kill me.

  Once everyone had packed up their gear, Uesugi reluctantly stepped out of hiding.

  "Uesugi—huh?"

  Ichinose’s smile froze mid-expression.

  Behind Uesugi…

  One, two… more and more people emerged.

  Even the girls hiding in the shadows joined in.

  In the end,

  It was the entire Css B.

  Watching as more and more of her cssmates, all wearing awkward expressions, slowly appeared—

  Shiranami Chihiro let out a weak, despairing whimper.

  "Uuuu…."

  Then, with a tearful voice, she muttered:

  "…This has to be a joke…"

  ---

  T/N: oof... imagine coming out to your cssmates like this... at a failed rejection at that too...