Chapter 2952: Who’s unruly?

Yae and Ohori-senpai weren’t strangers to each other. After all, Yae was one of the girls who fiercely supported Ohori-senpai when her cuckold ex-boyfriend tried to make trouble for her.

Naturally, Ohori-senpai also knew that those girls who supported her alongside Aoi were all connected to me.

But seeing us like this in public still made her stop and blink.

Although reluctant to let go of me, Yae slowly untangled herself from my shoulder and greeted the senior girl with a smile. "Good morning, Karin-senpai."

I followed suit, greeting her with a smile, "Mhm, good morning, Ohori-senpai."

The girl tilted her head a bit in confusion before gathering herself, her expression shifting to a forced, polite smile. "Un. Good morning. I didn’t expect to see you two together this morning. And I never thought I’d be able to see you act like this, Fujimura-san. Those boys are always met with a cold glare from you."

"Of course, how can they compare to sweetie?" Yae moved to my side, hugging my arm tightly as if to announce her territory to the world. She gave Ohori-senpai a playful, knowing look that screamed of the intimacy we shared.

Ohori-senpai let out a soft, slightly awkward laugh. She seemed to be processing the scene but in the end, she could only maintain her smile without commenting further.

Her gaze lingered on me for a few seconds though. It was as if she had something to say but didn’t dare to in front of Yae.

Whatever that is... it must have something to do with her subsequent plans to deter that cuck ex-boyfriend.

Right. He still hasn’t stopped but his reputation has already taken a hit. With many beautiful girls standing up for Ohori-senpai, his attempt at slandering her had largely failed. However, the man was stubborn. His mindset remained that Ohori-senpai was only faking the breakup with him and that she was simply feeding his fetish by admitting that she already had a change of heart.

I get it. That guy was worse than someone with a mental illness. He would keep believing his own made-up fantasy rather than accept that the girl lost all affection for him the moment she found out about his fetish. He probably didn’t even register in his mind how disgusted Ohori-senpai was when he tried to set her up with me.

Although I had some idea how to stop him completely, Ohori-senpai still wouldn’t let me involve myself more than I already had. She feared that if I stepped in too aggressively, the ex-boyfriend would simply feed into his delusions more.

Currently, she only needed to completely ignore him. Once she graduated next year, she’d be able to cut him off completely.

Of course, that wasn’t ideal but it was Ohori-senpai’s choice.

As for her thoughts about me, it’s probably more than just gratitude. However, she was apprehensive about my complex relationship so she would rather not mention it.

"You’re right. Compared to Onoda-kun, they’re not even in the same league," Ohori-senpai murmured, her gaze softening as she looked at me.

Yae put on a meaningful smile as she nudged my side. Meanwhile, I put on a bashful expression, acting as though I was embarrassed by the praise.

"Senpai, if you praise me like that, I might go after you too."

"You. Don’t say that lightly!" Ohori-senpai exclaimed, her face heating up instantly. She took a reflexive step but the way she tucked her hair behind her ear betrayed a flicker of genuine fluster.

The poise she was trying hard to maintain as a senior shifted into something more adolescent and fragile.

Yae also played along with me, "Sweetie, you’re bad. Saying that in front of me... are you not afraid of me getting jealous?"

Yae getting jealous? Impossible. She probably would be if it wasn’tOhori-senpai but someone she hadn’t met before.

In any case, she also didn’t miss the chance to lean her head against my shoulder, her expression one of playful ownership. This kind of dynamic could always energize Yae. She loved being the one by my side, especially when other girls were watching. Just like when she stayed by my side back then.

Ohori-senpai, on the other hand, looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. She cleared her throat, trying to regain the composure befitting a senior. "Anyway, I should get going. I have to get to the faculty soon, and I’m helping with the documents."

"Hmm? Why not walk with us, Karin-senpai?" Yae quickly called out before the girl could turn away. "Since you’re heading toward the faculty wing, I’ll come with you. I also have to drop something for our homeroom teacher."

Ohori-senpai paused, her shoulders tensing. She looked at Yae, then at me, her expression filled with hesitation and a strange, quiet curiosity. "You don’t have to go out of your way, Fujimura-san. And Onoda-kun, don’t you also need to go to your school? You’re going to be late."

"It’s no trouble at all! And sweetie here won’t be satisfied without escorting me," Yae chirped, her voice practically singing with mischief. She didn’t wait for a rebuttal, instead tugging on my arm to lead the way.

Ohori-senpai sighed, a sound that was half-exasperated and half-resigned, but she followed us.

As we walked out of the train station, seeing Ohori-senpai half a step behind, Yae dragged her to my other side.

And because of that, we once again became the center of attention. Two girls -- one a composed senior and the other the popular second-year girl -- created a lot of buzz. Those who recognized them started wondering who I might be again.

But as always, Yae and I paid them no heed. In fact, her status wasn’t exactly a secret. The news about her dating someone outside the school had long been a topic of gossip, though rarely did anyone specify who the lucky guy was. Today, they would now have a face in mind.

Sooner or later, my identity and my relationship with the other girls will also leak out. Even if they connect the dots and point out how they’re all sharing the same ’mysterious boyfriend’, it won’t be a problem. Just like at my school, keeping the real score vague or ambiguous is the best way to manage expectations without confirming anything.

Ah. Right. It will probably cause an uproar. After all, the girls are all top-tier. Just Yae and Akane alone, known flowers of their respective years, being linked to the same guy will be enough to spark a war. Then if Fuyu, Mizuki, Otoha and the rest of the girls are also seen with me, I’ll probably be hunted down every morning.

But what can they do, right? Anyway, disguising doesn’t matter anymore. It will only depend on if my girls want to style my hair or not.

As we reached the main street leading to their school gates, I led Yae and Ohori-senpai to detour to the next street.

While Yae expected this, Ohori-senpai was once again confused.

"Wait, Onoda-kun... Shouldn’t we rush toward the gate?"

"Oh. It’s too crowded and... some are already running. What if those behind us crash into you?" I made up a reason with a straight face.

Yae wouldn’t complain. For her, prolonging our time together would always be a priority over punctuality. But then again, I couldn’t help but wonder why she asked Ohori-senpai to come with us.

Is she trying to open a chance for me to steal this girl? Ah. ’Stealing’ is not the appropriate word anymore.

Ohori-senpai stared at me blankly before stifling a small laugh. "Crash on us, huh? Think of a better excuse, Onoda-kun."

"Oh, yeah. I should have. But senpai, it’s just a quick detour. You won’t be late, I promise. Unless... you became a little bit unruly again."

"Who’s unruly?! That’s Aoi!"

"Yeah. Both of you are a pair of unruly girls. Still, you truly changed a lot."

"Can’t I be more of a lady in your eyes?" Ohori-senpai asked, sounding a little exasperated.

Well, she ran away so quickly last time. Although the awkwardness from back then seemed to be missing now, I still had no idea if she was genuinely interested or just grateful that I’d helped her navigate the mess of her ex-boyfriend. Regardless, seeing her blush while being flanked by Yae was a view worth the detour.

Teasing her should be fair, right?

"A lady, huh? I think being a lady is overrated. The version of you that gets flustered and loses her composure... that’s way more interesting."

Upon saying that, my arm sneakily stretched behind her, hooking around her waist. I didn’t pull her or anything, just held it slightly to prevent her from slowing down her steps and lagging behind us again.

Now that we had moved from the busy street, there were far fewer eyes to watch us.

As she sensed the contact, Ohori-senpai’s eyes widened slightly. She raised her head and looked like she wanted to scold me for my audacity, but the lack of conviction in her gaze told me she didn’t actually mind. She bit her lower lip, possibly a subconscious gesture that made her look like a girl caught in a web she probably understood but couldn’t bring herself to jump out of.