026. The Sharp-Tongued Girl

"..." Well, this is my fault, but honestly, wouldn’t anyone instinctively glance at those legs if they saw you? Senior Kasumigaoka?

Caught in the awkwardness, Jiang Yu refrained from voicing that sarcastic remark lingering in his heart.

"Ah~ Did I hit the mark? Jiang Yu spends all day at home playing adult games brimming with explicit content, pondering how to enact those unspeakable tactics in real life?"

Seeing Jiang Yu’s embarrassed expression, unable to retort, Kasumigaoka Shiyu suddenly wore a delighted look. The rhythm of her leg movements quickened as she continued to let her imagination run wild.

"Who would do something like that!" Jiang Yu, increasingly exasperated at Kasumigaoka Shiyu’s escalating provocations, tapped his forehead in frustration.

"Aiya~ Or is it that you’re thinking about applying those dirty tactics to the beautiful girl right in front of you?"

Ignoring Jiang Yu’s protests entirely, Kasumigaoka Shiyu was lost in her own world.

"Why must you involve yourself in this! The only thing about your statement that’s indisputable is the ‘beautiful girl’ part!" Jiang Yu raged internally.

"...Sigh—please have mercy, Senior Kasumigaoka?" He let out a long sigh, surrendering helplessly to the black-haired, straight-laced beauty before him.

"Hehe... Well then, let’s talk about your project, Jiang Yu. How’s it coming along? Any good ideas yet?" Kasumigaoka Shiyu finally smiled, her face turning serious as she posed the question.

Jiang Yu found himself momentarily lost in that smile. It was undeniable—Kasumigaoka Shiyu, lauded as one of the two great beauties of Toyonoki Academy, certainly had the credentials.

Long black hair, an aloof aura, exquisite features and figure, a top student, cunning, sharp-tongued, and those alluring tights...

That last thought was dangerous, Jiang Yu—very dangerous.

Kasumigaoka Shiyu caught Jiang Yu’s fleeting daze. Though she’d grown used to, and even somewhat weary of, such gazes, there was now a strange new emotion stirring within her.

Clearing away her odd feelings, Kasumigaoka instinctively resorted to her venomous tongue to mask her inner turmoil.

"That inscrutable expression—could it be like Junya Aki, where your game design proposal mixes all sorts of old and new simulation elements, just copying content so heavily it’s practically déjà vu, leaving people unsure where to even begin with their critique?"

"...Putting aside the fact that I haven’t had much time for anime or games lately, and the question of plagiarism—fundamentally, I don’t have the breadth of knowledge in pop culture that Junya does, right?"

Jiang Yu could only respond helplessly to Kasumigaoka Shiyu’s sudden return to her biting wit.

"Oh? Then tell me about this ‘brilliant story’ you spoke of—what kind of proposal is it?" Kasumigaoka teased.

As she recalled Jiang Yu’s confident expression from that day, a barely perceptible daze flickered across Kasumigaoka’s face.

Jiang Yu didn’t notice anything amiss. Besides, he wasn’t accustomed to staring at the face of a girl with whom he wasn’t particularly familiar.

Moreover, Kasumigaoka Shiyu was, in every sense, an impeccable beauty. Jiang Yu, who had lacked interaction with girls before, had no idea how to converse with such a goddess-like figure.

During the conversation, Jiang Yu mostly kept his eyes down, tracing the patterns on the table, occasionally looking up at her.

He sighed softly, pinched the spot between his eyes—what traditional medicine called the “bridge”—and, after hesitating, finally spoke: "It’s essentially a story about salvation and sacrifice. It goes like this..."

Kasumigaoka Shiyu’s demeanor shifted from casual indifference to intense focus, eventually becoming fully immersed in the unfolding narrative. She rejoiced at the plot and grieved at its sorrow.

"...And so, everything comes down to what the ‘Steins Gate’ chooses." Jiang Yu finally stopped, picked up his coffee, and took a sip to soothe his parched throat.

Kasumigaoka Shiyu was silent for a long moment before finally saying, "...By the way, Jiang Yu, I think you’re drinking my coffee?" Her words had nothing to do with the story just told.

Jiang Yu, startled, began coughing. "I—I’m sorry, Senior Kasumigaoka..."

Watching Jiang Yu’s flustered state, Kasumigaoka Shiyu chuckled softly, stood up and walked around the table, gently patting his back as she explained, "Oh, I was just teasing you! You really are easy to tease, aren’t you... Your story was wonderful, and there were so many terms I haven’t studied before. The concept of the ‘observer’ is fascinating, too~"

For once, the usually sly girl earnestly clarified her earlier tongue-in-cheek remarks—without a hint of innuendo.

Feeling her gentle touch, Jiang Yu shifted away uncomfortably, lowering his head with embarrassment. "Th-those are just bits of physics I barely understand myself. If you’re satisfied with it, Senior Kasumigaoka, then I couldn’t ask for more..."

Kasumigaoka Shiyu, realizing her own lack of restraint, chastised herself inwardly for not being more composed, yet was also irked by Jiang Yu’s evasive reaction.

So she withdrew her hand, crossed her arms, and stood with a cool, indifferent air. "Yes, I’m looking forward to your proposal, Jiang Yu."

Not knowing why Kasumigaoka suddenly turned cold, Jiang Yu could only laugh weakly and muddle through the moment.

"Ah, well, all I can do is make sure not to disappoint your expectations, Senior Kasumigaoka."

"...Mm."

And so, the two fell into a strange atmosphere.

Just as Jiang Yu was racking his brain for a topic to break the awkward tension, Kato Kyoko, emerging from the office, spotted the scene and approached.

"Ah~ Jiang Yu, is this your girlfriend?" Kato Kyoko teased, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Uh... N-no, this is Senior Kasumigaoka from my school." Jiang Yu replied, embarrassed, secretly sighing: This atmosphere feels even stranger than before, Kato-san...

"Oh, I see. My apologies then, Miss Kasumigaoka." Kato Kyoko spoke with genuine regret to Kasumigaoka Shiyu, who was standing nearby, unconsciously shaking her leg.

Then Kasumigaoka Shiyu dropped a bombshell, "Well... It’s not entirely wrong, is it? After all, men only have these sorts of explanations when facing their former lovers."

"Hey—! Senior Kasumigaoka!" Jiang Yu’s face wore a look of utter helplessness.

"Oh~ Is that so~~" And Kato-san, please don’t look so knowingly at me!

Colleagues nearby began to whisper:

"So Jiang Yu has a girlfriend?"

"Eh... that’s such a shame~"

"Damn! He has such a beautiful girlfriend..."

Jiang Yu, flustered, hastily said, "I-I still have something to do, Senior Kasumigaoka, Kato-san, I’ll be heading out!"

Doing his best to ignore the meaningful glances from the surrounding colleagues, Jiang Yu fled the café in disarray.

He left behind Kasumigaoka Shiyu, who was now feeling uncomfortable under those gazes, Kato Kyoko smiling gently, and coworkers murmuring sentiments like "I’m so jealous!" and "Youth is truly wonderful!"

...

Outside, Jiang Yu grasped a nearby utility pole, gasping for breath, trying to calm his tumultuous emotions.

Truth be told, when Kasumigaoka Shiyu made that remark, Jiang Yu shamefully indulged in a fantasy—imagining what it would be like if Senior Kasumigaoka were truly his girlfriend...

He quickly cut off the thought, reminding himself it must have been a joke, yet couldn’t help feeling a flutter in his heart.

No girl had ever said such words to him before. Now that he’d regained his composure, Jiang Yu understood fully why Junya Aki described Kasumigaoka Shiyu as "sharp-tongued and cunning"—the title was well deserved.

Exasperated, he felt as though his distance from the senior admired by the entire school had shrunk just a little.

Unable to untangle his complicated feelings, Jiang Yu glanced at the time—it was nearly ten o’clock. His expression shifted to one of surprise, and he hurried home, his thoughts still in disarray.