Chapter 33: Do You Completely Dislike Girls?
School dismissal time.
Zou still couldn’t manage to talk smoothly with Nagi.
After school, the classmates in the class very tacitly divided into two groups: boys and girls.
They then walked out of the classroom through the front and back doors, respectively, heading to the empty classroom on the other side of the teaching building.
Ling and Alice, who had originally planned to tour the campus after school, were also among them.
It seemed they had heard this wouldn’t take up too much time, so the two planned to go sightseeing afterward.
Zou, who had missed the school trip, was unaware that this was an annual tradition for the students of Hoshikage Middle School.
In just half a morning, Ling had blended in well with the boys in the class.
Zou learned about this from him.
Simply put, it involved boys in the school who wished to participate voting for the “cutest girl” and “girl they would like to date” of that year.
On the girls’ side, it was the opposite: they would select the “handsomest boy” and “boy they would like to date.”
Moreover, this wasn’t just a game for the students.
Based on the voting results, the school would prioritize those who received the most votes, allowing them to represent the student body at the opening ceremony of the school sports meet.
So in a sense, this voting received support from the school and the student council, slowly evolving into an annual traditional event.
…
…
“Now, has everyone decided who to vote for?”
A boy, seemingly the leader, stood at the podium in the empty classroom.
Zou couldn’t help but look up at the podium.
On the blackboard, not only were the names of the selected girls listed but also their photos.
It seemed that this activity had already started during the school trip.
All the listed girls had voluntarily participated, as it would be viewed as validation of their charm by the boys.
Some had actively submitted selfies, while others had cropped their own parts from group class photos for reference during voting.
However, there were exceptions.
For instance, Nagi, who couldn’t attend the school trip, also appeared among them.
At the same time, in the empty classroom where the girls were located, Nagi tilted her head with curiosity, surprised to see Zou’s name and photo on the board.
The other girls present nervously sneaked glances at Nagi.
Among girls, there was an unwritten rule regarding the voting.
That is, the vote cast for the “boy they would like to date” would be considered as the target pursued by that girl.
In other words, it could potentially turn into a competition over the same boy.
And a beauty like Nagi, who was pure and cute, had a gentle and cheerful personality, and an exceptional figure, was practically the apex predator in this relationship food chain.
She was a natural disaster.
Forget about competing with her; just encountering her could lead to instant defeat, as there was an absolute gap in prowess.
Naturally, the girls didn’t want her to steal their desired object.
Thus, they prepared a voting option for Nagi’s childhood friend “Tsukimi Zou.”
Everyone in the class could see that Hoshigami Nagi, this girl, harbored feelings for her childhood friend that were beyond mere friendship.
As for “Tsukimi Zou,” to the girls, he was just a plain-looking, unremarkable, somewhat introverted boy. He wasn’t ugly but couldn’t be considered handsome either.
His gentle and humble nature scored highly among the girls.
But that was about it.
It was hard to imagine why a multi-talented beauty like Nagi would be interested in him.
Ultimately, it could only be explained that their childhood friend relationship was akin to winning a grand prize.
Tsukimi Zou was that lucky one.
Although the two seemed to have quarreled right before the school trip, and their relationship had soured, seeing them holding hands on their way to school today inferred that they had made up.
This was good news for the girls.
As long as they could anchor the top predator Nagi to Tsukimi Zou, she wouldn’t compete with others for boys.
That was how it should be—
But today, Tsukimi had suddenly taken the initiative to pursue the transfer student Alice, disrupting the situation.
Right now, it was clear that Nagi was in a state of jealousy and sulking.
In such a mood, a girl could very likely do something rash like, “Since you’re pursuing another girl, I’ll choose another boy too” out of spite.
All the girls present were nervously on edge, fearful that Nagi might, in a fit of spite, take away the boy they desired.
Whether among the boys or girls, there were spies relaying messages.
Even if the girls didn’t take Nagi’s vote seriously, if the boys who received the news learned that the legendary “Black-haired Angel” Hoshigami Nagi voted for them as “boy she would like to date,” it was hard to imagine their hearts would remain with other girls.
“We must fix her relationship with Tsukimi right here!”
In an instant, all the girls reached a consensus.
Except for the newly transferred student Alice, who was gazing at the girls exchanging glances in confusion.
M actually should have played a stabilizing role, but she was absent due to work after school today.
This left the girls relying solely on themselves.
On the other hand, the voting among the boys had already been tallied.
In the “Cutest Girl” ranking, Hoshigami Nagi’s votes were overwhelming.
From Zou’s perspective, he could understand this result.
Even setting aside the filter created by his affections, his childhood friend, with her angelic face, sunny personality, and naturally charming demeanor, was certainly heart-racing.
But—
“Why is Nagi… at the bottom of the ‘Boys They Would Like to Date’ ranking?” Zou thought to himself.
Clearly, she was at the top of the “Cutest Girl” ranking, yet came last in the “Boys They Would Like to Date” ranking, with only his vote.
Could it be that the boys in this class are all “ugly girl fans”?
He couldn’t help but feel a newfound respect for the boys present.
From the perspective of the other boys,
Impossible.
Although Hoshigami Nagi was a girl very much liked for her appearance and personality, all it took was a bit of observation of her usual attitude towards her childhood friend to understand that she was completely in love with him.
She was in a state where she could easily be won over by a simple confession from Zou.
To them, it was painfully clear.
To take away the place that belonged to “Tsukimi Zou” in her heart?
That was simply impossible.
For the boys, they didn’t want to become a part of their play.
But—for some reason, Tsukimi Zou had shown no reaction at all.
What was going on?
Could it be that this guy completely disliked girls?
Given the way he had reunited with and seemed close to Huihara Ling today, the possibility of that statement seemed minimal.
With that thought, the boys unconsciously distanced themselves slightly from Zou.
