They had agreed to exchange information, yet if she weren't a Sobu High alumna and Haruno didnusiones didn't have other channels to learn what was happening around Tenkuji Yuu—at the very least, she'd never heard about these campus forum matters from Masuzu.
So unfair.
Clearly, Masuzu had no intention of cooperating sincerely. She only wanted to use her. Even the information shared was cherry-picked, and anything left out was dismissed as "accidentally forgotten."
Haruno felt deeply offended and vehemently cursed such behavior.
Today's youth—daring to deceive an innocent, honest college girl like her. Sob, sob, the world is unjust…
In terms of acting on whims and low morals, the two indeed had much in common.
In other words, Haruno had no intention of trusting Masuzu either.
After all, she'd already obtained the most critical intel. The girl's remaining value was merely supplementary. If she vanished, it wouldn't be a loss.
The biggest reason Haruno still maintained contact was that she didn't want to waste anything—the current situation was murky. For now, she didn't know what to do to make her Yuu loyal only to her like before. Nor did she know how many others were in the same boat.
One card in hand was one card. To secure final victory, Haruno was mentally prepared to use every means, fair or foul.
Of course, that included using Masuzu as a pure tool and squeezing out her last drop of value.
"Masuzu-chan, do you know about their filming?"
"You only found out today? Same with yesterday's forum stuff? Hehe, I'm not online much… No worries, I'll explain it to you~"
"Exactly… Judging from this incomplete PV, I'd say the main film isn't finished shooting. Seeing them having fun—don't you want to meddle?"
"Asking me why? Isn't it simple?"
Haruno smiled. Her tone teasing, she whispered into the mic: "If you arrive too late, there won't be a spot left by his side."
"Besides, you never intended to heed my earlier warning. Then forget it. Stick to him 24/7. Maybe you'll recover your memories soon?"
"…" The other side fell silent for a moment. Uncharacteristically, Masuzu spoke in a normal tone: "You want to stir chaos and profit while others fight."
"Hmm? You get it~" Slightly surprised, Haruno kept her casual air: "But one thing's wrong—Yuu-chan has been mine from the start. I just didn't chase off all those thieving cats because I considered his feelings."
"This isn't profiting—it's self-defense."
Masuzu sneered: "So you plan to use me to mess things up, then kick me out sooner or later? You really don't hide your malice."
Haruno laughed indifferently: "Please call it clever strategy—conveniently, a stage opportunity appeared. Even if I didn't say it, you wouldn't let it pass."
"Then why not stay the puppet master behind the scenes? Aren't you afraid I'll tell him everything you said?"
"Not scared. He knows how much I love him. He won't mind this little thing with me." As if flaunting, as if pitying, Haruno sighed softly: "You're different, Natsukawa-san who remembers nothing…"
"Rushing to him, even trying to meddle in the Service Club trio's emotional bonds—I'm afraid you'll only face worse rejection than a forced kiss."
"It'd be better if you kept observing, but just watching, you don't know when you'll close the distance. It's time you felt anxious."
"Watching his bond with Yuigahama-san and Yukinoshita-san grow stronger, while you—empty-handed—can only harbor leftover feelings, like a gutter rat crawling on the ground, staring at cheese on a high stage. Isn't that pitiful and painful?"
Word by word, as if to split her heart, tear open wounds, sprinkle salt, and torment thoroughly—she grew happier as she spoke. Haruno even chuckled without hiding it. Cold malice spread with her voice.
Masuzu didn't respond. She seemed at a loss for words—or too lazy to entertain arrogant Haruno.
She suddenly shifted tone. Her voice became friendly and soft: "But for now, at least, you and I are on the same side."
"I'm giving you a reason to approach him. How far you go depends on your skill… Though I doubt you can beat the two by his side, who knows unless you try?"
"If you actually succeed, I might have to call you Sensei."
The words slowly faded. Haruno waited for a reply.
"Done talking?" Strangely, Masuzu's tone barely changed.
Haruno raised a brow: "Done. How about it?"
"Very immersive. I'm anxious now." Masuzu added with utmost seriousness: "It feels exactly like a personal emotional journey. I don't want to repeat the same mistake and end up with that tragic fate."
Haruno gripped her phone tightly. She warned herself inwardly to stay calm and not get angry easily. This girl wasn't worth it.
"No more talk. I'll take it as agreement. Remember to do what I said."
"Relax. It's not my first time. I'm skilled at this." For some reason, Masuzu smiled with deep meaning: "Honestly, I originally thought Haruno-san was cunning, calculating—a sage with everything under control. Liking the same person as someone like that would even trouble me. I even thought the worst future outcome might be never becoming his lover."
"Then what? Did I disappoint you?"
Haruno immediately raised her voice. She had no idea where the other got the nerve to speak so condescendingly.
But Masuzu continued in a teasing, indifferent tone: "How dare I~ After all, you could have your father drag me back to Sweden anytime, and I'd have no way to control you."
"True. But you sound very confident. Why? Found a weakness of mine that doesn't exist?"
Haruno slowly walked to the window edge. She gazed far into the night beyond the fence. Her eyes glittered like cold stars.
Then, Masuzu's still-smiling voice reached her ear through the earpiece.
"I don't need that. Knowing one thing is enough."
"Haruno, in the end—you're just like me. Only at that level."
Haruno unconsciously opened her mouth. But before she could speak, she was cut off for the first time. She surrendered the conversation's rhythm to the other.
"Consider me your junior—here's one last piece of advice."
Masuzu said calmly: "People who plan everything but end up with nothing are everywhere. If you laugh so smugly now, one day if you lose, others will laugh even louder than you are now."
"Mmm, at least I will. See you. Good night."
After speaking, she hung up immediately.
"…"
The cold wind seemed to freeze the hair on her shoulders. The starless, moonless night sky looked ready to collapse.
The call ended, but Haruno still stood behind the balcony railing. She stood motionless like a statue for a long time.
Who knows how long passed—her pale palm suddenly loosened. The phone fell straight to the yard below, making a dull thud.
She didn't look and had no intention of retrieving it. She turned and walked straight back inside.
The glass door shut tight. The glass isolated the lonely cold wind outside. The heater wrapped her chilled fingertips.
Only after stepping in did she realize the inside and outside felt like two different worlds.
And Haruno felt the outside world had nothing to do with her.
Because the warmth in her memories still bloomed in her chest. Sooner or later, she would reclaim everything that was hers.
She never doubted any other possibility.
Even so—
"Satisfied or not—if only I had that luxury…"
The girl's sigh slowly fell to the floor.
In the lawn below, the cracked screen flickered. There was a teenage boy's profile picture and an unpressed call button.
The next second, everything was swallowed by the starless, moonless night.