Recently, school had been calm and uneventful, as if there wasn't a single ripple.
After the ambiguous incident with Utaha a few days ago, it seemed like there was no follow-up. Yusei didn't seek her out, and she didn't come looking for him either. It was as if nothing had happened.
However, Yusei still remembered that he was supposed to accompany her to the book signing over the weekend.
February 14th.
It always seemed to fall on a school day every year. Whether by coincidence or design, this was often the day students found it hardest to focus on their studies.
Because on this day, many people wanted to go to the rooftop, would be rejected, would be taken to the rooftop after rejecting others, and so on...
Yusei woke up early in the morning.
Just looking at the date on his phone told him he would probably receive a lot of chocolate today.
Not to mention anything else, his beautiful wife and daughter would definitely give him chocolate, right?
Besides them, his desk mate, Megumi... With their long-standing desk-mate friendship, she should give him some too, right?
Also, after teaching her so many sword techniques, Kaguya would give him some, right?
And that wasn't all. Last night, he received a message from Hina, asking him to come over to her place at noon.
Clearly, that was another portion of chocolate. He wasn't sure about Utaha. But just with this many people, he'd need a bag to carry it all.
Chocolate requires giving something in return.
But what was a bit awkward for Yusei was that he didn't know how to make it, and he hadn't put any thought into it these past few days.
So, after thinking about it, he decided to just buy some commercially available chocolate when he went to see Hina at noon.
As for whether that would seem too perfunctory... actually, normally, handmade chocolate is usually given by girls to their sweethearts.
For reciprocation, or for obligatory chocolate, it's common to buy it from a store and then give it.
So, there was nothing really wrong with Yusei's approach.
The only slight flaw might be that he planned to use store-bought chocolate for Asuna as well. No matter what, Asuna was his wife.
He entered the school as usual.
However, when he went to his shoe locker to change into his indoor shoes, as soon as he opened the locker, a huge pile of gift boxes immediately spilled out.
Even with his Sharingan's perception, Yusei was a bit slow to react.
He hurriedly tried to catch them, but there were too many items, and quite a few still fell to the ground.
Many students who had just arrived at school saw this scene, their eyes practically popping out.
'What... what was this situation? So many?'
Yusei was also dumbfounded, but he quickly noticed that from various corners, there were gazes watching him.
And when he looked over, those gazes quickly averted.
Seeing this situation, Yusei understood.
'Since when did I become the dream lover for so many female students?!'
But actually, if you thought about it, putting aside his previous weak experiences, just the changes in the last half year or so...
Kendo Tournament's champion, received a recommendation to Tokyo University, extremely handsome…
Any one of these conditions would be enough to make girls like him.
Guaranteed academic future and prospects. A sense of security when together. And most importantly, very good-looking.
Isn't what attracting people the so-called 'excellence'?
Shaking his head, Yusei pushed all these differently packaged chocolates back into the locker.
Many of these were handmade. Quite a few were store-bought. But they were, after all, other people's feelings. He couldn't just throw them away because it was troublesome.
'Whatever, I'll take them home for Kanna to eat.'
After changing his shoes, Yusei headed towards his classroom. The whole way, he felt extremely uncomfortable because of all the eyes on him.
It wasn't usually like this, but today, he felt like the center of attention for the entire school. All eyes were focused on him.
There were boys and girls; the former were envious, jealous, and resentful, while the latter were timid, shy, and loving.
Before Yusei had taken more than a few steps, a girl in a school uniform suddenly stepped out from the side of the path and stood in front of Yusei.
Her face was flushed red, and she held a pink envelope and chocolate packaged in the shape of a heart in her hands.
"Um... Kazami-senpai..." She seemed extremely nervous.
A gentle smile appeared on Yusei's face. His tone was gentle, "You're a second-year student, right? You still have one more year, but you should still focus on your studies."
The cute girl, hearing Yusei speak to her so gently, became very excited, but also seemed to want to say something else.
The girl was quite cute. Although not top-tier, she was definitely a petite and adorable girl.
"What's the matter? If I can help with something, feel free to ask." Yusei smiled, speaking politely.
The girl seemed to think that with so many people watching, this wasn't the best place. So, with a red face, she quickly said,
"Kazami-senpai, that... I'm actually a first-year. I still have two years until university entrance exams."
The smile on Yusei's face instantly froze.
This kind of situation happened quite a few times along the way.
By the time Yusei reached the classroom, he was holding an armful of chocolate.
Asuna, who had been chatting and laughing with Kaguya, saw this and was so shocked her jaw practically dropped.
"Yu... Yusei-kun, what is all this?"
Yusei placed the chocolate on his desk and smiled wryly, "No helping it. They gave them to me, some just shoved them into my arms. I can't just throw them away, can I?"
Kaguya, standing to the side, looked at those chocolates with indignant eyes, secretly touching the chocolate in her own bag.
'I've lost in terms of quantity... but in terms of quality, my handmade chocolate, filled with sincere feelings, must be better!'
Asuna looked at Yusei with a strange expression, and then shook her head.
"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about those letters."
Mixed in with the pile of chocolates were also quite a few envelopes, almost uniformly in maiden pink. The styles and patterns were different, but they were all pink envelopes.
And many of those chocolates were heart-shaped. What that represented, how could Asuna not know?
"I never realized Yusei-kun was so popular at school." Asuna looked at Yusei teasingly and laughed.
"Now you know your husband's charm, right? Knowing that, shouldn't you hurry up and hand over the chocolate you made for your husband? Otherwise, your favorability might drop, you know."