Yi Tiao Luhang Is Very Dull

[Good morning, Dong Ye-yue.]

I did not expect to run into Yi Tiao Luhang on the way to school.

But for me, this was not exactly a good thing.

Instead, I looked at him and the area around him with some vigilance.

Fortunately, the person I absolutely did not want to see right now did not appear.

[Dong Ye-yue, what are you looking at?]

Finding my actions a little puzzling, Yi Tiao Luhang followed my gaze and looked around as well.

[Didn’t your childhood friend, Kamitsuru-san, come along with you today?]

Instead of answering his question directly, I threw out a question of my own.

[Xiao Yue is on duty today, so she left early in the morning.]

At Sakurano High School, students on duty always arrive earlier than others.

They clean the classroom, organize everything, and wait for everyone else to arrive.

Such a boring task.

I have done it a few times myself.

[So it seems Yi Tiao didn’t plan to go together with Kamitsuru-san.]

With a teasing tone, I relaxed a little and walked alongside him toward school.

Just like after school every day, we chatted on and off.

[Xiao Yue gets up way too early.

I was unbearably sleepy.

After she knocked on my door and woke me up, I was still half-asleep.

So I answered her vaguely and then fell back asleep.

By the time I woke up, Xiao Yue had already gone out, and she even made breakfast for me.]

Yi Tiao Luhang and Kamitsuru Yue live in the same house.

They come from the same village and grew up together.

Most importantly, it saves money.

Because of this, Kamitsuru Yue has an extra advantage over the other heroines: cohabitation.

And this is also the route result that appears most often.

That is why it is really troublesome.

It is precisely because Kamitsuru Yue exists that I cannot make any bold moves.

[Sounds like Yi Tiao regrets it a little.]

[After going to school together since childhood, suddenly separating like this feels a bit strange.]

[Then I’m really lucky to have run into you, Yi Tiao.]

I turned my head slightly.

My side profile was perfectly presented, bathed in sunlight, glowing with a golden sheen.

At least, my eyes were enveloped by the dazzling morning light.

In that hazy brightness, I saw Yi Tiao Luhang looking at me.

[At least this lets you maintain a school life where you go to school together with a beautiful girl.]

[Even if she’s someone you might not be interested in, and whose insides are already rotten—a fake.]

As I said this, I revealed a gentle smile.

It should have been a perfect smile.

He kept looking at me, just like all the male students I have seen before.

As long as their orientation is normal, even the most self-righteous men will be stirred by my smile.

But Yi Tiao Luhang is not that simple.

That is the conclusion I reached after getting to know him for a while.

As the male lead, he can still show unexpected reactions toward someone like me, who should know him well.

But overall, he is a very convenient tool person.

[Somehow, I feel like the Dong Ye-yue from that day gave me a really good impression.]

[That day?]

[The day we went to Sakuragami Mountain for club activities.]

He was referring to a week ago.

A full week had passed since I fell.

Although my injuries were not life-threatening, there were quite a few abrasions, and they could not fade quickly.

To maintain my perfect image, I did not wear sheer black thigh-high stockings.

Instead, I chose thicker black tights that at least concealed the wounds.

Fortunately, only my thighs were scraped.

The rest of my body only had some bruises from impact.

After a few days of rest, they had mostly healed, returning to their usual fair and flawless state.

Once the abrasions heal as well, the cute, cheerful, gentle, and beautiful Dong Ye-yue will be able to appear perfectly before others again.

A beautiful girl who loves socializing and treats everyone gently.

Even though it is all an act.

Still, it brings me a sense of pleasure.

No matter how long I commit such despicable acts, they always make me happy.

However—

There is a slight problem.

[Do you think I’m better when I’m injured?]

What kind of strange fetish is this?

This slightly exceeds my understanding of him.

In my impression, he belongs to the good-natured crowd and possesses normal values.

There is no darkness to speak of.

A complete person that exists only in fantasy.

Well, it has nothing to do with me.

As long as his preferences does not affect the strategy.

On the contrary, if he really likes it, I could even deliberately injure myself to stimulate his enthusiasm.

[I wouldn’t say I like it.

It’s more about how Dong Ye-yue was back then.]

As if recalling that moment, a faint light shone in his eyes.

[She felt more real to me.]

More real?

That has to be a joke.

Well, don’t try to use those heroine攻略 lines on me.

Still, this can be considered training him.

I hope that when he faces Nishimura Kiyoshi, he can say such words just as naturally.

[—Yi Tiao.]

I turned my head and looked toward the alley exit not far away.

Once we walked out, we would see the students of Sakurano High School.

The main road was full of boys and girls wearing light-blue school uniforms.

[Let’s part ways here.

If others see us going to school together, it won’t be good for either of us.]

If someone we know sees us and rumors reach Kamitsuru Yue, it will be troublesome.

Even if it does not reach her ears, just being heard by people who know me would already be a big problem.

[Yeah.

I had a great time chatting along the way.

Thank you, Dong Ye-yue.]

[No need to thank me, Yi Tiao.

I had a bit of fun chatting too.]

That was not a lie.

Talking with Yi Tiao Luhang gives me a sense of being alive.

Even though I am still acting, I can relax slightly.

I do not have to enthusiastically respond to boring things.

[Oh, right, Dong Ye-yue.]

He called out to me.

[Do you want to try the breakfast Xiao Yue made?]

He took a sandwich out of his bag.

It was a very hearty sandwich, filled with fresh vegetables and ham, with mayonnaise oozing out.

It looked extremely appetizing.

Yet I felt nothing.

To put it bluntly, I do not have a normal person’s pursuit of delicious food.

I am somewhat defective.

In my long-term struggle with my stomach, all foods that look tasty are no different to me.

[Yi Tiao wouldn’t want to see me feeling sick early in the morning, right?]

Perhaps this could even reveal some of his special preferences.

[Didn’t you say before, Dong Ye-yue, that last time you fell because you didn’t eat breakfast?]

I had explained that reason properly to everyone in the Classical Literature Club.

The excuse was that I went out too early and did not have time to eat breakfast.

Naturally, I received some criticism.

Aside from that, there were words of self-blame from Hisao Yoshiko and Nishimura Kiyoshi.

One thought it was her fault for organizing the activity.

The other thought it was her fault for not paying enough attention.

Of course, all of that was stopped by me—understanding Dong Ye-yue.

Hands clasped together, I promised that I would never skip breakfast again.

Those were all lies.

Not to mention that I do not want to endure my stomach’s rebellion in the morning.

I am also so poor that I can barely afford food, let alone breakfast.

So right now, I am simply enduring hunger.

[Even if you can’t eat much, you still have to eat.]

He extended his hand forward slightly.

The sandwich came even closer, right before my eyes.

I fell silent, looking at the sandwich in his hand, which still looked fairly fresh.

[Is it really okay for Yi Tiao to just give this to me?]

Once again, I revealed a smile.

[Ah, Xiao Yue actually made too much.

I brought it intending to eat it as a snack at noon.

It would be a waste to leave it.]

He did not notice the meaning behind my words at all.

Rather, he misunderstood them as something else.

He probably thought I was worried that he had not eaten breakfast.

If that is what he thought, then he is truly foolish.

I need to revise my evaluation of him.

Yi Tiao—

Unexpectedly, he is rather dull.

Or rather, it is probably a common trait among galgame male leads.

Sure enough, without my guidance, he would never become the enviable harem king.

And without that, I naturally would never be able to go home.

[Yi Tiao should think about who made this.]

[Ah, Xiao Yue made it.

That should be fine, right?

I think it tastes pretty good.

Dong Ye-yue eating this should feel better.

It would be great if you could eat it.]

A guy who releases gentle rays indiscriminately when facing a beautiful girl.

And extremely dull.

He still has not noticed anything.

[This is something Kamitsuru-san made for Yi Tiao.

In her heart, she must have hoped that you would eat it all with satisfaction.

Food made carefully with that kind of feeling—]

[And yet, you casually pass it on to another woman.

If she found out, what do you think she would feel?]

I still wore a faint smile as I quietly looked at him.

I watched his expression slowly change, as if he had finally realized something.

[I-It should be fine, right?

Xiao Yue is very generous.

If she heard about Dong Ye-yue’s difficulties, she would probably be happy to share.]

If she heard about me, it would not just be ordinary trouble.

[Yi Tiao—]

I became serious.

[Women, no matter how generous they appear, all have petty places in their hearts.

Things they have decided belong to them will not be handed over to others so easily.]

[What does that mean?]

[Kamitsuru Yue is also a target you need to Strategize.

At the same time, she is the only character whose initial affection is close to max.

She is almost guaranteed to be cleared effortlessly, with barely any events.]

[Eh?]

He really has not thought about it at all.

How pitiful, Kamitsuru-san.

[But she is a character that must absolutely last.]

[Yi Tiao, matters concerning Kiyoshi and me, and even future Strategy targets, must not be known by Kamitsuru-san.

Otherwise, very troublesome things will happen.]

[It will affect both your goal of becoming a harem king and my goal of going home.]

[I see—]

At least he took it to heart.

[Then—]

I took the sandwich from his hand and gave him a small bow.

[Thank you for the sandwich, Yi Tiao.]

[Eh—]