A foot on the gas pedal, Hinata Rion drove away with the pitifully cute little Ise Yu out of Shirakawa Sawahei’s sight.
"Sister Rion! Do something!" The girl who loves to slack off lay on the back seat miserably for a while, then turned her head, frustrated: "It’s obvious Shirakawa is hiding something from me... How can I conquer him ?"
"You said you’d be my strategist, but I think you’re here to backstab me!"
"Hmph, Jin, seeing as you’re young and don’t understand love, I’ll forgive you this once... Did you know... about the Huaxia Art of War?"
"Wha- what Art of War?"
"The Thirty-Six Stratagems! Where did all those times playing the Dynasty Warriors series go?"
"Oh oh oh~ But I don’t recall seeing anything about that in there..."
"That’s because you don’t get it." Hinata Rion temporarily parked the car by the roadside, turned around with a flamboyant expression: "As the Huaxia Art of War says, war is a matter of deceit..."
The slacker girl looked bewildered: "Never heard of it."
"That’s because you never study properly! But you have heard, love is war, haven’t you?"
"Exactly, love is just like warfare, you need to use tactics... You’ve been close enough to Mr. Shirakawa, haven’t you?"
"Well... seeing as we’re living together... haha..."
"So gross... Jin, just now you had that expression straight out of a manga..."
The cute little Ise Yu quickly cupped her cheeks, her small mouth forming an O, trying to salvage her image...
"Sister Rion, you’re so annoying... Just tell me how to deal with Shirakawa."
"Hmm~ well... suddenly I’m a bit thirsty... got a craving for something sweet..."
"I’ll go buy ice cream right away!"
Having received the appropriate bribe, Hinata Rion nodded in satisfaction: "Well done... do you remember what I taught you before, to keep a sense of freshness with Mr. Shirakawa?"
"If you spend too much time together, too close, men can easily become bored, you know~ And this is often the story of the Minotaur..."
The Pure Love War God Ise Yu gave Hinata Rion a death glare...
"Ahem... let’s focus on you and Mr. Shirakawa... You two get up together every morning, go to school together..."
"Wait, wait, wait... what’s this about getting up together..."
"Isn’t it what you bragged to me about before? You now help Mr. Shirakawa squeeze toothpaste every day, then you brush your teeth in front of the bathroom mirror together..."
"Brushing teeth together and getting up together are two different things! Sister Rion, can you be a bit more reliable!"
"Fine... you brush your teeth together, go to school together... eat together, work part-time together..."
"Our shared work schedule was cut not long ago by you..."
"Stop interrupting! Work part-time together... just watched a movie together... such close proximity, wouldn’t you agree?"
The slacker girl reluctantly nodded.
"See... you know, in our otaku world, there’s the theory that childhood friends can’t beat the newcomer... and that’s because childhood friends are too close to the protagonist!"
"Eh? Isn’t it because the newcomer’s normal attack is stronger?"
"Of course not! This is a psychological and sociological theory! It’s not as simple as you think!"
"Jin... though I hate to admit it, right now you do seem to be tending towards the childhood friend role..."
"Nani!" The cute little Ise Yu was shocked: "How could I be the childhood friend! I only met Shirakawa in our second year of high school! I’m the newcomer!"
"What newcomer starts off living with the protagonist!"
"Haven’t you watched ’My Wife is the Student Council President’!"
"But you’re not the student council president either." Hinata Rion said seriously: "And that character wasn’t purely a newcomer either—she’s a more advanced archetype: a newcomer childhood friend."
"Can’t we focus on my love war now, Sister Rion, can you stop dragging the topic to anime theories."
"We are discussing your love war now! Taking you away this time is to make you less clingy in Mr. Shirakawa’s impression."
The slacker girl paused, suspiciously asked: "Am I clingy?"
"At least from my bystander’s view, you are indeed." Hinata Rion said with a straight face: "When you were about to separate from Mr. Shirakawa just now, your grievance was akin to that time someone else bought the figurine you wanted..."
"I-I was worried Shirakawa would go on a date with someone else! I’m not clingy with Shirakawa!"
"Oh? Then tell me, when you see Mr. Shirakawa, do you subconsciously want to hug his arm?"
"J-just a little bit..." The slacker girl loudly argued: "Sakurazawa does the same! Besides, Shirakawa is already too lazy to comment on us..."
"You do realize he’s too lazy to comment, not that he’s willing to let you hug him!"
"Sister Rion, you’re so annoying, I’ll hit you..."
"Well... although you’re pretty useless under my assistance, Jin, but with me around, even if you’re useless, you must fall in love!"
"We’ll make a strategic retreat, making Mr. Shirakawa feel guilty towards you... then he’ll go to great lengths to pamper you~"
"Amazing... Sister Rion, your little declaration just now was kind of cool..."
"Heh heh~" Hinata Rion restarted the engine, proudly said: "Never underestimate adults... By the way... come to think of it, is Mr. Shirakawa really going on a date with someone?"
The slacker girl thought for a moment: "Not a hundred percent sure, but going by my feeling... he’s definitely meeting a girl."
"A maiden’s intuition? That actually sounds quite accurate... Do you have a suspect?"
"As for suspects... I have one in mind! A very likely one!"
Ise Yu Yuzhijin took out her phone and scrolled to a photo of Shirakawa Sawahei and Hayakawa Kashi playing a duet together...
"It’s this girl... Hayakawa..."
Hinata Rion, who was driving, took a quick glance at the photo, gasped, then fell silent, and even parked the car again on the roadside without speaking for quite some time.
Hinata Rion asked sincerely: "Are you sure... she’s your opponent?"
"Um... can we switch teams temporarily? Suddenly I feel like I’ve picked the wrong side... This Hayakawa girl seems to have more of the main heroine vibe..."
The slacker girl’s mood was geometric after being backstabbed by her best friend, but Shirakawa Sawahei was unaware of this as he made his way back to the theater. Meanwhile, the evil Little Arrogant was also slowly making her way towards the theater.
The distance between them on the map was getting smaller, as a bus passed by in front of their sight. Hayakawa Kashi quietly appeared not far away, quietly watching Shirakawa Sawahei walk towards her.