"Please pass the message to them that I don't need it," Kiyono Lin replied dismissively.

Horikita Mai surreptitiously tugged at Dubian Che's sleeve, "Senpai, please persuade the upperclassman. Acting like this could turn her from being popular to being disliked."

"Oh, I'm not accepting either," Dubian Che pulled back his sleeve, "Not sure if anyone will give me a gift, but if there are any, please relay the message."

"Eh—why?! Senpai, didn't you receive chocolates on Valentine's Day?"

"How do you know about that?" Valentine's Day was in February, and back then, Dubian Che was still a freshman.

"Everyone knows about Senpai. Speaking of which, Senpai, I heard you spent hundreds of thousands of yen on White Day return gifts. Is that true?" Horikita Mai asked curiously.

"True," said Dubian Che, "that's why I don't accept gifts. The cost of returning them is too much, you understand?"

"I thought you were worried about the upperclassman being isolated and disliked if she was the only one not accepting, so you decided not to accept gifts either to share the pressure with her."

"Her being disliked or isolated has got nothing to do with me. I only care about my own money," Dubian Che said.

"Fine, what about me? You can accept my gift, right? You've always been coaching me with the oboe," Horikita Mai pleaded with a pitiful blink of her eyes.

"Same treatment for all, no exceptions."

At that moment, the end-of-school bell rang, and Horikita Mai had no choice but to give up acting coy and hurried back to the Wind Instrument Club to convey the message to those members who were planning to buy gifts.

"You didn't have to do that," Kiyono Lin closed her book and put it into her bag.

"It's not entirely for you," Dubian Che did the same action, "I am aware of my own charm. Sometimes, just a casual smile can be misunderstood, so it's better to be unpopular like you."

"Unpopular?" Kiyono Lin slung her bag over her shoulder.

"As long as you get what I'm trying to say, I don't care about the wording."

"Coward," she stepped out of the clubroom.

"Coward?" Dubian Che followed behind.

"Afraid to insult me to my face, you just want to take the opportunity to tease me a bit, what else is that but cowardice? The door's locked."

Dubian Che took the keys to lock the door: "I already told you, it's just a slip in wording. Plus, I've sworn not to curse or use foul language in this lifetime."

"Huh, the 'Tokyo Hottie' and his promises."

"Keep looking down on the 'Tokyo Hottie' and I really might curse you."

Having locked the door, Kiyono Lin stretched out her fair palm, and Dubian Che placed the keys on it.

The two headed toward the staircase, stepping into June, the view outside the classroom at the end of the school day was no longer of the setting sun, it remained brilliantly bright.

"Curse me? I'm a bit curious. The 'Tokyo Hottie' is a coward, go ahead, let's hear the curse."

"You think I'll curse just because you asked? Who do you think you are to me?"

"Definitely a coward."

"You, other than being cute, smart, honest, having beautiful hair, a nice voice, pretty legs, a slim waist, and understanding me, have nothing else going for you, woman."

Kiyono Lin rested her chin on her hand and laughed, "With so much praise, why not just say 'I love you' directly?"

"...I'm cursing at you, Kiyono, besides, friends don't use that word."

"If you insist, then it must be cursing and friendship," Kiyono Lin dropped her hand nonchalantly.

"It was always cursing and friendship."

They both exited the school building and walked onto the pathway leading between the oak tree and the school gate, with the dusty baseball field on their right.

Dubian Che noticed Kunii Shuichi and a group lined up, facing the setting sun; at the whistle blow from the coach, they swung their bats with all their might.

"Lucky I'm only a figurehead," said Dubian Che.

"If you ever really decide to go into politics, understanding baseball and building a reputation at Koshien could turn out to be unexpectedly helpful," she replied.

"Good idea, this summer's Koshien champion has to be me. I'll start working hard tomorrow."

"Lies."

"But I can't just step onto the field; I have to wait until they are in a tough spot, like when the team is about to face early elimination in the eighth inning; then, as the cleanup hitter, I'll go up to bat and save the day with a home run. Or perhaps as a pitcher, throw for the whole season, all the way to the championship."

"I don't understand Koshien; tell me more about it."

"I don't get it either," Dubian Che said, "It's the dream that Kunii Shuichi is always talking about. I'm just repeating his words."

"So it's a dream," Kiyono Lin nodded.

"Of course, it is. Real life isn't filled with such passionate stories of individual heroism."

"If it was you, I'd believe it," Kiyono Lin said. "Although I'm not interested in sports, I suddenly look forward to such a scene. I want to see you turn the tide."

"Take it back!"

"Hm?"

"You're a Divine Girl; whatever you say always comes true. I don't want to be any more popular."

"I'm looking forward to it."

When they reached Shibuya Station, they went their separate ways.

Dubian Che didn't take the Central Line headed to Shinano Town. Instead, he exited the platform and took a taxi to Shibuya.

Shibuya is a shopping street, and if he couldn't find a suitable gift, he could also visit the adjacent Omotesando, a place Kiyono Lin often shopped.

He was preparing a birthday gift for Kiyono Lin for tomorrow.

He thought about giving a Lucky Pendant, but he always had this feeling that once he gave it to her, his firm resolve would collapse.

The crowd on Shibuya at twilight was neither too many nor too few.

Tokyo girls were coming and going, wearing skimpy dresses, either sexy, chic, with long skirts, or skirts so short they couldn't be any shorter.

Three girls dressed as idols were shooting a TV show with someone holding a camera focused on them.

With exaggerated expressions, they said, "Delicious," "Super delicious," while munching on something unknown, like deep-fried skewers or candied haws.

When Dubian Che walked into a hat shop beside them, the idol girl on the far left looked at him several times until the other two reminded her they were live, and she returned to paying attention to where she was looking.

Coming out of the hat shop empty-handed, he turned into a jewelry store.

Shop after shop as the sky darkened, the lights of Shibuya began to shine, and he gave up.

There were plenty of nice designs, but the prices were so cheap. Although Kiyono Lin didn't care about money because she was wealthy, it still wasn't suitable to give a young lady such cheap goods.

It wasn't some contrived drama; Miss Kiyono Lin wouldn't be happy just because he treated her to udon noodles by the roadside—it happened in Nagoya, and the young lady had no special feelings about it.

He didn't go to Omotesando after all; he headed straight for Ginza.

Considering her lovely long hair, Dubian Che noticed a blue hair ring in a fairly high-end hair accessory store.

The price tag was white with the cost written in black font: 150,000 yen.

The price was cheap, but considering it was just a hair ring, it was decent enough for a gift for Kiyono Lin.

"Could you wrap this up for me," Dubian Che told the salesperson, "It's a birthday present for someone."

"Sure, please follow me."

Three minutes later, he walked out with the wrapped hair ring, thinking since he was here, he might as well visit the fruit store to buy some high-end fruit for Xiaoquan Aonai and Mayi Asuka. On his way downstairs, he saw a familiar figure.

It was Kiyono Lin.

She hadn't gone home and was still in her school uniform when she walked straight into a men's jewelry store.

Dubian Che quietly followed.

Peeking in from the outside, he saw Kiyono Lin standing in front of the cufflinks display, her hand on her chin, pondering as the salesperson introduced her to some products.

After a while, Kiyono Lin stretched out her slender, fair fingers and pointed to a pair in the glass cabinet.

The salesperson handed them to her, she examined them, held them up against the blazer of her Goda school uniform, shook her head, and asked the salesperson for another pair.

The people around had started noticing his sneaky behavior, so Dubian Che had no choice but to leave.

'Cufflinks, huh? I don't wear a jacket in the summer, why didn't she buy something that could be used throughout all seasons? With the birthday gifts, I win!'

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