Chapter 15 Perhaps in everyone's eyes, the image of 'Nekono' is...
Rei Furuya's laughter broke the stiffness of the big guy from the other class, bringing him back to his senses.
"Um... Furuya-kun, right?"
The big guy from the other class, who had come to his senses, was not as carefree as he had been yesterday. Instead, he scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly, and his loud voice was filled with sincere apology.
"I'm so sorry about yesterday! I didn't understand the situation and mistook you for that guy, Nekono."
Hearing this, Nekono Ikumi silently turned her head and glanced at the big guy from the other class, her eyes gradually turning unfriendly.
When there's something going on, you call him Nekono-kun or the more affectionate Nekono; when there's nothing going on, he just becomes Nekono-nii, right?
That despicable guy, ugh!
Unaware of Nekono Ikuya's gaze, the burly guy from the other class continued apologizing: "Not only that, I also led the way in calling you by the wrong name and saying a lot of strange things. I'm sure that bothered you a lot, right?"
"I'm so sorry!" He bowed sincerely.
"Yes, yes, I'm so sorry, Furuya-kun."
"That's right, I'm so sorry for mistaking you for someone else yesterday!"
"I'm so sorry, Furuya-kun, I made a huge blunder yesterday."
"Please forgive us, Furuya-kun."
"We didn't mean it, please don't be angry!"
The students who were suspiciously watching from all sides also began to awkwardly apologize. Furuya Rei glanced around and saw that this wave of apologies was spreading outwards. More students in the distance noticed this and showed their apologies, eager to try as well.
"It's alright, it's alright, it's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up!" Furuya Rei quickly waved his hand to stop him. If he had waited any longer to express his opinion, he was really afraid that he would have lost control of the situation!
Because everyone seemed genuinely honest, they truly intended to apologize, and there was absolutely no excuse to feign innocence or gloss over the matter, such as "herd mentality," "the law doesn't punish everyone," "mistaken identity? So what?" or "everyone misunderstood, so it's okay for me to misunderstand too."
Moreover, Furuya Rei strangely discovered that, although it was only his second day at the new school, his reputation had skyrocketed to a level of friendliness, and his fame had reached its peak, making him known to everyone.
It was a case of building up to a climax by first suppressing the issue, and then riding the wave of this momentum.
Meanwhile, this big guy from another class was indeed a straightforward person. When Furuya Rei said not to worry about it, he really didn't care and generously put away his pretense.
Rei Furuya breathed a sigh of relief and was quite satisfied with his reaction, because he would have been even more troubled if the other party had kept harping on the matter.
It's good that it ended so quickly.
However, even though he had apologized and been forgiven, the big guy from the other class still couldn't take his eyes off Furuya Rei.
This time, the exaggerated praise on his face was gone, but unfortunately, his eyes held a hint of surprise at discovering a rare treasure.
It's hard to say which one would make Furuya Zero more resistant.
"Furuya-kun!" The big guy from another class couldn't resist and suddenly leaned close to Furuya Rei, his body leaning forward and his eyes burning. "You must join our acting club!"
Join the performing arts club?
Rei Furuya was taken aback by the sudden invitation and immediately refused, "Performance Club? No, I'm not interested."
Rather, he has little interest in any group activities that might attract extra attention.
"Why?" The big guy from the other class looked distressed, but was still very enthusiastic. "Your light blonde hair and dark skin will make you stand out on stage! You'll be highly recognizable and a natural stage presence! We'll tailor a role just for you!"
What a visual impact! They were born for the stage, exactly the kind of talent their performance club needs!
Just looking at his appearance was enough to overwhelm him with creative inspiration; he needed to take a number and wait in line to put his ideas on paper. Inspiration flowed like a spring!
A character tailor-made?
Rei Furuya involuntarily glanced at the script clutched in the hand of the big guy from the other class.
This is the script that the other party unilaterally 'discussed' with me yesterday, right? And it's already been revised today? That's really efficient.
It's clear that what the other party said about creating a tailor-made role was not just empty talk.
Unfortunately, this inspiration originated from a misunderstanding involving a mistaken identity, and the custom role had to be played by someone else. Rei Furuya cruelly shook his head and refused again.
The big guy from the other class didn't bother him with his persistent harassment; he was just severely discouraged and unable to get back up.
The girl at the table in front of me, Ikumi Nekono, had been resting her chin on her hand, watching the two interact with great interest. Seeing this, a hint of amusement flickered in her eyes.
Seeing the big guy from the other class looking so devastated made the scene even more amusing.
The big guy from the other class finally snapped out of his disappointment at being rejected when he invited the newcomer. As if he suddenly remembered something, he nudged Nekono Ikuya with his elbow.
"Tell me, Nekono, what exactly was the surprise you were going to prepare yesterday? Seriously, you disappeared without a word yesterday, nobody knew where you went, and the whole school mistook you for someone else, it was such a huge blunder!"
"So what exactly is your surprise? It can't be yesterday's 'real and fake Nekowi,' can it?"
His tone was a mix of curiosity and teasing, and his behavior was completely uninhibited and very casual.
Rei Furuya thought, "It seems that this person has a pretty good relationship with Nekono-kun."
Although he didn't know the backstory, Furuya Rei could roughly guess what the big guy from the other class meant. He immediately perked up his ears, since he was quite curious about anything related to Nekono.
But is Nekono Ikuya the kind of person who would kindly offer help to others? No, he isn't!
Nekono Ikuya loves to tease people's emotions and make them feel anxious and restless. He'd be even happier if he could make people look at him with resentful eyes.
His aloof and cool exterior couldn't hide his mischievous heart that was always scheming to play tricks on others!
So when Nekono Ikuya heard this, instead of immediately explaining, she lazily leaned back in her chair, which brought her even closer to Furuya Rei's desk.
It's hard to say whether Nekono Ikuya did this on purpose.
Then, he tilted his head slightly, glancing at Furuya Rei with his beautifully shaped black phoenix eyes, a playful yet bright light flickering in them, before drawing out his words with a half-serious, half-joking tone:
"President, how can this... not be considered a 'surprise'?"
He changed his eyes to almond-shaped ones today.
? ! !
No one expected Nekono Ikuya to answer like that; everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
Rei Furuya was also caught off guard, so he was stunned for a moment before he realized what Ikuya Nekono had said.
Rei Furuya should be annoyed with Ikuya Nekono. Yes, he should be annoyed! Because being ridiculed and mocked as a joke should have upset him, or at least made him unhappy.
Unfortunately, before Furuya Rei could even look up and feel any anger rising in his heart, his gaze unexpectedly met Nekono Ikuya's smiling phoenix eyes.
Those eyes are just...too beautiful.
Those were classic phoenix eyes, with slightly upturned corners. The graceful lines carried a classical and understated charm, and the pupils were clear and black, like black jade soaked in a cool mountain spring, exuding a kind of serene clarity.
Those eyes, now smiling, were like pools of light, brimming with a playful yet lively charm. When they noticed his gaze, they casually winked at him, with a lazy slyness.
And so the anticipated anger inexplicably stalled. The burning annoyance lingered in Rei Furuya's chest for a moment, as if it had been cushioned by something soft, and instead of surging up, it dissipated silently.
At this moment, Furuya Rei actually had the illusion that he and Nekono Ikuya had planned it together yesterday to create a 'surprise' to prank everyone.
But it was clearly just an unintentional misunderstanding, and he clearly didn't feel good about it either!
"I think I understand why Nekono-kun is so popular now," Furuya Rei thought with a hint of something else.
However, no matter what, looking at those excessively beautiful eyes, Furuya Rei's anger finally faltered, and he even subconsciously began to avoid their gaze.
Then, with a stiff face, he swallowed the protest that was about to come out, turning it into a muffled "...Hmph!"
"How inexplicable." Furuya Rei turned his head and muttered to himself, "This is really inexplicable."
Despite thinking this way, Rei Furuya strangely failed to get angry in the end.
On the contrary, Nekono Ikuya, who had taken in all of his reactions, was surprised when he saw that Furuya Rei had only pursed his lips and let out an unnatural low hum, but had not said anything in rebuttal. He couldn't figure out why.
Nekono Yuuya tilted his head, somewhat surprised that his new classmate had actually cooperated with him, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
“…I guess so,” said the big guy from the other class. Okay, now Furuya Rei knows that this big guy from the other class is the president of the school's performing arts club.
Then, the president of the performance club finally recovered from the huge shock of Nekono Ikuya's unexpected answer, and said with a helpless expression, "Fine, whatever you say."
He then looked at Rei Furuya, then at Ikuya Nekono, and, still not giving up, urged Rei Furuya again: "Furuya-kun, are you really not considering joining our acting club? We really need a member with your distinctive qualities!"
Before receiving three rejections from Furuya Rei, the president of the performance club turned his gaze to Nekono Ikuya, who was leisurely watching the show from the side.
"Nekono, you have to put in a good word for me! Think about it, if he joins, our club will have another star member, and the two of you can even team up... Wouldn't that be great? Please help me persuade him!"
It's unclear which sentence touched Nekono Ikuya, or whether Nekono Ikuya finally couldn't stand the drama club president's incessant nagging.
Previously, Ikumi Nekono had only been watching the show and hadn't offered any opinion on the drama club president's invitation to Rei Furuya to join the club, but now she was actually giving her advice.
Nekono Ikuya once again cast her clear, almond-shaped eyes at Furuya Rei: "The club president is right, you really have potential. From the perspective of the performance club, I'll also vote to invite you. It should be very interesting."
"So—" Nekono Ikuya tilted her head, "Let's play together?"
Rei Furuya's gaze lingered on Ikuya Nekono's face for a moment, then remained silent for a while before finally softening his tone and giving an ambiguous answer: "...I'll think about it."
How can this person be so hypocritical? No matter how I tried to persuade them, they wouldn't listen, but as soon as Nekono Ikuya invited them, they immediately changed their tune and said they needed to think about it!
The president of the performing arts club hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't think about it too much. After all, it was Nekono's invitation; who could refuse?
Overjoyed, he showed an excited look of 'it's going to work' and said, 'Great, I'll wait for your news!'
Nekono Ikuya smiled almost imperceptibly, and was about to turn around when Furuya Rei called out to him.
Rei Furuya hesitated: "Nekono-kun, please wait a minute! I... I still don't understand why everyone mistook me for you yesterday? We look... completely different."
Upon hearing this, Nekono Ikuya simply smiled casually and replied nonchalantly, "Oh, who knows? Maybe the image of 'Nekono' is just that abstract in everyone's eyes."
Rei Furuya was taken aback and confused: "Huh?!!"
What do you mean by saying that "maybe that's how abstract the image of 'Cat Wild' is in everyone's eyes"?
Nekono Ikuya suddenly gave a slightly amused smile: "Hmm...maybe you'll find out tomorrow." Then she turned away nonchalantly.
Rei Furuya was left standing there, dumbfounded and completely bewildered. Ah, why do we have to find out tomorrow?!
A note from the author:
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