As I Know Anything About You, I'll Be The One To Your Girlfriend, Aren't I? - Volume 1 Chapter 1.6

Why Is It Bright Red? 6

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“It’s a movie that both of you wanted to see, and it just so happens to be playing. It might be a cliché date plan, but hey.”

“That’s fine. Clichés are classic, right?”

“Right? Hehe, seriously, thank you, Kuuya.”

“You’re welcome.”

At night, in my room.

The call was from my friend, Yuuji, who had just managed to set up a date with the girl he liked.

“What movie are you guys watching?”

“The remake of ‘Dead or Hard.’ Nakabayashi likes action movies, it seems.”

“That one, huh. You wanted to see it too.”

“Exactly. I’ve been saying I wanted to see it, and… you kept turning me down every time I invited you!”

“My bad.”

I apologize with a wry smile to Yuuji, who sounded a bit grumpy.

“Well, you’re busy. Your paintings are popular after all, Kuuya. But I get it, I don’t know much about art, but even I can tell your work is something special.”

“Oh, that’s nice to hear. How about it then? Would you like to make a purchase?”

“Alright, I’ll buy it cheap and sell it for a fortune later! …But seriously, it might really become a treasure in the future, you know…?”

“No way.”

“It will! There’s no way it wouldn’t. You’re definitely going to be a famous artist in the future.”

Yuuji’s voice carried a serious tone. He occasionally says things like this with sincerity.

Flattered and a bit embarrassed, I changed the subject.

“So, what’s the plan after the movie?”

“I was thinking of grabbing some tea somewhere. After that, no plans. Do you know any good spots around the cinema? I don’t go around there much, so I don’t know.”

“Well, I often go there because there’s an art supply store, but if we’re talking about places that girls might like…”

“You know plenty of places! You hang out with Ado-san a lot.”

“That’s true, but it’s not like we’re dating.”

“It’s weird, though. You two get along so well.”

“It’s just Suika being considerate.”

She says it’s worrying to let me go out alone.

“Some people even think you two are dating.”

“Yuuji, how accurate do you think my ability to sense interest is?”

Upon hearing that, Yuuji seemed to nod in agreement over the phone.

“Hmm… then, what about Kujo-san? Do you hang out with her?”

“No way, man. Who do you think she is?”

“I know, but still. I think you’re probably the only one in school who can talk to Kujo-san normally.”

“I’m just the class relayer because our seats are next to each other. She says it’s more efficient than talking to everyone in the class. She even thanked me for it today.”

“Huh, Kujo-san really is something else.”

Yuuji wasn’t mocking her; his voice genuinely expressed admiration.

“I had her in my class during the first year, you know. Kujo-san isn’t bad at talking or anything. If she needs to, she’ll speak up in class. She just doesn’t bother with small talk because she’s not interested in people.”

“Right, she talks quite normally when we’re exchanging class messages.”

“…”

“Sometimes she talks so fast, it’s like, ‘I’m speaking with someone super smart!'”

“…Ugh, that’s exactly it.”

“What’s up?”

When I asked, Yuuji replied with a slightly troubled voice.

“I was thinking back to our first year, if she ever talked like that to the person next to her. I don’t think she did… So, as far as I know, you’re the only one in school who can talk to Kujo-san like that.”

“Is that so?”

“Our class hasn’t changed seats since April, so I’m the only one who’s been next to Kujo-san.”

“Now, because you’re next to her, everyone asks you to relay messages, right? But back in the first year, we didn’t do that, so we had to muster our courage to talk to her.”

“Really? …Don’t you just need not to be scared? I get it, though.”

“Easy for you to say… It’s intimidating, alright? She’s so beautiful it’s almost surreal to have someone like that in real life.”

“Her presence does feel a bit unreal.”

“Right? And if you try to talk to her, you get that super formal, bureaucratic response. Not like she’s ignoring you, but you only get the bare minimum necessary… Makes you want to apologize for even speaking.”

“Formal, huh… I guess she is cool, but Kujo-san actually does share quite a bit with me.”

“How do you even communicate with her…? Everyone else gives up before getting to that point! How come you… really, why? Maybe Kujo-san likes you or something?”

“Are you serious?”

“Not at all.”

“Laughable.”

We both laughed heartily for a moment.

…While laughing, the image of the red color I saw from her flickered in the back of my mind.

“Right, back to you, Yuuji. If you’re looking for a place to hang out around the cinema, how about an arcade? It’s clean, and there are quite a few couples there.”

I occasionally go there with Suika on our way back from the art supply store. Mostly, it’s to watch Suika dance energetically on the dance game. It’s fun, so I’m pretty satisfied.

“Oh, an arcade. Nakabayashi might like that. Okay, okay, thanks!”

“Alright, good luck.”

“Thanks!”

Yuuji’s voice was filled with determination. I told him I was rooting for him and tapped the end call button.

An arcade, huh? I haven’t been there in a while.

I haven’t been playing games much lately, either. Yuuji and I used to play some obscure mobile game, but it was so obscure it ended up getting shut down.

That game had fun co-op play. I wonder if there’s something similar now.

I searched on my smartphone for “recommended mobile games cooperative play.”

“Ooh…”

I found a title that was just recently released. It has pretty good reviews. It’s an action game where you fight in robots.

Since it’s free to play, I decided to download it… when another call came in.

Yuuji again, or maybe Suika? Assuming as much, I checked the screen—

“Huh!?”

I couldn’t help but let out a sound of surprise.

Because the caller ID read Kujo Kurenai. I remember we exchanged contacts once, saying it might be useful for something.

Though we did exchange them…

“What’s this about…?”

It was surprising that she, acknowledged by both herself and others as “Human Haters,” would call me.

Maybe she doesn’t consider me a human? With such a silly thought for a moment, I tapped the call button.

“Miyashiro speaking. Kujo-san?”

“…”

“…Eh, Kujo-san, right? Or is this a wrong call?”

Could it be a mistaken tap? While I waited, just in case, a response came after a few seconds.

Translator’s note : Hello everyone. i will release bonus chapter today if this novel rating reach good  20 rating in NovelUpdates. Thanks~! https://www.novelupdates.com/series/as-i-know-anything-about-you-ill-be-the-one-to-your-girlfriend-arent-i/