Early this morning he already heard gossip from classmates about Sakuramiya Hinata and Sakuramiya Saya, and now the two of them suddenly came to find him, most likely it was related to this matter.
Sure enough, after Hikari finished speaking, Sakuramiya Hinata immediately said, "Yes! As soon as we arrived at school, sister Saya and I noticed many classmates staring at us with strange looks, and not saying what was going on. Later, we asked a club leader we usually get along with and finally found out what happened "
Sakuramiya Saya also spoke anxiously, "Now quite a few classmates in our class have wrongly accused me and Hinata of being in a yuri relationship, we can't explain it, and we're about to be suffocated to death."
Hikari gave them a strange glance.
'What do you mean wrongly accused of being in a yuri relationship? Aren't you sisters exactly like a lily pair?'
Hikari immediately said, "Tachikawa, that guy, has already been dealt with. But this rumor suddenly appeared again. So, did you two get careless again, and were seen being lovey-dovey at school?"
Hearing Hikari's words, Sakuramiya Hinata and Sakuramiya Saya were stunned, then panicked.
"No, we weren't!"
"We haven't been lovey-dovey anymore!"
"Let alone being discovered at school. Hikari-kun, don't misunderstand us!"
"Hikari-kun, we sisters are already in a normal sibling relationship now, please don't get the wrong idea!"
Hikari's comment that seemed to still treat them as a lily couple immediately made Sakuramiya Hinata and Sakuramiya Saya anxious, both frantically explaining to Hikari.
Being mistaken by Hikari as still being in a yuri relationship was something extremely serious in the eyes of the Sakuramiya sisters.
At this moment, they were constantly explaining, even going off-topic and not talking about the original misunderstanding from others.
Looking at Sakuramiya Hinata and Sakuramiya Saya now anxious enough to almost cling to him, trying to prove they were now straight, Hikari had to raise his hand to signal them to calm down, "I don't know why you're so anxious, but calm down first."
"Since you weren't exposed, then what exactly is going on?"
"How did this rumor come about?"
Hearing Hikari's words, Sakuramiya Hinata and Sakuramiya Saya finally stopped leaning toward him.
The two sisters exchanged glances.
Sakuramiya Hinata spoke first, "Here's the thing. That Tachikawa guy, even though he disappeared—"
"But he seems to have scheduled a post on the school forum earlier."
"The post had a picture of me and sister... kissing, and then it spread... spread rumors that my sister and I were yuri or something."
"After that post was published, the rumor gradually spread."
Hikari stared speechlessly at the two sisters, 'What do you mean by 'rumor'? Isn't it just the truth?'
"You sisters, aren't you in that kind of relationship?", Hikari couldn't help but say.
"Aiya! We're not anymore! Hikari-kun!"
"Hikari-kun, we're really not a lily couple anymore! We've even slept in separate rooms for several weeks!"
Hearing Hikari's words, Sakuramiya Hinata and Sakuramiya Saya were extremely flustered.
"Alright, alright," Hikari nodded, pretending to believe them.
Sakuramiya Hinata and Sakuramiya Saya immediately looked at Hikari with pleading eyes, "Hikari-kun, what should we do now?"
Hikari had helped them many times before, so the Sakuramiya sisters not only trusted him but even had a bit of dependency on him.
In response, Hikari simply shrugged and said, "It's no big deal. Whatever you sisters want to do is your own business. Even if you really were yuri, so what? It's your freedom. It's none of their business, so why care what they say?"
Sakuramiya Hinata said helplessly, "Hikari-kun, you're right. Actually, sister and I don't care about the gossip anymore."
"But we're afraid if this continues, and our parents find out, that might be bad."
Sakuramiya Saya followed up, "We're from a restructured family, so we want this matter to die down as soon as possible."
Hikari said, "Everyone's just chasing gossip and hot topics, so they keep talking about you. In a few days, when there's new gossip, like who started dating or who got an abortion, they won't care about you anymore."
Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hinata and Sakuramiya Saya both gave bitter smiles.
Sakuramiya Saya said helplessly, "Hikari-kun, you're right, we actually understand this."
"But we sisters have to be together every day, and we always get gossiped about."
"Plus, since we've always been together and have participated in competitions, a lot of people know us. No matter where we go, we're pointed at, it's really hard to find peace."
"My sister and I have always gone to and from school together. We're used to it. But if we suddenly separate, people will think we're avoiding suspicion, which just confirms the yuri rumor…"
After listening to what Sakuramiya Saya and Sakuramiya Hinata said, Hikari thought for a moment, "That does seem to be the case…"
Once a rumor spreads, it's nearly impossible to refute.
With preconceived notions, whether people see the Sakuramiya sisters together or apart, they'll assume it's due to a yuri relationship.
As the saying goes, "Rumors fly with one mouth, but refuting them breaks your legs."
Hikari immediately asked, "So what are you planning to do?"
The sisters suddenly exchanged glances, then Sakuramiya Hinata turned to Hikari and said, "My sister and I have an idea to break the rumor. But... we need your help, Hikari-kun. So, Hikari-kun, could you help us?"
Hikari raised an eyebrow, "What do you need help with?"
Sakuramiya Hinata blushed slightly and lowered her head, seemingly a little embarrassed.
Sakuramiya Saya helped explain, "Actually, the plan is simple. Since the rumor says Hinata and I are in a yuri relationship, we just need to prove we're straight."
"And to prove that, one of us just needs to have a boyfriend, enter a relationship."
"But because of that Tachikawa guy, we don't trust any other boys. The only one Hinata and I can trust is you, Hikari-kun."
"So, we want to ask Hikari-kun, can you pretend to be Hinata's boyfriend for a while?"
"As long as you pretend to be Hinata's fake boyfriend for a while, the yuri rumor will collapse by itself."
Hearing Sakuramiya Saya's words, Hikari immediately understood.
So this was what the sisters were planning.
Can't deny it, it was indeed a valid plan.
To prove you're not bent, finding a boyfriend is the fastest.
But… it would require him to sell some charm, and might hurt his reputation…
Seeing that Hikari didn't immediately agree, Sakuramiya Saya quickly said, "Hikari-kun, please help us!"
Sakuramiya Hinata also blushingly said to Hikari, "P-please help sister and me… we'll be... grateful to Hikari-kun…"
Looking at the pleading eyes of the Sakuramiya sisters—
Hikari finally nodded, "Fine, I'll pretend to be a fake boyfriend for a while."
"Thank you, Hikari-kun!"
"Hikari-kun, you're such a good person!"
Hearing Hikari agree, the Sakuramiya sisters were overjoyed, their faces full of delight.
Hikari waved his hand, indicating it was nothing.
He didn't ask for any thanks from the Sakuramiya sisters, he didn't care about that.
After all, he had already earned a lot of Pure Love Points by using the Sakuramiya sisters to bait Tachikawa before.
So doing them a small favor like this wasn't much.
And just when Hikari agreed, a notification sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Helped the Sakuramiya sisters dispel a rumor and thwarted Tachikawa's posthumous scheme, successfully promoted the spirit of pure love!]
[Reward obtained: Pure Love Points +50!]
Looks like Tachikawa had set this up before he died and continued to trouble the Sakuramiya sisters even after death.
So Hikari helping them earned him a Pure Love Points reward.
Not much, but even a mosquito is still meat, an unexpected bonus.
After chatting a bit more and confirming how Hikari would fake being Hinata's boyfriend, the two sides parted and returned to their classes.
Watching Hikari's departing figure, Sakuramiya Hinata and Sakuramiya Saya didn't leave right away. Instead, they looked at each other, their bright eyes full of undisguisable joy.
"Yay! Our plan succeeded, sis!", Sakuramiya Hinata couldn't help but say excitedly.
"Yes! We were worried about how to continue getting close to Hikari-kun after dealing with that damn Tachikawa... didn't expect that guy actually scheduled that post, what a nice surprise!", Sakuramiya Saya clenched her fist and said.
"This way, we can stay by Hikari-kun's side and slowly develop the relationship," Thinking of becoming 'a couple' with Hikari, Sakuramiya Hinata's lips curled upward uncontrollably.
Noticing her sister's emotional reaction, Sakuramiya Saya warned, "Hinata, this plan is something we discussed yesterday together."
"We're using this opportunity to approach Hikari-kun together and steal him away from women like Natsuha."
"We're partners, so while pretending to be a couple with Hikari-kun, don't hog him for yourself."
Snapping out of her daydream, Sakuramiya Hinata's eyes flashed, and she quickly grabbed Sakuramiya Saya's hand, "Aiya, sis, what are you worried about? We already agreed, first pull Hikari-kun away from those other women, then we compete fairly."
"There are so many of them. Of course we have to cooperate to win over Hikari-kun!"
Sakuramiya Saya nodded: "Good."
Happy, the sisters walked off shoulder to shoulder, humming little tunes.
Especially Sakuramiya Hinata, beaming with joy, her little face full of glee.
———
On the other side, Hikari didn't know he had just been 'counter-schemed.'
Just as he returned to class, he saw a graceful figure with long straight purple hair standing beside his seat.
Natsuha was already 'done in' yesterday and probably couldn't walk today.
So this purple-haired figure wasn't Natsuha, but another familiar face, class rep Chizuru Shiina.
"Hikari-kun~", Seeing Hikari, Chizuru Shiina immediately waved and greeted him warmly.
Normally upright and overly serious, Chizuru Shiina was now oddly warm toward Hikari, which was strange and surprising.
But the surrounding students didn't react.
Probably because they had just seen Hikari getting involved with the pretty Sakuramiya sisters, despite already juggling multiple girls.
The class had developed some immunity, nothing seemed to surprise them anymore.
From their numb expressions, even if Hikari got close with the teacher or the dean, they would probably understand.
Ignoring everyone's reactions, Hikari returned to his seat and asked Chizuru Shiina, "What's up, class rep?"
Chizuru Shiina shook the homework booklet in her hand, "Time to hand in homework."
Hikari rummaged through his bag, then spread his hands, "Didn't bring it."
Chizuru Shiina rolled her eyes at him, "Hikari-kun, don't tell me you didn't write it again."
Hikari shrugged, he had been partying and gaming all day yesterday after returning home, charging into one zone after another.
The game's stages were tough, you had to storm fifteen dungeons and slay five demons to clear it.
The game's designer had no mercy. Each dungeon was tight and narrow, hard to get in and out of, and full of disasters, sometimes floods, sometimes fire, hard to defend against.
Luckily, he was a pro gamer, with masterful spear skills and above-average physical abilities, letting him defeat enemies and pass all levels.
Otherwise, he'd have collapsed long ago, how could he have time to write homework?
Although Chizuru Shiina didn't know Hikari had been drained dry yesterday, she seemed to expect this.
Waving the homework booklet in her hand, she said, "I guessed you'd say that, so I already did it for you!"
"Thanks, class rep," Hikari immediately said with gratitude.
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