All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Class 1-F.

As the school bell rang to signal the end of the day, Megumi Kato, who originally planned to head to the library to wait for Kotomi as usual, suddenly remembered what Kotomi had told her earlier.

”That’s right, Kotomi said she’d be staying late today and couldn’t walk home with me. I wonder how her painting is coming along?” Megumi murmured to herself.

Although she had felt a tinge of discomfort earlier when she saw Kotomi walking side by side with Mashiro, she reminded herself that both of them were in the art club. It made sense for them to go to the art room together—it wasn’t something to dwell on too much.

”If I keep getting hung up on things like this, wouldn’t I seem petty?” Megumi thought, glancing at Kotomi’s desk before slowly resting her hand on its surface.

”Are you not going to the library today, Megumi?”

Yui Yuigahama, who had just packed her bag and was preparing to leave, noticed Megumi walking in the same direction as her. This was unusual since Megumi would normally head to the library after school to do homework and wait for Kotomi to finish her club activities.

Seeing Megumi unexpectedly take the same route, Yui curiously asked about it.

”Kotomi told me earlier that she’d be staying late because of the art competition, so she told me not to wait for her. Since I won’t be waiting for her today, there’s no need for me to go to the library,” Megumi replied calmly.

Megumi felt a little uneasy remembering how close Kotomi and Mashiro had seemed earlier. Adding to her frustration was the memory of how Mashiro had accidentally witnessed her kissing Kotomi in the art room. These things weighed on her mind, making her feel slightly irritable.

Running into Yui, Megumi decided to chat with her as a distraction.

”Oh, it’s for the art competition. That makes sense—after all, the submission deadline is coming up soon. Kotomi and Mashiro must be using every spare moment to work on their paintings,” Yui said with a lighthearted laugh.

”Is the deadline coming up already?” Megumi asked in surprise.

Kotomi had never mentioned the exact deadline, so Megumi had assumed it was still months away.

”Yeah, September’s almost over. I’m not sure when the exhibition will be held, but I can’t wait to see Kotomi and Mashiro’s paintings on display. I wonder what they’ve painted?” Yui said, her voice filled with excitement.

Hearing this, Megumi’s expression turned proud as she replied with a confident smile, ”I might not know what Mashiro painted, but I think I can guess what Kotomi’s theme is.”

Yui was taken aback, her face lighting up with curiosity as she pressed Megumi for details.

”Really? Megumi, can you really guess what Kotomi painted?”

”Of course,” Megumi replied, her tone brimming with confidence.

”Then tell me!”

”I think…”

Megumi paused dramatically, drawing out the suspense as Yui impatiently urged her to continue. Finally, she said, ”Kotomi mentioned that she wanted her painting to feature not just scenery but also people. While I can’t be sure about the scenery, I think there’s a good chance she painted me into her artwork!”

”Huh? Really? Hahaha… Megumi, you’ve definitely picked up some habits from Kotomi. You’re starting to sound as natural as she does when joking around,” Yui said, bursting into laughter.

”Believe it or not, you’ll see for yourself when Kotomi’s painting is showcased at the exhibition!” Megumi retorted, her tone unwavering, exuding an air of certainty.

Previously, when Kotomi was troubled over the theme of her painting, Megumi suggested that she shouldn’t be confined to a single format and could try incorporating both scenery and characters into her work.

For Kotomi at that moment, this advice was like a lightbulb moment—precise and insightful—instantly opening up a flood of ideas for her painting.

After offering her suggestion, Megumi even subtly hinted multiple times that she wanted Kotomi to make her the protagonist in the painting.

Although Kotomi didn’t give a direct response at the time, Megumi felt that she had dropped enough hints—nearly spelling it out right in front of Kotomi. Even if Kotomi could sometimes be a bit slow on the uptake, surely she wouldn’t miss the meaning this time. Unless, of course, this little penguin’s head was made of wood!

Thus, Megumi naturally assumed that Kotomi would definitely paint her as the sole protagonist in the artwork.

Every time Kotomi talked about her painting, her confident expression was unmistakable.

When Kotomi was happy, Megumi was happy too. To Megumi, Kotomi’s confidence seemed like a reflection of the emotions she had poured into painting her.

Throughout history, how many artists have used their artwork to express their love for the ones they cherished most?

Whenever Megumi thought of this, she couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes, she even dreamed of the day Kotomi’s painting would be displayed at the exhibition for the first time.

In her dream, the beautiful protagonist in Kotomi’s painting was herself. When the painting moved her to tears, Kotomi would walk up to her, gently take her hand, and slide a delicate, sparkling ring onto her finger. With a sweet and serious expression, she would say:

”Megumi, marry me.”

Perhaps it might really happen this way, Megumi thought, her imagination running wild. She even started pondering what to wear when she attended the exhibition to see Kotomi’s painting.

Should she just bring two wedding dresses along?!

”By the way, Yui, aren’t you cold wearing just a short-sleeve T-shirt?”

Megumi turned her attention to Yui, noticing that she was only wearing the school’s short-sleeve T-shirt. Yui’s jacket was nowhere to be seen.

”It’s fine. I worked up a bit of a sweat earlier, so this feels cooler. I put my jacket in my bag,” Yui replied nonchalantly.

”Be careful not to catch a cold.”

”Don’t worry, my mom always says kids like me hardly ever get sick,” Yui said proudly.

”I don’t think that’s exactly a compliment...” Megumi said with a wry smile.

There’s an old saying:

Fools rarely catch colds.

The two continued chatting as they walked toward the school gates. When they reached the entrance, Yui paused to say goodbye.

”Megumi, I’m heading to the supermarket to pick up groceries for dinner. I’ll take this path. See you tomorrow.”

”Take care.”

The two parted ways at the gate, each heading in different directions.

After walking a dozen steps, Yui suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Megumi’s retreating figure.

Watching Megumi disappear from sight, Yui muttered softly to herself:

”Sorry, Megumi, but I can’t let such a good opportunity slip by. Besides... Kotomi still hasn’t tasted the cake I made for her!”

Yui opened her bag and glanced at the paper box nestled carefully inside, wrapped securely in her school jacket. She had been walking cautiously, ensuring the cake she made for Kotomi didn’t get jostled or ruined.

”Good thing I thought to wrap the box with my jacket before heading out. This way, it didn’t move around in my bag. Hehe, I really am a genius,” Yui said, smiling to herself.

Glancing again in the direction Megumi had gone, she confirmed that Megumi was no longer in sight. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief, turn around, and head back toward the school.

This sudden idea had popped into Yui’s mind earlier while chatting with Megumi. Upon learning that Kotomi would be staying late at school, Yui had decided to seize this rare chance.

Since Megumi wasn’t waiting for Kotomi today, didn’t that mean Yui could take this chance to stay at school and wait for Kotomi instead? Once she saw Kotomi, she could hand her the cake directly!

Wasn’t this essentially a ”lure the tiger from its mountain lair” strategy?

And Megumi was the ”tiger.”

Yui stood at the entrance of the school building, waiting for nearly an hour. She saw many students finishing their club activities and leaving school one after another, but there was still no sign of Kotomi.

”Could it be that Kotomi doesn’t leave through the main gate after school?”

Yui paced back and forth at the entrance, glancing left and right, waiting for almost 80 minutes!

Just as Yui was about to head to the art club to check if Kotomi was still painting, she spotted someone bending over to change shoes not far away—it was Kotomi!

The bending angle, however, was a bit... excessive.

Kotomi had just finished changing her shoes and picked up her bag, ready to head home and play games, when she noticed Yui standing at the school entrance, seemingly waiting for her.

”Yui?!”

Kotomi was both delighted and surprised to see Yui there. She quickly took a few eager steps forward.

”Why are you waiting for me here?”

”Eh hehe...”

Yui scratched her head sheepishly. She knew what she was about to say might be a little embarrassing, but if she didn’t say it, it would keep itching at her mind.

To say it or not to say it?

After a moment of inner turmoil, Yui made her choice—to say it!

”Kotomi, when you were changing your shoes just now, you bent over a little too much.”

”Oh? Really?” Kotomi laughed, a bit carefree. ”It’s no big deal. My back is flexible and in great shape! Some of the girls in the dance program are super envious of how flexible I am. They always say I’m a natural at dancing.

”But I’m a bit lazy and don’t want to learn dance. So, every time they invite me, I find some excuse to avoid it. Just watching them practice is enough to make me feel tired—I can’t handle that kind of effort!”

Thinking she would have to head home alone, Kotomi was unexpectedly thrilled to run into Yui waiting for her at the school entrance. This made her chatty, and she began talking about everything on her mind.

Sometimes, running into a familiar face or friend triggers an uncontrollable urge to talk, as though there’s an endless list of things to say.

Yui, however, scratched her cheek with her fingertip and hesitated before awkwardly saying:

”Kotomi, the pink one is really cute. It suits you.”

Hearing this, Kotomi was momentarily stunned, unable to react. After standing there dumbfounded for half a minute, she finally realized what Yui meant. Her face immediately turned crimson.

Yui had been referring to her ”undergarments”—the ones she wore under her skirt today!

”Yui!”

”I—I didn’t mean to look! I just happened to glance your way when you were bending over to put on your shoes. I accidentally saw it! But really, the pink suits you, and that little bear on the back is so cute,” Yui stammered, flustered.

In her nervousness, Yui had unintentionally blurted out more details of what she ”accidentally” saw.

”Forget it right now!”

Kotomi, her face burning red, shouted in embarrassment.

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