Yes, this guy did have a ridiculously attractive face—so much so that women couldn't help but look.
But from every angle, especially through the eyes of women like them—
Yes, he was handsome. But far too young. There was nearly a ten-year age gap, after all.
To put it bluntly—somewhat crudely—if you went back seventeen or eighteen years, she and Seika would've already been getting up by themselves, reading on their own, and making simple breakfasts, fantasizing about their own prince charming appearing like in shoujo anime.
Meanwhile, he would've still been a fertilized egg.
Only naïve youth would say things like "age doesn't matter."
For adults who've been out in the real world, seen its harshness, and gained perspective, an age gap that large matters—a lot. It's enough to determine whether pursuing anything more is even worth trying.
With that in mind, Hiratsuka Shizuka shook her head.
She figured she really was overthinking it. She knew Seika too well.
On some level, she even considered Seika more mature and responsible than herself.
After all, while Hiratsuka had still been enjoying her carefree high school days, Seika had dropped out to shoulder the burden of life after her mother passed away.
She'd taken care of her little sister ever since.
From that perspective, Hiratsuka couldn't believe someone with such a mature mindset would make a mistake like this.
Yeah, she had to be overthinking it.
Seika probably just appreciated the kid—saw him like a younger brother or something.
After finishing her mental storm of overanalysis while staring at Chisato, Hiratsuka felt like she had found the correct answer and nodded to herself in relief.
Meanwhile, on Chisato's end, he'd vaguely sensed for a while now that someone was staring at him. He glanced around the meeting table.
Aside from exchanging a sweet smile with Iroha when their eyes met, he didn't notice anything odd.
But the feeling of being stared at didn't go away, and eventually, he realized where the blind spot in his thinking had been.
He turned his head to look at Hiratsuka Shizuka, seated in the corner of the room.
Hiratsuka didn't even try to look away—or maybe she hadn't planned to in the first place.
Just staring at someone wasn't anything to be ashamed of. There was no reason to sneak around.
So she met Chisato's gaze directly and returned it with a gentle smile.
However, the moment she saw the indescribable glow in his eyes—so intense it felt like an electric shock ran through her entire body—her gentle smile began to shift in a strange and subtle way.
Chisato was puzzled by how her expression, which had started out normal, suddenly changed to a mix of shyness and awkwardness as she quickly averted her gaze.
But realizing she was Seika's friend, he just smiled in return.
Now that he'd figured out who had been staring, he relaxed and stopped glancing around.
But Hiratsuka Shizuka quietly lowered her head and bit her lip, her right hand clutching her chest as her heart pounded violently enough to leave her short of breath.
Sure, smoking and drinking were bad for the body, but her last health check had come back totally normal.
Should she go in for a heart screening?
That sudden thought popped into her mind.
The meeting continued.
After Yukino explained the origin of the pile of prizes on the table, everyone looked at Chisato in awe.
Among them, President Meguri's smile stood out as particularly heartfelt—after all, Chisato had helped her fulfill a long-held wish before graduation.
Unable to resist the crowd's encouragement, he stood up on the spot and said a few polite, formal words, prompting a round of applause from everyone.
What happened afterward had little to do with Chisato.
After all, it was a massive project that he had secured all the sponsorship for by himself.
Some people had previously criticized him for slacking off in meetings, doing nothing but snacking and drinking coffee—but now, those criticisms had completely vanished.
The following meetings focused on tallying the prizes and deciding on their distribution.
At the same time, both campuses publicly announced the special rewards for the joint sports festival via their official student social media accounts, accompanied by photos of prizes stacked like a small mountain—a pre-event teaser.
In just a short time, the number of likes and shares broke a hundred.
For a school account, that kind of engagement was quite impressive and also showed, in a way, that many students were genuinely looking forward to the event.
Everything was proceeding with great momentum.
Hiratsuka Shizuka, seeing that all was going smoothly, left early. She had a sudden issue just now and was off to consult "Dr. Google" for a diagnosis.
Thanks to everyone's enthusiasm, all the work was finished very quickly, mostly wrapping up before six.
The two student council presidents jointly announced the end of the day's efforts and officially dismissed the group.
Chisato tidied up his small area in front of him. With his bag in hand, he was ready to leave—the main cleanup was just throwing away candy and cookie wrappers.
Iroha and Yui walked over side-by-side.
"Senpai, truly outstanding people shine no matter where they are. Next time, teach me how to land sponsors like that, okay?"
"No problem. It's a bit tricky, but if you're up for it, I think someone like you could easily reach my level. After all, when it comes to charm, you're exceptional."
"I'll accept the compliment—though I hope it's not just flattery."
"Of course not."
"Since you finally came to our school, want to check out our Service Club with Yukinoshita-senpai?"
Iroha tilted her head with a smile and looked at Yukino, who happened to be passing by on her way out of the meeting room.
Yukino looked back, glanced at Chisato, then shook her head and gestured to the various documents she held in her arms.
"I still have things to discuss with the student council president. I need to head to the student council room."
She took the clubroom key out of her pocket and handed it over.
"So I won't go. Remember to lock up when you leave."
"Thank you for your hard work, Yukinoshita-senpai."
"You too—thank you all."
With a gentle smile, Yukino brushed her hair behind her ear and left the meeting room.
Chisato followed behind Iroha and Yui, exiting through the back door.
As he stepped out, he instinctively looked back in the direction Yukino had left. He caught sight of her just as she was turning a corner at the end of the hallway.
Due to the distance and the dim lighting, he couldn't be sure whether her small head tilt at the corner was just a natural movement, or if—like him—she was attempting to catch one last glimpse.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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