All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Kyushu University, founded in 1903, is a world-class comprehensive national research university headquartered in Fukuoka, Japan.

Strictly speaking, Kyushu University's predecessor was a branch of Kyoto Imperial University—the Fukuoka Medical College affiliated with Kyoto Imperial University. It was established as Kyushu Imperial University in 1911 and was later officially renamed Kyushu University.

Kyushu University has twelve undergraduate schools, eighteen graduate schools, and five research institutes. Although its academic disciplines cover both the humanities and sciences, a glance at the QS World University Rankings by Subject makes it clear that Kyushu University's strengths lie primarily in science-related fields.

Most students who applied to Kyushu University also studied the sciences.

Ikemi Kato herself had chosen the science track as a student. However, for reasons unknown, she had failed to gain admission to Kyushu University's Faculty of Science. After graduating from university, she had also failed to secure a professorship at Kyushu University and had been forced to settle for working as a mathematics teacher at a cram school.

Perhaps it was precisely because of those two failures involving Kyushu University that Ikemi Kato developed an obsession with the institution. Since she no longer had any chance of entering Kyushu University herself, she arbitrarily decided which university her daughter should apply to. She forced her daughter, who was poor at science, to study it and demanded that she apply to Kyushu University, hoping her daughter would fulfill the dream she herself had failed to achieve.

"Megumi, do you want to attend Kyushu University?" Kotomi Izumi asked.

Megumi Kato shook her head and said helplessly:

"At first, Mom constantly told me from the time I was little how wonderful Kyushu University was and how much she regretted failing to get in. But perhaps I was a little rebellious as a child. The more she demanded that I apply to Kyushu University when I grew up, the less I wanted to go there.

"Then one time, Mom had an argument with Grandma. She remained depressed for several days and often sat alone in her bedroom wiping away tears. Mom is the sort of person who cries, makes a scene, and threatens something drastic whenever she is upset. When she is unhappy, the atmosphere throughout the entire house becomes oppressive.

"I didn't want Mom to remain sad, so during dinner one day, I pretended to mention casually:

"'Mom, Dad, our teacher asked us in class today which university we wanted to attend when we grew up. I said I wanted to attend Kyushu University.'

"Those words truly worked. The moment Mom heard them, the gloom vanished from her face as though the sky had cleared after a storm. She kept saying that I was her good daughter.

"But from that point onward, Mom became increasingly strict about my studies. At first, my grades did improve to a certain extent. Gradually, however, the improvements became smaller and smaller. The reason was simple. The science problems were becoming more difficult, and I had never been good at science to begin with.

"So, to be completely honest, I don't want to attend Kyushu University at all, nor do I want to choose the science track in my second year. As for which university I'll apply to in the future, I still don't know. I want to learn about the different universities myself and choose the one I genuinely want to attend, instead of following Mom's demands or falsely claiming that I want to attend Kyushu University just to make her happy."

By the time Megumi Kato finished speaking to Kotomi, the two of them had almost reached the entrance of Sobu High School.

After saying all that, Megumi Kato looked at Kotomi somewhat apologetically.

"Sorry, Kotomi. Even though it's such a beautiful morning, you've had to listen to me complain the entire way from home to school."

"It's all right. Ultimately, you've kept these things bottled up inside for far too long. You need someone you can confide in, and as your girlfriend, you can talk to me whenever and wherever you want! Of course, I won't merely listen. I'll also help you think of a solution.

"First, choose the humanities track in your second year. You've already said that you aren't good at science. High school science problems become more difficult with every passing year. I imagine you've already begun to notice that.

"During the first year, you can still master most of the material by solving more science problems. But once you enter the second year and the difficulty gradually increases, you'll soon discover that while you spend enough time to solve one problem, other students can finish at least three. That may not matter much during ordinary practice, but in an examination, that kind of speed is absolutely fatal.

"It would be one thing if it only affected your regular examination results, but what happens if you fail to finish answering all the questions before time is called during the university entrance examinations?

"That wouldn't merely affect your score. It would also affect which universities you could apply to. Sigh... That's why I say Aunt Kato is being far too irrational. She knows perfectly well that you aren't good at science, yet she still insists that you choose the science track in your second year. Is Kyushu University the only good university in Japan?"

When Ikemi Kato came up, Kotomi Izumi truly became somewhat angry. Forcing her child to study a subject she was poor at and take the university entrance examinations as a science student merely because of her own obsession could no longer be described as fixation. It was sheer willfulness.

She had failed to enter Kyushu University herself, so she selfishly wanted her child to attend in her place.

Kotomi Izumi was almost grateful that Ikemi Kato was not standing in front of her right now. Had she been there, Kotomi might already have started arguing with her.

Kotomi Izumi was not remotely afraid of an argument, even if her opponent was her future mother-in-law. Besides, countless daughters-in-law had conflicts with their mothers-in-law. Arguing with her future mother-in-law a little ahead of schedule seemed perfectly reasonable. She could treat it as practice, test her mother-in-law's strength, and prepare for their future "official confrontation."

However, if they truly did argue, Megumi Kato would be the one who suffered most.

As long as an argument could be avoided, Kotomi Izumi still preferred to avoid it. There was no need to resort to violence when everyone could speak calmly.

After listening to Kotomi Izumi, Megumi Kato smiled happily. Then she reached out, pinched Kotomi's soft cheek, and asked quietly:

"Kotomi, I want to hug you."

"Huh... Here? No, no. At least not right now. No matter how badly you want to hug me, hold it in until lunch break. During lunch, we can go to the second floor of the gymnasium. Hardly anyone is usually inside the gym, and the second floor is especially quiet. Then you can hug me however you like. But absolutely not right now!"

Kotomi Izumi shook her head vigorously. Had they still been out on the street, she might have pulled Megumi into an inconspicuous corner and let her hug her for a while. But they had nearly reached the school entrance, and many students were passing nearby.

If Megumi Kato suddenly pulled her into an embrace under these circumstances, Kotomi Izumi would not be surprised no matter how outrageous the rumors spreading among the students became afterward.

It would have been manageable if Megumi Kato were her only girlfriend. The crucial problem was that besides Megumi Kato, Kotomi was also dating Yui Yuigahama! On top of Megumi and Yui, she maintained varying degrees of ambiguous intimacy with Yukino, Mashiro, and the others.

Furthermore, apart from Megumi, Yui, Yukino, Mashiro, and the rest, she also maintained close relationships with a whole crowd of female classmates. Some of the bolder girls even sent her messages late at night.

If Megumi Kato suddenly hugged her now, then for the foreseeable future, her phone calls, text messages, and LINE notifications might all display 999+.

Therefore, the safest approach was to calm Megumi Kato down first. She absolutely could not allow Megumi to hug her at the school entrance!

"Why not?" Megumi Kato asked with a faint smile, her tone sounding halfway between a challenge and a question whose answer she already knew.

"O-Of course it's because we're at the school entrance! If you hug me here, the school will definitely become flooded with rumors about us. I can already imagine how they'll spread. Things will become incredibly troublesome!"

Kotomi Izumi rattled off a long string of excuses, using every argument she could think of to persuade Megumi not to act impulsively. After all, if Megumi truly lost control and hugged her at the school entrance, little Kotomi, who always claimed she was probably the dominant one, knew herself very well. She understood that she would certainly lose all strength to resist and obediently allow Megumi to hold her.

Since that was the case, she could only persuade Megumi not to act impulsively before the impulse took hold.

Seeing Kotomi Izumi's flustered expression, Megumi Kato could not help bursting into laughter.

"That's true. My presence is practically nonexistent, but yours is extremely strong. If I hugged you at the school entrance, perhaps my nearly nonexistent presence would suddenly soar. However—"

At this point, Megumi Kato smiled meaningfully and pinched Kotomi's cheek. Then she said gently:

"Even though you knew we had almost reached the school entrance, you still firmly declared, 'As your girlfriend.' I truly don't know whether I should describe your personality as shy or bold."

Only after hearing this did Kotomi Izumi recall that she had indeed said those words earlier.

At the time, Kotomi had not thought anything was wrong with them. After all, she truly was Megumi Kato's girlfriend. But now that she thought back on it, she could not help shrinking her neck.

Although there was nothing wrong with the statement itself, they had nearly reached the school entrance. If someone had overheard her saying it, that would have been a serious problem.

At that point, it would no longer be a mere rumor. The story would be treated as confirmed fact: [Shocking! Sobu High School's belle, Kotomi Izumi, has been exposed as being in a relationship! Her lover is actually—]

Fortunately, Kotomi Izumi had not spoken loudly. There had been almost no one around when she said those words, so naturally, nobody had overheard her.

Watching Kotomi Izumi's lovely face rapidly turn red, Megumi Kato smiled gently.

"Your face has become so red. If anyone sees you in a moment, they might misunderstand and think I did something to you."

"Are you saying you haven't done anything to me?" Kotomi Izumi muttered resentfully.

However, Kotomi Izumi had not expected that quiet complaint to become the spark that lit the fuse. Megumi Kato softly asked in return:

"Oh? Then perhaps my memory isn't very good, and I forgot. Could you please recount everything to me in complete detail without leaving out a single word?"

After hearing this, Kotomi Izumi's already flushed cheeks became even redder. Overwhelmed with embarrassment, she quickened her pace and put a little distance between herself and Megumi Kato. Then she said with a crimson face:

"I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Whenever Kotomi Izumi said something like that, she was sending Megumi Kato a signal—Come coax me.

Megumi Kato jogged after Kotomi Izumi and finally managed to coax her into a good mood again before Kotomi entered the Class 1-F classroom.

After several days of vacation, seeing her classmates again did not evoke any particularly strong feelings. After all, it had not been a long holiday.

"Good morning, Seiko."

While walking toward her seat, Kotomi Izumi greeted the listless Seiko Kirigiri, who was sitting at her desk. Then she asked:

"Did you not sleep well last night? There's still half an hour before the first class. Why don't I lend you the pillow in my schoolbag? You can place it on your desk and sleep for a while."

Ever since agreeing to pretend to be Shizuka Hiratsuka's lover in November and accompany her to dinner with her parents, Kotomi Izumi had become increasingly brazen. Not only did she openly sleep with her head on her desk during class, but she also complained that the desk was too hard and uncomfortable. As a result, she placed a moderately sized pillow in her schoolbag. Whenever she wanted to sleep, she took it out, placed it on the desk, and used it as a cushion.

However, Shizuka Hiratsuka had already resigned from Sobu High School. Beginning today, Class 1-F would be taken over by a new homeroom teacher. Kotomi Izumi had been wondering whether she should behave obediently for a while and restrain her brazen conduct.

Still, although she intended to behave, she had only returned from Kyoto yesterday, and school resumed today. Naturally, Kotomi Izumi had forgotten to remove the pillow from her schoolbag.

Seiko Kirigiri had originally been somewhat drowsy, but the instant she heard Kotomi's voice and saw her face, shock jolted her fully awake. She hurriedly shook her head and said:

"Ah... K-K-K-Kotomi, good morning. There's no need, but thank you for worrying about me. I only woke up too early this morning, so I'm feeling a little sleepy."

"I see. All right, then. But Seiko, why did you become so nervous the moment you saw me?" Kotomi Izumi asked curiously after noticing Seiko Kirigiri's tension.

"I-I'm not nervous. It's because the weather is cold. It's rather chilly today, and the classroom is cold too, so I couldn't help shivering a few times while speaking."

Seiko Kirigiri used the day's weather to invent an explanation for herself. It was quite reasonable. Although the classroom had heating, someone had just opened the windows to let in fresh air, so naturally, the room was somewhat cold.

It was also perfectly normal for Seiko Kirigiri to become nervous upon seeing Kotomi Izumi.

After all, the moment she saw Kotomi Izumi, the scene from the night the cultural festival ended involuntarily resurfaced in Seiko Kirigiri's mind—the sight of Kotomi Izumi and Shizuka Hiratsuka kissing inside the classroom.

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