My Weirdly Cute Seatmate-chan is Cold Towards Me!

[] Prologue :- I Wanna Shut Up Ayanokōji-kun! []

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Would you believe me if I said—

"I can hear people’s thoughts"?

The answer would be no, right? Of course it would.

No sane person would buy into such bullshit. But—

"Good morning, Horikita."

I snapped out of my thoughts at the sound of that familiar, flat voice greeting me.

Ayanokōji Kiyotaka.

The boy with chestnut-brown hair, about 5'9" tall, sat down beside me with his usual poker face.

"Good morning, Ayanokōji-kun."

I returned his greeting in my usual calm manner…

But...

He didn’t even spare me another glance after that. For him, the view outside the window seemed far more interesting than I was. Or at least, that’s how it might look, but...

'Hmm... Horikita’s looking at me... should I glance back at her?... I like her.'

As you can see, it’s true—I can, in fact, hear people’s thoughts.

Since I was little, I’ve always been able to hear others’ minds.

'Arrogant.'

Because I was good at academics.

'Stuck-up.'

Because I didn’t like socializing much.

'Annoying.'

Because I preferred being straightforward and blunt.

'Bitchy.'

Because of all of the above.

That’s how people have always thought of me. Their hateful thoughts used to ring in my head, echoing over and over.

But by now, I’ve kind of gotten used to it—ever since I entered high school.

'It doesn’t bother me anymore,' I thought with a sigh.

However—

...

Only with this boy beside me—Ayanokōji-kun...

I glanced over at him, my face heating up as I remembered his earlier thoughts.

'W-why does he have to think those embarrassing words?' I couldn’t help but feel flustered, covering my face as I glared at him through my fingers.

The fact that he likes me is honestly hard to believe... with that indifferent face he always has.

"Ugh," I muttered, letting out a frustrated noise before sighing.

Our first morning lecture started soon after that, but then...

'Horikita’s looking gorgeous as ever.'

Cough, cough—

I nearly choked on the water I was drinking, snapping my head to the left to look at Ayanokōji-kun.

My cheeks started heating up all over again.

'Geez, s-stop thinking things like that!' I glared at him, covering my ears in a poor attempt to block him out.

Even with that blank, unreadable face, Ayanokōji-kun was undeniably handsome. And being handsome meant he was naturally popular at school.

I remembered a few days ago, a girl in our class confessed her feelings for him. She was one of those popular, outgoing girls—and honestly quite beautiful.