To Be the Perfect Childhood Friend - Chapter 53

“Sorry for being late.”

She didn’t have to look back to know he’d run all the way here, the heavy breathing mingling with the words.

Anita hadn’t made any promises to meet him later. Why did he speak as if she had waited for him?

“Sorry to interrupt, but there’s someone else here.”

Edmund’s casual voice chimed in. Anita felt relieved that it wasn’t just her and Rutger alone.

“Mind stepping aside?”

“I think she’s afraid of you. What am I supposed to trust you?”

“What?”

“Wait, you look quite familiar. Do we know each other?”

Anita recognized that her choice to emerge from behind Edmund was too impulsive. She cautiously walked out from behind him, directly facing Rutger.

“What’s going on here?”

Although she had many questions for him, seeing Rutger in person left her speechless.

“What’s going on? I came to pick you up.”

What would have sounded like an innocent comment now sounded different: He knew she was injured and wanted to pick her up.

Just as Anita was about to choose her words of refusal, Edmund snapped his fingers.

“I remember! Aren’t you Stalker #1?”

“#1? What are you talking about?”

Anita’s head was already pounding. She didn’t want to explain everything about Stalker #1 and the events that had unfolded so far to Rutger.

“Who’s that? Do you have something to hide from me?”

“No…”

“What’s the big deal about hiding things? Everyone has secrets they can’t tell.”

“Wait a minute….”

“Why don’t you stay out of it, you’re the student council president, don’t you have that much to do?”

Both of them surely couldn’t see Anita. Otherwise, there would be no reason to treat her like a ghost.

Anita decided to just go for it. Things had already taken a turn. Besides, Rutger knew about her injured ankle.

“Ah!”

The gradually escalating voices of the two suddenly turned towards Anita. Smirking discreetly, she began a more convincing act of pretending to be in pain.

“My leg hurts so much that I can’t stand any longer, and I think I might have a fever…”

In Anita’s view, her acting abilities were rather poor. She spoke in a flat tone, and her face lacked expression.

However, because both Rutger and Edmund already knew about Anita’s injury, they stopped their argument and started examining her with concerned expressions.

Anita didn’t want to be alone with Rutger. Edmund, on the other hand, seemed eager to escort her back, expressing concern. Rutger had come looking for her to pick her up as well.

As a result, Anita found herself walking between the two.

Anita was satisfied with the outcome.

“You look suspicious. What’s been going on lately?”

Rutger still couldn’t shake off his suspicions and continued to question Anita. Ignoring him, she quickly turned her head and spoke to Edmund.

“Senior, thank you for walking me back. I appreciate it, even though it might be inconvenient for you.”

Edmund, with a somewhat smirking expression, glanced at Rutger for a moment before responding to Anita.

“Not that much of a bother.”

“Seems like you’re really free?”

“Helping a junior isn’t considered being free. I’m quite curious about what you think the responsibilities of a student council president are.”

“You’re just wasting resources unnecessarily. I can take Anita with me. Why don’t you go and find someone who needs additional help?”

Anita squeezed her fingers between them, feeling that bringing Edmund along might have been a rash decision.

To the two much taller individuals, Anita’s presence seemed almost non-existent. They resumed their argument, with Anita in the middle, listening until she couldn’t bear it anymore. If this was the case, she thought, why didn’t they find a quiet spot to settle their dispute instead of keeping her stuck in this awkward position?

Of course, speaking up wouldn’t make them stop, so Anita chose to quietly block her ears.

“Additional help? Like what?”

“That’s none of my business, I’m not an insider.”

It was clear that both of them had forgotten about Anita.Whereas at first they had seemed to be supporting Anita, who was caught in the middle, they were now treating her like a wall, barely keeping them from lunging at each other.

As the argument intensified, their excitement caused them to close the gap between each other. Consequently, Anita found herself being pushed away.

What’s going on?

She felt a sense of confusion.

Perhaps Rutger volunteering to help Anita was just an excuse. An excuse to confront Edmund. 

Come to think of it, Rutger had always shown some resentment towards Edmund without apparent reasons. Back then, she believed it was just jealousy or obsession.

They continued to argue and walk, completely unaware that Anita had been left behind.

If they couldn’t resolve their issues, they might as well throw gloves at each other.

Anita sighed, her exhaustion evident on her face.

It was a good thing. It was tiring walking between the two of them, and they were gone at the same time. How convenient.

“What’s up? Why are you still back there?”

If her leg were in good shape, she might not have needed their assistance at all. Anita refrained from saying this, choosing to swallow the words that had risen to her throat.

“Yeah, I don’t know either.”