Kiyoharu Skillfully Uses Shifting Blame

Airi recounted indignantly, the sweet wine in her cup sloshing with her fluctuating emotions.

As Gen'ichiro had instructed, Airi was not allowed to display her true personal emotions in public. Leaders had to be inscrutable to earn the awe of their subordinates.

But Airi was genuinely angry about this matter. She felt she hadn't done anything wrong, so why was she being targeted?

Kiyoharu didn't find it strange. "Anyone can target you if there's a conflict of interest. It doesn't matter who you've crossed or who's right or wrong."

"Hmph... Honestly, everyone only thinks of their own petty gains. How can we improve the Chihaya Conglomerate by being with these vermin?"

"There aren't many people who actually want to improve the Chihaya Conglomerate; they're just temporary alliances formed for their own benefit," Kiyoharu quipped. "After all, it's called the 'Chihaya Conglomerate,' not the 'People's Conglomerate.' By the way, who is Department Head Kuroda? I've sort of forgotten. Is he the one who looks like a sea bass?"

"Hahaha, sea bass!" Airi burst into laughter. "That's him."

"A mere department head, and in charge of production management at that. If he didn't have someone backing him up, how would he dare to criticize you in a meeting to assign responsibility for the accident? It's highly likely one of your 'loving' relatives is causing trouble behind the scenes."

"Tsk."

The more Airi thought about it, the more she felt it was indeed likely the case.

She glanced sideways at Kiyoharu. He had found a chair, was drinking milk, and was leisurely squinting as he looked out at the night view.

Airi suddenly realized that she rarely saw Kiyoharu looking flustered or anxious. When she was feeling down, just being around him naturally dissolved her negative emotions.

"It's getting late. We'll investigate Mr. Sea Bass tomorrow. Let's just drink and sleep well tonight," Kiyoharu said, leaning closer to Airi's wine glass and fanning the air towards his nose to confirm the low alcohol content of the sweet wine, putting his mind at ease.

If Airi were to foolishly drink some hard liquor and then throw a drunken tantrum, Mira's audio sleep aid might be in vain.

"What, Kiyoharu-kun are you tired and trying to usher me out?" Airi asked with some displeasure. "Will you die if you chat with me a bit longer?"

"Chat, chat, we can chat about anything. What does the young lady want to talk about?"

"You're getting paid, so you should be the one to find topics."

Ah, this Red-Eyed Devil is so troublesome!

Kiyoharu suddenly realized that when he accepted the paid companionship, they hadn't clearly discussed the duration.

It seemed his vigilance towards the Red-Eyed Devil had decreased recently, or perhaps Ayano's harassment had distracted him, preventing him from maintaining clear boundaries with Airi in all matters.

Since that was the case, Kiyoharu decided to bring up a topic useful to him. "I heard Miss Kitahara's father has an illegitimate child outside..."

Kiyoharu's sentence abruptly stopped, cut off by Airi's sudden sharp gaze. She glared at Kiyoharu, then adopted her classic squinting, scrutinizing expression.

"This is information that very few people know. I want Kiyoharu-kun to answer me seriously: where did you learn this?"

"Of course, Miss Kitahara told me herself, just this week... Oh, it's past midnight, so it was last week. Last week, when I was modeling for her, she mentioned some family matters during our casual chat."

"What else did you discuss?"

"I don't remember very clearly. It probably covered some gossip about Chihaya Academy, my views on current popular art, and the impact of artificial intelligence technology on the art industry."

Kiyoharu rattled off a fabricated, mundane, and normal midday chat, pushing all suspicion onto Ayano.

When he realized the secrecy of the "illegitimate child" information, he knew an opportunity had arrived!

Kiyoharu bore no responsibility for the affair in the first place; it was purely Ayano's doing. If he could make Airi wary of Ayano, while simultaneously preventing her from suspecting him, he could use Airi's suspicion to resist Ayano's harassment.

Kiyoharu had used this tactic several times before, and it had always worked.

In the past, women who had designs on Kiyoharu had appeared from Chihaya Academy, distant family relatives, and even employees under Airi's command. Kiyoharu had always used Airi as a weapon, nipping the trouble in the bud.

However, the same tactic couldn't be easily used on Ayano because she was Airi's best friend and hid her true nature very well. She had never exposed her "womanizer" tendencies to Airi, and Airi had even asked Kiyoharu to take good care of her!

Now, by leveraging a small information gap and a bit of manipulation, Kiyoharu was steering the course of events.

Airi's fair, tender hands tightened around her wine glass, her lips pursed in silent thought.

"Perhaps she thought she had already mentioned it to me, so she didn't feel the need to keep it secret from you."

"Oh, that makes sense," Kiyoharu smiled. "In her eyes, we're a loving couple, inseparable."

"Get lost, who's inseparable with you?"

"It's just a figure of speech. Besides, we are indeed deep partners, right? Although the nature of our relationship appears different from the outside," Kiyoharu finished the warm milk in his cup. "It's quite absurd. I believe Ayano's abilities are more than sufficient to inherit the family business."

"Back when Ayano and her younger brother were children, their father had them take an IQ test. The data showed that her brother's potential far exceeded Ayano's. It was probably from then on that Ayano's father decided on the principles for distributing the family fortune."

Good heavens, so it was decided by an IQ test?

Kiyoharu found this rather absurd. IQ tests only reflect a one-sided logical ability; they don't necessarily indicate that a high score guarantees leadership of a family to glory.

He was more inclined to believe it was an excuse, and in reality, the old geezer of the Kitahara family simply favored his illegitimate son.

"Besides, Ayano really isn't cut out for it, is she? She's very talented in painting, but she's completely clueless about business management, especially in finance and actuarial science. She lacks sensitivity to numbers. Tsk... In short, she's just a very artistic young girl. She'd be perfectly suited to manage a gallery with the help of professional managers."

"Then, would it be appropriate for the family to arrange a marriage for her?"

"Oh my, Kiyoharu-kun feels sorry for her, or perhaps finds it a pity?" Airi teased.

"What's there to pity? You yourself said she doesn't have the capability. So, I think it's quite good for her to obediently listen to her parents. In other words, if she were as capable as you, young lady, she could completely control her own destiny."

Kiyoharu's flattery made Airi quite comfortable. Ah, normally I find it annoying when those subordinates flatter me, but why does the same kind of talk sound so pleasant coming from Kiyoharu-kun?

In reality, Kiyoharu was thinking that the Red-Eyed Devil had a physiological aversion to men. If she could just find a man, any living man, to get engaged to, Gen'ichiro would be singing praises to the heavens, let alone caring about marriage arrangements.

Much like Mr. Lu Xun's "window theory," precisely because Airi's situation was so extreme, Gen'ichiro's requirements for a son-in-law were infinitely lowered.

However...

Will Ayano really go along with her family's arrangements?

Based on the signs we have so far, it's unlikely things will be that simple.

A seemingly perfect, high-society girl suddenly starts secretly pursuing her best friend's fiancé. This is clearly a rebellious phase, amplified by her superpowers... Ugh, I can't even imagine!

Oh well, let's take it one step at a time.

Just then, Airi's phone chimed with a notification. She picked it up and glanced at it, her face immediately contorting with disgust.

Kiyoharu leaned in to watch the drama unfold. It turned out to be Takagi Akane's social media account, which had posted a photo taken at Narita International Airport with the caption:

[A journey of atonement returning to my hometown, for those I hurt with my past ignorance]

At first glance, it seemed like the typical dramatic, late-night emo post from a high school girl suffering from first-world problems. But upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a veiled reference to the mess she caused back in the day when she was pursuing Kiyoharu.

"Fake little b*tch!" Airi's eyes blazed, clearly recalling Takagi Akane's past outrageous behavior that had shaken the entire school.

"Exactly," Kiyoharu agreed.

"It seems that girl is supposed to report to Chihaya Academy tomorrow. Kiyoharu, I'll have someone keep a close eye on you. Make sure you behave yourself."

"Got it, don't worry."

Kiyoharu yawned and headed upstairs to bed.

Airi, however, stayed downstairs a little longer. Her beautiful eyes flickered in the darkness as she repeatedly edited her messages in the chat window with Shimaura Hitomi. In the end, aside from the part about Takagi Akane, she added an extra instruction.

[Also, keep an eye on Ayano. If she does anything strange, notify me immediately]

It should... be fine, right?

Hopefully, it will be.

After all, Airi doesn't have many friends.