Matsushita's Probing Model Couple

Become the First in Your Heart

"Bang, bang, bang."

Inside the dorm room, Kushida punched the Punching Bag again and again, freely venting the dissatisfaction in her heart.

"Damn Horikita, Hurry Up and drop out already. Go to hell, this old lady!"

Thirty minutes had already passed since they returned to the dorm, and Kushida's stamina seemed quite impressive.

Yeyue lay on his side on the bed, eating Potato Chips as he watched this Bishojo throw punches. Whenever she performed a high kick, he could also catch glimpses of Kushida's secret place.

Kushida did not seem to care about Yeyue's gaze, either.

Promoting to A Class like this would not pose any problem, but it was still far from enough if he wanted Kushida to remain utterly devoted to him even after graduation.

Perfectly controlling One Person was never something that could be easily accomplished through words alone.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to take their relationship a step further was not a bad thing either.

Yeyue asked curiously, "Little Kikyo, you destroyed an entire class back in middle school, right? Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

"You're that curious?"

"Hm!" Yeyue Nodded. "I want to know everything about Kushida."

"It was just something really boring."

Kushida gave a derisive laugh, then came over and sat beside Yeyue. He handed her a bottle of Black Tea, sat upright, and assumed the posture of an attentive listener.

Taking the Black Tea, Kushida drank deeply from it with relish. As though recalling the past, she murmured, "Yeyue, do you have any personal strength that can guarantee you'll always remain first?"

"No."

Yeyue Shrugged indifferently.

He truly did not. Even at this school, in terms of mental strength alone, Ayanokoji was probably stronger than him. Yeyue had a very clear understanding of himself.

However.

Although this school valued strength above all else, society did not.

Those who controlled resources controlled the world.

Some people were born in Rome. Crushing or blocking the path of certain geniuses was simply effortless for them.

"Right?" Kushida laughed self-deprecatingly. "That's only natural. No one can guarantee they'll always be first. There will always be people with special talents in certain areas."

"But..." Kushida's smile soon turned wicked. "But I Cannot Accept that. When I was little, as long as I finished my homework, my parents would praise me. If I ranked first on an exam, I'd receive praise from Teachers and classmates, who would say that I would definitely get into Todai someday."

"I still remember how thrilled and happy I was back then. From that point on, I worked hard to be first in every field. Only then could I receive praise from others."

Yeyue listened quietly. What Kushida described was something quite ordinary; everyone went through a phase like that.

Lying calmly beside Yeyue, Kushida raised her hand. Light passed through the gaps between her fingers and fell across her face, and she smiled bitterly. "But everything changed after I entered junior high. In every field I encountered, there were people who surpassed me. They were geniuses I could never defeat through effort alone."

"Hey, Yeyue, everyone probably has someone they don't want to lose to, more or less, right?"

Sensing the understanding she sought in her gaze, Yeyue answered bluntly instead. "But I believe there aren't many people who care as much as you do, Kushida."

"Just as I thought." Kushida did not mind, merely muttering to herself, "But I can't do that. I Cannot Accept becoming ordinary. Still, I eventually discovered one area where I could absolutely remain first—I could earn people's 'trust' more easily than anyone else."

"With my outstanding looks, I was unquestionably number one in that regard. I generously gave out fake smiles and false kindness, talked with men I hated, and associated with Girls who made me furious... and so I became popular In the class. Parents, Teachers, Senpais, Kouhais, even strangers nearby—all of them liked me and trusted me."

"I succeeded. I was more trusted than anyone else. Whenever those idiots shared the secrets in their hearts with me, I felt immensely satisfied."

Although all of this could be learned from the original source material, Yeyue noticed another key point. "Satisfied, not happy. Little Kikyo, do you hate being trusted?"

"Hehe, being genuinely trusted definitely wouldn't be a bad thing." Kushida sneered. "But those people were basically treating me like a Trash Can. They dumped every disgusting and jealous thought they had on me. Listening to that stuff every day made me sick enough to want to throw up."

"I see."

Yeyue smiled and Nodded.

Though he had seen all of this in the original source material, experiencing it firsthand gave Yeyue a different realization.

What Kushida cared about was neither being trusted nor maintaining some class image.

Rather—

Remaining first, and being praised!

Simply put, What mattered was maintaining Kushida's sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

However, limited by her talent, Kushida could only travel farther and farther down the path of deceiving others.

In Yeyue's view, that was correct.

The gap in talent was an objective fact. No matter how hard one worked, one could never become Einstein. Yet Kushida wanted to be the absolute first, so she could only find another path.

Yeyue poured her another cup of Black Tea and urged, "Then What?"

"What came next was some boring development." Kushida crossed her legs, took a sip of Black Tea, and said unwillingly, "In the end, I couldn't resist posting all those secrets on an anonymous blog. That made me feel much better."

"But I never expected my classmates to discover it so quickly, which resulted in the entire class isolating me."

As though she wanted to share something amusing, Kushida said teasingly, "Yeyue, take a guess. How did the class end up falling apart?"

"Little Kikyo was bullied, then used some means to take revenge on the whole class, and was ultimately stopped by the school, right?" Though he knew the answer, Yeyue still gave the most ordinary response.

"Hehe." Kushida let out a cold laugh. Suddenly, she pressed Yeyue onto the bed, cupped his cheeks in both hands, and stared into his eyes. Her pitch-black gaze was unimaginably dark, as though mocking Yeyue's innocence.

"Wrong. I merely exposed their interpersonal dirt—who hated whom, who stole someone else's crush. The entire class actually started fighting because of that."

"The boys started punching each other, while the girls began yanking one another's hair. They voluntarily exposed all kinds of dirt on each other. In the end, I simply stood to the side like an uninvolved bystander and watched it all happen. The class could no longer function, and even the school authority was troubled by it. After all, I hadn't done anything. In the end, every student in the class was suspended and sent home to study."

"Hard to believe, isn't it? But that's the truth. That's the bottomless darkness of human nature." Still cupping Yeyue's cheeks, Kushida said softly, "So, Yeyue, you'd better not trust pretty girls so easily."

"I'm not an idiot." Yeyue replied helplessly. "Besides, at least I believe Little Kikyo is a very gentle girl."

After pressing him down and watching him for a while, Kushida finally rolled off him and sat at the edge of the bed. Somewhat helplessly, she said, "Fine. If there's anything you need help with, talk to me first, understand?"

Although showing weakness had earned Kushida's trust, she now saw herself as the one who needed to take care of him.

It would not be good if things continued developing like this.

More importantly, just how far did that trust go?

Yeyue sat up straight. Looking at Kushida's back, he fell silent for a moment before suddenly saying softly, "Little Kikyo, I like you."

"..."

The atmosphere in the room instantly became strangely quiet.

Kushida's grip wrinkled the bedsheet into a ball. She probably had never considered that Yeyue would confess at a time like this.

After seeming to struggle for a while, Kushida finally spoke softly with her back to Yeyue.

"I'm sorry. I don't dislike you, Yeyue, but I have no plans to date anyone during these three years."

It was the answer he had expected. After all, if she got a boyfriend, the class's evaluation of her would certainly be affected. At this moment, his value was still far below the satisfaction brought by her class image.

Though he could not see Kushida's expression, the same was true for her. Yeyue narrowed his eyes and fell silent.

With Kushida's ability, it would not have been difficult for her to brush this off. If it had been anyone else, Kushida would definitely have casually moved past the subject.

Or she could have given an ambiguous answer, continued enjoying the other person's trust, and used them.

But Kushida had bluntly rejected him now, and everything she said was the truth.

On one hand, she did not want to use the methods she used on others to deceive Yeyue.

On the other hand, she had not stood up and made an excuse to leave. She was also waiting for Yeyue's response. She did not want to deceive him, yet she also did not want to lose Yeyue, the only person she could trust.

What complicated thoughts.

If that was the case, then it would not be impossible to slowly reverse their relationship from here.

"Little Kikyo doesn't need to apologize." Yeyue forced out a smile and said half-jokingly, "Actually, I only wanted to date Little Kikyo because I thought you were cute. You don't need to take it seriously at all."

"I knew it."

Kushida waved her hand in disgust, as though she had long known what Yeyue was thinking.

Glancing at Yeyue, who was forcing a smile despite his disappointment, Kushida revealed a sweet smile. She turned around and pulled him into her arms again, gently stroking his beautiful hair as she whispered, "Yeyue will definitely find an even better girlfriend. I... I'm actually not as good as you think."

"Actually, I'm not as innocent as you think, either." Resting against her ample chest, Yeyue had no mood to enjoy the softness at all as he spoke quietly.

"Yes, yes, Yeyue isn't stupid at all."

Kushida continued gently stroking his hair, not believing him in the slightest.

Kushida also had a somewhat arrogant streak. Or rather, most high school students had one.

They thought they were the center of the world, that as long as they wanted something and worked hard enough, they could definitely accomplish it.

Having already decided that Yeyue was someone who needed her care, Kushida would not easily change her mind.

She liked assuming that she understood others. How innocent.

"It's getting late. I should probably head back."

After the two leaned against each other for a while, Kushida finally got up to say goodbye.

Yeyue also walked her to the entrance hall. Only after watching Kushida put on her shoes did he speak.

"Little Kikyo, actually, it's useless for you to vent like this every time, isn't it?"

Kushida's body stiffened slightly.

Naturally, she understood that very well.

Whether it was physical release or binge eating, she had tried all those common ways of relieving stress.

However, hers was a psychological problem. Those methods could not solve it at all; they could only provide temporary relief.

Sooner or later, the darkness in her heart would accumulate to a point where it could no longer be suppressed.

"If you can, Little Kikyo, you can tell me about anything you hate."

Yeyue spoke again. He wanted to become someone Kushida could confide in. As long as someone could share that darkness with her, Kushida would feel much better.

Problems rooted in the mind could only be solved through the mind.

His gaze wandered as Yeyue seemed to desperately search for a topic. "Also, no one can guarantee they'll always be number one, not even when it comes to being trusted by others. Celebrities, idols, influencers... Little Kikyo, sooner or later, you'll meet someone more trusted than you. Even Ichinose from B Class is more trusted than you right now!"

"What are you trying to say?"

Kushida abruptly turned around, her sinister eyes fixed tightly on Yeyue as she snapped at him.

No one was allowed to deny the way she lived—not even Yeyue.

She could tolerate Yeyue doing many things. She trusted him, was willing to look after him, and would not even have had much of a problem giving her body to him. But she would never allow anyone to step into this forbidden territory.

"So, Little Kikyo, why not try thinking about it differently?"

This time, however, Yeyue met her gaze without hesitation. "For example, becoming number one in someone's heart. I wanted to date Little Kikyo because you're cute, but when it comes to cuteness, Little Kikyo is the World's Cutest to me."

Kushida gave a derisive laugh. Before she could speak, several drops of cold sweat appeared at Yeyue's temple, and his gaze began wandering again as he muttered, "And... and... and..."

Watching Yeyue desperately search for a topic without knowing how to say it, Kushida silently swallowed the words that had reached her lips.

Yeyue's hand slowly clenched, then gradually relaxed.

His slightly nervous demeanor and his hurried words could lend a sense of authenticity to what he said.

[To Yeyue, I really am the World's Cutest.]

Kushida acknowledged the sincerity of those words. She also understood why Yeyue was so uneasy and did not want to criticize him.

"What an idiot."

Looking at the uneasy Yeyue, Kushida sighed as though she had given up, stepped forward, and lightly kissed his cheek. "Don't worry. I told you, didn't I? I don't dislike you, Yeyue. It's just that I really don't plan to date anyone during High School Three Years. Once someone starts dating, whether it's a boy or a girl, their reputation at school will quickly decline. Right now, I still Cannot Accept that."

"Really?" Feeling the moisture on his cheek, Yeyue touched it and smiled foolishly.

"Of course. So tomorrow, we just need to be the same as usual."

Kushida revealed a faint smile.

It did not feel especially sweet, nor did it carry that violent air. Instead, it felt more genuine.

After Kushida left, Yeyue began reviewing everything that had happened today.

His relationship with Kushida was not that of lovers. It was More Like that of close friends who trusted each other. Still, in Kushida's eyes, he was probably a trustworthy little brother who needed looking after.

Even if he became more forceful, taking Kushida would be easy. She would no longer resist him, and there had been several opportunities today.

However, that alone was far from enough.

He wanted Kushida Kikyo to fall into an even deeper hell, to spend her entire life able only to kneel at his feet.

It depended on how much influence his words today would have on Kushida.

At the very least, anything that happened in D Class from now on would reach his ears through Kushida.

But—

Although he could be one hundred percent certain that the Kushida of today had been genuine—

No matter how Kushida acted, Yeyue would not believe her.

She was a woman who appeared sweet as a flower on the surface and could even offer up her body without reservation, yet behind the scenes would only become more willing to sacrifice anything as she plotted how to make you drop out.

Kushida Kikyo's obsession with receiving praise from others was terrifying. But once he successfully transferred that obsession onto himself, he wondered what kind of behavior she would show.

Yeyue could not help feeling somewhat expectant.

But—

Right now, it was difficult to judge from her words and actions whether Kushida was merely lulling him into complacency or truly felt that way.

Only when Kushida could give up targeting Horikita for his sake and obey any command he gave without conditions would she count as someone he could trust.

"Being number one in someone's heart..."

It was nearly midnight by the time she returned to the dormitory. After bathing, Kushida Kikyo casually wrapped herself in a bath towel and lay on her bed, looking at her phone.

On the screen—

Was Yeyue's profile picture as he boxed, with scattered beads of sweat hanging from his temple, his muscles well-defined and remarkably attractive. It was the profile picture visible to every friend on the school version of the LINE messaging app.

"Idiot, it's already so late..."

Turning over, Kushida Kikyo pressed her phone against her ample chest. The back of her other hand rested against her forehead as she felt somewhat feverish, her eyes blankly staring at the ceiling overhead.

Today had truly made her very happy. This was the first time someone had still been able to trust her after clearly knowing her true nature. Moreover, Kushida herself did not know why, but she trusted Yeyue very much as well.

Thinking back on it now, Yeyue had praised her as cute several times, and it had made her feel especially happy.

If she had met Yeyue back in junior high, they probably would have become a couple others envied. After all, with such a beautiful girlfriend as her, Yeyue surely would have been very happy too.

"Being Yeyue's girlfriend." Looking at Yeyue's profile picture, Kushida Kikyo could not help revealing a faint smile, though she also felt somewhat disappointed.

But.

Not now.

She had deceived so many people, destroyed an entire class in junior high, and still wanted to deceive everyone, earn their trust, and keep anyone from discovering her true face.

Because she knew her heart was ugly, she needed to hide it behind a mask.

"If only you weren't so innocent."

Kushida couldn't help thinking that.

Yeyue had said that, precisely because he had seen her true face, he felt the two of them could become even closer.

Kushida clenched her little hands over her chest, feeling somewhat distressed.

Now, she understood that state of mind very well.

After all, Yeyue was too foolish—so foolishly innocent, so foolish that he was hard to approach, making Kushida feel a little inferior.

So.

Yeyue's plan would not work.

She could still only rely on other people's trust to satisfy herself.

She wanted to become someone's number one!

That desire.

Was far too extravagant...