Last night, after leaving Ayanokoji's room, Zhuge Linghao had already developed a grudge against a player with the game ID "Shabi Shabi Across from Me Is Shabi." The other guy was actually a gaming expert!
Counting the matches over the past few nights, Zhuge Linghao had lost thirteen games in a row!
A little discouraged and thirsty, Zhuge Linghao put his handheld console in his pocket, picked up his phone, and opened a message. After confirming the room number, he headed straight for the girls' dormitory floor.
In Sakura Airi's room.
Sakura Airi looked at this uninvited guest who was acting right at home and said softly, "Zhu... Zhuge, I don't understand what you're talking about..."
"Do you have any tea? I'm so thirsty."
Zhuge Linghao had just lost a game. His mouth was parched, and he'd forgotten to drink any water.
"Also, could you turn on the light? It's a bit dark in here!"
As he spoke, Zhuge Linghao flipped on the room's overhead light.
The room brightened, and Zhuge Linghao saw Sakura Airi curled up in a corner like a frightened little hamster, even though she was the one who lived here.
"W...what exactly are you here for?"
The intimate distance, also known as "personal distance," was one kind of social distance.
It referred to the distance between people in an intimate relationship, a space reserved for those with special bonds, such as spouses, parents and children, or close friends.
Zhuge Linghao's appearance here had completely violated Sakura Airi's intimate distance.
She felt terribly uneasy, desperately wanting to chase the intruder out, but her timid nature made it impossible for her to act.
Zhuge Linghao gave her the clear-eyed look of a husky and said gently, "Don't worry, Sakura. I mean you no harm."
Zhuge Linghao glanced at the camera on the table.
"I just want a photo of the fight. Could I have one? You took some, didn't you?"
"Eek... I... I didn't."
Seeing that, Zhuge Linghao casually made up a story. "Actually, I spent some points to check the school's surveillance footage. A little after six p.m. on June 30, you showed up in the Special Building."
"I... I was just there taking pictures... I didn't see the fight happen..."
Seeing that this approach wasn't working, Zhuge Linghao decided to try another tactic.
He picked up his phone and began swiping furiously.
"Look, this idol girl named Shizuku is you, right?"
"..."
"Eek... How did you recognize me?"
"With my eyes!"
"I... I didn't mean that."
"I have a special talent: Guanbo Shiren!"
Sakura, who was rather innocent, looked confused. "?"
"Sorry, that was weird. I was joking!"
"..."
Zhuge Linghao had accomplished what he'd come for.
So he stood up and began a performance that left everyone baffled.
With an expression of utter despair, he said, "It's okay. You don't have to feel any pressure. Sudo and I are definitely getting expelled anyway!"
"I don't blame anyone. There's no one who can save us, anyway!"
"We brought this on ourselves. Our fate was always going to be this tragic!"
Before Sakura Airi could react, Zhuge Linghao made a lightning-fast dash out the door!
Why had Zhuge Linghao hurried out so abruptly?
Because his body had reached its limit!
Standing outside the door, he could no longer keep his expression composed. He panted heavily, his old face red with embarrassment.
This was only the second time he'd stepped into a girl's bedroom... It was way too stimulating!
The timeline returned to the moment Sakura Airi's camera was broken, when Kushida Kikyo once again violated Sakura Airi's intimate distance.
Sakura had the wariness of a small animal, along with an innate sixth sense for certain dangers that were difficult to detect.
So she didn't trust Kushida.
Compared with last night, after her "intimate encounter" with Zhuge Linghao, she was now more inclined to trust him!
Maybe it was because Zhuge Linghao hadn't forced her to hand over the photos. Her impression of him had improved.
And that was exactly what Zhuge Linghao had intended.
With the hearing fast approaching, he didn't plan to spend too much time and effort getting to know Sakura Airi, so he'd used a simpler, more heavy-handed approach.
Zhuge Linghao quickly wiped the stunned expression from his face and urged everyone to move. Hurry up and chase after that girl with the twin tails!
After everyone searched around, they couldn't find her anywhere.
Zhuge Linghao suddenly asked, "Do you know where the electronics center is?"
Kushida often went shopping with Ichinose and the others, so she knew where it was. She volunteered to take Zhuge Linghao there.
Seeing that, Horikita laid out their plan. "Then your group can go check the electronics center."
"Ayanokoji and I will check whether Sakura's in the dorm."
"We'll also inspect the specific area where the incident took place in the Special Building."
No one objected. "Okay!"
The shopping mall was bustling with people, and there were plenty of shoppers in the electronics section, too.
"Is that Sakura, standing around outside the electronics store?"
"Let me see. Wow! With those huge boobs, she's hard to mistake..."
"Sakura, so this is where you were!"
"Zhu... Zhuge? Kushida?"
Zhuge Linghao looked at Sakura's camera. "Did you come here to get this repaired?"
"Eek... Y...yes."
Kushida lowered her head and apologized. "I'm sorry. I broke your camera... Come on, let's go in together and see what they can do!"
After politely thanking them, Sakura took reluctant steps into the repair shop.
A leering shop assistant took Sakura's camera and inspected it without much interest.
"This camera... looks like it can't be fixed. Hmm, it seems to be a power issue. It doesn't look good."
The small-eyed shop assistant looked Sakura Airi up and down and leered at her. "Did you bring the warranty card?"
Sakura Airi said nothing and didn't dare meet the shop assistant's eyes. Instead, she looked toward a camera in the lower-right corner...
Those involved couldn't always see clearly, but bystanders could.
Zhuge Linghao knew the red-haired girl with twin tails probably hadn't expected the camera to break, so she hadn't brought the warranty card.
First, he turned the camera Sakura Airi had been staring at around 180 degrees. Then he stepped forward and stood between the shop assistant and Sakura.
Zhuge Linghao smiled at the shop assistant. "We're first-year students. We've only been at the school for three months. And you seem to know Sakura, so you can check your purchase records right here, can't you?"
"That means she bought this camera less than three months ago, so it's definitely still under warranty. Any more questions?"
The shop assistant hesitated for a moment. "N...no problem. Then please have her come over and fill out the form."
Sakura, who was shy around strangers, didn't dare step forward. The leering shop assistant's eyes darted around as he waited expectantly for something.
Kushida still hadn't noticed that anything was wrong. She simply asked the shop assistant, "How long will the repair take?"
The small-eyed shop assistant stared at Sakura without blinking. "Two or three days. Hey, hurry up and fill in the required fields on this form—your name, address, and phone number!"
Zhuge Linghao snatched the pen from the shop assistant. "I'll fill it out. Once the camera's fixed, contact me and I'll pick it up."
"I... Hey, you. She's the owner of this camera, right? It's a bit..."
Zhuge Linghao had been putting up with him for long enough. Now he planned to strike at the man's heart.
Suddenly, Zhuge Linghao's manner became even creepier and more disgusting than the shop assistant's.
He wore a leering grin and grabbed at the air with both hands, over and over...
Then, looking as if he were drooling, he said to the shop assistant, "Heh heh, I'm her boyfriend... What's hers is mine."
Sakura's face flushed bright red as she let out a little squeak. Shaken, she took three steps back.
The leering shop assistant's expression changed on the spot. "B...boyfriend? I've never heard anything about that..."
Zhuge Linghao calmly replied, "There are plenty of things you haven't heard of."
Zhuge Linghao dropped his expression. His darkened, dead-fish eyes were deep as a whirlpool.
"So, do you want to test my patience?"
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