Breaking the Intimate Distance

Last night, having just walked out of Ayanokoji's room, Zhuge Linghao was already holding a grudge against a gaming ID called 'Sabi Sabi Opposite is Sabi'; the opponent was actually a gaming master!

Counting the matches from the last few nights, Zhuge Linghao had already suffered 13 consecutive losses!

Feeling somewhat discouraged and thirsty, Zhuge Linghao tucked his handheld console into his pocket, picked up his phone to open a message, confirmed the room number, and headed toward the girls' dormitory floor.

Inside Sakura Airi's room.

Sakura Airi looked at this uninvited guest who was far too comfortable with himself and said softly, "Zhu... Zhuge-san, I don't understand what you're talking about..."

"Do you have any tea? I'm so thirsty."

Zhuge Linghao had just lost his game and was parched, having 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 the switch for the incandescent light.

The room layout brightened, and Zhuge Linghao saw Sakura Airi looking like a startled little hamster, curled up and hiding in the corner of the room, even though she was supposed to be the owner of the place.

"What... what exactly are you trying to do?"

Intimate distance, also known as "close distance," is a type of social distance.

It represents the distance for intimate relationships between people, a space that can only be used by people in special relationships such as spouses, parents and children, or close friends.

Zhuge Linghao's appearance here completely shattered Sakura Airi's intimate distance.

She was currently feeling extremely uneasy, desperately longing to drive this intruder out, but her timid personality made it impossible for her to take action.

Zhuge Linghao revealed eyes as clear as a husky's and said gently, "Don't worry, Sakura-san, I mean no harm."

Zhuge Linghao glanced at the camera on the table.

"I just want a photo of the fight scene, is that okay? You must have taken one, right?"

"Waaah, I... I didn't."

Seeing this, Zhuge Linghao casually spun a lie: "Actually, I spent some points to check the school's surveillance footage. On June 30th, a little after 6:00 PM, your figure appeared in the Special Building."

"I... I was just there taking photos by chance... I didn't see the fight happen..."

Seeing that this tactic wasn't working, Zhuge Linghao decided to change strategies.

He picked up his phone and began swiping his fingers frantically.

"Look, this idol girl named Shizuku is you, right?"

"..."

"Waaah... how did you recognize me?"

"I recognized you with my eyes!"

"I... that's not what I meant."

"I have a unique talent, 'Guanbo Shiren'!"

The naive Sakura: "?"

"Sorry, I said something strange, I was just joking!"

"..."

Zhuge Linghao's goal had been achieved.

He stood up and began a performance that left her completely bewildered.

With a look of utter despair, he said, "It's okay, you don't have to carry any pressure. Anyway, Sudo and I are definitely going to be expelled!"

"I don't blame anyone; there's no one who can save us anyway!"

"One who brings about his own destruction cannot live; our fate is just that tragic!"

Without waiting for Sakura Airi to react, Zhuge Linghao flashed out the door!

Why was Zhuge Linghao in such a rush to leave?

It turned out his physiology had reached its limit!

Standing at the doorway, he could no longer maintain his composed expression; he was panting heavily, his face flushed bright red.

This was his second time stepping into a girl's private room... it was just too stimulating!

The timeline returns to when Sakura Airi's camera was broken, and Kushida Kikyo once again broke through Sakura Airi's intimate distance.

Sakura possessed a wariness akin to a small animal, naturally having a strong sixth sense for certain imperceptible dangers.

Thus, she did not trust Kushida.

Compared to her 'intimate contact' with Zhuge Linghao last night, she was now more inclined to choose to trust Zhuge Linghao!

Perhaps it was because Zhuge Linghao hadn't forced her to hand over the photo, but her impression of him had changed for the better.

And this was exactly Zhuge Linghao's goal.

Because the trial was imminent, he did not intend to spend too much time and energy getting to know Sakura Airi, so he used a rather simple and crude method.

Zhuge Linghao quickly retracted his stunned expression and urged everyone to take action—hurry up and chase after that girl with the twin tails!

After searching around, everyone couldn't find her at all.

Zhuge Linghao suddenly asked, "Do you know where the electronics center is?"

Kushida often went shopping with Ichinose and the others, so she naturally knew the location and volunteered to take Zhuge Linghao there.

Seeing this, Horikita set the action strategy: "Then you two go to the electronics center to take a look."

"Ayanokoji and I will form a group to confirm whether Sakura is staying in the dormitory."

"We'll also take the opportunity to inspect the specific environment of the incident location at the special building."

The group had no objections and said, "OK!"

The large shopping mall was bustling with people, and the electronics section was also crowded.

"Is that figure standing in front of the electronics store Sakura?"

"Let me see, wow! With those huge breasts, it's hard to mistake her for anyone else..."

"Sakura, so you're here!"

"Zhu... Zhuge-san? Kushida-san?"

Zhuge Linghao looked at Sakura's camera and said, "Could it be that you came here to get this camera repaired?"

"Sob, sob... ye... yes."

Kushida lowered her head and apologized: "I'm sorry, I was the one who dropped and broke your camera... Let's go! We'll accompany you inside to take a look!"

After Sakura politely thanked them, she took very reluctant steps into the repair shop.

A clerk with a very sleazy appearance took Sakura's camera and checked it absentmindedly.

"This camera, it seems like it can't be fixed. Let's see, this is a power issue, right? It doesn't look like it's going to work."

The small-eyed clerk scanned Sakura Airi's figure back and forth and said lecherously, "Did you bring your warranty card?"

Sakura Airi didn't speak, and she didn't dare to look the clerk in the eye, instead casting her gaze toward a certain video camera in the bottom right corner...

The person involved is confused, while the bystander sees clearly.

Zhuge Linghao knew that the red-haired twin-tailed girl probably hadn't expected the camera to break, so she hadn't brought the warranty card.

He first turned the video camera Sakura was staring at 180 degrees, then stepped forward, blocking the space between the clerk and Sakura.

Zhuge Linghao said to the clerk with a grin: "We are first-year freshmen, having only been enrolled for 3 months. And looking at you, you should recognize Sakura-san, right? You can check her purchase record here on the spot!"

"In other words, this camera was purchased no more than 3 months ago, so it must be under warranty. Do you have any other questions?"

The clerk hesitated for a moment and said: "No... no problem. Then please have her come over and fill out the registration form."

The shy Sakura didn't dare to step forward, while the sleazy clerk's eyes darted around, looking expectant.

Kushida hadn't noticed anything wrong yet and simply asked the clerk: "How long will the repair take?"

The small-eyed clerk stared fixedly at Sakura and said: "Two or three days. Hey, hurry up and fill in the required fields on this form—name, address, and mobile phone number!"

Zhuge Linghao snatched the pen from the clerk, "I'll fill it out. Once the camera is fixed, just contact me to pick it up."

"I... I say, the owner of this camera is her, right? You're being a bit..."

Zhuge Linghao had tolerated him for a long time, so he decided to strike where it hurt.

Suddenly, Zhuge Linghao's demeanor became even sleazier and more disgusting than the clerk's.

He wore a lecherous smile, his hands grabbing and clawing in the air...

Then, with a look of drooling, he said to the clerk: "Hehe, I'm her boyfriend... her things are my things."

Sakura let out an "ah" and turned bright red, her heart shaken as she retreated three small steps.

The sleazy clerk's expression changed on the spot: "Boy... boyfriend? I've never heard of such a thing..."

Zhuge Linghao said to the clerk in a calm tone: "There are many things you haven't heard of."

Zhuge Linghao dropped his expression, his blackened dead fish eyes deep and bottomless like a whirlpool.

"So, are you going to challenge my patience?"