Catch them all in one net?

Kushida certainly wasn't going to come over, and Bai Ye hadn't expected her to actually show up either.

However, his dormitory did welcome a visitor that night.

As soon as he unlocked the door, Hasebe pushed it open and declared aggressively:

"Xiao Yeye, you're being too much! You haven't spoken to me for days, just hanging around with Horikita!"

"She is my girlfriend, after all."

"You could still talk to me, though. We could have eaten together, for instance."

"What if you two started fighting?"

"Why would we fight? I'm your older sister, and she... she should be calling me sister too."

"Just for saying that, she wouldn't let you off the hook," Bai Ye sighed.

"Forget it. Since I'm your sister, I won't hold it against you..." Hasebe walked into his room and sat on his bed without a care. "As for that girl you mentioned the other day, I've successfully become friends with her over the last two days. How about that? Impressive, right?"

"Sakura?"

"Yeah. At first, I was surprised why you were concerned about this girl, but then I realized that once she takes off her glasses, she's actually quite cute... not a bit worse than Kushida."

"Don't make it sound like I had a premeditated plan."

"Isn't that exactly what it is? So, Xiao Yeye, you're that kind of person? Have you been eyeing the girls in our class all along?"

Hasebe tilted her brow and interrogated him.

"If that were true, why would I ask you to befriend her? Why wouldn't I just go for her myself?"

"That's true, too."

Hasebe muttered to herself, then a glint flashed in her eyes as she realized something:

"Don't tell me you want to... catch both of us in one net?"

"Cough, cough..." Bai Ye nearly choked on his own saliva. He retorted irritably, "Don't you feel ashamed saying things like that?"

Hasebe felt her face grow warm, but she feigned composure and said, "Xiao Yeye, are you trying to avoid taking responsibility?"

Hearing the word 'responsibility' made his heart skip a beat.

Just two days ago, someone else had asked him to take responsibility, and now she was his girlfriend. What was Hasebe's reason?

What kind of heinous, heaven-defying thing had he done now?

"Take responsibility for what?"

"It's just..." Hasebe suddenly acted coy, "the responsibility for... stealing my heart..."

"..."

Watching the girl lower her head further and further until she was almost burying herself in his blanket, he couldn't help but rub his forehead and sigh.

He knew very well what kind of feelings Hasebe had for him right now.

So, she wasn't saying this because she truly harbored those kinds of feelings, but rather because she wanted him to break up with Horikita.

She was willing to sacrifice herself to achieve that.

He hesitated for a moment and said, "Jiajia, Horikita isn't actually as bad as you think. Her nature is quite kind, so..."

"Yeah, I know." The young girl looked up and met his gaze. "If she were truly some wicked woman, Xiao Yeye wouldn't have fallen for her. I know Xiao Yeye is actually quite smart and not the type to be easily swayed by beauty... so, there must be a reason, right?"

"That's true."

"Can you tell me?" Hasebe stared at him intently, her eyes filled with hope.

"I..."

[Warning! The host is prohibited from disclosing any information regarding the system to anyone else. Violation will result in erasure!]

"..."

"Fine." Hasebe buried her head in disappointment.

The atmosphere turned stifling, making it difficult for both of them to breathe.

Bai Ye knew he could use the same excuse he gave Kushida on Hasebe, but he didn't want to do that.

He didn't want to deceive this girl who cared for him so wholeheartedly; he couldn't get past that hurdle in his heart.

"I'm going back..."

Hasebe walked toward the door with a dejected expression.

He watched that lonely figure, his hands clenched tight.

Isn't this enough...

No.

How could this be enough!

He stepped forward and grabbed Hasebe's hand. Under the girl's slightly surprised gaze, he suppressed the shyness in his heart and said:

"I want to sleep with... my sister tonight."

"Eh—"

Hasebe was initially delighted, but upon realizing the implication of his words, her face flushed a deep, vibrant red.

"You... how could you..."

"I just meant sleeping in the same room, not that kind of meaning. What are you thinking?" Bai Ye explained.

"Oh... that's still not okay. We aren't real siblings, what if..." Hasebe pulled her hand back, her expression turning flustered. "Next time, let me think about it some more... I'm leaving now, bye!"

With that, she rushed out of the room as if fleeing.

Bai Ye walked over to close the door and muttered to himself:

"And she said she looked at me like a little brother..."

Thinking about it, that was impossible; they weren't related, so how could she not mind?

At this moment, Bai Ye also understood that Hasebe's feelings for him were not that simple, and were not just the protective affection he had previously guessed.

It was likely a strong sense of possessiveness at play.

Sigh.

A bumpy road ahead.

The next day, he walked into the classroom under the intense gaze of his classmates.

Having had a day to buffer, the students had finally calmed down.

It wasn't like yesterday morning, where he was surrounded the moment he stepped into the classroom, bombarded with questions.

In the end, it was Kushida who had rescued him.

These were all troubles brought on by him joining the Student Council.

But it wasn't all bad; he had also taken this opportunity to eliminate some of the resentment the boys held toward him.

This was normal. Although he had been overly praised by the girls in the class in the past, leading to him being disliked by the male groups, at the end of the day, it was because he lacked sufficient strength.

In other words, his virtue did not match his position.

Men are a group that tends to admire strength; as long as one displays enough power, not only will they not be envied, but they might even be admired by others.

Of course, people like Yamauchi were the exception.

"Good morning, Jingu-kun!"

"Morning."

He responded to these troublesome greetings one by one.

Once he sat in his seat, Kushida turned around and said with a beaming smile:

"Jingu-kun, it feels pretty good to be a popular person, right?"

"I still prefer how things were before."

"Others would kill for this... By the way, Jingu-kun, your popularity has already surpassed Ichinose-san from Class B. It's even spreading among the upperclassmen, though some seniors seem dissatisfied with you and might come to provoke you."

"Thank you for telling me this; I'll be careful."

He said with a calm expression.

"Um... aren't you afraid?"

"Would they let me off if I were afraid? The more afraid I am, the more arrogant those people become. What do I have to be afraid of?"

"That's good then, I'll be cheering for you from the shadows!"

Kushida clenched her small fist to encourage him.

"...Thanks."

To be honest, Kushida was quite cute when she wasn't revealing her true nature. If it were any other boy, he would probably be as excited as if he'd been injected with adrenaline right now.

He looked up at the class schedule and saw there was a physical education class today.

He remembered that this PE class was shared with the upperclassmen. He hoped nothing unexpected would happen.

If it did, he would just have to deal with it.