Brother +1

"Karuizawa, actually, I know about your past."

At those words, Karuizawa's face turned deathly pale.

She took two steps back, pointed at him, and stammered:

"You... Could you be one of those people?"

Her heart sank. Only the people who had bullied her knew about it.

There was a good chance Bai Ye was one of them, or an accomplice.

"Don't panic. I heard about it from someone else."

"..."

Even though his voice was gentle, Karuizawa still looked terrified. She turned and tried to run.

If she got away, wouldn't that make things a lot more troublesome?

Bai Ye moved first, grabbing her and pinning her against the wall.

"Waaah... What are you doing? Let go of me!"

Karuizawa struggled violently, scraping her nails across his face now and then. It hurt like hell.

Growing impatient, he quickly grabbed both her wrists and pressed them hard against the wall.

"Let go... You pervert... Waaah... Get away from me... Someone help! Save me... Hurry!"

Karuizawa shouted loudly, making his already frazzled nerves tighten.

If someone walked by, wouldn't he be accused of rape?

"Shut up and listen to me."

"I won't... Waaah... Is anyone there... A pervert's trying to rape me... Somebody help..."

"..."

He really wanted to slap Karuizawa, but when he thought of what she'd been through, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

In the end, he could only resort to his last strategy.

That was right. In a situation like this, there was only one way to make a girl quiet.

As the boy forcibly kissed her, Karuizawa's body stiffened. Her mind went blank, and tears streamed down her face.

After all, this was her first kiss, and it was happening under these circumstances...

But then she thought of her goal, and of Bai Ye's standing in the class. He wasn't her type, but he was handsome, so it wasn't as if she was losing out too badly.

With that in mind, her resistance weakened, and her tears stopped.

Feeling the heat of his lips, her gaze gradually grew hazy. She wrapped her arms around his back, and her body relaxed into the kiss.

"..."

Bai Ye had only meant to calm her down a little. He hadn't expected Karuizawa to stop struggling and hug him, acting like they were an affectionate couple.

He immediately pushed the girl away, his expression complicated.

"Why are you enjoying this?"

"It's my first kiss. Am I not allowed to enjoy it?"

Karuizawa wiped her face and glared at him as if he were her enemy.

In her heart, she'd probably already diced Bai Ye into a thousand pieces.

"Forget it. You were pretty sweet anyway, so I'll let it slide." He waved his hand with an air of magnanimity.

That look made Karuizawa grit her teeth.

"How can you be so disgusting? You kiss someone and then act like you're so great?"

"Come on. If I hadn't kissed you, wouldn't I have been socially dead?" Bai Ye shook his head. "Can we talk properly now? What are you really after?"

Karuizawa's past, in a nutshell, was that she'd often been bullied because of her appearance and personality. The worst incident had been when someone cut a deep gash into her abdomen. If she hadn't gotten medical attention in time, she might have died.

The experience had left her with a deep-seated fear. That was why, after coming to this school, she'd worked so hard to raise her status and make people afraid to bully her.

He'd more or less guessed why she'd approached him. He was asking again to confirm it.

Karuizawa nodded, still looking as if the whole world had wronged her.

"Jingu... Be my boyfriend."

"Huh? Say that again?"

"I—said—be—my—boyfriend!" Karuizawa screamed into his ear, making his head ring. It took him a long while to recover.

"Are you crazy? Is that how you ask someone?"

"Who's asking you? You kissed me just now. Don't you have to take responsibility?" Karuizawa sneered.

"That was an emergency measure. But never mind... Even if I wanted to take responsibility, I already have a girlfriend. How am I supposed to be your boyfriend?"

"Then just break up with her."

"Why should I listen to you?"

"If you don't break up with her, I'll tell her you forced a kiss on me. Let's see what she thinks."

"..."

"Scared now? Hurry up and do what I said." Karuizawa looked smug. It was hard to believe she was the same terrified girl from a moment ago.

"...Then go ahead. I believe she won't get mad."

He understood Suzune well enough. As long as he explained what had happened, she wouldn't make a fuss over something like this.

That was why he had nothing to fear.

Seeing how unconcerned he looked, Karuizawa realized her plan had failed.

But she couldn't just give up, so she gritted her teeth and said:

"How about this? When you break up with her, you can date me."

Bai Ye said, "Karuizawa, even if I break up with her, why would I have to date you? Give me one reason."

To his surprise, Karuizawa looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"I'm so cute that even when people beg me, I turn them down. What do you have to complain about?"

"You are cute, but... your personality's terrible. I'd say you're just okay."

"Then I'll just behave myself a little better."

"That still won't do."

To be honest, Karuizawa wasn't his type. She lacked a certain feminine charm.

He found it hard to see her as a romantic partner. As a buddy, though, she'd be pretty great.

"How about this? From now on, you can be my good buddy."

"Huh?" Karuizawa said indignantly. "Are you saying I don't seem like a woman?"

"Not exactly, but you're not far off."

"..."

Karuizawa stared at him stubbornly, as if she were thinking something over.

After a long while, she said:

"Fine. Then from now on, you're my buddy."

"Okay."

And just like that, he somehow became buddies with a girl in his class.

He regretted it a little, but when he thought of Karuizawa's past, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. Even if they weren't a couple, becoming friends meant he could protect her without any reservations.

After all, he had forced a kiss on her. Even if there had been a reason for it, he still felt somewhat guilty.

When they returned to the private room, Sato said unhappily, "What took you two so long? I was about to go look for you."

Horikita also looked at the two of them suspiciously.

A man and a woman alone together—anyone would start imagining things.

Karuizawa explained, "I twisted my ankle earlier, and Jingu helped me, so we were delayed a little."

"That happened? Are you okay, Kei? Do you want to go to the infirmary and get it checked?"

"No need. I'm fine now." Karuizawa waved her hand dismissively.

That satisfied Sato, and Horikita nodded too.

Bai Ye couldn't help glancing at her.

That woman really didn't bat an eye when she lied. There wasn't even the slightest hint of anything unusual on her face.

He had no idea which parts of what she said were true, so it was probably best to stay on his guard.