Horikita, You've Changed

"Maybe next time."

"That works too."

Horikita packed away her lunchbox and stood up. "Let's go. I'll take you to get some food."

She walked out with quite a dashing air, and Bai Ye followed her in quick succession.

Walking beside Horikita, he felt a bit surprised. "Horikita, I'm surprised you're being this nice to me. You aren't plotting something, are you?"

"Congratulations, you guessed right."

"??"

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, Horikita decisively swiped her card and presented him with a hearty lunch.

Looking at the luxurious meal before him, Bai Ye held his chopsticks, trembling and afraid to take a bite.

He wanted to eat, but he was afraid Horikita might make some unreasonable demand.

Like asking him to serve her in bed or something.

Naturally, Horikita would never make such a request; he was just thinking about it randomly.

Horikita watched his conflicted expression, the corners of her mouth curling up. "Whether you eat it or not, I've already bought the food for you. You owe me a favor now."

"Huh?"

Isn't this even more excessive than the original story?

Bai Ye noticed her teasing gaze, and his heart tightened.

Does she really think she has me figured out? If it weren't for the mission, who would even bother with you!

Bai Ye thought secretly that he would definitely eat this woman dry and then dump her mercilessly.

If he didn't make her cry for seven days and seven nights, he wouldn't be called Bai Ye.

He might as well call himself Qiye instead.

After finishing the confusing meal, Horikita finally spoke up. "I want to investigate something."

"Investigate what?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"..."

"Don't look at me like that yet. I thought about it all night yesterday; I just feel like there's something wrong with this school, so I want you to help me look into it."

"Why don't you investigate it yourself?"

"I tried, but they wouldn't tell me anything, even when I offered points."

Bai Ye understood. Horikita didn't even know what was wrong, so naturally, she didn't know what kind of information to ask others for.

The school rules prohibited upperclassmen from revealing information to freshmen unless the freshmen deduced it themselves and then paid for the details.

No one would pay attention to a simple request like "tell me everything you know."

Bai Ye said matter-of-factly, "If you can't find anything, how could I possibly do it?"

"No, you can." Horikita's tone was firm.

"No, I can't." He shook his head.

"You—can!" This time she emphasized her tone, leaving no room for doubt.

"Fine, I can." He gave up the struggle. "What do you want me to do?"

"Like this: you go and get to know some upperclassmen, find an opportunity to lure them into a private room, and trick them into spilling the beans."

Bai Ye felt something was wrong with that. "A private room? What if they start getting handsy with me?"

"How else are you going to get the information out of them?"

"Ha?"

Bai Ye finally understood; Horikita just wanted him to sell his body.

He refused decisively. "No way. I'm saving my first time for a girl I actually like. How could I be so casual about it?"

Horikita rolled her eyes. "Are you a man or a woman?"

"What difference does that make? I've always been a firm believer in gender equality. What, do you look down on a boy's purity?"

"I'll take your word for it, seeing as you're still a virgin."

"Oh." He suddenly felt a bit weary.

It wasn't that he was being pretentious; he genuinely wanted to find a girl he liked to experience his first time with.

After all, he knew his own physical appearance was excellent, so naturally, his standards were a bit higher.

Furthermore, he had a bit of a mental hang-up; he didn't want to sleep with just any girl, unless it was an absolute last resort.

Horikita added, "Then, the day you find a target, call me. I'll wait outside, and once you've gotten the information and they start getting handsy, I'll come in and take pictures."

"What if they don't talk even if they don't succeed?"

"Then you get them drunk."

"Got it."

On the way back to the classroom, Bai Ye suddenly asked, "Horikita, why do I feel like you've become black-hearted? Your methods are so dirty—seducing, getting people drunk, and so on. Are you really the real Horikita Suzune?"

"Don't talk nonsense. However, if you're curious, I got a book yesterday that I can lend you for reference. I'll give it to you in a moment."

After returning to his seat, Horikita personally delivered the book, tossing it onto his desk.

100 Ways to Make Stinking Men Submit

The moment he saw the title, he couldn't hold it together and quickly reached out to cover the book cover.

Unfortunately, Kushida Kikyou, who had just returned to her seat, happened to see it and smiled brightly, "What are you hiding, Jingu-kun?"

Bai Ye noticed that the way she addressed him had changed, but he didn't pay it much mind.

"It's nothing, something kids shouldn't see. Go away."

Kushida covered her mouth and chuckled, "There are no kids here. Come on, let me see, Jingu-kun~"

The girl's sweet voice drifted over, especially the last few words, which carried a coquettish tone that brushed against his heartstrings, as if being scratched by a fox.

Call me 'honey' and I'll let you see it.

Of course, he only thought that to himself; his face remained as calm as ever, "Fine, take it, but give it back when you're done."

He hadn't wanted to give it to her, but being pricked by the gazes of the boys around him, he had no choice but to compromise.

Especially the teeth-achingly sour stares from the trio of idiots sitting to his back-right.

After seeing the book title, Kushida was slightly surprised, gave him a meaningful look, and tucked the book into her own desk drawer.

Bai Ye couldn't be bothered to explain it to her.

Meanwhile, not far away to the back-right.

The trio of idiots gathered together, whispering to each other.

They huddled with their arms around each other's shoulders, lowering their voices for fear that Bai Ye might hear them.

"Hey Sudo, Kushida has never acted that coquettish toward me. Do you think she's taken a liking to this pretty boy?"

"I don't think so, it's just borrowing a book," Sudo Ken said, rubbing his red hair dismissively.

"No, no, no, Sudo, haven't you noticed? Aside from that one time at the start of school, Kushida has never really spoken to me on her own initiative, but she's done it with Jingu several times. Don't you think that's strange?"

"It's only been two days since school started, Yamauchi. Aren't you overthinking it?" Ike Kanji said.

"Ike, don't say I didn't warn you. If you wait until Kushida is completely head over heels, it'll be too late to regret it."

Yamauchi patted his shoulder heavily, wearing an expression of frustration at his lack of awareness.

These words made the others grow serious.

Because, even as fellow men, they had to admit that Bai Ye was indeed very good-looking. If there was anyone in this class most likely to make Kushida fall for them, it was Bai Ye.

After all, there was already a flirtatious atmosphere after only two days. In three years, wouldn't they even have a baby by then?

The trio of idiots also understood the principle that they couldn't afford to lose at the starting line.

Therefore, they couldn't wait any longer.

"Ike, Sudo, let's meet at Ayanokouji's dorm after school today to discuss how to defeat Jingu."

"Hm? Who is Ayanokouji?"

"The one in the corner. He just greeted me earlier and said he wanted to join us."

"Should we call a few more people? Call everyone who hates Bai Ye. There's strength in numbers."

"No, if we get caught, we'll get disciplined."

The group agreed on a time and dispersed.