Horikita, You've Changed

"Maybe next time."

"That works."

Horikita packed up her lunchbox and stood. "Come on. I'll take you to get something to eat."

She strode out with a cool air, and Bai Ye hurried after her.

Walking beside Horikita, he was a little surprised. "Horikita, you're being awfully nice to me. You're not up to something, are you?"

"Congratulations. You got it right."

"??"

At the cafeteria, Horikita promptly swiped her card and got him a lavish lunch.

Staring at the feast in front of him, Bai Ye gripped his chopsticks nervously, afraid to take a bite.

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

Like asking him to spend the night with her or something.

Of course, Horikita would never make such a demand. He was only imagining it.

Horikita watched him hesitate, the corners of her mouth curling up. "Whether you eat it or not, I've already bought it for you. You owe me a favor either way."

"Huh?"

Wasn't this even worse than in the original story?

Bai Ye noticed the teasing look in her eyes and felt a chill.

Did she really think she had him under her thumb? If not for the mission, who'd bother with her?

Bai Ye thought to himself that he'd make sure to use this woman and then dump her in the harshest way possible.

If he didn't make her cry for seven days and seven nights, he'd stop going by Bai Ye.

He'd go by Seven Nights instead.

After an inexplicable meal, Horikita finally spoke. "There's something I want to investigate."

"What?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"..."

"Don't look at me like that. I thought about it all night yesterday, and I can't shake the feeling that something's off about this school. I want you to help me investigate."

"Why don't you investigate it yourself?"

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

Bai Ye understood. Horikita had no idea what was wrong in the first place, so naturally she didn't know what kind of information to ask people for.

The school rules prohibited upperclassmen from telling new students about the school. The only exception was if the new students figured things out themselves and then paid for the information.

No one would respond to a simple "Tell me everything you know."

Bai Ye said matter-of-factly, "If you couldn't find anything out, what makes you think I can?"

"No, you can," Horikita said firmly.

"I can't." He shook his head.

"You. Can!" This time, she spoke more emphatically, leaving no room for argument.

"All right, I can." He gave up resisting. "What do you want me to do?"

"Here's what you'll do. Go get to know some of the older girls first, then find a chance to lure them into a private room and get them to spill what they know."

Bai Ye thought something about that sounded off. "A private room? What if they try to get handsy with me?"

"How else are you going to get them to talk?"

"Huh?"

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

He promptly refused. "No way. I'm saving my first time for a girl I love. How can I just give it away?"

Horikita rolled her eyes. "Are you a boy or a girl?"

"What does that have to do with it? I've always been a staunch advocate of gender equality. What, do you look down on a guy's purity?"

"I believe you, since you're still a virgin."

"Oh." He suddenly felt exhausted.

It wasn't that he was being fussy. He really did want to share his first time with a girl he loved.

After all, he knew he was good-looking, so he could afford to have high standards.

Besides, he had a bit of a hang-up about keeping himself pure. He didn't want to sleep with just any girl, unless he absolutely had no choice.

Horikita continued, "Then when you find a candidate, tell me. I'll wait outside. Once you've gotten them to spill what they know and they start getting handsy with you, I'll come in and take pictures."

"What if they won't tell me anything unless they get their way?"

"Then 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 so devious? Your methods are so dirty—seducing people, getting them drunk, that sort of thing. Are you really Horikita Suzune?"

"Don't talk nonsense. But if you're curious, I got a book yesterday that you can use for reference. I'll give it to you later."

Once they were back at their desks, Horikita personally brought the book over and slapped it down on his desk.

100 Ways to Make Men Bow to You

The moment he saw the title, he couldn't hold it together and quickly covered it with his hand.

Unfortunately, Kushida Kikyou had just returned to her seat and spotted it. She smiled sweetly. "What are you hiding, Jingu-kun?"

Bai Ye noticed that she'd changed what she called him, but he didn't think much of it.

"Nothing. It's not for kids. Go away."

Kushida covered her mouth and giggled. "There aren't any kids here. Come on, let me see, Jingu-kun~"

The girl's sweet voice drifted over, especially those last few words, which came in a coy, coaxing tone. They brushed over his heart like a fox's claws.

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

Of course, he only thought that to himself. His expression stayed as calm as ever. "Fine. Give it back when you're done."

He hadn't wanted to hand it over, but the glares from the boys around him had forced him to give in.

Especially the sour, tooth-grinding stare from the idiot trio behind him to the right.

After seeing the title, Kushida looked a little surprised and gave him a meaningful glance before slipping the book into her desk.

Bai Ye couldn't be bothered to explain.

Meanwhile, not far behind him to the right...

The idiot trio huddled together, whispering.

They had their arms around each other and kept their voices low, afraid Bai Ye might hear.

"Hey, Sudo, Kushida's never acted so coy with me. You think she's got a thing for that pretty boy?"

"Probably not. She's just borrowing a book." Sudo Ken ran a hand through his red hair, unconcerned.

"No, no, Sudo, haven't you noticed? Aside from the first day of school, Kushida's never once spoken to me first. But she's talked to Jingu several times. Don't you think that's weird?"

"It's only been two days since school started, Yamauchi. Maybe you're reading too much into it," Kanji Ike said.

"Ike, don't say I didn't warn you. Once Kushida's completely fallen for him, it'll be too late to regret it."

Yamauchi patted his shoulder hard, looking like he was disappointed in him.

His words made the others grow serious.

Because, even though they were all guys, they had to admit Bai Ye was really good-looking. If anyone in the class could win Kushida over, it would be Bai Ye.

There was already a flirty atmosphere between them after just two days. Give it three years, and they'd have a baby, wouldn't they?

The idiot trio knew they couldn't afford to fall behind from the start.

So they couldn't wait any longer.

"Ike, Sudo, after school today, let's meet in Ayanokouji's dorm and discuss how to beat Jingu."

"Hm? Who's Ayanokouji?"

"That guy in the corner. He just greeted me and said he wanted to join us."

"Should we get a few more people? Invite everyone who can't stand Bai Ye. There's strength in numbers."

"No. If we get caught, we'll be punished."

They agreed on a time, then went their separate ways.