Secret Gathering

Ayanokouji never expected that he would make friends only two days after school started.

And three of them, at that.

The dormitory gathering he had never experienced before was also taking place in his room as he had hoped.

For this occasion, he had specifically brought out the super-expensive canned beef he bought at the supermarket yesterday—the kind he couldn't even bear to eat himself—to celebrate.

But to his surprise, the delicacy he had intended to enjoy himself was unceremoniously snatched away by Ike Kanji the moment he opened it.

Watching the three of them shovel his canned food into their mouths without even tasting it, his eyelids twitched.

This was not the White Room, nor was it field training.

If he were in a deserted forest without supervision, he would have pierced the other party's chest without hesitation to take back his food.

Survival of the fittest—that was the law of the jungle.

However, this was a school.

He wanted to be a normal person for once, to experience the life of an ordinary human being, having finally attained this daily routine.

The Chairman had said that even ordinary people had things worth learning from.

Cooperation, unity, friendship, hope—these words he couldn't quite grasp echoed in his mind.

He still couldn't understand them.

But it didn't matter if he couldn't understand; it was enough for him to learn how to utilize them.

He currently lacked sufficient strength, and he would be caught the moment he stepped out of this school.

He only wanted to become stronger, strong enough to have the power to control his own destiny.

When that time came, true freedom would be waiting for him.

"Hey, hey, Ayanokouji, what's your take on this?" Yamauchi and the others looked at him.

He shook his head: "I'm not good at this, you guys figure it out yourselves."

He had heard their conversation; it was nothing more than how to scheme against Bai Ye and make him look foolish.

He had thought of a method, but he didn't intend to share it because he wasn't sure how strong that person really was, and he didn't want to expose himself.

Trying to scheme against someone before fully investigating all their intelligence had a very slim chance of success.

Moreover, he felt their approach was useless, because even if Bai Ye were ostracized, there would still be others standing in front of him, such as Hirata Yousuke.

Doing such things was completely meaningless; it would be better to focus on making oneself stronger.

"You're so stupid, what's wrong with you two?"

"You're the stupid one, those were all terrible ideas!"

"Stop arguing, it's annoying!" This last sentence was said by Sudo.

The group had been talking for a long time and almost ended up fighting, which left Ayanokouji somewhat speechless.

Should he give them a hint?

Better not.

He actually didn't want to be enemies with Bai Ye; he always felt this person was a bit strange, with behavioral patterns completely different from everyone else's.

Perhaps he was hiding some unknown secrets, just like him.

But he decided to let it go; everyone had secrets, they just varied in size.

"Alright! Let's decide on this: we'll observe him for a while until we find his weakness!"

Ayanokouji felt they had finally made a wise decision.

Meanwhile, in the room next to Ayanokouji's.

To their surprise, a gathering was taking place here as well.

But the protagonists were one boy and two girls.

Bai Ye looked at the two girls in front of him, puzzled: "Running to my room to hang out late at night, aren't you afraid?"

Kushida smiled: "Jingu-kun, don't tell me you're thinking of laying a hand on me? There are two girls here, you know."

If Wang Meiyu hadn't been with her, she really wouldn't have dared to go to the boys' dormitory alone.

The soundproofing of the dorms was excellent; if the boy were truly driven by lust, she really wouldn't be able to resist, and if he left behind some incriminating evidence to threaten her afterward, she would have no choice but to swallow her pain.

Although the possibility was extremely low, she had to consider the worst-case scenario; she knew how ugly people driven by desire could be.

"I'm sorry, Brother Bai Ye, I was caught by Kushida on the way to your room, so..."

Wang Meiyu hung her head low.

Bai Ye rested his chin on his hand, leaning against the table: "You didn't say you were coming over tonight, couldn't you have told me in advance?"

"I... I was afraid you would refuse..." She said, her voice growing quieter.

"Hmm?" Bai Ye frowned.

He felt that this younger sister had gone bad; did she think she wouldn't be rejected just by showing up at his door?

Even now, having entered his room, he could still kick her out just the same.

So he said:

"You should go, Kushida. Wang Meiyu and I have some things to discuss."

"Huh?"

Kushida widened her eyes, completely unable to anticipate that she would be kicked out.

She could no longer maintain that sweet and cute persona, looking at him with resentful eyes.

At this moment, Bai Ye felt like a heartless man; if Wang Meiyu weren't there, she might have taken a knife and slashed at him a few times.

In reality, the two of them weren't close, and the attitude Kushida was putting on was entirely due to a woman's vanity.

Just like how she couldn't compare to Wang Meiyu at this moment.

Seeing that the way Kushida looked at Wang Meiyu was starting to turn sour, Bai Ye, not wanting the relationship between the two girls to worsen, said:

"I have important things to discuss with Meiyu, and it's not appropriate for you to listen in. If you have things to say to me as well, come alone next time; I would be very welcome to that."

"Tch, I don't even want to come. I was just worried about Meiyu. Since you two have things to talk about, I won't disturb you. Bye-bye."

Kushida seemed not to hear the deeper meaning behind his last sentence, turned on her heel, and left.

After the door closed, Wang Meiyu finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Only then did Bai Ye dare to speak casually: "It's almost time for bed, what are you doing in my room? Don't tell me you want to sleep with me."

"Is... is that not allowed?" Wang Meiyu asked tentatively.

"Of course not. Aren't you supposed to be my younger sister? What kind of younger sister sleeps with her older brother?"

"I don't mind."

As she said this, Bai Ye saw Wang Meiyu's face flush a little deeper.

Seeing Bai Ye remain silent, she bit her lip, glanced at her own somewhat meager figure, and said: "Brother can just treat me like a child. Anyway, I..."

"Pfft."

Bai Ye couldn't help but laugh, "Don't you know there are people in this world who specifically like petite lolis?"

"Is that so... then what kind... what kind does Brother like?" Wang Meiyu clenched her small fists, looking at him with teary eyes, her cheeks bright red.

It took immense courage to say these words; at least in Bai Ye's impression, Wang Meiyu didn't have the guts to say such things.

Looking at little Meiyu's delicate body, he said:

"First, she must have a good figure."

"Ah...?"

"Second, she must have a unique temperament."

"..."

"Third, she must be able to understand my thoughts."

"Fourth, ..."

"..."

With every sentence he spoke, Wang Meiyu's body slumped a little further, until finally, she was huddled in the corner with her arms wrapped around her knees, curled up into a ball.

Bai Ye couldn't help but find it amusing.

"Brother, am I not supposed to be living in this world..."

Unexpectedly, Bai Ye, who had just been joking, answered her question seriously: "Whether you want to live or not is up to you. I'm different from others; I won't urge people to live well. Some people live in total dissatisfaction, trembling with fear even with endless money to spend, while others live very happily on simple meals every day. Whether it's enjoying the life you have now or constantly chasing ever-expanding desires... in the end, whether you are happy or whether you want to live is something everyone decides for themselves."

"Brother, why can't I understand what you're saying?"

Wang Meiyu tilted her head, her expression blank.

"You won't be happy once you understand."