The Chairman's Daughter Also Wants to Go on a Trip

"The final exams are finally over! I heard the school is taking us on a trip to a deserted island. Is that true?" After finishing the final exams, Hamaguchi asked Baiye Ying excitedly.

"Uh... I suppose it's true." Baiye Ying didn't know if revealing the details of the special exam would cause any trouble, so he decided to keep it a secret for now.

"Ah, I'm so looking forward to it! The ocean, the beach—I really didn't make a mistake choosing this school." Hamaguchi jumped up in excitement.

"I think you're just looking forward to the girls' swimsuits," Beppu chimed in from the side, mocking him.

"What!? The person you're talking about should be Baiye Ying. How could a dignified gentleman like me care about such things?" Hamaguchi pointed at Baiye Ying.

"Usually, people only accuse others of what they are thinking themselves, so the final answer is that both of you want to see the girls' swimsuits," Baiye Ying gave his definitive verdict.

In that case, the truth was that all three of them wanted to see the girls' swimsuits...

"It's been confirmed; it's happening next week," Shibata told the group.

"What!? How do you know?" Hamaguchi asked.

"A member of my club told me. He said he knows a senior in the Student Council, and he confirmed it with him," Shibata said as if it were obvious.

"Baiye Ying, aren't you in the Student Council too?" Hamaguchi looked at Baiye Ying with a reproachful gaze.

"Uh... now that you mention it, I think I remember. When the Student Council met last week, they did mention it. Hahaha..." Baiye Ying scratched the back of his head.

The group: ...As expected of you...

In the park at Kouiku, Baiye Ying was engaged in an activity to cultivate his mind and body.

"Master, I think I've found the feeling." Baiye Ying sat under a tree in a meditative posture, eyes closed, slowly inhaling and exhaling.

"Hmm, Baiye Ying, well done." Morishita Ran was also meditating nearby. "As long as you come here to practice every day, in time, you will be able to hear the whispers of the forest."

"Yes, Namu Amaterasu..." Baiye Ying felt that whether or not he could hear the forest's whispers was secondary, but sitting here to recharge after a tiring day was truly comfortable.

Especially these past few days: he had to help the people in the shopping district with their deliveries in the morning, prepare for final exams during the day, handle Student Council work after school, and act as the math tutor for the "idiot trio" at night.

Sitting here in meditation was truly a precious healing time in his day.

"Baiye Ying, let me ask you a question..." Morishita Ran said slowly.

"Please go ahead, Master..."

"Have you provoked Class A recently..."

"No, why?"

"People from Class A have been looking for you lately..."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but it seems quite serious."

"Is that so? How serious..." Baiye Ying yawned.

"They might be trying to get you expelled," Morishita Ran said calmly.

"So that's how it is..." Baiye Ying replied indifferently.

The two continued to meditate for a few more minutes.

"Aren't you afraid?" Morishita Ran continued in a calm tone.

"Master, please stop joking... let me get some rest..." Baiye Ying yawned again; he had almost fallen asleep just now.

"It's true, Baiye Ying."

"How is that possible?" Baiye Ying said, wanting to laugh.

"It's true..."

"Uh..."

"It's true..."

"No! Master, such an important matter! Why are you only telling me now!?" Baiye Ying suddenly jumped up.

"Only by casting aside arrogance and impatience can one hear the whispers of the forest."

"Hoo... Alright, Master, could you please tell your disciple the details?" Baiye Ying sat back down and asked in a calm voice.

"Actually, there isn't an explicit order to expel you. But Class A is currently fighting for leadership of the class. Do you know about this?" Morishita Ran asked.

"I know a little."

"Then I'll be blunt. The Sakayanagi Faction is looking for you, and they have threatened that they might get you expelled."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"...Please continue..." Hashimoto

"So if you really did something to offend them, go to the library and talk to Sakayanagi Arisu. That is how the forest whispers."

"Thank you for your guidance, Master. This disciple will take his leave."

"Hello, you must be Baiye Ying from Class B, right? We were just about to go looking for you; I didn't expect you to come to us yourself. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I am Hashimoto Masayoshi from Class A."

Just as Ying arrived at the entrance of the library, Hashimoto Masayoshi, who claimed to be from Class A, walked over to greet him.

"Hello, Hashimoto-kun. I am indeed Baiye Ying from Class B, ahahaha..."

"Then come with me, the Princess is waiting for you."

Ying: Is, is it that urgent?

Hashimoto led the way. After turning a corner, he lightened his footsteps, as if afraid of disturbing the dust floating in the air. He stepped aside to leave half a shoulder's distance and whispered, "The person has been brought here."

Then, he retreated to the end of the bookshelf like a shadow, leaving the space to Sakayanagi Arisu and Ying.

Sakayanagi's slender figure was gently embraced by the shadows of the bookshelves. Her long, silver-white hair draped over her shoulders, and her fingers lightly picked up the white queen on the chessboard. Her ebony cane leaned against the stool.

Hearing the newcomer, Sakayanagi did not look up, but continued to play, saying in a voice just loud enough for Ying to hear.

"Check."

Sakayanagi's voice was crisp and pleasant, yet it caused the temperature in the room to plummet, making even Hashimoto, who was peeking from behind the bookshelf, shudder.

"Good move! A truly good move! Using the white queen's check to force the black king to flee, thereby launching a series of offensives that trap the black side in a dead end. I can only say, brilliant!" Ying didn't seem to sense the atmosphere, clapping his hands in praise.

Sakayanagi finally looked up, staring at Ying, and smiled: "I didn't expect Baiye-kun's attainments in chess to be so formidable. It seems the points you earned at the Chess Club on the second day of school weren't just borrowed from my wisdom after all."

Ying: I just hit the Kouiku lottery when school started, and now I'm being held a grudge by Miss Sakayanagi?

"I am but a man of shallow learning. That day, I saw that Sakayanagi-kun possessed an auspicious aura and overwhelming chess luck, so I merely placed a small bet, a small bet."

"I don't like being used, especially by short-sighted mediocrities." When Sakayanagi said this, her gaze was cold and sharp, staring fixedly at Ying.

Ying: Not a bro, how does placing a bet count as using someone? Why is this loli like a hedgehog, exploding at the slightest touch?

"Ahem, actually, I also know a thing or two about chess." It seemed it was time to show his true skills! If he didn't pretend to be unfathomable, he wouldn't even know when he might be out.

However, when it came to acting, after several months of practice, Ying considered himself quite capable. Not to mention, he still had Katsura.

"You calculated the white queen's encirclement, but you forgot that the black side can also sacrifice the queen for a counter-kill."

Ying reached out and pointed to the black knight at b7 and the white king at e4, "If the black side sacrifices the queen here and uses the knight to pursue, the white side will eventually be surrounded and killed by the black side."

Then, Ying placed the white queen Sakayanagi had moved back to the d1 position and said: "Playing chess against oneself is ultimately a battle between the left and right brain; one thinks the outcome is clear. But in reality, it is the victory of an unknown third party."

Sakayanagi's pupils constricted. This person's chess skill is not below mine.

"Hahaha, interesting. Although we have never faced each other directly, I was a move behind the moment I entered school. Baiye, I acknowledge you."

Ying: Wait, what are you talking about? I don't understand?

"If it weren't for my physical inconvenience, I would definitely have avenged that humiliation during the island trip in a week."

Ying: Uh... does she mean that she wants to go to the island to play too?

"If you want to go, I can see if I can apply to the school to set up a special sightseeing area so you won't have to do wilderness survival," Ying said without thinking.

Sakayanagi was even more shocked. She had just wanted to give Ying a hint that the island was actually a school exam. But did he understand it in an instant and deduce that the exam was wilderness survival, or did he already possess certain intelligence?

Regardless, both possibilities made Sakayanagi feel that this person was not simple...

Ying: Wait, why does this loli's gaze look like she wants to kill me? Did she misunderstand what I just said and think I'm discriminating against her? Oh my god, what do I do?

"That... I will definitely make sure you get to go! Believe me!"

Sakayanagi: ?