Chapter 87

Aragaki Shun isn't a psychologist, nor has he specifically honed his psychotherapy skills, so naturally he's too lazy to correct the other person's psychological problems.

"Today it's Horikita Suzune, tomorrow it's Karuizawa Kei, and the day after tomorrow it's Ichinose Honami. From inside the class to outside, is your goal to expel everyone who can threaten your ideals from Advanced Nurturing?"

Kushida's dream is to be more popular than everyone else and become the undisputed number one in gaining everyone's trust.

But it's clear that, just like when she entered junior high school, as the competition became more intense, she couldn't reach the top in terms of academics and physical fitness.

Upon arriving at Advanced Nurturing, a school that gathers talents from all over the country, the girl's social skills began to lag behind.

She remains popular with many people and has considerable influence in various groups, but that's about all she can do.

In this academy where strength reigns supreme, outstanding affability alone is absolutely insufficient to earn everyone's trust.

"If I'm not mistaken, I'm probably the one you most want to drop out of school."

"Entrusted with the future by everyone in the class, attracting the attention of the entire school, having influence in every class in the first grade, and able to command a large following whenever I make a decision... It seems like I've easily achieved what you've been striving for every day, yet still struggle to reach?"

As expected, a murderous gaze immediately shot over.

"Shut up!"

"Tsk tsk~ You've already broken through her defenses?"

"Why bother? You're not Private Points; it's impossible for everyone to like you."

154. A series of troubled girls; there were people under the bed and in the closet.

Seeing that Kushida Kikyo's defenses had been easily broken, Aragaki Shun yawned somewhat boredly and waved his hand, wanting her to hurry back.

"Whether you drop out of school or not is none of my business. Even if it's your goal, it doesn't matter. Just remember that every choice comes with a price."

"Should you leave now, or are you actually considering staying overnight at my place?"

"Phew~"

Being directly asked to leave, Kushida Kikyo took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and forced a smile at Aragaki Shun's impatient expression, "Is there really no room for negotiation on this matter?"

In reality, the girl was already cursing her mother inside.

But there was no way. Horikita Suzune's older brother was the Student Council President, and Aragaki Shun was protecting her in the first year. If she couldn't get the boy's support, she couldn't find a way to expel him from school.

"You're clearly just too idle. I suggest you do something meaningful to keep yourself busy."

In Aragaki Shun's view, Kushida Kikyo's problem lies in the fact that her persistent dream has been shattered, yet she cannot find any other alternative path, which leads her to stubbornly cling to her own ideas and go to increasingly extremes.

Being vain, wanting to be more popular than others, wanting to be praised, wanting to be trusted and relied upon... there's nothing wrong with these thoughts; most people have similar pursuits in their childhood.

But reality is cruel. There are billions of people in the world. A genius praised in a small town can easily become just another ordinary person once he enters a wider world.

Because from then on, your competitors will become elites of the same or even higher level.

Throughout one's life, very few people manage to stay relevant and remain at the top of their social circles.

Therefore, almost everyone needs to go through such a transformation, which is to be forced to accept their mediocrity, to realize that no matter how unwilling they are, there are things they cannot do, that they are not the destined protagonist of this world, and that the earth does not revolve around them.

Kushida Kikyo's problem is that she is repeatedly hit by reality, yet she still refuses to accept it.

As a child, she could earn praise from her family for her grades and physical abilities; however, in junior high school, the competition became more intense, and she realized that neither of these qualities could help her reach the top. So, the girl resolutely chose to leverage her affability and began to become "everyone's Kushida".

But upon reaching Advanced Nurturing, the competitive circle expands once again, and the girl's social skills begin to lose their effectiveness... Under this intense pressure, Kushida inevitably begins to descend into madness.

Unlike her junior high school days, this time, the girl could find no other alternative path.

If she couldn't achieve first place in a certain field, her life would be meaningless, so Kushida could only cling tightly to this last straw.

Since she can't continue to improve herself, she should eliminate other competitors. As long as she expels all those who are hindering her, she will still be the one everyone trusts the most.

As he pondered the girl's psychological changes, Aragaki Shun felt that as the next Student Council President, he should make a crucial suggestion to the school: Why did Advanced Nurturing deliberately recruit so many problem children without ever considering providing them with psychologists?

"Do you need me to recommend a hobby that will keep you busy? If you continue to be so hysterical, forget about dropping out of school, Horikita Suzune will eventually have a mental breakdown and mess up her school life again."

Kushida Kikyo sneered, about to retort, when suddenly there was a knock on the dormitory door.

"Knock knock knock~"

The brown-haired girl looked sharply at the closed door, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

If someone were to discover that he had come to Aragaki Shun's dorm alone, his goal of making friends with everyone would be utterly shattered.

"Who could be coming at this time?" Aragaki Shun wondered, walking towards the door to himself. "Is it Kanzaki or Shibata?"

Of course, it could also be Shiranami Chihiro.

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

"Since someone is knocking, of course we should open the door."

"I'm still here!"

"So what if you're here?" With a slight shake off Kushida's hands that were tightly gripping his arm, Aragaki Shun calmly said, "This dorm is so small, where's the space for you to hide? You can't just pretend you're dead and that the knocking didn't happen, can you?"

The problem is that he turned on the light; anyone outside could tell there was someone inside just by looking through the crack in the door.

"You--"

Kushida Kikyo watched in a panic as Aragaki Shun went to open the door. After looking around, she realized there was really no suitable place to hide, so she could only grit her teeth and crawl into the closet next to the bed.

Aragaki Shun, noticing the commotion behind him, was speechless, but he didn't dwell on the other person's actions, simply because the person outside the door was somewhat unexpected.

"Karuizawa?"

Looking at the girl with the high brown ponytail in front of him, Aragaki Shun raised an eyebrow. "What do you want from me?"

"I, I want to..."

Karuizawa seemed a little nervous, his eyes darting around, and he hesitated to reveal his purpose for coming.

"Never mind, why don't you come in first?"

After leading Karuizawa into the room, the boy subconsciously glanced at the wardrobe. It was truly indescribable that such Matoba, reminiscent of a romantic comedy, was happening to him.

That said, the wardrobe is such a small space, Kushida actually squeezed inside. That's incredibly dedicated!

"Get to the point. If you're just looking to talk to me about Sakayanagi Arisu's situation, then don't ask any more questions."

"This matter has been resolved. Next semester, she will transfer to Class A at her own expense. I will have someone keep an eye on her to prevent her from causing trouble."

Karuizawa Kei: "..."

Hmm... she did intend to use Sakayanagi as a starting point, but since her host, Aragaki Shun, had already gone this far, how could she, a parasite, possibly disobey?

But Sakayanagi is actually transferring to Class A?

She really didn't know about this.

"This is a deal between me and the Board Chairman; you don't need to know the details."

"In short, there's no need to worry about Sakayanagi launching another rumor attack. She needs to sign a contract to transfer to Class A, and any out-of-line behavior will result in immediate expulsion."

Oh, I see... It seems there's really nothing to worry about.

Karuizawa Kei completely relaxed, then became even more tense the next moment.

What exactly did she want from seeing Aragaki Shun?

Well, it seems she was provoked by her girlfriends and ran over in a daze.

It's already night, and I've gone alone to the dormitory of a single man...

Aragaki Shun watched with a subtle expression as the brown-haired girl's face grew increasingly red.

Karuizawa Kei was dressed in a typical JK uniform, with a red jacket paired with a white shirt and bow tie, which made her look exceptionally fresh.

Judging from the shampoo scent wafting through the air, the girl had clearly taken a bath; faint traces of moisture still lingered on her carefully styled high ponytail.

Okay, so this is another one who's lusting after him and wants to deliver herself to his door.

Is Sakayanagi Arisu some kind of Cupid reincarnation?

How come her one act of spreading rumors suddenly provoked so many people?

Just as Aragaki Shun's thoughts were racing, the familiar knocking sounded again.

"Knock knock knock~"

"Aragaki-kun, I'm here! Open the door!"

Hearing the soft voice from outside the door, Aragaki Shun quickly realized who had come to visit.

"It's Shiro-nami. That's not surprising."

Then, Aragaki Shun watched as Karuizawa Kei quickly ran to the wardrobe, her lips twitching slightly.

The girl opened the door and was immediately frozen in place.

"Kushida Kikyo!!!!"

"Why is she here?!"

Looking at the lifeless brown-haired girl in the closet, Karuizawa Kei felt a sudden, overwhelming scream of a groundhog rising from the depths of her heart.

But there was no time to waste. The girl didn't have time to investigate this big gossip. She quickly closed the cabinet door and ran to crawl under the bed.

Aragaki Shun: "..."

So I'm not worried about Shiro-nami getting angry, so why are you hiding from me like this?

Despite having a lot to complain about, Aragaki Shun ultimately just sighed, took two steps, opened the door, and welcomed Shiro-nami in.

"Sniff~ I feel like I smell a girl's scent. Has Aragaki-kun entertained anyone else before?"

"... Shiro-nami, is your nose like a dog's?"

"Just call me Chihiro. Besides, this is a girl's special ability to catch cheaters, not some dog's nose."

After being pulled back to the middle of the dormitory by Shiranami Chihiro, Aragaki Shun glanced at the single bed subconsciously, no longer wanting to say anything.

He sat directly on the chair in front of the desk, hugged Chihiro in his arms, and the lovestruck girl suddenly lost her ability to think normally.

"Kushida Kikyo and Karuizawa Kei from Class D came here before."

"You know, Class D is a special gathering place for flawed students set up by the school. The students assigned there always have some secrets they don't want outsiders to know."

"Sakayanagi Arisu's actions frightened them, so they came to me as Class D seeking reassurance."

"Oh my~ Aragaki-kun's abs feel so good to touch..."

Shiranami Chihiro, her eyes glazed over, nestled against Aragaki Shun, muttering a few words of agreement without actually paying any attention to what the boy was saying.

Kushida Kikyo and Karuizawa Kei? Who are those again?

This is my time to be intimate with Aragaki-kun, I don't want to pay attention to any irrelevant guys.

"I want a hug, I want a kiss..."

While responding to Chihiro's overly passionate lips, he also tightened his grip on the girl's slender waist to prevent her from falling, a hint of helplessness in Aragaki Shun's eyes.

You're a girl, how come you're even more lustful than me?

Two minutes later, Aragaki Shun and Shiranami Chihiro separated, and he pinched her cute cheek with one hand, asking in confusion, "Didn't we say last night that we were going to go through the whole shopping, movie, and confession routine? Why are you in such a hurry to come over today?"

"Hehe~ I'm a little nervous."

"Feeling anxious?" Aragaki Shun asked, puzzled. "You don't even care about my fiancée outside, so what could possibly make you anxious?"

Shiro-nami pouted, her face showing a clingy, pet-like expression, and said in a pitiful tone, "I've noticed several times that Honami-chan's gaze towards you today is different from usual. It's like she has something to say to you, but she hasn't found a chance to be alone with you."

Shiro-nami couldn't possibly remain indifferent when his best friend was suspected of making a move against the person he liked.

Even if her opponent is Honami-chan, she will never admit defeat. At most... at most, she'll give her two days off within a week...

Just kidding!

However, Shiro-nami did feel immense pressure because of Ichinose's unusual behavior. Ichinose was the girl who was recognized as the most approachable among the first-year students and had long held the number one spot on the list of girls that boys most wanted to date.

Even though Shiro-nami is somewhat unconventional, she would never dare to say that she can compete with Ichinose in terms of charm; in fact, the two are not even in the same league.

"If Aragaki-kun gets snatched away by Honami-chan, I have no chance of winning him back."

"So let's skip the formalities of confessing; I want to be Aragaki-kun's girlfriend right now!"

"That way, even if Aragaki-kun abandons me in the future, I will still be your first and only partner, no doubt about it."

Muttering dejected words, Shiranami Chihiro leaned in again, and the two cuddled for a while before the girl finally pulled away from her lips because she was having trouble breathing.

"Waaaaah... I really don't want to be abandoned. Aragaki-kun, please hold me tight, please let me become one with you, take everything from me."

Looking at Shiraha, whose eyes Shiro-nami with tears and who looked like a little puppy, Aragaki Shun flicked her forehead with his index finger with a slight headache.