September Arrives, and a New Item Goes Live!

Hashiba Hikaru moved closer to the pink-haired girl, gazing into her tender blue eyes. His tone softened, "Or is Honami planning to scare me?"

"Hehe, if Guang comes back after we're done, he might really give you a surprise."

Feeling the familiar aura of the boy envelop her once again, Ichinose Honami smiled contentedly.

"Then I'll join you guys now. I just learned a new dish last time, and maybe I can use it this time." Hashiba Hikaru rolled up his sleeves enthusiastically, but he soon heard Ichinose Honami.

"No need, just go and rest for a bit, we'll be done soon." Ichinose Honami nudged the boy's arm, indicating that he didn't need Honami's help for the time being.

"Yes, we're almost finished. If you interfere now, it will only slow things down."

Ando Sayo understood Ichinose's meaning and readily agreed, "Please wait for dinner Classmate Hashiba- kun."

"... Oh well."

Seeing that the two girls were so determined, Hashiba Hikaru had no choice but to return to his bedroom. After reading for a while, the aroma of food filled the entire dormitory.

"Dinner's ready! Hikaru, come over here quickly."

"They've arrived."

It must be said that the lunch was quite sumptuous. Ichinose's cooking skills have always been excellent, and Ando Sayo is also a good cook. Both of them are skillful girls, which made Hashiba Hikaru experience what it means to truly live off a woman.

The feeling of not having to do anything and just waiting for dinner to be served is truly blissful.

After lunch, Ando Sayo glanced at the pink-haired girl's profile and, quite tactfully, took her leave.

After she disappeared from the dormitory, Hashiba Hikaru Ichinose Honami stood together in front of the stove washing dishes.

"Have you finished everything for today? Did Horikita-senpai give you any trouble?" The girl carefully wiped the plates in the sink.

"Of course not, it went quite smoothly."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled gently. This in-depth collaboration with Horikita Manabu has brought about many changes. The other party has provided a lot of resources, which will definitely be of greater use in the second semester.

"That's good."

After finishing everything, the girl pushed Hashiba Hikaru into his bedroom.

"What's wrong?"

"Close your eyes first, I have a surprise for you." Ichinose Honami put her hands behind her back, a mysterious smile on her pretty face.

"What surprise is it?"

"Close your eyes first."

"Okay." Hashiba Hikaru closed his eyes and tried to focus his attention on his hearing. He thought he heard some rustling sounds, but he couldn't guess what they were.

After a while, Ichinose Honami's sweet voice rang in his ear.

"Alright, Guang can open his eyes now."

"OK."

Upon opening his eyes, the boy discovered that Ichinose Honami had taken off her school uniform short-sleeved shirt and put on a light blue one. Notably, the shirt had a unique floral and character pattern printed on the chest.

The girl was carrying another short-sleeved shirt, which looked the same style as this one, but was slightly larger.

"These are couple shirts I bought online, Hikaru, would you like to try them on?" Ichinose Honami walked up to Hashiba Hikaru with a smile and handed him the shirt.

"So this is the gift?"

Hashiba Hikaru stroked the soft fabric, her expression slightly surprised. "But when did Honami find out my size? You didn't even ask me."

"Hehe, I'll keep this as a secret for now, I'll tell you later."

Ichinose Honami leaned in and hugged Hashiba Hikaru, saying in a sweet voice, "After Hikari finishes her Student Council duties each day, let's go out and play wearing these clothes."

"But... what about changing the clothes?"

"The other set is still on its way; it should arrive tomorrow."

"So you were prepared all along?"

Don't you like light?

"Of course not," Hashiba Hikaru shook her head and said quite seriously, "I'm actually very happy that Honami could prepare something like this. In fact, I should treat you even better."

To everyone's surprise, Ichinose Honami immediately shook her head upon hearing this and replied seriously, "Hikaru has already been very good to me. I've been relying on you all along, so I want to take the initiative to do something to nurture our relationship."

"Since you put it that way, then I'll secretly pick out a gift for you next time, but I won't give you any hints." Hashiba Hikaru hugged the pink-haired girl tightly, looking down into her eyes. "Please look forward to it, Honami."

"Yes, I will."

After saying these words, the atmosphere in the dormitory became quiet.

Ichinose Honami blushed, stood on tiptoe, and brought her face close to the boy's.

Hashiba Hikaru understood what this meant, and he quickly printed it on.

"Hmm..."

"One more time, one more time!"

"This time it's my turn to take the initiative..."

Hashiba Hikaru spent the rest of her summer vacation in a very fulfilling way.

The boy experienced a mix of busy Student Council work and sweet dates with his girlfriend, giving him an unprecedented experience.

He gained many valuable things during his first semester at this school. Although there are still many uncertainties in the future, he has made the choice and will continue to move forward.

Life is like a chocolate wrapped in colored paper; until you eat it, you don't know what it will taste like.

But why think so much?

Just be brave and do it.

Chapter 231 September Arrives, New Items Available!

After a busy and fulfilling summer vacation, it's now the last day of August. Tomorrow, everyone will return to the classroom for classes, and the second semester will begin.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Hashiba Hikaru sat at her desk in her dormitory, staring at some documents and materials on the table.

After joining the Student Council, he successfully secured a position in the Student Council's Club Management Department.

Not only that, Miyabi Nagumo gave Hashiba Hikaru a very warm welcome. On the same day, she introduced the boy to all the members of the department and quickly began to assign him some practical tasks.

Logically speaking, first-year students who join the Student Council usually work as assistants to their seniors, doing tasks such as photocopying documents and running errands. It's rare for someone like him to be handling important matters so soon after joining.

But the Student Council members still remember that when Hashiba Hikaru submitted his application, he and Horikita Manabu went into the Conference Room for a private talk. Although Horikita was about to step down, he still held a great deal of authority.

Perhaps, this Classmate Hashiba is someone that President Horikita values highly.

As a result, in the process of carrying out various complex tasks, Hashiba Hikaru was able to make significant progress in areas she had never been exposed to before, because the Club Management Department not only needed to check different funds and reports, but also needed to communicate with the heads of various clubs.

Although Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School differs greatly from ordinary high schools in terms of its positioning, its extracurricular activities are still very vibrant, with a wide variety of clubs in addition to popular sports clubs.

As a financially strong school, Advanced Nurturing High School is very generous with its funding for student organizations. To ensure that this money is used to its fullest potential, the Student Council needs to scrutinize all funding applications from student organizations more rigorously.

Furthermore, the Student Council's Club Management Department organizes club meetings every so often. These meetings not only convene all club leaders but also review and evaluate their club activities.

Outstanding clubs can present their achievements to earn prize money, while clubs with poor performance will have their funding reduced. Just like competing with classes, club activities must not be neglected.

With the new semester about to begin, many clubs had a lot of tasks related to funding applications and communication during the summer vacation. During this Hashiba Hikaru met many club leaders through senior members of the Student Council, and his abilities grew while his network expanded.

This is a crucial step if you want to increase your influence within the Student Council.

"Ha, they only have six members, yet they want to apply for 200,000 in funding? What a pipe dream!"

After carefully reviewing the new funding request form, Hashiba Hikaru wrote down its name in her notebook and then put an X at the bottom of the form.

This is the main work the boy has been responsible for during this period. After this application is rejected, the person in charge of the club will definitely call him the next day to try to explain.

After finishing her tasks, Hashiba Hikaru organized the contents of the documents, which she would take to the Student Council the next day.

However, at this moment he thought of the system's [Trading Shop]. September was approaching, and the items in the shop would be refreshed at midnight tonight. He wondered if there would be anything new.

During this period, after finishing her Student Council work, Hashiba Hikaru spent most of her time with her girlfriend Ichinose Honami. However, she still met privately with Kushida and Sakura, as her relationships with them had changed quite a bit, and she couldn't completely ignore them.

After taking a shower, Hashiba Hikaru lay on the bed with his eyes closed, quietly waiting for midnight to arrive.

Aside from the issues with the [Trading Shop], having already decided to pursue his own happiness, the boy plans to work even harder in stock trading to earn money for his future growth as the second semester approaches.

Time ticked by, and as the numbers on the phone ticked to midnight, a new message notification popped up in the System Bar.

[A new month has begun; the items in the Trading Shop have been refreshed. Please check your inventory.]

[Trading Shop]

[Stock Analyzer: 1000]

[Branded Sweatshirt: 3000]

[Initial Stock Price Adjustment Contract: 30000]

[Badminton): 250,000]

[Language Expert): 200,000]

[Charm:500000]

As Hashiba Hikaru's gaze swept across the refreshed shop, she quickly spotted a new item she had never seen before.

[Initial Stock Price Adjustment Contract]

What is this?

Without hesitation, the boy immediately clicked on the instructions for using the new item, and a line of text popped up.

[The Initial Stock Price Adjustment Contract will randomly select two stocks that have not yet been purchased after the initial purchase, and adjust their initial stock prices. The host should note that the initial stock price adjustment can be either an increase or a decrease; if one stock is increased, the other can only be decreased.]

"Hiss... Is there really such a saying?"

Hashiba Hikaru touched her chin. According to the instructions, the initial stock price could only be changed in stocks she hadn't yet purchased, and it was completely random. This meant that the final result might not be what she wanted.

He opened his [Stock Interface]. There were currently ten stocks available, but he had only purchased four of them, leaving six unpurchased.

These are [Horikita Suzune Stock], [Ibuki Mio's Stock], [Kiryuuin Fuuka Stock], [Sakayanagi Arisu Stock], [Karuizawa Kei Stock], and [Chabashira Sae Stock].

The stock with the highest initial price was naturally [Horikita Suzune Stock], priced at 100, while the remaining stocks were priced between 20 and 50.

"However, if the price is only 30,000, why don't we give it a try?" Hashiba Hikaru looked at the stock information she hadn't bought yet. Developing new stocks was important if she wanted to obtain more system funds.

After thinking for a while, Hashiba Hikaru decided to give it a try. In any case, if the initial price of a stock could be lowered, it might become her next target.

[Is this Initial Stock Price Adjustment Contract?]

[Purchase complete.]

[Remaining Funds: 29600]

[Beep! The Initial Stock Price Adjustment Contract has taken effect.]

[Horikita Suzune Stock dropped 70, current price 30]

[Chabashira Sae Stock rose 70, current price 120]

"..."

When the final adjustment results were revealed, a subtle expression appeared on Hashiba Hikaru's face.

However, since that's the case, he hasn't had much contact with Class C's Chabashira Sae, and in his deep collaboration with Horikita Manabu, he also has the task of helping Horikita Suzune collect points.

If that's the case, maybe it's not bad?

Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the information on the [Stock Interface]. The initial stock price of [Horikita Suzune Stock] had become 30, and its issuance quantity was 3,000, which was actually quite good. Although it couldn't compare to the three stocks with an issuance quantity of 5,000, the returns would still be considerable if the stock price was increased.

"However, we still need to communicate with her first to see what her specific plans are for the future."

During the first semester that just ended, Hashiba Hikaru and Horikita Suzune had actually had quite a bit of contact, but they didn't get any closer.

Because this black-haired girl has a rather aloof personality, although she has been working hard to get into Class A, she never wants to have too much contact with others. According to Kushida Kikyo, even after a semester has passed, she still doesn't have anyone to talk to in Class C.

This is different from Sakura Airi. Sakura doesn't plan to make friends because she's afraid of communicating with people, but Horikita Suzune refuses to communicate with others. This includes her looking down on others and her inherent personality of not being willing to trust others.

"However, there are still many ways to get to know her better."

Hashiba Hikaru recalled her previous encounter with Horikita Manabu; as Horikita's older brother, the Student Council President's words were quite effective.

After lying down on the bed, the boy began to sketch out his plans for the future in his mind.

Anyway, the prices of the four stocks he's already bought are steadily rising. After school starts tomorrow, the teacher should announce the upcoming Sports Festival, and then there will be a new round of Special Exam. He has to keep working hard.