Ichinose Miu's Probing Questions, What an Incredible Child / Back to School, Horikita Suzune's Strange Impulse

This was the second time Ibuki Mio had repeated her inner thoughts; she had never changed them.

449

Chapter 449 Ichinose Miu's persistent questioning: An extraordinary child.

After finishing her hot spring trip with the Ichinose family, on her way back, Hashiba Hikaru was browsing posts on the Student Forum.

Miyabi Nagumo wouldn't just sit idly by until the Third Semester started. It's said that he took many actions after the winter break began. Even though the boy had quite a few undercover agents in the Second Year, it didn't mean he had complete control over all four classes.

If Miyabi Nagumo were to resort to desperate measures, Hashiba Hikaru believes she can control most of the current Student Council officers, as evidenced by the previous impeachment incident.

To more reliably handle this blonde-haired girl, Hashiba Hikaru plans to officially launch an impeachment campaign against Miyabi Nagumo once the Third Semester begins. The interpersonal relationships she has cultivated in various clubs will come in handy then.

"Hikari, what are you doing?"

Ichinose Honami sat next to her boyfriend, craning her neck to ask what he was doing.

"Browsing the Student Forum, everyone was sharing their holiday experiences during winter break, which was quite interesting."

Hashiba Hikaru showed her phone screen to the other person.

"Is that so?"

The pink-haired girl's gaze lingered on the screen for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something, "I heard Ando and the others say they're planning a class Social Gathering during winter break. Do you only know about that?"

"Yes, I know about it. I think it'll be about a week from now, by which time we should be going back to school."

Hashiba Hikaru nodded. After the second semester ended, the students in Class A of the First Year had been thinking about whether to hold a large class party, not only to celebrate what everyone had accomplished during this period, but also to strengthen their bonds and enjoy friendship.

"I'm sure Hikaru will participate, right?"

Ichinose Honami asked a question she already knew the answer to.

"Of course, after all, I'm also a member of Class A, so naturally I have to participate in this kind of activity."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly. Although he wasn't particularly interested in parties, maintaining relationships with his classmates was also very important.

"Yes, but Ando and the others have only set a time; they haven't confirmed the theme yet."

Ichinose Honami furrowed her delicate brows as if deep in thought. "Does Hikaru have any good ideas?"

"I don't have much experience with these kinds of events. Since they were in charge of the previous ones, let's leave the decision-making to everyone this time as well. I don't have many objections."

Since gatherings are just about eating and chatting, Hashiba Hikaru doesn't think it's necessary to have any complicated rituals.

Instead of worrying about the party theme, the young man should be more concerned about whether the food will taste good; otherwise, wouldn't he be missing out?

"Alright then, let's discuss this in the small group chat. Ando wants to finalize the theme of the party within the next two days and secure the venue as soon as possible."

Ichinose Honami takes all class activities very seriously, and after hearing about this, she's been keeping track of the event's progress, considering it extremely important.

"Okay, I'll leave it to you guys. Let me take a break."

Hashiba Hikaru stretched. After soaking in the hot spring last night, Ichinose Honami kept him up until after 1 a. m. before he finally fell asleep. The boy was really sleepy now.

"Uh-huh."

Another participant last night, Ichinose Honami, was full of energy, happily chatting with her friends on her phone.

Hashiba Hikaru thought this was fine. He was about to take a short nap on the Shinkansen seat when he saw Ichinose, who was sitting to his right, speak up.

"Brother Hashiba, are you the head of the Student Council?"

Ichinose Miu's expression was very serious.

"Not yet, but my goal is to become the head of the Student Council!"

Hashiba Hikaru smiled at her younger sister, "Has Miu ever been involved with the Student Council at school?"

"I've been in contact with them, and some people have even invited me to join, but I declined."

Ichinose Miu shook her head. She wasn't interested in the Student Council, and there was a deeper reason why she suddenly asked this question.

"Yeah?"

Hashiba Hikaru's smile remained unchanged as she continued, "Then why did Miu suddenly ask me? I thought you were interested in the Student Council."

"Because I heard that the person in charge has a lot of power and can do whatever they want,"

Ichinose Miu gazed wistfully at Hashiba Hikaru's face.

"Of course not. People in charge usually have to do a lot of things and coordinate with many people in order to handle things more efficiently."

"So, are the people who usually have the most contact with Brother Hashiba all your subordinates?"

"Well... you could say that, but many of them are just work colleagues."

Are there many girls?

Ichinose Miu finally bared her fangs, her voice suddenly rising several octaves, "When Hashiba- nii was working in the Student Council, were there more boys or girls around him?"

"..."

Caught off guard by the question, Hashiba Hikaru felt the curious gazes of the three Ichinose sitting to her left, right, and in front of her. She knew she had to answer properly to end this segment.

"It should be about the same,"

The young man pretended to ponder, speaking calmly, "After all, when hiring new people, we don't look at gender, but at individual ability."

"Is Brother Hashiba close to them?"

Not getting the answer she wanted, Ichinose Miu continued to press for an answer.

"Of course it's good. After all, we need to get along well to do things together."

Hashiba Hikaru gave a formulaic answer, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught Mrs. Ichinose's gaze, carefully weighing the nuances of his words.

"That's really amazing."

Ichinose Miu chuckled, "I heard that you didn't join the Student Council, which is a real shame. You can't spend every day with Hashiba- nii, right?"

"Uh... indeed, we have other considerations in this regard. Miu wants to know, she can ask Honami."

Hashiba Hikaru simply shifted the blame, since the reason for this matter was accepted by everyone in Class A of the First Year, so even if someone nitpicked, they could still find fault.

"Well, because I have to stay in the classroom, Hikaru didn't invite me to join the Student Council. That's our division of labor."

Ichinose Honami seemed to sense her sister's intention, but instead of pointing it out, she continued the conversation along the lines of the topic.

"But I heard that Kushida recently became a Student Council officer, right? That's all you know, isn't it?"

The pink-haired girl stared intently at her boyfriend's face. She could accept turning a blind eye to some things, but that didn't mean she didn't care about anything.

"... Yes, because one of the officials stepped down, a new round of elections for new officials was held."

Hashiba Hikaru suddenly felt that Ichinose Miu's gaze towards her had become even more strange.

"Oh, I see~"

Ichinose Honami smiled slightly, seemingly intending to let the matter drop, but Ichinose Miu spoke again in front of her mother and sister, "Is this Kushida and Hashiba brother) on good terms?"

"She's great, she's my assistant, and she's helped me with a lot of things."

Under Mrs. Ichinose's watchful gaze, Hashiba Hikaru felt that avoiding the question or rambling on was inappropriate; it would be more natural to answer directly.

After all, he and Kushida were quite restrained in their interactions when they were in the Student Council.

Perhaps...

450

Chapter 450 Returning to School, Horikita Suzune's Unexpected Turn of Fate.

Despite being questioned by Ichinose Miu on the Shinkansen, Hashiba Hikaru managed to end the "interrogation session" well, leaving no bad impression on Mrs. Ichinose, which is commendable.

For the next three days, the young man was busy with his stock business. Having mastered the skills of [Investment and Wealth Management (Master)], he became more proficient in this area through practical experience.

Ichinose Honami Ichinose Miu, after the hot spring girls' night talk that day, although she cared a lot, she didn't really have much of an opinion about Hashiba Hikaru. After all, the other party was likely to become family, and a very sensible girl wouldn't take the initiative to do anything.

On the last day of the seven-day period, Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami went to a local bank to open a private account as a reserve fund for the Ichinose family in the future. Before setting off, the boy successfully deposited ten million yen into the account.

"Have you packed everything?"

As Ichinose Honami was packing her suitcase, Mrs. Ichinose walked into her daughter's room.

"It'll be packed in no time. There wasn't much stuff to begin with, so Mom, don't worry."

The pink-haired girl put the folded clothes into her suitcase and turned to look at her gentle-looking mother.

"Hmm, where's Hikaru-kun?"

Mrs. Ichinose inquired about her "son-in-law".

"It seems Guang went out to make a phone call. He's going back today; he's currently communicating with people at the school."

Ichinose Honami slowly zipped up her suitcase, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"That's good. Did Honami have a good time these past seven days?"

Mrs. Ichinose Hashiba Hikaru, as her daughter's boyfriend who was visiting for the first time, was outstanding in every way. On the other hand, he showed a very good attitude. Since they were going to become family in the future, Mrs. Ichinose naturally grew to like him more and more.

"Yes, I'm so happy to be back to spend time with my mom and sister."

After Ichinose Honami put down her suitcase, she looked at her mother's tired face and hugged her tightly.

"Yeah?"

Mrs. Ichinose gently stroked her daughter's back and said with amusement, "If Hikaru-kun hadn't come back with you, would Honami still be this happy?"

"... Of course, Mom, please don't talk nonsense!"

Ichinose Honami; although what she said was true, she was still too embarrassed to admit it.

"Haha, Honami is such a cute kid. I was just saying it casually."

Mrs. Ichinose smiled and said, "I still really like Hikaru-kun. I hope you two get along well at school from now on."

"Yes, I will."

Ichinose Honami nodded emphatically. She would never let go of Hashiba Hikaru and was determined to marry her someday; this was the girl's most important wish.

After packing all their luggage, Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami stood at the door to say goodbye to her family. They were leaving today, Mrs. Ichinose and Ichinose Miu were very reluctant to part, after all, they didn't know when they would see each other again.

"Honami, remember to take good care of yourself."

"Sister, please take good care of yourself. I'll be here waiting for you to come back."

"Okay, I understand!"

The pink-haired girl loudly bid farewell to her family, while Hashiba Hikaru, dragging suitcases in both hands, turned back and smiled at them.

"Hikaru-kun- kun, take good care of Honami. I look forward to you becoming part of our family."

"... Me too."

"Brother Hashiba, welcome to come again next time."

"Uh-huh."

After saying goodbye, Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami got into a taxi and headed towards the Shinkansen station. He looked at his girlfriend, whose eyes were slightly red, and took the initiative to pull her into his arms.

"It's alright. If you want to come back later, let's earn more Private Points."

"Hmm... I understand."

As the vehicle grew smaller and smaller in sight, Mrs. Ichinose hugged her youngest daughter tightly and said softly, "Let's go back, Miu."

"Um."

Does Miu like Hikaru-kun?

"... As long as my sister likes it."

"What a good child."

Half of the winter break has passed, and Horikita Suzune's life remains monotonous.

I go to bed early and get up early every day, review and consolidate my knowledge according to the planned schedule, and then go to the Student Council to do my work.

Although it's winter break, Student Council activities still happen. While students can't enter the teaching buildings, the Club Activity Building is still operational, and many clubs are holding winter break activities.

Her workflow is well-structured, from checking materials to reviewing documents, and finally compiling and summarizing reports. She is very adept at these tasks and never makes a mistake.