Amamiya Natsuna's Sudden Direct Approach

The secretary nodded, her posture extremely humble.

"Let's stay at the Hemin Pavilion; I still have quite a bit of fine wine stored there."

"Yes."

After the secretary left to contact the people over there, Higashiyama Majo opened the notebook on the table, his thoughts drifting away.

He is already sixty-seven years old this year. Although people of this age have not yet reached the point where they should retire, if they cannot advance further, they will eventually lose their power.

Having spent his entire life immersed in the power arena, he absolutely could not accept such an ending; he could only continue moving forward, never looking back.

"The young master from the Koenji Family seems to care a lot about this brat named Hashiba. Is he planning to win him over?"

After thinking about it for Higashiyama Majo suddenly had an idea.

"Perhaps I should go see Sakayanagi; he used to take my Japanese language class."

Higashiyama Majo started his career in education, was a professor at Toei University. After he officially entered politics, his former students naturally became his supporters.

A White Room, inside a closed office.

A man in a light brown suit sat in his chair, behind him was a huge monitoring screen divided into thirty smaller screens, each corresponding to a different classroom, where the situation inside could be clearly seen.

"Professor Ayanokoji".

Someone pushed open the door to his office and spoke to the man.

Something seems off.

"What's wrong?"

The man raised an eyebrow, exuding a sharp aura.

"Someone has contacted the Konoe Family, apparently because of Sakayanagi Narimori's suspension."

The secretary lowered her head, avoiding eye contact.

"The Konoe Family? Could it be Konoe Miyabi?"

The man's expression changed slightly, and he asked in a somewhat urgent tone, "Who contacted him?"

"It's Higashiyama, who collaborates with the Koenji Family. He seems to be planning to climb the ranks further, aiming for the position of Minister of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications."

"So it was that old geezer..."

The man's expression shifted between light and dark. Although he had no real connection with the other party, Higashiyama was, after all, a veteran in politics, and his influence was no less than his own.

"Why does Sakayanagi have such connections? When did it start...?"

"Professor Ayanokoji, after this incident, I went to investigate it myself."

The secretary looked up, as if she wanted to explain something.

What were the results of the investigation?

"I heard that someone offered Higashiyama money to help resolve the Sakayanagi issue, and the Koenji Family is just the middleman. Since Higashiyama agreed, he will definitely make it happen, since the money has already gone into his private account."

"Have you found out how much it costs?"

"One billion yen."

"Ha, that little bit of money is enough to tempt that old man? How short-sighted!"

After cursing under his breath, the man took out his phone, intending to send a message to his business partner.

At that moment, he coldly turned his head and asked.

"Has anyone found out who paid for the investigation?"

"We can't find that information right now, but I learned something from the Koenji Family."

"What information?"

"I heard that the money was transferred by Koenji Rokusuke. Someone from the school collaborated with him and then got in touch with Higashiyama."

"You mean... someone at the Advanced Nurturing High School is offering 1 billion yen to help solve Sakayanagi's problem?"

The man's eyes instantly turned icy cold, radiating a chilling aura.

"If my investigation is correct, that should be the case."

"Hehehe, how interesting. Could this be the work of Kiyotaka?"

The man let out a cold laugh and muttered to himself.

"What's the situation in Tsukishiro?"

He said...

Chapter 760 Amasawa Ichika's Sudden Straight Strike

After discussing cooperation with Higashiyama Majo, Hashiba Hikaru was unaware of the undercurrents that were unfolding outside. He simply had dinner with Sakayanagi Arisu and then returned to his dormitory to rest.

Sitting in front of the computer, Hashiba Hikaru continued to trade her stocks.

Now that this door has been opened, we should continue to work hard and accumulate more wealth so that we can more easily establish ourselves in society after graduating from school.

Just then, his phone rang; a girl had sent him a message.

Upon opening it, I was surprised to find it was Sakura Airi.

Chat interface.

Sakura Airi: Hikaru, are you free these next couple of days?

Hashiba Hikaru: What's wrong?

Sakura Airi: Something happened recently, it's about that junior, Amasawa.

Hashiba Hikaru: What did she do?

Sakura Airi: She... let's talk about it in person. When is Hikaru available?

Hashiba Hikaru: Okay, let's meet tomorrow afternoon then, at the usual place.

Sakura Airi: Okay.

After putting down her phone, Hashiba Hikaru's expression was somewhat subtle.

Although it's unclear what happened to Sakura Airi, since it's related to Amasawa Ichika, it needs to be dealt with.

After all, it was the boy who took the initiative to recommend this junior to be Sakura Airi's partner, so naturally he had to take responsibility for helping her clean up the mess.

"What... is that guy thinking?"

Hashiba Hikaru leaned back in her chair, focused her attention on the market chart again, and continued operating.

"Red looks better..."

He muttered to himself.

The next afternoon, Hashiba Hikaru finished her Student Council work and rushed to the place she had arranged to meet Sakura Airi.

This secluded photo spot has never been crowded, making it a perfect meeting place.

Upon approaching, Hashiba Hikaru immediately spotted the red-haired girl standing there.

"Airi?"

"Light, you've come!"

Upon hearing the boy's voice, Sakura Airi lit up with joy, and she immediately ran towards him.

"Why are you in such a hurry? I'm here now, aren't I?"

After pulling the red-haired girl into a tight embrace, Hashiba Hikaru asked in a low voice, "What exactly happened? Did Amasawa make things difficult for you?"

"It's not difficult... but..."

The girl's answer was somewhat hesitant; she was organizing her thoughts but didn't know the simplest way to explain it.

"Don't rush, take your time. I'm not going to disappear."

Hashiba Hikaru held Sakura Airi's small hand and sat down with her on a nearby bench, listening to the girl's answer.

"Um."

After letting out a long sigh, Sakura Airi hugged Hashiba Hikaru's arm and slowly explained the situation.

After she finished speaking, Hashiba Hikaru looked quite surprised.

"Does Airi mean that Amasawa has been asking you about me lately?"

"Yes, it was mostly about light, and they kept asking me what our relationship was."

"Does this have anything to do with her?"

Hashiba Hikaru raised an eyebrow, her tone slightly displeased, "Why are you meddling in other people's business?"

Although he and Amasawa Ichika are currently business partners, the boy doesn't like her harassing behavior towards Sakura Airi.

Sakura wasn't very good at dealing with people like this, and now that they had passed Special Exam together, it was difficult to gauge the appropriate boundaries in their interactions, so she couldn't simply refuse to answer.

This is probably why Sakura Airi became distressed.

"Then I'll find an opportunity to talk to her. Airi doesn't need to indulge her; just ignore her."

Hashiba Hikaru took out her phone, ready to call Amasawa Ichika.

"Oh."

The girl next to him nodded, then asked, "Why is Amasawa so interested in you? Didn't you say last time that you were just business partners?"

"Yes, I wanted to gather more information during my first year, so I chose her. I don't have any other personal relationship with her, and I don't know why she's bothering you."

"I see..."

Sakura Airi responded and rested her little head on Hashiba Hikaru's shoulder.

Two days ago, she received a message from Kushida Kikyo, who made a very embarrassing suggestion, but Sakura Airi thought she could give it a try, since she liked that feeling anyway.

As long as she can win Hashiba Hikaru's affection, Sakura Airi is willing to do many bold things, and she believes she is no less capable than Kushida Kikyo in this regard.

"Beep--Beep--Beep"

After dialing, Hashiba Hikaru heard a busy tone on the other end of the line.

Then.

He realized that the sound was very close to him; even though he was making a phone call, the ringtone sounded as if it were right next to his ear.

"Hmm?"

Hashiba Hikaru looked up and instinctively glanced to her left and right.

"Hehehe, is Senior Hashiba looking for me?"

A pleasant female voice rang out, and a red-haired junior girl in a first-year school uniform skipped out of the woods behind the school, a meaningful smile on her face.

What are you doing here?

Hashiba Hikaru raised an eyebrow slightly, her tone a little displeased.

"Because I've been following Sakura- senpai lately, and after school today I saw her come here alone, so I guessed she must be here to see you."

Amasawa Ichika made no attempt to hide anything, directly using the word "stalking" to tell Hashiba Hikaru, causing Sakura Airi, who was standing next to him, to turn pale. After all, she hadn't expected that the other party would dare to stalk her.

"Heh, you're really honest, you actually confessed like that?"

Hashiba Hikaru chuckled coldly twice.

"What, are you going to punish me Senior Hashiba?"

Faced with Hashiba Hikaru's cold gaze, Amasawa Ichika suddenly felt her heart race. She took a few steps and walked up to the two of them.

"Since you want to know about me, and I'm right here, you can ask me directly. Don't bother Airi anymore."

Hashiba Hikaru ignored her nonsense. The problems of the first year students had been mostly resolved, and he didn't need to use any means to control Amasawa Ichika.

"May I?"