Shy Kushida

A hint of helplessness flashed across Horikita Manabu's face. "I don't think I agreed to let you stay for dinner, Aoyama."

He really wanted to refuse outright, but Aoyama had just followed his advice and declared war on Nagumo, thus sealing their enmity. It would be too unreasonable to refuse something as simple as having a meal together.

"Since we're already here, and the groceries are already bought," Aoyama said, taking the ingredients straight into the kitchen from Horikita Suzune, who felt she had been tricked and was getting angry.

"Alright, alright, it's settled then. Let's take a brother-sister photo together now."

Stepping out of the kitchen, Aoyama, like the host of the room, raised his phone and moved to a spot where he could capture the two of them in a frame.

"Come on, smile, give me a cheese!"

With a slight smile, Aoyama Horikita Suzune, whose excitement was palpable, and Horikita Manabu, who maintained a cool demeanor, both snapped a photo together on their phones.

You should thank me now for not breathing so much in your skin.

Seeing Horikita Suzune so happy, Aoyama couldn't help but feel a surge of joy as well.

He switched the phone to time-lapse mode, directed the two of them to stand in the empty space in front of the desk, and then used stacks of books to prop up the phone.

On the phone screen, Horikita Suzune stood about a fist's distance away from Horikita Manabu.

Your brother isn't going to eat you, is he?

"Prepare."

Pressing the shutter button, Aoyama quickly walked to Horikita Suzune's side and bumped into her.

Then, with a barely audible sigh, Horikita Manabu moved closer to his younger sister, offering her support.

Accompanied by a click.

A close-up photo of the three of them appeared on Aoyama's phone.

Chapter 179 Your Boyfriend Cheated on Me

"Aoyama Shiki, who do you think you are to act so arrogantly? You're just lucky to have gained your senior's favor."

The benches in the Keyaki Mall, intended for guests to rest, were suddenly taken aback by a subordinate's urgent notification. Nagumo, who had been aggressively criticizing Aoyama on the School Forum, was in a very bad mood.

He's always the one using personal points to offer bounties to others; when did it become his turn to offer bounties to him?

"It seems you already know, Ya. You look so pale."

As Nagumo pondered how to deal with Aoyama, who had suddenly soared to great Aoyama after two Special Exam during summer vacation, his childhood friend Asahina returned with drinks.

"I didn't expect Aoyama -kun to be so amazing, accumulating so many personal points in just one semester," Asahina said with a hint of admiration and a touch of joy.

She never expected that the junior she bumped into on the playground at the start of the semester would be so amazing.

Seeing Nagumo's gloomy expression, she knew that Aoyama must see Nagumo as his for the taking, posing a huge threat to his position Student Council President.

If I become the Student Council President, will you treat me to another meal?

It seems that this is indeed possible.

Sitting down on the bench with one seat between them, Asahina placed the drink for Nagumo between them, the image of Aoyama Shiki from that day flashing through her mind.

At that time, Aoyama told her that he would become the Student Council President, but she didn't believe it at all.

Nagumo composed himself, "A large portion of them weren't his own; they were most likely borrowed from Class 1-B to make an appearance."

"How many of them do you think belong to Aoyama -kun?" Asahina took a sip of her newly bought milk tea, the rich sweetness bringing a smile to her face.

"At most, it's a little over ten million."

"But to be able to borrow over 30 million, that junior Aoyama is quite impressive."

Asahina praised again, while Nagumo, who was trying to save face, gave less of what he thought was true. Although he could keep his expression calm, he hated Aoyama even more in his heart.

Sakayanagi Arisu is a useless piece of trash, all bark and no bite.

Gripping the beverage can tightly, Nagumo cursed inwardly Sakayanagi, who had borrowed his money and then, in less than three days, had already slid to his Sakayanagi in a lightning-fast manner.

He lent so many points to Sakayanagi without interest not only because Sakayanagi was the Chairman's daughter, but more importantly because he wanted to use the incredibly confident Sakayanagi to counterbalance the rising power of Aoyama.

As a result, Sakayanagi, who had high hopes for Aoyama to the position of leader of Class A, allowing him to soar to great heights.

Damn it, give me my money back!

The more Nagumo thought about it, the angrier she became. She wished she could call Sakayanagi right now and give her a good scolding.

How can you be so bad?

"Thank you... thank you."

On the other side, on her way back to the dormitory building from Horikita Manabu's room, Horikita Suzune quietly thanked Aoyama beside her.

Although she couldn't have a private chat with her brother, taking photos with him and cooking for him brought her immense joy.

Furthermore, during their meal together, Aoyama even encouraged Horikita Manabu to give a compliment to her cooking.

"I'm the one who should be saying thank you, I saw something good." Recalling Horikita Suzune's shy and cute appearance just now, Aoyama put his hand on her long hair again.

"She's so cute when she smiles, she should smile more."

With her expectant gaze, her delicately blushing face, and her fair and smooth skin, Horikita Suzune just now seemed irresistibly cute to him.

He almost called Horikita Manabu his brother-in-law on the spot.

The moment Horikita Suzune met Aoyama's gentle gaze, she awkwardly turned her head away. "As the class leader, I have to maintain a mature and calm image."

Feeling the warm, large hand on the back of her head, she felt her heart beat faster, just like it would in front of her brother.

The aversion to being patted on the head like a child has long since disappeared.

Aoyama gently stroked Horikita's smooth black hair, enjoying the Aoyama. "What did Ichinose say? That someone who thinks having a cold face is mature? Don't you think that's the most immature thing about a person?"

"But my brother too."

"That prime minister of that Kijima didn't have a cold face like your brother."

Knowing that Horikita Manabu was regarded as a celestial being by Horikita Suzune, Aoyama directly elevated him to the position of the country's youngest prime minister, maximizing his authority.

No matter how outrageous the filter, Horikita Suzune would never believe that her brother is more powerful than Kijima.

"Well, it's not that I'm forcing you to smile, it's just that I'd be happier if you smiled more." Aoyama continued speaking when Horikita was speechless.

Cute things can't possibly not bring joy.

Horikita Suzune didn't react for a moment, "You'd be happier?"

"Yes, I'm the kind of person who gets happy just seeing cute things."

"Glib-tongued."

Her body stiffened, and after taking a deep breath to calm herself, Horikita Suzune quickened her pace.

She didn't want Aoyama to see her face, which felt a little hot.

How could this person so casually say something so embarrassing?

What do you mean by "just seeing me makes you happy"? Do you really enjoy seeing me smile that much?

[Kushida, it seems your boyfriend is cheating on you.]

[Aoyama and Horikita seem very close; I think Kikyo, you can't keep spoiling him like this.]

[Kushida, I saw it...]

That evening, Kushida had just finished a pleasant shower and was wrapped in a towel as he stepped out of the bathroom, turned ashen-faced and his eyes turned murderous the moment he picked up his phone.

In the short time it took her to take a shower, three students reminded her to keep an eye on her boyfriend, Aoyama, with the last one even suggesting they break up.

"Damn it, Aoyama Shiki! Damn it! Damn it!"

"Is that bitch Horikita Suzune really that good?"

Suppressing her anger, Kushida replied to each of the messages she received in a naive and innocent tone, pretending to be a blind girl caught in a love trap.

She thought it was Horikita Suzune, the NTR character, but it turned out that she was the one being NTR'd.

The thought of other students looking at her with pity filled her with a dark feeling.

No, we can't just sit here and wait to die.

After comforting his friends, Kushida lay in bed and pondered deeply before deciding to go to the Aoyama dormitory to vent his frustrations.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease; she needed to let Aoyama know that she was being wronged, and that she was doing it for Aoyama's sake.

I changed into a light, sleeveless dress, put on some simple makeup, and sprayed on some perfume.

Looking at her pure and lovely reflection in the mirror, Kushida smiled contentedly and went out, heading straight for Aoyama's dormitory.

"Kushida, you've come at the right time. Aoyama was just mentioning you."

When Kushida knocked on Aoyama's door, a shiny bald head appeared in her line of sight, which looked quite comical.

Hashimoto Masayoshi, a traitor who betrayed his class and was punished by Aoyama.

As an intelligence expert, she even knew that the traitor from Class D that Horikita Suzune was looking for was the one who had betrayed them.

Chapter 180 Shy Kushida

"Sit."

Aoyama patted the seat next to him and gestured for Kushida, who was dressed up, to sit down.

The declaration of war against Nagumo has been issued; it's time for him to arrange some 'helpers' for Nagumo.

Hashimoto, who was forced to shave his head and humiliated in front of everyone; Kushida, who was dumped by his boyfriend; and Sakayanagi, who was ostracized by his classmates and left all alone—there's bound to be one that Nagumo is suited to interfere in the affairs of the first-year students.

"Nagumo's understanding, he wouldn't let such a precious talent like Kushida go unnoticed."

"If he asks if Hashimoto ever knelt down before me in private, just answer yes."

Aoyama ruffled Kushida's short hair and assigned her a task to work with Hashimoto.

Before Kushida arrived, he explained the script of defection to Hashimoto, arguing that he, like Sakayanagi, did not treat Hashimoto as a human being and could humiliate him at will.

"Yes, I'll do whatever Aoyama- kun says." Kushida replied obediently, like a virtuous wife.

Aoyama fixed his gaze on Hashimoto's gleaming bald head. "Your mission is singular: extract as much reward as possible from Nagumo."

"Give Nagumo whatever information he needs, just report back to me afterwards."

Having Hashimoto of shifting allegiances, Hashimoto is unlikely to be someone Nagumo would trust too much, and it's improbable that he would fall into Nagumo's trap.

He figured Hashimoto could just get him some dirty money.

Hashimoto rubbed his bald head. "I'll give you the information? Understood."

"You can leave now, don't be a third wheel."

With a wave of his hand, Aoyama shooed Hashimoto out of the room, leaving only Kushida looking at him with an innocent smile.

As soon as the door closed, Kushida's smile vanished. With Hashimoto gone, she no longer needed to pretend to be love-struck.

Kushida slapped Aoyama's hand away. "You actually dare to use Hashimoto? He's betrayed us twice already."

She didn't understand Hashimoto still dared to use Aoyama so boldly after he had already proven himself to be a traitor, and even let him know that his later being dumped was part of the plan.

What if Hashimoto becomes a traitor who serves three masters?

"Nagumo is different from Sakayanagi; he wasn't influenced by external factors. Hashimoto someone I trust even more than you."

Without a father figure like the Chairman, Aoyama believed that Hashimoto wouldn't lose his mind and betray him, especially now that he was at the height of his power.

Kushida's smile vanished. "I'm not even as good as that funny bald guy?"

"What Hashimoto wants is simple, just to graduate from Class A, but Kushida, you want much more." Aoyama's gaze fell on Kushida's pale, soft-looking upper arm.

Compared to the white lace trim on her cuffs, her flawless skin seemed even whiter.

Kushida, with his dark past, is quite likely to be involved in a scandal.

He can use his dark past to threaten Kushida into doing things, and conversely, others can use it to threaten her as well. The one who is most easily turned against him among his tools is the lovely Kushida in front of him.

If Kushida, like Hashimoto, only wants to graduate from Class A, he wouldn't mind giving her Twenty Million Personal Points to ensure she wouldn't betray him.

"What if I really became your girlfriend?"

Standing up behind Aoyama, Kushida wrapped his arms around Aoyama's neck and hugged him tightly, pressing his soft body against his back.

After much thought, she concluded that this might be the only way to regain Aoyama's favor.