The Stalker

Just as Himeno's face lit up with joy, Miyake delivered a crushing blow.

Second-Year Class D, whose Class Points had been zero for months and had only recently started to improve, was full of poor students, except for a few specific individuals.

Before the school trip, Miyake did not exchange much cash with the school.

"Furthermore, Eastern Hokkaido is not close to here, and it takes quite a while to get to work using public transportation."

Continuing to speak, Miyake outlined the unfavorable objective conditions.

Icebreaker tickets are not cheap at all, and traveling by other means of transport takes a lot of time.

Seeing Himeno's rare expression of disappointment, Aoyama hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I also think taking the icebreaker is a good idea."

"I can cover all expenses, including the round-trip taxi fare."

Compared to just looking at the scenery and the aquarium, he was already inclined to choose Himeno's option, and since the usually aloof Himeno was unusually interested, he went along with it.

"Then I'm all set."

"I'm fine with it too," Mori Nene quickly said, following behind Miyake.

Not being part of Karuizawa's innermost circle, she didn't get many points from Karuizawa, and she didn't have much cash on her.

If the incredibly wealthy Aoyama wanted to cover all the expenses, then she would have no reason to object.

"I also wanted to go down to the bottom of the waterfall and feel the impact; that's how martial arts scenes are filmed in movies."

With a straight face, Ibuki started talking nonsense.

"If you really do something that stupid, don't call me master anymore, and don't come here for free meals at the end of the month." Straightening up and reaching out, Aoyama delivered a Facebreaker to Ibuki.

Sometimes she really admired Ibuki's thought process.

At the start of the semester, she suddenly set a rule for herself: to watch all the movies shown in the school cinema. Even if she knew they were terrible or of a genre she didn't like at all, she would still spend money to watch them.

"Can't I just not go then?"

From the pressure she felt on her head, Ibuki knew Aoyama was serious, so she quickly nodded.

"Shiraishi, what about you?" Aoyama gave Ibuki's head a good ruffled ruffle and then looked at the smiling Shiraishi.

"Since Aoyama wants to go, then I want to go too."

Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, Shiraishi uttered words that left much to the imagination.

Apart from Ibuki, who was foolishly smoothing her hair, everyone else focused their attention on Aoyama.

"Then let's decide on this. We'll meet at the entrance at eight o'clock tomorrow morning." Somewhat surprised by Shiraishi's suggestion, Aoyama remained calm and continued to make the decision.

"Okay, I'll head back now."

Showing absolutely no sense of teamwork, Himeno glanced at the smiling Shiraishi and immediately stood up.

Then Mori Nene followed closely behind, somewhat flustered, with Ibuki being the second to last.

"I also want Aoyama to pat my head."

Standing outside the guest room, Shiraishi looked up and gazed tenderly at Aoyama, who was seeing her off.

Aoyama smiled. "Is it the Ibuki type?"

"It seems pretty good."

"I can't bear to part with that."

Aoyama placed his hand on Shiraishi's pale golden hair and Aoyama stroked it.

The delicate and smooth texture made him reluctant to remove his hand.

Goodnight, Asuka.

Judging from Shiraishi's behavior, Aoyama guessed that Shiraishi had feelings for him.

Otherwise, given her personality, she wouldn't have said anything that would raise so many questions, especially in front of several classmates.

"Okay, goodnight, Shiki."

The joy that could not be concealed radiated from her face; the beautiful face that Shiraishi could never tire of looking at was now flushed with a rosy blush.

Finally, she waved her delicate white hand and slowly returned to the girls' room.

"Does Shiraishi -kun like you?"

Not long after the lights were turned off, Watanabe's voice suddenly broke the silence of the room.

The other three, who were not asleep, easily detected the tension in his voice.

"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be."

If you're so nervous, then don't ask.

Somewhat amused, Aoyama answered without the slightest embarrassment.

Looking back, he had known Shiraishi for a long time, and they would often talk on the phone for more than half an hour at night.

When talking to Kushida on the phone, Kushida talks and he listens; when talking to Shiraishi on the phone, Shiraishi listens and he talks.

"They're really popular, Aoyama," Watanabe sighed heavily before continuing.

Ichinose, Sakayanagi, Horikita, and Shiina —all girls he considered exceptional—simultaneously chose to fall for Aoyama.

To say he wasn't envious or jealous would be absolutely impossible.

"Heh, I've seen people like that before. You'll get your hands on a hatchet sooner or later."

From the bedding at the far end of the room, a gloating voice suddenly came from Ryuen.

After Uninhabited Island, he realized that there was nothing he could do about Aoyama, so he chose to give up and save money, planning to leave with a substantial sum of money upon graduation.

Whether to pursue further education or directly enter the workforce will depend on the circumstances.

"That kind of thing is impossible. But you, Ryuen, haven't you ever had a girlfriend yet?"

"Women will only slow down my speed of finding someone to beat up," Ryuen scoffed.

"Wouldn't it be faster to just beat up your girlfriend?"

Suddenly, Miyake interrupted with a whimsical remark.

In an instant, the room fell silent, enveloped in an eerie atmosphere.

"Just kidding, just kidding!" Unable to maintain his aloof persona, Miyake hurriedly defended himself.

"Oh, by the way, there's a girl in my class who likes you. I'll tell her about it."

Amid Miyake's attempts to defend himself, Ryuen burst into laughter.

He wasn't lying; there really were girls in his class who liked Miyake, after all, Miyake was the ace of the Archery Club.

Amidst laughter, for the first time, the four-person room finally had the atmosphere of a small group.

Chapter 386 The Stalker

"I won't sit with Mori Nene."

The next morning, at the hotel entrance, Aoyama hailed a taxi and sat in the passenger seat, and Ibuki followed suit, opening the door and getting in as well.

The tacit agreement that boys and girls should sit separately was thus broken.

"I want to sit with Aoyama."

"Then I'll sit with Aoyama."

After Shiraishi said he was getting on the bus, Himeno quickly took the last spot.

In another taxi that had been flagged down, Ryuen was already sitting in the front passenger seat; she didn't want to ride in the same car as Ryuen.

In the end, Mori Nene, her face ashen, had no choice but to get into Ryuen's car.

"What conflict did you have with Mori Nene?" Aoyama asked Ibuki after the taxi started moving.

Everything was fine yesterday, but today Ibuki has become much more hostile towards Mori Nene.

"I overheard her talking badly about me on the phone, and I don't like her," Ibuki without any hesitation.

She likes what she likes and dislikes what she dislikes; her world is one of clear-cut love and hate.

Even if Shiraishi and Himeno spread what she said, she wouldn't think it was a big deal.

"Well, then they really should be hated."

Knowing that the fault lay with Mori Nene, Aoyama didn't say much and began to look out the window.

Because it snowed last night, the streets were covered in a blanket of white, which was quite beautiful.

Is this car heading to the same destination, or is it being followed?

More than ten minutes passed, and Aoyama's attention was no longer on the street scenes along the way.

A somewhat dilapidated Toyota Alphard had been trailing behind them for more than ten minutes, neither overtaking nor moving forward, simply following them quietly.

It's certain that this wasn't a car driven by school staff; he'd already confirmed this with Mashima by phone. The school hadn't sent anyone to follow or record the students this time.

Too rough; they probably aren't from the White Room.

No, maybe it's gangsters hired by the White Room. In that case, it's normal for their surveillance to be full of loopholes. After all, you can't expect someone who has fallen into thuggery to act like an elite.

"What's wrong, Shiki?" Shiraishi, who had been watching Aoyama closely, noticed the change in Aoyama's aura.

"It's nothing, just a small problem."

After telling his girlfriends not to go to secluded places alone, Aoyama put away his phone and pretended to sleep.

After the taxi arrived at its destination and stopped, he still spotted the dilapidated Toyota Alphard in the rearview mirror.

Never mind, I'll deal with it after the boat trip.

With his group in tow, Aoyama went to the ticket office to buy tickets.

Although it's not yet the peak tourist season for winter break, the ticket office is still quite crowded. Unless someone is insane, no one would act recklessly in public like this.

Before long, the eight of them had their tickets checked and boarded the ship, standing on the deck of the icebreaker.

After waiting for about ten minutes, with the roar of the engine, the icebreaker also sailed away from the port.

"It's truly spectacular."

When the endless expanse of white ice appeared, Himeno's deadpan eyes widened, as if he wanted to record the beautiful scenery.

"It's really good." Standing next to Shiraishi, Aoyama also turned his gaze to the endless ice surface.

The ice, whiter than the white clouds in the sky, stood out vividly in the dim sunlight, creating a truly magnificent sight.

As the icebreaker reached the ice and began to break through it, Aoyama felt the temperature drop a few degrees.

Before long, a quarter of the people on deck had fled back to the warm cabins to watch, no longer wanting to stay on the colder deck.

It's cold again.

Grabbing Aoyama's arm and tugging at it, Shiraishi loosened his scarf, just like he had done on the bus yesterday.

The meaning is clear: they want to share a scarf, just like yesterday.

Now that things have come to this, I can no longer say that I'm not cold at all.

"Shiraishi is so thoughtful." Aoyama gently patted Shiraishi's head through his hat, and then, following Shiraishi's wishes, used his scarf to connect the two of them.

Arm in arm, the two snuggled together like lovers, admiring the scenery as the ice broke through and moved.

Having seen enough of the view from the bow deck, they went to the stern to see another view.

The seawater exposed after the ice was broken, mixed with ice fragments, formed a stunningly beautiful turquoise color.

"Do you think it's possible for a person to stand on the ice, Aoyama?"

"I told you not to go looking for trouble."

Afraid that Ibuki off the ship, Aoyama grabbed Ibuki by the back of her neck and collar, keeping her close to prevent her from running away.

Judging by the appearance, the ice is about ten centimeters thick. There should be no problem for a person to stand on it, but if you actually jump off the boat and cause trouble for others, you'll definitely be called a stupid dog.

"I was just asking out of curiosity."

"Asking won't work either."

Only when the voyage ended did Aoyama release Ibuki from his side.

After disembarking, the eight people reunited and decided on their next itinerary.