Scheming in the real world? I can also do a little.

"If there were surveillance here, that would be one thing, but you dared to play this game without any cameras... Do you have any idea what your behavior counts as to a hot-blooded teenage boy?"

Pinning Kushida Kikyo to the ground, Hoya Chukai now had his entire body pressed against hers. Their faces were only four fingers apart, and that aggressive male pheromone was flooding into Kushida Kikyo's nasal cavity.

"A beauty like you makes it very hard for a man to restrain himself."

"You... are you trying to be a hooligan?! Help—mmph!"

"Shh, you're the one who chose this spot. It's secluded enough, and there are no cameras. If I really did it to you right here, what could you possibly do about it?"

Hoya Chukai leaned in even closer, and now they could both feel each other's breath.

Hoya Chukai's breathing was heavy; it was clear he was excited. But he kept that excitement in check, otherwise, he would have turned into a beast at any moment.

Lust is a blade hanging over one's head; when the urge truly takes hold, it's hard to say what might happen.

"You don't think having a few fingerprints on you is enough, do you? First, let me tell you something: fingerprints on clothes aren't that easy to use as evidence. Second, if I were to splash water on you after I was done, where would those fingerprints be then? Third, you snuck out all by yourself in the middle of the night—what do you think the odds are of something like this happening? People would wonder: were you toyed with by me, or were you actually craving this?"

I have to admit, victim-blaming is a damn shitty argument. But at this moment, it was the perfect choice to deceive Kushida Kikyo.

Pressure—if you apply enough pressure, it's enough to make her mentality collapse, especially since everything Hoya Chukai said sounded logical... even if it was twisted logic. He loved using words to manipulate others, especially a child like Kushida Kikyo. She was only sixteen, just a first-year high school student; what did she really know?

Children are the easiest to fool.

Seeing that Kushida Kikyo had already started crying, Hoya Chukai finally released his hand from her mouth, but his hand began to wander downward.

"No... no... I was wrong, please spare me..."

"Are you wrong? But you know, if you hadn't been so aggressive from the start, perhaps we wouldn't have ended up in this situation. And... who was the little cutie that threw herself into my arms just now?"

"Pop~"

A button was undone by him.

"I really was wrong, please, don't do this... really, don't do this..."

"Pop~"

Another button was undone.

Kushida Kikyo was just a fragile little girl; how could she possibly compare to a boy like Hoya Chukai? Her small tricks were completely useless against his physical and gender advantages, which proved once again that strength is actually what matters most.

"Is that so? Then... what are you willing to pay?"

"Anything, I'll pay anything, please, don't, don't continue."

"Pop~"

The third button.

There were only four buttons in total, and three had already been undone. The string of her sanity had completely snapped; she could only beg for mercy now, unable to think about what to do afterward.

Most people are like this. When disaster strikes, even if they have to tear down the east wall to patch the west, they will try their best to solve the immediate problem, otherwise, he might just finish her off right here.

With three buttons removed, her fair skin was incredibly alluring under the moonlight. Her pink bra was practically bursting out.

"You said it yourself, anything."

And as Kushida Kikyo said "anything," Hoya Chukai suddenly stopped his movements.

He didn't remove the last button, but instead stroked Kushida Kikyo's face: "You should know what the consequences are for lying to me, right?"

"I know... I know..."

"Then you should also be able to imagine that the price for being two-faced will be even more terrifying, right?"

"I understand... I understand..."

"Tsk, what a beauty. Such a pity."

He came and went quickly. Hoya Chukai could push her to the ground in an instant, and he could just as quickly stand up and act as if nothing had happened.

"Alright, get up. Fix your clothes properly."

Everything from just a moment ago seemed like an illusion. Now, with his hands in his pockets, Hoya Chukai looked at the moon, looking like a completely different person from the one who seemed ready to take her at any moment.

She couldn't understand him, and she couldn't see through him. What exactly did this man want?

But she knew that she was now a fish on the chopping block, left to his mercy.

She climbed up from the ground and buttoned her clothes one by one. She kept her head down, listening to Hoya Chukai's instructions.

"Your phone, hand it over."

"Yes..."

Biting her lip, Kushida Kikyo took her phone out of her pocket, unlocked it, and handed it to Hoya Chukai.

She didn't dare to think about what Hoya Chukai wanted to do. Look at the privacy on her phone? Transfer the points from her account? Or download some software to monitor her?

"Alright, here."

But it only took him a dozen seconds before he tossed the phone back to Kushida Kikyo.

Kushida Kikyo, having regained her phone, saw a 'New Friend' notification.

Just adding a friend?

"You said just now that you were willing to do anything, so you'd better listen to me when the time comes. You were right about one thing at the beginning: this school is a damn shitty place. It just wants to play games, making the four classes—A, B, C, and D—fight each other. You have a certain amount of influence in Class D. I need you to control Class D well. When I need you, don't you dare refuse, otherwise..."

Hoya Chukai forcefully pulled her in front of him, forcing her to look him straight in the eye.

The two were once again face-to-face at a very close distance, but this time, she could feel that Hoya Chukai's aura was completely different from before.

If he had seemed like a lecherous creep who hadn't touched a girl in decades and was looking to make a move just a moment ago, he now resembled a cold and ruthless leader.

"You will regret this, even more than you do right now. Do you understand?"

"I... I understand."

"Good. As long as you understand, that's fine."

Hoya Chukai released Kushida Kikyo and continued, "Of course, I won't make you work for free. As long as you can perfectly complete the tasks I assign, I will give you points so you can live a better life. Believe me, the days ahead for your Class D won't be easy."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Also, if you're feeling any pressure, you can come to my dorm to vent. It's safer than here, at least."

Hoya Chukai had no intention of answering Kushida Kikyo; instead, he patted her on the shoulder and walked away just like that.

His behavior left Kushida Kikyo completely baffled as to what he was actually trying to do. She could only stare blankly at the man's retreating figure, and it wasn't until she felt cold and couldn't help but sneeze that she realized she should leave quickly.

Chapter 38: Buying Horse Bones with Gold

'Well done. Five thousand points are yours.'

She was the only girl who had reported the situation to him this time, so she naturally earned this sum of money.

Five thousand points were equivalent to five thousand yen, which was a decent amount of income within the academy. Although they were given one hundred thousand points every month, he had made it clear on the first day of school that they might not always receive that much later on—it could be more, or it could be less.

But everyone knew in their hearts that the possibility of it being more was very low, while the possibility of it being less was extremely high. Therefore, having an extra source of income was naturally a very cost-effective deal. What's more... the effort required wasn't that great.

Hoya Chukai was fond of the idiom: buying horse bones with gold. He knew that blind brutality was useless; balancing kindness with severity was the real reason one could command respect.

With severity, they wouldn't dare to defy him. With kindness, they would have the motivation to work. In the original story, Ryuen Shoko only had severity but no kindness, and the result was that her empire being overthrown was only natural. Not everyone was submissive to her.

But now, with kindness added to the mix, things were different. It didn't matter if you weren't convinced, but I don't believe you won't work if there's a task. If you work, there's a reward, so even if you don't submit to me, you won't slack off. After all, if the mission fails, you won't be the only one suffering the loss.

Hoya Chukai knew that this was still the very early stages. What he needed to build with Ryuen Shoko was prestige—one playing the bad cop and the other the good cop. He needed everyone to know the cost of defiance, while also letting everyone know the benefits of obedience.

Hoya Chukai believed that the news about these five thousand points would spread through the class by tomorrow. This first horse bone had already been bought.

As for the second? That would depend on whether Albert could get the job done. If he succeeded, Hoya Chukai would give the whole class a big surprise.

"Hmm... it's finally over~"

Just like that, the third day came to an end~

And at the start of the fourth day, it was a good thing that he wasn't being pinned to the desk by Ryuen Shoko with his arm twisted again~ A joyous occasion, truly a joyous occasion~

But looking at the expression on Ryuen Shoko's face, which suggested she was looking for trouble, Hoya Chukai knew that today would definitely be another autumn... of unrest.

"So, when are we making our move?"

"No rush. The next step is to build momentum."

"Build momentum?"

"Yes, build momentum."

Hoya Chukai revealed a pleased expression. This was how planning should be. You couldn't just start scheming against others on a whim; you needed to lay the groundwork to make everything that seemed unreasonable appear reasonable from the very beginning.

Albert was very burly, and that was the only, yet biggest, problem with this operation. Therefore, he needed to send a signal—a signal to the other classes—that their Class C didn't want to cause trouble, or at least, the upper echelons of Class C didn't want to cause trouble.

So, how should they disguise it?

"When the time comes, we'll do this, and then we'll do that."

Hoya Chukai began to explain to everyone, and soon, Ryuen Shoko understood his plan.

"Is this going to be too much trouble?"

"Trouble? Let me put it this way, Boss: if this job succeeds, we won't just be able to screw over Class A hard, we'll also make a killing. So, one can never be too cautious."

He didn't spend any points on this operation because it was an activity that would last for several days. If he had to pay based on the number of times they acted... he wouldn't be able to afford it.

Besides, this operation was being commanded by Ryuen, so it was none of his business.

When you think about it, he could save a huge amount of money, right?

Well, he could indeed save a huge amount of money, but he still had to shell out a small sum.

Of course, this money wasn't for his classmates, but for Kushida.

Yes, he needed to put Kushida to work.

'After the second period ends, find a way to ask Karuizawa to meet at XX location. 3000 points for you once it's done.'

3000 points wasn't much, but what Kushida had to do wasn't difficult either. It was just calling someone and bringing them to a certain place; it wasn't that much trouble. Why not take the opportunity to earn a little extra cash?

After sending the message, Hoya Chukai couldn't help but sigh, slumping over his desk, feeling limp.

"What's with that look on your face, like you're about to die?"

Ryuen Shoko slapped the hand of Hoya Chukai, who had unconsciously reached into her personal space, telling him to snap out of it.

"I just feel like my points aren't enough to go around..."

"Who told you to pay people points just to get them to do work?"

"I need to provide some motivation; it has to be a mix of carrot and stick... I really need to figure out a way to earn points..."

At this moment, Hoya Chukai needed to start thinking about how to earn points. Scamming Class A would certainly net him points, but that wouldn't pay out until next month. He didn't want to have to pinch pennies for the rest of this month, did he?

Sigh, what a headache...

"You brought this on yourself."

Watching Hoya Chukai's pained expression, Ryuen Shoko merely raised an eyebrow. In her eyes, Hoya Chukai was simply reaping what he had sown.

During class, Hoya Chukai pretended to be listening attentively, doodling on his paper, but in reality, he was calculating his points for the month.

His expenses for this plan were truly significant. He was paying out of his own pocket for the sake of the class... Ugh, he just had to swallow this bitterness himself.

He could, of course, explain the situation to Ryuen Shoko and have her squeeze the students for points. But... Hoya Chukai felt that wasn't right.

On one hand, it would incite their resentment. On the other hand, he had no interest in taking money from the poor.

He still had a shred of conscience left; otherwise, he would have already had Ryuen Shoko start hoarding wealth. She already had the entire class in the palm of her hand; it wouldn't be a problem to make them hand over tens of thousands of points.

However, what Hoya Chukai wanted more were the points from Class A. Class A was wealthy, overflowing with riches, so he definitely had to target them.

Damn it, he wanted to put his plan into action today, but he couldn't. He needed to be fully prepared; for this matter, the timing, the location, and the people all had to be perfectly aligned.

After the first period ended, Hoya Chukai watched as everyone left the classroom in twos and threes, a glint of sharpness flashing in his eyes.

He would just have to endure for now. His current points were still sufficient, and if they really ran out... could he actually borrow some from Shiina?

Even if she was dark on the inside, she usually acted like a little angel. If he were truly broke, maybe asking her would work... Then again, is it a bit too scummy to borrow money from a woman the moment you're broke?

He'd worry about surviving first; who cares about being scummy or not...

Lying back down on his desk, Hoya Chukai felt a surge of excitement in his heart once again. Because starting from the next break, his plan was finally going to be set in motion.

He even harbored a bit of personal selfishness in this operation, and he really needed to ponder how he should make his grand entrance.

Chapter 39: Karuizawa Bullied Again (Mid-Autumn Festival Bonus 1/8)

She really knows how to order people around, making me work on the very first day.