What Are You Doing? Getting the Scoop! / If I Could Beat You, Just You Wait

Carrying bags full of shopping, Hoya returned to the dorm and found... Ryuen was gone?

Apart from half a bottle of beer in the living room, there was no sign of her.

Chapter 47: What Are You Doing? Getting the Scoop!

How strange. Where was she?

He checked the living room. Nobody. The bedroom. Nobody. The kitchen. Nobody. Then... wait. Why was the bathroom door closed?

Could it be...

"Knock, knock, knock."

Hoya gently knocked on the bathroom door.

"What?"

Good. She really was in there.

"Um... Boss, I bought everything."

"So you did. I'm taking a bath. Just put it on the table for now."

"Oh, okay... Huh?"

Say that again. What were you doing?

Taking a bath?

You were taking a bath in a boy's dorm?

Did you really think you could do whatever you wanted just because you could beat me?

Fine. Suit yourself. Do whatever you want.

"What, is there a problem?"

"No, of course not. Just give me the word if you need anything. I'll go read and study."

With a slight bow, Hoya hurried off to his room.

Great. While she was still in the bath, he could take the opportunity to get some reading done.

These days, reading was his only form of entertainment.

After all, the lousy phone the school gave them couldn't play games, and he couldn't afford things like a Switch or a PS4 with his points.

He was already on the verge of a points crisis. How could he spare any to buy something like that? He'd think about it after he'd taken Class A for all they were worth.

No, the more he thought about taking Class A for all they were worth, the more impatient he got to do it right away. He was starting to understand Ryuen's way of thinking.

He already had a plan, and he could put it into action at any time. Why not get it over with before anything went wrong?

But to be safe, he had no choice but to keep holding back. He'd make sure everything was in place before discussing how to deal with Class A.

Right, there was no need to rush, so... he'd read.

The more unsettled the world around you was, the more important it was to settle down and read.

Hoya wasn't the sort to read the same book over and over. He switched between A Brief History of Time and Arrow of Time. Sometimes, he even opened both books at once to see how each explained the same principle.

He was so absorbed in his reading that he didn't even notice Ryuen standing in the doorway, watching him.

She had finished her bath, but she wasn't dressed. Instead, she had casually wrapped Hoya's bath towel around herself.

She had never been the sort of girl to blush for ages just because she'd indirectly kissed a man. On the contrary, calling her a female delinquent wouldn't have been an exaggeration.

So what if it was Hoya's towel? Was it clean? If it was, she'd use it. What was there to think about?

She didn't want to put her dirty clothes back on. If it weren't such a hassle for a boy to go to the girls' dorm, she'd have asked Hoya to fetch her a change of clothes.

Never mind. She'd ask someone else.

Watching Hoya read so intently, Ryuen found herself not wanting to tease him for once.

Sometimes, a man was at his most attractive when he was working hard. Studying counted as work, too. Ryuen sent Ibuki a message and asked her to come to Hoya's dorm.

"Now that's strange. Why would she ask me to go see Hoya?"

Ibuki scratched her head, completely unable to understand why Ryuen had told her to go to Hoya's place.

She reached Hoya's door and knocked.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"You're here? Take this, and this too."

Someone opened the door after Ibuki knocked, but when she saw who it was, she froze.

What was she looking at?

Ryuen, wrapped in nothing but a bath towel, handed Ibuki the key to her room. Her hair was still dripping wet, and she hadn't even dried it yet. "Go to my room and get me a change of underwear and an outer layer. And bring the hair dryer, too. Got it?"

"Got it. I'm on it."

Ibuki immediately took off running. There was no way she'd dare hang around.

Holy crap, what had those two been doing?

The gossip-loving side of Ibuki was more fired up than ever. She hurried into Ryuen's room, not even noticing that she'd entered forbidden territory. She quickly grabbed the hair dryer and clean clothes, then left just as fast.

Compared to Hoya's clean room, Ryuen's room was a complete mess. Maybe that was why she preferred hanging around in Hoya's dorm?

Nobody disliked a clean room. They just tended to be lazy about keeping one. Some girls loved cleanliness and order, but others had dorm rooms messier than any boy's.

Hoya was disciplined. His dorm wasn't spotless, but it was reasonably tidy. There were a few odds and ends scattered across the table, but overall, the place was clean.

He swept and mopped every day. It was a habit he'd had since childhood. He wasn't a neat freak; he simply preferred spending time in a clean place.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Ibuki knocked on the door again. Ryuen opened it and looked at the clothes she'd brought.

"These clothes... will do. That's fine. You can go."

"Yes."

Ibuki hurried off. Ryuen looked at the barely contained gossip written all over her face and gave a snort.

How shallow.

These people were so shallow.

A man and a woman spending time alone together meant they were dating? Ridiculous.

Hoya was her dog, so his dorm was hers too. What was wrong with staying on her own turf?

After changing into the fresh clothes in the bathroom, she dried her hair with the hair dryer. Then she sat back down in the living room, drinking beer and eating snacks while checking her messages.

It wasn't as if she did nothing. She'd already sent several students out to gather information. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll never be defeated.

Was she supposed to rely entirely on this dog-brained strategist who thought with his lower half? Forget it. He still hadn't told her how many girls he'd met, so what new information could she expect to get out of him?

Ridiculous.

After Ibuki hurried back to her room, she frantically messaged the dozen or so group chats she'd either created or joined, telling everyone what she'd just seen. The chats were all with her classmates.

Well, there was nothing wrong with girls from the same class creating a dozen group chats, right?

'This is crazy! Guess what I just saw? Ryuen was at Hoya's dorm, naked.'

'What the hell?'

'???'

'How do you know?'

That one message brought a whole bunch of people out of the woodwork. Ibuki continued gossiping with them. 'Seriously! She even asked me to go to her dorm and get her a change of clothes. Looks like she'd just taken a bath at Hoya's place.'

'That's so wild. Don't tell me they already did it? It's only been a little while.'

'A little over an hour. Not bad. Looks like Hoya's pretty capable.'

And just like that, Ibuki was swept up in a frenzy of gossip.

Why play games when you could get the scoop? The gossip about Ryuen and Hoya was way more exciting.

Chapter 48: If I Could Beat You, Just You Wait

"Hey, how much longer are you planning to keep reading?"

"Huh?"

Hoya's reading time was interrupted. He looked up in a daze and saw Ryuen standing in the doorway, gazing at him calmly.

What had happened?

Hoya still seemed a little lost in his book, but out of habit, he knew he should listen to Ryuen.

But... where had you gotten those clothes?

Looking at Ryuen in a crop top and short shorts, Hoya could only think... right up his alley.

As a professional pervert, he liked girls as long as they dressed sexily. And Ryuen's outfit was definitely to his taste.

The only problem was that she was Ryuen.

"Do you want to check what time it is?"

Seeing how dazed Hoya still looked, Ryuen snorted twice.

Only then did Hoya register the sudden sense of danger. He picked up his phone and checked the time.

Holy crap, it was 8:26.

"Use that clever little brain of yours and think about how long you've left me waiting."

About four hours... No, if you were really bored, why not go out for a walk? Why hang around in my room?

Of course, Hoya didn't dare say that. He could only smile ingratiatingly. "So, what would you like?"

"I'm hungry. Make me something to eat."

"Sure. Should I cook or go buy something?"

"Make it properly. And don't use any chili."

Yesterday's spicy food had clearly left her with a bad impression.

"Got it, got it."

Still smiling apologetically, Hoya picked up his phone and started messaging someone.

After yesterday, he'd realized he hadn't added any of his classmates as contacts. That wouldn't do. They were all valuable tools.

He messaged Albert and asked him to buy three boxes of rice, five fried chicken legs, and a box of marinated duck wings from the cafeteria. Then he took ingredients out of the fridge and started cooking.

It was late, and he couldn't be bothered to make meat, so he decided to make some vegetable dishes. The marinated duck wings and fried chicken legs would be enough for meat. He only needed two vegetable dishes.

There was no need to make anything fancy. A plate of stir-fried eggplant, potato, and bell pepper, along with tomato and eggs, would do nicely.

He washed and sliced the eggplant, peeled the potatoes, chopped the onion, and prepared the tomatoes and eggs. As soon as the oil heated up, he started cooking.

"Knock, knock, knock."

There was a knock at the door. Hoya was busy cooking, so he called out to Ryuen, who was outside. "Boss, Albert's brought the food. Could you open the door?"

"Huh? You want me to get it?"

"And the fried chicken legs too."

"..."

Clearly, when choosing between satisfying her hunger and saving face, Ryuen chose the former.

She opened the door and saw Albert standing there, looking a little bewildered.

"Ah, Boss, why are you..."

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't. Go back."

"Yes."

Albert might not have been smart, but he knew how to read the room. After handing everything over to Ryuen, he immediately left without lingering for even a minute.

Obviously. If he stuck around, Boss would beat him up.

He didn't bother wondering why Boss was at Hoya's dorm. Was that important? It wasn't.