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

By the time Hoya Chukai emerged from the kitchen, he saw that the four fried chicken legs had been reduced to mere bones, while Ryuen Shoko was busy gnawing on a chicken wing and eating rice, looking quite satisfied with her meal.

It had to be said, when Ryuen Shoko called him over to cook, he had felt a pang of hunger himself; now that the food was ready, he might as well serve it up.

Looking at the mess on the floor, Hoya Chukai could more or less guess the state Ryuen Shoko was in. Just how much beer had she drunk?

He couldn't fathom what was going through her head; the trash can was right under the small table, yet she insisted on scattering empty cans and sunflower seed shells all over the floor. Should he be grateful she didn't spit on the floor? Otherwise, cleaning it up would have been quite a chore.

"Mm, eat up."

Picking up an egg with her chopsticks, Ryuen Shoko ate the meal with great relish.

Everything tastes good when you're hungry, not to mention that the dishes Hoya Chukai made were actually quite decent.

After the two of them swept through the food like a whirlwind, leaving nothing behind, Hoya Chukai washed the empty plates. When he came back out, he saw Ryuen Shoko had already started cracking sunflower seeds again.

Hmm... why do you like sunflower seeds so much? Aren't you afraid of getting internal heat?

"Alright, now that I'm full and satisfied, it's time to talk about you leaving me hanging here for four hours."

The table he had just wiped clean was immediately occupied by Ryuen Shoko again, her feet propped up on it. Hearing her words, Hoya Chukai stood beside her with a fawning expression: "Then, Boss, what do you think..."

"I remember saying it, didn't I? You are my dog."

"Woof, woof woof woof."

Hoya Chukai understood instantly, didn't he? He immediately crouched down and started barking.

His actions drew a scoff from Ryuen Shoko: "This table is a bit low; it's uncomfortable for me to stretch my legs."

"Woof woof woof."

He understood in a second, moving the table aside and assuming an OTZ position right in front of Ryuen Shoko. Feeling those full, toned legs resting on his back, Hoya Chukai just knelt there quietly, waiting.

This position wasn't much for him; compared to a proper kneeling posture, this one didn't put pressure on his legs to make them ache, so he could still endure it.

As for Ryuen Shoko, she drank her alcohol and scrolled through her phone in comfort, ignoring Hoya Chukai entirely as she sank deep into the sofa.

Well, she really did ignore him, and Hoya Chukai couldn't just sit there like a fool, so he used this miserable position to fiddle with his phone with both hands, sending messages.

He held that wretched pose for about an hour, and by the time it reached ten o'clock, Ryuen Shoko finally let him get up before heading back to her dormitory to sleep.

Having finally sent off this high-maintenance guest, Hoya Chukai couldn't help but lie on his bed, rubbing his knees. Although it didn't put as much pressure on him as regular kneeling, holding that position for an hour was truly agonizing.

He didn't dare be too casual, either; whenever he moved too much, Ryuen Shoko would lift her leg slightly and press down, telling him to behave.

"Damn it, sooner or later I'll make this woman know what I'm capable of."

Muttering curses under his breath, Hoya Chukai continued to rub his legs.

When he went to the bathroom, he suddenly noticed that the bath towel he had hung up was damp, and he couldn't help but frown. He leaned in and took a sniff... he immediately tossed the towel into the washing machine.

Good grief, this woman really treats my dorm like her own home. She even uses such private items?

Hoya Chukai suddenly felt that this woman's desire for control was a bit intense. She might truly be thinking of him as her own personal possession.

Chapter 49: Ayanokoji, Who Is Quietly Observing Humanity

What is the happiest thing about going to school?

It's that today is a holiday.

Then, what is the second happiest thing?

It's that tomorrow is a holiday.

That's right, today is Friday, and Hoya Chukai is in a very good mood.

He planned to have a good time over the weekend. Compared to high schools in China where you have to study on Saturdays and Sundays, the schedule here in Japan once made him feel like he was still in college.

Relaxed, it's fucking relaxed. The courses are simple and there is plenty of free time; he was already thinking about where to go have fun tonight.

Back to the dorm? Only a dog would go back to the dorm. What for? To deal with that crazy woman?

He wouldn't dream of it. Wouldn't calling Kushida over to sing karaoke, and maybe getting a little handsy, be much better than dealing with a lunatic?

Of course, this was just a fantasy. Boys will be boys, they always have a few delusions.

His fantasy wasn't to say it couldn't be done—it was doable—but there was no need for that yet. Right now, Kushida was just a tool in his hands. If he wanted to have some real fun, he might prefer to become a man of society.

I mean, aren't gyaru hot? Especially those with a slightly tanned complexion.

That obviously sun-kissed skin combined with sexy outfits is a total weapon for seducing boys. Hoya Chukai felt like he couldn't hold back just thinking about it.

While fantasizing about all sorts of nonsense, he headed to the cafeteria. After a delicious breakfast, he also bought a bento for lunch.

As a former Chinese person, he knew how to cook, but making a bento was really a challenge for him. Bentos are cold meals, and generally speaking, he wouldn't choose one. But through his observations over the past few days, he had realized that in the future, he basically wouldn't have time to go to the cafeteria for lunch.

Ryuen Shoko, that crazy woman, would definitely cook up all sorts of trouble to mess with him, leaving him with no time to go to the cafeteria to eat.

"Good morning, Hoya-kun."

His good mood was ruined the moment he heard that voice.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the sentence itself, but the voice was the problem.

Hoya Chukai looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, who was greeting him, with a deadpan expression. She had a few girls with her—ah, the new bodyguards, right?

In that case, following this plot, was Kamuro sent off by her to scout the enemy?

"Morning. I didn't expect to run into you here."

"It's only natural that we'd run into each other, isn't it? After all, our classes aren't that far apart."

"That may be true, but... never mind."

Hoya Chukai had no intention of saying more; he simply greeted Arisu Sakayanagi and walked away first.

"Young Miss, why are you so interested in this boy? Is there something special about him?"

A female guard couldn't understand why Arisu Sakayanagi acted this way, and Arisu Sakayanagi had no intention of explaining it to her.

"That's not important. Let's go, back to the classroom. Let's see what kind of behavior Katsuragi will display today."

Leaning on her cane, Arisu Sakayanagi led her attendants into Class A.

The characteristics of the four classes were clearly visible early in the morning.

The students of Class A were studying quietly in their classroom, the students of Class B were whispering among themselves, the students of Class C were all buried in their phones in silence, and Class D was the loudest of the four, with the sounds of silly, boisterous laughter frequently heard.

It could be said that the homeroom teacher's constant remark, "Your class is the loudest on the entire floor," was almost always directed at the students of Class D.

Yet, in this rowdiest of classes, Ayanokoji Kiyohime was the quietest of all.

She was observing human nature once again.

Observation was her specialty; the defining trait of a person was observation. Through observation, she could understand what the lives of ordinary people were like. Only by knowing could she disguise herself, and only by disguising herself could she blend in.

If she were following the original plot, she might not have cared so much about what ordinary people were supposed to be like, but after talking with Hoya Chukai, she knew she needed to see through the phenomena to understand the essence.

Why do people chat? On one hand, it is to foster friendship; on the other, it is to share information. She felt that chatting with others seemed like a good thing. Investigating information on her own might take a lot of time, whereas chatting with others allowed her to learn what they knew.

Everyone had their own sources for gathering information; some might gather more, some might gather less, but they all collected various bits of news.

"Have you heard? That Ryuen Shoko from Class C went to the boys' dormitory yesterday, and she even took a shower in the boys' dorm."

"Really? Whose dorm was it?"

"I think it was Hoya Chukai's. Let me tell you, this guy Hoya is a total playboy. I saw him bringing breakfast to Kamuro from Class A a couple of days ago, and now he's hooked up with Ryuen from Class C."

"But isn't Ryuen supposed to be quite violent? How did he manage to land her?"

"Hey, no matter how violent she is, she's still a girl."

Take this kind of information, for example. If it were up to Ayanokoji herself, she would never have been able to dig up such news.

But now, someone in the class knew about it, and it had quietly spread. Naturally, she learned of it as well.

She didn't have any particular opinion on the matter. Although no one said it explicitly, the subtext of the gossip suggested that the two already had some sort of romantic connection, or perhaps even a development.

But she knew this was unlikely. She had been to Hoya Chukai's dormitory, and Hoya Chukai was not such a shallow man. Furthermore, knowing that Ryuen Shoko was the ruler of Class C, it was more likely that she had gone there on her own initiative, and it was very possible that she had simply taken a shower.

You ask why she knew Hoya Chukai hadn't done anything? Because she saw Hoya Chukai humming a tune as he passed by the window to enter the Class C classroom today; if he had done such a thing, it was unlikely he would be in such high spirits.

Well, this was something she had learned from a book before, though that book had been confiscated after her butler discovered it. Still, it had to be said that eighty percent of her knowledge in this area had been gleaned from that book.

When she was young, she often saw her butler looking empty, and after asking, she learned it was because he had "paid his public grain." If Hoya Chukai had truly "paid his public grain," he should have looked like that too.

Well, Ayanokoji had committed an error of empiricism, but that didn't matter. She simply continued to observe her surroundings quietly, gaining a deeper understanding of what ordinary people were really like.

"Ayanokoji-san."

But unfortunately, her observation time was up. Someone had come to strike up a conversation with her again.

It was Chiaki Matsushita.

More than one girl had come to talk to her over the past few days, but she was truly not good at interpersonal communication, so she easily made the atmosphere awkward. That was why she was currently alone. Although Kushida would talk to her sometimes, she was currently chatting with other girls. After all, maintaining the image of being popular was quite time-consuming.

Chapter 50: You really make it easy to kill a conversation

"Matsushita-san? Is something the matter?"

"Hehe, nothing much, I'm just curious about you, Ayanokoji-san."

Chiaki Matsushita sat in front of Ayanokoji. That seat didn't belong to her, but its owner was currently elsewhere chatting with others, so she sat there temporarily.

"Why don't you chat with others, Ayanokoji-san? You look like you really want to."

Beside Ayanokoji was Horikita Suzune, but Horikita was currently looking down, reading a book quietly. Clearly, she had no interest in interpersonal communication; in her eyes, academics were the most important thing.

Ayanokoji was different. She had been looking around here for a long time. In the eyes of someone who didn't know better, she might just be a little girl who didn't know how to interact with others.

"I... am not good at talking. I make it very easy to kill a conversation."

Indeed, you are absolutely right. You have successfully killed the conversation once again.

Listening to Ayanokoji's reply, Matsushita froze for several seconds. She blinked, frantically thinking about how to respond to this topic.

"It's okay, I'm sure everyone is willing to accept you."

Well, the atmosphere became awkward again.

Having no choice, Matsushita had to change the subject: "By the way, how does Ayanokoji-san feel about this school?"

"How do I feel? I think it's just... whatever."

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Sitting in her seat, Ayanokoji looked quietly at the scene outside the window: "Hoya-kun told me that perhaps I am better suited for a regular school; this school is not really suitable for me."

"Hoya? You've had contact with him, Ayanokoji?"

Hoya Chukai was a rather unique presence within the circles of Class D.

The mere fact that he was close with Kamuro from Class A while simultaneously maintaining an ambiguous relationship with Ryuen from Class C—implying he was playing both sides—was enough to generate plenty of gossip.

"Yeah, I've chatted with him a couple of times."

Ayanokoji didn't understand social nuances, but she wasn't stupid; she knew what could be said and what couldn't. Realizing she might have said something wrong, she didn't reveal any further information.

"Is that so? Then what kind of person do you think Hoya is?"

Matsushita seemed to be quite fond of gossip. Or rather, most girls... no, most people in general liked gossip, though the focus of that gossip tended to vary.

Matsushita had never interacted with Hoya Chukai, so she didn't know what kind of student he was.

"Hmm... a very strange person, I suppose."

Recalling her conversations with Hoya Chukai, she could only conclude that he was a very strange person.

"A bit black-and-white in his likes and dislikes? Doesn't really like to hide his emotions? Gives off a bit of a pushover vibe?"

"Why are you using question marks for everything? And how did you even get that impression?"

"Because he got into an argument with Horikita."

Ayanokoji dropped the bombshell with a blank expression.

She truly didn't understand social nuances; Horikita was sitting right there, yet she still said it so bluntly.

Matsushita's eyes widened, her gaze darting back and forth between Horikita and Ayanokoji.

Ayanokoji still hadn't realized she had said something she shouldn't have, and she continued, "Kushida wanted to be friends with Horikita, but Horikita refused. Hoya, who happened to be passing by, said there was no need for Kushida to be friends with Horikita, and he also said..."

"Have you said enough?"

"I'm sorry."

Horikita couldn't listen anymore. She stared straight at Ayanokoji, who lowered her head in apology.