In a practical education, scheming against people? I can also do a little.

He saw Shiina, who had been blushing and spacing out since a moment ago, and couldn't help but ask.

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just thinking... Chukai-kun, do you think I could join the student council?"

"Why the sudden interest in joining the student council?"

Hoya Chukai remembered that in the original story, she hadn't intended to join the student council at all.

"You're busy enough as it is; if you join the student council, when will you have time to read? Don't you love reading? Give yourself some more time. Besides, I'm almost finished with those books, and I'm planning to recommend them to you soon."

"You still remember that."

"What kind of thing is that to say? It's only been a few days, why wouldn't I remember?"

"Mm... I just feel like I've been too busy lately, and I'm a bit overwhelmed."

Shiina couldn't help but cover her face; she had just realized that the last time she went to the library with Hoya Chukai was the day before yesterday.

Even though it had only been two days, the heavy workload lately had given her the illusion that it had been a long time since she had read with Chukai-kun.

"Alright, this might be the peak of the busyness for now. If you're tired, just tell me, and I'll have Ibuki-san take over your work."

"It's fine, I can still finish the work."

"Mm, then keep it up. Also, I don't really recommend the student council. From what I understand, the student council is about to undergo reforms, so if you can avoid it, it's better to stay away for now. It's quite troublesome."

"I see... Alright, I understand."

After coaxing Shiina away, Hoya Chukai couldn't help but sigh.

He wondered if he had given Shiina too heavy a workload.

"What, feeling soft-hearted?"

Ryuen Shoko, who was drinking a beverage she had specifically sent Ibuki to buy, had watched the whole thing. So much for the heartless boss exploiting his cute employee.

"A little, perhaps. The pressure on her is a bit too much. If it really comes down to it, I'll have Kaneda Satoru help out. His head is still sharp."

"Suit yourself."

"I know his actions last time embarrassed you, which is why you have a bad attitude toward him, but one thing is one thing—we can still make use of his brain for now."

As Hoya Chukai spoke, he couldn't help but sigh: "At least compared to the other students, he's still considered honest."

"Are you talking about Asakawa Takane and Managi Akira? Indeed, compared to them, Kaneda Satoru is honest."

Asakawa and Managi were the type to say one thing to your face and another behind your back. They led a small clique that appeared to support Ryuen but actually wanted to contend with her.

There weren't many of them, just six or seven people, but aside from Asakawa and Managi, the others were all fence-sitters.

Hoya Chukai didn't intend for everyone to follow Ryuen sincerely; after all, with force-based suppression, there would always be a few hard-headed ones who weren't easily convinced.

There were ways to deal with the spineless, and there were ways to handle the hard-headed.

Compared to recruiting them, Hoya Chukai was thinking more about getting rid of those two.

However, there was no rush; those two still had utility value. Sometimes you need a mole or two to push for class unity, and he didn't mind being the one to wield the knife to resolve some troubles.

"Heh... let them play for a while longer. There are plenty of days ahead."

Hoya Chukai chuckled and picked up the backpack beside him: "Let's go, aren't we going to the supermarket?"

Chapter 82: How many boxes are you buying to blow up balloons?

"Mm..."

Looking at an item on the counter, Hoya Chukai fell into deep thought.

"What's wrong? Is there something worth looking at?"

Ryuen Shoko didn't know what Hoya Chukai had been staring at for so long, so she leaned in to take a look.

Oh, it did seem like they needed it.

"Should we buy it?"

Hoya Chukai looked at Ryuen Shoko beside him, and Ryuen Shoko immediately stomped on his foot.

"Ow, ow, ow."

"Cashier."

Ignoring Hoya Chukai, who was hopping around frantically after being stomped on hard, Ryuen Shoko called out to the cashier behind the counter.

"We'll take that."

"Oh, may I ask how many packs you two would like to buy?"

The cashier saw what Ryuen Shoko was looking at, and their gaze suddenly sharpened.

Not bad, are these two freshmen? They've been together for less than a week and are already at this stage?

This guy is quite impressive.

Looking at the appearances of the boy and girl, it was obvious at a glance that the boy was the one getting the better end of the deal; after all, someone who is pleasant to look at can't compare to someone beautiful and sexy.

"Buy... a box, the largest size."

"A box, you say? Wait, what did you just say?"

The cashier instinctively said "one box," but after hearing Ryuen Shoko's words, her body couldn't help but tremble.

What did she just say? A whole case?

How many are in a case?

Thousands, right?

"Why are you buying so many? To blow up balloons?"

"I feel like it, what's it to you? I'm paying this time, so you don't have any objections, right?"

"Do as you please, do as you please."

Hoya Chukai continued to hop around; since Ryuen Shoko wanted to spend her points on this, let her. This stuff was expensive, and buying a whole case at once, you really are...

"What, think it's too much? You should think about how many times you went last night and how many you used."

"Hiss~"

The cashier felt like she had heard something she shouldn't have.

No wonder this guy could land such a beauty; turns out he has great stamina and skill.

Admirable, truly admirable.

"Alright, alright, that's it. You carry it back."

"Wait, can you wrap this box in something?"

Hoya Chukai finally understood why girls needed black plastic bags when buying sanitary pads. If he had to carry this box back to the dorm now? That would be a guaranteed dark history!

It even had the 'Okamoto' label written right on it!

"Why are you so difficult..." "No problem, of course, no problem."

The cashier immediately indicated there was no problem. You're the boss, do whatever you want.

He had to serve such a big shot well; if he could use this case for a whole semester, that wouldn't be bad at all.

After specifically pasting a layer of paper over it for him, Hoya Chukai finally carried the box and headed back to his dorm with Ryuen Shoko.

"Where am I supposed to put something this big..."

"Isn't there plenty of space under the bed?"

"I have to unpack it... I guess that works."

Hoya Chukai dismantled the box and began placing the large pile of small boxes under the bed.

How many boxes in this case? Three hundred.

How many per box? Ten.

They had essentially sold it to them at wholesale price, and these three thousand-plus pieces added up to over ten thousand points.

No choice, after all, for the sake of safety, this kind of thing still needed to be bought.

"Will you be able to use all of these?"

"Like you said, if I can't use them, I'll just blow them up like balloons."

"This... forget it."

After putting all three hundred boxes under the bed, Hoya Chukai went to put the beer in the fridge.

"So, let's get ready to start studying."

"So soon?"

"The sooner we study, the sooner we're done. We'll study until five-thirty, have dinner, and then call it a day."

"That works."

It was already four o'clock; frankly, it was only about two periods' worth of studying, so Ryuen Shoko went along with him.

Anyway, there were no outsiders now, so there was no need to act so aggressive.

What was the point of her acting tough? Didn't she still end up being pinned to the bed by Hoya Chukai?

No, she had to get back at him today.

"Hm?"

"What's wrong?"

"Why are you taking off your clothes?"

"We're back in the dorm, why are you still wearing your school uniform?"

"That may be true, but... forget it."

Hoya Chukai patted his face and stopped looking at Ryuen Shoko. Her fair, tender skin felt like a devil's whisper, making him involuntarily recall the revelry of last night.

Damn, we went way too hard.

"What, never seen it before? You saw everything yesterday, why are you starting to get shy now?"

"Well... I can only say I'm not used to it yet. After all, yesterday I was drunk, so it feels a bit unreal."

"So... you want to try again?"

Ryuen Shoko leaned in close to Hoya Chukai, her fingers pinching his chin as she whispered softly into his ear, "Want to have some fun?"

"We still have to study."

"Tch..."

The look of disgust on Ryuen Shoko's face confirmed it for Hoya Chukai once again: she was simply messing around because she didn't want to study.

"Alright, if you study properly, not only will I let you drink tonight, but I'll also let you have your fun."

As he spoke, Hoya Chukai gave Ryuen Shoko's backside a firm smack, followed by a squeeze for good measure.

"You motherf—"

"Study, study."

Hoya Chukai said, taking off his own shirt as well.

Perhaps Ryuen Shoko was right; since the two of them had already tasted the forbidden fruit, there was no need to be so overly reserved anymore.

Besides, I'm not the one losing out, so why should I care so much?

"Here, put this on, and get ready to start studying."

"You really like crop tops?"

"I guess I do. What, if I like them, does that mean you'll wear them every day?"

"In your dreams."

She pulled on the cropped T-shirt and swapped her skirt for a pair of ultra-short shorts; this outfit was much more comfortable.

After Hoya Chukai changed into his own loungewear, he pulled two test papers out of his bag: "I specifically got these from Sakagami-sensei. You start on these while I go do the laundry."

Perhaps it was because neither of them was particularly concerned with shame? After the first time, there was an odd sense of being an old married couple.

But that was just an illusion; as Ryuen Shoko stared at the test paper, her brow furrowed immediately.