Bite / This Is the Older Generation's Passion (4.5k)

"Yes, yes, yes, the forum is full of your glorious deeds. How could I possibly compare to your experience in this area?"

Asahina Nazuna reached out, seemingly intending to hook Kitagawa Ryo's nose, but then seemed to feel the gesture was too ambiguous, and ultimately only lightly touched it:

"However, I've finally gotten the answer to this question on the forum today."

Kitagawa Ryo just smiled at this:

"Could it be that just by glancing at my room, my senior could guess how many girlfriends I have?"

"I don't have that ability."

"... I know."

Asahina Nazuna sat there holding Hotaru, her tone gentle yet tinged with a strange melancholy, her smile both bright and sorrowful.

"What I know is why Ryo has reached the point where people are curious about 'how many girlfriends he has'."

The answer to the second half of the question was not uttered, but kept to herself by Asahina Nazuna.

'It's because Ryo is just too good at charming girls.'

After all, even she herself...

Chapter 392: Bite

"I'm here today to tell you all something."

"I want to leave Class 1-A and transfer to Class 1-B."

"Wait, wait a minute, let's sit down first. Why? What happened? Can't you tell us? Or is it something we caused? Is it really because of Kitagawa after all? But..."

"It's my own problem, and it's my own decision."

"But, but everyone has already decided that you, Honami, will be the next Leader of Class 1-A. If Honami withdraws..."

"Even if I transfer to another class, the class can still elect a suitable Leader. In the end, whoever wants the position should be allowed to take it. Besides, I never said I wanted to be the Leader of Class A. Don't use this kind of moral blackmail to blame others."

"But, if Honami leaves Class A, then..."

"Stop talking such naive things, especially since you are the ones who should be reflecting the most after the last Special Exam, but what have you been doing all this time?"

"Let's calm down and talk this over. We've all been happy classmates for so long, and it wasn't easy to get promoted from Class D to Class A. I'm sure Amasawa feels the same way, right?"

"I... I've never felt happy in Class A."

"Phew, wait, what kind of dreams have I been having lately?"

Waking up in bed on the morning before the end of winter break, Kitagawa Ryo rubbed his temples with a slight headache, his mind still replaying some inexplicable yet incredibly familiar conversations.

He lifted the covers and casually pulled Hotaru, who was sleeping on the outside, inside to prevent her from rolling over on him when he got out of bed. Then, Kitagawa Ryo slowly yawned, moved his legs off the bed, put on his slippers, and habitually walked to the window, pulled back the curtains, and glanced at the weather.

The winter morning sun is always deceptively bright. After confirming that it should be a sunny day, Kitagawa Ryo returned to the bedside and began to change his clothes. At first, after learning Hotaru's true identity, he had considered whether to avoid looking at her in a slightly indecent way, but then he thought that she had probably seen countless more stimulating scenes when she was a cat, so he finally calmed down. He could only say that the form of a cat is indeed different from that of a human. For example, the bed that his sister had coveted all night when he came home not long ago was now being freely occupied by a certain kitten.

"Honami's class transfer..."

Perhaps the dream that had just ended was too vivid in his mind, because even after Kitagawa Ryo had put on a whole set of thick winter clothes, the conversations in the dream still seemed to linger. After all, this could be considered a case of "what you think about during the day, you dream about at night. "Honami had just talked to him about this topic yesterday.

Of course, compared to the posture in her dream that seemed to be kicking 33 people at once (after Kitagawa Ryo transferred classes and Maezono Chiyo dropped out, there are now 34 people in Class A), the real Honami would definitely not do such a thing. Judging from her words, it seems that she still intends to have an open and honest explanation with the students of Class 1-A.

Just like Kushida Kikyo's current nonchalant attitude that she doesn't care even if she's caught as a spy who betrayed the class, Ichinose Honami, as the queen of social life at the top of her grade's social circle, never faced as much resistance as she imagined when transferring classes.

After all, after Kitagawa Ryo himself transferred to another class, Class 1-A's attitude towards him was the so-called "although we're not classmates anymore, we can still be friends" philosophy. This actually provided Ichinose Honami with another reason to transfer classes. Since everyone can still be friends, there shouldn't be such a big reaction to me transferring classes, right?

However, the above point is just a bonus. The real reason why Ichinose Honami will announce her transfer has already been laid out in the past few days through several scenes with Karuizawa Kei.

As we all know, the most difficult lies to detect in the world are those that are nine parts truth and one part falsehood. And if we look at it from the essence, Ichinose Honami's lie can even be said to be 100% true.

After all, she did transfer classes specifically for Kitagawa Ryo.

Frankly speaking, in Kitagawa Ryo's opinion, conducting a survey among all three grades of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School asking "Who do you believe most about her transferring classes because of Kitagawa Ryo?" would be a very easy task. It would simply require searching for the popular topic "How many girlfriends does Kitagawa Ryo have?" on a forum and counting the number of names mentioned most in the replies.

It can only be said that Kitagawa Ryo really did this out of sheer boredom, and after collecting a massive amount of data from different high-rise posts, Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Kei's names easily occupied the top two positions at the top.

After all, one of them had done something quite impressive in front of the entire school at the Sports Festival, and the other had a fan base and publicity from half a class. Plus, they were both well-known girls in the grade, so it was only natural that they were mentioned many times. Just like how Shiina Hiyori was considered to be locked in with Kitagawa Ryo by the students in her class, but the scope of her influence was actually only so big. The big event she did on the day of the Cultural Festival was only witnessed by the guests at that time. The second and third-year students would probably be stunned for a moment and ask who Shiina Hiyori was when they heard her name.

That's why, if Ichinose Honami herself were to say that she decided to transfer classes simply because she wanted to be in the same class as him, it would actually be quite convincing. After all, Karuizawa Kei had been orchestrating this for over a semester, both designing and acting, and some users on the forum, obsessed with factionalism, had casually revealed part of the truth, which might actually be a love triangle.

Therefore, compared to the reasons for transferring classes, what Ichinose Honami needs to resolve most right now, or rather, what she needs to explain clearly to the students of Class A, is actually the enormous cost of transferring classes.

This is the complete opposite of Kitagawa Ryo back then. After all, his expense was actually charged to Class B, so all he needed to think about was the reason.

Okay, Kitagawa was transferred to another class because he had accumulated points in Class B for a long time, earned some more points during a Special Exam, and received help from his Hoshinomiya Chie. So how do you explain Ichinose Honami's 20 million points?

This is actually a problem that could easily lead to serious consequences if not handled properly, because Ichinose Honami also knows that she will eventually transfer back to Class A with Kitagawa Ryo, so she definitely can't tell the truth and say that she actually started preparing during the Sports Festival, blah blah blah, otherwise people will definitely question her and ask why she didn't just transfer Kitagawa Ryo back if she had Twenty Million Personal Points.

However, Ichinose Honami class, naturally had also come up with a countermeasure: to continue telling the same lie, nine truths and one falsehood.

First of all, she would still admit that she did earn some Private Points at the Sports Festival, because this fact could not be hidden. For example, many girls in the class knew about her arrangements for the Cavalry Battle event.

Then, it will be Sakayanagi Ichinose Honami Sakayanagi Arisu. As Student Council member, she will accidentally discover a report on the handling of an incident involving a certain Sakura in Class A at the beginning of the school year. Then, through Matsushita Chiaki, she will spread the word in the class that the other party had received a huge amount of compensation from the school.

Of course, when curious students in the class actually asked, Sakura could only shake her head and indicate that she had already lent those points to her good friend Ichinose Honami.

Finally, there was help from their homeroom teacher Mashima Tomoya.

As someone who dared to speak directly with Hoshinomiya Chie and Chabashira Sae on the eve of the Sports Festival and successfully get something for nothing from them, Ichinose Honami is already well-versed in how to communicate with and even manipulate homeroom teachers.

Since Mashima Tomoya the homeroom teacher who cared most about and was most concerned about the students, he simply took Kitagawa Ryo with him to reason with them and appeal to their emotions. After receiving their promise that they would definitely transfer back to the class, Mashima Tomoya himself was willing to take the blame for the last bit of trouble.

In this way, through various forms of inducement and fabrication, Ichinose Honami's 20 million yen suddenly had several legitimate and verifiable sources of income.

Kitagawa Ryo wasn't worried that the students in Class 1-A would see through the intricate plan, because they didn't have much time or space to think about it anyway.

After all, Ichinose Honami, they won't even have a chance to 'mourn'. Horikita Suzune and Sakayanagi Arisu have been eyeing the situation for a long time, are ready to rush to the battlefield in an instant, to seize their attention and focus on the more important matter of electing Leader as quickly and forcefully as possible.

As for the result...

Kitagawa Ryo himself was also somewhat undecided.

Just yesterday, the Student Council released its latest announcement, appointing Sakayanagi Arisu and Horikita Suzune as vice presidents, while former vice president Kiriyama Ikuto was demoted to secretary.

It has to be said that this news boosted the morale of Class A, which had been somewhat low because of his transfer. After all, the only First Year members in the Student Council were Sakayanagi and Katsuragi from Class A, and Horikita and Ayanokoji from Class C. Now that both vice-president positions have fallen into the hands of Class A, it means that they will have an absolute advantage in the competition for Student Council President in the next academic year.

Although Kitagawa Ryo himself wasn't surprised by the announcement, the thought that whichever of them became president seemed to be planning to immediately dismantle the Drama Club and transfer him, the Drama Club president, to work as a janitor, secretary, cook, or other similar role made it hard for him to keep a straight face.

While pondering the various situations surrounding him, Kitagawa Ryo carefully washed up in front of the mirror, tidied himself up, and then left the dormitory, preparing to wake Sakayanagi Arisu morning exercise as usual.

However, today was different from usual. An uninvited guest was already standing at the door of his dormitory. It was Amasawa Ichika, who had just caught a glimpse of him in his dream and added a shocking last sentence.

"Why did you arrive so early, Ichika? And why aren't you coming in? I remember you have a key, right?"

"Hmm? Is Liang worried about being seen by others? Don't worry, it's still early. No Student Council would want to get out of their warm bed so early in the winter morning, especially during winter break."

"Didn't you get back up in Ichika?"

"Oh, right? But actually I'm really sleepy and cold right now. If you agree, I want to jump right into your bed right now--"

Having already uttered even more outrageous and raunchy remarks at the Cultural Festival, Amasawa Ichika now speaks of these things without batting an eye.

"Of course, if Liang is still worried about being seen by others, I'll put on my hat."

As he spoke, Amasawa Ichika quickly pulled the hood of his down jacket over his head, then, pressing down on the fluffy brim with both hands, suddenly stood on tiptoe and launched an attack on Kitagawa Ryo's lips:

Good morning kiss.

"Of course, Ryo doesn't need to worry. To outsiders, it would just look like Ryo was kissing a mysterious hooded person."

"Has Ichika developed such a great sense of humor already? The White Room doesn't seem to have produced Actor before, but Ichika seems to have a lot of potential in that direction."

"Oh, no, Ryo, are you planning to go find Arisu now?"

"Yes, we always exercise together in the morning."

Faced with Amasawa Ichika's obvious question, Kitagawa Ryo temporarily stopped his march towards Sakayanagi Arisu's room, turned around to look at the girl following behind him, and asked:

"Just say what's on your mind."

"Wait... Ichika isn't really going to give me a performance of 'I've never felt happy in Class A,' is she?"

"What kind of line is that? But it can't be that bad, considering I was actually quite happy in Class A when I was in Liang's Class A."

Amasawa Ichika shook her head in confusion, not knowing when she had taken her hood down again, her twin ponytails swaying back and forth with a lively energy.

"And now?"

"It's just so-so right now, and lately I've been getting cautiously tested by Suzune and Arisu, which is a bit annoying."

"After all, Ichika is currently one of the elite students in Class A, and besides, both of them know your true identity. Just take it easy."

"Indeed, I'm not interested in that class Leader position either, so I'll just sit back and watch with Ryo and do nothing."

Amasawa Ichika nodded in deep agreement, then waved goodbye to Kitagawa Ryo.

"Then I won't disturb your morning exercise. After all, Arisu probably doesn't want any third wheels."

"Good."

Kitagawa Ryo was just wondering why the other person was suddenly so sensible, as if their personality had changed, when he immediately heard Amasawa Ichika's next sentence:

"I already know when Liang wakes up, so I'll go a little earlier tomorrow. Then instead of a good morning kiss, I'll say 'good morning...'"

Okay, nothing has changed.

Chapter 393: This is the passion of the older generation (4k5)

"Has Liang been a little late these past couple of days?"

After another typical winter morning workout, Sakayanagi Arisu sat on a roadside bench, habitually rubbing and turning the sports ring on her left middle finger, and casually asked Kitagawa Ryo a question with some doubt.

"Hmm... After all, it's so cold now, so I don't think I need to get up as early as in the summer. I was thinking of letting Arisu sleep a little longer."

"Is that so? That's one thing, but I think it's also possible that Liang just wants to stay in bed a little longer. You overslept last time, didn't you?"

"That makes sense too."

Kitagawa Ryo simply gave a perfunctory response, since he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. Amasawa Ichika was indeed a girl of her word. If it weren't for his body being so well-trained, doing this twice every morning and then running two laps with Arisu without batting an eye, his legs would probably be weak by the end.

"However, Liang has been quite busy lately, which is obvious. It's okay to slack off a little in this area; he can resume his training when the weather gets warmer."

Still immersed in the reality that what she sees every day when she opens her eyes is the reality she most wants to embrace Sakayanagi Arisu obviously hasn't realized that what he sees when he opens his eyes is another girl actively saying good morning to him. After all, she also has her own things to do during this time, as Ichinose Honami is about to transfer to another class.

"Yeah, after Arisu's body has improved a lot since the last six months of training. I feel like he can almost go toe-to-toe with Yuki now."

"Forget it then. She's a top student from the White Room. Even if we're not on equal footing, I wouldn't fight her right now, let alone if she were lying in a hospital bed."

"... Besides, I don't seem like the type to like fighting with people at all. Don't apply your White Room standards to me."

At this point, Sakayanagi Arisu added a subtle comment, because she knew best that the reason she was working so hard to train was simply so that Kitagawa Ryo could "torture" her a bit more and prevent her from falling apart. She didn't want to become one of those weird characters who were "noobs" before the game started but immediately rolled their eyes and couldn't say a word afterward. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to endure it all this time, watching Yuki and Ichika's progress surpass hers without doing anything.

While they weren't entirely indifferent, they weren't exactly unmoved either.

"But now that Liang mentions it, it seems like the time for new students to enroll is really fast approaching, and there are only a little over two months left."

Then, Sakayanagi Arisu Kitagawa Ryo curiously:

"By the way, Liang, which class do you think Xue will be assigned to?"

"Barring any major mistakes, I feel like I'll be in Class A. But if the interviewer really focuses on her past hospitalization and medical history, it's not impossible for her to be put in Class D... To be honest, I still don't understand ANHS's specific class assignment logic."

"I don't know either. After all, my father doesn't usually talk to me about these things. Besides, you and Ayanokoji have already ruined the logic of class assignments for our year, so it doesn't really matter for the next year."

Sakayanagi Arisu also shrugged somewhat helplessly, but she always believed in the theory that 'the world is just a giant makeshift organization,' so she didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, in her eyes, instead of getting bogged down in the details of this so-called class division logic, it was better to focus on the inclusiveness shown by ANHS as the best education platform in the country during the admissions process. In any case, Sakayanagi Arisu herself remembered that her grandfather, the previous Chairman of ANHS, had always emphasized and focused on this aspect when he founded the school.

"I remember Ryo had me fill out a form during the Cultural Festival, right? Actually, I forgot to ask back then, if a First Year student was on both your and Ayanokoji's lists as someone you liked, whose team would she join?"

"Well, if that happens, the choice will naturally be given to her. However, I don't think it's very likely that Ayanokoji and I will choose the same person, since our underlying logic for choosing people is completely different."

"Does Ryo mean that Ryo mostly chooses girls, Ayanokoji mostly chooses boys?"

"... I think it's just a coincidence."

"Never mind, I'll show them what a senior I am and what I can do when they enroll this April."

Seemingly not intending to delve any further into this issue, after uttering what felt like a harsh remark directed at Kitagawa Ryo, Sakayanagi Arisu abruptly changed the subject:

"Things should be fine with Honami's side now. Ryo, what are your plans for today?"

"It feels like I get asked this question every morning."

"That way, it'll be easier for me to have Chiaki follow you around."

"So, it's okay to say things like this outright?... And can you please stop trying Matsushita fleece Matsushita?"

"There's no other way. I don't trust anyone else. Besides, I haven't mistreated Xiao Chiaki. I've not only given her an unprecedentedly exciting high school life, but I've also taken care of her life after graduation."

"Alright, but don't let Matsushita come with you today. I'm going to see Chabashira."