Kushida Kikyo's Curiosity

She was testing Class C's attitude toward cooperation while also presenting herself as someone "willing to cooperate" and "considerate of the group."

"That depends on the class leader's decision." Yuefeng kicked the ball to Ryuen. "I'm just an ordinary student."

"I see..." Kushida Kikyo nodded without pressing further, adopting an understanding expression. "That's true. Something like this still depends on what the leader thinks."

It seemed that both Hirata and Ichinose from our class were interested in cooperating. I just don't know what the other classes think..."

She seemed to be talking to herself, yet also to be passing information to Yuefeng.

Just then, the lights at the deck entrance flickered, and a figure walked out at an unhurried pace.

Both Yuefeng and Kushida Kikyo were slightly startled when they saw who it was.

It was Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

He was still wearing that ordinary uniform, his hands in his pockets and his face expressionless, as though he had merely come out for an after-dinner stroll and happened to arrive here.

His gaze calmly swept over Yuefeng and Kushida Kikyo without lingering, as though they were merely two irrelevant passersby.

"Ah, Ayanokoji!"

"Did you come out for some air too? What a coincidence! Yuefeng and I were just talking about you!" Kushida Kikyo was the first to react. A brighter, more enthusiastic smile instantly bloomed across her face, and her voice rose with surprise.

As she spoke, she naturally shifted a small step toward Kiyotaka, as though intending to pull him into the conversation.

Kiyotaka stopped walking. His gaze finally settled properly on Kushida Kikyo's face before passing over Yuefeng.

His eyes remained as calm and unruffled as a deep pool.

"Talking about me?" he repeated flatly.

"Yes!" Kushida Kikyo nodded vigorously, her smile sweet and flawless. "I was just telling Yuefeng that you two look so alike! You're practically like brothers! Isn't that amazing?"

She tossed the subject back at them, dragging Yuefeng into it as well while observing both of their reactions.

Yuefeng cursed inwardly. This woman really loved stirring up trouble!

Kiyotaka turned his gaze toward Yuefeng, and their eyes met briefly in midair.

Yuefeng could clearly see that there was still no emotion in Kiyotaka's dark brown eyes.

And yet... they seemed deeper than usual, as though some rapid, incomprehensible calculation had taken place in that instant.

"Is that so?" Kiyotaka ultimately replied with just two indifferent words. He neither confirmed nor denied it, nor did he show any surprise or curiosity.

As though looking alike was as ordinary as saying the weather was nice today.

His extreme indifference made the smile on Kushida Kikyo's face stiffen slightly instead.

She apparently had not expected Kiyotaka to react this way.

"Don't you think so, Ayanokoji?" Kushida Kikyo asked unwillingly. Her tone was still sweet, but a faint trace of probing flashed deep within her eyes.

"I didn't notice." Kiyotaka answered. Then, as though he had completed some task of observation, he stopped looking at Kushida Kikyo and turned his gaze toward the dark sea beyond the ship. His tone remained flat. "The wind's picking up. Go back and rest early, Kushida."

After saying that, he did not even glance at Yuefeng again. He turned around and left at an unhurried pace along the way he had come, his figure soon vanishing into the shadows at the deck entrance.

Yuefeng and Kushida Kikyo were left standing where they were.

The sea wind had indeed grown stronger, making their clothes flutter.

The smile on Kushida Kikyo's face slowly faded, though it still retained a proper curve.

But the sweet radiance that usually seemed ready to overflow from her crescent-shaped eyes had vanished, replaced by a deep, contemplative darkness.

She stared in the direction Kiyotaka had disappeared for several seconds before turning back to Yuefeng, her smile sweet again.

Yet Yuefeng could sense a colder scrutiny beneath that smile.

"Ayanokoji is... really special," Kushida Kikyo said softly, as though sighing to herself, yet also speaking to Yuefeng. "He seems like he doesn't really care about anything."

Yuefeng said nothing.

He knew Kushida Kikyo's probing would not end just because Kiyotaka had left.

On the contrary, Kiyotaka's unusually indifferent reaction had probably made her even more curious about the relationship between the two of them.

Sure enough, Kushida Kikyo looked at Yuefeng again, her eyes carrying just the right amount of confusion and curiosity. "Yuefeng, you and Ayanokoji... was it really just a 'coincidence'?"

"I just feel like... there's a very strange atmosphere between you two."

Her tone was still gentle, but the implication in her words had become far more blatant.

Yuefeng met her gaze calmly, even with a trace of impatience. "Kushida, you have quite an imagination."

"If there's nothing else, I'm heading back."

He gave her no further chance to pester him and turned to leave.

"Ah, wait!" Kushida Kikyo called after him, her voice once again carrying that sweet apology. "Sorry, sorry, Yuefeng. I talked too much again. Don't be mad!"

"I just... I just can't control my curiosity sometimes. I promise I won't ask again!"

She pressed her palms together, putting on a pitiful expression.

Yuefeng paused but did not turn around. He merely said flatly, "It's fine. Good night, Kushida."

With that, he did not linger and strode off the deck.

Only after entering the ship's interior, far from the sea wind and that uncomfortable sweetness, did Yuefeng slowly let out a breath. A faint cold sweat had formed on his back.

Kushida Kikyo... really was troublesome.

Though her probing had been deflected by Kiyotaka's unexpected indifference and Yuefeng's firm avoidance, Yuefeng knew she would never let it go so easily.

In the closed, tense environment of the Uninhabited Island, someone like her, skilled at manipulating people and gathering information, would become even more dangerous.

And Kiyotaka... had his appearance just now been a coincidence? Or had he noticed Kushida Kikyo approaching Yuefeng and come over specifically to "rescue" him?

Or... had he merely been observing Kushida Kikyo?

His words, "The wind's picking up. Go back and rest early, Kushida," sounded like ordinary concern.

But considering his usual behavior and Kushida Kikyo's personality, they sounded more like a subtle warning or dismissal.

There seemed to be some invisible tension between Kiyotaka and Kushida Kikyo as well.

Yuefeng rubbed his brow, feeling a faint headache begin to throb again.

On this ship sailing toward the isolated island, every side had its own agenda.

Kushida Kikyo's persistence, Kiyotaka's inscrutability, Ryuen's unilateral decisions, Sakayanagi's schemes, and the movements of the other classes...

He returned to Class C's shared cabin area, where the sounds of snoring and hushed conversation had already risen and fallen.

Hiyori Shiina had already gone to sleep. Ibuki Mio was leaning against her bunk with her eyes closed, resting. Hearing his footsteps, she opened her eyes to a narrow slit, glanced at him, then closed them again.

Yuefeng lay down on his own bunk and stared at the dim cabin ceiling overhead.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to rest.

He needed to conserve his strength.

The real battle had only just begun.