Ayanokoji likes Horikita?

"Kamuro, you can go check your grades now." Uesugi Hara, seeing that the matter had reached a conclusion and remembering his meal ticket for the week, turned to look at Kamuro Masumi.

Kamuro Masumi felt a bit suspicious; she was uneasy that Uesugi had actually reached the passing line after only writing for those few minutes.

"Uesugi, you aren't plotting against me, are you?" She stared at Uesugi Hara with vigilance.

"Hey, Kamuro, how am I plotting against you? Wasn't it you who decided to bet on the grades in the first place? Are you trying to back out now?"

"I would never back out! Just wait, I'm going to go look. I don't believe you could have scored higher than me!" After saying this, Kamuro Masumi headed toward the grade sheet posted on the blackboard.

Morishita Ai: "Uesugi Hara, is Kamuro Masumi a bit stupid?" Her tone was flat.

Uesugi Hara: "Hmm... to be precise, she's stupidly cute."

"This is impossible..." Kamuro Masumi stared at the ranking on the grade sheet, muttering to herself, her eyes filled with disbelief—her own name had fallen into the lower-middle section, while Uesugi Hara's name appeared prominently in the upper-middle, his score significantly higher than hers.

She raised her hand to rub her eyes and looked again, but the ranking remained unchanged.

"This has to be fake..."

Kamuro Masumi slumped her shoulders and walked back to her seat, dejected, spitting out a weak, "You won."

"Mm, as expected."

"Why?" Kamuro Masumi slumped over her desk, unwilling to let it go. "You clearly only wrote for a few minutes, how is your score higher than mine?"

"Hmm... you know Sakayanagi, right?"

"Sakayanagi?" Kamuro Masumi looked up, her face full of confusion. "What does she have to do with this?"

"She's just a piece of trash in front of me." Uesugi Hara's tone was flat as he raised his hand and pinched his pinky finger at the first joint, making a "this much" gesture.

Kamuro Masumi: "..."

Then what level am I?

So not only did she lose, but she was also casually looked down upon?

She glared at Uesugi Hara, puffed up with anger, but couldn't find any words to retort.

The cafeteria was bustling at noon. Kamuro Masumi followed behind Uesugi Hara, watching him pick and choose at the food counter, her expression becoming increasingly pained.

"Uesugi! That's enough!" She grabbed Uesugi Hara just as he was about to add another serving of baked lobster, her voice trembling—the thick-cut steak in his hand alone was priced at 2000 points, and with the truffle pasta and caviar salad, this wasn't just eating; it was "eating points"!

"Fine, that's barely enough to be seventy percent full." Uesugi Hara looked at the four or five plates in his hands and reluctantly put down the tongs. "I mostly just wanted to taste these dishes. I'll order the same set meal as you for the next few days so it won't be a waste."

Kamuro Masumi rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth, saying, "I'm so grateful!"

When it came time to pay, the total amount displayed on the terminal made Kamuro Masumi gasp—a total of 5300 points.

Her own set meal was only 1000 points, which was already on the higher end for the cafeteria, yet Uesugi Hara had spent 4300 points on this one meal!

"Uesugi! You are truly a dog!" Kamuro Masumi lowered her voice, glaring at him indignantly, her heart aching. "This one meal of yours is worth several days of my food expenses!"

Uesugi Hara cut off a piece of steak and stuffed it into his mouth, saying vaguely, "Can't help it, I won the bet, didn't I? Besides, this steak really tastes great. Want a taste?" As he spoke, he used his knife and fork to cut off a small piece, reached across the table, and placed it directly into Kamuro Masumi's tray.

Kamuro Masumi watched him eat with such satisfaction, her anger flaring up, but she had no choice but to accept her fate.

She picked up the piece of steak and shoved it into her mouth, chewing quickly and viciously, her brows furrowed tightly. The way she gnashed her teeth made it seem as if she wasn't chewing on tender, juicy steak, but on Uesugi Hara himself.

"Kamuro, look, I've treated you to steak. Tomorrow, I want to try that large shrimp."

Kamuro Masumi didn't give him a pleasant look, expressionlessly spitting out one word: "Get lost."

Using things I paid for to 'treat' me, and then trying to naturally scam me out of tomorrow's shrimp? Uesugi Hara, how can your face be so thick?

Uesugi Hara rubbed his nose, not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed.

At night, the dormitory lights were soft. Kushida Kikyo stared at her terminal screen; the message box for "Uesugi Hara" in her friends list was lit up, but she hesitated to click on it.

Her point balance was under thirty thousand, and the balance weighed on her heart like a stone—she still hadn't figured out how to make Uesugi Hara keep her secret.

Suddenly, the terminal "dinged," and Uesugi Hara's message popped up first: "I imagine you don't have thirty thousand points, and I'm not short on points right now. Why don't you tell me about the things between Ayanokoji and Horikita in your class? I'll reduce the points accordingly, how about that?"

Things between Ayanokoji and Horikita?

Kushida Kikyo was stunned, her mind racing—other than Horikita poking Ayanokoji with a compass every day, did they have any other interactions?

Could it be that she had to tell him "Horikita poked Ayanokoji with a compass three times today" and "Ayanokoji remained expressionless after being poked"?

"Horikita poked Ayanokoji with a compass four times yesterday" and "Ayanokoji remained expressionless after being poked"?

"Horikita the day before yesterday..."

Kushida Kikyo truly couldn't think of anything worth mentioning between the two of them.

Should she make up some ambiguous things?

Two voices began to fight in her heart:

Little Angel: Making up stories isn't very good, what if you get caught...

Dark Angel: If you don't make it up, are you going to wait for Uesugi Hara to expose your past?

Kushida Kikyo bit her lip, her fingers hesitating over the keyboard for a long time, but eventually, she typed out a line: "Ayanokoji-kun... might like Horikita-san."

After sending it, she stared at the screen, her heart racing—this statement wasn't entirely fabricated, and it could satisfy Uesugi Hara's question; it should be enough to get by, right?

Uesugi Hara stared at the words "Ayanokoji-kun... might like Horikita-san" on his terminal screen, his eyes widening abruptly before he bolted upright from his bed in a flash.

???

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka likes that Horikita Suzune, who walks around with a sour face all day and eyes like icicles? That's even more absurd than "Class D rising to Class A next month"—it's practically the coldest joke of the year!

His fingers tapped rapidly against the screen: "Is this for real?!"

Kushida Kikyo's message came back quickly: "I don't know for sure, but just looking at how they interact, I feel like that's the case."

!!!

Uesugi Hara was instantly intrigued and pressed for more: "What are the specifics! Tell me everything!"

On the other end of the screen, Kushida Kikyo looked at the eager message and felt a flicker of surprise. Why was Uesugi Hara so concerned about this? Could it be that he likes Horikita Suzune? She suppressed her confusion and calmly organized her thoughts, listing every piece of "evidence" she could think of:

"Horikita-san rarely talks to anyone in class; she generally only interacts with Ayanokoji-kun. During swimming class, Ayanokoji-kun even took the initiative to hand her a towel and water. Most importantly, Horikita-san often stabs Ayanokoji-kun with a compass, and he never gets angry even after being stabbed many times; instead, he just chats with her calmly."

After sending the message, Kushida Kikyo thought to herself: I'm telling the truth. As for how you interpret it as "liking" someone, that's your business—it's not like I'm making things up.

Uesugi Hara stared at the message from Kushida Kikyo, his face twisting into a knot, looking as if he'd just swallowed something foul.

He hadn't seen the first two points with his own eyes, so he couldn't judge, but the third point—"not getting angry when stabbed by a compass"—he had actually witnessed.

Could it be... that this is real?

Does Ayanokoji really like that Horikita?

What could he possibly see in her?

Is it because she's good-looking?

That doesn't seem right; Ayanokoji isn't that shallow of a person.

Wait... Uesugi Hara's eyes suddenly lit up as an outrageous thought popped into his head—could Ayanokoji be a "masochist" who just enjoys being poked and prodded by Horikita like that? The more he thought about it, the more logical it seemed, and he even couldn't help but shiver.

He absolutely couldn't let Ayanokoji find out about this! Otherwise, he might get silenced.

But... he was just so curious!

Suppressing the fire of gossip in his heart, his fingers flew across the keyboard to reply: "Keep observing and report any new developments immediately. If you do a good job, I'll waive those 30,000 points, and if your performance is exceptional, I might even give you extra points."

After sending the message, Uesugi Hara tossed his terminal aside and tossed and turned on his bed—no, he had to find an opportunity to see for himself next time, to see if Ayanokoji was truly "willing" when Horikita poked him!

Kushida Kikyo stared at Uesugi Hara's reply, her fingers gripping the terminal tightly, her expression complex.

At first, she felt a sense of relief, as the pressure of the 30,000 points was temporarily gone, but it was immediately followed by an indescribable sense of frustration.

Seriously, what is so good about that woman Horikita Suzune?!

She wears a sour face all day, her words are like thorns, and she doesn't have a good attitude toward anyone. Yet, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka "might like her," and even Uesugi Hara is so concerned about their business!

These guys are just... pathetic!

She frowned at the screen. I'm so cute, I greet everyone with a smile every day, and I'm gentle and considerate to everyone—why don't they like me? Why do they have to revolve around that cold-hearted Horikita!

The more she thought about it, the more indignant she felt. She puffed out her cheeks at the terminal screen, tapped on the keyboard, then deleted it—ultimately suppressing her anger and replying with a simple "Okay, I understand."

But deep down, she had already made up her mind: since Uesugi Hara was so concerned, she would "observe carefully." Perhaps she could use this to find some dirt on Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and while she was at it... let everyone see what was so special about that iceberg of a woman.