After settling things with Sakura Airi, Uesugi Hara left the chat and checked the time. It was only just past eight thirty.
"Still early." He stretched, feeling his mouth had gone a little dry. "I'll get some fresh air and pick up a bottle of water while I'm at it."
Just after Uesugi Hara walked out of the convenience store downstairs from the dorm with a bottle of mineral water, he spotted a familiar figure standing by the vending machine—it was Ayanokoji.
He was about to raise a hand and say hello, but his gaze followed Ayanokoji's and landed on someone else.
"Is that... Horikita Suzune?" Uesugi Hara looked over.
Then he saw Ayanokoji following her. They turned into a narrow path one after the other, and their figures soon disappeared into the shadows.
"?" Uesugi Hara nearly dropped the bottle in his hand. "What's going on? Ayanokoji's stalking a pretty girl?"
That was a crime!
As Ayanokoji's best friend (self-appointed), Uesugi Hara felt it was his duty to stop him.
So Uesugi Hara quieted his steps and secretly followed.
"Is that Student Council President Horikita? What are they talking about?" Uesugi Hara was too far away to hear, but he could see Horikita Manabu and Horikita Suzune talking.
He crept up behind Ayanokoji and poked him in the arm. "Ayanokoji, what are they talking about? The mood looks pretty tense."
Ayanokoji was startled by the sudden appearance, but his expression remained unchanged. "Something between siblings," he said calmly.
"Siblings?" Uesugi Hara's eyes widened. "They're related? I never would've guessed."
"Yeah," Ayanokoji replied, his gaze still fixed on the two ahead.
"But they don't seem to get along. Horikita Suzune looks pretty upset." Uesugi Hara folded his arms, looking every bit the seasoned gossip as he watched and chatted with Ayanokoji.
As they spoke, Horikita Manabu suddenly stepped forward and pinned Horikita Suzune against the wall, his movements clearly intimidating. Uesugi Hara whispered in Ayanokoji's ear, "Whoa, this looks bad. The big brother's about to 'bully' his little sister. Ayanokoji, aren't you going to step in? At this rate, Horikita Suzune's going to get thrown out."
Ayanokoji said nothing, but his fingertips twitched slightly. Just as Horikita Manabu's hand was about to touch Horikita Suzune's shoulder, Ayanokoji suddenly moved. In a flash, he grabbed Horikita Manabu's wrist and forcefully stopped him.
"Ooh!" Uesugi Hara grinned behind them. "Looks like our Ayanokoji isn't quite the hermit he pretends to be. That rescue came just in time."
But the next second, Horikita Suzune's strained voice rang out. "Ayanokoji, stop..."
Uesugi Hara raised his eyebrows. "Well, she's not exactly grateful. In a novel, this is where the heroine would fall for him. Reality really is different."
Ayanokoji frowned and reluctantly let go. To his surprise, Horikita Manabu suddenly attacked, driving a fast inside punch straight toward Ayanokoji's face.
"Whoa, a sneak attack!" Uesugi Hara cried inwardly. "They're fighting, they're fighting!"
Ayanokoji barely dodged the punch by turning aside, but only defended himself without counterattacking. Uesugi Hara clicked his tongue. "Come on, Ayanokoji, why aren't you hitting back? If you hold back in a fight, you're going to get beaten up!"
The fight didn't last long. It was over in less than a minute. Listening to them talk from behind the wall, Uesugi Hara grew more and more bored.
But when he heard Ayanokoji say, unhurriedly, "I'm useless," Uesugi Hara nearly burst out laughing.
Then Horikita Suzune said, "We're not friends," and Uesugi Hara clapped a hand over his mouth, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. So all that effort had been one-sided—she hadn't even considered him a friend!
"Tsk, tsk. So it's unrequited after all," he chuckled to himself. This was way more entertaining than the fight.
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Once Horikita Manabu had left and there was no more excitement to watch, Uesugi Hara stopped the recording on his Terminal.
That scene had been too good not to record: the Student Council President "bullying" a junior girl in an unmonitored alley, then attacking another student after getting caught.
He tucked away his Terminal and hurried after Horikita Manabu.
"The Student Council President must be pretty rich, right?" he thought, already making plans. He soon caught up.
"President Horikita."
Horikita Manabu paused and turned to look at Uesugi Hara, who had suddenly appeared. His gaze was appraising. "May I ask who you are?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Uesugi Hara from Class 1-A." He grinned. "I have a video that I'm sure you'll be interested in."
Horikita Manabu's brow furrowed, but before he could respond, Uesugi Hara added, "Of course, if you're not interested, that's fine. I'd just hate for rumors to spread around campus and damage your reputation."
"There are quite a few interesting people in this year's first-year class," Horikita Manabu said evenly, no longer sounding as distant as before.
"Heh, I'm just keeping a low profile. Don't praise me so much—I'll get embarrassed." Uesugi Hara joked around, but when the other boy didn't respond, he got serious and opened the video on his Terminal. The very first scene showed Horikita Manabu pinning Horikita Suzune against the wall.
Horikita Manabu's pupils contracted. He hadn't expected anyone to be lurking nearby. This first-year student was quite the schemer. Keeping his emotions in check, he said evenly, "Tell me what you want."
"How many Points do you think this video is worth, President?"
Horikita Manabu fell silent.
Uesugi Hara rubbed his fingers together and tentatively named a price. "One million Points?"
"Fine," Horikita Manabu replied, without the slightest hesitation.
Uesugi Hara's heart sank. Crap! I lowballed him! This is what happens when you're poor!
He immediately changed tack, still grinning. "Haha, I was just kidding! There's no way a video like this is worth only one million!"
Horikita Manabu said nothing, simply looking at him calmly. One second, two seconds... They stared at each other for a full two and a half minutes before Uesugi Hara gave in. "You're getting a real bargain." He brought up the transfer screen. "Go ahead and send it."
"Fine."
The transfer went through without a hitch, and Uesugi Hara promptly deleted the video right in front of him.
He was still a little disappointed. He'd thought Horikita Manabu might attack him the way he had Ayanokoji. Then he could've gotten in a fight and maybe squeezed a few more Points out of him.
Horikita Manabu had narrowly avoided trouble. Seeing Uesugi Hara's regretful expression, he assumed the boy was annoyed at having named too low a price and thought no more of it.
Uesugi Hara soon got over it and held out his hand. "Looking forward to working with you again."
Horikita Manabu glanced at him. "I'm not looking forward to it at all."
By the time Uesugi Hara made his way back to the narrow path, Ayanokoji and Horikita Suzune had already left. Only the streetlights remained, stretching the tree shadows into crooked shapes.
He rubbed his chin, recalling what Horikita Manabu had said to the two of them. "Class D wants to move up to Class A too? Does that mean I might have to go up against Ayanokoji someday?" He narrowed his eyes slightly.
But after only a few seconds, he shook his head and brushed aside the concern. "Tsk, why worry about it now? I'll deal with it when the time comes. My future self can handle it. The present me just needs to enjoy life."
With that, he whistled an off-key tune and leisurely headed back to the dorms.
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