The two people with ulterior motives looked at each other, wearing smiles called gentle.
He was elegant, she was cute, and their height difference was just right.
They only had to stand there to make a dazzling, picturesque scene.
"You look a little tired, senpai. Is it because you just finished an activity?" Kushida Kikyo began her campaign to win his favor.
A carefully measured gentleness was a weapon the girl had honed over many years. It was best at making people lower their guard and sink, without realizing it, into a web woven of kindness. This trick had never failed Kushida Kikyo.
"It wasn't an activity. I just trained too late last night, so I'm a little tired. I didn't expect you to notice, Kushida." Dongfang Yi played along, lowering his eyes and looking perfectly sincere.
As if. Who would be wary of a cute little gold mine? Pushing one away, even a little, would be disrespectful to his wallet!
"Is that so? You were so tired, senpai, and yet you still stood up. Could it be because of me...?" Kushida Kikyo lightly pressed her right hand to her chest in a fist, her eyes bright as the moon. Anyone could see the heartfelt gratitude in the girl's well-behaved demeanor.
Whether it was genuine was another question.
"It was nothing, Kushida. You don't need to take it to heart." Dongfang Yi waved his hand, putting on the foolish air of someone who was tired but still gentle. "Actually, standing up was a trial for me, too. I should be thanking you for giving me the opportunity."
"Either way, some of your hard work was because of me." The girl's clear eyes were full of sincerity. "Please, let me share some of the burden."
"This stuff is pretty heavy."
"Don't worry, senpai. I have a lot of confidence in my stamina."
She was curious, even a little impatient to gather more information. If she could just get her hands on that backpack, she could estimate what was inside from its weight and feel, then figure out which club the handsome guy in front of her had joined.
After that, she could take her time and use this opportunity to build connections among the upperclassmen.
What a perfect start!
Today, the whole world was on my side, Kushida Kikyo's.
Advanced Nurturing High School, get ready to welcome your queen!
As she spoke, she gently reached out and took the backpack from Dongfang Yi, just like a considerate underclassman.
Dongfang Yi let her, completely unconcerned. He'd been hoping someone would take the bag of dumbbells off his hands. Whether that person was a man or a woman didn't matter.
Besides, he was an absolute believer in gender equality. He always respected women's wishes and would never commit discriminatory acts like insulting the opposite sex's strength in his daily life.
He cooperated wholeheartedly with the black-hearted angel's little act.
"So heavy!" Kushida Kikyo exclaimed instinctively as she took the backpack.
She felt a powerful weight tugging at her from inside the bag, dragging her forward.
I thought this girl had a B in stamina. She can't even carry this little bit?
Dongfang Yi was a little puzzled, but before he had time to think it over, his body reacted in an instant.
He immediately bent his knees, and his left hand, which had just gotten a chance to rest, shot out like lightning. He grabbed the backpack before it hit the ground, saving his last possession he could carry at the very last moment.
Thank goodness!
But before he could catch his breath, the girl, thrown off balance and unable to stay on her feet, flailed about and latched onto him like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey. She ruthlessly used her body to tackle him, even though he hadn't eaten breakfast and was still weak.
Fortunately, the girl came with built-in cushioning, and Dongfang Yi adjusted his posture quickly. Otherwise, with only a sliver of health left, he would have been left dizzy from the collision, and might even have damaged some public property.
The orange-haired girl was breathing lightly and heavily. Her face really had turned red. Though she'd seen plenty of action and was the beloved queen of the social scene, this sudden turn of events was clearly beyond her ability to handle. She could even feel the handsome young man's body heat.
"S-sorry, senpai." The apology came a little late, but it was absolutely sincere.
"Kushida, it's fine. But before you apologize, could you get up first?" Dongfang Yi was holding the bag in one hand and supporting Kushida Kikyo's soft waist with the other to keep her from getting hurt.
He was keeping his composure, but the situation was just too intimate. It was a little troublesome.
The lucky thing was that he hadn't enrolled yet, so he didn't have any relationships that could be ruined.
The unlucky thing was that his upcoming school life would probably be anything but peaceful.
After all, it was hard to imagine the students, who had nothing better to do, resisting the urge to gossip about a romance that began on the very first day of school.
What's more, the girl in his arms was a heartthrob, supposedly the person ninety percent of the boys at Advanced Nurturing High School wanted to date.
The ten percent left over was there so she wouldn't get too full of herself.
Besides, everyone in the car had seen them. His sharp ears could even hear someone grinding their teeth with envy. This was getting hard to deal with.
Meanwhile, Kushida Kikyo had already regained her composure. With Dongfang Yi supporting her, she slowly got to her feet. Her soft palm seemed to brush against his abs by accident, then brushed over his abs again, and again, and again. Finally, she reluctantly brushed over his chest muscles and pushed herself upright.
The feel was really comfortable, and she found it hard to pull away. But a few seconds later, thanks to her strong will, she broke free of the temptation and managed to stand up straight.
Dongfang Yi was a little confused. Were young people these days so fragile? Did it really take that long to get up after falling? The problem was, she hadn't even fallen... She'd fallen onto me... Or had she sprained something?
He'd imagined that if he kept working out, eventually some girl would covet his good looks. But the black-hearted angel in front of him was definitely not one of the girls he'd pictured.
After all, raising her favorability in the original story had been nothing short of a nightmare.
To earn her approval, you had to see her true nature right to her face, then endure the seven trials of betrayal she set for you. You had to overcome every crisis and reach her, shatter every filter she'd constructed around herself, make her fall into the abyss, and finally show her endless acceptance once she'd hit rock bottom.
Of course, your physical stats had to be high, too. If you were even a little less handsome, she'd curse you out in her heart.
The upside, though, was that it didn't matter whether you were a man or a woman.
Calling that a way to win her over was a stretch. It was basically no different from emotional manipulation.
But just thinking about that approach felt weird! If he hadn't known for sure this was the world of Classroom of the Elite, Dongfang Yi would have suspected he'd transmigrated into some angsty romance novel for women... Enough!
Dongfang Yi decisively stopped his thoughts from running away. There was an abyss up ahead, a slide he couldn't touch. He couldn't keep thinking about this! If he did, he might turn into some unmentionable alphabet person or something.
He still wanted to be a normal person.
As confusing as it was, there was actually an answer to his questions.
It was just that Dongfang Yi hadn't studied the system closely enough. Even though he'd read plenty of web novels in his previous life, he'd never imagined that the System Panel might have hidden attributes specifically for its host.
In fact, his panel had eight attributes in total. The remaining two were:
[Personality: Cunning (Evil)] [Charm: MAX]
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