Everyone Knows Me Under Heaven

"Dongfang, are you in a good mood today?"

Sakura Airi, waiting by the checkout counter, glanced at Dongfang Yi beside her and asked curiously.

"Huh? Is it that obvious?" Dongfang Yi blinked, a little surprised.

"You've been humming ever since we came in," Sakura Airi said after a pause, then added, "It sounds nice."

"Of course. I'm good at everything, after all."

Dongfang Yi shrugged, looking rather pleased with himself.

"So did something good happen to you, Dongfang?" Sakura Airi asked, wanting to know more.

"How should I put it? After a lot of effort, I landed a very laid-back part-time job." Dongfang Yi coughed. "The kind where I barely have to do anything each month, and points still get added to my account."

Sakura Airi tilted her head.

She understood every word on its own, but somehow, when they were all put together, she couldn't make sense of them.

"Is there really a part-time job like that?"

"More or less. There are plenty of opportunities, after all." Dongfang Yi reassured her. "But you don't have to be jealous. The employer's a real handful."

He was telling the truth.

If Dongfang Yi had to pick the people he least wanted to work for, the White-Haired Loli would definitely make the top three.

The White-Haired Loli was incredibly willful and treated people like tools. She had all the makings of a capitalist—no, she was the bourgeoisie.

Working for that girl was an art in itself.

For one thing, doing a good job was no good, because she'd work you to the bone, sending you out to tail your targets every day.

Just like in the original story, all the Class A students spent the latter half of their second year doing this all day, either following Ryuen or keeping tabs on Ayanokoji and Katsuragi.

And doing a poor job was no good either. If you happened to offend her, or did so badly that she decided you were worthless, she'd ruthlessly cast you aside when you least expected it.

Maybe she'd suddenly expel you during some special exam with a vote. Here, he'd like to give a shout-out to poor Totsuka.

That was why Dongfang Yi had tried so hard to redirect her attention, getting her to focus on Class D—and especially on the fake genius, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

That way, he could wear Sakayanagi Arisu out and keep her too busy to meddle elsewhere.

Better a friend die than oneself. Besides, Ayanokoji was bound to attract her attention sooner or later, so it made little difference whether it happened now or later.

What's more, Dongfang Yi had chosen his targets very carefully.

Class B was a prospective partner, so he couldn't afford to let anything go wrong. Class C was constantly bullied and had no opportunity to cultivate spies. Even if he did, they'd be rooted out.

And his dear employer wasn't particularly interested in either of those classes.

Class D was different. Setting aside the fact that it could hold Sakayanagi Arisu's attention, it was an excellent target even by ordinary standards.

The class had started with zero points, and its students were a mixed bag. Some were dying of thirst while others were drowning in abundance.

Best of all, most of the students in the class had little sense of morality. It was practically a sieve—anyone could get in and meddle. Beginner-level difficulty, for sure.

And the girl with the gold mine, the owner of "Everyone Knows Me Under Heaven," was in that class, too.

Well, getting Kushida Kikyo to betray her class right now would be a little difficult.

But Dongfang Yi didn't need her to do anything like that. He only needed the girl to provide some juicy rumors and gossip about the ambiguous relationship between Ayanokoji and Horikita Suzune.

He was sure she wouldn't refuse.

That way, he'd have his material without lifting a finger.

After that, he'd just have to polish it up a little. It was sure to become a heart-wrenching, weekly serialized romance about a boy and a girl. Maybe he could even take some photos to go with it, giving his dear reader, the White-Haired Loli, some visuals to help her imagine the story.

If he turned in something like that, he was sure it would get under his dear employer's skin and leave a lasting impression.

Would Sakayanagi Arisu have the energy to do anything else after reading all that?

Impossible.

After all, women were creatures driven by emotion. It was written in their genes.

Thinking of this, Dongfang Yi felt sure he had everything in hand, and his smile grew even brighter.

But in Sakura Airi's eyes, there was another meaning to that smile.

Oh no... D-Dongfang... could he have been... kept by a rich woman?!

The girl couldn't help remembering the scene yesterday, when a group of upperclassmen had surrounded Dongfang Yi, as well as all the rumors about rich older women she'd heard back in the industry...

Those upperclassmen all seemed to have... plenty of points, and Dongfang seemed to... really like points, too...

Once a dark thought took root, it couldn't help spreading through the girl's heart.

She couldn't help thinking of all the things she'd heard about rich women's pleasure balls, pleasure fires, and pleasure water.

Oh no! Don't let Dongfang turn into that!

No, I can't let this happen! I'll protect Dongfang's virtue!

"D-Dongfang!"

Her expression was utterly solemn.

"Hm? What's wrong, Sakura?" Dongfang Yi looked at her, curious as to why the girl had suddenly gotten nervous again.

He looked around but didn't see any sign of the stalker-like clerk.

"I... I..."

Sakura Airi suddenly realized she had no standing that would let her stop Dongfang Yi, and she was at a loss for words.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden? Relax. Don't worry, I'm right here."

Dongfang Yi gently patted her on the back, though he still had no idea what was going through this silly girl's mind.

"I-I have more than seventy thousand points. If you're short on money, Dongfang... I-I can give them all to you!"

"Hm?"

"I-I can give you next month's points, too!"

"..."