481 I Still Want to See Them Fight

Mai answered the phone quickly.

"It's me. Um... I have something to ask you. Did you watch my live broadcast yesterday? There was a little accident."

Shuya only remembered that he should explain things to Mai after Yukino said that.

Mai casually replied, "It's nothing, I'm used to it. Why did you call to explain? That's not like you."

Then she asked with a hint of doubt, "Are you sick? Remember to drink plenty of hot water."

The advice to drink more hot water was clearly something she had heard Shuya say many times, and thus she had learned it.

Shuya replied, "No. It's just that Yukino- chan targeted me today, so I made some snacks."

"Hahaha, you idiot."

Mai mocked him mercilessly.

"Tsk, since you're alright, I won't say anything more."

The Shuya then hangs up the phone.

Before he hung up, Mai said, "Okay... By the way, the commercial I filmed should be on TV today, you can take a look."

"I'll keep an eye out, bye."

"Uh-huh."

The two hung up the phone.

Shuya put his phone on the table, went to turn on the TV, and planned to watch the commercial that Mai was filming.

Motoko's gaze also fell upon them; she was also a little curious after hearing Mai's words.

Shuya and Motoko squatted for a while, and then they saw the advertisement that Mai had mentioned—and there was more than one.

The advertisements were for beverages, shampoos, and skincare products, respectively.

"As expected of her."

Shuya sighed.

Having just returned to work, she's already filmed three commercials; Hanazawa Agency should be making a fortune right now.

Mai's income should be quite substantial.

Shuya knew that Hanazawa Agency's contracts were always very lenient, unlike other talent agencies that were exploitative.

This is something that others in the industry greatly envy, but this model is also relatively difficult to scale up.

Furthermore, Hanazawa Agency's resources in the entertainment industry are indeed inferior to those of the giants. If those entertainers really had to choose one side... the outcome would be hard to say.

Shuya casually thought of some random things.

He didn't turn off the TV; he just left it on to listen to the sound.

Then Shuya went out of the garden and activated Ayase's physique, helping her cultivate for a while.

After training, Ayase and Kirino went to take a shower, and by the time they came out, it was already getting dark.

After all, he came back late.

After resting for a while, Ayase started cooking, and Kirino stayed behind, eating there for free.

Shuya didn't say anything, because Ayase paid for the groceries, and she was willing to let Motoko and Kirino eat them, so he really couldn't say anything.

He just sat on the sofa watching TV.

Kirino had just finished showering, sat next to him. She was very close, and the fresh scent of her shower gel wafted over.

Shuya sniffed it, then turned his head and said, "This isn't my family's shower gel, is it?"

"We brought our own; the shower gel from the older folks' shop isn't suitable for us!"

"...?"

Shuya looked bewildered. Are there really unsuitable or unsuitable shower gels? Isn't it just about choosing the scent?

Kirino noticed his confusion and enthusiastically shared her insights, leaving Shuya and Motoko was standing nearby, completely bewildered.

"That's enough, Master, please stop chanting."

Shuya finally managed to stop her.

Kirino finally shut up. He and Motoko exchanged a glance, still shaken.

Time flew by, Shuya and the others enjoyed a lively dinner together.

Not long after the meal Ayase took Kirino home, Motoko left just as quickly after getting her free meal.

Shuya played games for a while and then went to sleep.

Wednesday.

Yuigahama looked uneasy before class in the morning, clearly preoccupied. If the Yellow Hair hadn't been consciously covering for her, she would have given herself away during the conversation.

Compared to her, Hikigaya was much better off; he was much calmer—but most importantly, almost no one spoke to him, thus cutting off the danger of exposure at the source.

Only that girl named Saika... guys would chat with him, but not necessarily every day.

But this had nothing to do with Shuya, so he just watched the show silently.

Yuigahama did not launch an attack in the morning, and things remained peaceful until noon.

She and her friends ate their lunchboxes in the classroom, Hikigaya didn't go out either, having prepared bread specifically for them to eat there.

Yuigahama still didn't ask any questions; she probably wanted to finish her meal before asking.

Shuya a little curious, but he wouldn't let such a small matter disrupt his life.

He leisurely went to the canteen for his meal.

I still didn't chat with Uesugi today; he went back to the classroom after finishing his meal.

Shuya thought to himself, "Yui- chan should have started delivering them by now, right?"

Sure enough, as soon as he returned to the classroom, he heard Yuigahama say to the Golden Hair and her yaoi-loving girlfriend, "By the way, lately Tobe, Daigo, and Yamato have been acting strange~ Don't you guys think there's something wrong?"

Super straight ball!

A pleased smile flashed across Shuya's face. He knew that with this girl's brain, she couldn't possibly come up with any elaborate plan.

Yuigahama's friends felt that talking about someone behind their back was inappropriate and would only put her in an awkward situation.

Then the topic suddenly shifted to Yuigahama liked any of the three, and somehow it ended up with the yaoi fangirl excitedly expressing her opinion that the three definitely had a bromantic relationship.

The operation ended in failure.

As expected.

Yuigahama gave an awkward smile, while secretly sending apologetic glances to Hikigaya. When she saw Shuya suppressed smile, her lips pursed.

Although she's frail, she's undeniably cute.

Yuigahama's failure was expected, and Hikigaya then began his human observation mode.

He stared intently at the scene of Yellow Hair interacting with his friends.

Perhaps he was looking too intently, because the Yellow Hair walked over to him and asked if he had noticed anything.

Hikigaya's expression remained unchanged until the Yellow Hair boy approached, at which point he seemed to have discovered something significant...

After school, the Service Club.

"How?"

Yukino asked Yuigahama and Hikigaya, completely ignoring Shuya.

"Sorry! I've asked the girls, but I couldn't get any answers!"

Yuigahama bowed her head deeply in apology.

"... It's okay, which means the girls have nothing to do with this, right?"

Yukino's understanding deeply moved Yuigahama.

She then looked at Hikigaya.

"Sorry, I didn't find any clues."

Yukino said sympathetically, "Is it because nobody's talking to you? Hmm, don't worry about it."

She offered a rare word of comfort.

"No... Although I didn't find any clues, I discovered something."

Hikigaya explained his discovery.

It's roughly the group that the Yellow Hair belongs to; those three aren't friends with each other, but rather friends of friends.

"Assuming Hikigaya is saying is true, then the motive for the three people's crime becomes even clearer. Is there any way to pinpoint the exact culprit? If we don't eliminate the perpetrator, this matter can't be resolved. Or, perhaps we should just eliminate all three of them..."

Yukino didn't finish her sentence.

She paused for a moment, then said, "Or is it that Hayama will handle this matter himself?"

Section 518, Page 481: I really wanted to see them fight.

"This..."

The Yellow Hair hesitated.

"No need. What we need to eliminate now isn't the criminals, but something else entirely."

Hikigaya Road.

"Hayama, if you're willing, this can be resolved. Not only will we not need to keep searching for the culprit, but those three will also stop scheming against each other... and they might even become good friends."

He gave a smile that looked like that of a villain.

After thinking for a while, the Yellow Hair student still couldn't come up with a solution and had no choice but to accept his method...

On Thursday, Shuya had work and didn't go to school.

He was a little curious about the aftermath of the Yellow Hair's incident, but not too concerned.

Anyway, he's already heard about the solution.

It's actually quite simple. Hikigaya plans to pair the three of them together, which will not only foster their relationship but also prevent them from resorting to petty schemes to compete for the Yellow Hair- haired guy.

Huh? Isn't that a bit too gay?

... Never mind, who cares?

Shuya had a very fulfilling day, appearing on two music programs in the morning and afternoon respectively.

Neither of these programs are broadcast live, so there hasn't been much of a reaction outside yet; we'll have to wait for them to air on television.

By the time Shuya finished recording the program, it was already past six o'clock in the evening.

When he got home, Ayase had already prepared dinner and was waiting for him.

This sounds like a married couple, but both Kirino and Motoko are present.

Shuya asked Kirino, "Is it okay for you to often not come home for meals?"

"It's alright, it's alright. I'll just go back for meals occasionally. And it's not every day, it's just that I've been coming more often lately."

Kirino didn't care at all.

After the last incident, she seemed to no longer value her father's authority as much, and was more indifferent to others' opinions.

Shuya didn't know if this should be called growth, but with him and Ayase watching over him, nothing bad would happen.

He didn't lecture Kirino, after all, she wasn't a child anymore.

He simply said, "It's good that you know what's going on."

After finishing speaking, Shuya said to Motoko, "If you don't like it, you don't have to come and clean anymore."

He'd dealt with Motoko a few times during this period, and he'd pretty much calmed down by now.