Chapter 7

And she somehow seemed to be praising him to death. "I see. I only hope you'll give me a quick, clean end instead of muttering things like 'burying me' and making me feel just as embarrassed as I do now." Sakayanagi Arisu ignored Yuan Yuyuan's barbed words and teased him as if nothing had happened. "Are you embarrassed? Yuyuan-kun, you really are adorable." "Indeed. I'm long past the age when saying things like that would excite me." "It seems my arrival has made you uncomfortable. How rude of me." "I'd like to politely deny that, but it's difficult to say the words." Sakayanagi Arisu didn't mind that Yuan Yuyuan was so unpredictable. She kept watching him with her usual polite smile. "After the briefing, would you be kind enough to join me at a café, Yuyuan-kun?" Yuan Yuyuan glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu's heart (._.). How could someone like her enjoy drinking coffee? What a self-destructive habit. "I don't mind, but after all these years, you're still so childish." "Then I'll take my leave. This is important, so please make sure you come." "...All right, but at least don't ignore what people say." First Semester: Chapter 8 The Tsundere Prime Minister-sama Before long, a cute girl with purple hair tied in a bun walked onto the stage with a microphone. "Everyone, sorry for the wait. The club representatives will now begin their recruitment briefings. I'm Akane Tachibana, the Student Council secretary, and I'll be hosting today's event. It's a pleasure to meet you." "Let's have the representatives begin their briefings." After greeting everyone, Akane Tachibana stepped down. At the same time, a group of people poured out from backstage and lined up on the gymnasium stage. Yuan Yuyuan glanced at the pretty upperclassmen before fixing his gaze on a bespectacled senior who looked meticulously put together. He sensed that the man's presence was different from everyone else's. The seniors standing beside him all looked a little uneasy, yet the man himself kept a cold expression and pretended not to care as he glanced toward Class D. Was it because Class D had more pretty girls? A cold-faced, secretly lecherous guy, huh? That was pretty nauseating. The club briefings all followed the same formula: they'd heap on the praise and say everyone was welcome, whether they were beginners or experienced members. In reality, they just wanted to meet their quotas. Once the new students joined as backups, they'd be ignored. After finishing their presentations, the representatives had to go sit on the chairs prepared for them and wait until the briefing ended before they could accept applications. At last, only one person remained: the secretly lecherous upperclassman Yuan Yuyuan had noticed earlier. He simply stood in front of the microphone, gazing coolly at the students below without saying a word. "Did he forget his lines?" "Do your best, senpai!" "Hahahahahaha!" All sorts of remarks came from the students. Yet he remained motionless, standing just as he had before, as though neither the laughter nor the encouragement had reached his ears. Once the laughter peaked, the gymnasium suddenly fell silent. All the chatter lost its source. "What's this guy even doing?" When the senior onstage still showed no sign of speaking, the students below began to look dumbfounded, and the gymnasium grew noisy again. Even so, he remained unmoved. He was only a high school student, yet he already had such an imposing air of authority. If he went into politics someday, he'd be the greatest disaster in history. Yuan Yuyuan grumbled to himself. Then the man onstage finally spoke. "I am this school's student council president, Manabu Horikita." "Huh? So he's not Prime Minister-sama?" The students had already been intimidated by the title of president, so when someone dared to openly provoke Manabu Horikita at that moment, most of them could barely keep their expressions straight. Manabu Horikita didn't seem to care. He merely gave Yuan Yuyuan a meaningful glance before continuing his speech. "The Student Council will be recruiting candidates from the first-years as the upperclassmen graduate. There are no special requirements, but anyone considering running for a position on the Student Council should avoid joining other clubs. In principle, those who wish to join both the Student Council and another club will not be accepted." "Furthermore, the Student Council does not want candidates who hold naive ideas. Such people would surely leave a stain on the school. Our Student Council is entrusted with the authority and the duty to change the rules, so the school places great expectations on us. We welcome only those who understand this." After finishing, Manabu Horikita stepped down and walked straight out of the gymnasium. The authority and duty to change the rules? This school's Student Council had more power than he'd expected. He'd have to check it out when he had time. Yuan Yuyuan considered Manabu Horikita's words but didn't rush to apply for the Student Council. After all, he'd heckled Manabu Horikita as soon as he'd started speaking. "Thank you for your efforts, everyone. That concludes the briefing. We'll now begin accepting club applications. Applications will be accepted until the end of April, so anyone who decides to apply later should bring their application form directly to the club they wish to join." At that point, Akane Tachibana stepped forward as the host, dispelling the oppressive atmosphere Manabu Horikita had left behind. Before leaving, she even glared at Yuan Yuyuan. "Did the secretary get mad? I only made one offhand comment. She's really protective of him. Could they be having an office romance? Whatever. I'd better go meet her at the café." When Yuan Yuyuan arrived at the café, Sakayanagi Arisu was already sitting inside, waiting for him. Another cup of steaming coffee sat on the table across from her. "Sorry I'm late. A certain stone-faced Prime Minister wouldn't say a word, so I had to wait ages." "What kind of nonsense is that, you insolent underclassman? President Horikita isn't like that." Yuan Yuyuan was explaining to Sakayanagi Arisu why he was late when someone behind him stood up and scolded him. It was Akane Tachibana, the host from the briefing. Sitting across from her was the stone-faced Prime Minister he'd mentioned. "So it's Prime Minister-sama and the Prime Minister's assistant. Workplace sexual harassment is illegal, you know." "You arrogant underclassman..." "Tachibana." Manabu Horikita stopped Akane Tachibana, then turned to Yuan Yuyuan and asked, "How about we talk after you're finished here?" "It would be an honor, my lord." Yuan Yuyuan hadn't expected Manabu Horikita to stop Akane Tachibana on his behalf, so he put on a look of overwhelming gratitude. Then he turned to Sakayanagi Arisu. "All right, the comedian's show is over. What did you want to talk to me about, Arisu?" "I saw it just now." "Huh? What are you talking about? That came out of nowhere." "You must have noticed, Yuyuan-kun. The student council president glanced in the direction of Class D. I was already thinking he seemed different from the others when, following his gaze, I saw that hypocritical genius from back then. What a coincidence. I only went to the briefing because I heard you were enrolling, Yuyuan-kun. I never expected to see him there. What surprised me even more was that he managed to escape from that place. It seems even heaven wants me to bury him with my own hands." Yuan Yuyuan heard that physically repulsive word again and couldn't help shivering. "You mean that man you can't stop thinking about? Ew, are you some kind of yandere who walked out of an anime? It's been so long, and you're still hung up on him..."