Will You Go Out With Me?

"Senior Qiao Heng, I'd like to borrow the club's reception room."

You En had originally come to see if anyone was at the Kyudo Club's main base, but he hadn't expected the door to already be open, and for the senior to be waiting for him at the entrance.

Senior Qiao Heng said briskly, "The tea room is to your left after you enter. Feel free to use it; you can come even when I'm not here."

"Thank you, senior."

You En walked inside.

Kushida Kikyo stood at the Kyudo Club entrance, a bit hesitant to enter—not out of fear.

Even just now, what she had actually feared wasn't that You En would really do something to her.

If he had done it, that would have been better; then she'd have more leverage against Horikita.

It was just that his attitude toward her was hard to read—he didn't seem to care about the "real her."

You En sat down at the tea table. "You don't need to worry too much. I'm a first-timer here too. Have a seat."

Kushida Kikyo's voice was low. "You said you were going to teach me just now. Teach me what?"

"It's simple. We'll take it step by step. First, the most important point,"

You En said.

"The way you acted earlier was problematic. Coercive negotiation without ensuring your own safety is very dangerous.

You should only apply pressure when you can guarantee your safety with high probability."

"?"

Kushida Kikyo had expected him to scold her, but instead, he seemed to be giving her advice.

"What counts as safety? In that situation just now, there was no way I could have resisted."

You En felt something was off about her. "Did you actually intend to resist?"

Kushida Kikyo recalled her own reaction at the time, pausing slightly, but showing no trace of shyness. She snorted coldly, "Hmph, if it were you, I wouldn't be losing out anyway. And I'd even get to take you away from Horikita—win-win either way."

"...I have to admit, that makes me a little happy to hear."

You En caught himself and quickly corrected, "Ahem. You should think carefully about why you're so hostile toward Horikita. What exactly about her threatens you?"

Kushida Kikyo said bluntly, without any pretense, "Her very existence is a threat."

You En pressed the conversation forward. "Really? Then how does Horikita Suzune's danger level compare to mine?"

Kushida Kikyo glanced down at her own chest.

"You had the chance just now and didn't dare take it. There's no guy more harmless and safe than you."

You En let out a breath.

"It's not that I didn't dare. It's that I didn't want to."

If he said he hadn't been tempted, that would be a lie. But he had basic principles and a conscience.

"You didn't want to? Am I not pretty enough? Is my figure not good enough? Are my breasts not soft enough?"

Kushida Kikyo leaned in, as if she had discovered something.

"You even squeezed them a few times back then. How did they feel?"

"Sorry. That's on me."

You En backed down. This topic couldn't continue.

But at this point, it suddenly clicked for him—why Kushida treated him and Horikita so differently. It was because she fundamentally lacked a sense of security.

Yet Kushida didn't understand the essence of security. She instinctively believed that making good friends and maintaining a surface-level good relationship with everyone was enough, treating superficial social connections as her everything.

Had Horikita Suzune really offended her? Was she really that much of a threat to her existence?

No. It was just that the grievances she absorbed from the entire student body needed some outlet. If she didn't vent them, she'd only burn herself out more, until she finally exploded—just like in Kushida's middle school days.

Horikita Suzune was just an innocent person Kushida Kikyo had chosen to target. But there was a reason for it: their ways of living were completely opposite, so they were bound to either attract or repel each other.

Simply put, Horikita Suzune feared no one except her brother. She didn't care if she offended everyone.

And Kushida Kikyo's trump card was precisely those "everyone"—she was naturally countered.

Add to that the fact that Horikita Suzune knew her past, essentially holding a nuclear button she could press at any time.

With those two factors combined, it would be strange if Kushida didn't view Horikita Suzune as an enemy and try to eliminate her.

"You two really have no room for compromise."

You En shook his head. "Unless Horikita Suzune also hands you a fatal or socially lethal leverage point, true reconciliation is impossible. But I'm also involved in this now."

"You En, you..."

Kushida Kikyo's emotions were complicated after hearing his words. "You're different from her. I can trust you... but I can never trust her."

As she spoke, she suddenly froze.

Trust? Trust him?

She could actually truly trust someone?

What a joke.

Kushida Kikyo couldn't understand why she had said that.

Even Hirata, who was widely recognized as the class—or even the grade's—good guy, she wouldn't trust. Because in her eyes, Hirata was the same kind of person as her.

You En watched Kushida Kikyo, caught in her inner conflict, without rushing or finding it slow. Growth and transformation were a very long process.

"I don't quite understand,"

Kushida Kikyo finally found her real confusion, the reason why she had developed a sense of trust toward You En.

"Why can you accept me as I am now?"

"If you're asking why, I just think it's pretty cool."

You En spoke honestly. A dark side was a trait men had loved since childhood, especially when it came to beautiful girls turning dark.

"Cool?"

Kushida Kikyo couldn't understand how that word related to her current self. In front of this person, she had been utterly pathetic, almost completely broken down. How could that be considered cool?

"How should I put it,"

You En thought for a moment.

"Do you think that other face of yours is liked by everyone?"

"No, a bunch of idiots gossip about me behind my back. Hah, as if I don't know."

Kushida Kikyo casually named a few people, showcasing her extensive network.

"They're just a few bitches who can't do anything all day but hover around that Hirata, like parasites."

You En asked, "Some people hate you, but are there people who like you?"

Kushida Kikyo replied bluntly, "Of course there are. You En, you really like stating the obvious."

"The way you are now is actually the same as you during the day. Some people hate it, some people like it. For example, I prefer you like this."

You En felt that being brushed off by a beautiful girl was also a luxurious experience. Some people might even have to pay for this service.

Kushida Kikyo was visibly stunned when she heard him say he liked her like this, then lowered her head, as if confirming that You En was being sincere.

She lowered her head and laughed, a laugh tinged with irony. "You're really a weirdo, actually liking me like this..."

You En didn't reply, just nodded. Kushida Kikyo's current state was when she was at her most aggressive, but also at her most vulnerable. Very self-loathing, very self-pitying, yet not contradictory.

"You En, I won't target you anymore."

Kushida Kikyo spoke up. "It's not that I'm saying this because I can't beat you. I just... suddenly understand why she relies on you too."

As she said this, she felt a bit unwilling.

How did Horikita get ahead of her on this too? Her dissatisfaction with Horikita Suzune rose another level.

School library, Horikita Suzune, who was studying, rubbed her arm, feeling a bit cold. This season should be quite warm, shouldn't it?

She didn't know what was happening, just paused for a second or two before diving back into her textbooks and practice problems, preparing to at least score the same as You En on the next exam.

Over here, Kushida Kikyo thought about what she could possibly win at, and finally realized that the only thing she could win with seemed to be her body.

But then she remembered You En's earlier words and felt she shouldn't think that way.

"Your dormitory curfew is about to start."

Senior Qiao Heng lightly knocked on the reception room door.

You En and Kushida exchanged glances.

"Let's call it a day then."

Kushida Kikyo, as if she had made some decision, walked up to You En, faced him directly, and bowed deeply.

"Thank you."

Thank you for valuing her, thank you for accepting her true self—the self that even she herself didn't acknowledge.

Thank you for not asking her to change, not telling her to stop hating Horikita, and even being able to think from her perspective.

Maybe she would never meet someone like this again in her life.

Suddenly, she felt regret. Regret for the things she had done before.

You En nodded, then reverted to his usual demeanor.

"Hey, speaking of which, wasn't that a bit unfair just now?"

"Unfair how?"

The expression on You En's face was perfectly serious, as if he were about to reason things out.

"See, just now I touched you—if I let you touch me once, wouldn't that be fair?"

"Come here!"

Kushida Kikyo reached out her hand. "What's unfair? You En-kun, come over, take off your clothes, and I'll let you come out ahead."

"Forget it, I surrender."

You En realized this kind of joke only worked on Horikita Suzune. For Kushida Kikyo, she seemed more than eager to go along with it.

Kushida Kikyo finally noticed a problem, an ultimate hypothesis.

"You couldn't possibly be... could you?"

You En's face went blank. "...I think that question of yours is quite rude."

Kushida Kikyo laughed. "I knew it. With a personality like yours, sometimes more troublesome than mine, it'd be a miracle if you'd lost it. Want me to do you a favor?"

You En stiffened his neck. "Bring it on, like I'd be the one losing out."

Kushida Kikyo wasn't scared at all. She said, "Then let's go. My room, or yours. Whatever you like. If that's no good, the hallway or the bathroom works too. As long as you're not afraid, I'm game for anything."

"...Forget it, I'm a bit tired. I'll head back to rest first."

You En felt like he'd unleashed some terrifying female demon—at least, for himself.

Kushida Kikyo watched him and felt that the pent-up frustration she'd carried since the start of the semester had all vanished at once, replaced by rare delight.

Looking at this unusually mature boy, with his strong mindset and strict personal principles, yet so innocent at heart, her thoughts shifted.

She stepped up to his chest, keeping an ambiguous distance, her gaze lifting upward.

"How about we try dating first?"

You En looked up at the silent school building, then back at her, showing no sign of being tempted.

He said softly, "It's late. Let's go home."