The "Bond" of Transaction

The two of them had reached a consensus.

Uesugi Hara straightened his cuffs, just about to tell Kushida Kikyo to head back, when a sudden force accompanied by a fragrant breeze lunged from behind—before he could even turn around, his wrists were pinned, and his back slammed heavily against the bed frame.

"Ugh." Uesugi Hara frowned, completely caught off guard by this turn of events. Kushida Kikyo was pressing her entire body against him, her knees digging into the edge of the bed, her strength unlike that of the girl who usually wore a soft smile.

He stared at the chandelier on the ceiling; the light outlined a blurred silhouette behind her, half her face submerged in shadow, making even those eyes that always hid their true emotions difficult to discern.

What was she trying to do? Was her earlier compliance all an act? Uesugi Hara's fingertips curled into the bedsheets as he rapidly calculated the possibilities in his mind.

Just then, a soft chuckle drifted from above, carrying a strange, gentle quality.

Kushida Kikyo lowered her head slightly, the shadows dispersing enough to reveal the curve of her lips—not the ingratiating smile she usually wore, but as if she had shed some sort of disguise.

"Compared to those ethereal agreements and promises," her fingertips traced lightly over his collar, her voice dropping to a low whisper, like a secret shared against his ear, "I trust this more—binding myself to you is the most secure way, isn't it?"

With that, she leaned down. Her hair fell with the movement, brushing against the side of Uesugi Hara's neck with a faint, ticklish sensation.

After a long while, Kushida Kikyo braced herself against Uesugi Hara's shoulders and slowly rose.

"See?" Her voice was even softer than before, carrying a near-seductive certainty. "Now, you can't just cast me aside whenever you please, can you?" In the shadows, her eyes were startlingly bright, like a gambler who had staked all their chips, yet she wore a smile of absolute conviction.

Her hair was slightly disheveled, her cheeks flushed an unnatural red, and she was still catching her breath, the ends of her sentences trembling slightly.

Faced with Kushida Kikyo's initiative, Uesugi Hara had no reason to refuse.

And so...

The night passed in silence (paid content, those who know, know).

The next day.

Sunday mornings were always exceptionally quiet. In the dormitory, where there was no need to rush for early classes, only the sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting a long, thin strip of light across the floor.

Perhaps because last night had been too wild and dragged on too late, both of them had slept for a long time. As the light gradually crept onto the bed, Uesugi Hara opened his eyes first—the person beside him was breathing steadily, her cheek pressed against his chest, appearing to be still asleep.

But the fingers resting on his waist moved imperceptibly from time to time; clearly, she had been awake for a while.

"Since you're awake, why aren't you getting up?" His voice was slightly hoarse from sleep, yet remained indifferent.

In truth, both of them had been awake for some time, but due to certain reasons, they were both feigning sleep.

He himself lingered for a while, until his bladder could no longer hold out, and he finally broke the silence.

Kushida Kikyo, who was lying on top of him, stiffened almost imperceptibly before slowly lifting her head. Her hair was messily plastered to her cheeks, and her eyes were still heavy with sleep, yet she forced an expression as if she had just been woken up: "Mm... I just woke up."

Uesugi Hara didn't call her bluff, merely gesturing toward the door with his chin: "Get off, I need to wash up."

After putting on a jacket, Uesugi Hara gathered his clothes and headed to the bathroom; clearly, even our Master Uesugi was not as composed as he appeared when faced with such a situation.

Before long, the sounds of washing up echoed from inside.

When Kushida Kikyo emerged from the bathroom, her hair tips were still damp.

She had changed into her uniform and was sitting by the desk, meticulously adjusting her collar. As her fingertips grazed the neckline, there was still an imperceptible tremor.

Uesugi Hara sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his temples. He watched the girl before him attempting to return to her usual self, his eyes devoid of any excess emotion.

He was never the type to feign modesty when faced with someone taking the initiative, nor did he have any interest in emulating those male leads in Japanese anime—who, despite having the opportunity, insisted on dragging out the ambiguity for an entire series, only to end up being cuckolded.

"Since you've done this, you should know what the price will be." When he spoke, his voice had returned to its usual steady tone, revealing neither anger nor joy, but carrying an unquestionable certainty. "Don't think about playing games, or you know the consequences."

Kushida Kikyo stole a glance at him and, upon hearing this, curled her lips as if relieved. The lingering shyness in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a faint, indescribable sense of loss, but soon, that familiar brightness reappeared, only this time, the light was clearly tinged with more calculated intent. "Of course I know." She turned around, her tone lighter.

Neither of them mentioned what happened last night. Perhaps the madness of the previous night hadn't fully faded from their minds, or perhaps they had tacitly accepted this unspoken distance.

After a few words, Kushida Kikyo prepared to leave—the clock on the wall pointed past nine; if she didn't leave now, the hallways would get crowded, and being seen would be troublesome.

"I'm going then." As she reached the door, she looked back at Uesugi Hara. Her gaze was softer than when she arrived, yet it was also more deeply hidden.

Once the door clicked shut, the dormitory returned to silence. Uesugi Hara's gaze fell upon the bed—even though he had changed the sheets last night, the deep and shallow creases seemed to silently recount the absurdity of a few hours ago.

He tapped his fingertips against the bed frame, then rose to pull back the curtains, letting the sunlight flood in, as if wanting to bake those lingering traces into the mundane Sunday morning light.

Uesugi Hara couldn't clearly define how he felt about what happened last night.

A transaction? But compared to a pure exchange of interests, there was an indefinable connection. An accident? But neither he nor Kushida Kikyo were the type to be pushed around by accidents; from the moment she took the initiative to approach him, both of them knew exactly where things were headed.

As for how much affection existed between them? Let's not even go there. Although the air was indeed filled with a certain lingering stickiness after last night's intimacy—like that backward glance when she left, or the moment he found himself staring blankly at the empty room—this was far from "affection."

To be precise, they had simply found a tighter "method of utilization."

He needed someone who could help him win hearts and gather information at school, and Kushida Kikyo needed a backer who could provide her with points and help her surpass Horikita Suzune.

The intimacy of last night was more like adding a lock to this partnership—using the most private way to confirm the tacit understanding that "neither would betray the other for the time being."

Uesugi Hara bent down to fold the quilt, smoothing out every crease.

He knew what Kushida Kikyo was calculating, just as she knew he would never engage in a losing deal.

As for the subtle changes born from intimacy? They were merely insignificant ripples gifted along with the transaction.

Perhaps this somewhat twisted relationship would change in the future. For instance, one day, when Kushida Kikyo truly managed to win everyone over with points and no longer needed to rely on him; or when his plans no longer required this "pawn" and she could be discarded at any time—by then, the current bond born of interest would likely be like a stubbed-out cigarette, leaving not even a trace of warmth behind.

But there could be another path. Perhaps in the process of constantly calculating against each other yet being forced to cooperate, they might suddenly discover a side of the other that defied their expectations; perhaps in some accident, they might instinctively prioritize the other over their own interests.

But all of that was too far off, so far that Uesugi Hara felt it was redundant to even think about it for a second.

Future matters could be dealt with in the future. If, by the day of graduation, she still hadn't found a better place to go, keeping her around wouldn't be a problem—after all, his family's assets were more than enough to cover one extra mouth.

But for now, Uesugi Hara swiped open his terminal, and seeing the mere 1 million points left in his personal account, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably. The amount he had casually transferred last night to put her completely at ease now seemed painful to look at. This "transaction" based on interest was, to say the least, quite extravagant.

He clicked his tongue and shoved the terminal back into his pocket. It seemed he needed to figure out how to earn the next batch of points quickly; he couldn't afford to become a pauper just after setting his pieces on the board.