The Crazy Plan

Night.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The door to Uesugi Hara's dormitory was knocked on again, the rhythm light and inappropriately cheerful.

He pulled the door open to find Kushida Kikyo standing there with a beaming smile, pushing her way inside before he could even speak. "Good evening, Uesugi-kun."

Uesugi Hara frowned and stepped aside to let her in, his tone tinged with confusion: "Why are you here again?"

"Eh, hehe," Kushida Kikyo ignored his coldness and shook the notebook in her hand, "There are just some questions I really can't wrap my head around, and I wanted to ask Uesugi-kun for advice." As she spoke, she walked over to the desk as if she were already familiar with the place.

"Is there anything that couldn't be discussed over the terminal?" Uesugi Hara closed the door, turned to pour a glass of water, and handed it to her, the detachment in his tone softening slightly.

"It's too boring to stay in the dorm alone," Kushida Kikyo took the glass, her fingertips brushing against Uesugi Hara's fingers inadvertently, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled. "So I thought I'd come find Uesugi-kun to chat." She sat down on the bed, her skirt swaying gently with the movement, showing no signs of being a guest.

Uesugi Hara glanced at the notebook she had placed on her lap, sat down in the single chair opposite her, and unconsciously rubbed the rim of his glass: "Things that can be discussed on the terminal won't necessarily bloom into anything more just because we're face-to-face."

"That's not the same," Kushida Kikyo swung her legs, the rim of the glass pressed against her chin, the steam blurring the smile in her eyes. "How could a screen be as interesting as a real person?"

"Tell me, why did you come to find me?" Uesugi Hara's gaze landed on her face, his tone carrying a hint of realization.

Kushida Kikyo stuck out her tongue, opened the notebook on her lap, and handed it over: "Here."

Uesugi Hara took the notebook with a hint of doubt and glanced down at it.

?ذ؟¿?ذ؟¿

He was immediately left speechless—good grief, the pages were densely packed with nothing but ways to earn points.

The more reliable ones included things like "setting up a second-hand trading platform on campus," "opening a small school shop," or "hosting mixers and charging an entry fee for boys."

But as he flipped further, things became absurd: "Selling class information," "recruiting people to collect protection money," "peddling dirt on others," "running betting pools for important exams or sports meets"... every single item reeked of a reckless, desperate madness.

Uesugi Hara's fingers tightened around the notebook. He looked up at Kushida Kikyo, who was swinging her legs on the bed, his tone filled with disbelief: "Are you... serious about these?"

Uesugi Hara was at a loss. What kind of change was this? Had she transferred her obsession with Horikita Suzune onto points?

"Of course," Kushida Kikyo blinked, her fingertips tapping a light rhythm on her knees. "After all, I'm still short on points, so I have to think of something."

She leaned forward, drawing closer, her voice dropping but filled with excitement. "Look, the second-hand platform and the shop are steady, and charging for mixers earns money while building connections—isn't that great? As for the others..." She intentionally drew out the tone, her gaze sweeping across Uesugi Hara's face, "Special times call for special measures, right? Besides, as long as we don't get caught by the teachers, it's fine, isn't it?"

Uesugi Hara placed the notebook on the table with a soft thud. "Things like collecting protection money and running betting pools—you know that if you get caught, you'll definitely be expelled, right?"

"That's why I'm here to discuss it with Uesugi-kun," Kushida Kikyo immediately put on an innocent expression, pressing her palms together and shaking them gently. "You're so smart, you'll definitely be able to think of a way that's both safe and profitable. Or..." She changed her tone, a cunning smile curling the corners of her lips, "We could try a few low-risk ones? Like starting with the second-hand platform? I know plenty of students who have idle items."

Uesugi Hara looked at her sparkling eyes and suddenly felt the glass in his hand grow hot. He wondered if being tied to her was the right choice.

Beneath her seemingly innocent smile, the calculations hidden away were denser than the handwriting in the notebook. He remained silent for a moment, then picked up his glass and took a sip of warm water: "The second-hand platform might be feasible, but the others... don't even think about them for now."

"Eh—" Kushida Kikyo drew out the sound, but she wasn't truly angry; instead, as if she had expected him to say that, she stood up from the bed with a smile. "Starting with the platform is fine too! Is Uesugi-kun willing to help? We can divide the work—I'll be responsible for contacting clients, and you can be responsible for setting up the trading platform, how about that?"

She was leaning in too close, the faint, sweet scent of her hair drifting over. Uesugi Hara instinctively leaned back, his brow furrowed: "I'll... consider it."

"Yay!" Kushida Kikyo cheered immediately, leaned over, and planted a quick kiss on his cheek, leaving behind a lingering warmth. "Then I'll come back tomorrow for your answer!" Before the words had even faded, she had grabbed her bag and scurried to the door like a chirping bird. "Goodnight, Uesugi-kun!"

The door was pulled shut gently, and her scent still lingered in the air. Uesugi Hara froze in place, raised a hand to wipe the spot where she had kissed him with a look of distaste, and sighed helplessly.

She really was getting bolder.

He picked up the notebook again, pulled a red pen from his holder, and began marking up Kushida Kikyo's wild ideas. He first crossed out the obviously crossing-the-line schemes like "collecting protection money," then circled the slightly more stable ones like "second-hand platform" and "charging for mixers."

When he reached the middle pages, his pen tip paused. "Selling class information" and "peddling dirt on others"—these two lines carried a hidden danger, yet they made his heart skip a beat. If he used that anonymous terminal, it might actually be possible to keep things under wraps.

Uesugi Hara tapped his fingertips against the paper, pondering for a moment. The former might be feasible, as it was merely a trade of information gaps; but the latter... he decisively drew a glaring 'X' over "peddling dirt." If things really blew up and the school investigated, expulsion would be the least of their worries.

The red pen left marks of varying depth on the pages, as if he were quietly drawing a bottom line for this insane plan.

After finishing, Uesugi Hara flipped back to the "second-hand platform" line, stared at the page in silence for a moment, and then suddenly stood up to pull open a drawer, fishing out a blank sheet of paper.

He didn't look at Kushida Kikyo's notebook anymore, but instead wrote and drew from memory: on the left, he listed "Sources," noting the types of items that might be left idle; on the right, he wrote "Channels," thought for a moment, wrote "Student Council—Campus Platform," and added a small note on the side: "Categorize by type, update weekly."

The rustling sound of the pen tip moving across the paper filled the room as the night outside deepened. By the time he snapped back to reality, half a page of detailed rules had been added, even including rough drafts for a "transaction guarantee mechanism" and a "platform fee structure."

Uesugi Hara stared at the paper, stunned, and suddenly found it somewhat amusing. He had been criticizing Kushida's madness just a moment ago, only to be dragged into it himself. He tossed the red pen back into the holder, tucked the two sheets of paper into the notebook, and tossed it into the corner of his desk.