Uesugi Hara returned to the dorm, sent Kushida Kikyo a message, then flopped onto his bed. Dealing with that bunch of little (?) foxes had drained every last bit of his energy.
It wasn't long before someone knocked on the door.
"The door's unlocked," Uesugi Hara called toward the entrance.
With a soft creak, the door swung open, and Kushida Kikyo's voice drifted in first. "Good evening, Uesugi."
"Good evening." Uesugi Hara propped himself up on the mattress.
"What's wrong, Uesugi?" As soon as Kushida Kikyo stepped inside, she spotted the weariness between his brows. A note of concern entered her voice.
"I've been busy with your stuff, haven't I?" Uesugi Hara sounded languid, though he wasn't really complaining.
"Ehehe, then thank you so much, Uesugi!" Kushida Kikyo's voice bubbled with laughter, making it impossible to stay annoyed with her.
"Whew." Uesugi Hara slumped back against the headboard and sighed. "The secondhand platform is pretty much settled. We're working with the Student Council. I'll build the website tomorrow, and you can handle the operations. We'll split the profits fifty-fifty with the Student Council, and the two of us will split our share fifty-fifty too."
Kushida Kikyo's eyes lit up. She hurried over to the bed, clasped her hands behind her back, and leaned forward slightly. "It's really settled? That's great! I can't believe we're working with the Student Council—and they're willing to split it fifty-fifty? You're amazing, Uesugi!"
Uesugi Hara glanced at her, as if to say, "Keep it down. What's the big deal?"
"Wow—" Kushida drew out the word and leaned closer, her voice turning sly. "You really are full of secrets, Uesugi. Anyway, I'm glad things are moving along. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No need." Uesugi Hara shook his head and fished his phone out from under his pillow, swiping at the screen a couple of times. "I can put together a basic framework that supports a few hundred users tonight. Tomorrow, I'll just have to fill in the content. If you're free tomorrow, you can spread the word through your network. The Student Council will promote it too, but you can get the word out early."
"Leave it to me!" Kushida nodded vigorously, her short hair swaying with the motion. "Oh, should we make a temporary group chat now? We can ask if anyone has anything they need to sell right away."
Watching the eager light in her eyes, Uesugi Hara suddenly felt some of the fatigue from dealing with those people fade. He shifted over to make room. "Sure. Sit down. Aren't you tired of standing?"
Kushida settled down beside the bed with a cheerful grin and pulled out her phone, tapping away. The screen's glow fell across her face, making her look more serious than usual.
"Oh, and I made some changes to the proposals in your notebook," Uesugi Hara added. "I crossed out the ones that won't work and put question marks next to the ones that might work but have risks. Don't forget to take it with you when you leave. It's on the desk."
Kushida Kikyo froze for a moment, then turned to look at the corner of the desk. The notebook lay open, its page edges slightly curled from being handled. Beside several lines of writing, there were indeed crisp red crosses and question marks.
"Thanks." Kushida Kikyo walked over and closed the notebook. "I thought you'd already lost patience with all these ideas."
Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow and rubbed the corner of his eye. "I just did it while I was at it. I couldn't exactly watch you walk straight into a trap."
Kushida held the notebook against her chest, lightly rubbing the corner of its cover. Then she gave a soft laugh. "You're obviously really considerate, Uesugi. You just have to pretend you don't care."
"Don't start." Uesugi Hara put on a stern face. "Get your group set up already. You're keeping me from resting."
"Got it~" Kushida Kikyo sang out, but didn't speed up. Instead, she turned her head to look him over. The light in the dorm wasn't very bright, softening the line of his jaw. Even his usually aloof gaze seemed less sharp now.
She suddenly remembered how, when they'd first started school, she'd thought Uesugi Hara was like a stone that would never warm up: always on his own and indifferent to everyone.
But after spending time with him these past few days, she'd realized he simply couldn't be bothered with people and things that didn't matter. When it came to actually getting something done, he was more reliable than anyone.
"What are you spacing out for?" Uesugi Hara's voice pulled her back to the present.
"Nothing." Kushida quickly gathered her thoughts and waved her Terminal. "The group's ready! I've already added a few girls I'm close with, and they say they have lots of unused cosmetics and novels they want to sell."
Uesugi Hara glanced at the screen. She'd named the group "Kikyo Shop Reserve," and its avatar was a cartoon fox wagging its tail. He curled his lip. "That name's childish."
"It's not childish!" Kushida immediately protested, then suddenly leaned close and lowered her voice. "It makes us seem more approachable. By the way, do you have anything you want to sell? Like... manga you've been hiding?"
"I don't have any of that." Uesugi Hara's face darkened. After a two-second silence, he reached over and pinched her cheeks, pulling them apart. "Keep running your mouth and I'll cut your share."
"Wuaaah—" Kushida's cheeks puffed out like a cute pufferfish, and her voice came out warped. She slapped his hand away and rubbed her reddened cheeks with an aggrieved pout. "That's not fair! I'm protesting! You're abusing your authority to bully me!"
"If there's nothing else, hurry back. Don't keep me from resting." As he spoke, Uesugi Hara gave her back a light, almost weightless push.
Kushida stumbled half a step forward, but didn't actually leave. Instead, she turned around and leaned on the wardrobe, tilting her head to wink at him. "Are you trying to chase me out, Uesugi? You just told me to sit down, and now you're changing your tune faster than I can turn a page."
"Quit fooling around." Uesugi Hara sank back against the headboard and half-closed his eyes. "I have to work on the framework tonight. I don't have time to entertain you."
"Got it, Mr. Workaholic." Kushida drew out the words as she picked up her bag, twirling its strap around her fingers. "Then I'll treat you to lunch tomorrow as a thank-you, okay? We can celebrate our successful partnership in advance~"
Uesugi Hara didn't open his eyes. He only gave a low hum.
Hearing his unspoken agreement, Kushida's smile widened. She tiptoed to the door and gently pulled it shut, but not before calling out, "Don't stay up too late!"
The door clicked shut, and the dorm fell silent. Uesugi Hara opened his eyes, stared at the indistinct patterns on the ceiling for a moment, then got up and went to the desk. Light from the computer screen fell across his face. Most of his earlier weariness had vanished, and his fingers tapped briskly across the keyboard.
Less than ten minutes later, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Kushida, with a screenshot attached—the temporary group chat was already buzzing.
[See? Everyone's really enthusiastic, right?] A smug little fox emoji followed.
Uesugi Hara glanced at it and replied, "Yeah."
Then he ignored the phone and continued typing, building the platform's framework. Moonlight slipped through a gap in the curtains, casting a long, narrow band of light across the floor.
Looks like I'll be busy tonight.