Cake Shop

Long Aotian arrived at Sakura Airi's dorm with a familiarity that was far too suspicious, as if he were returning to his own home.

"Aotian, Sudo from our class has been expelled."

Sakura walked up to him and leaned gently against Long Aotian's arm.

"I did it."

"Ah!" Sakura looked at Long Aotian and blinked, her eyes shimmering with utter confusion: "Why?"

"There is no why. This world has always been this way—the big fish eat the small fish." Long Aotian leaned his face in close and threatened, "If you tell anyone it was me, I'll seal your lips shut."

"I wouldn't," Sakura said, before her lips lightly brushed against Long Aotian's. It was a gentle, shy kiss, like a flower petal drifting down in spring—soft, yet unwavering.

Their breathing grew heavy in that moment, and everything around them seemed to lose its sound, leaving only the rhythm of their heartbeats and the sensation of their touch.

When Sakura Airi slowly pulled away from Long Aotian's lips, her eyes shone with a resolve and happiness he had never seen before.

Damn, why do I feel like a raw recruit living in front of her?

Cough, cough, cough~

"Right, I haven't given you the points I took last time."

"You don't have to. Didn't you say you'd take care of me?"

Sakura Airi slowly rested her head on Long Aotian's shoulder.

"I have to give them to you regardless. How are you supposed to make friends out there without any points?"

[Points: Original 60.3 million → Current 60.1 million (Fake account's 50,000 not included) (Won't display later, too lazy to calculate)]

"So many!" Sakura took the phone, her eyes sparkling as she asked in confusion: "Where did you get these?"

"Guess."

After spending a while in the dorm with Sakura, he headed out.

On his way to the Campus Cake Shop~

As he drew closer to his destination, the silhouette of the Campus Cake Shop gradually became clear.

When he reached the entrance, an alluring aroma wafted over, making him take a deep breath as if to inhale all that goodness into his body. He pushed open the door, and the bell chimed. The shop was warm and cozy, with all sorts of cakes and desserts neatly arranged on the shelves, as if beckoning him to taste the sweetness.

"I'll have two strawberry cakes, please. One to eat here, and one to go."

He pointed at the shelf and spoke to the staff.

Just like last time, he planned to bring one back for Sakura; after all, that little cutie loved them.

The shop bell chimed again, and a girl with long, pink-gold hair walked in.

Long Aotian glanced at her and processed the data: height 159 cm, measurements 95/61/91 cm, and that face...

Wait, Ichinose Honami? Why is it such a coincidence again? Is this shop an Ichinose spawn point?

Ichinose Honami seemed to notice his gaze, turned to look at him, and blinked her bright eyes gently, as if two brilliant gemstones had flickered for a moment.

"Long Aotian!" Ichinose Honami walked over in pleasant surprise, wearing a cute smile: "I finally found you."

Unlike Kushida Kikyo, Ichinose Honami's smile was warm and sincere, always capable of dispelling the gloom around her. Those bright eyes, whether shimmering with curiosity or reflecting deep thought, made one feel an indescribable sense of intimacy and purity.

She had a delicate face and belonged to the energetic, long-straight-hair, large-breasted archetype, often wearing her school uniform paired with knee-high socks.

She was the standard for a great beauty—good-natured, lively, and like the big sister next door.

Long Aotian shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked at Ichinose Honami, who was sitting across from him: "Looking for me? Is something the matter?"

Ichinose Honami hesitated for a moment, glanced around, leaned in, and whispered: "I was confessed to."

"?"

That's not right. In the anime, the confession to Ichinose Honami shouldn't happen until before Ryuen's class drops their lawsuit.

Long Aotian frowned and threw out a suspicious question: "Do you know Ayanokoji from Class D?"

"I don't," Ichinose Honami shook her head, then recalled Class D and replied: "I do know Kushida Kikyo from Class D, though. She's just as lively as I am."

Oh, great, it's a mess. The plot for the first year of school in July is absolutely ruined.

"Alright, what do you want me to do?"

"Just pretend to be my boyfriend for a while," Ichinose Honami said, looking nervous with her brow slightly furrowed.

"No problem."

Long Aotian didn't mind; it was just going through the motions of the plot, a small side quest.

"And thank you!"

"?" He looked over at her, meeting her sincere gaze, and asked in confusion: "Thank you for what?"

"Thank you for helping my family, and Fengfeng."

"Nothing to thank me for. That was something your family deserved anyway."

"No, to me, this is a very important matter." Ichinose Honami's eyes were firm, her tone direct.

"Fine, fine." Long Aotian waved his hand helplessly, looked at Ichinose Honami, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Aren't you going to buy a cake?"

"Oh, right." Coming to her senses, Ichinose Honami turned and headed toward the counter.

Before long, Ichinose Honami returned, holding a small cake, and took the seat opposite Long Aotian.

"Um..." Ichinose Honami took a bite of the cake, lowered her head, and said cautiously, "You should know about that matter by now, right?"

"I know. Actually, it's no big deal. You are a kind person at heart; you were just driven by desire for a moment. Reflecting on it and changing is enough."

"I understand." Ichinose Honami lifted her head slightly. Without refuting him, she reached out and took out her phone. "Let's add each other as friends so we can stay in touch."

"How is Fengfeng doing?"

After Long Aotian took out his phone and added her, he asked.

"She's doing quite well. It's just that after you left, she kept nagging about wanting to see you."

"That's nice."

Suddenly recalling that little girl, he had to admit she was quite cute. Like Ichinose Honami, her looks were top-tier, and even their mother was graceful and charming.

Cough, cough, cough. Wait, where was his mind wandering?

"Let me ask you a question: why did you come to this school?"

"To graduate from Class A and find a job I like in the future."

Ichinose Honami was a bit confused as to why Long Aotian would ask this, but she answered nonetheless.

"Let me give you a piece of advice: don't join the Student Council. This school is full of deceit and treachery; it's not as wonderful as you think."

Long Aotian stood up and reached out as if to pat her head, but he paused for a moment, realized what he was doing, and patted Ichinose Honami on the shoulder instead. "Just contact me through our friend list when the time comes, and I'll come over."

He turned and walked toward the door to leave. Regardless of anything else, everyone's goal was to graduate from Class A, though the paths they took to get there were different.

At that moment, Ichinose Honami felt a twinge of shame. She had seen Long Aotian reach out as if to touch her head, and for some reason, she had wanted to lean into it. By the time she realized what she was thinking, Long Aotian had already left.