A Minor Plot

Long Aotian soon left Sakura's dorm and headed to a spot beside the sports field where there were no surveillance cameras.

"Strange. Wasn't there a bench here last time? How come it's gone?"

Long Aotian looked around, only to find that the bench had disappeared. He was sure this was the place where he'd confessed last time, but the bench was gone.

He was completely baffled. Had he come here the wrong way, or what?

Just then, the faint, crisp sound of footsteps broke the silence. They drew nearer, gradually growing clearer.

As the sound approached, a figure slowly stepped into the space embraced by the setting sun. She was a girl with long golden hair.

[Ichinose]

She seemed to have stepped out of a painting, every step radiating an indescribable charm.

Her golden locks shimmered warmly in the sunlight, complementing her clear eyes, which seemed able to see right through people.

She wore a school uniform, but her unique air made even this ordinary outfit stand out.

Ichinose spotted Long Aotian's tall, upright figure from a distance. He stood quietly, as though he'd been waiting for a long time.

A hint of guilt welled up in Ichinose, and she hurriedly quickened her pace, running toward him.

When she reached him, Ichinose was slightly out of breath as she said, "Sorry for the wait!"

Long Aotian smiled and gently shook his head to show he didn't mind, then asked, "It's fine. Shiranami Chihiro should be here soon, right?"

Ichinose nodded eagerly. "Mm-hmm, she should be here any moment."

"I might be causing you a lot of trouble in a bit." As she spoke, Ichinose lowered her head with a hint of shyness, unconsciously fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.

"It's no trouble. Just let me know if you need any help."

Seeing her like that, Long Aotian smiled warmly and looked at Ichinose encouragingly.

He was quite patient and well-disposed toward Ichinose. Maybe it was because of Fengfeng, or her mother.

Just then, a graceful figure slowly appeared in their field of vision.

She was a short-haired girl with lovely brown locks.

Most striking were her deep blue eyes, as vast as the ocean. Like stars twinkling in the night sky, they were mysterious and captivating.

The girl wore a school uniform and a pair of snow-white over-the-knee socks that hugged her long, straight legs, adding to her youthful, sweet charm.

[Shiranami Chihiro]

"Ichinose, um... is he your boyfriend?" As she spoke, tears silently slipped from the corners of the girl's eyes, like pearls from a broken string, rolling down her delicate cheeks one after another.

"Sorry, Shiranami. He... he's my boyfriend."

Ichinose hurriedly wrapped her arms around Long Aotian's.

"Shiranami, I'm not Ichinose's boyfriend."

Long Aotian glanced at Ichinose clinging to his arm, then shook his head.

"Huh?"

Ichinose looked at Long Aotian in confusion, while Shiranami Chihiro gazed at him through tearful eyes.

"I think you've misunderstood. It's perfectly normal for you to like Ichinose. She's lively, adorable, and always eager to help others."

"But she's straight, so it's perfectly normal for her to turn you down."

"B-but I love Ichinose!" Shiranami Chihiro's eyes brimmed with tears. Her lips trembled slightly as she whispered in a near-inaudible voice.

"Why should she have to put up with you just because your sexual orientation is different from hers? Are you taking advantage of Ichinose's kindness? Why should she say yes to you? Because you're classmates, or because you're trying to force your love on her?" Long Aotian pulled his arm free and continued slowly, "You should know that people like you are in the minority."

"And what about you? You've put Ichinose in a difficult position, haven't you? You say you love her, but you're taking advantage of her kindness."

"Long... Aotian," Ichinose said softly, looking at Shiranami Chihiro with concern before turning to him.

"Okay, maybe I was a little too harsh. I think you should explain things to her or make your feelings clear. Otherwise, if you can't keep up the act anymore, or if you don't have a boyfriend, she'll try this again." Long Aotian met Ichinose's worried gaze and spoke a little awkwardly.

"Then I'll leave you two alone for a while."

Before long, Shiranami Chihiro's frail figure appeared. With tears streaming down her face, she ran away from the spot.

Long Aotian, waiting outside, glanced at her before looking away.

"Thank you."

Ichinose slowly walked up to Long Aotian, her beautiful eyes fixed on him as she spoke softly.

The three simple words were filled with heartfelt gratitude.

"No need to thank me. I only gave you a push. You were the one who had to turn her down." Long Aotian waved his hand, then added, "Besides, I asked you to help me once, so we're even."

"Mm..." Ichinose edged a little closer to Long Aotian, her head lowered.

"?" Long Aotian had no idea what the girl was up to, but out of habit, he reached out and patted her on the head.

"If there's nothing else, I'll head off."

"N-no, that's all," Ichinose murmured, still looking down, her lips trembling.

"Oh, all right. I'll get going, then." Long Aotian withdrew his hand and walked away.

Only after Long Aotian's figure had gradually disappeared did Ichinose come back to her senses from that head-pat.

She lowered her head, remembering the warmth of his hand still lingering on her crown. A complicated mix of emotions she'd never felt before welled up inside her: shyness, delight, confusion... They mingled together, making her cheeks burn even hotter.

She gently touched the spot he'd patted, as though she could still feel the faint sensation. A hint of sweetness quietly stirred in her heart.

She didn't know what it meant, but she knew that at that moment, her heart was racing, her cheeks were flushed, and an indescribable flutter stirred inside her. It... felt pretty nice?

Long Aotian was holding a key as he left. It was the key to Ayanokoji's room.

He returned to the dorm, turned on his computer, and sent two messages.

This time, Long Aotian planned to visit Ayanokoji's room, but he knew he'd be found out if he went.

After all, given the protagonist's intelligence, he'd definitely notice if someone had unlocked or entered his room.

So Long Aotian planned to use task reward points to lure Ike and Yamauchi into Ayanokoji's room by text, covering up the fact that he'd been there.

The task in the message read: Go to the place where you held a celebration last time and hold another one. (Time limit: 1 day.)

That was Ike's task, since he'd gotten hold of Ayanokoji's room key before.

Yamauchi's task was: Take a photo of your classmate's room. (Time limit: 1 day.)

The two tasks weren't very different; they could both be completed in the same room.

At first, Yamauchi might worry about how to do his task or look for an excuse to visit Ike's room, since the two of them were closest.

But with Ike's task, things would be different. Given his personality, he'd definitely invite Yamauchi to Ayanokoji's room, making both tasks easy to complete.

Long Aotian wasn't worried they'd refuse to do the tasks or go to the wrong place.

The reward for this task was a hundred thousand points. With that much on the line, they'd definitely do it. As for whether they went to the wrong room, he didn't need to worry about that. At worst, he just wouldn't give them the points.

All that would happen was that someone had entered Ayanokoji's room. So what? Could he track me down?