Yukinoshita's Correction Method

Riko wanted a love that burned bright and fierce; Naoko wanted to live free and unrestrained.

So even knowing there might be no future for it, Riko still wanted to love openly and honorably.

So even knowing that if she rejected Kosuke, there would only be another Kosuke after him, Naoko still wanted to expose their relationship.

Kosuke could not let go of Riko, and he could not let go of his responsibilities, so he let go of himself.

Maybe, like Kazuya, knowing nothing and simply singing would have made him happier.

"Welcome to the world of adults, my dear little underclassman." Haruno Yukinoshita tapped the tip of her shoe against the floor and spun lightly amid the dazzling neon lights. Facing Dong Yunshan, she revealed a faint smile as warm as sunlight, yet in her clear eyes, it was as if cold snow were about to drift out, howling as it stripped away Dong Yunshan's body heat. "How does it feel?"

A self that could not be released, responsibilities that could not be escaped.

Futile resistance, powerless struggling.

Exhaustion, pain, torment, anxiety...

Everything he had once experienced, everything he had long been parted from, came rolling in with Haruno Yukinoshita's soft laugh like a tide formed from countless snowflakes, drowning Dong Yunshan.

Burying him.

And so Dong Yunshan pulled his mouth wide, revealing a cold smile.

"Feels like fucking coming home."

Final Exams and Spring Break: Three Layers of Tests

This was a very easy request.

All Dong Yunshan had to do was play the part of an awkward high school boy and cooperate with Haruno Yukinoshita through a stretch of KTV entertainment.

Just like Kazuya, he could sing a few songs, chat a little, play some interactive mini-games, and it would be over before long.

But if Dong Yunshan wanted something from it, then like everyone else present, he would fall into Haruno Yukinoshita's hands.

An easy request would become a heavy one.

All this time... had this been the kind of monster Yukino Yukinoshita was facing?

In a daze, the brilliant neon lights surrounding Haruno Yukinoshita seemed to melt and weave together, swelling without restraint into a giant with blurred features. An almost tangible pressure descended from above, casting an icy gaze that peeled every inch of skin from his body.

Dong Yunshan had felt the same thing before.

After Naoko asked her question, when he looked toward Haruno Yukinoshita standing behind everyone, this was the feeling he had experienced.

There were many uncontrollable factors in the entire plan to expose the relationship.

But because of each individual's intentions, those uncontrollable factors would become controllable certainties.

How did Naoko know Riko and Kosuke would definitely get intimate in the private room?

Because Riko intended to expose the relationship, so in a private room with a recording function, Riko would take the initiative to get intimate with Kosuke.

The deduction Dong Yunshan had made based on the missing die was not rigorous.

Kosuke could easily have said that when they were playing dice, they discovered one die was missing, asked a waiter for another, and then somehow lost one without knowing when.

That way, it would explain how they had played a dice game without noticing the missing die.

But Kosuke did not explain.

Because he intended to take care of Riko's feelings.

Not making their relationship public and refusing to admit it after being discovered were two completely different things.

Naoko intended to reject Kosuke's pursuit, so she used Riko's and Kosuke's intentions to set up this situation.

To avoid making it too obvious, Naoko needed someone else to take away the die, while also bringing in another ignorant person who knew nothing about everyone's relationships or their families' dealings, to act as the one who exposed the relationship.

So... Haruno Yukinoshita used Naoko's intentions to achieve her own goal:

Helping and examining Dong Yunshan.

Naoko said, ["How about this? I heard from Haruno that you're very smart. Then I'll test you. If you answer correctly, I'll count it as you passing—and I'll help you solve another problem."]

After adding her contact information, Naoko made a point of reminding him that if he had any trouble, he could come to her for help with anything, and she would do what she said.

Naoko's willingness to help Dong Yunshan was not the result, but the goal.

The goal Haruno Yukinoshita achieved by using Naoko's intentions.

Haruno Yukinoshita wanted Naoko to provide help to Dong Yunshan.

But what trouble did Dong Yunshan have that required someone else's help to solve?

In his view, there was none.

But in another person's view, there was.

That person was... Yukino Yukinoshita.

Dong Yunshan had hit Nakamura in public, which might bring Nakamura's retaliation down on him.

That was why Yukino Yukinoshita, who had always believed that teaching a man to fish was better than giving him a fish, had uncharacteristically clamped down on the group's studies, even assigning homework and saying she would check it.

When Dong Yunshan said he could finish it easily, Yukino Yukinoshita even wanted to give him extra work on his own.

The goal was to make Dong Yunshan stay home like a good boy for the next few days, study hard, and not run around everywhere, so he wouldn't get cornered and beaten up.

During that time, Yukino Yukinoshita would find someone to resolve the problem.

The person she found was... Haruno Yukinoshita.

Naoko had said, "How about this? I heard from Haruno that you're very smart."

And who had Haruno Yukinoshita heard that from?

Naturally, Yukino Yukinoshita.

As the older sister, when her younger sister suddenly came to her for help dealing with a boy's trouble, her first reaction was naturally to ask for information about that boy.

Then she would look for other people to understand the situation, such as... the boy's homeroom teacher.

As his homeroom teacher, Shizuka Hiratsuka naturally hoped Dong Yunshan could get out of trouble.

So Dong Yunshan received a call from Shizuka Hiratsuka and got this commission.

Up to this point, aside from Kazuya, who was outside the situation, everyone present—including the absent Shizuka Hiratsuka and Yukino Yukinoshita—was in Haruno Yukinoshita's hands...

They had become tools for her to test Dong Yunshan.

Haruno Yukinoshita needed to conduct a test: to test Dong Yunshan's ability and probe his intentions.

If she wanted to achieve Naoko's aim, the safest method would have been to tell Dong Yunshan in advance that Kosuke and Riko were a couple.

But Haruno Yukinoshita did not do that. Instead, she told Dong Yunshan, "If a situation comes up that you can't handle, just ask big sister for help!"

After Naoko asked the question, when everyone looked at Dong Yunshan, Haruno Yukinoshita was facing Dong Yunshan, standing behind everyone else.

As long as Dong Yunshan asked her for help, she would reveal the answer.

As for the process, she only needed to pretend to be surprised and say, "Ah! You figured it out from the number of dice, right? My little underclassman really is smart."

Then Dong Yunshan would have no choice but to nod along.

If there were any chances to interact in the future, Dong Yunshan's identity would be limited to that of a tool.

If Dong Yunshan arrived at the answer himself, he could be promoted to a relatively useful tool.

After graduation, Haruno Yukinoshita would probably provide him with a job and cultivate him as part of her inner circle.

Only if Dong Yunshan arrived at the answer and saw through everyone else's intentions would Haruno Yukinoshita lift a corner of the adult world and show him the predicament people like them were in.

If Dong Yunshan had designs on Yukino Yukinoshita, then this was something he had to face.

If he was not confident he could deal with these things, it would be better to recognize the difficulty and retreat early.

"How did it feel?"

The answer to that question would determine what attitude Haruno Yukinoshita would use toward Dong Yunshan, and... how she would interfere in Dong Yunshan and Yukino Yukinoshita's relationship.

This was Haruno Yukinoshita: an older sister figure who, on first contact, felt as warm as sunlight.

But if one truly approached her and truly explored her heart, they would discover the chilling terror beneath that warmth.

Haruno Yukinoshita was not sunlight, but the sun.

A blazing star undergoing thermonuclear reactions at every moment.

If one wanted to oppose such a being, one could only bury oneself deep beneath cold snow and create an icy shell for oneself.

Just as Yukino Yukinoshita had done.

So Dong Yunshan answered, "Like going home with his damn mother."

"My, my~" Haruno Yukinoshita covered her little mouth in surprise, then smiled with crescent eyes. "Looks like my little underclassman really hates this kind of atmosphere."

"Yeah." Dong Yunshan's gaze shifted slightly. "Good thing my family isn't like this."

Several black sedans stopped one after another. The doors opened, and a crowd of people poured out.

Haruno Yukinoshita pulled Dong Yunshan behind her, her warm smile completely transforming into a severe chill. "I am..."

"Brother Shan!" A dozen or so people bowed in unison and greeted him.

"Making it so scary..." Dong Yunshan stepped in front of Haruno Yukinoshita. "Where is he?"

"We brought him!" The mohawk leader waved, and someone dragged a man out of the trunk.

It was none other than Nakamura, the marriage scammer.

"Brother... Brother Shan..." The moment he saw Dong Yunshan, Nakamura, sprawled on the ground, shuddered uncontrollably.

"Hm?" Dong Yunshan looked at the mohawk. "Did you hit him?"

"Of course not!" The mohawk shook his head wildly, his crest swaying back and forth. "How could a legal organization do anything illegal?"

"Nakamura." Dong Yunshan crouched down. "I heard you've been looking for me all this time... You just don't quit, huh?"

"No... That's not..." Nakamura swallowed with difficulty. "I... I was wrong..."

"Scamming someone into marriage and cheating, of course that was your fault." Dong Yunshan sighed. "But you found people to deal with me, which makes me feel like maybe I was at fault too—did I go too easy on you?"

"Yes... No, no, no, that's not... I mean..." Nakamura realized there was no right answer and panicked until his words came out jumbled. "Brother Shan..."

"Boring." Dong Yunshan stood up and waved a hand, his interest gone. "Send him to heaven."

"No—!" Nakamura still wanted to say something, but his mouth was already gagged, and he was stuffed back into the trunk.

After saying goodbye, the mohawk led his men away.

"Where were we just now? Right, going home." Dong Yunshan turned his head. "If your situation really is the way you showed me, then that awkward situation in the KTV earlier, to you, was just like going home, right?"

"Oh?" Haruno Yukinoshita chuckled. "So you were talking about my feelings just now."

"What?" Dong Yunshan smiled back. "Were you asking about my feelings just now?"

Translated, it meant—

Question: Can you accept overtime?

Answer: You can accept overtime.

Question: I wasn't asking about me.

Answer: I wasn't answering about me either.

Question: Are you joking with me?

Answer: You started joking with me first.

Did I come here for a job interview with you? What right did you have to test me?

If Dong Yunshan needed a job, then of course the company had the right to test him.

Dong Yunshan would even have to say: Thank you for giving me this interview opportunity.

If Dong Yunshan truly needed Haruno Yukinoshita's help, then it would be perfectly natural for Haruno Yukinoshita to test Dong Yunshan a little.

Dong Yunshan would even have to thank her for helping him solve the trouble.

But he did not need Haruno Yukinoshita's help. He could easily solve this matter himself.

So Haruno Yukinoshita was not qualified to test Dong Yunshan either.