The Misunderstanding Ran Deep

Uchiha walked over for a closer look, and his grin nearly split his face!!!

They were several familiar faces!

Koenji, Yamauchi, Morishita, and the other Jiahaos were obediently lining up in front of a small vendor's machine.

The staff member was in a terrible mood. He had just clocked out when he was called back for overtime.

Utterly miserable.

That stifled feeling was like... like some unscrupulous boss calling you back for a meeting right after you got on the subway!!!

Looking at this bunch of troublesome youths,

the staff member pointed at his own head speechlessly.

"There's a gap here."

"You idiots brought your student IDs out to court disaster in the rain. Your phones are totaled, right?"

"The repair fee is 10,000 points. No credit."

Yamauchi immediately curled his lip in protest.

"You're taking a tenth of my monthly living expenses?!"

"You can't be this black-hearted!"

"Quote another ridiculous price, and I'll report you to the higher-ups!!!"

Yamauchi was having a miserable time. Not only had he caught a cold from the rain, he also had to fork over a huge repair fee?!

I'm clearly holding the protagonist's script?!

Why am I so unlucky today?!

The pressure's killing me. I want to go back to the dorm and watch porn!!!

"Geh geh geh geh~"

Uchiha burst into a bizarre laugh.

Awesome.

Anyone who could talk like that was truly one of a kind.

It was like watching a trashy drama unfold in person. So good, he loved it!!

Then,

one sentence from the staff member shut him up.

"The chairman set the price. Go argue with him if you've got the guts."

You little clown, and you dared question the principal's authority?!

You were used to throwing your weight around, huh? Today, he would teach you a proper lesson.

Yamauchi stubbornly said, "Hmph, I'll go later. Fix my phone first."

His real thoughts were: No way. What if they investigate three generations of my family and revoke my eligibility for civil service exams?

Koenji remained silent. Losing 10,000 points for no reason meant missing several dates. It simply was not worth it!

Imitating Jiahao came with risks. He needed to be more careful next time.

Seemingly unconcerned about the loss of points, Morishita looked bored as she aimlessly searched for someone to bully.

Then her eyes suddenly lit up. She had spotted interesting prey.

She beckoned to the masked boy.

"Over here. Come line up."

"Your phone got water in it too, right?"

Uchiha scratched his head. I think your brain is the thing that got water in it.

"I refuse."

"..."

The corner of Morishita's eye began to twitch.

Did lightning fry his brain?!!

If you don't use your phone to pay, how are you going to eat? How are you going to survive?!

Are you planning to become some homeless vagrant everyone despises?!!

Oh, she got it~~

He was definitely trying to act cool on purpose. This was the standard routine every adolescent boy pulled!!

"...I know you're trying to look cool right now..."

Uchiha said, "My surname isn't Cool."

"????"

Morishita Lan took a deep breath and tried to keep her expression natural.

"Come on. Even if ten thousand is a little expensive, it's still better than having no phone."

"You're not thinking of cutting in line, are you? Let me tell you, cutting in line wouldn't be very Jiahao. That's called having no manners!!!"

?

"No need."

Ignoring her, Uchiha reached out and stopped Ayanokoji.

"Give me my phone back."

Ayanokoji nodded.

"Here."

Uchiha took the phone and gestured at Morishita with his eyes.

With a blank expression, he pointed at his own head.

"Between you and me, there's a gap here."

[Jiahao Points +99]

[Jiahao Points +122]

[Jiahao Points +134]

Uchiha was overjoyed inside.

He had not noticed before, but this girl gave quite a lot!!

Her Jiahao yield was pretty good. Keep dropping coins for him!!!

Showing off in front of Jiaxin felt so damn good!!!

Morishita's nose was red.

All the other rain-soaked Jiahaos' phones had been ruined, but his was fine?!!

That was way too unbelievable!!!

With an expression like she had been utterly defeated, her pupils trembled wildly.

"So that's how it is. What terrifying scheming. We were all played by you!!"

"First, you ran a few laps in the light rain to deliberately attract attention and warm everyone else up for their entrance."

"Then you went back to the school building and pretended you had dropped your phone, making this Ayanokoji student hold it for you..."

"Finally, you returned to the plaza for another absurd stunt—boxing in the rain—making everyone overlook the fact that you did not have your phone on you. Meanwhile, we were all infected by your passion and charged out without waterproofing our phones, which led to this situation..."

"We were on the first level, while you had already laid out your plan on the fifth, successfully hooking nine Jiahaos..."

"Everything was within your expectations. You planned before acting—calm and cold-blooded. You're more dangerous than I imagined."

"If necessary, I will eliminate you on behalf of the moon."

Uchiha said, "??????"

He had not thought anything through that deeply. He just wanted to put on a show and collect more Jiahao Points.

What scheming??!

What planning, what acting afterward?!!

Didn't you all willingly jump out and become Jiahaos?!

How did I become some Zhuge Liang who controlled everything from behind the scenes in your eyes?!!

And you want to eliminate me??

What am I, some utterly evil final boss?!

Please, I'm begging you, stop turning me into some mastermind!!

At that moment, Ayanokoji seized the opening.

"Uchiha, would it be convenient to talk somewhere else?"

"I'd love to."

Ten minutes later.

A park bench.

Ayanokoji selected two bottles of cola from a vending machine.

"What flavor do you like?"

Seeing that he could get something for free, Uchiha was thrilled.

He answered with a poker face.

"I like whatever flavor you like."

"..."

Ayanokoji: "(눈_눈)"

The bold words were back again!!!

How was that any different from opening his mouth and saying he liked married women!!

That was way too damn shocking!!

[Jiahao Points +0.4]

"I like sugar-free..."

Uchiha said, "Then I'll have sugar-free."

For some reason, things he bought himself never tasted special, but things other people treated him to always tasted better.

"Can you tell me why you wanted to see me?"

Ayanokoji pulled open the tab and took a small sip. "Who... exactly are you?"

Uchiha's eyes were innocent.

"I'm Jiahao."

"Pfft..."

Ayanokoji could not hold it in and sprayed out a mouthful of cola!!!

Brown liquid trickled from the corner of Ayanokoji's mouth as he stared blankly at Uchiha.

Was I asking for your name?

I was asking whether you're an assassin from the White Room!

An assassin Father specifically sent to get me expelled!!

Keep pretending. Unfortunately, you're pretending so well that you look like a complete idiot!!

Sometimes, a disguise that was too perfect was a fake disguise!!!

Ayanokoji had basically reached his conclusion. Uchiha was definitely an assassin from the White Room!!

Everything the other party had done was both a warning and a display of his arsenal, subtly telling him that he had countless schemes and methods to bring him down.

After calming himself, Ayanokoji laid his cards on the table.

"What message did Father send you with?"

Uchiha said, "?"

What was this?!!

Suddenly practicing for a skit?!!

Were you still immersed in being a Jiahao?!

So he decided to play along to the end. His gaze changed, becoming deep and boundless.

"You know best what your father wants to say."

How the hell was he supposed to know what bullshit Ayanokoji's father had said? He simply replied with nonsense after reading it, leaving everyone lost in the clouds and mist. That was how experts liked to act.

Ayanokoji was startled. The other party's aura had changed. Clearly, he was no longer pretending!!

After pondering for a long while,

he finished his cola.

His eyes fixed on the bright moon in the sky as he let out a quiet sigh.

"I don't want to hurt you, and I have no reason to."

"Drop out on your own. Go back and tell my father that here..."

"I'm living like a person."

Drop out?!!!

Uchiha's face remained expressionless, but he was drenched in sweat inside!!

How did the plot fall apart while we were acting?!!

I haven't done anything bad, so why are you telling me to drop out?!