The following morning.
After waking up, Mayumi Saegusa quickly tidied herself up before opening the door to her guest room and preparing to go downstairs.
But just before the door closed, she glanced again at the still somewhat unfamiliar room.
"Shouldn't we get used to this room sooner?"
But just as she was about to go downstairs, she bumped right into Yunyi, who was coming upstairs.
"Hmm? He's already awake?" Yunyi chuckled.
Mayumi Saegusa Nanagusa nodded slightly. The moment she saw Yunyi, she remembered her bold actions from the previous night.
"Seriously, Mayumi, what are you doing...?"
Without the special atmosphere of last night, one can imagine how Mayumi Saegusa felt. Yunyi seemed to notice her predicament and didn't tease her, but simply told her to hurry downstairs.
Standing at the top of the stairs Mayumi Saegusa must have mentally prepared herself before descending. Her cheeks were flushed, but she still forced a smile and greeted Yunyi, "Good morning, Yunyi-kun."
Seeing her flushed face, Yunyi was having a hard time suppressing his laughter. If he weren't afraid that Mayumi Saegusa might suddenly attack him, he really would have asked, "Where did you get that courage last night?"
Breakfast wasn't lavish, and the two ate only a little before heading out. Today was the last day of preparation Nine Schools Competition, a day when the players could relax, but Mayumi Saegusa, the Student Council, still had a lot of work to do.
On her way to school, Mayumi Saegusa checked the list of participants one last time on her terminal. Seeing Yunyi's name on the list, Mayumi Saegusa let out a soft snort.
"What? Is there a mistake?" Yunyi turned to look at Mayumi Saegusa in confusion.
Mayumi Saegusa turned to look at Yunyi, her wine-red eyes filled with a hint of resentment.
"No, what's wrong with you?" Yunyi felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze.
"It's nothing." Mayumi Saegusa simply shook her head. "I was just thinking, it would be great if Yunyi-kun could participate in more projects."
Yunyi rolled her eyes at Mayumi Saegusa, annoyed. "I only wanted to participate in the Icicle Destruction at first, and you were the one who signed me up for the Crowd Ball. Now you want me to participate in a few more? Do you really want to see me challenge the Monolith Code all by myself?!"
Mayumi Saegusa Nanagusa tilted her head, looking thoughtful. After a moment, she asked, "Actually, you didn't participate in the Monolith Code because you wanted to avoid running into Masaki Ichijo, right?"
"You already know, why ask?" Yunyi reached out and pinched Mayumi Saegusa's cheek, making her pout in dissatisfaction.
Although Mayumi Saegusa really wanted Yunyi to show more of his talent, she also knew that with Yunyi's current identity, it was indeed not advisable for him to be too conspicuous. After all, he was ultimately an undercover agent. If he attracted unnecessary attention, she, the eldest daughter of the Saegusa Family, might not be able to protect him.
Thinking of this, Mayumi Saegusa's cheeks flushed again. She didn't know when it started, but she seemed to have started to care about Yunyi a lot.
"Did it start from... pretending to be a couple? Or even earlier?" Mayumi Saegusa murmured softly.
"What did you say?" Her voice was too soft for Yunyi beside her to hear clearly.
"It's nothing, Yunyi-kun, don't worry about it." Mayumi Saegusa brushed Yunyi off, then leaned against his shoulder.
"Since I've already made the decision, it doesn't matter where I start. What matters is the future." Mayumi Saegusa Nanagusa secretly made up her mind.
Feeling the weight on his shoulder, Yunyi didn't resist. At this moment, he was thinking about how to snatch Douglas Huang, the "NoHeadDragon," from Tatsuya Shiba. This guy was far more important than Hajime Tsukasa. If he still couldn't catch that Old Black Bug's tail this time, he would really have to find a breakthrough through Zhou Gongjin.
The car quickly arrived at the station near the school.
After getting off the bus, the two walked together towards the First High School.
Mayumi Saegusa glanced at Yunyi walking beside her out of the corner of her eye, and as if she had made up her mind, she quietly reached out her hand to Yunyi's hand. She wanted to experience what it felt like to walk to school hand in hand with her boyfriend, like an ordinary girl.
Just as her hand was about to grasp Yunyi's, a voice called out from behind her.
"Hey! Yunyi, President!"
Startled by the call, Mayumi Saegusa quickly moved half a body to the side, creating some distance between herself and Yunyi before turning to look behind her.
What came into view was Erika Chiba and Mizuki Shibata waving at them from not far behind.
"Good morning, Chiba -kun."
Mayumi Saegusa patted her chest, calming her racing heart. She tried her best to appear normal, but the hint of blush on the tips of her ears had already been noticed by Yunyi.
After exchanging pleasantries, Erika Chiba asked, " Yunyi, you actually skipped the rookie battle and went straight to the main tournament?"
"Wasn't the list already published? Why is there any doubt about it?" Yunyi asked doubtfully.
The list of contestants was announced at the rally a few days ago, and he and Tatsuya Shiba on it.
"I just have some doubts about whether you can beat second and third-year students from other schools," Erika Chiba said irritably.
While she said she was worried, she wasn't actually that worried. How much Yunyi was hiding was something no one but himself could truly know. But what he had revealed so far was more than enough to secure a good ranking in the Nine Schools Competition. She said this simply to tease Yunyi.
"If you're so good, why don't you do it?" Yunyi didn't hold back and directly retorted, hitting Erika Chiba straight where it hurts, making Erika Chiba want to teach Yunyi a lesson again.
The group of four consisted of Yunyi and Erika Chiba, who would occasionally exchange a few words. Mizuki Shibata and Mayumi Saegusa followed along beside the two with a somewhat helpless air. Just as Mayumi Saegusa was inwardly lamenting that she hadn't been able to seize the opportunity, her hand was grabbed by another large hand.
"Huh?" Mayumi Saegusa looked down and saw Yunyi holding her hand. She looked up at Yunyi, but only saw him wink at her.
It turned out that Yunyi had noticed all of Mayumi Saegusa's little tricks earlier! Realizing this, Mayumi Saegusa was a little embarrassed and annoyed and tried to shake off Yunyi's hand, but in the end she couldn't break free, and the two of them even ended up with their fingers intertwined.
Erika Chiba witnessed their little interaction, gave Yunyi a disdainful look, and then hurriedly pulled Mizuki Shibata away.
As the two left, they could faintly hear Erika Chiba say to Mizuki Shibata, " Mizuki, let's hurry up and go. Being a third wheel will get you kicked out."