I suddenly became a yakuza boss.

Li Xuan heard a girl's voice that sounded like a nightmare.

He cautiously turned his head to look.

Inside the department store, Yukino Yukinoshita, dressed in her Soubu High School uniform, stared at him expressionlessly.

That expression was subtle, seemingly calm, yet carrying a somber, almost snowy feel. Disappointment? Annoyance? Surprise? Speechless? Li Xuan listed all these emotions in his interpretation.

Not right.

Li Xuan felt that Yukino's reaction was a bit off.

"Hey, do you know this person?"

Wearing a mask and suffering from a cold, Yukinoshita Haruno blinked and asked.

"..."

Yukino's face darkened further.

Li Xuan felt he should have dodged it...

It wasn't until he noticed Yang Nai pretending to look at him with curiosity that he caught a glimpse of cunning and amusement in her eyes.

A traitor has emerged from his inner circle!

~·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·

The two sides eventually met in the department store.

"Senior Hayama, Senior Yukinoshita, what a coincidence."

Iroha Isshiki forced a smile and greeted the two seniors.

"What a coincidence, Isshiki. Are you playing with your friends?"

Hayato Hayama showed no reaction, and asked with a smile.

Iroha Isshiki, feeling awkward, gave a bitter smile and introduced, "I almost forgot, last time I introduced a senior I knew to everyone in the soccer club, didn't I? It's him, Nitta-senpai, who majors in economics."

Li Xuan felt frustrated. He knew all three people opposite him, but he could only pretend to know one of them.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Nitta Gen. Please take care of me."

Li Xuan forced himself to speak.

Hayato Hayama nodded and said naturally and politely, "I am Hayato Hayama, currently a second-year student. Please take care of me, Nitta-senpai."

They met again.

"Yukino-chan, is this guy someone you know?"

Yang asked with a smile.

"It's someone you know!"

Li Xuan answered angrily.

"Let's get to know each other for now."

Yukino Yukinoshita replied coldly.

Yang Nai looked somewhat surprised, then introduced herself to Li Xuan with a grin, saying, "Oh, how strange! Your name is Nitta Gen? My name is Yukinoshita Yang Nai, and I'm Yukino's older sister. Nice to meet you!"

"Give me pointers? I need to ask you for advice."

Suppressing his anger, Li Xuan thought to himself while politely saying, "Please give me your guidance."

Fortunately, Hayato Hayama cooperated well with them and did not reveal the problem.

He doesn't like spending his time with intelligent people, who are all too smart.

"Sister, Ye Shanjun, let's not disturb them. Let's go look around somewhere else."

Yukino said, indicating that she had no intention of paying any more attention to Li Xuan.

"Hmm? You bumped into each other by accident. Aren't you going to have some fun with your friend?" Yang looked at Yukino with a puzzled expression, smiled, and asked.

I accidentally bumped into it...

Upon hearing this, Yukino turned her head and glanced at Haruno.

She naturally suspected that her sister knew Li Xuan and deliberately brought her to this cold drink shop.

Yang used words to trick his younger sister.

Li Xuan felt that Yang Nai, as the older sister, was truly a politician's seed, skillfully controlling her younger sister.

The smile on Isshiki's face beside him seemed to be getting less and less sustainable.

"Nitta-kun, my sister, Hayama-kun, and I are shopping for a gift for my mother's birthday. Are you free now? If you're free, let's go shopping together. It's much more fun with more people."

Yukinoshita Haruno approached, smiling, and extended an invitation.

With his back to everyone, Yang Nai's suggestive gaze seemed to tell him that if he didn't come, he would have to bear the consequences.

Yang Nai seemed to be happily pulling him onto the pirate ship.

Li Xuan thought Yang Nai was too daring, and he couldn't help but glance at Yukino again.

The silent girl simply looked at him without saying a word.

After weighing the options, Li Xuan understood which choice was the more correct one.

"Well... no problem, if I can help."

Li Xuan agreed.

He still owes Yukino Yukinoshita a debt of gratitude.

After hearing his answer, Yukino remained silent for a moment, then turned around and walked away on her own.

Isshiki Iroha glanced at Li Xuan curiously. She didn't quite understand why he had agreed, but in the current atmosphere, agreeing seemed like a good idea, while refusing would feel like putting her in a bad position. She figured that her senior was so smart that he must have his own other plans.

This department store is indeed very popular.

Chiba is a city full of life. Although it is within the Tokyo metropolitan area, the residents here are said to be quite different from Tokyoites, appearing more local and more down-to-earth.

The group visited several stores.

Jewelry, books, shoes, food... choosing a gift is a rather arduous and agonizing task.

They didn't pick out many gifts, but Isshiki and Haruno bought a lot of daily necessities and snacks, with Li Xuan and Hayama acting as laborers, carrying the bags and following behind.

Throughout the entire process, Li Xuan barely spoke to Ye Shan.

After all, Ye Shan's attitude was already very clear: it was impossible for them to get along amicably.

As the president of the company responsible for the construction of the new campus of Soubu High School, it was relatively easy to understand how he met Isshiki, so the topic of Isshiki was no longer relevant.

“Nitta-senpai, it seems you’ve gotten along very well with the Yukinoshita sisters.”

Suddenly, Hayato Hayama spoke to Li Xuan with a touch of emotion.

"...Why bring this up all of a sudden?"

Li Xuan remained silent for a moment, then looked at Ye Shan and asked.

Hayato Hayama then calmly explained, "Miss Haruno's sudden return, and Yukino's expression, both indicate that their attitude towards you is indeed unusual. I'm quite surprised; I rarely see Yukino show such an expression."

Li Xuan was slightly taken aback when he heard this.

This is not fun at all.

Li Xuan muttered to himself.

Hayato Hayama smiled and said, "You did indeed complete the request last time. Although I don't understand what happened to Ms. Haruno, I know she must have been in danger."

"And she is unharmed while you are covered in wounds, that's probably what happened."

Hayato Hayama, who understood the matter very well, said.

"..."

Li Xuan did not reply.

"I also want to thank you for this."

Hayato Hayama said.

"Please allow me to refuse. You are not the person involved in this matter, so it has nothing to do with you. You do not need to thank me."

Li Xuan replied expressionlessly.

"Is that so? I'm sorry, I was being nosy."

Hayato Hayama was slightly taken aback, but he quickly understood and politely apologized.

That conflict was a conflict between yakuza, and Hayato Hayama was indeed completely unrelated to it.

Li Xuan didn't blame Hayama Hayato, nor did he have any objections to him, but his previous words had already made things very clear.

He was worried about the Yukinoshita sisters, and the root of his worry was himself, the leader of the yakuza.

And there is sufficient evidence to support this concern.

Even so, he never mentioned leaving or being implicated, and even concealed his identity.

Despite feeling down, Li Xuan had no complaints about any of Ye Shan's requests.

Iroha Isshiki walked beside Yukino Yukinoshita the whole time.

After all, she had acted with Yukinoshita-senpai a few times, and she was actually quite close to Yukinoshita.

However, she also vaguely heard Ye Shan and Li Xuan's trivial conversation behind her, but she couldn't hear it clearly at all. She widened her eyes slightly, turned around curiously, and thought, "Hmm? Why are Senior Xuan and Senior Ye Shan chatting? Do they get along so well?"

Quietly, she walked while secretly keeping an eye on what was happening behind her.

However, without realizing it, Isshiki Hatake noticed that someone was watching her from the side...

"..." Iroha turned her head to look.

She then saw Yukino Yukinoshita turn her head and give her a very cold look.

Ichiro Iroha felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

However, Yukino Yukinoshita seemed to be just observing what she was doing, and soon continued shopping happily.

"You scared me to death."