My love index is at its maximum.

Tsukasa Tazaki couldn't help but interject, "Excuse me, what are you two talking about?"

“This is a major life event for Xiaowei~” Kurisu Kawakami replied, not forgetting to wink mischievously: “As the person she cherishes so much, how can you not know anything?”

"She never told me that either..."

"That's where Xiaowei is wrong."

Kurisu looked at her daughter and said seriously, "If you still refuse to take the initiative to lower your stance, even if you can persuade the head of the family, the current situation will not change. You might as well not waste your energy in the first place!"

Kikawa Yui gritted her teeth and hesitated for a while.

Finally, under Tsukasa Tazaki's astonished gaze, she bowed slightly, then looked up at him and asked, "...Could you do me a favor?"

This was probably the first time the perfect girl had adopted such a humble posture, and she wasn't quite used to it yet, so her delicate little face was flushed a bright red, and even her voice was full of girlish fragility.

Tazaki Tsukasa rubbed his temples, his face expressionless: "What trouble do you want from me? You want me to go back and beg that grandfather not to find you a husband who will marry into your family? No way, don't even think about it, not even if you kneel down and beg me!"

Kurisu pretended to rub her temples to block Tsukasa Tazaki's view, then winked at her daughter, conveying the coded message, "Act even more pitiful and weak."

For the first time, the daughter realized that her biological mother wasn't all bad; she could still be quite adorable at times.

In high spirits, the perfect girl brushed the hair that had fallen onto her shoulders and laughed bravely and fearlessly.

This smile was far from pitiful and weak, but it suited her personality perfectly.

Kurisu blinked in confusion, but then smiled.

My daughter isn't the kind of woman who only tries to gain sympathy by playing the victim... The mother reached for her lips, gently stroking them, a complex sense of pride filling her heart.

"Tsukasa Tazaki..."

Kikawa Yui turned her blushing face and muttered softly as if she was having trouble speaking, "Originally, I was thinking of having a kendo match with you, and then telling you that I would fulfill your request after I lost. But since things have already come to this point, there's no point in beating around the bush... So, I will do the cosplay as you asked, and after that, I will seriously try to get along with you again!"

The bright lights of the cafeteria illuminated her face, and Tsukasa Tazaki could clearly see her biting her lip and her slightly defiant look as her eyes darted around, which was quite endearing.

"...If you let go, you'll never be able to hold on to it again!"

The blonde girl's words seemed to be spoken only to herself, but all three of them heard them clearly.

"Ah~"

Tsukasa Tazaki sighed softly.

His head slumped weakly onto the table as he wailed, "Dealing with just one Ninomiya is a headache enough, and now there's another one. Do you really want to see me stabbed to death?"

A smile gradually appeared on Yui Kikkawa's face.

A hint of innate arrogance mingled with her still somewhat awkward smile: "Stop talking nonsense. Unless you're only nice to me, don't expect me to like you!"

Tazaki Tsukasa didn't care whether what he said was true or not.

After all, he prefers the tsundere Asuka to the emotionless Rei Ayanami!

Chapter 193 Tonight, it's another great victory for Shiori-chan!

When I came out of the cafeteria, the courtyard was empty; all the students had gone outside to enjoy the sea breeze.

Yui returned to her room, grabbed a towel and a yukata, and walked through the corridor to the bathhouse.

The dojo has separate bathrooms for men and women, and the baths are filled with hot spring water from the mountains.

Stepping into the changing room of the bathhouse, training uniforms and waist belts were placed in bamboo baskets at the entrance, all of which were taken out of the students' clothes and sent for washing.

Hopefully they're all finished showering, so I can enjoy a bath all by myself...

With a cheerful expression, Yui Kichikawa took out a hairband, nimbly tied her blonde hair into a cute bun with a flick of her wrist, took off her clothes, wrapped herself in a bath towel, and went barefoot to the bath.

In the white, rising steam, two pale, youthful bodies could be vaguely seen.

Qichuan Wei frowned, wondering why these two were here too.

But then she thought about it again and realized that her figure was a huge disadvantage compared to theirs, especially Kuriyama Sakura's. Her mood, which had just been disturbed, instantly became lively again.

"cough~"

She coughed lightly, and after Kuriyama Sakura and Ninomiya Shiori turned to look at her, she removed the bath towel from her body.

Long, sexy legs, a beautifully curved abdomen, full breasts, and snow-white skin came into view one by one, and Qichuan Wei raised an eyebrow smugly.

Under Kuriyama Sakura's cold gaze, she deliberately held her head high and walked barefoot into the bath with the air of a victor.

The light shone through the misty fog, illuminating the fair and delicate skin of the beautiful girls.

Dewy, elegant, and alluring—what a beautiful scene on earth!

The atmosphere was somewhat quiet.

Shiori Ninomiya scooped up a ladle of hot water and gently poured it over herself.

I looked at the big waves of Kikawa on the left, and then at the small water droplets of Kuriyama on the right.

The little cutie blinked.

Then, with a cute smile, she blurted out, "Should we invite Kiki in to join us? He'd definitely love it."

?

As the two most beautiful girls raised question marks above their heads, they thought to themselves with a sigh that this simple country girl might even be sold by Tsukasa Tazaki to work as a hostess in Kabukicho, and she would still be happily counting money for him.

Kuriyama Sakura shrank below the surface of the water, only her small head sticking out as she looked at the Hokkaido girl: "Shiori, wake up! That guy is all talk and no action. Don't be fooled by his funny side."

"I've already been tricked~" Shiori Ninomiya chuckled, not feeling anything was wrong at all.

Bathed in the warmth of the steam, her adorable little face turned as red as a ripe apple. Her large, round eyes, framed by sharply defined double eyelids, moved with lively, expressive energy, radiating vitality and life.

"What does Shiori like about him?" Yui asked.

Kuriyama Sakura's gaze swept over her high, full breasts, and she sneered, "The person he understands best is you, but unfortunately you understand him completely."

"Yes." Yui Kichikawa nodded frankly.

The next second, the blonde girl's lips curled into a contemptuous smile, and she retorted sarcastically, "Then, conversely, you're the one who understands him best, but unfortunately, he understands me best! Kuriyama-kun, don't you think you're ridiculous?"

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"It's only a matter of time."

Kuriyama Sakura stretched her neck and looked at her calmly: "Three years, no, just one year. Just one full semester. The person he knows best is definitely me."

"So what?"

Qichuan Wei straightened her chest and raised her head, continuing with a cold laugh: "You can only ever be a close friend, so why should I care about you?"

Just as Kuriyama Sakura was about to speak, she was interrupted.

"Don't forget your relationship with Hoshino Hanami. What's truly terrifying and heartbreaking for her is being betrayed by someone close to her, someone she completely trusted, someone she never imagined would be betrayed. You're so smart, you can't possibly not understand this, right? He's smart too, do you know what I mean?"

All around was quiet, and the mist swirled and rose under the lamplight.

The little cutie shrank its neck and buried its mouth under the water, gurgling and blowing bubbles.

Her eyes kept glancing at Kuriyama Sakura, whose face was gloomy, and she vaguely felt that she had probably lost the strength to refute.

"Whoo~"

Kikawa Yui slowly exhaled, pressing her advantage as she continued, "At least Ninomiya and I could compete fairly. If we lost, we lost, but at least we tried. But you didn't even have the chance to get on the track!"

Kuriyama Sakura fell silent.

He looked down at the water, his eyes frozen and his pupils dulled by the misty fog.

Kikawa Yui rested her head on the edge of the bathtub, her arms outstretched in a cheerful mood.

The gloom brought by being mocked as a loser a few days ago has been swept away, and the feeling of getting revenge is truly delightful.

"Okay, okay~ Why are you saying all this?"

Shiori Ninomiya scooped up a handful of water and playfully poured it on Yui Kikawa's collarbone. "Didn't you just ask me what I liked about Kiki? Do you want to hear it again?"

"I want to." Yui Kirikawa nodded.

"So cool~" Shiori Ninomiya rested her index finger on her chin and said thoughtfully, "The key is that the way he speaks is very interesting, with a touch of dark humor. And even though he's incredibly talented, he never flaunts himself like others do. Don't you think that's admirable?"

"I never show off either." Kikawa Yui gently brushed away the white mist in front of her.

"And Kiki is really hard to approach." Shiori Ninomiya looked at her profile, a teasing smile in her eyes. "I saw someone from our kendo club confess to him and cry after being rejected, while Kiki just rolled her eyes. But if you can get his approval, he'll show you irresistible tenderness. Don't you think that's amazing?"

"That guy..."

Recalling her experience of being roughly handcuffed, Yui Kichikawa grumbled in dissatisfaction, "He wasn't gentle with me at all."

"But he's incredibly gentle with Shiori-chan."

The little cutie smiled innocently, as if she wasn't deliberately saying those words at all.

Qichuan felt a sharp pain in her chest from anger.

It was only then that she realized this so-called innocent country girl had a lot of bad intentions.

"I have the right to speak on this."

On the other side, the minister came back to life. She raised her head and calmly looked at Kichikawa Yui: "He could have completely ignored me, but he was willing to let me do whatever I wanted, and he wouldn't even lie to me. You'll never understand that!"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Shiori Ninomiya quickly spread her arms and placed her palms on the shoulders of the two women. "Talk to each other properly and don't start arguing again, or I'll really have to bring Kiki in to talk to you."

The two genius girls snorted simultaneously and turned their heads away.

The little cutie looked left and right, then shifted her body and leaned against Kuriyama Sakura's shoulder, asking, "Kuriyama-san, why don't you tell us your opinion on Kiki? After all, you're so smart, you must have different views than us."

Even though Qichuan Yui had her back turned, her ears involuntarily perked up.

"That guy... a lonely arrogance!"

The little cutie frowned slightly: "A lonely arrogance?"

"Yes, he has a lonely air about him, as if it were innate."

Kuriyama Sakura squinted and explained as if recalling something: "It's not the same as saying it's unfortunate, it just means that this kind of loneliness doesn't affect his mood. No matter what expression he shows on his face, there is always a world deep inside him that he doesn't open to outsiders, and it's hard to catch his eye."

"I think I understand..."

Ninomiya Shiori tilted her head, tapped her little head, and chuckled, "But I don't fully understand."

“There’s no need to understand that.” Kuriyama Sakura chuckled, flicking her ponytail. “He always gives off a feeling of clarity, like a clear sky, as if he’s single-minded in everything he does. To put it simply, when you’re reading, he gives you the feeling that you’ve already merged into the world of the book, completely isolated from reality.”

“The sky is so clear…” Yui Kikawa repeated the sentence with her back to the two of them, and said, “It means it’s beautiful, but unattainable.”