My love index is at its maximum.

Kana Shimamoto clapped her hands to draw everyone's attention and loudly instructed, "We'll go back to the hotel to rest first, and then go to scout the competition venue this afternoon. Everyone must follow our instructions and not engage in any private activities, understand?"

Tazaki Tsukasa looked at the married teacher with gratitude: "Understood!"

The sound had never been so loud.

After exiting Fukuoka Station, everyone took a group photo, and then boarded the school bus that had arrived a day earlier to go to the hotel they had booked.

Considering both distance and environment, Kana Shimamoto chose to book a traditional-style hot spring inn, the kind with a classic design.

It took a full seven days and cost nearly two million yen.

From the perspective of activity funding, attending a prestigious school is fantastic; the conditions for future school trips, camping trips, and other activities will certainly be excellent.

As soon as I stepped off the school bus, I was hit by the intense sunlight and heat.

Tazaki Tsukasa narrowed his eyes and looked at the venue of this competition—Fukuoka Dome.

About two kilometers away, the silver roof of the circular stadium, resembling a tortoise shell, reflects the scorching summer sun, so bright it's almost blinding.

Staring into the distance, my eyes started to hurt slightly after a few seconds.

Turning his gaze away, Tsukasa Tazaki carried his luggage into the house.

As arranged by Shimamoto Kana, the boys were paired up for a room, and Tazaki Tsukasa happened to be an odd number, so he naturally ended up having a room to himself.

Before I could even put my luggage down, I received a call from Murakami Mizuiro on my phone.

"Hey, Tazaki, where are you?"

Fukuoka.

"I know that. I'm asking where you live."

"……What's the meaning?"

"Hahaha, I'm in Fukuoka too!"

"Clam?"

"I flew all the way from Tokyo this morning just to cheer you on! Aren't you surprised and touched?"

"No, no, no, why are you asking me where I live?"

"I want to share a dormitory room with you!"

This is your main purpose, isn't it...? Tsukasa Tazaki put away his phone, his anus involuntarily tightening.

Chapter 200 National Competition (1)

"Tasaki, help me get the shower gel out of my suitcase."

"And facial cleanser."

"Tazaki..."

"Towel~"

For the fourth time, Tsukasa Tazaki put down his copy of "Wuthering Heights" and threw the entire suitcase into the bathroom.

He poured himself a glass of water, drank it, and leaned back on the sofa to continue reading the book he had casually picked up from the hotel reception.

The author is Emily Brontë, a British female writer hailed as a "genius novelist." The story mainly revolves around a gypsy orphan who is adopted by the old master of a mountain estate. Due to humiliation and unrequited love, he goes out to work and make his way in the world. After returning with his fortune, he seeks revenge on the landowner and his children who married his girlfriend.

The book is good; the writing is profound and powerful. However, the entire book is oppressive and dark, which can be quite depressing to read.

After reading for a while, unable to process the information conveyed by the words, Tsukasa Tazaki put down the book and looked out at the garden. There was no wind, and the bushes in the yard were still and sluggish. He suddenly realized that he hadn't studied Italian much since the summer vacation began.

"Tazaki..."

Murakami Mizuiro walked out of the bathroom, drying the water from her hair. "Are you hungry?"

"What would you like to eat?" Tsukasa Tazaki took out his phone and checked the time; it was exactly 10 p.m.

"Udon noodles, please. See if there are any delivery options?"

"There are some in the hotel; just call the front desk and ask."

"okay."

Murakami Mizusaka eagerly picked up the phone in the room, called the front desk and ordered two servings of udon noodles and a stir-fried beef with green peppers. Then, holding the receiver, she looked back at him and said, "You seem a bit listless. How about a couple of beers?"

Tazaki Tsukasa, clutching the page foot, asked, "You can buy it?"

"This!" Murakami Mizuiro bent down and pulled a large wad of banknotes from his suitcase: "I refuse to believe I can't buy one for ten thousand yen a can. If that's not possible, then one hundred thousand yen a can!"

"Oh."

"Wait, is this all you're going to do?"

Tsukasa Tazaki tilted his head, scratched the back of his head with his left hand, and then clenched his fists in front of his chest: "Wow, Murakami-kun is so rich~"

"Wait here for me." Murakami Mizuiro put the phone down with a satisfied look, put on his slippers, and slipped out of the hotel to find a place to buy alcohol.

After reading for a while longer, Tsukasa Tazaki took out his phone and sent a message to the idiot Shikami.

[Tazaki: Which hotel are you staying at?]

[Tazaki: Please, please make sure you bring Onee-sama into the venue!]

[Tazaki: My sister's happiness depends entirely on Shikami.]

[Tazaki: Please do your best!]

Messages are sent, but all are marked as read without a reply.

Tazaki Tsukasa leaned against the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling, pondering what to do next.

Half an hour later, the door reopened.

Murakami Mizuiro returned carrying bottles of alcohol, followed by a waiter who had delivered the food and a blonde girl.

She was wearing a striped off-the-shoulder T-shirt with an air-conditioning cardigan over it. She wore a cream-colored fabric mini skirt and looked like she had just washed her face and was about to go to sleep, with a few wet strands of hair sticking to her cheeks like plant roots.

"What are you doing here so late?" Tsukasa Tazaki asked, holding a book, his voice slightly hoarse.

Kikawa Yui frowned, then pointed at Murakami Mizuiro: "I'm afraid he'll lead you astray, so I'm keeping an eye on him."

That's a flawless reason.

"You have such a big prejudice against me, it must be because you don't know me well enough." Murakami Mizuiro kicked off his slippers casually, walked to the table, put down his beer, turned around, and grinned at Kikawa Yui: "Because people who know me all want to kill me."

Yui Kichikawa listened expressionlessly.

The information that can be gleaned from her expression is certainly not much, after all, the impression she gives is that her personality is already subtly hidden somewhere, cleverly escaping the observer's eyes.

"This person is so boring~"

Murakami Mizuiro turned around and glared at Tazaki Tsukasa, "You need to keep an eye on her."

"I can't manage it all." Tsukasa Tazaki shrugged slightly, opened a can of beer, and took a big gulp. The cold, bitter liquid slid down his throat, lowering the temperature of his lungs a bit.

Kikawa Yui sat down cross-legged next to him and also took a can to drink.

"How do I divide the udon noodles?" Murakami Mizusaka was looking at the two bowls of udon noodles, feeling conflicted.

"Just let her eat it."

"I'll share a bowl with him."

The two voices rang out at the same time, and Murakami Mizuiro instantly raised her face, shouting sourly, "This isn't fun at all! Can't you consider my feelings?"

Tsukasa Tazaki, holding the cold beer can, looked at him strangely: "Don't you have a fiancée? Why are you reacting so strongly?"

It would have been better if this hadn't been mentioned, because once it was brought up, Murakami Mizuiro looked utterly dejected and held up one finger: "This is my fiancée's weight!"

"puff……"

"Are you still laughing?"

"No, no," Tsukasa Tazaki said, trying hard to suppress a laugh. "And your height?"

"One and a half meters!"

"Uh-huh, cough cough cough..." Kikawa Yui, pretending to choke on her beer, immediately turned away, her shoulders trembling slightly. Tazaki Tsukasa handed her a tissue, then also turned away, the two of them secretly laughing with their backs to Murakami Mizuiro.

"Can't you two have any sympathy?!"

Murakami Mizuiro glared angrily at the two of them, pounding her thigh with her fist: "My dad always said she was a beautiful girl from some great family with a history of hundreds of years, which made me quite excited. But yesterday, he suddenly called me to meet her, and she almost scared me to death in person. To avoid her, I even fled from Tokyo to Fukuoka. Just imagine how terrifying that was."

“I really sympathize with you.” Tsukasa Tazaki smiled and turned around. “I’ll send you a waterbed later so it won’t be so uncomfortable when you’re being crushed.”

Yui Kikawa nodded repeatedly, but then suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but kick Tsukasa Tazaki's shin: "Is there nothing else in your head besides pornography?"

"I'm a pervert who carries two pairs of handcuffs with him at all times!" Tsukasa Tazaki rolled his eyes at her. "If you can't accept it, you should leave now, so that neither of us will be bothered."

Yui Kikawa glanced at the copy of "Wuthering Heights" on the table, her soft, cherry-colored lips parting slightly: "The pride of the people to their own kind of sorrow and regret."

(Proud people sow the seeds of sadness and regret within themselves.)

Tsukasa Tazaki: "..."

really weird.

Why is my golden retriever getting bolder lately? Could it be that being dumped has made her realize that she can successfully have him all to herself?

Besides, this sentence is clearly from "Pride and Prejudice," so why are you staring at "Wuthering Heights"?

"Let's think about how to eat noodles~" Murakami Mizuiro opened the lid and pointed to two steaming bowls of udon noodles: "Two bowls, three people, how are we going to divide them?"

“Don’t worry about her.” Tsukasa Tazaki picked up his chopsticks and spoon. “The two of us can eat.”

After saying that, he scooped up some soup with a spoon, then picked up some udon noodles with his chopsticks, put them on top, and ate them in one bite with the soup.

Mmm, delicious!

His voice was filled with satisfaction.

Perhaps he was genuinely hungry, or perhaps he was influenced by Hoshino Hanami's belief that "one should not let down good food," but Tazaki Tsukasa ate with great relish.

Murakami Mizuiro stared blankly at Kikkawa Yui, whose cheeks were puffed out.

A little bit shy.

He couldn't understand how the golden retriever had been trained to be as obedient as a concubine in just a few days.

As Tsukasa Tazaki put a noodle in her mouth, she looked at him and asked, "What are you spacing out about?"