I, the mastermind behind the scenes at Soubu High, refuse to be caught in a bloodbath.

"Sick...could it be...?"

The word "leukemia" flashed through Ji Xiaolu's mind, but he couldn't fathom how Youzi, with her lifestyle and habits, could have contracted such a disease. Even his reminders were futile... He could only hope she would be alright, but...

“It’s basically an incurable disease, but it’s hard to say. Daphne is helping to find a match. By now you should know what it is, right? It was just discovered recently, and it’s still very mild…” Yoko took a deep breath, struggling to sit up, poured the red wine from the bedside table, and said with a slight purse on her slightly pursed lips, her chest damp with sweat, “But since it involves organizations from three countries, I think it should be alright… right?”

"So, is your relationship with my mom good or bad...? She's been so helpful to you."

"Hmph—" Yoko-nee made a snorting sound and lightly flicked Himeko-ru's forehead, saying, "We are both lifelong friends who cherish each other and mortal enemies. You can understand that, right?"

"......reason?"

"Anyway, it was because of a man, but it doesn't matter now, it's all in the past... Oh, and I can assure you that you and Kazusa are not related by blood, so don't overthink it."

"...oh."

As Ji Xiaolu said this, Youzi reached out and ran her cold fingers across Ji Xiaolu's chest. Her limbs were always a little cold after strenuous exercise.

"From the time I check out at noon until I recover, I won't do it again. In other words, if I can't be cured, I won't have to do it again for the rest of my life. In fact, after the first time with you, I haven't done it with anyone else. Ah, that's true, not just comforting words. Ah~ Damn it, Daphne called me a short-haired little slut that day. Actually, I'm a woman who yearns for freedom, but I'm not promiscuous..."

Yoko cursed Himeko's mother through gritted teeth, tears streaming down her face. She threw her wine glass onto the carpet, the red liquid instantly soaking the pure white carpet. She curled up into a ball, trembling and sobbing as she nestled into Himeko's arms.

"Love me...love me again...please...love me fiercely..."

Yoko almost bit Himekoji's ear until it bled. She clung to him tightly, crying and screaming.

A memory suddenly flashed through Ji Xiaolu's mind, and she returned to the scene of having dinner with her mother, whose eyes were a little red. She shook her head and tried her best to forget the weakness that Nichiyoko had suddenly shown that day.

"My lord mother."

"Ok?"

"You're not hiding anything from me, are you?"

"No, I have a lot of things I'm keeping from you, Haruto. Of course, if you want to know, I can tell you anytime."

"And your health condition..."

"You know about Yoko, right?"

Mom put down her knife and fork and looked at him calmly.

"Ah."

Himekoji nodded in response.

"Yoko is so pitiful, but thankfully it was discovered early. If it's contained now, it will leave enough time to find a match. Also, to Haruto, the answer to your question is that I'm very healthy, even healthier than Haruto, so you don't need to worry about me at all. At my age, I should be able to live to die with you, Haruto... Even if Naoto is healthy, he might overwork himself in middle age and die young in old age."

Speaking of which, my mother was only 12 years older than me, and women generally live longer than men, so it's not uncommon for her to die around the same time as Himekoji.

“There are regular check-ups every month, and Haruto does too. If any problems are found, they need to be addressed immediately. Yoko probably forgot about these check-ups because her life is too chaotic…” Mom said to herself with a sad expression, “If she dies like this, my life will become even more boring.”

"Hopefully, a match can be found soon."

"Does Haruto like Yaozi?"

"like."

Ji Xiaolu said without any perfunctory attitude.

"Hmm, Mom, I'm not surprised. Okay, let's continue eating, don't let it get cold."

Mom picked up her knife and fork again, and Ji Xiaolu focused her attention on the food once more. The food Mom made wasn't actually that delicious, at least not as good as what a professional chef would make, but Ji Xiaolu liked it very much.

Haruno stopped causing trouble for Himekoji, and Kasumigaoka was also doing a good job of finishing up some tasks. Everyone in the student council was busy preparing for the upcoming election. More than a week later, the election started as scheduled and ended without any results. Apart from the fact that the position of secretary fell to Kato Megumi, which surprised many people, the rest of the members were the familiar leadership team from Himekoji's class. Without the Service Club causing trouble, Isshiki Hatake's election was like a joke.

So that day, the new members of the student council (who weren't really) all went out for a meal together. The retired Kasumigaoka also went. She was very familiar with Kato Megumi and was enthusiastically introducing her to Himekoji.

"In short, the latest major task for this student council is to co-organize a Christmas event with the invitation from Seaside High School."

A few days after the dinner, Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly burst into the student council office, holding an unlit cigarette in one hand and a sharply worded document in the other. It was more like a challenge than a document, and it was signed by the Seaside High School Student Council. However, for some reason, Himekoji's work email had not received such a document.

Noticing Himekoji's gaze, Ju quickly searched her email inbox, then burst out laughing, muttering, "This email somehow got automatically categorized as spam..."

Chapter 247 is speechless; the Soubu High School Student Council shows little interest.

"I was wondering why you guys hadn't made a move... Anyway, I'll leave this to you. Do what you think is best."

Hiratsuka Shizuka took a few steps forward and slammed the document onto Himekoji's desk. Then she turned to Kato Megumi, who was typing away at the document, and asked, "Hey, Kato, are you getting used to it here?"

"There's nothing I'm not used to. The scene I imagined, like a den of dragons and tigers, didn't happen. Rather than saying I'm used to it or not, it's more accurate to say that the work here is too busy, so I almost completely neglect club activities..."

"Oh, really? The club is that game-making... what was it again? Hasn't that kind of club been shut down yet?"

"Well, the plan is to abolish the department after the New Year."

Himekoji adjusted her glasses and responded earnestly.

"Eh...are we really going to abolish the department?"

Kato Megumi looked at Himekoji and stopped typing.

"Really, so after you finish work today, you can go and inform your department head, Aki Tomoya. There should be a limit to fooling around. It's been so long and there's still no half-finished product or anything. Well, that's about it."

"Oh... I'll go back and talk to him, but I bet Aki-kun will first fly into a rage and then helplessly burst into tears. It's giving me a headache. How am I supposed to escape that endless complaining and nagging after that...? When guys start nagging, it's even more dizzying than a mother's lecture, especially when a bunch of incomprehensible but impressive words just keep popping up..."

Kato pointed a finger to the corner of his lips, looking up at the ceiling as he pondered deeply.

Because she maintained an unusually calm expression and spoke at an extremely flat pace, Hiratsuka Shizuka couldn't help but glance at her in surprise. According to Hiratsuka Shizuka's judgment, Himekoji's student council didn't want people without any special characteristics, and this Kato Megumi seemed to be very different from normal humans in some sense.

It is December 10th now, which means there are still 26 days until the New Year. In 26 days, the game development club founded by Aki Tomoya will be forcibly disbanded. If he engages in private activities or forms a club on campus, the student council has the right to take action against him.

"Well, Kato, stop rambling for a bit and get to work."

Himekoji opened her email and began replying to the emails from those idiots at Seaside High School. Several emails from Seaside High School had been accidentally automatically categorized into the spam folder, but now that she was rereading them, she discovered that the first email was actually signed by Yusheng, and only later by the Seaside High School Student Council.

Yu Sheng, a single bizarre hand gesture could make even the well-mannered Himekoji's eyelids twitch. How unreliable is Haibin High School to have chosen this guy as student council president? Could it be that the teachers handpicked him? Ah, we've already decided, you'll be the student council president—by the way, Himekoji climbed up step by step through sheer ability.

After replying to the email with a slight apology, the other party responded immediately, saying that they hoped to hold a meeting to discuss the matter soon. After all, Christmas was only fifteen days away, and the Christmas activities had to be organized before then. You can't expect students to come to school to participate in activities during Christmas, can you? That doesn't seem reasonable or humane.

"The school at Seaside High School wants to hold a meeting tomorrow afternoon at 6 PM in the seminar room of the community center library. What do you think?"

After carefully reading the email, Himeko asked in a loud voice.

"Chairman—" Ye Shan looked at him, and Ji Xiaolu nodded to him and said, "Please speak."

"Is it really necessary for Soubu High School to co-host a Christmas event with Haibin High School? Judging from past practices, our school has always managed to organize a successful event in conjunction with the nearby community. In Haruno's year, we even put together quite a few fun little activities..."

"After all, we were the ones who invited Haibin High School and Biyang Academy to hold a football match. It would be impolite not to reciprocate. Since they have given us this face, I think we should give them face in return."

While Hayama and Himekoji were discussing, Kato Megumi silently and steadily typed away on her keyboard.

“This situation was quite unexpected and sudden, so there wasn’t time to prepare a proposal. Since they’ve sent multiple invitations, they’ve probably made some preparations. If we go empty-handed without a single plan, we’ll likely be laughed at.” Ju Ye analyzed to herself, then turned to ask, “By the way, the student council at Haibin High School has also changed, right? Who’s their president now?”

"It's a jade rope..."

"Ah, that's it..." Mariya immediately showed a disgusted expression. Apart from Kato Megumi, the other members also made a series of "Oh..." sounds of frustration. It seems that no one had even the slightest good impression of Tamaki. It is estimated that if everyone went to the meeting, Kato Megumi would be the only one who could have a normal conversation with Tamaki.

Just as everyone was complaining about the incompetence of the Seaside High School student council, Himekoji's phone suddenly vibrated. He opened it and saw an email from Kazusa, which said, "Come to the Second Music Room immediately after you finish work."

"Okay, okay, I would have gone even if you hadn't told me."

As if afraid he would run away, Kazusa wrote those words in imperative script. Himekoji replied with a smile, and then there was no more sound from the other end.

"Well, I'm definitely going. Tomorrow at six o'clock, who's coming with me?"

Pushing the computer towards Juye, Himekoji casually doodled on the notebook with a ballpoint pen in one hand.

"I'll go, but I need to let the soccer team know first."

Ye Shan immediately spoke up, his expression still sunny, as if he were apologizing for the question he had raised earlier and was the first to participate.

"Kato, you're coming with me too. Newcomers need more practice." Himekoji directly called out Kato Megumi's name. Kato, who was busy typing data, glanced at Himekoji and replied expressionlessly, "No problem, but shouldn't we eat something first at that time..."

"Of course, holding a meeting on an empty stomach is not a good thing."

After some discussion, it was decided that everyone except Shinomiya Kyoya, who was in charge of handling general affairs at school, would have to attend the meeting. However, Mariya was going to be busy tonight because Himekoji had assigned her the task of drafting the initial proposal. Mariya, who was caught red-handed, didn't dare to utter a single word in rebuttal, which was quite frustrating.

Chapter 248 Let's stir things up! [These guys] are going to do something exciting!

With his work barely finished, Ji Xiaolu hurriedly ran to the second music room across the corridor. There wasn't a single piano sound there, and the guitar music in the first music room had long since disappeared. He took out his key and opened the heavy wooden door. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Yukina and Kazusa sitting side by side, staring intently at some book on the piano lid.

"So slow." Kazusa's complaint came as soon as she stepped into the room, but then she made a face at herself, stuck out her tongue, and said, "Hurry up and come here."

Suppressing her curiosity, Himekoji locked the door and strode over. The two women moved several books that had been between them toward where Himekoji was standing, and Kazusa began, "Yukina said she wanted to go to a hot spring and see the snow for Christmas. I told you about that, right? So today we've been discussing where to go..."

"I'm sorry for making such a sudden and impulsive request..." Yukina shifted her body shyly, then whispered, "I was just thinking that so much has happened since that cultural festival. We were supposed to have a celebration party or something, but we didn't... I also asked Takeya-kun, but he said he had to be with Iori, so..."

“So it’s just the three of us.” Kazusa stood up, her face full of barely suppressed joy. She shoved a guidebook into Himekoji’s hands and put one hand on his shoulder, saying, “We’ve picked out a few hot spring inns with a high probability of snowfall during Christmas, but unfortunately they’re not your private property, so we’ll probably have to book in advance this time, and we won’t be as free.”

"So, snowmaking machines..."

"That won't do—!!" *2

Setsuna and Kazusa retorted in unison, then they looked at each other unexpectedly. Setsuna giggled and Kazusa couldn't help but chuckle as well.

When did you two become so close? I just went on a school trip. Be careful, or you might end up with that awkward relationship like Yoko-nee and my mom, a love-hate relationship.

"Okay, okay, the snowmaking machine project is canceled. How about this, just book all the hotels you think have a high chance of snowfall and that you like, and then cancel them depending on the situation—although if you cancel too late, you'll probably have to pay a penalty, or you might not be able to cancel at all, but what's the problem?"

Himekoji's words surprised Setsuna. Kazusa hadn't expected him to say such a thing either, and had discussed it with Setsuna for a long time, feeling quite worried. Since Himekoji had said so, unless the areas where the selected hot spring inns were located didn't snow at all during the Christmas period, they could at least achieve their goal of soaking in hot springs and watching the snow.

"Why do I always feel like the romantic atmosphere I had when choosing a destination has completely evaporated ever since you came, Haruto...?"

Kazusa tossed aside her guidebook and muttered to herself, "But for now, this should be the best solution. The Himekoji family is rich, but they can't possibly buy up all the hot spring inns in the country. Besides, they might not even be willing to sell. The legacy of a century-old establishment is passed down from generation to generation."

Hmm, the idea of ​​a female general seems quite interesting.

"However, there was a placement test before that..."

"Ugh, stop talking to me about exams! Do you have to bring up unpleasant topics at a time like this?"

Kazusa wrapped her arms around the piano keys and stomped her feet in frustration. Setsuna's expression wasn't much better, since her grades were only average. As for Kazusa... well, let's not even mention her; she's the kind of person who could drive Himekoji and Kasumigaoka crazy.

"Alright, alright, no matter how you do on the exam, I'll still take you there."

"Hmph," Kazusa propped herself up, resting her chin on her hand and said disdainfully, "If both Kogiso and I fail, we'll just leave you behind and go out to play by ourselves."

"Oh, really?"

"Right!"

Yukina responded confidently, but judging from Kazusa's expression, Himekoji was clearly hesitant. Yukina's confidence seemed weak and lacked conviction. If the two of them really abandoned Himekoji to go play, Himekoji would probably find somewhere else to play with Kasumigaoka.

Kasumigaoka had invited him, but it was a little too late. Kazusa had made the invitation earlier, and she had also brought Ogiso along. Himekoji couldn't possibly refuse, both morally and logically.