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

"If, as you say, you're not good at picking out gifts, then leaving you to do it alone might be problematic. Someone will cry if it fails." (Himekoji is referring to Hiratsuka Shizuka.)

“Oh, I understand what you mean,” Yukinoshita said, stepping forward first and then turning back to glare at Himekoji. “So you’re the kind of guy who always picks out gifts for girls!”

"I can't stop you from labeling me like this."

Himekoji has only given gifts to three women in her life. One of them is her own mother, and the other is Yoko and Kazusa. How can you say that she gave gifts often? If you include Osuna, who gave gifts to Kasumigaoka, then it should be said that she gave gifts to four women.

Also, don't feel awkward that Himekoji and Yukinoshita, who haven't seen each other for a long time, can walk together as soon as they meet. At least they are classmates who sit next to each other, and they still talk to each other every day. They also take turns practicing their spoken English in class, and they often do group activities together. So, coming to the Service Club is not the only way to interact with Yukinoshita.

The sky began to darken, and dark clouds gathered outside the venue, casting a gloom over the large glass structure. However, Yukinoshita, completely absorbed in her cat, was oblivious to the changes in the environment outside. She watched Himekoji warily, seizing every opportunity when Himekoji turned around to meow and charm her cat. When Himekoji saw how tired she was of being so wary, she simply turned away. Yukinoshita breathed a huge sigh of relief, as if she had completely let go, and squatted down to tease a small calico cat with her slender fingertips.

If catnip is the best weapon against cats, then the best weapon against Yukino is cats themselves. This is the food chain, with each level building upon the last!

As a result, Himekoji ignored Yukinoshita, and Yukinoshita ran quite far away from him. When he noticed her again, she was being approached. Although Yukinoshita maintained a cold and aloof attitude, gripping the strap of her handbag and remaining vigilant, there were three of them, and they obviously wouldn't let her go so easily. Seeing Himekoji finally turn around, Yukinoshita gave him a pleading look. Himekoji shook his head helplessly and walked over.

Then he pulled Yukinoshita, who was partially surrounded, to his side, grabbed her left shoulder with his left hand, slowly pushed up his glasses, looked at the three men, and said, "You lot, don't lay a hand on my woman."

Then, she leaned close to Yukina's taut ear and said, "Cooperate with me a little."

"Oh..." she muttered softly, her face flushed as she lowered her head deeply.

Ji Xiaolu's height and appearance, along with his distinctive white hair and aloof demeanor, made the three men wary. Of course, no one would be foolish enough to start a violent conflict in such a large venue, so the three men began to back down.

Similarly, the venue restrictions prevented the use of violent methods like Aikido to disperse the three individuals.

If it were Hachiman, what would he do? Himekoji thinks that if Hachiman and Yukino were browsing the cat exhibit together, he would basically stay close to Yukino. No one who wants to flirt would be stupid enough to target a woman with a male companion, so Yukino running too far away from Himekoji was her own mistake.

Of course, if these three really dare to fight, Himekoji will definitely teach them a lesson they won't forget.

"Honestly, if you have a man, just say so. How can anyone know what you're trying to say with that sour face?"

"Don't waste your time, go find another cutie."

"I thought I'd found the best one."

The three young men, whose attire barely met that of ordinary people, left cursing. Himekoji released Yukinoshita's shoulder without hesitation, but leaned down to warn her, "You'd better not stray too far from me."

"Okay...okay." Yukinoshita answered shyly with her head down. Seeing that Himekoji had turned away and was ignoring her, she gently tugged at Himekoji's sleeve. Himekoji turned around and saw Yukinoshita looking embarrassed with her head down, her eyes darting around as she said, "Um...I...thank you for what happened just now."

Author's Note:

PS: This is the second time I've asked for votes since the book's release. Yesterday I got around 450 votes, and I hope to reach at least 700 today. That way, I should get a better recommendation on Friday. I'm really begging for votes, thank you everyone. Even just a few votes after reading are fine. Just don't forget to vote. Even if you're voting for other works, just give me one or two votes. Poor data will lead to poor recommendations. Poor recommendations will lead to slow growth in collections. Slow growth in collections will lead to low subscriptions after release. And then the income will be too low to continue writing—I don't want all these drafts to go to waste, I don't want months of hard work to be wasted. I really want to finish this book.

Chapter 068 The Veteran Driver, [Himekoji Haruto] Plans to Speed

"Phew—that's all in the past."

Himekoji had done similar things a few times when she went out with Kazusa, but back then it wasn't a large venue like this, so the other party didn't have as many scruples and even started fighting with her. Well, the outcome is self-evident.

Outside the venue, it had already started to drizzle.

After experiencing such an incident, Yukinoshita had much less interest in playing with cats. After playing around Himekoji for a while, she tugged at his sleeve again: "Let's go back."

"It's raining, did you bring an umbrella?"

"Rain...?" Yukinoshita suddenly looked up at the glass ceiling of the venue. The sound of raindrops hitting the glass was well masked by the meows of cats, but it could still be heard if you listened carefully. Yukinoshita lowered her head and sighed, "I really made a mistake today. I didn't expect that to happen. I didn't bring an umbrella either. I'll probably get soaked by the time I get to the subway entrance."

"In that case, how about I offer you a ride home in my car?"

"ha--?"

Yukinoshita looked up at him blankly, her small mouth slightly open.

"What, you're not happy about it? How about I drive you there?"

"Huh? You can drive? No, let's not talk about that for now. You're too old to get a driver's license!"

"Driving is just a skill, and a driver's license is just a document that proves you have that skill. Do you think you have to take a Japanese language proficiency test just because you can speak Japanese? Come with me."

"Wait, wait a minute!" Yukinoshita quickly caught up with Himekoji, but still asked suspiciously, "You really can drive?"

"Yes, yes, yes, your driving skills are excellent."

"Hey, driving without a license is illegal!"

"It's quite interesting, isn't it?"

"Interesting...no, this is dangerous!"

"I won't drive the car to the Sea of ​​Japan, well... I don't have that kind of experience very often. Want a ride?"

Standing at the venue exit, Himeko pointed to the not-so-light rain outside.

"I feel it's necessary for me to notify the Chiba Prefectural Police Department."

Yukino took out her phone and looked at Himekoji warily.

"Then you should let me know I'm going home," Ji Xiaolu said, taking out her phone and calling Lingzi. "It's me, Miss Lingzi. I'm at Exit 2. Could you please bring two cars over and bring me two umbrellas?"

"Hmph, so adept at giving orders to servants?"

Yukinoshita seemed somewhat displeased, her brows furrowing inwardly.

"Either I can take you through the heavy rain to my car, you choose one."

"...whispering sound."

Yukinoshita turned her head away, no longer arguing with Himekoji.

So, Himekoji and Yukinoshita each took an umbrella and walked towards his car.

"Are you really planning to open it?"

"Just tell me if you dare to sit here or not."

Himekoji gripped the car door. Yukinoshita stood there for a long time, holding an umbrella. It was clear that riding in a car driven by an unlicensed driver was a considerable challenge for Yukinoshita. Yukinoshita, who always insisted on absolute justice, hesitated at this moment. Himekoji snapped his fingers and said, "Since you don't want to ride, I'll have the driver take you."

Are you really okay?

"Why do you talk so much nonsense?"

"Open the door."

So Himekoji opened the car door, and Yukinoshita got in and sat in the passenger seat. Himekoji sat in the driver's seat. The people from the previous car were already in the car behind. Her mother had gone home before the rain started.

Yukinoshita nervously fastened her seatbelt, clutching her small handbag tightly to her chest. After closing the door, Himekoji skillfully started the engine and shifted gears, but still couldn't help asking, "Are you really sure everything's okay? I'm not going to die a horrible death on the street in a hundred meters, am I?"

"If you ask me one more time, I'll ask you to get off the bus and take my umbrella back."

Ji Xiaolu wasn't going to put up with her. The reason he insisted on driving Yukinoshita to school today was because he had just seen this usually arrogant woman so panicked, and he wanted to tease her even more.

"First, I need to watch out for pedestrians and vehicles in front and behind... Waaaaaaah!!"

As the car started moving, Yukinoshita screamed in alarm, shrinking into a ball in fear. Himekoji, on the other hand, steadily steered the car around the stadium.

"Left, right! Watch out ahead! Dog! Over there, over there—!"

Terrified, Yukinoshita grabbed Himekoji's left sleeve with her right hand while pointing wildly in front of Himekoji with her left.

"Ugh, shut up! You're so annoying!"

Himekoji cursed through gritted teeth.

"Hold on tight, the experienced driver is about to start!"

"This is really dangerous! Slow down, slow down! Waaaaaah!!"

A road bike sped past their bike. Because there were many cars around the stadium, Himekoji couldn't go very fast, but even so, it still startled Yukinoshita.

Just think of it as a skilled, experienced driver!

"How could that be, you idiot Himekoji!"

"Shut up, Yukino!"

"Huh? You actually used that kind of language to describe a lady!"

"All virgins, shut your mouths!"

“Virgin...! Humph!” After a moment of silence, Yukinoshita suddenly went berserk and said, “Why should I listen to you! And saying ‘virgin... virgin’ in front of a girl, that’s practically sexual harassment! Ah, it’s sexual harassment! I’m calling the police, I’m really calling the police!”

So Yukinoshita hurriedly took out her phone. Suddenly, Himekoji started drifting on the bend in the rain. Yukinoshita's already trembling hands couldn't hold the phone and it fell into the gap between the seats. The unusual centrifugal force further stimulated Yukinoshita's already tense nerves. Her face turned white and red, as if she was about to faint.

About ten minutes later, Himekoji arrived at the gate of the upscale apartment complex where Yukinoshita lived.

"Hey, wake up."

Himeko tapped Yukinoshita's shoulder. At that moment, Yukinoshita was sitting upright in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead with her mouth slightly open, as if she had been frozen in place by someone.

"Huh..." Yukinoshita slowly turned her head, winked at Himekoji, and asked, "Is this the afterlife?"

"Idiot, we're at your house. Take your phone out of the crevice and get ready to get off the bus."

Himekoji shoved a folding umbrella into Yukinoshita's hand. Yukinoshita took it blankly, mechanically pulled out her phone from the gap, unbuckled her seatbelt, and then slowly opened the car door, opening the umbrella and saying, "Well... goodbye."

"Wait a mininute!"

Author's Note:

P.S.: Hedgehog Cat solemnly reminds you: If you read a book but don't vote, the author will shed two lines of tears.

Chapter 069 Buying Gifts, [Himekoji Haruto] Expresses Dislike for the Subway

Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita trembled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, almost jumping up. She turned around nervously, her face tense, and said, "Don't...don't think that just because you brought me back I'll invite you to my house for tea or something...that's only in the scripts of lousy playwrights..."

"I wasn't thinking about those pointless things," Himekoji said, tapping the steering wheel lightly with her fingertips. "Where are we going to buy Yuihama a present tomorrow?"

"Yes, yes, I almost forgot... I have no experience buying gifts for people, so you should tell me."

“BAY LaLaPort, in Funabashi City (Funabashi City is not far from Narita Airport).”

"Then it's up to you..."

How do we get there?

“I will never ride in your car again, absolutely! I’m going to write this down and be ready to report it to the Chiba Prefectural Police Department at any time.”

Yukinoshita brought her cheek close to the window, bent down, and said through gritted teeth.

"...Let's take the tram then. We'll meet at the south exit of the subway station at 1:20 pm tomorrow."

"Okay...um."

"You brought me back without even saying thank you?"