In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

Hayasaka Ai stopped in her tracks: "This is it."

Just to be on the safe side, Yuan Qianye asked again, "Are you sure it's okay for you to bring me here?"

"Please don't worry, this is my basic persona at school: outgoing, cheerful, and loves to join in the fun. No one will suspect anything if I pretend to bump into you by chance and bring you here."

Reassured, Yuan Qianye knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

Upon hearing a response from inside, Hayasaka Ai took the lead and pushed the door open to go inside.

She raised her hand dramatically to greet the others in the student council room: "Good afternoon, President, Fujiwara-san! I've brought a guest!"

"Oh dear." Kaguya Shinomiya, who was drinking tea, put down her teacup and stood up.

The pink-haired girl, whom Hayasaka called "Fujiwara," also shifted her attention from the board game on the coffee table and looked towards the door.

Gen Chiya stepped forward and greeted everyone: "Hello, everyone. I am Gen Chiya, the student council president of Soubu High School. I made an appointment in advance to come here."

"Hello, President Minamoto, I am Kaguya Shinomiya, the student council president of Shuchiin Academy." Kaguya Shinomiya stepped forward, extended her slender white hand, and gave Chiya Minamoto a polite handshake.

Her manners were impeccable, but when her gaze fell upon Yuan Qianye's face, she seemed to pause almost imperceptibly, a fleeting ripple passing through the depths of her eyes. However, she quickly concealed it and looked away with an expression of normalcy.

The pink-haired girl enthusiastically introduced herself: "Hello, Yuan-kun, I'm Fujiwara Chika, the student council secretary!"

"Hello, Fujiwara-san."

"Alright, Qianhua, stop holding onto the guest's hand. I'll go pour the tea for the guest. You go and clear the table."

"Ah, okay!"

After the polite greetings, Yuan Qianye was invited to sit down on the sofa.

The coffee smelled wonderful when it was served; it was clearly high-end coffee.

Hayasaka Ai casually straddled the armrest at the very edge of the sofa, her long legs crossed, looking relaxed. When Kaguya looked over, she chuckled without any sign of nervousness, "President, I don't have anything to do anyway. I hope I'm not bothering you guys here?"

“I’m fine,” Kaguya replied with a smile.

Yuan Qianye replied, "I don't mind either. The topic we came here to discuss wasn't one that needed to be kept secret."

Fujiwara Chika pushed the sugar jar toward Minamoto Chiya: "Speaking of which, I've been very curious since I received the call. Minamoto contacted us suddenly, saying he wanted to talk about something in person. I wonder what it is."

Gen Chiya pretended to suddenly realize something: "So it was Fujiwara-kun who answered that somewhat presumptuous phone call earlier."

"Yes, because Kaguya is usually very busy, and she only attends important times, like now. Most of the time, it's actually me and other student council members who are on duty here."

"Is that so?"

This young lady's style of doing things is subtly similar to my own.

Yuan Qianye took a sip of coffee and sincerely praised its rich and aromatic flavor.

Now he was able to properly examine the girl in front of him, who was also the maid's nominal true master.

"I apologize that this is my first formal visit today, and I haven't prepared any gifts at all. It's truly impolite. The main reason for my visit is to discuss with your student council the inter-school collaboration initiative promoted by the Education Bureau in December..."

He had intended to exchange a few polite words first, and then smoothly introduce the proposal for a joint study tour.

However, before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Kaguya Shinomiya, who maintained an elegant smile throughout, in a soft yet undeniable voice.

"President Yuan, please allow me to correct you, this is not our first meeting."

"Hmm?" Yuan Qianye maintained his smile, revealing just the right amount of puzzlement.

Kaguya Shinomiya placed her hands on her knees, her voice steady, maintaining her elegant demeanor: "It's understandable that President Gen forgot. After all, I'm the same way; I usually don't pay much attention to those who are inferior to me."

The atmosphere of the conversation instantly became subtle because of that sentence.

Fujiwara Chika opened her big, bright eyes wide, looking completely bewildered.

Hayasaka Ai, who was standing nearby, suddenly remembered and understood why the young lady was acting this way.

But in her current hot-girl state, she's completely unable to remind Yuan Qianye.

"Does President Shinomiya mean that we've met before?"

"President Yuan, you really have a bad memory. Do you still remember that national youth piano competition at the Tokyo Bunka Music Hall?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Qianye's pupils contracted, and he instantly remembered.

He and Touma Kazusa participated in that competition together, and with their outstanding performances, they won the championship and runner-up titles respectively, becoming the talk of the town for a time.

And right behind her, who came in third place by a narrow margin... was Kaguya Shinomiya, who also performed exceptionally well in the competition but ultimately lost!

Kaguya Shinomiya observed the sudden change in Chiya Minamoto's expression, but still smiled warmly: "It seems you've finally remembered. Not only that match, but we also met at the banquet after the match, thanks to Ms. Touma's introduction."

Her fingertips lightly brushed the rim of the coffee cup, her tone still elegant, yet carrying a hint of girlish pride and resentment at being unintentionally slighted: "I have a deep impression of you, Yuan-tong. I remembered you as soon as we met. I'm a little sad that you don't remember me at all. It seems I'm far from being good enough for you to remember me at a glance. I still need to work harder in the future."

After she finished speaking, her gaze met Yuan Qianye's directly.

Deep within those red pupils, it seemed as if ice crystals were shimmering.

"..."

As Kaguya Shinomiya finished speaking, her smile became unusually subtle. Minamoto Chiyo suddenly had a premonition that what should have been a sure thing today might turn out badly.

…………

Volume 2: Chapter 208: Likes to Drink Yogurt (6k)

"Huh? Yuan, you actually participated in a piano competition?"

Just as Kaguya's words created a tense atmosphere, Hayasaka Ai suddenly interjected, breaking the slightly awkward silence.

I've seen your video clips on YouTube, but I always thought you were only famous as a writer and a kendo master! I didn't know you were so accomplished in the piano too! Really? Are you that good?!

She spoke rapidly, oblivious to everyone around her, with that slightly exaggerated, exclamatory tone typical of a hot girl.

"How do you usually allocate your time? That's amazing! I already find it quite difficult to keep up with my studies!"

Kaguya Shinomiya looked at her in surprise.

Chiya also realized that Ai-chan was trying to extricate herself from the predicament.

She was in the presence of her nominal master, yet her heart was with him… I understood the specific meaning behind her actions.

If Yuan Qianye said that he didn't feel extremely happy, that would be an undeniable lie.

And beneath this intensely satisfying feeling lies the exhilarating sensation of taking something extremely important from someone right in front of them!

Especially since the other party is right in front of you, yet you know nothing about it!

With this sense of "immorality" added to it, my mood became even more cheerful!

Of course, while he was secretly pleased, Yuan Qianye maintained excellent composure on the surface, showing no sign of anything amiss.

Since the maid was supporting him so subtly, he naturally couldn't be too obvious, lest he cause her unnecessary trouble and suspicion.

"It's not that exaggerated. I was just lucky to have met a very good teacher, plus I had the good luck to perform well on the spot during the competition."

Gen Chiya smiled politely at Hayasaka Ai, then looked at Kaguya and spoke.

"That competition was indeed a while ago, and the memory is a bit distant, so I didn't think of it for a moment. However, it is indeed a bit rude of me to forget my former opponent. I apologize."

“Yuan, you don’t need to apologize. I was just saying it casually. I was a little surprised to meet you in this kind of setting after so many days, and I was a little excited because of that. Perhaps I said something that could be misunderstood. I am the one who needs to apologize. As student council presidents of our respective schools, let’s get along well.”

After Kaguya Shinomiya withdrew her gaze from Ai Hayasaka, she met Chiya Minamoto's eyes again. Her red eyes immediately curved upwards, and her lips curved into a beautiful smile that revealed goodwill.

The cold feeling that stemmed from her slight dissatisfaction had completely vanished, as if it had never existed in the first place.

It's unclear whether she sensed something from Hayasaka's behavior, whom she had spent so much time with, or whether she fully accepted Minamoto Chiyo's words and was moved by his sincerity.

In short, the current situation is that she took the initiative to start a slightly unusual opening, and thanks to Hayasaka's interjection, the matter was easily resolved.

The atmosphere of the ensuing conversation quickly warmed up thanks to the enthusiastic participation of the cheerful and lively Chika Fujiwara.

Secretary Fujiwara seemed particularly interested in the topic of piano. Upon hearing that Chiyo Minamoto had also studied it in depth, she immediately started talking about her experiences practicing piano since childhood and curiously asked Chiyo Minamoto for some playing techniques and insights.

Having become famous a few years ago, and thus having worked in society and met all sorts of people at a young age, Minamoto Chiya is naturally good at talking to people. He is even more adept at dealing with Fujiwara Chika, who is outgoing and has no guile.

The two hit it off quite well with the topic of the piano, and the atmosphere quickly became relaxed and pleasant.

As their relationship rapidly deepened, Yuan Qianye seized the opportunity to formally reveal the core purpose of his visit once again: to jointly organize an inter-school study trip, spearheaded by the student councils of both schools.

To Yuan Qianye's great surprise, his purpose was accepted very easily.

Fujiwara, who loves excitement, was the first to raise her hand in agreement, which goes without saying.

But what truly surprised Chiyo was Kaguya's attitude.

He was quite certain that he had clearly seen a sense of lingering resentment in the young lady's eyes.

Based on his understanding of this kind of rich young lady who grew up in a top-tier wealthy family and was used to being the center of attention and a winner since childhood, he thought she would set up some obstacles in the following negotiations, or at least show some reserve and control.

But to my complete surprise, it seems she only had a brief "outburst".

After casually mentioning it and expressing my displeasure, it truly passed completely.

In the subsequent discussion, she behaved quite rationally.

After asking a few questions as usual and receiving his reply, she readily agreed and didn't dwell on her personal emotions as she had before.

That's underestimating her; perhaps she's just naturally very magnanimous.

But no matter how strange Yuan Qianye was, it was good that everything went smoothly during the discussions.

“…Since President Shinomiya agrees with my proposal, that would be wonderful.” Gen Chiya picked up his coffee and greeted Shinomiya Kaguya.

Kaguya picked up her coffee and gestured to him: "Yes, because this joint event is indeed very valuable. It can build a broader network of peers for students from both sides, and it can also give our student association real management experience in the planning, communication, and operation processes. I have no reason not to agree."

It's a bit late today, and I have some other commitments later, more specific matters such as the format of the activity, the timing, budget sharing, itinerary details, etc., which will probably require more time to discuss in detail.

She thought about it for a moment and quickly made a decision.

"How about we set the date for after school tomorrow? We can have a more formal discussion then."

"Alright, then I won't bother you any longer today. Thank you all for your hospitality."

"On my end, thank you for coming all this way to give such a great suggestion. I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration in the future, and I look forward to your guidance."

"I should be the one saying that..."

After exchanging contact information, Gen Chiya shook hands with Shinomiya Kaguya, who had extended her hand, once again, and then got up to take his leave.

Hayasaka Ai remained true to her character, acting like a lovesick hot girl who was captivated by a handsome foreigner, and followed him away.