They all have hidden attributes!

[Trigger Assist Card: Abyss Party Invitation - Immediate Victory]

[Charm +8]

Cleaning is considered physical training and will trigger assistance cards, which seems fine. But to trigger the additional effect of another assistance card, you definitely need Lijian-senpai to be by your side, right?

Makoto Takahashi shut down the system and looked around.

On the streets, thick with the scent of rain in the dead of night, several puddles reflected the city lights, and tall buildings stood like obstacles preventing the rain clouds from getting closer. A black sedan was parked on the side of the road.

Perhaps Tachibana-senpai is sitting inside, staring at him and Uesugi Maya through the car window.

Seeing Takahashi Makoto stop, Uesugi Maya, who was instructing him to keep the house tidy, frowned in displeasure and looked in the direction of his gaze: "Are you listening to me?"

Just then, the window of the black sedan slowly rolled down, and Tachibana Yuki revealed a gentle smile, raising her hand to greet the two.

"Sorry, lost my mind."

Makoto Takahashi looked away, hesitating whether to go over and say hello: "Have you thought of a band name yet?"

“[Migraine] is such an unusual name. We’ll discuss it later. Your priority right now is to improve your bass playing.” Uesugi Maya turned and walked away, her steps crisp and decisive, clearly not intending to pay any attention to Tachibana Yuki.

Noticing that Makoto Takahashi didn't follow immediately, she crossed her arms, turned around and gave him a cold look, and said in an unhappy tone with a suppressed smile, "After you drop me off at the train station, you can do whatever you want when you come back."

"She looks like she's wearing hakama."

Makoto Takahashi then realized that when Yuki Tatsumi left the light music club, the look she gave him meant, "I'll be waiting for you in the archery club."

He quickened his pace to catch up with Maya Uesugi. From behind, she appeared exceptionally tall and slender, possessing a dignified beauty under the dim streetlights.

The black sedan slowed down and followed behind the two, its white headlights casting their shadows on the wet road.

"Takahashi-kun, have you ever heard of a proverb?"

Maya Uesugi's impatient voice came from ahead. Even without seeing her expression, Makoto Takahashi could imagine the image of her delicate face turning cold.

"What proverb?"

There's a saying that "dogs that bite don't bark," and another saying is that the smaller the dog, the louder it barks.

The blunt remarks seem a bit too sharp.

Makoto Takahashi had no idea how to respond. Although he didn't mention Yuki Tachimi's name, he was undoubtedly referring to her.

Just as they were considering changing the subject, Maya Uesugi adopted a serious tone and continued, "She's a real vicious dog, a dog that bites, so she never barks."

"Is it really okay to talk about your childhood friend like that?" Takahashi Makoto pursed his lips speechlessly.

"This is a warning to you. That's the kind of person she is. She just seems gentle, but it's all a facade."

“When I asked you last time, you said it wasn’t dangerous to be with her.”

"It depends on how you interpret it. She's a ruthless person who habitually uses weaknesses to control others," Uesugi Maya kindly reminded her.

Makoto Takahashi glanced back at the black sedan following behind him. The surroundings were quiet, and a humid breeze swept past him.

He only picked up on Uesugi Maya's topic when they arrived at the tram station entrance.

"To be honest, although my intuition told me long ago that Li Jian might be a controlling person, I don't dislike that she likes me."

As Maya Uesugi was about to enter the tram station, her hand holding the IC card froze in mid-air. She turned to face Makoto Takahashi, her black hair billowing, her beautiful caramel-colored eyes shooting out a sharp gaze.

Makoto Takahashi continued, "In this life, if you can find someone who loves you even more than they love themselves, then it's quite worthwhile."

The world quieted down as if the tide were receding. Uesugi Maya stared into his pupils, her heart feeling as if it had been gripped tightly, struck in its most vulnerable spot, with nowhere to escape.

She was acutely aware of what a special person Makoto Takahashi was, possessing an indescribable power.

Even though the two were still far apart, Uesugi Maya was still attracted to him.

Perhaps we will develop a strong bond, she thought for no reason, that she and Makoto Takahashi were actually equally obsessive.

It is precisely because they once pursued genuine, profound, and meaningful relationships and abhorred superficial and hypocritical social interactions that they went to the other extreme when they lacked them, becoming loners.

"To prevent you from falling into the hands of a bad woman, I have no choice but to make you hopelessly fall in love with me." Uesugi Maya smiled arrogantly and turned to walk into the train station.

Chapter 35 An Encounter?

Watching Uesugi Maya's figure disappear into the ticket gates and blend into the crowd, Takahashi Makoto turned and left, planning to grab a quick dinner nearby.

Stepping out of the tram station, a humid, hot wind hits you in the face. Tachimi Yuki, dressed in hakama, stands on the street, her already fair skin appearing somewhat cold against the backdrop of the white tram lights.

"I'll meet you soon, Senior Sister."

After Makoto Takahashi greeted her, she immediately smiled gently, walked over in her wooden clogs, and asked softly, "Junior, why didn't you go to the archery club today?"

Sure enough, when he left the Light Music Club, his look meant, "[I'll be waiting for you in the Archery Club]".

"Something came up at home, so I'm asking Uesugi-kun for help."

"Oh, I see~ Well, there's nothing I can do about it. But I've been waiting for you for a long time, and I haven't received a single message." Tachimi Yuki said in a soft, drawn-out tone, as if she were a wife complaining about her husband's incompetence in not coming home at night, yet she couldn't bear to blame him.

To prevent her from getting too immersed in the role, Makoto Takahashi proactively took out his phone:

"Senior, we don't have each other's contact information. Also, I'm a bit slow on the uptake, so please don't use eye contact to signal next time."

"That's true."

Li Jianxing didn't make any move, his azure eyes staring straight at him: "Junior doesn't seem surprised at all that I was able to find your apartment."

"Is the senior a rich heiress? There are often such plots in light novels, where she can disregard the law and recklessly invade other people's privacy."

"Mmm~ That's it."

She frankly admitted it, which made Makoto Takahashi somewhat embarrassed.

"I'll text you later, remember to add me as a Line friend."

Sachiki Tachimi smiled and opened the door of the black sedan, trying to take control of the atmosphere: "How about we have dinner together tonight? Speaking of which, my mother really likes your oil paintings and always says you're a genius."

The fact that a wealthy heiress personally opens the door and invites you home to meet her parents is an irresistible gesture, and this is precisely the gentle control tactic employed by Akira Rika.

But Makoto Takahashi doesn't care anymore. There's a famous quote in a certain light novel: "Love is war."

Since Tachikawa Yuki likes him, and it's not like he's fallen in love with her, he's in an invincible position.

"Thank you, senior, but I have to prepare an oil painting for the exhibition tonight, so I don't have time."

Makoto Takahashi refused without hesitation, which caused a shadow to fall over Yuki Tachimi's eyes, but it disappeared in an instant: "What a pity. I originally wanted to treat my junior to authentic kaiseki cuisine, but now I can only treat you to chocolate."

She took a piece of chocolate from the car, grabbed Takahashi Makoto's hand, and gave it to him.

"Hey, junior, Xiaoye didn't say anything bad about me, did she?"

Tachibana-senpai's fingertips were very slender and cold. Takahashi Makoto accepted the chocolate and shook his head: "It's not exactly bad talk, just rather unpleasant to hear."

"Really."

She sighed helplessly, climbed into the back seat of the car, and waved goodbye: "Junior, remember to come to the archery club tomorrow!"

"Yes, see you tomorrow."

After the black car drove away, Makoto Takahashi unwrapped the chocolate, took a bite, and walked back to his apartment while eating it.

In the days following the cleanup operation, the distance between him and Uesugi Maya seemed to be thinning, but they still maintained their original distance.

—A one-sided friend.

The slave game between Uesugi Maya and Tachimi Yuki did not affect Takahashi Makoto's life rhythm.

During class, I have lunch with Hina Nekoya during lunch break, and after school I go to the Light Music Club to learn bass, and then to the Archery Club.

Uesugi Maya insisted on learning archery on her own and refused to join the archery club. Therefore, after club activities ended, Takahashi Makoto and Tachimi Yuki would go archery together.

Senior Li Jian will prepare dinner and eat with him in the archery club. Apart from not being able to trigger friendship training, there is nothing to complain about.

In the week leading up to the final exams, while everyone else was in a tense atmosphere of studying, Makoto Takahashi's daily life seemed unusually relaxed.

My bass learning progress isn't fast. It's my first time playing an instrument, and my fingers aren't very dexterous yet, but I've already memorized all the chords.

As for the art exhibition, although there is a [Lv.4 painting], I haven't started painting yet because I haven't found a landscape I want to paint.

The date is July 10th, Friday.

The weather forecast said that the rainy season would end today, and the sky was clear from morning onwards. The rain clouds that had shrouded Tokyo for many days had dissipated, and people's moods naturally improved.

After finishing his last final exam in the afternoon, Makoto Takahashi walked through the elevated corridor toward the light music club, where a cool breeze blew in from the cedar grove in the courtyard.

The increasingly intense sunlight slanted down at our feet, and there was a greenish scent in the air, making us clearly aware that the height of summer was approaching.

Beach, barbecue, fireworks, national competition...

He didn't linger in the elevated corridor for long, thinking of words unique to summer, before pushing open the door and entering the Light Music Club's office.

A faint smell of gunpowder lingered in the air-conditioned room.

Like an ancient Greek sculpture, Uesugi Maya sat by the window reading with a cold expression, exuding an icy aura.

Yuki Tachimi sat diagonally opposite her, holding a cup of black tea and examining the chess endgame in front of him, a smug smile playing on his lips.

The two of them probably had a fight, Takahashi thought wearily.

He pulled out a chair and sat down next to Tachimi Yuki, glancing at the book in Uesugi Maya's hands, "The Case of Dr. Kukotsky."

After consulting with AI, I learned that, like "Crime and Punishment," it belongs to Russian literature and is a book that explores genetic controversies and reproductive rights through the fate of three generations of a doctor's family.

"Have you finished reading the books on music theory and composition?" Makoto Takahashi casually started the conversation.

"Writing original compositions is not a problem."

"What about the drummer? Have you found a suitable candidate?"

"No."

Maya Uesugi turned a page in her book, raised her delicate face and looked over: "Is your artwork ready? The deadline for submissions is fast approaching."

Considering that the paint needs to dry after the oil painting is finished, the time is indeed a bit tight.

"No, I can't find anything I want to draw." Makoto Takahashi picked up his bass and began his daily grid-writing practice.

— Practicing scales is the most important basic exercise for bass, which aims to improve finger dexterity, familiarize oneself with the fretboard, and establish correct muscle memory.

"Junior, want to come with me to find some inspiration?"

Li Jian added a cup of black tea to his cup and placed it beside him, saying with a smile, "How can you have any ideas if you always stay at home? Artists should go out and gather inspiration, of course. It just so happens that tomorrow is the weekend."

After the final exams, going out to relax sounds like a good option.