They all have hidden attributes!

Takahashi Makoto waved his hand as if he couldn't stand it, trying to brush away the lingering floral fragrance: "Senior, you're too close."

"This is to help Cheng-kun get used to being around girls."

"Although your excuse sounds plausible, I feel like you just want to take advantage of me."

"You can fight back, Cheng-kun."

Tachikami Yuki smiled gently, eager to become closer to him.

boom--

The wooden door made a powerful sound, interrupting the two.

Wearing hakama, Uesugi Maya walked in and said without any emotion, "If you want to be intimate, please wait until I leave before you continue."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought Xiaoye liked to eavesdrop. It seems I was being too generous in the wrong way."

Tachibana Yuki ate the pear that had been handed to her for a while, slowly stood up, and smiled as she looked at Uesugi Maya: "It's not too late to apologize to your older sister now. You're still too naive."

"Let's begin."

Uesugi Maya ignored her and said to Takahashi Makoto, who was sitting on the wooden floor, "You will be the referee."

"There's no need to be so formal. Just look at the number of targets after one round. Do I really need to explain?"

Seeing that neither of them paid any attention to his joke, Takahashi Makoto's face turned cold and his eyes became serious. He reluctantly stood up and walked to the edge of the shooting range.

The intense sunlight made him lower his eyes. Takahashi Makoto raised his hand and said weakly, "Both of you, please stand at my level. Uesugi will go first. The one with the highest number of hits wins."

"You don't need to take care of me."

Maya Uesugi stopped in front of him, turned to the side to adjust her shooting position, and said irritably, "I'm going to win against her fair and square."

The first archer is not affected by the opponent's string tone, momentum, or whether they hit the target, which is indeed more advantageous.

"Saya is so arrogant."

Yuki Tachimi stood one person away from Maya Uesugi. Due to the difference in their body sizes, Makoto Takahashi could clearly compare the curves of their sides from his angle.

Maya Uesugi has perfectly proportioned features and elegant curves, while Yuki Tachibana has a very pure face, yet her body lines exude a bewitching and alluring charm.

A system panel pops up in front of you.

[Received a new assistance card]

[Charm: Nemesis]

[Uesugi Maya - Cold and Aloof: Low chance of triggering Friendship Training, Charm increased by 50%]

[Instant Fortune, No Compassion: When the Charm attribute increases, random attributes receive a slight boost]

[Hidden Attribute: Not Yet Unlocked]

The numbers look good, but how to train the charm is a problem.

Makoto Takahashi shut down the system, cleared his throat, and explained:

"Aside from personal reasons, an archer's performance is affected by countless factors, big and small, such as the field, temperature, wind direction, sunlight, and humidity. This is Lijian's home field, so you should start."

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Maya's face remained cold, but the tips of her ears felt a little hot.

He had just presumptuously assumed that Makoto Takahashi was taking special care of him in front of Tachimi Yuki, had he made a fool of himself?

Her sharp gaze suddenly shifted to Makoto Takahashi, carefully observing his expression. Only after concluding that he hadn't noticed her earlier lapse in composure did she regain her composure.

When Uesugi Maya's gaze fell on the archery path, Takahashi Seiya calmly said, "Let's begin."

Under his gaze, the aura emanating from Uesugi Maya suddenly changed, transforming from aloof and indifferent to resilient and sharp.

She slowly raised the hand holding the bow, and with the other hand she nocked the arrow. Focusing her mind through her breathing, she outlined the bullseye in her eyes.

pop- pop-

Two notes of the bowstring sounded almost simultaneously, one after the other. As Uesugi Maya released the bowstring, Tachibana Yuki shot the arrow almost at the same time. Takahashi Makoto immediately turned his head to look at the trajectory of the arrow to confirm the time when the arrow hit the target.

In archery competitions, whether in team or individual events, there are strict rules regarding the order of attack. If the arrow shot by the second player hits the target first, it is considered a miss.

Li Jianxing timed it perfectly and hit the bullseye, resulting in a valid score.

Her relentless pursuit put immense pressure on Maya Uesugi, and when she nocked her second arrow, Makoto Takahashi noticed a slight change in Maya Uesugi's shooting pattern.

Snap, snap—

Two more bowstrings sounded in quick succession, and Riki's shooting posture was unrestrained. She didn't even wear gloves, showing no fear of the bowstring cutting her delicate fingertips.

Under the oppressive chill of the string music, Uesugi Maya seemed to recall some terrible past events.

According to the [Eight Sections of Archery], after shooting two arrows, the contestant must pick up two new arrows from the wooden floor under their feet according to the prescribed movements.

The two moved almost in sync, and when they stood up, their shooting patterns changed.

Makoto Takahashi saw that Yuki Tachimi was imitating his shooting style again, while Maya Uesugi couldn't find the correct posture due to a change in her mindset.

Archery is a sport of self-discipline, and if Tatsumi Yuki hadn't been so obsessed with imitating himself, he could have declared Uesugi Maya defeated right now.

However, it is precisely because Tachimi Yuki is not fully confident about the new firing method that he adopts a relentless approach to apply pressure.

The outcome will depend on the next two arrows. If it ends in a draw, Makoto Takahashi can accept it, at least he won't have to be a slave to the young lady.

He underestimated Tachimi Yuki and overestimated Uesugi Maya.

Uesugi Maya's next two arrows both hit the target, while Tachimi Yuki's third arrow hit the target, and the last arrow, mimicking his own shooting pattern, grazed the target.

That cold, detached string sounded both beautiful and familiar.

Before Takahashi Makoto could announce the result, Uesugi Maya breathed a sigh of relief: "I lost."

She looked up at the sky, the sunlight outlining her delicate profile, a rare smile playing on her lips, her tall figure radiating dazzling light in the sunlight.

Makoto Takahashi originally wanted to give a casual reply, but he swallowed his words.

About a month ago, he felt that Hell Girl was someone he couldn't reach even if he stretched out his hand, but now he was standing close to Uesugi Maya, facing failure together.

"Thanks to you, I'm going to be a slave to the young lady too," Takahashi Makoto complained, pursing his lips.

"Heh." Uesugi Maya sneered, her caramel-colored eyes casting a suspicious glance, as if doubting whether he was truly unwilling.

As their eyes met, creating an awkward atmosphere, Tachibana Yuki quietly moved closer to Takahashi Makoto, wrapped her arms around his, and said with a smile, "Hey, Makoto-kun, if you don't want to be a slave, there's another option."

"Please allow me to refuse your request for a third time," Takahashi Makoto replied without hesitation.

“The third time,” Uesugi Maya mocked, like a broken broken tape record.

"Xiaoye, I'll make sure you never smile again."

Tachibana Yuki turned and shot her an extremely dangerous look, then immediately softened her gaze and met Takahashi Makoto's eyes, saying in a sweet, drawn-out tone:

"I won't step on Cheng-jun's landmines again. I have another favor to ask of you. If Cheng-jun agrees, the matter of the slave will be dropped."

"Tell me about it." Takahashi Makoto was intrigued.

Chapter 62 The Unfathomable Air

After leaving the archery dojo, Makoto Takahashi, led by a servant, arrived at a three-story villa with a red roof.

The garden beside the villa is lush and green, with four o'clocks, hydrangeas, and yuccas... all kinds of vibrant colors bathed in sunlight, creating a thriving scene.

The servant pulled out a chair, and after thanking him, he sat down in the shade cast by the flower stand, where black tea and muffins were laid out on the tea table in front of him.

Makoto Takahashi ate while waiting, and after a short while, Yuki Tachimi, who had changed back into a Western-style dress, walked out of the villa gate.

She gestured for the servant to leave with her eyes, moved a chair over and placed it next to Takahashi Makoto, sat down and leaned closer: "Makoto-kun, I seem to remember that you said a few days ago that you would give me a gift in return?"

Seeing him nod while chewing on a sweet pancake, Ritsuki continued with a smile, "Actually, my birthday is at the beginning of next month."

When a girl brings up her birthday, you'd naturally want to help celebrate, right?

Makoto Takahashi swallowed the pancake in his mouth with the help of black tea, then looked up to meet Yuki Tachimi's gaze. A sly glint flashed in her beautiful blue eyes.

"If Cheng-kun hasn't prepared a return gift yet, would it be better to send it together with the birthday present?"

Tachikami Yuki picked up the teacup with her slender, delicate fingers, brought it to her lips, lowered her eyes, and blew on it lightly: "And, I want Makoto to pretend to be my boyfriend and attend my birthday party."

"This is the exchange condition?" Takahashi Makoto was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what was going on.

He put on a thoughtful expression, hesitating between pretending to be the young lady's boyfriend on her birthday or being her slave for the whole day.

It's worth mentioning that when the archery competition was agreed upon, no time was specified, meaning he could potentially spend the entire day as the young lady's slave and pretend to be her boyfriend on her birthday.

There is absolutely no need to hesitate.

Makoto Takahashi nodded in agreement, and the thought of having Maya Uesugi pretend to be his girlfriend for a day wasn't too hard to accept.

As a friend, Maya Uesugi is already amazing; if she were his girlfriend, I can't even imagine how happy she would be.

"I think it's necessary to agree on the boyfriend's responsibilities and obligations," Makoto Takahashi suggested.

"of course."

Yuki Tachibana drank half a cup of black tea, put it back on the table, and then murmured with a smile, "Saya is such a nuisance. Oh well, I'll teach her a lesson she'll never forget on my birthday."

Her sinister expression looked a little scary, and Takahashi Makoto wisely avoided the topic, looking around instead: "Where's Uesugi-kun?"

"He's already left. He's probably off somewhere having a good cry."

"I think Uesugi is the type who would never cry."

He found it hard to imagine Uesugi Maya crying, and his tone was certain. Tachimi Yuki then smiled and leaned closer, taking Takahashi Makoto's hand: "Makoto-kun, you seem to know Maya very well."

The dangerous tone proved that Makoto Takahashi was right.

“I think she’s very special, she has a quality that attracts me.”

Makoto Takahashi released her hand, stood up from the chair, and naturally began to speak:

"I don't know how to describe it. At first, I felt that she was a very distant existence, but later I clearly realized that we were both a little detached from the world."

Upon hearing this, Tachibana Yuki seemed to realize something, propped her head up with her left hand, tilted her head and stared at him for a moment, then expressionlessly took out a piece of chocolate from the pocket of her dress.

She should have realized sooner that these two people shared a common pursuit of sincerity and purity.

That's why I can play with Maya Uesugi but I'm not good at getting along with her, and for the same reason, I like Makoto Takahashi.

With a somewhat unpleasant feeling, I unwrapped the chocolate, took a bite, and as I savored the sweetness amidst the bitterness, I looked up and gazed at the distant sky.

"Cheng-kun, you're welcome to come anytime you have time. I'll help you with desensitization. You can also find me at the student council."