In fact, after the information is refreshed, they always want to attack me!

I actually wanted to give him a lap pillow.

Kushida probably wanted to see him make a fool of himself, like running to the toilet several times in a sorry state.

Unfortunately, his physique wouldn't be defeated by a mere cup of ice cream.

He estimated that he could drink ten cups without any problem.

"Waiter! I'm finished eating! So, do we not need to pay the bill?" Thinking of this, he raised his hand without hesitation.

The waiter hurried over, and upon seeing the empty cup and the still-running clock, a hint of surprise flashed across his face, but he ultimately nodded in confirmation.

"Congratulations, sir, on completing our free meal challenge. According to the rules, this parfait is free," the waiter politely explained. "However, this lady's mango juice is different, so it will need to be paid for separately."

Akira Shimizu raised an eyebrow: "Wait, according to the rules, the whole table should be paid for free, right? That's what the sign says!"

He felt like the other person was playing word games with him.

He himself isn't the kind of person who cares about a few hundred points, but that doesn't mean the other party can take advantage of him!

It's not a matter of points, it's a matter of rules.

The waiter gave a professional smile: "I'm very sorry, there might be a printing error on the sign. Our event is only free for the challenger."

After saying that, she actually reached out and tried to take back the activity standee on the table.

"Wait, what kind of mistake is this?" Shimizu Akira slammed his hand on the signboard. "That's not what you said when you took the order."

Seeing this, Kikyo Kushida was somewhat surprised by the other party's firmness, but still said, "Never mind, I only ordered a drink anyway..."

"No way!" Shimizu Akira interrupted her, his gaze sharpening as he looked at the waiter. "Either follow the advertisement, or call your manager. It's one or the other."

The waiter's smile froze; he clearly hadn't expected to encounter such a stubborn customer.

The surrounding customers also began to look in this direction.

(This is troublesome...) The waiter thought to himself.

"Okay, alright!" The waiter could only manage a forced smile. "This mango juice is on the house."

"If you can't do it, then take the sign away right away. Don't use this as a pretext to deceive consumers."

He is not one to compromise easily, especially when his own rights are involved.

"..." Kikyo Kushida looked at him with some surprise.

Unexpectedly, this usually lazy and easygoing guy showed such a tough side at this time.

(A glass of mango juice costs 600 points... Is he trying to get me a better deal?)

(This store is terrible! They won't even give you a free meal with 600 points!)

(How dare they play tricks; I'm going to bombard them with negative reviews tonight! They'll go bankrupt!)

"Kushida-kun, you have a review account, right? How about we give this restaurant a few bad reviews together?" Shimizu Akira suddenly turned around and suggested.

"Eh?! This... isn't that a bit inappropriate..." She pursed her lips, feigning hesitation, but inwardly she was already eager to try.

Unexpectedly, she and Shimizu Akira had the same idea!

It seems the other party is also the kind of person who won't suffer a loss.

"What's wrong with it?" Shimizu Akira shook his head without even thinking. "The ice cream was obviously deliberately kept too cold, and the service was so bad. It's practically cheating consumers. This kind of shop deserves to be taught a lesson with bad reviews."

Kikyo Kushida's eyes lit up slightly, and she nodded hesitantly, "Since Shimizu-san has said so... then I'll write a few objective comments."

She looked down and typed quickly on her phone, her fingertips dancing across the screen.

(This is the first time I've ever publicly criticized a shop in front of others!)

She quickly typed out a series of strong words:

Are all your store's employees mentally challenged?!

[If you don't want to do promotions, just close down now!]

[So, is this ice cream airlifted from the Arctic?!]

Halfway through typing, she suddenly realized something and her fingers stopped.

(This is so unlike my image...)

She gently bit her lower lip and deleted the text she had typed. Then, she curiously checked the latest comments.

In the latest comments, the account "Qingshui Ming" is prominently displayed:

[The ice cream at this shop was noticeably colder than normal, which constitutes suspected consumer fraud. Evidence has been preserved and will be submitted to the school's food service regulatory department.]

(They're actually going to report it to the school?)

Kikyo Kushida couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

Compared to Shimizu Akira's straightforward approach, her angry words just now seemed childish.

Seeing the sudden appearance of several negative reviews and a few likes on the store's homepage, she felt inexplicably happy.

Finally, she still elegantly left a comment:

[I'm sorry, the service here made me unable to visit again.]

"So conservative?! That's not like you at all!"

As she looked up after posting the comment, Kikyo Kushida bumped into Akira Shimizu's questioning gaze.

"...Yeah! I'm not the kind of bad person who would secretly give a shop a bad review." Kikyo Kushida said, sticking her neck out, her lie made up with a straight face.

"Who told you that giving a bad review makes you a bad person?" Shimizu Akira raised an eyebrow, casually picking up an empty parfait and shaking it. "Isn't this perfectly normal? If you've been wronged, you're bound to get revenge. Who's some saint who doesn't care about worldly matters?"

“…Uh…Alright then.” Kikyo Kushida was speechless, her fingers tapping rapidly on her phone screen. Finally, she added, “The free meal is a lie from this store. I suggest other students not to fall for it.”

"That's more like you!" Shimizu Akira exclaimed naturally.

Kikyo Kushida's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped her phone, her heart suddenly feeling like a tangled ball of cotton—both chaotic and tender.

How could this guy even tell that her comments were conservative?

She suddenly remembered the transaction at the coffee shop last time—that time she had probably already made the other party realize that she was not just the innocent angel she appeared to be.

Of course, he didn't completely reveal his true intentions. At the time, he just casually made a threatening remark, which at most showed some cunning and hidden thoughts, but it was far from the point of tearing off the mask of civility.

As for her tendency to secretly curse people behind their backs and kick doors when she gets angry, Shimizu Akira still knows nothing about it.

What puzzled her most was that he clearly saw through her act, yet he seemed completely unconcerned.

She neither pressed for details nor exposed her true feelings. Her earlier comment, "That's more like you," came out naturally and frankly, just as her occasional displays of temper were always meant to be this way.

(What on earth is this guy thinking?)

Chapter 118: 116 The emotional value provided by Kikyo Kushida was just too perfect!

Akira Shimizu didn't try to guess what Kikyo Kushida was thinking—in his view, it was perfectly normal.

If any normal person encountered such a deliberately difficult shop, they would be lucky not to argue with the staff on the spot, and it would be perfectly natural to complain and leave a bad review afterward.

After a moment's consideration, he decided to contact the student council president directly and explain the whole story, including attaching a screenshot of the free offer notice in the message.

In this school, when students encounter trouble, besides their homeroom teacher, the student council president is the person they can most trust and rely on. Especially in matters involving consumer disputes, it is obviously more reliable to entrust the student council with the matter.

Shortly after the message was sent, Horikita Manabu showed that it had been read.

The other party replied quickly, asking several details in detail: such as whether the ice cream was of acceptable quality, whether the price complied with school regulations, and whether the relevant terms were clearly communicated when purchasing.

Akira Shimizu patiently answered each question, his tone clear and organized. After he sent his reply to the last question, Manabu Horikita simply replied with a concise "I understand."

The dialog box on the screen remained on this reply, but Shimizu Akira felt inexplicably at ease—he understood Horikita Manabu's style of doing things, and since he had said "I understand," he would definitely handle it properly.

"Let's go." He stood up as soon as he saw Kikyo Kushida finish the last sip of mango juice.

Since this has already happened in the store, there's really no need to drag it out any longer.

“Okay.” Kikyo Kushida replied, pushing the empty cup onto the tray with her fingertips.

...

Without saying anything more, the two headed straight for the karaoke bar.

As soon as the door to the private room was pushed open, the colored lights had only turned halfway around when Kikyo Kushida expertly picked up the microphone and her fingertips tapped rapidly on the panel as she adjusted the volume.

As soon as the intro began, she swayed gently to the rhythm, and her voice was clear and steady when she opened her mouth—indeed, she was cute and her singing was exceptionally beautiful.

When the song ended, the score that popped up on the screen was steadily over 90 points, even the harmony in the accompaniment was downgraded by a few points.

Looking at the smiling face in her eyes as she put down the microphone, Shimizu Akira roughly understood what was going on—this level of skill must mean she often practices with her friends; the more she sings, the more her technique naturally develops.

"It's Shimizu-kun's turn." Kikyo Kushida handed over another microphone. "Pick one you like?"

Akira Shimizu paused for a moment when he took the microphone.

He wasn't very familiar with Japanese pop songs, and after flipping through the playlist for a while, he finally chose two anime theme songs.

As the intro began, his fingertips unconsciously tapped the armrest of the sofa.

Although it was her first time singing, she kept a decent rhythm, but her tone was rather deep, quite different from Kikyo Kushida's clear and bright voice.

The colored lights in the private room spun twice. When he sang the chorus, he caught a glimpse of Kikyo Kushida smiling with her chin resting on her hand, her fingers tapping along on her knees.

It must be said that the emotional value provided by Kikyo Kushida is truly spot-on.

When Shimizu Akira sang a high note, she would always clap her hands at the right time. The sound of her palms clapping was not loud, but just enough for him to hear.

When they came across a part that could be sung together, she would naturally pick up another microphone and sing along, her voice unexpectedly matching his timbre.

Even when she was just listening quietly, her gaze remained fixed on him.

Akira Shimizu had gone out with girls before in his past life, but he had never encountered anyone like this before—his sense of propriety was just right, neither appearing overly enthusiastic nor failing to make the girl clearly feel noticed.

After the song ended, Kikyo Kushida smiled and handed her a bottle of mineral water, which was still chilled: "Shimizu-kun, you're even better than I expected."

"Thank you." Shimizu Akira took the bottle, making a soft sound as he unscrewed the cap, and took a sip—only when the ice water slid down his throat did he suddenly realize that the two of them had been singing in the private room for almost half an hour.

The colored lights spun countless times, and the ice in the glass on the table had long since melted, leaving only a small piece.

"By the way, Shimizu-kun, may I ask you a small question?" Kushida Kikyo suddenly moved to sit next to him, the sofa sinking slightly as she turned her head. "You know... why Horikita-kun seems to dislike me? I've noticed that you two have been calling each other more affectionately lately. What should I do to get along with her? Speaking of which, the student council president seems to share the same surname as her. What's their relationship?"

(So, one of her goals was to extract information about Horikita Suzune?)

Akira Shimizu understood, so he wasn't surprised.

He twirled his fingertip on the bottle and slowly said, "She's probably not used to your personality. We've gotten to know each other better, but I'm afraid I can't help you build a good relationship with her. The student council president is her brother; they're siblings."

After all, from the moment she entered the karaoke room, she had taken care of the atmosphere impeccably—she never let the audience fall silent when it was time to clap, never rushed the beat when singing along, and even the way she looked at him was always smiling.

This “perfection” contains heartfelt intentions; even if it’s just acting, it’s enough to make people willing to respond seriously.

"Um...did she tell you anything about her past school?" Kikyo Kushida asked casually again.

"He didn't say." Shimizu Akira thought for a moment.

"Really? I see!" Kikyo Kushida's eyes lit up, a smile spreading from the corners of her mouth to the depths of her eyes. She clapped her hands lightly. "Thank you for telling me all this, Shimizu-san."

(This man is actually quite easy to handle.)

Kikyo Kushida paused on the song selection panel, her fingertips hovering over it. She couldn't help but mutter to herself, "He answered my question so readily, much more obedient than last time when he beat around the bush."

(After all, I treated him like a boyfriend today, so anyone would have softened, right?)

(To be honest, this is the first time I've ever cared so much about a guy.)

She secretly glanced at Shimizu Akira's profile, and couldn't help but smile—she had finally gotten some useful information out of him.

(So ​​Horikita Suzune's older brother is the student council president...)

This realization had barely surfaced when it was suppressed by another thought.

(But Horikita hadn't told him about junior high. Did that woman recognize me? Did she know about my past?)

My thoughts were in disarray when I suddenly remembered that there was still something left undone.

(By the way, the knee-resting ritual hasn't been fulfilled yet.)

She clicked her tongue, feeling a little awkward, and then looked at Akira Shimizu—this guy was scrambling like a little wolf while eating parfait today, but he was surprisingly serious when singing, so he didn't seem so annoying after all.

(Oh well, a bet's a bet, so I'll just pretend he bit me. Anyway, he touched my chest.)

Once the thought was made up, she immediately suppressed her hesitation, a sweet smile blooming on her face again. She gently patted her knees, causing her skirt to sway slightly: "Shimizu-san, here, have a lap pillow."

Seeing that the other person was stunned for a moment, she added, "A bet's a bet. But this has to be kept a secret, just like last time. You're not allowed to tell anyone."

Kikyo Kushida's tone carried an air of unyielding authority, yet her fingertips subtly smoothed out the hem of her skirt—after all, it was the first time she had let a boy rest his lap on her back, and even though she had lost a bet, she couldn't help feeling a little awkward.