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

Honami Ichinose's heart skipped a beat.

To be fair, Akira Shimizu is indeed in good physical condition.

On the first day of school, she learned that he had almost gotten into a fight with his classmate, Haruki Yamauchi—of course, the whole thing was Haruki Yamauchi's fault, and Akira Shimizu hadn't done anything wrong at all.

But... can he really win? And who will his opponent be?

Chapter 175: 172 Ayanokouji Kiyotaka: I don't want to be a tool anymore!

"Shimizu, after discussing with the other members of the boxing club these past few days, we've unanimously decided to have you compete in this month's exhibition match!"

Just as Shimizu Akira reached the fourth floor in the elevator and was taking his phone out of his pocket, Sato's voice suddenly came through the receiver.

"Huh? Me?!" Shimizu Akira paused for a moment, then replied instinctively.

"Yes! The exhibition match is scheduled for next Tuesday! You know, the students are already tired of watching us old guys play. It's time to bring out the newcomers and show them what we can do! Among these newcomers, you have the best physical abilities, so naturally, you were chosen. Don't worry, it's just an exhibition match, not a real battle, so just relax." Department Head Sato explained on the other end of the phone.

"Oh, and the boxing club won't treat you badly either. You'll get 5 personal points for your appearance fee, and then you'll get extra commission based on the number of attendees and their reaction." He added, his tone slightly tempting.

Akira Shimizu pressed further, "Then who is my opponent? It can't be a senior in the second or third year of high school, can it?"

"Don't worry, she's a first-year high school student just like you. We'll have to wait for the selection process after school tomorrow to decide who it is," Captain Sato replied.

"Anyway, the boxing club is taking this exhibition match of yours very seriously." President Sato's voice was full of enthusiasm. "Send me a selfie of yours in the next couple of days. Make sure you look energetic and handsome! I'll use it to print flyers and attract more students to come and watch."

"Also, get your boxing gloves ready. You were still using the old gloves from the department last month, weren't you? They're badly worn out. Buy yourself a new pair. Even though it's just an exhibition match, tattered gloves really look cheap and will definitely affect the audience's impression."

"Come to the boxing club tomorrow night and show your face. After all, your opponent needs to know who they're up against, right?"

After saying these words, Minister Sato hung up the phone.

After thinking about it, Akira Shimizu realized that he really should buy a new pair of boxing gloves.

The ones he used last month had been used for a long time, and the paint on the boxing surface had peeled off quite a bit.

Since it's an exhibition match, it's definitely more of an exhibition in nature.

Wearing tattered boxing gloves would definitely affect the viewing experience.

As for selfies!

He hasn't seen any yet.

It seems I still need to find some time to go to a photo studio and have a picture taken.

He suddenly remembered that Sakura Airi seemed to have a camera.

(I'll ask her to take a picture for me tomorrow when I have some free time.)

(After all, she's a professional model; her photography skills should be pretty reliable.)

Akira Shimizu quickly finalized this solution.

Of course, he would reciprocate in kind, such as treating the other party to a meal or simply transferring some points.

As for whether the other party will refuse...

There's no rush. If they really refuse, we can think of another way.

It's just a matter of asking a question.

Getting boxing gloves is a bit more complicated; you have to go to a professional sporting goods store. You'll need to try them on in person and carefully choose the right size based on your hand size – that's an unavoidable trip.

Having made up his mind, Akira Shimizu continued walking towards his dormitory.

A casual glance revealed a man standing in the doorway of room 401 next door—Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's room.

He got closer and recognized him as Sudo Ken, a classmate.

Takeshi Sudo pulled a room key out of his pocket, seemingly intending to place it on Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's doorknob.

Judging from his appearance, he was planning to use his room key to open Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's room.

"Sudo-kun," Shimizu Akira couldn't help but ask, "how did you get Ayanokouji-kun's room key? Did he give you permission?"

He clearly remembered that on the first day of school, the front desk staff said that whether they were couples or friends, they could only hold each other's room cards with the explicit permission of the individuals involved.

I never expected that Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, who seems so calm and aloof, would be so close to Ken Sudo that he would hand over his room key.

Takeru Sudo scratched his head, somewhat awkwardly replying, "No, it's not that! This is a spare room key that I discussed with Ike and Yamauchi, and we got ourselves. This room is now where our team meets... Actually, I've run into a huge problem."

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji also heard the commotion outside, and the door was pulled open with a "click".

He looked at Takeru Sudo with a somewhat puzzled expression.

"Help me, Ayanokouji!" Sudo Ken immediately cried out for help with a pained expression upon seeing the situation.

"Wait, put your business aside for now and give me the spare room key you just got." Ayanokouji Kiyotaka reached out first, trying to take back his room key.

"Huh? Why should I?" Takeru Sudo retorted with a righteous indignation, "I bought this room key with points, so of course it should belong to me!"

"What kind of logic is that? It doesn't make any sense!" Shimizu Akira frowned immediately upon hearing this. "Even if you got the room key yourself, it doesn't mean that you're in compliance with the rules just because you're using it!"

What the other party said was really outrageous. If we follow his logic, even thieves could legitimately make duplicate keys.

He couldn't help but raise his voice: "For example, if someone else had your spare room key, would you feel at ease? Besides, you're here to ask Ayanokouji for help, right? Shouldn't you lower your attitude and ask her properly?"

Takeru Sudo was taken aback by the question. He opened his mouth to retort, but after thinking about it, he realized that he was indeed there to ask for a favor. He lowered his head, took out a room key from his pocket, and handed it over: "Um... well, here, take the room key back." He scratched the back of his head, his voice becoming muffled, "I only heard from Ike and Yamauchi that this would be fine... Um, I'm sorry."

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji remained leaning against the doorframe. After taking his spare room key, he lightly traced the edge of the card with his fingertips, his gaze calmly falling on Kenjiro Sudo. His tone was emotionless: "...My spare room key. Who else has one?"

Takeru Sudo felt inexplicably uneasy under his gaze, as if Kiyotaka Ayanokouji had suddenly become a different person, his aura turning colder. He swallowed hard and honestly replied, "Only Ike and Yamauchi are left."

"...Is that so?" Ayanokouji Kiyotaka nodded slightly, then abruptly changed the subject, "So, what price do you intend to offer in exchange for my help?"

"Huh?! But I don't have any points! After all, I haven't received my points this month!" Sudo Ken was completely dumbfounded, his mouth agape for a long time before he could react.

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji glanced at him indifferently and repeated, "I don't want to be a tool."

This made Shimizu Akira take another look at Ayanokouji.

If I remember correctly, he said this to him just last month.

"Aren't we friends?!" Sudo Ken exclaimed anxiously.

“Being a friend doesn’t mean you can be taken advantage of unilaterally.” Ayanokoji Kiyotaka’s voice remained flat.

Ayanokouji looked at Sudo Ken's crestfallen face, remained silent for a moment, and then added, "You can go to Hirata-san and Kushida-san about this. They should be able to help you solve the problem."

There was no discernible emotion in his tone; there was neither urging nor perfunctory response, but rather it sounded like he was stating a simple fact.

Chapter 176: 173 The Temperature Between Us (5k)

Akira Shimizu watched Ken Sudo's figure disappear at the end of the corridor.

Over the past two months, he has felt that the people around him are subtly changing.

Not only Horikita Suzune, but even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seems to be quite different from when school started.

At the start of the school year, Ayanokouji was more like a tool that could be called upon at any time. To put it bluntly, he would agree to do anything anyone asked of him.

But just now, he explicitly asked for his own room key and bluntly refused to be treated as a tool—such a sharp-edged attitude would have been unimaginable two months ago.

This is truly a positive change.

After all, no normal person would tolerate a so-called "friend" showing up at their door with their spare key and demanding help with such a self-righteous attitude; nor would they act as if it were their due when the homeowner was rightfully asking for the room key.

In this kind of relationship, if any one of these conditions is met, the person cannot be considered a true friend.

If you encounter a "friend" or partner who always tries to take advantage of you and takes other people's efforts for granted, try to avoid them.

They're like vampires clinging to you, slowly draining your patience and energy.

"Shimizu-kun, want to go out for dinner together?" Ayanokouji Kiyotaka suddenly spoke up, his tone calm but carrying a clear invitation. "It's on me, as a thank you for helping me get my room key back earlier."

“Okay.” Shimizu Akira nodded readily in agreement.

He increasingly felt that the other party's behavior was becoming more and more like that of a normal human being, and there was no trace of the "pseudo-human" described in the intelligence.

......

Horikita Suzune was flipping through her math textbook, or more accurately, previewing what the teacher would teach in class the next day.

Before she knew it, she had developed a habit of studying for several hours every day after school.

Thinking back carefully, I learned this habit from my older brother when I first entered junior high school.

Now it has long been ingrained in my daily routine like an instinct: study after meals, then go to sleep; during the day, it's about getting up, studying, eating, and then studying for a while after returning to the dormitory; on Saturdays and Sundays, I study almost all day.

The cycle repeats itself, becoming a natural rhythm that doesn't require deliberate maintenance.

But tonight, she found herself inexplicably restless, and unconsciously glanced at the time on her phone—5:40 PM.

She had already eaten dinner, which was again a meal she had prepared herself.

Since that embarrassing incident last month, she has been extra careful when choosing ingredients and will even ask the staff if they are fresh.

She didn't touch a single one of the more than 100,000 points in her account.

After all, you never know when an unexpected event might occur that requires points in an emergency—just like this month, when none of the first-grade students received any points.

Whenever she thought of the points, she couldn't help but think of the intelligence fee she had given to Shimizu Akira.

I paid 80,000 points back then.

Later, Akira Shimizu gave her the money in two installments: one was 16,000 yen, which was half a month's tutoring fee; the other was 100,000 yen, of which 30,000 yen was a month's tutoring fee and the remaining 70,000 yen was hush money.

(Based on this calculation, Shimizu Akira received 80,000 points from me.)

(But I got 116,000 from him.)

(I have much more than him, a full 36,000 more.)

(So, does that mean I've come out ahead?)

The thought flashed through my mind, and the inexplicable irritation in my heart seemed to subside a little.

Horikita Suzune was naturally delighted to be able to earn points from Shimizu Akira.

After all, that person always had a calm and collected demeanor, exuding an air of impeccable composure, making it extremely difficult to find any flaws in him.

Moreover, as far as she knew, Shimizu Akira only ever made a profit from others and almost never engaged in unprofitable deals.

Earning an extra 36,000 points from him this time is indeed a rare victory.

However, when she thought of Shimizu Akira, she suddenly remembered that the other person had said that she would go to her brother after school to ask about the extension of her points.

I wonder what they'll talk about.

(Could those two be talking about me?)

For no apparent reason, this thought popped into Horikita Suzune's mind.

For example, will Shimizu Akira tell her brother about the embarrassing incident of her stomachache last month?

But then she thought about it again and realized it was unlikely.

Since Shimizu Akira promised her he wouldn't tell, he probably really wouldn't.

Since Shimizu Akira is keeping her mouth shut, her own brother probably won't bring up her matter on his own initiative.

She thought about it some more. Given that the two of them didn't like to waste words, they would most likely resolve the issue quickly, and then Shimizu Akira would have to leave the student council.

Immediately afterwards, the other party probably went to eat.

But here's the problem—

Since we're aiming for a quick victory, we won't waste too much time eating.

It's already 5:40 PM, why hasn't Shimizu Akira arrived yet?

He had clearly promised to come to her dorm at noon, and she had even clearly told him her room number, 1201.

Horikita Suzune stared at the math problems in her textbook, but her eyes were somewhat unfocused, and her fingertips unconsciously tapped twice on the edge of the table.

Suddenly, my phone chimed with a notification.

(Could it be that Akira Shimizu said he'd be late tonight?)

Horikita Suzune almost instinctively grabbed her phone, but froze the moment the screen lit up—the sender was her older brother, Horikita Manabu.

Horikita Manabu: Don't imitate me anymore.

The moment Horikita Suzune saw the message, her face immediately darkened.

Why did my brother suddenly say something like that?

I don't think I've done anything to embarrass him lately.