I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Tianyin."

"We're not even talking about trouble or not..."

After agreeing to work for Sakayanagi, Amane changed into the apron provided by Sakayanagi. However, due to the size issue, Amane looked improper in the apron. Helpless, Sakayanagi had to take out a disposable apron and force it onto Amane.

Although it felt a bit rudimentary, compared to Amane who looked incredibly saccharine in an apron, Sakayanagi was more accepting of Amane now, who was completely covered up.

What should I do?

Amane curiously examined the wide variety of ingredients. If she were to cook with these ingredients, she could make at least eight dishes. This showed that Sakayanagi had indeed put a lot of effort into preparing the ingredients.

"You don't need to do anything. Just help me prepare the ingredients according to my instructions. Don't forget that I'm treating you to dinner today, so I have to cook for you myself."

Sakayanagi's determined gaze moved Amane. Given Sakayanagi's physical condition, there was absolutely no need for her to go to such great lengths to prepare a dinner, since even she herself usually ate cafeteria food and fast food.

Only when Tianyin occasionally visits would she prepare a more substantial meal for her.

It's clear that cooking is both troublesome and physically demanding for Sakayanagi. With her limited mobility, she can only choose to stand still and process the ingredients together before starting to cook them, which makes it difficult to increase her speed.

That's why she needs someone to help her prepare the ingredients in advance; she only needs to complete the final cooking step.

Meat ingredients require a lot of strength to handle, so Sakayanagi is a bit difficult to process. Therefore, this glorious task was handed over to Amane.

"Turn this piece of meat into minced meat, and then shape it into meatballs for later use. Shape this piece into a pork chop; I'll fry some pork chops for you later. Cut the ribs into small pieces..."

Sakayanagi was afraid that Amane would get confused, so he explained it in great detail, even specifying its intended use.

But it was clear that Tianyin wasn't listening very attentively.

As usual, Amane, holding a kitchen knife, twirled it, a move that stunned Sakayanagi, who was standing nearby.

It wasn't the first time she'd seen Tianyin handle ingredients, but it was the first time she'd seen Tianyin wield a kitchen knife so skillfully.

Amane didn't notice that Sakayanagi's gaze gradually changed from surprise to eagerness. She placed the meat on the cutting board and, taking a deep breath, began to chop quickly.

Without any preparation or pre-cutting into small pieces before chopping, Tianyin used her wrist to forcefully cut the pork on the cutting board with the blade.

Listening to the rapid, rhythmic chopping of meat, Sakayanagi looked at the cutting board she usually took such good care of with a pang of heartache. But when she saw Amane's focused and serious expression as she processed the ingredients, she forgot all about the cutting board.

Her calm expression paired with her fluid movements so fast that they were almost invisible made Sakayanagi think to himself, 'Amane looks really cool when she's serious.' After Sakayanagi noticed that he was actually engrossed in watching Amane prepare the ingredients, his face turned bright red.

Feeling the burning sensation on her cheeks, even without looking in a mirror, Sakayanagi could roughly imagine how embarrassing she looked.

Even though she realized that she was being a bit embarrassing, Sakayanagi still stood there quietly watching Amane's every move.

Seemingly feeling that processing ingredients with one hand was too slow, Tianyin picked up another cleaver and, after making a flourish with both hands, began to process the pork, which was already taking shape on the cutting board, with even greater speed.

After a flurry of chopping motions, the cutting board was filled with a perfectly minced meat. Amane looked at her work with satisfaction. Just as she picked up a piece to check with Sakayanagi to see if the level of processing met her requirements, she was suddenly kissed on the lips by Sakayanagi.

The sudden kiss didn't cause much of a stir; it lasted only three to five seconds before they quickly separated.

"Why...so suddenly?"

"Suddenly?"

"At least give me a heads-up! I wasn't prepared at all, I had no idea what was going on. No way! I have to get revenge."

Amane also gave Sakayanagi a big kiss on the cheek.

In the past, Sakayanagi might have angrily complained that Amane had spit on her face again, but today Sakayanagi just shyly lowered her head.

"Why bother greeting your lover when you're kissing them...?"

Seeing that Sakayanagi's behavior was completely different from usual, Amane also felt a little strange, so she could only tentatively call out Sakayanagi's name.

"Arisu?"

"Hmm...you don't have any reservations today, do you?"

What Sakayanagi meant by "reservation" was that Amane would often stay overnight in different girls' dormitories to avoid making the girls around her feel neglected.

If Ichinose and Karuizawa don't have reservations, Amane usually stays at Horikita's place and occasionally comes to Sakayanagi's place.

Even though it was just staying overnight between four dormitories, Tianyin felt immense pressure. If it weren't for her phenomenal recovery ability, she might have been the one taking the most leave of absence in the entire school.

The implication behind Sakayanagi's words was self-evident. Amane thought back and realized that she didn't have any special reservations for today. Karuizawa had originally wanted Amane to stay at her place for another night before school ended, saying that there was a deer in her dormitory that could do the splits while wearing a gymnastics outfit.

Amane was tempted at the time, but when she thought about how Karuizawa's condition was not quite right last night, she made an excuse to decline.

According to the original plan, Tianyin intended to take a good rest for a day, after all, there is always tomorrow... and she should take care of her body.

But now that Sakayanagi has put it this way, refusing might get her killed, so after weighing the options for three seconds, Amane made her decision.

"There aren't any bookings today."

"How about you stay here tonight? I'm hoping Teacher Tianyin can tutor me!"

Sakayanagi switched to a more childlike tone, and upon hearing that innocent voice, Amane couldn't help but swallow.

The thought of Sakayanagi's exceptional talent for portraying innocent and pure girls made Amane's heart flutter.

But before succumbing to desire, there was one more important thing she needed to do.

That was to find out about the special exam.

Tianyin was afraid that she would forget such an important matter after having fun, so she made up her mind to complete this arduous task before she lost her mind.

To complete the mission, even sacrificing oneself... Tianyin said she was fully prepared.

"Then I'll stay here tonight."

"It's a deal. If you dare to run away halfway, I'll be really mean to you~ Just kidding."

Sakayanagi issued a warning to Amane, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

However, the reason why Sakayanagi would say such a thing...

Naturally, it's because Tianyin has a criminal record.

The meal was quickly prepared, and both Tianyin and Jiangyan were very hungry looking at the colorful, fragrant, and delicious dishes on the table.

"I'm starting!!"

……

Jiang Yan was the first to finish eating. Admittedly, if she were to rate tonight's meal, the taste would undoubtedly be a perfect score. Moreover, Sakayanagi's cooking skills were a huge blow to Jiang Yan. In Jiang Yan's memory, Sakayanagi's cooking level was still good enough to send someone to the hospital.

So before eating the food prepared by Sakayanagi, Masahiko's expectation was that the food would be edible. However, he never expected that it would not only be edible, but would be comparable to Hayasaka's cooking skills, and even surpass Hayasaka's professional maid skills in cooking.

It had only been a few years since he last saw Sakayanagi, yet she had already far surpassed him in culinary skills, even going so far as to say things like Amane loved delicious food to provoke him.

If that were all, Masahiko wouldn't have finished his meal so quickly. After all, he had a lot to talk about with Amane and Sakayanagi, and if they really started talking, they probably wouldn't have finished in a whole night.

But just as he was getting into the mood, he received a message from Tianze that was like a bolt from the blue.

Why use the phrase "a bolt from the blue" to describe it? During the two-hour negotiation, Class A of the first year, which had the strongest overall strength and was led by Jiang Yan, actually lost its leadership.

This is no longer a matter of whether Tianze seizes power or not; the reality is probably much more complicated than what he has read in the written account.

It was probably Nanase who started the idea that Masahiko and Amane were related. In addition, Amane was very likely to be elected as the leader of the second year in this special exam. If Masahiko became the leader of the first year and did something that would harm the collective interests of the first year students, losing the special exam would be secondary.

What they found most unacceptable was that the greatest risk of losing the special exam came from the leader they themselves had chosen.

So after Nanase, Utsunomiya, and Yagami insisted that no one from Class A could lead the second-year students, Amasawa was somewhat helpless.

Of course, Class A could choose not to participate, but if other classes formed cliques, even Jiang Yan would feel uncomfortable. Therefore, Tian Ze could only explain to Jiang Yan that he would not be elected, but Class A must become the leader.

When Jiang Yan saw this part, he felt that he had it in the bag, so he didn't look at the rest of the content in detail.

But in just one meal, they decided on the leader of the first-year students.

Hayasaka Miyabi, Class B, Grade 1.

This completely stunned Jiang Yan. He was so anxious that he couldn't care less about reminiscing. All he wanted to do was find those guys as soon as possible and find out how things had turned out this way.

Just as Masahiko was about to take his leave, he saw Sakayanagi feeding Amane.

"Come on, Tianyin, open your mouth!"

"Awoo."

Seeing her two older sisters having so much fun, Jiang Yan couldn't bear to break such a beautiful scene.

After careful consideration, he picked up his phone and pressed the shutter button.

With this, next time I run into that wicked woman Horikita, I can show her that Amane-nee and Arisu-nee are the true love!!!

Chapter 73: The note says 'pet'

As Tianyin leisurely enjoyed being fed, she secretly glanced at Jiang Yan's direction from the corner of her eye at an extremely discreet angle.

If Jiang Yan were on alert, Tian Yin's little tricks might be immediately exposed. But right now, Jiang Yan's mind should be entirely focused on the negotiation meeting taking place in the karaoke room.

The result of multitasking was that he was completely unaware that his every move was being watched by Tianyin.

After casually swiping the screen a few times, Jiang Yan suddenly felt an urge to stand up. However, just as he was about to lift his knees, Tian Yin deliberately glanced at him with feigned curiosity.

Seemingly not intending to say anything to Tianyin that would spoil the atmosphere, Jiang Yan could only awkwardly abandon his attempt to get up and sit back down.

However, it is clear from the current situation that although Jiang Yan is physically present, his mind is already on the other side of the meeting.

Seeing the restless Jiang Yan, Amane secretly revealed a triumphant smile. However, this scene was witnessed by Sakayanagi, who was about to feed Amane fried shrimp. Even though Amane's expression immediately returned to normal, Sakayanagi was not so easily fooled. She followed Amane's gaze to Jiang Yan beside her.

With almost no effort, Sakayanagi guessed that Amane was teasing Masahiko. Although Sakayanagi mostly cared for Masahiko out of affection for him, she couldn't help but try to persuade Amane after seeing that Amane seemed to be teasing him.

"Don't go too far."

Even when trying to persuade her, Sakayanagi only told Amane not to go too far. In Sakayanagi's view, it was perfectly natural for an older sister to bully her younger brother. As long as it wasn't too outrageous, there was no need to organize anything. The reason Sakayanagi spoke up was because Masahiko was still somewhat useful to Amane, so she helped him persuade her.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Under normal circumstances, if someone says they are confident in their abilities, the other person should feel somewhat reassured.

But Sakayanagi realized another layer of meaning in Amane's words.

If Amane was simply teasing, the correct response based on Amane's habits would be "Let's stop here then" or "Then let's listen to Arisu." However, Amane's response indicated that she knew what she was doing.

This suggests that Jiang Yan has most likely fallen into Tianyin's trap, and that Tianyin has completely taken control of the situation, which is why she spoke with such confidence.

But...didn't we just have dinner together? Sakayanagi had no recollection of what had happened between Amane and Masahiko.

In other words, the real battlefield is not inside this room.

As for the battlefield outside the room... well, that's only the special exam. Sakayanagi's expression shifted slightly.

Unbeknownst to her, the first and second year students had already begun to take action. If Amane hadn't revealed a small flaw, Sakayanagi wouldn't have realized that the peaceful school life was once again becoming turbulent.

Unfortunately, this undercurrent had little to do with her, because...

"Sister Amane, Sister Ayumi, I'm so sorry, a classmate just messaged me saying that something urgent has happened and I need to go back and deal with it, so I might have to go back first..."

Masahiko's performance confirmed Sakayanagi's suspicions.

"Huh? Is it serious? Do you need my or Tianyin's help?"

Sakayanagi asked in a concerned tone, also wanting to get some information from Masahiko about how Amane, that naughty kid, had bullied him this time.

Jiang Yan immediately shook his head repeatedly when Tianyin was asked to help him.

The main reason why this negotiation went so wrong was that as Tianyin's younger brother, he was hostile and distrusted by the other classes. Although Jiang Yan himself was very proud of this identity, it became a burden to him and Class A when it came to collective affairs.

Unless he is determined to be an enemy of the entire grade or to be isolated by the entire grade, it will be difficult for him and Tianyin to take the special exams together peacefully in the future.

Then, considering that Tianze hadn't managed to wrest control of the conversation from those people either, Jiang Yan instinctively connected this to her own exclusion from decision-making.

Jiang Yan believed this wasn't just a matter of the other three classes distrusting him personally, but rather a distrust of the entire Class A. If this was let off the hook this time, what would happen in the future? When faced with exams related to Tianyin, he would have to become mute and obey others' commands…

Stop joking!

Jiang Yan roared inwardly. He was not the kind of guy who would be slaughtered by others. His pride and self-respect would not allow him to bow down to anyone except Tianyin.

Even for the sake of the class, it's unacceptable.

Therefore, Masahiko must immediately go to the negotiation site to settle this score with them. If they tacitly agree today that he, Masahiko, will be sidelined as long as he participates in the special exam with the second-year students, he will be sidelined.

Unless he graduates from Tianyin, he shouldn't expect to have any say in the entire grade before becoming a third-year student.

This is something Jiang Yan cannot accept.

However, this had nothing to do with Tianyin. In Jiangyan's opinion, all the nonsense about the siblings being too close and possibly affecting their judgment was just an excuse. Their real purpose was simply to gain more control of the discourse.

Throughout history, Jiang Yan has never heard of the strong having to listen to the nonsense of the weak.

However, if Amane were to go with them, it would indeed create some unpleasant associations. Although Masahiko didn't care much, he didn't want Amane's reputation to be affected, so he couldn't agree to let Sakayanagi and Amane go together no matter what.

Otherwise, many things will become very troublesome to handle.

"It's alright, it's just a small matter. I can handle it by myself. Tianyin-jie, you can stay here and chat with Youxi-jie. I can manage things over there on my own."