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

Should we just let her be eaten by Tianyin naturally?

Soon, Ibuki realized a very serious problem: what if Shiina and Amane started dating? It wasn't a big deal that her own affair would be exposed, since Ibuki never thought this deal could be kept secret for long.

But what if Amane wants to play some weird games with her and Shiina later...?

hiss! ! !

Ibuki gasped.

No! We absolutely cannot let Shiina be eaten by Amane! We must at least wait until she gets away from Amane, otherwise…

The thought of Amane's left arm around him and her right arm around Shiina made Ibuki want to die on the spot.

"Well... actually, Amane isn't as good as you think, Hiyori. There are so many women she flirts with that one room couldn't hold them all. Haven't you noticed that Amane almost never contacts me? Someone like me is practically an outsider. Even if we dated, that bastard would just use me and then dump me. I advise you to think carefully before getting close to that guy, Hiyori."

Both Ibuki's tone and expression confirmed that she was not lying. Combined with the rumors about Amane and Shiina's understanding of Amane, Ibuki's words were highly credible.

If Ibuki had advised Shiina in the past, Shiina might have seriously considered whether to choose Amane, who was excellent but not faithful.

But the situation has changed now. Even without mentioning the bet between Miss Kiryuin and her, her words of declaring war on Horikita alone are enough to leave her with no way out.

This leaves Shiina Hiyori with only one option: to grit her teeth and complete the punishment.

But getting Tianyin to confess her feelings... is probably as difficult as getting promoted to Class A.

No, if it was just to get Amane to confess, that might be the case, but Shiina made a very serious mistake from the very beginning, which was to let Amane know about the bet between Kiryuin Marina and her in advance.

A person is most easily influenced by emotions when caught off guard. In other words, if Shiina were willing to put in the effort, it wouldn't be impossible to create a scene that would move Amane's heart. However, for Amane, who was already on guard...

Ordinary tactics would probably have no effect on Amane at all; in fact, Amane would subconsciously go into a defensive state just by seeing Shiina.

This left Shiina completely bewildered as to how to make Amane lower her guard. Only in this way could Shiina have a chance to move Amane with sincerity or something else.

Amane is willing to cooperate with Shiina to carry out the punishment if she is willing.

But wouldn't that prove that I have no appeal to Tianyin?

The thought that even Ibuki could become Amane's lover through her charm made Shiina refuse to admit that she was inferior to Ibuki in terms of charm.

Suddenly, Shiina was startled by her own overly strong competitive spirit. She used to be one of those people who hated class fights and the scheming among classmates.

Why……

How did I end up like this?

Did she become competitive on her own, or...?

Has Tianyin truly changed me?

"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then just pretend I never asked. I'm sorry for asking you such a private question right away."

Shiina wasn't disappointed that Ibuki wouldn't tell her the way to success, nor did she have any other opinion about Ibuki because of it. When pursuing someone, everyone relies on their own abilities, and no one can easily share their secrets with you. Not to mention that in Shiina's eyes, Ibuki and Amane are still lovers, even if they had broken up, how would you expect someone to answer if you asked their ex-girlfriend what kind of girl she liked?

Shiina also realized that she was too eager for quick success. What she wanted was not just to be looked at by Amane a few more times, or for Amane to give her an equal status with Horikita and the others and a unique title. What she wanted was to gain Amane's emotional recognition.

If one day Amane develops a feeling that "I can't live without Shiina Hiyori," that will be the moment for her to truly confess her feelings. Artificially created emotional impulses and feelings of attraction are ultimately just temporary passions.

Shiina's pursuit is not simply about establishing a relationship to satisfy mutual desires, but rather about building a spiritual connection between the two.

It is clear that Shiina takes dating very seriously, which ensures that both of them feel extremely comfortable once they start dating.

However, this standard also raises the bar for Tianyin to confess her feelings.

If she can't take her relationship with Tianyin to the next level in this special exam, she'll hardly have another chance to have such close contact with Tianyin.

Ibuki watched as Shiina, who was deep in thought, grew increasingly determined. She could only sigh softly. It seemed impossible to get Shiina to give up pursuing Amane. She was too embarrassed to tell Shiina about her experiences and the circumstances surrounding them, but seeing her one of her few friends in trouble, it would be somewhat unreasonable for her to stand idly by.

"Tianyin might prefer girls who are more proactive."

Ibuki blushed slightly, turned her head to the side, and then spoke softly in a voice that Shiina could barely hear.

Shiina's thoughts, which were in the middle of a deep contemplation, were drawn to Ibuki's words.

"Does 'taking the initiative' mean... confessing your feelings?"

Shiina knew, of course, that the main reason why many couples who had a chance to become lovers, despite getting along well during their crush period, ended up regretting it was because both of them lacked the courage to confess. If either of them had taken the initiative, they probably wouldn't have had any regrets.

Shiina has no shortage of courage; otherwise, she wouldn't have announced to Horikita that she had joined the battle for Amane. However, the problem is…

This isn't a test of Shiina's courage. If the punishment were for Shiina to confess to Amane, it would have ended yesterday.

This time, the roles have reversed, and it's now Tianyin who needs to muster the courage to confess.

Tianyin's courage is beyond question, but the problem seems to have come full circle: how to get the least eager person among the two people who have feelings for each other and all the external factors for confession to confess to the other person first.

"Confession?"

Ibuki clicked her tongue with a strange expression. What era is this? Shiina doesn't still think that being proactive is the old-fashioned way of writing a love letter and asking someone out to confess, does he?

If that's Shiina's plan, then she's really going to be eliminated right from the start.

The reason is simple: Tianyin often has so many love letters that her wardrobe can't hold them all.

Many girls, when they don't receive a reply from Tianyin, will keep writing and writing, sometimes even including photos, gifts, and contact information, hoping that Tianyin will give them a chance.

After witnessing Tianyin's financial power and powerful background, some of the third-year female students were obsessed with having a relationship with her. If they didn't graduate from Class A, they wouldn't be eligible for direct admission to university. More than half of the students in Classes C and D would be unable to continue their studies and would face the predicament of having to work. A high school diploma is nothing special. In today's society, the only jobs that girls with a high school diploma can imagine are waitresses or convenience store employees.

Rather than drifting aimlessly at the bottom of society or marrying a man to share the financial burden, it's better to be a dog by Tianyin's side.

Although it's embarrassing to say it, reality tells them that even Tianyin's dog lives a much better life than ordinary people.

This is why you can always see upperclassmen around Koenji who are willing to support him with points. Koenji School values ​​merit above all else and likes to use simulated harsh realities to train or cultivate students. The direct consequence of doing so is...

Everyone will eventually be forced to grow in a highly competitive environment, and the price of growth is becoming more realistic.

This is what the school wants to see, because only by abandoning those unrealistic dreams and facing the harsh reality can their money chains bind every student without connections who leaves here.

Therefore, in other schools, graduation often symbolizes breaking up, but in this school, the third year is the one that symbolizes breaking up.

Once they reach the third grade and are still in the lower class, their chances of turning things around are virtually zero. Since their future is ruined, they can only pursue practical things, and the prerequisite for pursuing these things is that they must be single. Therefore, when Gao Yuyi enters the third grade, the number of breakups will start to increase explosively.

These people will become competitors to the innocent girls in the first and second years.

This is especially true for Miyako Amane, who was the most popular and held the top spot in the entire school's "most desired partner" ranking for over a year.

At first, Tianyin read through those messy letters one by one very carefully, and even gave some replies to politely decline or thank them for the gifts.

But as time went on, Tianyin became impatient with these things, so she usually just collected love letters casually and only looked at them occasionally when she had free time.

If Shiina wants to start with a love letter, that would be too difficult. Forget it, I'll just teach her something useful myself.

"Idiot, the initiative I'm talking about isn't some childish thing. The initiative I'm talking about is..."

Ibuki leaned close to Shiina's ear and whispered a few words, causing Shiina's face to turn bright red instantly.

"Wait, wait a minute! This isn't exactly taking the initiative, is it? Isn't this something that should only be done after marriage?"

Shiina's shy demeanor earned her a glare from Ibuki.

"If you think this is a bit too stimulating for you, I'll find something gentler."

Ibuki whispered a few more words in Shiina's ear.

Shiina was stunned after hearing Ibuki's method.

"This... seems to be similar to what we were talking about earlier... Oh dear! Mio, can't you come up with anything even slightly more serious? Why is it all about things like 'being pleasured'... these kinds of topics that sound like they're only for adults?! Mio, are you being influenced by Amane...?"

"I didn't! I didn't!! Don't talk nonsense!!!"

Chapter 208: Dedication of Body and Soul

While Shiina and Ibuki were still racking their brains over Amane's situation, Amane herself had just finished a major battle.

A shy-looking Nanase hid in a corner of the room, tidying up her clothes. Every now and then, she would steal glances at Amane and Tenzawa, who were slowly getting dressed, as if afraid that their actions would be discovered by others.

"Speaking of which, what's wrong with that guy? He was pretty carefree just a moment ago, so why did he change like that as soon as it ended? He's such a baffling person. I had the confidence to see right through her when she was with Baoquan before..."

After putting on her black stockings and leather shoes, Tianze glanced at Nanase, who was keeping a distance from her, with some confusion.

If Amane, as a second-year student, didn't have many opportunities to interact with Nanase and therefore couldn't see the changes in Nanase, then for Amane, who saw Nanase almost every day, Nanase now felt like a completely different person.

In the past, Nanase always followed behind Hosen with a blank expression, like a little follower. She looked kind of cute, but her aloof and distant expression greatly diminished her cuteness. Moreover, back then, Nanase was just as bad at socializing as she is now.

But there is no doubt that Nanase's social skills at that time were disastrous. This is not to say that Nanase was not good at socializing, but that Nanase could bring any social conversation to an abrupt end simply by having an emotionless face, even though she was excellent in speaking skills and other aspects.

It was a complete disaster for her social circle. Even though Nanase did everything perfectly, people stopped hanging out with her because she showed no expression or emotional fluctuations.

In fact, if Nanase Tsubasa hadn't been the female leader of Class D in the first year, she would definitely have blended into the crowd and become a classmate 'A' whose memory of her was somewhat vague.

Yet this very person now appears before her like a living, breathing young girl… Ah, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but in Amaze’s eyes, Nanase is like a cold doll who suddenly became a human.

The leap was so great that Tianze didn't know whether she should be happy or scared about it.

"Tsubasa went through a lot last night... I mean, things other than that. Anyway, maybe it's because of one reason or another that Tsubasa's personality has changed? But isn't Tsubasa adorable now?"

As Amane spoke, she beckoned to Nanase, who immediately snuggled up to her like a well-behaved little animal.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Senior Tianyin?"

Seeing that Nanase's face was still flushed from the battle but her eyes were still clear, Amane revealed a malicious smile.

Nanase noticed that Amane's smile was a little strange and instinctively wanted to run away from her. However, she suddenly remembered her mother's teachings and finally suppressed her urge to escape, obediently letting Amane stroke her head.

"Yi, you did a great job just now! I'm very satisfied."

"Huh?! Senior Tianyin... what did you just say?"

"I said, I'm very satisfied with your performance just now, Yi."

Amane originally just wanted to admire Nanase's shy appearance a little longer, but she didn't know that her words would take on a completely different meaning in Nanase's ears.

"Senior Tianyin is very satisfied with me... Does that mean I've passed the test? Have I become a dating partner that Senior Tianyin can be satisfied with?"

Nanase Kazuki grasped Amane's hand and looked at her expectantly.

"This……"

Amane was startled by Nanase's sudden action of grabbing her hand. After realizing that Nanase had misunderstood her meaning, Amane did not deny it. In Amane's heart, Nanase, who seemed a little silly, already occupied about the same place as Ichinose and the others.

In other words, Amane had already accepted Nanase as a girl in her heart yesterday. It was just that Nanase insisted on giving her a trial period or something. Now that Nanase thinks that Amane's teasing of her is a form of recognition, it wouldn't be a problem to just cancel this strange notion of a trial period.

"That's right, Tsubasa, you passed!"

Amane gently touched Nanase's lips, officially acknowledging Nanase's status as her lover.

To Amane, this was nothing more than going with the flow, but it brought tears to Nanase's eyes. Seeing this, Amane quickly asked why, fearing that she had hurt her again.

"Yi, why are you crying? Is it hurting again?"

Faced with Amane's concerned gaze, Nanase smiled and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"No, I just feel that happiness came too suddenly..."

Nanase's words stunned Amane once again.

Amane considered herself to be among the quickest-witted people, both mentally and physically. However, she never expected that since meeting Nanase, she would encounter so many unbelievable things and statements that she would be unable to react or answer them in a timely manner.

This surprised Tianyin, and she began to think about the reasons why this situation had occurred.

What exactly is it that allows Nanase to do things that are beyond her expectations time and time again?

With tears in her eyes, the beautiful girl Nanase replied that she felt happiness had come too suddenly.

This heartwarming scene would be touching anywhere, but here both Tianze and Tianyin fell silent.

In the end, Tenze couldn't bear to watch any longer and went over to gently tap Nanase's little head.

"Hey, Nanase, what's wrong with you? Isn't it good that you're Tenon-senpai's lover? Why are you stealing my job? And you say happiness came too suddenly... You were getting thoroughly bullied just ten minutes ago, have you forgotten all that?"

Tianze knew that as Tianyin's new favorite, Nanase, with her awkward status, had no right to lecture Nanase in front of Tianyin. However, Tianze Yixia simply couldn't stand Nanase's... indescribable... sense of inferiority.

Although the relationship between Amasawa and Nanase sounds like something that would make people think of something inappropriate or improper, in reality... their relationship is indeed not very proper. However, in general, the relationship between Nanase and Amane is more like a mutual demand, and the terms "pet" and "master" are just spice to add to the fun of the game.

Nanase is different. Her posture, which is just like a real pet, and her puppy-like eyes make people feel sorry for her. This is not a trial period of dating. This is probably aimed directly at her. Ichika Amasawa might as well just give up the pet status and let Nanase be the one.

"You wicked woman! Don't even think about trying to sow discord between me and Senior Tianyin! You think you can teach me a lesson with your mere pet? I advise you to recognize your place first."

"you!--"

Enraged by Nanase's seemingly familiar words, Amaze was about to teach Nanase a lesson when Amane's gaze turned towards her.

Realizing he had lost his composure, Tianze bit his bright red lips and finally slowly lowered his hand.

Tenze wasn't reckless enough to dare to hurt Nanase in front of Tenon. Moreover, although Tenon didn't usually interfere in their private competitions, she explicitly forbade them to compete using force.

Therefore, everyone tacitly avoided using force to decide the outcome. Although Tianze was not often by Tianyin's side, Banliu had still told her about this.

Seeing that Amane had stood up for her, Nanase puffed out her chest proudly and continued speaking.