Kapitel 123: Chapter 123 – Showdown
Yukio felt somewhat thankful for the school's arrangement. The large swimming pool was only open for the last three days of summer vacation, and each student could only visit once. If they came on the first day, they could not enter on the following two days.
This effectively alleviated the problem of too many people coming at once and detracting from the experience.
Thus, the students who came wanted to make the most of it and naturally chose not to leave early. They usually came in the afternoon or evening and stayed until closing.
Therefore, the shower area was very quiet, with almost no one choosing to rinse off and leave at this time, allowing Yukio and Kushida to have a good time.
If Yukio was quite happy, Kushida following him was filled with regret. She couldn't understand why she had foolishly agreed to let Horikita off the hook. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she got, even shooting Yukio several glares from behind him.
This all started from their activities inside, where they slid down the slide under the pretense of playing separately. Ichinose went to find her friends, and the two of them sneakily met up here.
What followed was as you would expect, with Yukio playing the helpful guy. However, this time he was a bit more cautious during the process of helping Kushida nearly achieve her goal, seizing the opportunity to make demands, laying his cards on the table, and revealing that President Horikita had spent a lot of money to ensure Horikita Suzune's safety.
Furthermore, Yukio had already agreed to President Horikita's terms, meaning the initial promise he made to Kushida could basically not be fulfilled, at least not with his effort.
Kushida was furious, but luckily they were alone and she could reprimand Yukio without holding back, accusing him of lacking integrity, breaking his promise, and likening his actions to eating without intending to pay—a highly disreputable behavior that should be criticized, not encouraged.
But Kushida didn't consider that Yukio held the cards in this situation. She could curse him out, but at the crucial moment of achieving her goal, she was still at Yukio's mercy.
Yukio made it clear: if she didn't agree, it was no issue for him; he could simply walk away. Seeing her goal within reach, how could Kushida let him leave at such a moment? In her heated state, between protesting and wheedling, she couldn't soften his resolve.
He was quite serious about leaving, leaving Kushida at a loss on how to deal with him. Eventually, in her desperation and clouded judgment, she agreed to let Horikita go.
After leaving the large swimming pool, Kushida, feeling the sun on her skin and the breeze blowing, immediately came to her senses, filled with regret. She pouted, "Can't you reconsider? You had already promised to deal with Horikita."
In contrast, Yukio was feeling refreshed and content, leisurely saying, "But didn't you just agree to let Horikita go?"
"That doesn't count!" Kushida raised her voice, clearly irritated. "That was you..." She trailed off, her face blooming like a rose after rain, too embarrassed to continue. She could only curse Yukio in her heart for being so cunning and forcing her into a corner in such a situation. It was inhuman!
"Alright, alright." Yukio wasn't someone to turn a cold shoulder once outside. He turned back, smiling and gently squeezed Kushida's cheek.
With a playful pinch, turning her sullen puffed cheeks into a funny expression, the cute sound of air escaping made it hard not to chuckle.
"Why so anxious?" Yukio appeared unfazed. "Anyway, Horikita is now basically ostracized by Class D, she can't pose any threat to you. What are you afraid of?"
Kushida then looked at Yukio seriously, "Why can't she be a threat? She came from the same middle school as me, she might know about my past!"
If her middle school past were to be revealed, her life at the Advanced Nurturing High School would be over, and she wouldn't be able to continue surviving there.
Yukio was unconcerned, "If Horikita planned to expose you, she would have done it already. The first semester is almost over, and the second semester is just a day away. This means either Horikita doesn't know your secret, or even if she does, she won't disclose it."
"But what if there's some chance she does?" Kushida continued to argue for her case, "What if she knows and says something out of some accident? What should I do then? Only if she completely disappears from this school can I truly feel safe."
Yukio laughed, "Then why aren't you worried about me? I also know your secret, and it's even saved on my phone. If some accident happens, you're equally unsafe."
"Or are you suggesting," Yukio's gaze turned teasing as he stared at Kushida, "that you plan for me to drop out as well?"
"You, you're definitely not the same as Horikita!" Faced with Yukio's gaze, Kushida quickly averted her eyes. It wasn't out of guilt but sheer shyness! Especially after what had just happened, making eye contact with Yukio easily brought back those feelings.
Seeing Kushida's reaction, Yukio knew he must have persuaded her. To make her feel more at ease, he decided to assure her further: "Actually, you don't need to overthink it."
"What you need to do is to maintain your character while subtly encouraging class members to oppose her. Over time, even if Horikita says something, no one will believe her."
"After all, if a person can act kind and do good deeds all their life, who can say they aren't a good person? Some things, if you keep acting them out, slowly become reality."
Kushida fell silent, not really because she was worried that Horikita would expose her secret. After a semester with nothing happening, she wasn't too concerned about it.
If anything, she just disliked Horikita, because at the beginning, when she sweetly approached Horikita to test whether she knew her secret, Horikita coldly rejected her friendship.
This made Kushida see Horikita as an enemy, thinking how unreasonable and arrogant she was.
So frustrated she couldn't sleep, Kushida found herself venting at the school's lakeside railing that night, which led to her encounter with Yukio and their relationship now.
Thinking back, could Horikita be considered the "matchmaker" between her and Yukio?
The thought disgusted Kushida so much that she shook her head, trying to rid herself of the idea. As for Horikita, with Yukio saying so much, she felt there wasn't much for her to do.
In any case, not upsetting Yukio was the only thing Kushida realized she needed to focus on. After all, she covered her face, recalling the embarrassment of Yukio leveraging her climax to set terms. Kushida definitely did not want a repeat of that.
***
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