章 8: War of Love and Brains of Geniuses

　　One day during winter break, Shinichi went to the Shuch'iin Academy library to borrow books.

　　Due to his strong background, abundant funds, and the fact that the government supported the schools, Shuhi'in Academy's library was comparable in size to the National Library. Not only was the building luxurious like a castle, but the collection of books was also large, one couldn't read all the books.

　　It can be said that the biggest reason Shinichi chose this academy was because of its rich and amazing library collection.

　　During winter break, he spent almost all of his time reading in it. From morning to night, he read like madly as if he had been poisoned. Otherwise, the action will always be home and library, so simple.

　　And just as he was as obsessed with studying as ever, he saw a familiar girl standing in front of the bookshelf.

　　She was petite, her black hair meticulously tied into a ponytail, her appearance was beautiful and pure, her body exuded an indescribable aura, but she didn't have any arrogance, which only amazed people.

　　Because he had seen her during the school assembly, Shinichi knew that she was the vice president of the Student Council, super wealthy woman, Shinomiya Kaguya.

　　Would someone like this go to the school library to borrow books? Just tell her what books she wants, and the family will prepare them for her. Why should she come here and spend more time?

　　Shinichi was a little confused, even though he wasn't interested in it, he was curious about what she was doing now.

　　It was fine to just borrow a book, and he didn't bother to think about things like inquiring about personal privacy, but the problem was that Kaguya's current posture was just too weird.

　　Not only was she hiding behind a bookshelf, with a sly and shady appearance she was also as nervous as an underage boy hiding under a blanket and reading pornographic books. She constantly looked around, fearing that someone was watching her every move and her whole body was in an extremely tense state.

　　Even though it was true that someone was staring at her.

　　Putting the book aside, Shinichi lay down on the table, pretending to be asleep, but actually narrowed his eyelids to peek at Kaguya. Because of the angle problem, Shinichi didn't stare at her the whole time, but stared at her for three seconds and then set aside two seconds, following this rhythm to ensure that she wouldn't feel the gaze too intensely.

　　The other party is a young lady from the Shinomiya family, if that peeping is discovered, then his future school life... No, his whole life will be threatened.

　　But Shinichi couldn't ignore an interesting situation like this. Curiosity and thirst for knowledge scratched his heart like a cat's claw, so he did his best to observe the girl's flustered behavior carefully and happily at this moment.

　　Kaguya quickly took out a book from the bookshelf after judging that no one around had seen her in action, and then put down the stack of books in her hands.

　　After she finished hiding, her face flushed slightly, and revealed a relieved smile.

　　Shinichi thought for a moment, the third floor was filled with books related to love, many of which talked about how to persuade others to confess, and there were also guides on how to lure the opposite sex in love. Judging from the location, he vaguely remembered that it was a love magazine numbered 173.1 H372.

　　The title of the book is "Winning the Love War～Teaching You Ten Ways to Be a Queen～"

　　Shinichi is always open to knowledge, so he also reads the general contents of this magazine, because the contents are all trash like editors who mistreat readers and fake themselves, so he knows it. The librarian complained that this magazine should be removed from the library and cremated directly outside the library.

　　However, because of the title of the book that was so bluffing, many unknowing people borrowed it, then returned it angrily the next day.

　　While in the library, Shinichi had seen the same sight too many times. Looks like Kaguya is the same way, she came to borrow because she was fooled by the title of the book, right?

　　Wait a minute.

　　The point is not the reaction after borrowing it, but why did she borrow this book?

　　Why did the dignified and elegant Shinomiya Kaguya, secretly go to the library to borrow love magazines?

　　Could the rumors be true...?

　　At this moment, Shinichi smelled the incident and smiled like a reporter.

　　Like a spectator waiting for a good show, he lay on the table with half-closed eyes, waiting for the girl's next move.

　　After putting down the magazine, Kaguya suppressed her excitement, looked around vigilantly, then took a deep breath to return her rosy face to its original state, her eyes filled with confidence and indifference, her steps were like a military parade in her generally accurate formula.

　　With grace and poise, she stepped out of the bookshelf.

　　At this time, a boy with blond hair came from afar, walking very fast, shortening the distance between him and Kaguya in no time.

　　It was the student council president who almost all the teachers and students in the school knew, Shirogane Miyuki.

　　"?!"

　　In an instant, Kaguya's expression collapsed instantly, her apricot eyes widened, her cherry lips parted slightly, her delicate and beautiful face was dyed red again, and she was so flustered that the book in her hand almost fell off.

　　Not just embarrassment, but also nervousness, and all kinds of emotions that Shinichi couldn't see, but overall, it looked like she was panicking right now.

　　God knows how many levels of thought she was going through at that moment, nor did she know what considerations she was making as the crimson pupils shrank and opened.

　　Anyway, in less than a second of panic, Kaguya regained her composure, an unshakable light flashed in her eyes, her chin lifted slightly, and indifference and self-control returned to her body.

　　She didn't put the magazine back, but walked briskly to the seating area, just sitting by Shinichi, he was so frightened that he quickly ducked his head into his arms, and barely scanned through his fingers.

Shirogane wasn't blind, so he naturally saw Kaguya moving around in the library, so he stepped forward to say hello.

　　"Yo, Shinomiya, are you here to borrow books too?"

　　Kaguya put down the stack of books with a chuckle, and said in a calm and impeccable tone, "Yeah, what about the president? Is there a book you'd like to borrow here?"

　　"Ah, I want to find books on history and geography… What?!"

　　While speaking, Shirogane indifferently moved to a position on the third floor of the H bookshelf, glanced slightly, his expression changed slightly, and he even took a breath.

　　Shinichi peeked from the side, and really couldn't hold back his laughter.

　　As if seeing the truth, Kaguya sarcastically said in time: "Oh, President, isn't that a bookshelf for history and geography? It seems you made no mistake about such a simple thing."

　　"Or… the book you want to borrow is another category? Can you tell me? Maybe I can help you find it."

　　"I..."

　　There was an enormous amount of cold sweat running down Shirogane's forehead, and the other words from Kaguya made the air in the entire library heavy, like a sticky and damp rainy day, and a great pressure enveloped his body.

　　But in the next second, his expression changed, his sharp and majestic eyes stared straight back without retreating, a confident smile emerged from the corner of his mouth, and he gently took out a book from the bookshelf.

　　It was a "Record of the Relationship between World History and Geographical Evolution" that shouldn't be on this bookshelf, but had been deliberately placed here by someone.

　　Seeing this silent confrontation, Shinichi really wanted to praise him—Damn it, this was so much fun!

　　The ambiguous rumors between Shirogane and Kaguya are actually true. And not only that, their relationship seems to be more complicated and interesting than imagined!

　　Shinichi currently has an idea to join the Student Council.

　　"Don't worry, I didn't expect it to be so 'appropriate' that the book I was looking for was here. Must have been misplaced by the book volunteers... Really, how do books on history and geography compare to books on emotions? Looks like we need to find the librarian to strengthen management."

　　Helplessly shaking his head and sighing, Shirogane glanced at the pile of books in front of Kaguya, his eyes flashed, and he raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

　　"Shinomiya, you've borrowed a lot of books too, is it convenient for me to read them? If there's a book you like, I'd like to borrow it back and read it after you finish it."

　　"Hehehe..." Kaguya sat up straight in the chair, smiled elegantly, and replied calmly, "President, do you just want to dig up my secrets and interest in reading me? With this method, you are showing initiative and being overly aggressive?"

　　"Hmph, I don't think so..."

　　An invisible spark flashed between the gazes of the two people, and the following plot also made Shinichi very enjoyable to watch.

　　They seemed to have forgotten that this was a library and there were other people resting in the seating area. Even though they lowered their voices, the arrogance to make the other party submit never weakened.

　　You come and go, let the audience see the so-called brain war in love, even gave birth to "this is not a confrontation at all, but a tease, right?"

　　Overall, after this experience, Shinichi decides to join the Student Council to experience more closely the hypocrisy of these two people.

　　To this end, he first displayed his familiarity with the library in front of Shirogane, as well as his in-depth knowledge surpassing that of his peers and his love for learning, which made the understaffed Shirogane overjoyed, and immediately hired him as the chairman of the library committee to manage several book-related matters at school.

　　Subsequently, he risked his life to clash with Kaguya, saying that he overheard their conversation, knew that she was attracted to Shirogane, and was willing to help her secretly gather information about him for a small fee.

　　Having gained his most basic trust, he lied to Shirogane that Kaguya had asked him about the loan records as if she wanted to use the intelligence war to overwhelm him. After listening to their conversation in the library, he felt a connection between the two, and he was willing to provide a little help.

　　Of course, in order to preserve their pride, he said that he would only provide "non-critical" information, and let them think about how to attack each other.

　　Soon, Kaguya and Shirogane accepted his existence. They both obtain the information they want to know, and use this to scheme against each other to make him fall into the "confession first trap" and determine the winners and losers in the love war.

　　In this way, Shinichi also quickly forges a relationship between the two top figures in the Student Council, acting as a double agent while providing assistance, and enjoying the sweet and sour atmosphere of love between them.

　　If someone asks – Why bother with what can be put aside, wasting time that could otherwise be spent on studying?

　　Shinichi will answer like this.

　　"Other people's lives are also a book. Such an interesting story happened next to you. Too bad it was missed."

　　Very simple, here's the "why".

　　Sometimes, the knowledge that can be learned from other people is not inferior to that which can be learned from books that are only learned on paper.

　　As for Shinichi, as long as it was for studying, no matter how much effort was spent on it, he would not hesitate to do it.