Chapter 178: I Feel Like This Person Is So Easy to Wrap Around One's Finger!
Wednesday morning.
While Shimizu Akira was running on the track, he unexpectedly encountered someone again.
Student Council President Horikita Manabu was sitting at the edge of the field. His athletic wear emphasized his upright posture. He was currently doing warm-up exercises—jumping in place while swinging his arms in sync with his movements. The posture looked strangely like a simplified version of radio calisthenics, though one couldn't say for sure.
Then again, seeing someone who was always so serious and composed suddenly doing these bouncy, jumping movements made Shimizu a bit uncomfortable; it felt completely out of sync with his usual vibe.
"Shimizu, come run with me."
Horikita Manabu's gaze swept over him. As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped onto the track and suddenly took off.
Shimizu had a faint feeling that the President had been waiting specifically for him to show up for a run, but he didn't dwell on it and followed close behind.
Almost every two laps, the President would significantly increase his pace, but Shimizu didn't find it particularly strenuous and consistently kept a steady distance behind him.
After finishing the run, Horikita Manabu said nothing superfluous. He simply dropped a cool "Not bad" before turning to leave.
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After returning to his dorm and changing into his school uniform, Shimizu prepared to head to class and walked toward the elevator.
He suddenly remembered a regulation he had seen in his previous life: buildings with seven or more floors must have elevators installed.
Coincidentally, residential buildings in his home country often had only six floors, likely to bypass this regulation. However, the buildings at Advanced Nurturing High School were over ten stories high, so having elevators was a matter of course.
As he was thinking, his gaze involuntarily landed on the display screen next to the elevator.
According to yesterday's information, someone standing in front of the elevator doors could see the situation inside the elevator. This time, as he focused his eyes, he actually recognized the person inside—it was his class representative, Kushida Kikyo... cough cough, he should call her the Vice-Class Representative now.
The screen showed the elevator descending from the 12th floor.
Before long, with a soft "ding," the elevator doors slowly opened in front of him.
"Shimizu-kun! What a coincidence! Good morning!" Inside the elevator, Kushida Kikyo brightened with a smile and greeted him.
"Kushida... good morning." Shimizu Akira nodded to her and stepped into the elevator.
Although the two had gone on a date once last month, they'd had few opportunities to talk since then—after all, Kushida Kikyo had been busy organizing study groups all of last month. However, they would still chat a bit when they bumped into each other.
For example, last time, Kushida suggested switching to a more intimate way of addressing each other, and Shimizu had agreed.
"It's quite a pity that Hasebe Haruka and those other two went over to Hirata Yosuke's side. Otherwise, you might have become the class representative," Shimizu remarked casually.
"Eh? I forgot about that long ago! Being the class representative isn't important at all, and I don't blame Hasebe-san, Yukimura-kun, or Miyake-kun," Kushida Kikyo said, shaking her head with a beaming smile.
'I only mentioned Hasebe Haruka and those three, but she added the other two as well. She remembers it more clearly than anyone, and she calls this "not caring"?'
Shimizu silently critiqued her in his mind, feeling somewhat speechless.
"...Speaking of which, I just went to the 12th floor to find Horikita-san, but she didn't seem to be there. Do you know where she is?"
"I'm not quite sure."
"I remember that at this time in the past, she was usually in her room studying! Could Horikita-san have suddenly changed her plans?"
'Hmm?'
Kushida Kikyo actually understood Horikita Suzune's schedule that well? She even knew she was usually studying during this time slot.
The two made small talk, and the elevator soon reached the first floor.
The moment the doors opened, Horikita Suzune was standing there without warning.
Like her brother, she was wearing athletic clothes. The tips of her hair were damp, and a thin layer of sweat covered her skin; she had clearly just finished exercising.
Her gaze swept over the two in the elevator. When she saw Kushida Kikyo, her expression stiffened slightly. When she noticed Shimizu next to her, an air of awkwardness was added to her expression, and she subconsciously pursed her lips.
Shimizu then realized—Horikita Suzune had gone out to exercise.
This was something she had proactively mentioned on Monday; he didn't expect she would have already put it into action. He naturally sensed Horikita Suzune's slight awkwardness and figured she was a bit shy.
However, he felt she was doing quite well. These days, there were far too few people who actually did what they said they would. Many people shout about working hard and write down exhaustive plans, only to fail at persisting past the first day.
"Horikita... did you go for a run?!" He thought for a moment and added, "Don't run for too long when you're just starting out, and make sure to warm up properly. It's fine to take a break for two or three days before continuing; it's better to progress gradually."
"...I'll do that without you telling me. After all, I'm not you; I don't have that freakish physical constitution of yours!" Horikita Suzune replied after a pause.
She wasn't an idiot; she naturally understood that when starting to exercise, one absolutely cannot force it every day at the beginning. Even if her physical fitness wasn't bad, starting out of the blue meant training two or three times a week was enough; it would only be safe to increase the intensity later.
Shimizu Akira had said he had been training for eight years without missing a day; Horikita Suzune admitted she couldn't do that. It wasn't a lack of willpower, but she was a normal person after all and couldn't persist with a dedication bordering on obsession like him.
However, despite her verbal rebuttal, she silently took his words to heart—after all, everything he said was very useful.
Kushida Kikyo stood in the elevator, quietly listening to their conversation.
Only then did she understand that Horikita Suzune had suddenly changed her schedule and specifically went out for a run this morning. Speaking of running, the first person she thought of was Shimizu Akira beside her—this guy ran laps around the track every day like clockwork, and she always saw him when she pulled back her curtains.
Could it be... Horikita Suzune changed her plans because of Shimizu Akira?
She couldn't remember how many times she had invited Horikita Suzune to go out, only to be blocked every time with the excuse "I have to study."
And the result? This woman actually changed her study plan for Shimizu Akira just like that? She was even imitating his running.
'Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Having a "love-brain" is truly terrifying, it's hilarious. This woman is so pathetic! Shimizu Akira says a few random words and you're just that obedient, huh!'
Kushida Kikyo secretly mocked Horikita Suzune in her heart.
She put on that high-and-mighty act with Kushida, but she followed his every word? The double standard was too obvious. In the one-in-a-million chance that Horikita Suzune actually married Shimizu Akira in the future, she would probably just be a "simp" revolving around him!
She was diametrically different from that Horikita woman. Even if she married some man in the future, she would certainly wrap him around her finger and keep all the initiative firmly in her own hands.
Thinking of this, a smile rippled across Kushida Kikyo's face as she spoke:
"Horikita-san, so you went for a run! No wonder there was no sound at all when I knocked on your door just now."
"You were looking for me for something?" Horikita Suzune's face cooled down by several degrees as she asked in return.
"I just wanted to ask you to help think of a way for Sudo-kun, to look for witnesses," Kushida Kikyo said after a thought. "He messaged me two days ago saying he heard a strange noise during the fight, so there's a high probability there was a witness."
Shimizu was a bit surprised to hear this. He hadn't expected Sudo Ken's hearing to be decent enough to realize there might be a witness.
"Sorry, I need to continue my workout. Furthermore, I remain on the fence about whether it is necessary for Sudo Ken to stay in Class D, so I cannot help you," Horikita Suzune's tone remained cold.
The smile on Kushida Kikyo's face nearly cracked.
'Last time she used studying as an excuse to refuse, and this time she changed it to exercising!'
If she hadn't known long ago that this woman had low emotional intelligence, she would have thought she was intentionally trying to irritate her. Didn't she realize Sudo Ken was dead weight?
But there was nothing she could do—she wanted to play the role of the person everyone liked in class, so to maintain that persona, she had to support every single classmate.
"However... regarding information about the witness, I already had Shimizu-kun forward it to Hirata-kun last night." Horikita Suzune thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth—this way, the other girl would hopefully stop pestering her.
"What did you say!" Kushida Kikyo completely froze.
What was this woman saying?
She knew there was a witness.
Kushida had specifically asked everyone in class before lessons yesterday noon if they had any info on witnesses, and this woman had just watched her with that indifference.
She really thought Horikita didn't know!
It turns out she simply didn't want to tell her!
How infuriating!
"Horikita... we are both girls, and I've spoken to you many times, so why didn't you tell me?!" She forced the corners of her mouth up, asking as if she didn't care.
"...There's no special reason. I just felt that compared to you, Hirata-kun is more suitable, especially since he is the Class Leader now." Horikita Suzune maintained her cold tone.
Kushida Kikyo felt a surge of rage shoot up from her chest. Even if this woman looked down on people, there should be a limit!
What was this?! Was she subtly mocking her for not being the Class Leader and therefore not being worthy of getting involved in this matter?!
The fire in her heart burned hotter as if oil had been poured on it—the gentle mask on her face was nearly scorched with cracks by this nameless flame. She wasn't some angel; she was just a normal person pretending to be an angel.
Her mood hadn't been great these past two days to begin with, and being publicly snubbed by Horikita Suzune like this caused her pent-up anger to explode instantly.
"Alright, Kushida, let's get out of the elevator quickly, class is about to start." Shimizu clearly noticed that Kushida Kikyo was about to blow up—he could tell by her slightly twitching expression. Even that long-maintained mask was failing, and her "true self" was almost about to emerge.
Speaking of which, Horikita Suzune was indeed "capable" in this regard.
But from his position, it wasn't appropriate to say much. These two were truly strange, like fire and water; they couldn't help but clash whenever they were together. Who would have thought that two people like this had gone to the same middle school? If word got out, probably no one would believe it.
As Shimizu spoke, he lightly pulled Kushida Kikyo's arm.
The latter seemed to be suddenly pulled back to reality. She took a deep breath, and the distortion on her face quickly faded, replaced once again by that impeccable smile, though a trace of un-dissipated anger still remained in the depths of her eyes.
"Ah, you're right, I almost forgot the time for class. Then I won't disturb you anymore." She went along with it, but her steps were a bit heavy as she followed Shimizu out of the elevator.
The elevator doors slowly closed behind them, cutting off Horikita Suzune's very cold gaze.
Only then did Kushida Kikyo breathe a small sigh of relief—in that moment just now, she had truly almost lost control of her emotions.
Fortunately, Shimizu had pulled her away in time.
Is this woman a moron? She has zero emotional intelligence! She's normal enough when talking to Shimizu Akira, so why is it that when it comes to her, every sentence is like a thorn?
It's not like she stole her man!
Even knowing she shouldn't, she couldn't help but curse the other girl in her mind several times before she finally managed to suppress that surging rage.
'But then again, did Shimizu Akira pull me out specifically because he saw I was a bit angry?
As I thought, this guy is somewhat interested in me, isn't he!
Tsk tsk, after all, during our last date, I even gave him a lap pillow.'
Her thoughts shifted, and her gaze involuntarily flickered toward Shimizu Akira.
Actually, she would occasionally remember the ridiculous way Shimizu Akira ate parfaits with a large spoon. Clearly, she had lost that time, but for some reason, that image would pop up from time to time, swirling in her mind for a while before slowly fading.
She attributed it to the image being too impactful.
"Kushida, do you want to come see a boxing match next Tuesday?" Shimizu Akira suddenly asked out of the blue.
"Eh?" She was stunned for a moment, not having reacted to how he suddenly shifted the topic to a boxing match.
"Didn't you ask me in the first month when there would be a boxing match?" Shimizu Akira explained.
"I received notice from the Captain yesterday that I've been selected to compete. You can come watch my match."
"A boxing match, so that's it!" Kushida Kikyo finally came to her senses and nodded hurriedly in response. "I understand, I'll go watch!"
Thinking carefully, she had indeed asked that question last month and said something about wanting to see boys boxing and such. After all, sometimes she was truly fed up with the twists and turns of social interaction; it would be much more satisfying to be like a boxer, breaking all those tangled relationships with a single punch.
'Hmm? Could it be that he's intentionally changing the subject to comfort me? He actually remembers a casual sentence I said in the first month!'
Another thought popped into her mind.
'Shimizu Akira, oh Shimizu Akira, are you looking forward to a second date?
Heh, this man really likes to beat around the bush.
Boxing? Can this guy actually box?'
Kushida Kikyo began to wonder. What was the use of being good at running? She hadn't seen him go to the boxing club very many times. He wasn't in the Track and Field club or anything.
'I wonder who the opponent is... Heh, he won't be knocked flat on the ground and unable to get up by a single punch, will he?'
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'She was so easily distracted by just a few sentences from me. If things go on like this, if we really get married in the future, she'd probably be easily wrapped around her partner's finger, wouldn't she.'
Looking at Kushida Kikyo beside him, whose expression had clearly softened, Shimizu Akira unexpectedly felt a few sparks of concern for her future.
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