Airi sat back on the sofa feeling timid. Ryunosuke boldly put his arm around her again.
Airi's cheeks blushed red, but she didn't feel hateful and didn't rebel; instead, she actually liked it.
Ryunosuke raised his eyebrow, then looked at Narumori.
"What's hers is mine too, isn't that right? Airi-chan?"
Airi nodded dazedly, her brain had stopped thinking.
Narumori felt helpless, he finally said, "The amount is too large. 120 million personal points is impossible. But if it's ten percent of that, it's still reasonable."
Ryunosuke clicked his lips dissatisfied, then released his embrace of Airi's shoulder.
Airi felt a bit disappointed; she actually wanted Ryunosuke to hug her longer.
On the other side, Ryunosuke also felt he had no other choice. He had hoped to pay off his debt at once through this incident, but it seemed he hoped for too much.
He tried to fight for maximum profit. The two of them bargained with each other, and the final negotiation result was: Ryunosuke got 20 million personal points, plus a "Drop-out Immunity Coupon."
Simply put, this coupon was a special privilege. Not only could it be used to select one person to be expelled from school at any time, but it could also protect oneself from being immune to school expulsion.
This was like an all-purpose trump card. (Just so you know, Student Council President Manabu also had a similar right once in a lifetime, this was a hint for the future).
After business was finished, Ryunosuke brought Airi preparing to leave. Narumori stopped him.
"Wait a moment, young man."
Ryunosuke's steps stopped. "Is there other business?"
Narumori adjusted his black-framed glasses, his gaze becoming profound. "I hope you can restrain yourself more and not make too much commotion at school. Although I support healthy competition among students, I don't like extremist types like you."
"This incident can still be understood, and indeed you should get compensation. But regarding Sakagami-sensei's problem, you went too far. That's not something a teenager should do."
"I know you're cornered into doing anything to pay off your debt. But I ask you to still restrain yourself. Play within the corridor of rules. If you act too far..."
Narumori adjusted his glasses again which now appeared whitened from light reflection. "I might expel you from school."
He showed a friendly smile, but the words he said contained absolutely no affection. Indeed, someone who could hold this position must have real ability.
Facing the Foundation Chairman's words that were half-joking but half-threatening, Ryunosuke appeared dismissive.
"To command me, you're still 20,000 years too early!"
"Let's go, Sakura-san!" Ryunosuke held Airi's hand.
Airi's cheeks reddened, but she didn't mind. The two of them left the Foundation Chairman's office.
Seeing their departure, Narumori let out a long breath. "That kid... it seems he's not the obedient type. Hah~"
He leaned back in his luxurious chair while closing his eyes.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Meanwhile, the two people who had already left began thinking about how to divide the results.
Ryunosuke counted his points—ah no, the numbers. His eyes were already sparkling seeing money symbols; he kept stroking the cold numbers on his phone screen with full affection.
Seeing him like that, plus remembering the Foundation Chairman's words that this man had debt outside, Airi gathered courage and asked.
"Does Akasaka-kun really need money? If you really need it, just give my share to you..." Airi said with a blushing face.
She herself didn't really need money because she was used to living frugally. If this could help lighten Ryunosuke's burden, she was very willing to hand over her personal points in full. Airi had fallen too deep into the hole called love. She couldn't and didn't want to get out. This feeling made her feel light like floating...
Hearing that statement, Ryunosuke hesitated for a moment. But without thinking much, he still divided half those points to Airi's hand.
"Take out your phone, I'll transfer your share."
Airi immediately waved her hand. "N-n-no need! I don't need points for now! If Akasaka-kun needs them, I'll give mine to you too."
She held out her phone.
Ryunosuke was stunned.
Was his charm that great? He felt he wasn't that handsome, right? Not as handsome as Hirata, and his personality was also a bit deviant? Was he worthy of being treated this well by a girl like Airi?
Ryunosuke sank into deep thought until he didn't realize Airi had been holding out her phone for quite a while.
Airi's hand trembled; she closed her eyes nervously, but Ryunosuke still didn't take it.
Airi felt a bit disappointed.
(Am I that disregarded by him? I'm indeed useless...)
She gripped the edge of her skirt. For the first time in her life, she wanted to get someone's attention, not run away. She wanted this man to look at her, even if just once.
Airi gathered her last courage, took a deep breath, and said in a very tense trembling voice.
"Akasaka-kun! May I call you Ryunosuke-kun from now on?!"
Airi had already expended all her courage to say that sentence. But Ryunosuke didn't care too much and didn't understand the deep meaning behind it, so he just agreed. He didn't realize how intimate that address was. For him, he was already used to it because Megumi also called him like that.
Seeing Ryunosuke agree, Airi's eyes immediately spun around from being too happy, then she fainted. Clearly for her, being able to call a man's first name was too strong a stimulation for her heart.
Ryunosuke immediately caught her waist with one hand, feeling helpless. "Don't faint here, how can I take you home?"
Seeing Airi who fainted in happiness, Ryunosuke felt dizzy. "What now? How do I take her to the girls' dormitory without being noticed by others..."
He finally carried Airi on his back and walked toward the dormitory.
"Never mind, whatever."
His face was thick enough, he wasn't afraid of embarrassment if people found out.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Ryunosuke openly carried Airi all the way to her house. The next day, many students spread gossip about them. Considering the dormitory was so large, his conspicuous action was impossible not to be noticed.
There were rumors saying they were already dating. There were even more ridiculous ones, saying they were siblings (this one was definitely people who were denying the reality that they were single).
Ryunosuke just rolled his eyes and didn't care too much. But after taking Airi home and gossip spreading, he had to explain for quite a while to Ai.
Besides that, there was also Hiyori. For some reason, Hiyori also chased him with many questions. But after confirming that they didn't have a special relationship, Hiyori appeared to breathe a sigh of relief.