"Little Brother Su Yan, you wouldn't turn me into something like that later on, would you?"
Was Takagi Yuriko a fool?
Quite the opposite; she was an incredibly sharp woman.
Even Takagi Saya, hailed as a genius at Fujimi Academy, was nothing more than a little brat she had raised with ease.
Thus, Yuriko quickly deduced the meaning behind Minami Rika's words.
Yet, looking at the awkward expression on Su Yan's face, it seemed like things weren't quite what they appeared to be.
Instead of helping Su Yan out of his predicament, she watched him with a mischievous glint in her eyes and teased him.
"You?"
Su Yan naturally saw the playful look on Yuriko's face and gave her a sharp glare.
At this moment, Su Yan felt like a ferryman.
Just as he had rowed his boat to the middle of the lake, his oars snapped, and he was stuck with a cargo of random junk like oranges, burlap, wheat, and dried peels.
'He really had a few choice words for this situation, though he wasn't sure if venting them would actually help.'
Who was the one who said older women knew how to dote on people?
Step forward! Speak up!
How was this an affectionate older sister? This was clearly just a wicked woman who loved to stir the pot and cause trouble.
First there was the mess with Marikawa Shizuka, and now Yuriko was fanning the flames.
The bad news was, he had become a pervert.
The good news was, judging by this incident, Shizuka might not mind sharing the same bed with everyone in the future.
Just as Su Yan was at his wit's end...
The culprit herself, the star of the show, Marikawa Shizuka, finally appeared.
"Little Su Yan, you're back?"
Shizuka's pajamas were in disarray, her silky shoulders partially exposed, her hair a bit of a mess, and she wore a pair of cute, fluffy slippers.
She rubbed her bleary eyes as she walked lazily toward the group.
She hurried over to Su Yan, squinting as if she hadn't quite woken up yet. She held out her arms and pouted. "Hug me."
But she didn't get her hug.
"Hmm?"
Her arms embracing nothing, Shizuka opened her eyes to find Su Yan's palm pressed against her forehead, blocking her path. She looked at him, confused.
"Shizuka-nee, could you please explain what you meant by saying Saeko-senpai smelled like me?" Su Yan questioned, his teeth practically itching with irritation.
"Eh? That?"
Hearing this, the still-dazed Shizuka tapped her chin with her index finger and thought for a moment.
Shortly after, she raised her finger to her temple, a look of realization dawning on her face as if she had remembered something.
Then she looked at Su Yan, fishing for a compliment. "You already heard it from Rika-chan? Well? Am I not smart?"
"Smart?" The group was baffled.
Shizuka blinked and asked, "Little Su Yan, you should have already won Rika-chan over by now, right?"
"Won her over?" The group was confused again.
"That's right."
Shizuka nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Didn't I tell you before?"
"Rika-chan has been competitive since she was a kid, so she always loves doing dangerous and exciting things."
"Not only that, but even her standard for a man is someone who can completely overpower and dominate her with absolute strength."
"So, when I saw her come back tonight, I told her that on purpose. I knew she would definitely go looking for trouble with you afterward."
"With Little Su Yan's strength, you could handle her in no time. If you just take a little initiative, wouldn't winning Rika-chan over be a piece of cake?"
"To give Rika-chan a hand, I came up with an excuse and even shared my Little Su Yan with her. I really went through a lot of trouble, but what can I do? She is my best friend, after all."
"When I see her later, I'll definitely have to make her thank me..."
At that moment, Shizuka suddenly felt a hand rest on her shoulder from behind.
Her body trembled, and the rest of her sentence died in her throat.
The veins on the back of the hand resting on her shoulder were bulging, and it was even trembling slightly.
It was clear that the owner of this hand was not in a particularly good mood.
"Is that so? Then I really ought to thank you."
Minami Rika ground her teeth, squeezing the words out one by one.
She didn't even call her Shizuka like she usually did, but shouted her full name: "Ma! Ri! Ka! Wa! Shi! Zu! Ka!"
While Shizuka was technically telling the truth... how could she expose her secrets in front of so many people?
To think that just a moment ago, she had been trying to stand up for Shizuka, and when Su Yan and the others asked why...
She was still being considerate, trying to answer in the most indirect and subtle way possible.
But this Shizuka, on the other hand, had turned around and sold her out so casually in front of everyone.
She really was a wonderful best friend.
"Rika-chan?"
Shizuka thought the voice from behind sounded familiar. She turned around and realized it wasn't just Rika; everyone else was surrounding her too.
Shizuka asked in confusion, "Miyamoto-san? And Saya-san? It's so late, is everyone not asleep yet?"
"With so many people, are we about to have a midnight snack?"
She paused, then puffed out her cheeks, complaining to Su Yan. "Geez, everyone got up for a snack and didn't even call me."
"Forget it, you should just go back to sleep and pretend none of this ever happened."
Rika buried her face in her hand.
Knowing how scatterbrained her friend Shizuka was, the fact that she had actually gotten angry was a bit foolish of her.
And seeing Shizuka's ditsy expression, her anger completely evaporated. After all, she was the one who chose this best friend.
Clap!
At that moment, Takagi Yuriko suddenly stepped forward and clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention.
Then she said leisurely, "It seems the misunderstanding has been resolved. Truly, congratulations are in order."
Su Yan glared at her.
'The one who was talking nonsense and fanning the flames was you, and now that things are cleared up, you're the one playing the saint.'
'You've played both the villain and the hero. You think we're even now? Not a chance.'
'I'll get back at you sooner or later!'
Yuriko's eyelids fluttered, her vibrant purple eyes seemingly saying to Su Yan: 'I'm waiting.'
"And you! Who taught you to say such things?"
Su Yan turned to Shizuka, pinching the blonde airhead's cheek. "I'll deal with you later!" he snapped.
"Really?!"
Shizuka's eyes lit up at his words, completely ignoring the fact that her cheek was being pinched.
She reached out to pull Su Yan into a hug.
Su Yan was speechless. Holding Shizuka's head back, he said to Rika, "Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, everything should be fine now, right?"
"No!"
Rika looked at Su Yan, the fire in her eyes reigniting as she challenged him. "You're going to finish the fight we started!"
"Why? The misunderstanding was already resolved," Miyamoto Rei interjected, confused.
Rika glanced at her before looking back at Su Yan, licking her lips. "Before, it was a personal grudge. Now, it's an official challenge from me, Rika Minami."
"Shizuka was right. I love excitement, I love danger, and most of all, I love challenging powerful opponents."
"So, let me see if the man Shizuka chose for me actually has the strength to conquer me."
"If you can really do it, I wouldn't even mind staying with you alongside Shizuka."
"Or is it that I'm not good enough for you?"
As she spoke, Rika unzipped her jacket and stretched seductively in front of Su Yan.
She showed off her alluring figure, enough to make any normal man's blood boil.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]