In the quiet night, Hashima Hikaru approached the source of the sound. After walking about a dozen steps, the blurry figure finally became clear, and he saw the person's profile.
A delicate face, exquisite short hair, and a full, impressive figure.
It was Kushida Kikyo, the little angel of Class C. She was standing in front of the railing of the artificial island.
However, her demeanor was completely unlike the gentle, polite, and dignified persona she usually presented in front of others. All of that had disappeared, replaced by a cold and aggressive aura.
Her actions were even more outrageous; she was violently kicking the railing in front of her, one kick after another, each producing the clanging sound from earlier.
"That bitch Horikita! Damn it!"
"Just because you're a bit cute and have good grades, you act all high and mighty. Do you think everyone likes you?"
"It's driving me crazy!"
She spoke rapidly, kicking the railing forcefully with each sentence, as if she had been bottling up her frustration.
"..."
After witnessing this scene, Hashima immediately thought of the result from the "Stock Analyzer." Could this be the other side of Kushida Kikyo that she kept hidden?
Realizing this, the boy didn't hesitate and crouched down by the nearby lawn. He intended to see what this person's true face really looked like.
"A bunch of idiots. Staying in the class makes me feel like I'm being contaminated by your stupidity. You guys still think you can graduate from Class A? Keep dreaming!"
This is incredible. She usually pretends to be a little angel, but now she's revealing her true thoughts?
Hashima sighed, then realized that if he could record this scene, it might become a very important key item.
So the boy took out his phone from his pocket. Just as he aimed the camera at the scene in front of him, the notification sound of his phone suddenly rang.
"Beep."
Damn it!
Hashima's expression changed. What bad luck for a message to come through at this exact moment.
In the quiet night, the sound was very abrupt and obvious, so Kushida Kikyo sharply turned her head, and a cold gaze immediately shot over.
"Who's there?!"
"..."
The boy put his phone back in his pocket. Since he had been discovered, there was no need to keep hiding, so he walked out from beside the lawn.
When she saw him appear, a sharp exclamation came toward him.
"Hashima Hikaru!"
The short-haired girl quickly strode toward him. Although she was walking, her speed was very fast, and within a few breaths, she had arrived in front of the boy.
"You... saw it, didn't you?"
Kushida Kikyo stood in front of Hashima. Because of her lack of height, she had to look up to gaze at the boy's face. From this angle, the girl's face was illuminated by the moonlight, revealing a cold and merciless expression.
Her beautiful little face was covered with frost, her eyes full of hostility.
"If I said I didn't see anything, Kushida-san probably wouldn't believe me now."
Hashima smiled slightly, his expression not changing much.
"Is that so? You're quite honest."
Kushida Kikyo's tone was very cold. Although her voice hadn't changed at all, it gave Hashima a completely different feeling.
"Of course, aren't we friends? With friends, one should be honest."
Hashima's tone was very gentle, as if what he had just seen wasn't a big deal.
He could probably guess what would happen next. After all, it was written clearly on the "Stock Analyzer" that since Kushida had another side she didn't want others to know about, she might ask him to keep her secret.
This was a key condition for raising the stock price, so Hashima had to use his acting skills to make a statement to her.
Looking at his still gentle demeanor, the short-haired girl was rapidly thinking about what to do next.
This guy always maintains a gentle and caring attitude when facing her, and it has never changed. Because of this, Kushida Kikyo previously dared to confirm that he truly liked her.
But this matter today is extremely important. Affection is the least valuable emotion in the world, and there's no guarantee that he won't betray her.
Moreover, there was already a Horikita Suzune before this. This feeling of being unable to control has long made Kushida Kikyo feel like there's a fish bone stuck in her throat, so she must do something to firmly control the initiative.
The short-haired girl bit her lip secretly, steeled herself, and said, "Hashima-kun, actually, I'm not someone who trusts others easily."
"Oh, why?"
"Because I believe that regardless of who it is, everyone has their own personal agendas. So when facing important situations, they might make choices based on what they care about most at that moment."
Kushida Kikyo observed Hashima's expression, her tone seemingly becoming gentler: "Just now, something quite serious happened, and it makes me very worried."
"Hmm, what is Kushida-san worried about?"
The boy asked knowingly, wanting to see how she would ask him to keep her secret.
"I think if someone discovers certain secrets, their actions become unpredictable, so I must take them down..."
Kushida Kikyo's tone suddenly slowed, and the last few words she spoke became much quieter.
"What?"
Despite being close, Hashima actually couldn't hear what she said last, so he instinctively wanted to ask further, but soon he felt his right hand being held by a pair of cold, small hands.
"?"
Almost instantly, the boy's hand was guided by Kushida's palm, directly pressed against her full chest.
What?
Hashima immediately widened his eyes, and his palm began to continuously feel the soft sensation, causing the boy's brain to momentarily crash.
Since his rebirth, this was the first time he had been so intimate with a girl, even more intimate than with Ichinose Honami, who had grown closer to him imperceptibly. With her, they had only held hands at most, but this was directly advancing to the next base.
"Listen to me, Hashima-kun."
"This is a method I just thought of," Kushida's face seemed to have a blush appearing, but she still pressed Hashima's palm firmly and said.
"This way, your fingerprints are now on my school uniform, and in such a sensitive place."
"If you dare to tell anyone about this, I'll report it to the school. The school rules clearly state that if you make malicious harassment toward a female, not only will you be expelled, but the police might be called to handle the matter, and your future might be ruined."
After saying this long string of words, Kushida directly let go of his hand and then stepped back.
"....."
Hashima's mood became very complicated now. First of all, whether fingerprints could actually be verified, and even if they could, would material like a school uniform actually preserve them for long?
He had been so nice to her, and asking him to keep a secret would have been fine. Why did she have to play such a game?
But on second thought, since she had been deliberately concealing her true self, it made sense that she wouldn't trust others.
Kushida Kikyo, seeing the boy suddenly fall silent, couldn't help but add, "What, are you planning to reject a promising future and take a gamble?"
"No."
Hashima pressed his brow and looked seriously at Kushida's eyes, saying, "I agree to Kushida-san's request. I will keep this secret for you."
Hearing his affirmative response, Kushida finally relaxed a bit, but she still stared at Hashima in front of her and said word by word, "I hope you can keep your word, otherwise I absolutely won't let you off."
Hearing this, the boy looked at his system panel. No new prompt had popped up, indicating she still didn't trust him.
Therefore, Hashima's tone became increasingly gentle, and he said, "I absolutely won't tell anyone about this, no matter what happens. I hope Kushida-san can trust me on this."
"Hmph, you know the consequences of telling others. I'll be watching you from behind!"
"That's fine too. Kushida-san is welcome to monitor me."
Hashima smiled faintly, scanning the surroundings before slowly saying, "I didn't expect this place would be so closely tied to us. Both private meetings between me and Kushida-san have been here."
"What's the use of saying this now? What I want is just for you to keep my secret. I advise you not to have any other thoughts!"
Kushida was now in a state of 'breaking the pot completely'. She had already said such threatening words, so she didn't believe this guy would still like her.
"Kushida-san is really making things difficult for me. Obviously, I..."
Hashima continued his acting. Since he had found this breaking point, he had to make an extra effort today to raise her stock price, or he wouldn't be satisfied.
"Can't Kushida-san feel my intentions?"
Feeling the boy's intense gaze, Kushida couldn't help but fall silent again.
Could it be that after witnessing her most authentic self, this guy still maintained that feeling without any change?
He really...
"Actually, even if Kushida-san hadn't done this, I would have kept your secret. You were a bit hasty just now."
"..."
A blush involuntarily appeared on the short-haired girl's cheeks, and then she glared at Hashima forcefully.
"I don't care. Now that it's like this, if you dare to tell, I'll dare to report you!"
"I understand."
As soon as the words fell, Hashima finally saw the system prompt he had been waiting for.
[You promised to keep Kushida Kikyo's secret, successfully earning her trust. Kushida Kikyo's stock price rises by 30 points, current stock price: 70.]
[After witnessing Kushida Kikyo's true face, you still showed "admiration" for her, causing a strange feeling of joy to arise in her heart. Kushida Kikyo's stock price rises by 30, current stock price: 100.]
"!"
Hashima was shocked. Was it really that effective?
What's going on with her now? Previously, her stock price was so difficult to raise.
However, since it had already risen to 100, he could cash out directly. He didn't hesitate and quickly entered the system's stock selling page.
[Do you want to sell Kushida Kikyo stock?]
[Quantity to sell: 5000]
[Current stock price: 100]
[Sale successful, received funds: 500,000]
[Kushida Kikyo stock has been cleared.]
Looking at the suddenly abundant system funds, Hashima felt very satisfied.
Indeed, Kushida Kikyo was a treasure stock.