Chapter 9: Her seaweed brother is her inviolable bottom line...
At the corner of the corridor, Yukimura stopped, pulled a piece of paper from a folder, and handed it over.
"Akaya wasn't feeling well this afternoon and went home early. This is next week's training schedule; could you please give it to him on your way?"
Risa's pupils constricted slightly when she heard that Akaya was feeling unwell.
What's wrong with him?
"Were you injured during training? Is it serious?"
"Did he eat something wrong again? Did he sneak a bite of Bunta's limited edition cake at lunchtime?"
The barrage of questions made Yukimura's eyes widen slightly.
"It's just a common cold and fever. The school doctor said I just need to rest."
Risa finally breathed a sigh of relief, her tense shoulders relaxing: "That's great... I thought..." She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.
“You seem…to be quite concerned about Akaya.” Yukimura gazed at her quietly.
“Aka is also my younger brother, so of course I care.” Risa took the paper. In addition to the detailed training program, there was a small smiley face in the lower right corner of the paper.
Suddenly, a muffled thud came from behind.
Risa turned around and saw a student who had been eavesdropping around the corner stumble and fall out. After being caught, the student immediately scattered like birds.
Risa suddenly understood something and carefully put the training sheet into her schoolbag.
“I’ll hand it over to him properly.” She paused, then added, “That… thing about Twitter…”
Yukimura raised his eyes, a faint smile playing in his violet eyes: "It's just gossip, don't pay it any mind."
After he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards Sanada, who was waiting there, leaving Risa standing alone in the same spot.
Risa was speechless for a moment.
No... Brother, since you've already said it's just rumors, why don't you just post something to clarify?
On second thought, I decided against it. Making a big fuss might not be a bad thing.
It would be better to go with the flow and have the strategist personally enter the game.
Once and for all.
-
After resting for half a day, Kirihara recovered his energy.
After the last class in the morning, Kirito called Risa to go to the cafeteria together from the door of the second-grade classroom.
On the way to the cafeteria, whispers buzzed like flies.
"It's her..."
"They actually forged chat logs with Yukimura-kun..."
"She's shameless for flirting with Yukimura just because she's pretty."
"I've heard that students from Tokyo are really good at having fun~ You should probably go back to Tokyo as soon as possible."
Kirihara clenched his fists, his hair practically standing on end in anger: "What nonsense are you spouting! Risa-neechan isn't a lesbian..."
“Akaya.” Risa pressed his shoulder and gently shook her head.
Around the corner, three girls were secretly observing the commotion in the corridor.
"Serves you right!" The girl in the lead raised her eyebrows triumphantly as she watched Risa being condemned by everyone. "Let's see if you dare to be arrogant again."
"Morita, isn't what we're doing a bit inappropriate...?" The girl behind her timidly tugged at her sleeve. "After all, it concerns Yukimura-sama's reputation. What if we offend the tennis club..."
Misaki Morita impatiently shook off her hand: "What are you afraid of? Everyone thinks it was that transfer student who staged it all."
She waved her phone smugly. "Besides, why would those guys in the tennis club bother us over a suspicious transfer student?"
“That’s true…” the girl nervously twisted her fingers, “but that Matsuno Risa doesn’t seem like someone to mess with…”
"Kijima, you're such a coward," said Suzuki Yui, the girl who had been silent all along, to Morita Misaki. "After all this time, it's time to add fuel to the fire."
“Yes, Suzuki.” Morita’s lips curled into a smile, a hint of malice slowly creeping into his eyes. “Let’s see how long she can stay calm.”
-
"Taking advantage of being Kirihara's 'cousin,' she shamelessly tries to get close to the tennis club!"
"Maybe even the 'cousin' identity is fake. Kirihara-kun is so naive, he probably doesn't even realize he's been fooled?"
"Could it be that she and Kirihara-kun are actually in that kind of relationship...?"
The distance from the classroom to the cafeteria is only a few hundred meters. Risa, a pacifist, initially didn't bother with it, until she heard the last few sentences involving Kirihara's unsavory speculations.
Her steps faltered. She slowly turned around, her smile still on her face, but her eyes turned cold.
She took out her phone, turned on the recording function, and walked straight towards the two girls who had last spoken.
The two girls were caught off guard by the sudden arrival of the woman, and their expressions froze for a moment.
Risa held up her phone, smiling at them: "Continue? Why did you stop?"
"You, yes, it's you." She pointed at the girl on the right, her smile sweet, but her eyes were icy. "Come on, repeat what you just said. What kind of relationship do I have with Kirihara-kun? Hmm?"
Under her intense gaze, the girl stammered and backed away: "I...I just..."
"Just what?" Risa tilted her head, her face innocent. "Just spreading rumors, just slander? Or is it...?" She suddenly stopped smiling. "School bullying?"
Kirihara stood to the side, his green eyes wide open. His cousin's angry expression was frighteningly cool!
"I'll keep this video safe." Risa straightened up and waved her phone. "If I ever hear any rumors about me and Kirihara-kun again..."
She paused slightly, a sweet smile blooming on her lips, yet sending chills down the spines of the two girls: "No matter who spread the rumor, I will hold you accountable. Understand?"
The two girls trembled and kept bowing and apologizing, "I'm sorry..." The timid one even almost cried.
She was so scared she cried?
Risa frowned. This trick had worked every time?
It has to be said that immature students are easy to fool; a simple video and a few harsh words are enough to intimidate them.
She put away her phone, turned around and patted Kirihara on the shoulder: "Let's go, Akaya. The pork cutlet rice bowls will be sold out if we're late." Her tone was so relaxed that it was as if nothing had just happened.
Kirihara followed closely behind: "Risa-nee...did you really record it?"
Risa turned around and winked at him: "Guess?"
Unbeknownst to them, at the corner of the stairs, Yukimura was watching this scene thoughtfully.
A gentle breeze ruffled the ends of his deep blue hair, and his slender eyes narrowed slightly: "She got angry just now because the other party mentioned Akaya?"
Liu Lian'er stepped out of the shadows, turning to the latest page in his notebook: "Based on behavioral data analysis, this prediction has an accuracy rate of 99%."
He paused for a moment, then lightly tapped the paper with his pen. "It's worth noting that when the topic involved her personally, the emotional fluctuation value was only 23. But once Kirihara was involved, this value instantly soared to 98."
Yukimura gently stroked his chin with his long fingers, a thoughtful smile curving his lips: "I see, Akane is also her bottom line."
Not far away, Kirihara Akaya's exaggerated wail rang out: "Eh—! The last pork cutlet rice bowl has been sold!"
Then, Risa smiled helplessly: "Okay, it's the same if it's curry rice. Next time, I'll come earlier to help you grab some."
A note from the author:
----------------------
I'll be taking a break tomorrow for the Dragon Boat Festival. The next update will be chapter 61. Happy Children's Day everyone!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
