Chapter 4
The thin club application form handed to me by the class monitor looked like a "mandatory social permission order" to me.
Everyone has to join a club after school? What a weird and troublesome rule...
I silently complained about Japanese campus culture in my head, but since I was here, I had no intention of challenging the rules or making exceptions.
In line with the principle of "less is more", I chose a relatively quiet and independent photography club. At least I can stare at the scenery by myself, which is much more relaxing than those that require teamwork.
"Fill it out and submit it to the Student Union for stamping, then the process is complete." The class monitor kindly reminded.
Do I need to go to the student union to get a stamp? What a hassle...
Holding that light yet significant application, I felt like going to the student union was even more troublesome than being stuffed with love letters from ten boys. But in order to legally "be in a daze," I resigned myself to the door that symbolized the core of campus power.
I knocked on the door three times politely, and a deep and familiar "Come in" came from inside.
When you push open the door, what comes into view is the student union office, which is more spacious, brighter, and even has a luxurious atmosphere than you imagined.
There are huge floor-to-ceiling windows, a long, mirror-clear wooden table, and the air seems to be filled with the faint aroma of black tea.
Then, my eyes fixed on the main seat at the end of the long table.
Atobe Keigo was lowering his head slightly, with a few strands of silver-gray hair hanging in front of his forehead. His slender fingers were holding a pen that looked very valuable, and he was signing something on several documents quickly and elegantly.
The afternoon sun shone on him through the floor-to-ceiling windows, giving him a golden halo. The lines of his focused profile were impeccable, and he exuded a calm and powerful sense of control.
Enemies meet on a narrow road!
This thought instantly exploded in my mind. My steps paused slightly, and my inner alarm bells started ringing.
He's actually in the student union?! And he seems to be in a very high position?
I instantly recalled the tragic "Emperor's Defense Breaking" in the library, and his final words with gritted teeth: "We are irreconcilable."
An ominous premonition arose spontaneously.
But now that things have come to this, turning around and leaving would seem even more guilty.
I took a deep breath, tried to maintain my composure, and walked to the huge long table.
Atobe Keigo seemed to have sensed someone coming in. He didn't look up immediately, only after he had signed the last document, did he slowly raise his eyes.
When those deep eyes accurately captured me standing in front of the table, the calmness in them was instantly broken, replaced by an extremely complex, blend of cold scrutiny, lingering anger, and a sharp light like finally catching the prey.
The air became quiet.
There were several secretaries in the student union office who were sorting documents. At this moment, they subconsciously held their breath and exchanged glances quietly.
Oh my god! It's that legendary transfer student!
She actually delivered herself to Atobe Sama? !
And this is a place where Atobe SAMA has absolute control over the overall situation!
Atobe Keigo put down his pen and leaned back into the wide leather seat. His posture was elegant but with an invisible sense of oppression.
He folded his hands on the table, his fingertips gently tapping the back of his hands. His eyes were like searchlights, scanning me from head to toe without any hesitation, and finally stopped on the conspicuous club application form in my hand.
The corners of his mouth curled up in an extremely subtle arc, which conveyed absolute control. His gorgeous voice broke the silence, and with a hint of playfulness, he asked knowingly:
"Oh? Kiriyama-san? What a rare visitor."
"What can I do for you?"
His eyes fell meaningfully on the paper in my hand, as if he was admiring the prey walking into a trap.
I clearly felt the scrutiny from above and the undisguised desire for control.
really……
The little hope in my heart was completely extinguished. But since I was here, I couldn't back down.
I took a step forward and placed the club application in my hand on the table in front of him, which was so smooth that it could reflect your reflection. I tried my best to make my tone sound businesslike:
"Atobe-san, I'm here to submit my application to join the photography club. I need the student council's stamp."
Atobe Keigo's eyes fell on the words "Photography Club" on the application form, and his eyebrows moved slightly.
Photography? It seemed to fit in with her desire to be quiet and not get involved.
He didn't immediately reach for the paper. Instead, he raised his eyes and locked them on me again, with a condescending scrutiny and an undisguised taunting tone:
"Photography Club?" He repeated slowly, his tone drawn out. "To apply to join a club, you need sufficient reasons and sincerity, Kiriyama-san."
He leaned forward slightly, his powerful aura enveloping him once again, his eyes flashing with a cold and sharp light:
"What makes you think your application... is worthy of this... my seal as the president of the Student Union?"
"Or rather..." The curve of his lips deepened, with a hint of malicious mockery, "Why do you think that after so many 'unpleasant' things have happened, I will easily let you 'hide' in the photography club as you wish?"
His fingertips tapped lightly on the table, producing a rhythmic, heart-wrenching sound. Each word was like poison coated in sugar, clearly conveying his meaning:
Your application is now in my hands.
You embarrassed me so much before, and now you want to get away with it so easily?
No way.
The air in the office seemed to have dropped to freezing point.
The officials didn't even dare to breathe, their heads bowed, pretending to be busy, but their ears perked up. Everyone could hear the undisguised taunting and vindictive tone in President Atobe's words.
Looking at Keigo Atobe's handsome face, which was filled with expressions like "I'm just trying to make things difficult for you" and "Please beg me", and the smugness in his eyes that finally had the upper hand, I then looked down at the application form that depended on whether I could quietly "stare blankly"...
A feeling of anger mixed with helplessness surged in my heart.
So... childish and troublesome!
But I knew very well that in this place, in front of this person, being impulsive and hard-headed would only make things worse.
Taking a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions, she forced herself to look directly into his provocative eyes, her voice still trying to remain calm:
"Atobe-san, applying to join a club is a legitimate right granted to every student by the school. I submitted my application according to the procedures, and my reasons and sincerity are all written on it."
Pointing to the application, he said, "As for the student union president's responsibilities, one of them is to review and approve club applications that meet the regulations and ensure a fair process, right?"
Instead of directly answering his challenge, he threw the question back to the rules and responsibilities themselves.
The subtext is clear: as the president, you should follow the rules and not bring in personal grudges.
Atobe Keigo clearly understood. A flicker of surprise flashed across his eyes, then was replaced by even stronger interest.
Haha, you actually want to use the rules to pressure me?
He chuckled and leaned back in his chair, his posture more relaxed, but also more arrogant:
"Rules? Procedures? Fairness?" He seemed to have heard some funny joke. "Kiriyama-san, you seem to have forgotten that in Hyotei, my will is part of the rules."
His slender fingers finally picked up the thin application form, but he didn't read the contents. Instead, he flipped it between his fingertips like he was playing with an interesting toy, his eyes fixed on me the entire time.
"As for your 'sincerity', I don't see it."
He slapped the application back onto the table with a soft "pa" sound, his gesture carrying an undeniable force.
"go back."
"Think it over carefully, and come back with a sincerity that truly deserves my stamp of approval."
"Otherwise..." He raised his lips in a cold arc, his eyes filled with naked threats, "I'm afraid your dream of photography will only remain a 'dream' forever."
turn down!
There is no room for maneuver!
Atobe Keigo looked at Kiriyama's slightly pursed lips and the fluctuations in his eyes that could no longer be completely concealed with satisfaction. In his eyes, there was frustration and anger, and the feeling of frustration that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time finally got a little vent.
Wushanyin, do you think you can win by ignoring me?
Now, the initiative is in my hands.
This "reckoning" has just begun, and you... have nowhere to escape.
He calmly picked up another document, as if he had just dealt with a trivial matter. He no longer looked at me, and with his actions he issued a silent order to leave.
Looking at the application form that was "sentenced to death" on the table, and then looking at the silver-haired boy who lowered his head again as if I no longer existed, I clearly felt for the first time a cold touch called "power suppression."
Calm? Ignore?
In the territory controlled by Keigo Atobe, all the obstacles he deliberately created seemed to be ineffective.
He clearly caught the fleeting subtle expression on Kiriyama Hakure's face. She was no longer the calm ice beauty. Atobe thought that she might be angry.
Tightly pursed lips? Suppressed emotions in the eyes?
Great, now you finally know what frustration and anger feel like, right?
The frustration that had been suppressed for so long by the library's disastrous defeat finally found its full release. He proudly picked up the documents again, not enjoying the triumph, but waiting to see me pick up the application in frustration and leave sadly.
However……
I silently reached out my hand, and my fingertips touched the application form that was "sentenced to death."
At that moment, Keigo Atobe caught a very subtle detail out of the corner of his eye, which was enough to make his heart stop.
Under the girl's slightly drooping eyelashes, the corners of her mouth, which should have been filled with "frustration", actually curled upwards very slightly with an arc that was barely noticeable to the naked eye!
That wasn't disappointment at all! It was more like a suppressed, triumphant smile!
It’s like a hunter watching his prey finally step into a carefully laid trap!
Then, Atobe Keigo clearly heard the silent cheer in her heart, which exploded like thunder in his mind:
Great! No need to join a club!
It was worth it for me to act in this scene. I couldn’t suppress my smile!
He silently took the light paper back into his hand, and even stroked the edge with his fingertips with a hint of cherishment. His heart was filled with surging excitement:
It's not that I don't want to join, it's that the student council president doesn't approve~
Keigo Atobe's fingers gripping the pen suddenly tightened, and the expensive pen body made a slight sound as it couldn't bear the weight. His gray-blue eyes suddenly contracted, and his pupils trembled!
acting?
That "businesslike" and "reasonable" look she just had...was she just acting?!
She doesn't want to join the club at all?! She's just waiting for me to reject her for "taking revenge"?!
I... I was used by her?! I became her excuse to get out of trouble?!
A ridiculous and completely fooled rage rushed to Keigo Atobe's head like volcanic magma, and he felt the strings of his rationality snapping wildly.
He watched the girl forcefully suppress the corners of her mouth, which looked like a devilish smile to him at that moment. He watched as the "rejection" he had personally written became the "pass" she had always dreamed of. He watched the incomparable joy in her heart as she thought, "It's not that I don't want to join."
His handsome face, which had always been calm and elegant, instantly lost all its color and turned pale. Then it turned red due to extreme shame and rage, and the blue veins on his forehead were throbbing.
"Puff—cough cough!" Yuushi Oshitari, who had been pretending to organize documents in the corner but actually had his ears perked up, could no longer control himself. He was suddenly choked by his own saliva and burst into a violent coughing fit.
He covered his mouth tightly, his glasses slipped to the tip of his nose, his shoulders shook wildly, and his whole face turned the color of liver.
He understood! He understood it completely! This move by Kirishanyin was a stroke of genius!
She plays Master Atobe in the palm of his hand! Yuushi Inuzaka is willing to call her Hyotei's number one "movie queen"!
Although the other secretaries didn't fully understand what was happening, President Atobe's expression, which suddenly became extremely terrifying as if possessed by an evil spirit, and Vice President Oshitari's violent reaction, scared them out of their wits and they wished they could disappear on the spot.
Kiriyama Hide completely ignored the terrifying low pressure behind him, which was enough to freeze people into ice and seemed to ignite the air. He didn't even spare a second glance at the petrified, weathered, and on-the-edge-of-explosion student council president.
He simply folded the "golden ticket"—no, the rejection letter—carefully and naturally, putting it in his pocket. His movements were gentle, as if it were a priceless treasure.
Then he turned around, still with that nonchalant expression, as if he had just come to deliver a package.
His steps were even lighter than when he came in, and with a sense of relief and joy, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders, he walked leisurely and without turning his head in the dead silence of the student union office, under Keigo Atobe's gaze that burned with hellfire...
Go! Out! Out!
"Bang."
The heavy door of the student union office closed gently behind you, isolating you from the center of the storm inside that could destroy the world.
Inside the door.
Dead silence.
Absolute, suffocating silence.
Yuushi Ozuki's coughing stopped abruptly. He covered his mouth and looked at the motionless figure in the main seat.
Atobe Keigo still held his pen in his hand, looking down at the document. But the document in his hand had been crumpled into a ball by his uncontrolled force, completely ruined. The nib of his expensive pen dug deep into the solid wood of the table.
He lowered his head, his silver-gray hair hanging down, obscuring his expression. All that could be seen was his violently heaving chest and a hand with white knuckles and bulging veins from excessive exertion.
“Bang!!!!”
A deafening bang suddenly exploded!
Atobe Keigo suddenly threw the poor pen in his hand away. The pen hit the wall and shattered into pieces instantly! Ink splashed everywhere, leaving a hideous stain on the smooth wall!
Fog-Mountain-Hidden-
A roar like that of a wounded beast, a mixture of extreme rage, shame, frustration and utter fooling, burst out from deep within Keigo Atobe's heart.
He stood up suddenly, and the leather seat behind him was knocked over by his huge movement, making a heavy muffled sound. His eyes were red and his chest heaved violently, like a completely enraged lion, emitting a terrifying aura of destruction all around him.
"Good! Very good!" He laughed in anger, his voice trembling slightly with extreme rage, with an almost insane coldness. "Use me? Use me as a springboard?! Very good!"
He kicked the chair that was in the way away and strode to the closed door, as if he was going to rush out and catch that damn woman back in the next second!
But in the end, he just punched the hard door panel hard.
"You think you can get away like this?! Dream on!" He roared at the door, as if he was shouting at the hateful figure that had already walked away, "I will never! Share! Heaven! with you!"
"Photography Club? You don't want to go? Very good!" Atobe Keigo turned around abruptly, his red eyes sweeping over the silent crowd, finally landing on Oshitari Yuushi. His voice was more ferocious and gnashing than ever before:
"Inuzuka! Now! Right now! Check it out!"
"Look up all her possible hobbies and interests! All the clubs she might want to join! Everything she likes!"
"I want a very detailed report! Now!"
"Doesn't she want to 'be quiet and dazed'? I won't let her have that!"
"I want her to have no peace every minute of her stay at Hyotei!"
Atobe Keigo's roar echoed in the luxurious student union office, announcing that this "war" had completely escalated and entered a white-hot stage of endless struggle.
And outside the door, in the corridor.
I walked briskly, the sunlight streaming through the window onto me. I couldn't help but pull the crumpled application from my pocket. Looking at the blank space for my stamp, I couldn't help but let a faint, yet genuine, smile slip from my lips, like the first melting of ice and snow.
Done.
Finally free.
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