"Favorite type of cheese?", Chihaya Anon was stunned for a moment, not understanding what she meant.
But facing Karuta Mashiro's expectant and knowledge-hungry gaze, she finally reacted.
The girl's delicate face, white as ivory, gradually flushed red like cinnabar.
"Th-th-th-th-this...'
'What kind of question is this?'
'Didn't we agree that questions had to abide by public decency and morality?'
'This is freaking r-rated, isn't it?'
Anon gritted her teeth. "I don't know. I don't like cheese. I like sandwiches!"
"Geez, who asked what you like to eat, President?"
Karuta Mashiro coughed and winked at her, "I meant... that thing, yes, that thing, an intimate interaction between a boy and a girl that can effectively express emotions."
'No matter how euphemistic your phrasing, it still can't hide your p*rvy and sleazy nature, alright?'
'You're clearly an eighteen-year-old youthful beauty, yet you act like a l*wd, greasy middle-aged uncle. Show some restraint, will you!'
What's more...
Chihaya Anon really wanted to cover her face. She and Kaito were just fake dating. They hadn't even kissed before. Even if she wanted to make something up, she just didn't have the material to work with.
As everyone knows, people can't imagine things they haven't experienced.
Like how in puberty dreams, people always wake up right before the climax. That's because, lacking personal experience, the brain has no reference material to render the scene, so it just aborts the process.
So...
"I don't understand what you're talking about!", The girl had made up her mind to play dumb to the end, shaking her little head like a rattle-drum.
Karuta Mashiro was a little confused.
'The President's reaction... Isn't it a bit too extreme?'
Even shyer than her, a supposedly innocent girl? It totally didn't match someone who had months of dating experience, like a seasoned lady of love.
Kirigaya Touka beside them was also a little surprised. She was straightforward and didn't have any devious thoughts, so she blurted out, "President Chihaya, could it be that... you two haven't duo queued yet?"
"Of-of-of-of-of course we have!", Anon instinctively refuted, pure muscle memory, just like how a physically and mentally healthy adult man would defend himself if questioned by the opposite sex with a "can you even do it?"
"We started dating ages ago. We go out every week on dates, and when we get tired, we get a room to rest. Staying overnight outside is routine! If you don't believe me, ask Kaito!"
Kaito: "..."
'Let's just pretend what she said is true.'
No matter what he was really thinking, on the surface, he nodded and admitted to Anon's claim.
"That's indeed the case. Anon sticks to me a lot usually and is quite playful. Every weekend she drags me out on dates to places like amusement parks and aquariums. If it gets too late, we just... well, rest overnight outside."
Karuta Mashiro and Kirigaya Touka exchanged a glance, both seeing doubt in the other's eyes.
President Chihaya's behavior was just too suspicious. The way she panicked to cover up lacked any credibility. It screamed guilty conscience.
"If the President doesn't want to answer..."
Silent all this time, Yashio Rui finally stepped up to help, "Mashiro, why don't you ask another question? Don't make the President too uncomfortable."
"...Alright then," Karuta Mashiro reluctantly nodded, compromising, "When was the last time the President duo queued with her boyfriend? And how long did they last?"
Anon's little face flushed red, nearly holding back internal injuries.
'How would I know how long I lasted! I haven't experienced it at all!'
But Mashiro and the others were already suspicious... If she refused to answer again, it would definitely deepen their doubts.
Anxiously circling in her mind, the girl couldn't help but cast a pleading glance at Kaito, like a drowning person clutching at the last straw.
Kaito: "..."
He'd been speechless more times today than in an entire month combined.
Sighing aside, help was still needed.
"Sorry, Anon's personality is a bit shy... I'll answer this question."
He cleared his throat and spoke in as calm a tone as possible, "The answer is last Saturday. Half an hour."
Though he hadn't had the most intimate contact with Anon, there were always ways to solve problems.
And this wasn't something he just made up either, it was the limit of plausibility. It had some real-world basis and could pass as 100% authentic.
"A week ago?"
"Only half an hour?"
Karuta Mashiro and Kirigaya Touka exchanged a glance. As inexperienced, innocent girls, they didn't really understand what that duration meant. They just instinctively felt it was short, less than one class period, 'This President Chihaya... so weak, huh~'
"What do you mean 'only'? I was really tired too, okay? You'll understand how impressive this result is when you get boyfriends in the future!", Seeing that they seemed to believe it, Anon gave a few humphs. On the surface, she was still rebutting, but in her heart, she quietly sighed in relief.
As expected of Kaito. With just a small trick, he fooled Mashiro and the others. He lied as naturally as breathing, didn't even blink once. If she hadn't been out shopping with her mom last Saturday, she'd almost have believed she really was duo queuing with Kaito that day.
'But only half an hour? That's way too short. Even if you're making it up, make it longer. I clearly have good stamina! Does no one appreciate the value of the long-distance running champion of the "Tontun Escape Squad"? Totally underestimated!'
"Ahem, anyway, this question, President, you pass," Karuta Mashiro coughed and cleared her throat, then said seriously, "Next... it's time for boyfriend-kun to be punished."
The couple identity was a double-edged sword, sharing both fortune and hardship. If they had won, they could've made the last-place person complete two tasks or answer two questions. Similarly, now that they had lost, the punishment was also doubled.
Kaito stayed silent for a while. Although his singing performance earlier was probably the best among everyone present, duet challenges were all about mutual coordination. No matter how high his individual skill, it wouldn't ensure victory. Anon kept making mistakes, so their final score naturally wasn't high.
But a loss was a loss. He was someone who accepted the consequences, so he just nodded, "Let's begin."
"Let me think, what kind of request should I make..."
Karuta Mashiro tilted her head in thought for a while, then got an idea. She clenched her right fist and gently pounded her left palm, "Let's keep it simple. President and boyfriend-kun must kiss right now, a French kiss, for one minute."
"How about it? This request is pretty easy, right?"
From her perspective, this really was a simple punishment, basically a freebie. After all, this couple had already done the most intimate things. Kissing should be nothing to them, right?
Besides, there were no outsiders present. Other than boyfriend-kun, it was all girls. The President didn't need to worry about looking unpresentable in front of strangers. On the contrary, this was a great opportunity to deepen her relationship with her boyfriend.
'Oh my god, I am way too considerate!', Thinking about how the President was probably already grateful to her in her heart, Karuta Mashiro couldn't help but start humming with pride.
'At this rate, I might as well die of beauty envy?'
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