"Since Senior Juraku wants to see me, I'll go."
He turned and smiled at Meari, saying, "Meari, the casino doesn't need to open for these two days. You two should get familiar with this game first. You'll need to hold down the fort then."
Seeing Ayanokoji's confident demeanor, Meari was relieved that he would be fine and nodded in agreement.
"Okay, I understand!"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka left with Miharu Taki Sakura. Togakushi Yukimi looked at the two in front of her suspiciously and couldn't help but ask, "The party you just mentioned, were you talking about that pairing party the other day?"
Togakushi Yukimi seemed to have learned something incredible, her expression turning strange: "By the way, none of you three attended the opening ceremony, did you? Don't tell me you three slept together last night..."
No wonder the atmosphere among the three of them was so off today; so this is what happened.
One male and two females, staying out all night, and being late at the same time in the morning... As an otaku who loves to read and imagine, Togakushi Yukimi's mind was already replaying the scene from last night.
"Meari, I really didn't expect you to be so open in this regard..." Togakushi Yukimi pushed up her glasses and couldn't help but sigh.
"Togakushi, you're absolutely mistaken!" Saotome Meari quickly stopped her from continuing her wild thoughts: "Something did happen between us, but it's definitely not what you're thinking!"
Leaving Togakushi Yukimi's misunderstanding aside, on the other side, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka followed behind Miharu Taki Sakura on the way to the Student Council.
Miharu Taki Sakura led the way, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka walked beside her, watching her back. He suddenly asked out of the blue, "Senpai Miharu Taki, are you very interested in Meari?"
"Ayanokoji, why do you ask?" Miharu Taki asked back, puzzled.
"Because... the way you looked at Meari was very strange, not like someone looking at a stranger."
Miharu Taki Sakura was silent for a moment, then replied calmly, "I did hear some things about her before, so I took a few extra glances when I saw her in person this time. There shouldn't be any problem, right?"
"Of course, there's no problem. It's just that I'm very curious about who you heard about her from. Could it be... Mibuomi Aoi, who greeted me when I went to check the surveillance that day?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's tone was not friendly, as if it carried an aggressive edge.
Miharu Taki Sakura glanced at Ayanokoji and frowned, "What do you mean by that?"
"Don't misunderstand, Senpai." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed to be choosing his words carefully: "I once heard some rumors that Mibuomi Aoi and Senpai Miharu Taki are in a relationship..."
"That's not a rumor, Mibuomi Aoi is my fiancé." Miharu Taki Sakura admitted without hesitation.
Ayanokoji nodded and sneered: "So Senpai Miharu Taki really has that kind of relationship with him. I thought it was just a rumor. I can't believe such a hypocritical person would have such a beautiful fiancée as Senpai Miharu Taki."
"Hypocritical?" Miharu Taki stopped, her eyes coldly looking at Ayanokoji: "He is my fiancé, and he is the Accounting of the Student Council. Whether at school or at work, he has always been praised by those around him. How can you say he's hypocritical?"
"Ayanokoji, please retract that statement and apologize to Aoi." Miharu Taki Sakura's eyes, which had been somewhat gentle when looking at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, now showed a hint of disgust.
"Mibuomi Aoi, this guy, already has Miss Miharu Taki, yet he still set his sights on my friend, and even greeted me with a smile when he saw me."
Ayanokoji said indignantly, "If such a person isn't hypocritical, then who is! Perhaps Senpai Miharu Taki, your judgment is flawed!"
Miharu Taki Sakura was stunned.
Was the "friend" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke of Saotome Meari? Only then did Miharu Taki Sakura understand why Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had asked those questions earlier.
So he misunderstood that Mibuomi Aoi had set his sights on Saotome Meari?
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's anger was not without reason. Miharu Taki Sakura, whose expression had just been so resolute, now looked somewhat at a loss. She explained anxiously, "No, Aoi isn't interested in Saotome-san, it's just…!"
She spoke half a sentence, then stopped, as if she had a lump in her throat.
Ayanokoji understood that the latter half of her sentence was likely about recruiting talent for the Zenshoukai, not for personal desire.
However, matters concerning the Zenshoukai were likely confidential, and she couldn't disclose this secret to Ayanokoji, an unrelated outsider.
But Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, of course, wouldn't let her off the hook at this moment. He seized the opportunity to continue mocking Mibuomi Aoi.
"Just what? Just playing around? Is he always so casual with girls?!
Yes, he's powerful and influential, a rich young master. Girls are just toys he can get anytime, right? After he gets them, he can just discard them casually, right!"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's words made Miharu Taki Sakura very uncomfortable. Ayanokoji's implication was… was she, Mibuomi Aoi's fiancée, also a toy that could be discarded at any time?
Although she felt terrible, Miharu Taki Sakura still patiently explained, "No, Ayanokoji-san, you've misunderstood. I can't explain the specific reason, but… Aoi definitely doesn't have those kinds of thoughts about Saotome!"
Ayanokoji looked at Miharu Taki Sakura with sympathetic eyes: "Senpai Miharu Taki, I know you want to protect your fiancé's reputation.
But think about it, even if you protect his reputation and silence me, will he stop doing this? In this matter, besides me, you will also be hurt…"
Ayanokoji immediately pinned the blame on Mibuomi Aoi, saying he had an unseemly private life.
And Miharu Taki couldn't defend herself.
Miharu Taki Sakura knew that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's words were all baseless slanders, yet she couldn't find a suitable reason to refute Ayanokoji, which made it seem as if she agreed with these statements.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka struck while the iron was hot.
"Even if he doesn't target Meari anymore, he'll set his sights on other girls."
Ayanokoji's voice softened: "Although I've only met Senpai Miharu Taki a few times, I know that even though Senpai appears strict, she is actually very gentle and cares deeply about others' feelings. It's just that Senpai's judgment is truly poor; she's encountered a scumbag.
It's precisely because I'm worried about Senpai that I'm saying all this. I don't want to see Senpai suffer from a bad relationship… Senpai, you really don't need to protect him."
Ayanokoji shifted from Mibuomi Aoi's unseemly private life to Miharu Taki's poor judgment and unfortunate relationships, yet his reasoning was quite thorough.
Miharu Taki Sakura subconsciously defended herself: "No, he wasn't my choice; it was an arranged marriage by my family…"
"So it's a family arranged marriage…" Ayanokoji's face showed an even more sympathetic expression, which made Miharu Taki Sakura feel as if she were very pitiful.
She didn't need pity!
"Although it's a family arranged marriage, Aoi is also very excellent, and I don't feel wronged."
In her haste to defend herself, Miharu Taki Sakura blurted out, "And… I actually have the right to choose; I can break off this engagement at any time!"
-------------------------------
Hello everyone!
I've already posted 30 new chapters on Patreon!
If you like the story and want to reaad more, please visit my patreon. Every support is very meaningful!
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you very much!