After the UNO gambling session ended, aside from Ruricho Nadeshiko, who looked bitter from losing money, everyone else departed with smiles, having enjoyed themselves.
Finally, the most crucial moment of the plan arrived. Just as Ririka had expected, when she said she was going to leave the school, Meari, worried about her returning late at night, insisted on keeping her, suggesting she stay overnight at the school.
Ririka feigned refusal for a bit, but eventually agreed to stay.
However, what she hadn't quite anticipated was that Meari actually wanted her to stay in her own dorm room for company, rather than renting a room at a hotel.
Meari said that the room was originally hers to begin with, and since she was staying overnight at the school, it was only right that she stay there for a night.
Although it was a single dorm room, it was quite large, and it seemed to have even considered the possibility of someone bringing a companion, as the bed was more than spacious enough for two people.
Ririka really wanted to refuse, but Meari was so warm and sincere that she simply couldn't bring herself to say no.
In reality, if Ririka had truly insisted on leaving, Meari couldn't have forced her.
But Ririka was simply too gentle. Although she felt a pang of regret, she still agreed to Meari's request.
Ikishima Midari, having enjoyed the previous night, also wanted to try that pleasurable feeling with Ayanokoji again tonight, but her dorm was on the same floor as Hanatemari Kazura and the others. Under Hanatemari's "supervision," she couldn't easily break away from the group and go to the hotel alone.
There was nothing she could do; she could only reluctantly follow the main group back to the dorms.
Bidding farewell to the girls, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka returned to the hotel alone. It was already past two in the morning when he got back. Although he had taken a nap in the afternoon, having stayed up for two consecutive nights, he still collapsed onto the bed and immediately fell asleep.
The next morning, which was Monday, as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka entered the classroom, he noticed that there weren't many people gambling today. The students were all gathered in small groups, chatting.
Upon seeing him enter, almost everyone's gaze turned towards him.
They were all staring at Ayanokoji with strange, complex expressions.
Before Ayanokoji could even sit down at his desk, four or five students had already approached him, glancing at each other, waiting for someone else to speak first.
"Is there something you need from me?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka frowned slightly, speaking first.
He didn't like being stared at.
"Ayanokoji, are you the son of that former Member of Parliament, Ayanokoji Fugang?!" A girl eagerly blurted out.
Soon, others also threw out their questions.
"Was the kidnapped person your older brother?"
"Did the kidnappers really shoot him, and he's still unharmed?"
"Have the culprits been caught now? How will they be dealt with?"
Their questions genuinely stunned Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
...Has this spread so widely that everyone in the entire school already knows?
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was surprised inwardly, but outwardly, he remained calm and asked, "What do you all know? Can you tell me?"
Seeing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka ask, they spoke one after another, recounting what they knew.
In short, yesterday's case was treated as a classic example and spread throughout high society overnight.
But what spread was not the truth, but the "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka Kidnapping Case."
Almost everyone in the school knew that the son of the former Member of Parliament, Ayanokoji Fugang, "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka," had been kidnapped, and not only was he unharmed when facing armed kidnappers, but he also calmly negotiated and "turned the tables" on them.
Now, in their eyes, the name "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka" had suddenly become someone else's child overnight, and he was a "parachuter," seemingly appearing out of nowhere, a name no one had heard before.
They were all discussing the inside story of this matter, and "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka," a name very similar to the protagonist in the story, caught their attention.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's identity in this class was already a mystery. They only knew that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was from a wealthy family, but they didn't know which noble family he belonged to.
Now, a former Member of Parliament, Ayanokoji Fugang, had just emerged, so they all began to speculate: could he be the young master of the Ayanokoji, the younger brother of the story's protagonist, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka?
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka immediately understood that this news was deliberately spread by his father.
He had hidden his identity for several years, but in the past two days, he had suddenly made a big show of spreading his former Member of Parliament status throughout society.
Besides wanting to declare his strong return to the entire political world and put pressure on the mastermind, he also hoped that after the rumors spread, he would become the subject of discussion among his schoolmates and be caught in a maelstrom of public opinion.
With the continuous interruptions from his schoolmates, he would have no time to question him about the White Room's internal affairs...
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka couldn't help but admire his father's plan.
To conceal the White Room project, he even tricked his own son.
However, he still showed mercy.
He deliberately concealed the truth, blocked relevant information, and only conveyed false news about "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka" being kidnapped to outsiders. The existence of Ikishima Midari was not even reflected in the story.
If he had directly revealed the name "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka" to the public, Ayanokoji would definitely be in a much more difficult position now, becoming the focus of the entire school's attention, unable to have a moment of peace.
Rather than just being asked by classmates about his relationship with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, as he was now.
Under the expectant gazes of many classmates, Ayanokoji raised his head and calmly said, "You've got the wrong person. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know Ayanokoji Kiyotaka."
Don't know Ayanokoji Kiyotaka? Is this a joke?
Your name differs from his by only one character!
They completely disbelieved Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's weak explanation, and just as they were about to question him again, they caught the impatience on Ayanokoji's face.
Everyone standing there was very skilled at gambling, and they were all excellent at reading expressions.
They could tell that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't want to answer the question. To avoid souring their relationship with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, everyone found excuses to leave him.
Alright, they're all quite sensible. They left before I even got angry...
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had originally thought that if these people were persistent, he would just get angry and drive them away.
Now that they had left, it wouldn't make the situation too awkward.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka initially thought that everyone in this class was sensible, but soon, someone who didn't know how to read people's expressions sat beside him and asked with a grin, "Hey, Ayanokoji, is your father really that Former Prime Minister?"
It was Kuroki Ya, the first male friend Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had made in this class.
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