Ayanokouji Kiyohira and Mibuomi Aoi stared at each other. At this moment, neither of them yielded, nor did they want to yield.
Both understood that whoever yielded at this point would lose the initiative.
However, continuing this stalemate would also be unproductive. Finally, Mibuomi Aoi's tone softened first.
"Ayanokoji, it seems we can't reach a consensus today. Please consider this matter first. I will come looking for you again. For today, you may leave."
Ayanokouji Kiyohira could play hard to get, but Mibuomi Aoi could not.
He was the one asking Ayanokoji for a favor. If the stalemate continued and Ayanokoji simply gave him a cold shoulder, a breakdown in negotiations would be unfavorable.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira stretched, stood up leisurely, and smiled: "Mibuomi Aoi, I actually don't want much; I just want an agreement to prevent you from changing your mind… I don't want to finally defeat Momobami Kirari only to lose everything."
"It's the same for me. I also don't want to lose everything before the gamble even begins," Mibuomi Aoi replied calmly.
"This is gambling; how can gambling be without risk?"
Ayanokouji Kiyohira replied indifferently, turned, and walked towards the door, saying casually: "Since you don't trust others, why don't you just gamble with Momobami Kirari yourself?
Since you are the President of Zenshoukai, your gambling ability must be much stronger than those executives, right? Perhaps you and Momobami Kirari aren't that far apart?"
"..." Mibuomi Aoi's expression darkened. He didn't answer Ayanokoji, only saying: "I plan to take action during the Ryōran Festival. Before that, I hope you can give me an answer so I can prepare."
"I'll consider it." Ayanokouji Kiyohira waved his hand and closed the door with a snap.
Mibuomi Aoi watched Ayanokouji Kiyohira leave, then took a voice recorder from his drawer and turned off the recording.
He crossed his hands in front of him and sighed softly.
He had quietly turned on the voice recorder as soon as he entered the office. If Ayanokoji agreed to his deal but then stubbornly denied it, he could use the recording as evidence.
If Ayanokoji's words just now had shown any greed for Miharu Taki Sakura, he might have directly agreed to Ayanokoji's request.
As long as he produced the voice recorder before telling Miharu Taki Sakura and exposed Ayanokoji's true colors in front of her, she would definitely feel disgusted by Ayanokouji Kiyohira.
For the sake of her family, even if Miharu Taki Sakura was disgusted, she would likely play along with him.
But unfortunately… Ayanokouji Kiyohira didn't agree to him, and his conversation was airtight, leaving no flaws.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira simply showed a fondness for Miharu Taki Sakura during the conversation; on the contrary, he himself was the villain.
He threw the useless voice recorder back into the drawer and sighed softly.
For him, if Ayanokouji Kiyohira could bring him enough value, even giving Miharu Taki Sakura to him was not out of the question.
His marriage alliance with Miharu Taki Sakura was for the influence of the Miharu Taki Family, not for her personally. While she herself had value, that value could be replaced at any time.
If Ayanokouji Kiyohira could ultimately defeat Momobami Kirari and allow him to become the Student Council President, he would generously give Miharu Taki Sakura to Ayanokoji.
Although he had some fondness for Miharu Taki Sakura, compared to the influence of Ayanokouji Kiyohira's family, both Miharu Taki Sakura and the Miharu Taki Family were disposable pawns.
To Mibuomi Aoi, as long as he spoke, countless noble families would be lining up to form a marriage alliance with him. He could choose any beautiful and gentle fiancée he desired, so there was no need for him to be fixated on Miharu Taki Sakura.
If he could exchange the dissolution of a formal engagement for the help of Ayanokouji Kiyohira and his family, it would definitely be a very profitable deal.
Although he didn't reach a deal with Ayanokouji Kiyohira this time, he wasn't discouraged.
Mibuomi Aoi had confirmed one thing: Ayanokouji Kiyohira indeed had a good impression of Miharu Taki Sakura, and he accepted Mibuomi Aoi's offer to trade Miharu Taki Sakura for his help.
The only reason he didn't agree was because he didn't believe Mibuomi Aoi would keep his promise.
In that case... Mibuomi Aoi would give him a taste of what he wanted.
...
At the same time, Ayanokouji Kiyohira, who had walked out of the room, paused and pulled out his phone from his pocket, turning off the recording function.
Looking at the recording, which was over ten minutes long, Ayanokouji Kiyohira smiled slightly.
Students living in this school understood one thing: when gambling in an unfamiliar casino, they must be extremely careful, as they never knew how many preparations the opponent had made to trick them out of their money.
Mibuomi Aoi's office was no different from a casino; for Ayanokouji Kiyohira, both were unfamiliar territories.
From the moment he entered the office, Ayanokouji Kiyohira had been on guard.
As soon as he noticed Mibuomi Aoi's tendency to make small movements, Ayanokouji Kiyohira activated Supercomputing Space, seeing his hand movements under the table clearly.
Although he didn't know what Mibuomi Aoi was fiddling with under the desk, besides recording, there was probably no other possibility.
As a countermeasure, Ayanokouji Kiyohira also quietly turned on his phone's recording function.
During the conversation, he had also been deliberately careful with his choice of words.
If Mibuomi Aoi secretly edited the recording to create a disadvantageous version, Ayanokouji Kiyohira had the original recording and wasn't afraid to confront Mibuomi Aoi.
After all, he wasn't the one playing dirty during the conversation, so he had nothing to worry about.
Should he let Miharu Taki Sakura listen to this recording...?
This thought was dismissed as soon as it appeared in Ayanokouji Kiyohira's mind.
This recording would only achieve its maximum effect as a countermeasure if the other party brought it out first, and he used it in response.
Anyone could give her this recording, but it absolutely couldn't be him who gave it first.
If he gave it, it would seem too 'green tea'.
Miharu Taki Sakura wasn't a fool; she might initially be driven by emotion to feel disgusted with Mibuomi Aoi, but once she came to her senses, she would question—why did he have time to record during the conversation?
Was his verbal defense of her also a pretense?
Ayanokouji Kiyohira had always pretended to be 'pure' in front of Miharu Taki, and she had always believed that Ayanokouji Kiyohira was harmless.
If she realized that Ayanokouji Kiyohira was actually a wolf in sheep's clothing, her worldview might collapse, and she might distance herself from both him and Mibuomi Aoi, becoming an independent woman from then on.
While this outcome wasn't bad, it wasn't the outcome Ayanokouji Kiyohira wanted.
After all this groundwork, if he couldn't make Mibuomi Aoi lose both his wife and his army, then all his arrangements over these many days would have been in vain.
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