After the girl who brought the wristbands left, only Ayanokouji Kiyohira and Yumemi Yumemite remained on stage, seated at the gambling table.
Both of them looked up and began to stare directly at each other.
Yumemi turned off her microphone and showed a sweet smile: "Ayanokoji, I'm about to start staring at you. Don't panic, okay?"
Yumemi seemed to be caring kindly, but she seized the opportunity, giving Ayanokouji Kiyohira a single-eye "wink" with a smile.
The camera had been locked on Yumemi and naturally captured her small expression.
Many boys in the audience felt their hearts race because of this natural and playful wink.
So cute...
If they had wristbands on their hands, they would surely show their heart rates had increased by more than ten in just a few seconds.
But unfortunately, the heart rate of Ayanokouji Kiyohira, the object Yumemi wanted to entice, showed no fluctuations, and he still looked at her with a natural expression.
This guy is quite calm...
Yumemi felt a little discouraged, but she hadn't expected to make Ayanokoji's heart flutter with just one look.
Yumemi snorted softly, turned on her microphone, and shouted to the control room: "The final round can begin!"
As soon as Yumemi finished speaking, a calm female voice came from the control room.
"Final round countdown begins: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Game start."
After the countdown ended, Ayanokouji Kiyohira and Yumemi both fixed their gazes on each other's eyes.
Indeed, there was no referee on stage, but the cameras were constantly focused on them, and if either of them shifted their head, the audience below would notice.
They were all gamblers, and their eyesight was much better than that of ordinary referees.
At this point, whoever looked away would be judged to have lost.
Both looked into each other's eyes, seeing themselves reflected in the other's gaze.
They didn't speak, just simply stared at each other for a full minute.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira's gaze was calm, while Yumemi's eyes were full of competitiveness. During this minute of staring, neither of their heart rates increased significantly; both remained in stable up-and-down fluctuations.
He stared at me for a minute and had no reaction...
Yumemi couldn't help but speak first: "Ayanokoji, what's wrong? Am I not pretty? Why do you look at me so calmly? Don't you feel anything at all?"
"Do you really take me for a virgin boy? Someone whose heart races just by making eye contact with a girl?" Ayanokouji Kiyohira said calmly, "Save it. I told you from the start, you've found the wrong opponent."
Yumemi had already turned off her microphone, and Ayanokouji Kiyohira was not subtle; his words were quite blunt.
Honestly, Ayanokouji Kiyohira didn't know why Yumemi insisted on choosing him.
If Yumemi had chosen Tanaka Yuzuna below, his weight was heavy, his heart rate was already high, and he was a big fan of Yumemi.
If he were up there, Yumemi wouldn't even need to flirt; just a frown or a smile would easily make his heart rate go above 150.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira thought about this, glancing at Tanaka Yuzuna out of the corner of his eye.
He was still looking at the two with envious and jealous eyes; even though Ayanokoji and Yumemi were the ones staring, he got excited, and his entire face turned red.
It felt like if a wristband were tied to his hand, his heart rate might already be over 140.
"No, choosing anyone else just won't do!" Yumemi shook her head, her tone very serious.
"I've been preparing for this competition for a long time. I must build up the hype and make this concert my first step to establishing myself in this school. Even if I win against the audience below, this victory won't have much value.
Only you are my most suitable opponent. Not only are you famous and well-known, but your strength is also just right. And..."
Yumemi stopped halfway through her sentence. Ayanokouji Kiyohira pressed: "And what?"
"And, I've long wanted to get back at you!" Yumemi deliberately put on a fierce, clawing expression: "You've always bullied me. I must win against you this time and make you lose face properly!"
Although Yumemi's words were fierce, her actions had no deterrent effect at all; instead, they were somewhat playfully aggressive, making her seem adorable.
It wasn't that Yumemi couldn't make a fierce expression, but because she was an idol, her expression management had to be on point; she was deliberately acting cute.
Unfortunately, Ayanokouji Kiyohira's heart rate did not increase. Instead, because her emotions became a little agitated while speaking, her heart rate soared to 100, scaring Yumemi into quickly taking deep breaths to calm herself down.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira chuckled wryly.
He didn't expect Yumemi to be so fixated on him... always wanting to get back at him.
Her persistence was commendable, but she really had found the wrong opponent.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira put away his smile and reminded her: "...Then I'll look forward to it. Just so you know, I won't go easy on you."
Ayanokouji Kiyohira was serious; he had already activated the "guaranteed win mechanism," so he was bound to win this round of gambling.
Yumemi's desire to get back at him was destined not to be realized.
"Anyone can talk big! I won't go easy either!"
After realizing that simply staring wouldn't make Ayanokouji Kiyohira's heart flutter, Yumemi began to make various expressions.
One moment she would show weakness and act cute, deliberately revealing innocent eyes; the next, she would seem to have encountered something happy, showing a cheerful and brilliant smile.
One moment she would put her hands on her chest, appearing to worship Ayanokoji; the next, she would deliberately play with her hair, revealing a confused and lost expression...
In terms of expression control, Yumemi was absolutely top-notch. She often practiced various expressions in front of a mirror, clearly knowing which expressions were most devastating to boys.
These expressions were vivid, completely lacking the stiffness of an idol's formulaic smile, and more like expressions one would make privately to a beloved boyfriend after work.
Although Yumemi's expressions were directed at Ayanokoji, they were also transmitted to the big screen via the camera, allowing all the audience to see her versatile appearance.
At this moment, Tanaka Yuzuna below the stage stared intently at the big screen, burning with jealousy in his heart.
The first two rounds were fine, but the third round of competition was to gaze deeply into the audience's eyes, and to make such intimate expressions at such close range...
To be able to make eye contact with an idol like this, it was too wonderful!
How he wished he could be the one on stage right now. This kind of competition was his dream, and he would be willing to lose!
Not just him, but other audience members who had discovered Yumemi's cuteness and fallen for her because of this gamble were also extremely jealous.
If these expressions were made for them, and if there were a scoring segment, they would definitely give 100 points, but these smiles were not shown to them, but to Ayanokoji...
They envied Ayanokouji Kiyohira's good fortune, being able to engage in such intimate, couple-like eye contact with an idol on stage.
They wondered in their hearts why that person wasn't themselves...
Besides envy and jealousy, a sense of urgency also arose in their hearts.
They really wanted to know what Yumemi was talking about with Ayanokoji, but since Yumemi had turned off her microphone, they couldn't hear their conversation.
It was like watching a muted TV show; they were curious about the content but could only guess through their expressions and actions, feeling a scratching itch in their hearts.
The two on stage weren't in a hurry, but the audience below became impatient, their heartbeats quickening considerably.
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