"So hot… so thirsty… water… I need water…"
Muttering softly, Chie Hoshinomiya stretched out her fair small hand, unconsciously unbuttoning her white shirt to dissipate heat and cool herself down.
A persistent dryness in her throat led her to stick out her tongue and lick her already cracked lips.
The grogginess caused by lack of oxygen in her brain made it difficult for her to distinguish where she was.
"Where… am I?"
Opening her eyes, Chie Hoshinomiya struggled to prop herself up from the bed with her arm, looking around in confusion.
In this white-toned room with no decorations, only a small lamp on the nightstand, emitting a weak orange-yellow light, kept her company.
Observing the room she was in, Chie Hoshinomiya's eyes focused on the small lamp.
Next to the small lamp was a bottle of mineral water.
Mineral water with no signs of having been opened.
Without any hesitation, Chie Hoshinomiya grabbed the bottle of mineral water and started guzzling it down, like a lost person in the desert who was already dehydrated.
Gulp… gulp gulp gulp…
"Phew… I survived."
After finishing the entire bottle of mineral water, Chie Hoshinomiya felt she had finally survived. The moisture brought life back to her body, and her hazy brain started working.
Rubbing her throbbing temples, Chie Hoshinomiya began to recall the day's memories.
After witnessing Class D's defeat in the conference room, she immediately invited Sae to a bar for drinks.
It was an invitation to drink, which was, in reality, a celebration.
She was exceptionally happy this time and drank a lot at the bar…
And then…
And then…
And then she seemed to have blacked out…
When drunk, she politely declined Sae's invitation to take a taxi back to the dorm, thinking she would clear her head by getting some fresh air outside.
After walking on the path and running out of energy, she leaned on a bench by the roadside, wanting to rest for a while…
And ended up passing out.
Fragmented pieces of memory slowly pieced together a complete process in Chie Hoshinomiya's working brain.
So… I was picked up in a drunken state?
Thinking of this possibility, Chie Hoshinomiya couldn't help but shiver, shrinking toward the headboard of the bed.
Regaining her composure, Chie Hoshinomiya instinctively began patting herself down. She only slightly calmed down after feeling that her clothes were still on.
She felt no physical pain, her clothes showed no sign of having been torn, and…
The small lamp was still emitting a soft light.
Lifting the quilt covering her, Chie Hoshinomiya put on the disposable slippers placed beneath the bed, pushed open the door, and sought more clues.
Unlike the darkness of the room, the large expanse of light outside the room made Chie Hoshinomiya squint her eyes, as she had not yet adapted to the lighting.
Observing the arrangement of the room outside, Chie Hoshinomiya understood where she was.
She was in Ren Katsuragi's private villa.
"You're awake?" Ren Katsuragi, sitting on the living room sofa and teasing Mochi in his lap, spoke without lifting his head.
"Meow~"
Mochi, who was pouting because Ren Katsuragi hadn't taken her out tonight, lay in Ren Katsuragi's arms, gently biting the finger the young man was using to tease her.
Koharu, who had already finished playing, lay quietly at Ren Katsuragi's feet.
"Mmm, Ren~" Chie Hoshinomiya, standing on the second floor, watched the heartwarming scene downstairs.
How lovely
Chie Hoshinomiya thought this, followed the railing down the stairs, and sat down next to Ren Katsuragi.
Because he had just showered, Ren Katsuragi wore a white bathrobe on his upper body and only shorts on his lower body.
As Chie Hoshinomiya's gaze fell upon Ren Katsuragi, the young man's body, radiating a wild aura, was completely exposed before her.
A blush instantly spread to Chie Hoshinomiya's earlobes.
To prevent herself from doing anything rash, Chie Hoshinomiya poured herself a glass of red wine from the bottle that was already opened on the coffee table.
Swirling the red wine in the stemmed glass, Chie Hoshinomiya seemed to see her past self through the reflection of the red wine.
"Ren, I drank too much today, I was drunk."
"Mmm," Ren Katsuragi responded flatly, still looking down and teasing Mochi in his lap.
"I forgot when the last time I got drunk was. I was really happy today." Not caring about Ren Katsuragi's perfunctory tone, Chie Hoshinomiya continued to talk.
"Mmm."
"Do you want to hear my story, Ren~" Chie Hoshinomiya was truly drunk, or perhaps she was just tired of hiding her secret alone.
"No."
"It doesn't matter if you don't want to. Chie is going to tell you anyway!"
Like a girl affectionately complaining to her boyfriend, Chie Hoshinomiya pouted to express her dissatisfaction with Ren Katsuragi, then began to narrate the secret she had hidden.
Chie Hoshinomiya and Sae Chabashira, the two homeroom teachers, were once students at this school.
They were classmates in the same grade and were truly best friends at the time.
The best friends told each other everything and worked hard with the rest of the class to ascend the ranks. Everyone dreamt of working together to reach Class A and secure a beautiful future for themselves.
Initially, everything was progressing towards the best possible outcome, until a class examination in their third year.
The exam required everyone to personally vote to expel one classmate, and even that classmate had to agree.
How cruel…
Chie Hoshinomiya's hand holding the wine glass paused slightly. She took a sip of wine and continued narrating the subsequent development of events.
The class leader at the time volunteered to be expelled by everyone, willing to trade his own future for the future of everyone in the class.
Perhaps this was the most tragic ending: the class leader led everyone to the final step, only to have everyone eliminate him personally.
But it could also be the most perfect ending: the class leader truly fulfilled his original promise to everyone, taking them to Class A at all costs.
However, the final story always had unexpected turns, and Sae Chabashira was that unexpected turn…
The class leader was Sae Chabashira's boyfriend at the time. When everyone else agreed, she cast a vote against it.
She cast the vote of opposition that sent the entire class tumbling into the abyss.
After that, the class, not surprisingly… fell again and again…
From Class B, which had the highest hope of ascending to Class A, they fell all the way to Class D, the bottom rank.
And because of this, Chie Hoshinomiya graduated from this school with the identity of a Class D defective.
"How pathetic…" Chie Hoshinomiya finished telling her secret, drinking the red wine in her glass in one gulp.
It was unclear whether the pathetic one she referred to was Sae Chabashira… or herself.
"I really envy everyone in Class A now. If you had been in our class back then, Ren."
"I think I would definitely have fallen in love with you."
Chie Hoshinomiya spoke to Ren Katsuragi almost to herself.
Ren Katsuragi had placed Mochi on Koharu's head the moment Chie Hoshinomiya began narrating her secret and listened quietly to Chie Hoshinomiya's story.
This was the minimum respect for sincerity.
"I really… really… would have fallen in love with you… Ren." Perhaps she was truly drunk. Chie Hoshinomiya rolled over to sit on Ren Katsuragi's waist, looking down at him.
She grabbed Ren Katsuragi's bathrobe with one hand, her eyes reddened.
As if having made a great decision, Chie Hoshinomiya leaned down and kissed Ren Katsuragi's lips.
Not refusing, Ren Katsuragi allowed Chie Hoshinomiya's fierce aggression toward him.
After venting the resentment buried in her heart for many years.
Tears streamed down Chie Hoshinomiya's eyes, falling onto Ren Katsuragi's face.
The young man reached out to wipe Chie Hoshinomiya's tears, but she slapped his hand away.
"Hoshinomiya…" Ren Katsuragi, having gained a moment to breathe, tucked the strands of hair that had fallen across Chie Hoshinomiya's face behind her ear.
Wiping away the remaining tears, Chie Hoshinomiya, unwilling to surrender to age, looked stubbornly at Ren Katsuragi: "Chie, call me Chie. You must always call me Chie from now on!"
"Then… will Chie move in to live with me?"
"What about Honami and Airi?" Chie Hoshinomiya looked at Ren Katsuragi in surprise. She hadn't expected Ren Katsuragi to make this request.
She didn't want to make things difficult for Ren Katsuragi.
Shrugging, Ren Katsuragi showed his helplessness: "I asked them, but they're shy… they're too embarrassed to move in by themselves. You can guide them later, right?"
"Tsk, Ren is truly a scumbag!" Chie Hoshinomiya rolled her eyes at Ren Katsuragi and began to tousle Ren Katsuragi's hair.
This was her revenge for the first day Ren Katsuragi had messed up her hair.
Damn it, why is Ren's hair longer than hers even though he's a young man!!!
Finally cheerful, Chie tiptoed at the entryway and gave Ren Katsuragi a light peck on his forehead before leaving.
"Ren, please be kind to me from now on~"
Now she had to go back to her dorm to pack her things, and also…
She had to psychologically prepare Honami and Airi.
I, Chie, am quite the helpful partner, aren't I?
----
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