Restricted Death

Chapter 140 Rejection
The living room suddenly fell silent, and the strange atmosphere made the two girls on the sofa extremely uncomfortable.

"What's wrong with you two?" Xin asked with a smile.

Hinamori didn't want to look Shin in the eye, and said with her head down, "It's nothing."

"President..."

Just as Rukia was about to say something, Hinamori grabbed her hand tightly, the force of which made her swallow back the words she was about to say.

Xin looked at the two of them and asked again, "What do you want to say?"

Rukia glanced at Hinamori, who stood beside her with her head bowed, took a deep breath, and finally spoke, "There's something I'd like to ask you, President."

Hinamori's expression visibly showed a hint of panic.

Rukia noticed that Hinamori's grip on her hand suddenly loosened considerably, as if she herself had completely lost her composure at that moment.

She then turned around and gripped his hand tightly, looking at Xin and saying, "President, you know we both like you, right?"

"..."

The living room fell silent again, and Hinamori slowly raised her head.

Xin nodded gently, "I know."

"Then, President..." Rukia took a deep breath, "which of the two of us do you like?"

After asking that question, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but her mind remained tense, her eyes fixed on the letter.

"..."

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The setting sun streaming in through the window cast the shadows of the three people on the sofa onto the floor, tangling into an unbreakable knot.

Under their gazes, Shin said, "I like them both."

This answer startled both of them. Hinamori even stood up abruptly, but she stared at the letter for a long time without saying a word.

Rukia was slightly annoyed, and said again, "President, please face this problem squarely."

In this situation and at this time, she mustered up a great deal of courage to ask this question, and the answer she wanted was definitely not this kind of "muddling through" or "perfunctory" response.

She didn't want Shin to have so many concerns, to not care about her relationship with Hinamori, and just to give a direct and honest answer.

Shin's gaze fell on Rukia, causing Rukia's heart to tremble suddenly. At the same time, she felt Hinamori unconsciously tighten her grip on her hand.

Her eyes were lowered as she slowly said, "President, you probably already guessed what happened between me and Peach. I know this is a bad thing, and I'm tired of this relationship. I want to be able to get along with anyone honestly. I just want an answer now... Whatever the result, I will accept it."

Whatever the outcome...

These words were like a knife piercing Hinamori's heart, making her feel as if everything she had done over the years had been in vain.

Why did I maintain this relationship with Rukia? I clearly had better options back then. How could she say something like this, regardless of the outcome?
Is my relationship with her really that unimportant?
Before Xin could speak, Hinamori asked, "Does the outcome you mentioned include ending things with me here?"

Rukia paused for a moment, then said, "That's not what I meant..."

"Then what do you mean?"

Rukia stared at her blankly before saying, "I mean, no matter who the president chooses... I'm willing to accept it."

Hinamori, her eyes red-rimmed, retorted, "Then let me ask you, if the student council president hadn't chosen you, how would you feel about me?"

"..."

Rukia fell silent. What she wanted to say was that if the student council president chose Momoko, she would still be willing to be good friends with her.

But if it really comes to that, will it be so easy? And can I really do it...?

If the president had chosen her instead, and she then said she was willing to get along with Momoko like she did at the beginning, wouldn't that seem too arrogant and condescending?
She understood why Hinamori reacted that way; when she said those words, she had indeed put her feelings for Momoko behind those for the student council president.

But she really didn't like their current way of getting along. The two of them, who should be friends, always felt incredibly awkward whenever they talked about topics related to the president or encountered anything related to the president. They talked about fair competition, but she hated this kind of competition, which made her unable to help but be suspicious and doubtful.

Rukia looked up at Shin and saw that he was looking at her too, which made her feel flustered again.

How did it turn out like this...?

Why impose these things on the president? And what will the president think?

She didn't know how to end this. Should she really wait for the president to make a choice? But why should the president listen to what she said and choose one of them?
"Let me say a few words."

Xin finally spoke at this moment.

His words silenced Hinamori and Rukia, who sat there glancing to either side.

“You’ve both been drinking today, so you both need to sober up and calm down,” Xin said slowly. “As for that special relationship between you, it can end here.”

After he finished speaking, both girls turned to look at him at the same time.

That special relationship refers to the so-called "fair competition." Does believing this mean that he has already made a decision?
This put them all on edge; ultimately, they all wanted to know Xin's true intentions.

Xin sighed and said, "I didn't expect things to develop this way. Maybe it's my fault too. It's pointless to talk about this now..."

Shin paused, looked at Hinamori, and then at Rukia.

"I will not develop a romantic relationship with any of you."

"..."

"..."

"I hope you can continue to be friends. As for our relationship, if you still consider me the president and senior, let's get along like normal friends. If you feel awkward or can't accept it... then I'm sorry."

Shin spoke calmly, leaving Hinamori and Rukia, who were sitting on the sofa, speechless for a long time.

"It's getting late, everyone should head back soon."

It wasn't until Xin got up and went into the kitchen that the two of them looked at each other.

Silence followed, then the sound of water coming from the kitchen.

Hinamori got up without a word and left Shin's house first.

Rukia was still sitting there, staring blankly at the figure in the kitchen.

Is the president... angry?
She seemed somewhat dazed and didn't know when she had left. Perhaps she felt too ashamed to stay any longer, and only realized it belatedly on her way back.

Did I mess it up...?

Rukia felt a pang of bitterness and fear.

And at this moment, Xin is at home.

After Hinamori and Rukia left, Shin came out of the kitchen. Looking at the still messy living room, he raised his hand and, with a flick of his wrist, used his spiritual energy to quickly clean up the cluttered area.

What a scumbag.

I thought about it with confidence.

(End of this chapter)