Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 194 Akizuki Makoto cheats on Shiraishi Rin
"Betrayal...Maki?"

Qiu Yuecheng was somewhat puzzled. If he wanted to have a secret rendezvous with Ji Yexue, there was no need to go to such lengths. They could just call him out whenever they wanted.

Moreover, Shiina Maki knows and is able to accept that he is with Himeyasuki.

"I don't quite understand what you mean. How do you want me to betray you?"

"What do you think?"

Ji Yexue raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled maliciously, "Of course it's cheating! Isn't that what you're best at? You scumbag."

"This... is undeniable."

Makoto Akizuki lowered his head awkwardly and continued, "But this doesn't count as cheating, does it? I told Maki that I wouldn't give up on you, and she agreed."

"Hehe, it seems you've misunderstood something. When did I say that the person you cheated on me with was me?"

Upon hearing this, Akizuki Makoto looked astonished and stammered, "W-what do you mean? If it's not you...who is it?"

"If it were me, it wouldn't make any sense, it wouldn't even qualify as cheating."

"No...no...no...who am I supposed to...cheat with?"

At this moment, Qiu Yuecheng couldn't help but panic. Looking at Ji Yexue's mocking smile, he felt a strong sense of unease.

If the person he's cheating on isn't Ji Yexue, then things will get complicated; it could escalate into a real cheating scandal.

Moreover, Ji Yexue actually allowed this kind of thing, actually allowed him to have entanglements with other women, which would have been impossible before.

...Well, it's not his place to say that. He's already with Shiina Maki, so it doesn't seem to make any difference if there's another person.

To Ji Yexue, Qiuyue Cheng was already an unclean person, so it didn't matter if he became even more filthy.

"Doesn't that guy have two good friends? How about we choose them?"

Ji Yexue spoke softly, her face full of joy and anticipation, with a hint of excitement.

She could already imagine the despair and sorrow that Shiina Maki would feel when she discovered that Akizuki Makoto was cheating on her with her best friend.

"Furthermore, you cannot reveal any information to Shiina. If you do, I will disappear from your sight immediately."

"This……"

Akizuki Makoto was immediately drenched in sweat, his face turning ashen with immense fear.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, forced a smile, and advised, "Isn't it unnecessary to go to this extent? This has nothing to do with Shiraishi and Niijima. They are innocent. Let's not drag innocent people into this."

"Ha, innocent?"

Ji Yexue sneered and muttered, "At this point, what are you still pretending to be a good person for? I'll ask you one last time: do as I say, or will I disappear right now?"

"……let me consider it."

Akizuki looked helpless; he was unwilling to accept any of the options.

Leaving aside the first one, the second one terrified him even more.

If he lets Ji Yexue go now, he may never see her again in his life.

Moreover, Ji Yexue's mental state is currently unstable. If we let her leave like this, she might do something drastic.

But one by one
It would be quite difficult for him to secretly flirt with Shiraishi Rin and Niijima Rie without Shiina Maki's knowledge.

The love triangle had already nearly driven him to the brink of collapse, leaving him with a terrible headache. If Shiraishi Rin and Niijima Rie were to get involved as well, he simply couldn't bear to think about it.

"Do we even need to choose?"

Ji Yexue sneered and said contemptuously, "You said you were prepared, but is this all the preparedness you have? Sure enough, in your eyes, you are more important than yourself. You are such a selfish, hypocritical scumbag."

At this moment, she felt only hatred for Akizuki Makoto, not love for him.

The thought of his actions filled her with boundless resentment.

All the beautiful memories of the past have turned into the most unforgettable scars, deepening this hatred.

She couldn't remember how she felt when she liked Akizuki Makoto; all she could recall was the pain and sorrow she had experienced during that time.

"...Okay, fine, whatever you want, I'll do as you say."

In the end, Akizuki Makoto had no choice but to compromise. Since he was already prepared to give his life for Ji Yexue, what did it matter if he became the most complete scumbag?

if only……

If Ji Yexue is satisfied and stops thinking about it, he will obediently do as she says.

This is what he owes Ji Yexue, a sin he must repay, even if it will cause him to incur new sins.

"whispering sound."

Although the request was granted, Ji Yexue did not show any joy or satisfaction. On the contrary, her mood worsened, and her face became much gloomy.

This feeling is truly contradictory.

She had to admit that she held a sliver of hope that Akizuki Makoto would refuse.

She wanted Qiu Yuecheng to refuse, but she didn't want him to go against her wishes, because if she was rejected, she would lose face.

She was the one who proposed this solution. If Akizuki Makoto refuses, wouldn't the negotiations fall apart? In that case, she would have no choice but to disappear.

But that doesn't mean she was really willing to push Akizuki Makoto onto another woman.

Even though Akizuki Makoto is no longer clean, those guys who covet him are all morally bankrupt and abnormal in some way.

There's no need to say more about Shiina Maki; she's timid and submissive, listening to everything Akizuki Makoto says. She's practically a devoted follower, and calling her a "star of fury" wouldn't be an exaggeration.

"So you can go back now? Your aunt is very worried about you, you should at least let her know you're safe, right?"

"...You're too long-winded; it's none of your business to worry about or lecture me."

"Sorry, I was just mentioning it."

Qiuyue Cheng honestly lowered his head and apologized, deciding to submit to Ji Yexue for now.

He had endured humiliation to stabilize Ji Yexue's emotions, but he felt it was worth it.

"Anyway, shall we leave first?"

Akizuki Makoto tried to make the suggestion, and this time Ji Yexue didn't object. She nodded slightly, which was considered an agreement.

This immediately filled him with joy, and he quickly took out his phone to contact Mrs. Ji Ye and report the situation to her.

After learning that everything had ended without incident and that Ji Yexue was willing to return, Mrs. Ji Yexue was finally relieved, but her resentment towards Qiu Yuecheng did not disappear.

This only temporarily stabilized Ji Yexue; it's still unknown whether she might suddenly have a mental breakdown and disappear again.

All of this depends on Akizuki Makoto. If he doesn't behave, then Ji Yexue will go berserk again.

A few minutes after Akizuki Makoto reported the situation to Mrs. Himeya, the Himeya family drove to the bookstore to pick up Himeya Yuki and take her home.

Qiu Yuecheng watched Ji Yexue get into the car and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he felt sorry for the bookstore that was vandalized and for being implicated because of him, all he could do was apologize.

Fortunately, no one was injured, otherwise he would have felt even more guilty.

After that, Makoto Akizuki left Jimbocho and, exhausted, took a taxi back to his home in Bunkyo Ward.

During the journey, Ji Yexue sent him a message, which was the first time she had replied to Akizuki Makoto's message since Ji Yelongjun's funeral.

This should have been a happy thing... if we ignore what she sent and just consider her taking the initiative to send a message.

"Sigh, is it really going to be like this..." Akizuki Makoto looked at the message from Ji Yexue on his phone screen and sighed deeply.

Ji Yexue told him to go and seduce Bai Shilin in the afternoon, and that she would come invisibly to supervise him, so that he wouldn't cheat or do a perfunctory job.

Akizuki Makoto had also had such thoughts; if he could, he really wouldn't want to do such a thing.

But since Ji Yexue had said so, he had no choice but to steel himself and do it anyway.

As for the reason for hooking up, he also had something to repay Shiraishi Rin that he had always been thinking about.

Why not just ask Shiraishi Rin out under the guise of repaying her kindness?

As for what to do after the meeting, that's up to Ji Yexue; she said she would give the instructions at that time.

"What a headache."

Thinking about what he was going to do next, Akizuki couldn't help but look worried and let out a long sigh.

……

……

in the afternoon.

Akizuki Makoto returned to school.

He first found Shiina Maki and explained the situation—why she suddenly ran away this morning.

“I-Is that so…”

Shiina Maki nodded without saying anything, simply indicating that she understood and that it was okay.

It's understandable that Akizuki Makoto would be extremely anxious about Ji Yexue's sudden disappearance. If it were her, he would probably be just as worried.

She wasn't dissatisfied, after all, she had long known how important Ji Yexue was to Qiu Yuecheng.

"I'm sorry, did I make you worry?"

Akizuki looked at Shiina Maki with deep regret, not only for his sudden outburst that morning, but also for the betrayal that followed.

Ji Yexue gave him a gag order. Even if Shiina Maki noticed that his relationship with Shiraishi Rin was unusual and came to interrogate him, he could not reveal their accomplice relationship.

Uneasy, Ji Yexue even installed a listening device on him to prevent him from doing anything underhanded when she was away.

Of course, this method cannot truly prevent him from revealing it to Shiina Maki.

If Akizuki Makoto really wanted to tell Shiina Maki, he could have simply sent her a text message or written it down on paper.

But he's a man of integrity, he wouldn't do that... he swore.

"It's alright. I had a pretty good idea why Cheng-kun rushed out so quickly, but I didn't expect it was because President Himeya suddenly disappeared. Is she alright?"

"Well, I guess everything's alright for now."

"That's good."

Shiina Maki breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped that Himeyasu was alright; otherwise, Akizuki Makoto would worry.

Moreover, if she continues to act recklessly like she did today, Akizuki Makoto will have no choice but to take care of her.

This is something Shiina Maki doesn't want to see; she hopes Himeyasuki can behave herself.

Since you're unwilling to compromise, you might as well just be a loser.

Isn't acting so recklessly today just causing trouble for others?

If Ji Yexue hadn't died, Qiuyue Cheng would have been very troubled; she really wanted to take action against Ji Yexue.

Her desire to possess Akizuki Makoto exclusively grew stronger during this period.

"I'll go back to my seat now, class is about to start."

After greeting everyone, Akizuki Makoto turned around and went back to his seat.

As he sat down, Shiraishi Rin, who was sitting next to him, took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"Akizuki-kun, what happened this morning? You suddenly left early."

She asked the question not for any other reason than out of curiosity, as a friend showing concern.

"It's okay, don't worry."

Akizuki Makoto smiled and replied that it wasn't appropriate to reveal too much about his relationship with Ji Yexue to Shiraishi Rin.

"Oh, it's good that you're alright..."

Shiraishi Rin nodded and didn't say anything more; she was just expressing her concern.

Since Akizuki Makoto didn't want to talk about it anymore, she wouldn't be so tactless as to pry.

Ultimately, their relationship is not one to be questioned, especially since Akizuki Makoto is intentionally distancing himself from her.
"Um... do you still stand by what you said before about wanting to repay me?"

Just as Shiraishi Rin thought the conversation was over and took out her textbook to prepare for class, a question suddenly rang out beside her, startling her.

"Eh?"

She wondered if she had misheard. She thought she had just heard Akizuki Makoto say... repay?
"Didn't you say before that you wanted to repay me? I want to ask if that still stands?"

Akizuki Makoto repeated what he had just said, and as if afraid that Shiraishi Rin might not have heard him clearly, he slowly and deliberately repeated it word by word.

“When, of course, or count.”

Shiraishi Rin stammered in response, asking with a mixture of doubt and nervousness, "W-Why are you bringing this up?"

Her intuition told her that there must be some hidden reason why Akizuki Makoto suddenly brought this up.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking, how about you treat me to coffee?"

Akizuki Makoto had to admit that the way he proposed to repay the debt was extremely suspicious.

But there was no other way; it was a task assigned by Ji Yexue, and no matter how suspicious it was, she had to do it.

Ji Yexue's first instruction to her was to seduce Shiraishi Rin and arrange to meet her alone.

Of course, Shiina Maki could come along, but what Akizuki Makoto wants to do will not change.

Makoto Akizuki didn't want to flirt with Rin Shiraishi in front of Maki Shiina; that would definitely cause a huge problem.

"Would you like some coffee?"

Shiraishi Rin was even more shocked, her eyes widened and her mouth slightly open.

She wondered if she was dreaming, or if she had fallen asleep during her lunch break, otherwise how could she have heard Akizuki Makoto inviting her to have coffee?
"Ah, should we bring Fuyuko, Maki-chan, and Rie-chan along?"

After a brief moment of surprise, Shiraishi Rin suddenly realized and nodded, saying, "No problem! Eat as much as you want! How about going to Senbikiya?"

"No, no, no, you misunderstood!"

Makoto Akizuki quickly shook his head in denial, explaining, "This time, it's just the two of us going alone, without Niijima and Maki."

"..."

Shiraishi Rin fell silent, looking at Akizuki Makoto with a strange gaze.

Sure enough, she must be dreaming, or perhaps Akizuki Makoto has been possessed.

Could it be that Akizuki Makoto also experienced something similar to hers, and this is an implication for her?

Otherwise, why would Akizuki Makoto make such an unusual move?
If Akizuki invited her to have coffee alone, even if she told Shiina Maki and Niijima Rie, they would probably just laugh it off and tell her not to lie or joke.
(End of this chapter)