Want to play cards? I'll use my King's Deck!

A layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and Yamashiro, overflowing with the will to survive, echoed him repeatedly. At this moment, he had turned back into the lapdog who would wag his tail and smile at Izayoi Yuki.

"A student as outstanding as Yuki is exactly the kind of talent our Kiyosumi High School needs. We're already struggling to recruit him, so why would we turn him away? My dear Izayoi, the reason I spoke so harshly just now was because I wanted to inspire Yuki to fight even harder. It was all out of good intentions, all out of good intentions!"

"But didn't you say we weren't respectful enough to our teachers?"

“It’s normal for talented students to be a little willful; they deserve more freedom to develop. Besides, you weren’t late or absent, so there’s no question of disrespecting your teachers.”

"...Director Shancheng"

Looking at that balding man with a righteous and indignant expression, who could change his attitude and fawn over her faster than flipping through a book, Izayoi Yuki was speechless.

She shook her head in disgust, and then added one last point: "If only you were as nice as you say you are in real life."

"Of course, of course. I have many shortcomings, and it is precisely because of your supervision and correction, students like Izayoi, that I can better serve the students! Leave the assessment to me. I will definitely ensure that Yuuki becomes a special recruit for dueling smoothly, and no one will be able to stop it!"

Shancheng made a firm and resolute promise, almost to the point of pledging his life.

Then, the obsequious dean of students changed his tone and asked Izayoi Yuki with trepidation, "So, Izayoi-kun, could you... help me put in a little extra effort with the principal?"

Although everything was done according to procedure and there was no violation of regulations, his taking sides was too obvious.

If they succeed, all will be well; but if they fail, there's no guarantee they won't be caught off guard and attacked relentlessly. Whether they can keep their current position then will depend on whether the girl is willing to lend a helping hand.

"That depends on your performance afterward."

Izayoi Yuki didn't give Yamashiro a definite answer, so let's just tell him to do his best for Izumi in this matter.

With this matter settled, the white-haired girl didn't waste any more words with Yamashiro and reunited with the other girl.

"Xiaoxue, is everything settled?"

“Yes.” Izayoi Yuki nodded. “There will be no more problems with Izumi-san’s enrollment.”

"That's good. If anything else goes wrong, I'll have to beat that guy up too."

"You could get expelled for hitting a faculty or staff member."

"That makes sense."

Hoshino slumped her shoulders in frustration, then perked up again: "But if I can't beat up the teacher, beating up a scumbag shouldn't be a problem, right? I just saw that bastard get angry at Yuki-kun and leave. I think I can still catch up with him now."

"It's possible, but let's talk to Izumi first."

"That's for sure!"

This time, Izayoi Yuki didn't stop Hoshino Mai. The blonde girl first congratulated the victorious boy with her, and then hurriedly left through the stadium gate.

Where are they going?

Watching the girls' departing figures, Yu Xi looked somewhat curious and puzzled.

Is there anything so important that it absolutely has to be done right now?

"It's probably something that's not appropriate to do in front of so many people."

Keno, who was talking to her, adjusted his glasses, seemingly having guessed what Hoshino and the other woman were planning to do, but he didn't seem inclined to interfere.

He's much more interested in Yu Xi now than that kind of guy.

"You Xi, your strength is truly outstanding. To be honest, it's exceeded my expectations. How about it, are you interested in studying at our Morning Light Duel Academy?"

Despite being defeated by Yuxi, Keno maintained the demeanor expected of an adult and immediately extended an olive branch to the boy who had defeated him, a stark contrast to the arrogant yet obsequious dean.

This surprised You Xi.

"Go to Dawnlight Duel Academy? Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious."

Kno replied seriously, "I discovered after the duel that you are a rough gem. You can perform so well with this deck. If you can further your studies and switch to a stronger deck, you will surely shine on a wider stage."

"Therefore, it would be a waste to let you remain a so-called dueling special recruit at Qingcheng High School. Only our Morning Light Duel Academy can allow your talents to fully blossom. Of course, you don't need to worry about tuition fees; I can cover them for you, and you can also receive scholarships later."

"So, You Xi, considering the resources and future development prospects, don't you think coming here would be a more ideal choice?"

Kno spoke eloquently, listing the advantages of joining the Duel Academy one by one, trying to persuade Yuki to switch sides.

The students around him, who were excited about the duel, were too intimidated by his presence to approach, and the teachers, including the dean of students, were busy with the aftermath, such as evacuating and dispersing the students.

For a moment, despite the hustle and bustle, no one in the stadium could interrupt this impromptu conversation.

And Yu Xi's reaction to this delicious pie that fell from the sky was—

Chapter 48 Judging by appearance is wrong

"What? Yu Xi-jun has been invited to study at the Duel Academy?"

"Yes, that's what Professor Kno said. I accepted the business card, but I still politely declined."

You Xi nodded and said.

After the commotion at the gymnasium ended, in order to protect himself, Director Shancheng, who had finally cleaned up the mess, immediately announced that You Xi had received a perfect score.

In all the various dueling exams, the scores for practical combat and written exams are weighted 7:3. Therefore, all that's left is to go through the written exam, and Yuuki will be able to smoothly enroll in Kiyosumi High School. It can be said that victory has already been secured.

To celebrate this victory, the three of them went to the nearby "Volcano" hot pot restaurant during their lunch break and chatted about the topic while eating.

"Why are you refusing? The conditions at the Duel Academy are much better than here, and it's easier for you to achieve your goal."

Izayoi Yuki asked curiously, her mouth never stopping as she asked.

He dipped his chopsticks into the fiery red soup, picked out a large piece of meat, dipped it in the sauce, and then stuffed it all into his mouth in one gulp, chewing it nonstop, his eyes slightly narrowed, revealing a blissful expression.

Yu Xi only found out today that Izayoi Yuki is actually a big eater.

She may not look particularly impressive, but once she's on the table, she eats both meat and vegetables, and most of the food cooked in the pot ends up in her stomach.

What surprised Yuki the most was that even after eating so much, Izayoi Yuki's eating speed remained unchanged. While her every move could not be described as full of aristocratic elegance, it was still quite pleasing to the eye.

And her belly didn't get any bigger; it looked like there was a "black hole" inside.

According to Xingye Mai, it's probably because Izayoi Yuki engages in a lot of dueling training every day, which consumes a lot of calories, so even with this amount of food, she can maintain her figure.

...Even with so much nutrition, it doesn't seem to help in some areas.

Shaking his head, Yu Xi quickly suppressed the slightly impolite thought of glancing at the girl in front of him, whose gaze had inadvertently drifted to him from somewhere.

He replied, "Five days ago, I probably would have agreed without even thinking about it, but the situation is different now."

The competition at Duel Academy must be fierce, right? Even if I had to start all over again there, I might not be able to become a regular. I've already made plans to participate in the Star Cup with Hoshino-san and Izayoi-san, and it wouldn't be very ethical to break those plans now. I don't have the habit of betraying my friends for my own benefit.”

"Oh! Yu Xijun's answer is a big plus!"

Xing Yewu chuckled, "To refuse such a powerful temptation for the sake of precious friendship and a man's promise, what a fine man you are, You Xijun! You're practically the quintessential protagonist of a story. Come, come, don't be shy. As a reward for the male lead's unwavering faith, here's a piece of meat for you!"

"No, it's not as outrageous as you say, Miss Hoshino... Ah, thank you."

As she said this, Xingyewu placed a perfectly cooked slice of meat into Youxi's bowl.

You Xi thanked him, put the food in his mouth, squinted and savored the faint feeling of happiness as the food entered his stomach, before explaining, "Actually, there's another reason why I refused. That is—I don't quite trust Teacher Keno."

"Can't be trusted?"

After taking a sip of her chilled soda, Izayoi Yuki put down her cup and asked疑惑地问道, "Is it because he's a thug Satomi Sho called in?"

"That's one reason, but more than that, I don't trust Professor Kno."

Yu Xi recalled her feelings during her brief conversation with Keno and said, "I can't really explain why, but I didn't feel comfortable with Professor Keno, and I didn't like him very much."

"That is, intuition?"

Xingye Wu picked up a fish ball from her bowl and analyzed, "Well, this kind of thing is quite common. There are indeed people who are mutually repulsed at first sight, and of course, there are also examples of people who feel like they've known each other forever. Like Yu Xijun and me. Since that's the reason, there's nothing we can do about it."

"This is what's called the 'appearance-based theory,' isn't it?"

Izayoi Yuki frowned slightly, revealing her disapproval.

"Quan-kun, although first impressions are largely determined by appearance and temperament, judging people by their appearance is not a good habit."

"Wait, given Professor Kno's appearance, it's unlikely that someone would judge him based on his looks in a derogatory way. I think it's probably due to something else, but I don't know what it is."

You Xi's explanation sounded weak and unconvincing, like sophistry.

It was the blonde girl sitting next to him who spoke up to help him out of the predicament.

"Well, it doesn't really matter if I don't know. Anyway, the special admissions exam is over, and Yuki-kun has already declined their invitation. Unless he's as persistent as Satomi Sho, we won't have any more opportunities to get involved with that teacher named Konno, right? So there's no need to worry about it—but Yuki-kun, do you know what Yuki and I did before?"

Hoshino Mai changed the subject, successfully diverting Izayoi Yuki's attention and also piquing Yuki's interest.

"Before... ah, you mean after I won the duel, right? What were you doing then, Ms. Hoshino?"

"Heh heh, don't be surprised when I tell you."

Xingyewu said excitedly, "We're going to help you get revenge, Youxi-kun. Oh, it's a pity you weren't there, otherwise you would have seen my beautiful punch."

As she spoke, the blonde girl swung her pink fists forward, seemingly demonstrating the scene to Yu Xi.

Izayoi Yuki, standing across the billowing steam, said, "It's beautiful, but it'll just cause trouble for the headmaster again."

"Haha, what can we do? They've really gone too far this time. We can't just keep putting up with it for the sake of the bigger picture. We're going to get scolded anyway, so we might as well seize the opportunity to give them a good beating. Otherwise, wouldn't that be a huge loss? I didn't see you holding back at all, Xiaoxue."

"Well……"

Yu Xi blinked blankly as she listened to the conversation between the two girls.

"what?"

……

Kno opened the door from the outside and entered the school medical room.

As soon as he entered, he heard a series of painful groans and curses.

"Ouch...it hurts...! Damn it...damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!! Those two bitches actually dared to hit me! Even my dad never hit me!"

Inside, Satomi Sho and his henchmen lay on their beds, looking as if they had just been bullied, appearing quite miserable.

Especially Satomi Sho, while the two unconscious delinquents were doing a little better, he was clearly receiving special attention.

The face that had deceived countless young girls in love was no longer handsome; most of it was bandaged up with gauze or something, with only a small gap showing. Without asking, one could tell what kind of "bruised and swollen face" lay underneath, perhaps even bleeding from a beating.

He carefully touched the bandaged area, and Satomi Sho gasped sharply, his body convulsing, before bursting into another tirade of curses.

He spewed out all sorts of vulgarities he had learned from his followers and the internet, cursing the girls' ancestors to the eighteenth generation with relentless malice and anger.

Just then, a voice came from afar.