Click.
The door closed behind her like the dropping blade of a guillotine, severing Ai Cheng Hua Lian's last sliver of safety.
The air in the Student Council room was deadly quiet.
Ai Cheng Hua Lian entwined her fingers under the table, her head down as she watched Kiryu Hina's movements at the other end of the long table out of the corner of her eye.
But the other party was just propping up her chin, staring at her with a cat-playing-with-a-mouse look in her eyes.
Ai Cheng Hua Lian's eyes darted around, not daring to look in that direction, while all sorts of schemes popped into her mind.
Ever since she had witnessed Kiryu Hina's bullying scene, Ai Cheng Hua Lian had become disillusioned with her.
If one were to reconsider everything in the past with the premise that the Student Council President had an ulterior motive, it all started to feel tainted and quite terrifying.
The fear of President Kiriyu was a different kind from that of President Ayakoji.
The fear of the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee was like facing a fierce beast, someone who was severe with people and seemed like they could snap at any moment.
Student Council President's was the kind of fear one experiences in the face of the unknown, warm like spring on the outside but with their true nature hidden in the shadows.
Up until yesterday, she could still talk to Kiryu Hina about club expenses in a coquettish tone.
Now, she wouldn't dare to do it again if you killed her!
This bad woman would act all proper in front of others, yet she bullied Mr. Kagura, who had been kind to her, behind his back.
Ai Cheng Hua Lian, who was soft on the outside but tough on the inside, couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
If the Student Council President was planning to use her authority to threaten her into silence, then Ai Cheng Hua Lian would never compromise. She'd pretend to agree for now and as soon as she left the Student Council, she'd immediately go to the Disciplinary Committee to report her!
Yes, that was the plan.
"You're thinking of reporting me to the Disciplinary Committee, aren't you?" Kiryu Hina suddenly spoke."
Ai Cheng Hua Lian jumped up in shock.
"Mind-reading technique?!"
"Ahahaha, silly, how can there be such a thing as mind-reading techniques in this world?" Kiryu Hina chuckled with her hand covering her mouth, "You are so easy to read, everything you think is written all over your face."
"...Is it that obvious?"
"Mhm."
"Hmph..." Ai Cheng Hua Lian sat back down, placing her hands on the table, and met Kiryu Hina's gaze fiercely like a tiny animal, "Even if you guess it, what can you do? I won't be stopped by you—I'm in the sports department, I can run faster than you!"
"Is that the important part…" Kiryu Hina held back her laughter with her hand covering her mouth, "Well well, don't worry, no one is trying to catch you. Also, could you not think so badly of me? We were just chatting together a few days ago."
"Back then I didn't know you were that kind of person, President Kiriyu!"
Ai Cheng Hua Lian clenched her fists, her head slightly lowered, "I saw it all, you pouring milk over Mr. Kagura's head... Although I don't know why Mr. Kagura is protecting you, that's bullying, right? Bullying is wrong!"
"Hmhm... So that's how you see it," Kiryu Hina said with a noncommittal expression, smirking with one hand propping up her chin.
Her indifferent demeanor completely infuriated Ai Cheng Hua Lian.
"I had so much trust in you as our president... Why would you do such a thing? If there's a legitimate reason, just tell me!"
"You can still trust me now," Kiryu Hina pouted cutely, "It's all Mister Hikaru's fault, he made me do it."
"Eh? Mister... Hikaru?"
"Oh, that's Kagura Hikaru. I call him that in private; I've been calling him that for several years now."
...What?... What's going on?
The overload of information in an instant made Ai Cheng Hua Lian's head spin.
"Wait, are you saying that you and Mr. Kagura knew each other from before and had a good relationship?"
Kiryu Hina propped her cheeks with both hands, making a reminiscent face, "Well, we used to be pretty close, but now it's just average. Which couple is still on good terms after breaking up in this world?"
"Couple?!?!?!?!"
Ai Cheng Hua Lian classmates' brain had already exploded, and her eyes turned into mosquito coil eyes.
What what what is happening?!?
Couple? Mr. Kagura, and the Student Council President?!?
It must be a joke, right, it's got to be a joke!!
"Yeah, we got together in middle school and broke up after graduating." Kiryu Hina confirmed, shattering Ai Cheng Hua Lian's mind with a decisive blow, "I didn't expect to end up in the same high school, fate really likes to play tricks on people, huh~"
"No no no no, wait a second!"
Ai Cheng Hua Lian waved her hands in panic, "President, are you serious? Mr. Kagura is your ex-boyfriend? And the acting you mentioned before is..."
"Of course it's true, I wouldn't joke about my own reputation." Kiryu Hina seemed embarrassed as she twirled a strand of hair with her finger, making circles, "The acting bit is also true. When he asked me like that, I could only comply."
"So your purpose in doing this is..."
"To completely sever ties, to prove to Ayakoji Chiyoko that our relationship is bad, that we're no longer a couple, and that there's no chance of getting back together."
"Eh?" Ai Cheng Hua Lian clearly hadn't expected that the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee would be involved, "Sorry President, I don't understand."
"It's a simple matter. Ayakoji Chiyoko and I aren't on good terms, she thinks that Mister Hikaru, who is related to me, is on good terms with me, but Mister Hikaru wants to be on good terms with Ayakoji Chiyoko, so we had to pretend to be on bad terms—"
Kiryu Hina tilted her head adorably, "Do you understand now?"
Ai Cheng Hua Lian felt dizzy, "I kind of get it, but also don't fully understand... In the end, why does Mr. Kagura want to be on good terms with the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee?"
"Because Mister Hikaru is pursuing her."
"You, you..."
With too many shocks received today, way beyond her limit, Ai Cheng Hua Lian no longer knew how to react.
However, what President Kiryu had said could indeed explain the series of events that had occurred since the bullying incident.
Mr. Kagura wanted to protect President Kiryu because they were on the same side, and they couldn't let an eyewitness send their act to the Discipline Committee to turn a staged act into reality, otherwise the Student Council President would be left with an indelible blemish.
And President Ayakoji, keen to find a witness because her relationship with the Student Council President was very bad, would probably take the opportunity to attack relentlessly, so the evidence couldn't be given to her.
Afterward, if things went smoothly, Mr. Kagura would be able to successfully disassociate himself from President Kiryu.
Everything made sense, but there was an inexplicable sense of disharmony, as if she had overlooked a crucial point.....
Ai Cheng Hua Lian looked dumbfounded, feeling that something was not quite right, but seeing Kiryu Hina's smiling face, she still believed this explanation.
Someone who looks as lovely as this, smiles so gently, how could they deceive her?
Kiryu Hina said, "Right now, Mister Hikaru is using this incident to get close to Ayakoji Chiyoko, and he is working very hard. If you can help him when he needs it, try to lend a hand."
"President, why are you being so good to your ex-boyfriend?" Ai Cheng Hua Lian asked the final question, "You said it yourself earlier, right, your relationship isn't that close anymore, yet you'd rather sully your own name to help him pursue President Ayakoji, why is that....."
"Because he asked me to."
Kiryu Hina smiled like a saint, with a halo of light behind her, "You see, I'm not really good at refusing others."
"President, you're such a good person....."
Ai Cheng Hua Lian's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Ahaha, I often hear that, the more people compliment me, the harder it is to say no, it's really a predicament."
"That's not true! People like the President who give of themselves should be praised more!"
"If you keep praising me, I'm going to get carried away." Kiryu Hina said, "Oh, and the content of our conversation here, don't let others know, okay? It would cause a lot of trouble."
As she spoke, she propped her hands under her chin and playfully winked her left eye at Ai Cheng Hua Lian, "This is our secret, right?"
"Yes! It's a secret between the three of us!"