Chapter 61: You Deserve It!

Chapter 61: You Deserve It!

Sometimes, words spoken are like water spilled.

Since she had already said who cares, Asagiri Rin naturally could not keep digging into who exactly the girl in that photo was.

She had only seen that she was sitting in a wheelchair and had not gotten a clear look, but based on intuition, the girl’s bearing seemed quite good. However, she also seemed older than herself.

Where had he met her?

An orphan and a disabled person being connected together somehow felt strangely harmonious.

But given how poor he was, could he really be taking care of her? Or had they simply happened to meet on the road?

Mm... very possible.

Using the opportunity she had given him by asking for the photo, he had deliberately brought out such a picture and pretended he had sent it by mistake, when in reality he was trying to attract her attention. He wanted to throw her off balance and provoke the reaction he wanted to see.

Heh, how ridiculous.

Did he really think she would fall for such a clumsy trick?

Did he think he could fool her with some random photo? Did he really think she was still that little girl who couldn’t stop herself from running to the orphanage every day to find him?

“Why is your expression so perverted?”

Yatsuno Gen had no idea what kind of storm this girl was brewing in her head. He only knew that she kept looking at her phone, then looking at him. Then, for some inexplicable reason, an evil smile of confirmation appeared on her face.

As for why it was evil... hard to say. It simply made Yatsuno Gen worry about his personal safety.

After all, not everyone could maintain self-control while alone in a room with a handsome guy like him, especially at an age when youthful hormones were at their strongest.

Asagiri Rin snapped out of it. She immediately adjusted her expression and returned to that lofty noble-princess state.

“Isn’t it your own thoughts that are vulgar? I know being alone together with a girl like me is a test for you, but I advise you to restrain yourself. Don’t challenge consequences you can’t bear.”

Yatsuno Gen:???

Good grief, I only thought those things in my head.

And you just said them out loud?

Yatsuno Gen turned his head and noticed a refrigerator sitting in the corner, something that had not been there a few days ago.

Come to think of it, there were many unusual things about this clubroom. In weather like this, other clubrooms would at most set up an electric fan and put a few handheld fans on the table. But this clubroom had air conditioning, and now it even had a refrigerator. Was this what privilege looked like?

The evils of capitalism.

“Why did you suddenly get a refrigerator?”

Yatsuno Gen directly changed the subject.

Asagiri Rin raised an eyebrow.

“Of course we need a refrigerator in weather like this. Otherwise, how do you think the mango juice I gave you stayed cold?”

“Oh? So you’re admitting it was for me?”

Yatsuno Gen suddenly leaned closer and blinked.

Asagiri Rin froze for a moment.

Then she gritted her teeth and said, “You’ve already taken a sip, so obviously I wasn’t going to drink it anymore. Naturally it’s yours. Also, you’re not allowed to use the refrigerator without my permission.”

“If I’m not allowed to use it, why put it in the clubroom? I’m a club member, so of course I can use it.”

As he spoke, Yatsuno Gen stood up. Ignoring Asagiri Rin’s hand tightening around the armrest, he walked over and opened the refrigerator.

One glance inside.

Various fruit juices of the same brand as the mango juice, orange juice, lychee juice, lemon juice, apple juice...

Yatsuno Gen turned around and looked suspiciously at Asagiri Rin.

“Were you worried I wouldn’t like mango, so you prepared other flavors too?”

“Do you have no shame?!”

“Hahaha, don’t panic, I’m joking.”

Yatsuno Gen closed the refrigerator. Just as Asagiri Rin let out a small sigh of relief, he returned to his seat and said quietly, “I don’t have any dietary restrictions. I’ll drink any fruit juice.”

“Who cares about you? If you keep being so full of yourself, get out.”

The girl was genuinely angry.

Still, compared to how she treated most people, she was already being quite restrained in front of Yatsuno Gen. After all, nearly the entire school knew that Asagiri Rin excelled at hurting people not only emotionally, but physically as well.

At least, Yatsuno Gen knew that when they had first entered high school, there had been some self-important rich second-generation kids who believed their qualifications matched Asagiri Rin’s and had pursued her. Some had even engaged in relentless harassment disguised as courtship.

Later, one of them had apparently taken a leave of absence for half a semester. No one knew what had happened, but after returning, he behaved obediently like a pet dog.

He did not even dare mention Asagiri Rin anymore.

Clunk.

Just as Asagiri Rin finished speaking, the sound of a door opening came from the entrance.

For a moment, Asagiri Rin thought Yatsuno Gen had somehow teleported to the doorway and was really leaving because he could no longer tolerate her sarcasm.

But when she looked...

A sweet smile. A youthful and beautiful face. A neat school uniform. Her tidy long hair was tied up behind her head into a cute bun.

Kazama Sakura.

Kazama Sakura...

It would have been better if Yatsuno Gen had left in wounded pride.

Why had she come again?

Her gaze immediately met that of the girl who seemed completely unafraid when looking at her.

The other girl stood smiling in the doorway, as though the entire world was beautiful through her smile. To be honest, Asagiri Rin disliked people like that. They looked like flowers raised in a greenhouse, ignorant of the dangers of the world, and merely seeing them made one feel the urge to destroy them.

“You called her here?”

Asagiri Rin looked at Yatsuno Gen, her voice noticeably colder.

The somewhat cute tsundere side she had shown moments ago completely disappeared.

Yatsuno Gen seemed to hear a sound from the void.

[Battle Mode Activated!]

Yatsuno Gen shook his head and looked at Kazama Sakura.

“What brings you here?”

Maintaining her smile, Kazama Sakura walked into the clubroom.

“Because I wasn’t here to see you, so I didn’t tell you.”

“Not here to see me?”

Then was she here to see Asagiri Rin?

Yatsuno Gen looked over in confusion.

Asagiri Rin seemed equally puzzled.

“What do you want with me?”

Overestimating yourself. Delivering yourself to the door. Seeking your own destruction?

Kazama Sakura walked to the table in front of Asagiri Rin. Then she opened her schoolbag, took out a sheet of paper, and placed it on the table.

With a sweet smile, she said, “This is my application to join the club. I hope Asagiri-san will approve it.”

“Join the club?”

Asagiri Rin frowned.

Yatsuno Gen also looked at Kazama Sakura in surprise.

“You want to join this club? Don’t you already have a club?”

Kazama Sakura nodded.

“I’ve been studying desserts for a long time, and I feel like I don’t need to spend all my time over there anymore. My skills are already quite good. So I thought I’d find another club and enrich my after-school life. Is that not allowed?”

It sounded reasonable enough, but Yatsuno Gen knew it definitely was not the main reason.

Of all the clubs she could choose, she had to come here.

Her objective already seemed obvious.

But when had this girl, usually as gentle as a lamb, developed such courage?

Asagiri Rin did not take the application form. Instead, she looked at the other girl and said,

“Sorry, but I don’t think this club really suits your goal of enriching your after-school life. And we aren’t planning to recruit new members for now. You can try looking at other clubs.”

That was already a very polite rejection.

Yatsuno Gen felt that if he were not here, Asagiri Rin would probably have said only one thing:

Take your application and get out.

But this reaction seemed entirely within Kazama Sakura’s expectations.

Not only did she fail to withdraw the form, she actually pushed it a little closer toward the other girl, almost into Asagiri Rin’s lap.

Then she said,

“I chose this place after careful consideration, so I’m certain it meets my requirements. As for not planning to recruit... with only two members, what can a club really accomplish? Is it that you don’t want new members, or that you’re afraid?”

Afraid?

Yatsuno Gen could not help raising an eyebrow.

Was that the smell of gunpowder? It was so pungent.

Moreover, this version of Kazama Sakura was completely unfamiliar. In front of him, she had never displayed such a confrontational attitude.

Or was it that women only entered this state when facing other women?

Asagiri Rin clearly felt the determination behind the other’s words.

She leaned back against the sofa and straightened her elegant posture.

Her hands rested on the armrests, like a regent queen coldly observing a subject bold enough to challenge her authority.

“Afraid? Interesting. Tell me, what exactly would I be afraid of?”

She smiled as well.

There was no anger or embarrassment in it.

But her smile was far sharper, filled with amusement and mockery.

Kazama Sakura was not intimidated.

Her expression remained unchanged as she smiled and replied,

“No matter who you are, everyone has things they’re afraid of. That’s not something power or wealth can erase. For example, discovering that all the things that make you exceptional, your appearance, your bearing, your family background, your power, are actually inferior to something as simple as two people liking each other.”

Was this a battle?

Yatsuno Gen’s eyes lit up.

Asagiri Rin’s smile grew even brighter.

Yet the aura around her became even more oppressive.

“What kind of hopeless romantic would believe everyone needs meaningless things like liking someone or being liked? And what makes you think that everything that seems beautiful now won’t eventually deteriorate?”

Her finger twirled a strand of hair, her movement casual and mocking.

“Oh, you’re pretty now. Young and beautiful.

But what about when the years pass and your youth is gone?

Then you’ll start fearing that everything you treasure will leave you.

And all those things you currently disdain, the power and wealth you can never obtain, won’t merely serve as insurance for preserving everything you value.

Perhaps they could even effortlessly destroy everything you think you possess.”

Looking at Kazama Sakura’s increasingly furrowed brows, she said each word distinctly,

“You want to get hurt that badly?

Then I can give you that opportunity.”

Hm?

Did that mean she agreed?

Yatsuno Gen felt somewhat disappointed.

There still wasn’t enough fighting.

She was still too graceful about it.

But was Asagiri Rin’s choice actually a kind of trap she had fallen into?

Kazama Sakura smiled and nodded.

“Thank you very much for approving my application, Asagiri-san. But I’d also like to say something.

People who can’t be honest with themselves deserve every bit of suffering they go through.”

“...”

Asagiri Rin suddenly raised her head and stared directly into Kazama Sakura’s eyes.

She said nothing, yet an invisible pressure seemed to spread outward, as though her personal domain were unfolding.

At that moment, Kazama Sakura had already turned around and looked at Yatsuno Gen, who deeply regretted not having a bag of melon seeds to snack on while watching.

“Had enough of the show?”

“Huh? What do you mean, watching a show? You can’t say that...”

“Fine, call it whatever you want. Right now, come eat with me. I’m starving.”

“Have you evolved into an animal that’s incapable of feeding itself? Ow... stop pinching me. Aren’t I already getting up?”

“Hmph. Meanie.”

The two left while bickering flirtatiously.

Asagiri Rin paid no attention to their departure.

She sat on the sofa, looking toward the doorway.

“Deserve it, huh?

Do they really think all I can do is make threats?”

It’s here.

It’s finally here.

This battle is the one!