Speaking of which, Mibuomi Aoi actually wanted him to challenge the Student Council President... His idea was truly bold.
He even gambled such a crucial matter on himself.
However, he really found the right person.
Perhaps, apart from himself, no one in the entire academy could guarantee that they could truly defeat the Student Council President.
After meeting Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and learning the importance of the Student Council President's seat, Ayanokouji Kiyohira also had the idea of challenging Momobami Kirari and seizing the Student Council President's seat from her.
But not now.
Now was a 'peaceful period'; becoming the Student Council President at this time, while allowing one to enjoy power early, would only make one a conspicuous target.
Only during the Prime Minister's election, when those parliament members handed their votes to their children for gambling, could this position exert its maximum effect.
Even if he used his guaranteed chance to defeat Momobami Kirari and took that position now, he would easily become a target for concentrated attacks; then, people would challenge him every day, and he would be endlessly bothered, so how could he live as peacefully as he did now?
Moreover, being in that position, he would immediately attract his father's attention, and he might become a restraint for Ayanokouji Kiyohira.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira did not want to expose himself yet; he still needed to accumulate strength and wait for that moment.
...
"Boss... are you really the protagonist's younger brother in the story?"
Kurume Laiwei held a rag, wiping the table while muttering softly, "When your brother was calmly and rationally facing armed robbers, you're here bullying girls... You're brothers, so why is there such a huge difference between the two of you?"
"Hey, you need to speak with evidence. When did I bully girls? If there's no evidence, I'll sue you for defamation..." Ayanokouji Kiyohira gave her a speechless look and threw out two cards from his hand: "Pair of Kings."
She put one hand on her hip and said defiantly, "Still saying you didn't bully girls? You're making me clean here while you're comfortably playing cards. Isn't that bullying?!"
"Three with one, I win."
After Ayanokouji Kiyohira played his last four cards, he looked up at her: "You need to understand, you and them lost the gamble, that's why you're cleaning here. Don't pin the blame on me."
Before Ayanokouji Kiyohira arrived, Kurume Laiwei had already lost in a game of Landlord with Meari and the others, gloriously becoming the one responsible for cleaning today.
She knew she was in the wrong but was still unconvinced: "It's all because you came too late! Otherwise, Meari wouldn't have gambled with me; she would have voluntarily gone to clean!"
Oh... so this could also be blamed on him? Ayanokouji Kiyohira shrugged helplessly.
But what she said was true; usually, when Ayanokouji Kiyohira arrived, Meari would always voluntarily pick up a rag, as if wanting to show diligence in front of him, and would take the initiative to clean, so it was never Kurume Laiwei's turn.
Meari blushed and shouted, "Kurume! You lost, so why are you saying so much useless stuff? If you're not convinced, hurry up and finish cleaning, then come gamble with us!"
She lost, so she should honestly clean; she even dared to expose her shortcomings!
It was as if Kurume Laiwei's serious study of bartending skills every time she came to the Cooking Room wasn't for Ayanokouji Kiyohira's benefit; they were both deliberately showing off, so neither should talk about the other!
Kurume Laiwei snorted proudly.
It was Meari's fault for showing off in front of her just now.
Kurume Laiwei had long known that Ayanokouji Kiyohira's identity was not simple, so after hearing the inside story, although she sighed, she quickly cast it aside.
After all, it wasn't something Ayanokouji Kiyohira himself did, and armed robbers were too far removed from her reality; she didn't feel it tangibly.
Compared to that, she was more concerned about last night's gathering.
After she arrived at the casino and heard from Meari that they had a gathering in the Cooking Room yesterday, a scene of American bullying appeared in her mind—
Hey, Kurume! Last night we had an awesome party, all the popular people were there, guess who wasn't invited? You, you, you, you, you...!
Of course, the reality was not like that; Meari had invited her, but she thought Meari had only invited a few girls to eat and celebrate in the dorm, and she also had something to do, so she declined.
She never expected that Meari had invited Ayanokouji Kiyohira and that they had come to the Cooking Room to eat hotpot! If she had known Meari and the others were eating hotpot and singing here, she would have come no matter what!
She wasn't craving the meal; she was envious that Ayanokouji Kiyohira and Meari were already so close.
One must know that at first, Ayanokouji Kiyohira's favorability towards her and Meari was similar, and he even had 'little secrets' with her, even being a bit closer.
She never thought that Meari would leave her so far behind in less than a month!
Kurume Laiwei warned herself that she couldn't continue like this... she couldn't give up anymore.
For the next period, she had to get ahead of Meari and significantly deepen Ayanokoji's affection for her.
If Meari confessed to Ayanokoji first, everything would be too late!
The upcoming Ryōran Festival was an excellent opportunity, and she had to seize it!
She firmed her resolve in her heart, and while wiping the table, she deliberately asked, "Speaking of which, not many gamblers have come today. Are they tired of the games?"
"Compared to games like dice and Texas Hold'em, Landlord has too much randomness. Different opponents mean different experiences, so it's not that easy to get tired of it."
Meari answered her, "The reason they aren't coming is that they are preparing for the cultural festival. Many people don't have the free time to gamble. Not just today, but business this week probably won't be very good."
Today, the Cooking Room and the adjacent Chemistry Preparation Room had few customers. The latter currently only had five customers, plus Togakushi Yukimi, barely making up two tables of Landlord, which was even fewer than the staff here.
Meari and the others were very idle, so as a pastime, they started playing Landlord—this could be considered "getting paid to slack off."
While Meari and the others were enjoying themselves, Ruribird Nadeshiko suddenly felt discontent and stopped playing the piano: "Why do they get to rest and gamble while I have to play the piano here? If there are no customers, then who am I playing the piano for?"
Since arriving at the casino, she had been sitting at the piano without stopping.
"Of course, you're playing for us," Ayanokoji said with a smile. "Your job is to play the piano; their job is to receive customers. They are inherently different. Don't stop, keep playing. I really feel the difference between audio and live performance."
Previously, the Cooking Room also played piano music, but listening through speakers and listening to a live performance are completely different experiences. You can even feel the performer's emotions through their piano playing.
This feeling was wonderful, a sense of resonance.
No wonder so many people liked to attend live concerts; the experience was completely different.
Everyone else was idle, and she was the only one playing the piano, which made Ruribird Nadeshiko feel like she was being treated differently, and she immediately felt unbalanced.
"I don't care, I want to gamble too!"
Just as she was about to get angry and throw a tantrum, Hanatemari Kazura placed a cup of coffee on her piano, using a coaster, and softly said, "Ruribird, you've worked hard. Have some coffee and take a break."
Originally, Ruribird Nadeshiko had only complained casually and didn't really dislike playing the piano. She hadn't expected someone to take her words seriously, and she suddenly felt a little at a loss.
She quickly hugged the coffee, and after taking a sip, her tone softened: "It's nothing, really. Whether you're here or not doesn't affect me. I was going to practice anyway... Now I'll just treat it as practice."
Although the piano she used in the piano classroom before was also a steinway piano, the model of the piano was different, and the feeling of playing was also different.
The previous piano was good when she played it, but the piano she was touching now was one she personally selected and had professionals help tune—a piano completely at her service.
To use a possibly inappropriate analogy, before, she was like going to an internet cafe to play on a high-performance computer. Although the configuration was very high, you couldn't adjust it, and there were always things that weren't to your liking.
But now, she was using her "little boyfriend's" money to play on a computer he spent a lot of money to buy specifically for her. Both the model and configuration completely met her requirements, allowing her to play and download whatever she wanted without any concerns.
Her earlier words were just complaints that slipped out because she felt unbalanced seeing them having fun.
She had finally gotten the piano of her dreams, and she would be willing to play it for a month without eating or drinking.
Her mind was now racing, thinking about how to get Ayanokouji Kiyohira to agree to transfer ownership of this piano to her sooner...
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