Chapter 183 – Plan succeeded

Seeing the high spirits in Ichinose's class, Yukio knew he didn't need to stay there any longer and turned back to his own class.

Yes, Ichinose's class had a cohesion and unity that exceeded that of a normal class, gathering around Ichinose and radiating an enviable brilliance.

But his own class wasn't bad either. Although it wasn't great at first, it had grown to be more cohesive, and the brilliance it now radiated was no less than that of Ichinose's class.

With this thought in mind, Yukio returned to his classroom. Just as he sat down, he saw Ishizaki rushing over with a desperate look on his face: "Boss, boss! Help me!"

Ishizaki's comical appearance made Yukio, who had just been feeling proud, feel a bit of disappointment as his sense of accomplishment faded.

However, Ishizaki was indeed very loyal, so Yukio couldn't say much and just raised an eyebrow: "What is it this time? Did you cause trouble again?"

"No, no," Ishizaki said, clasping his hands together in a pleading gesture. "It's just that last night..."

Flashback to last night: not long after Yukio left for Ichinose's dorm, Shiina came to Yukio's dorm. She knocked sweetly on the door, but when she found no one home, she thought about calling him to ask where he was.

But when she took out her phone, Shiina saw that the Line chat group was still discussing the slander against Ichinose, with new messages constantly popping up.

Realizing that it might not be appropriate to call Yukio directly, she decided to call Ishizaki instead. Seeing the call from the "boss's wife," Ishizaki hurriedly answered: "Hello, Shiina-san?"

Shiina blushed, feeling a mix of sweetness and shyness. She didn't correct Ishizaki's address, accepting it without objection, and asked about her concern: "Is Yukio with you right now?"

"He's not in the dorm, and since you're always with him, I thought I'd ask if you two went out together."

"Ah, Yukio-san," Ishizaki said. Normally he acted a bit silly, but that didn't mean he was truly dumb. Even if he hadn't experienced certain things, he knew what was going on. The boss's wife was checking in, so how could he tell the truth?

He had to cover for Yukio-san, right? So, Ishizaki forced himself to sound confident: "Yes, yes! Boss is right here with me. What's up?"

Hearing this, Shiina felt relieved, thinking Yukio had gone to see Ichinose, but he was actually with Ishizaki. That was a good outcome: "Is Yukio at your dorm? I'll come over now."

"Ah? No, no," Ishizaki panicked immediately. He had never faced such a situation before. If Shiina came over now, his lie would be exposed instantly.

It wasn't the exposure of the lie that scared Ishizaki; he had enough thick skin for that. He was terrified of the consequences if Yukio got caught by Shiina. Just the thought of it sent chills down his spine.

In terms of street fights, Ishizaki was experienced, but in matters like covering for the boss, he was a novice. He had never dealt with such a thing before!

So, he could only clumsily continue his lie: "Well, Shiina-san..."

"Yukio-san got some really good liquor today. We are having a great time drinking. Yukio-san… Yukio-san got drunk because of us and is resting here. It's not convenient for you to come over."

"How about, how about letting him rest here tonight? I promise I'll take good care of him."

"?" How smart was Shiina? Could Yukio be drunk from drinking with Ishizaki and his crew? Would she believe that?

Considering Ishizaki's drinking capacity, even Ibuki could outdrink him. How could he possibly drink Yukio under the table? Every time there was a celebration banquet, everyone would toast Yukio, and he never got drunk.

These were all observations Shiina had carefully made while pretending to be drunk at celebration banquets.

Could she be fooled by Ishizaki's story? Plus, there wasn't any noise on the other end of the line. It was so quiet, like someone was alone in a room.

This didn't match Ishizaki's claim of a noisy drinking session with several friends.

Shiina wasn't too angry, but she said lightly: "Ishizaki, don't lie to me in the future."

"The midterms are coming up, so I'll tell Kaneda to double your practice sheets starting tomorrow. Also, Yukio might have something important to do, so don't call and disturb him."

"Nani?" Ishizaki wanted to ask more, but he realized Shiina had already decisively hung up the phone. What did this mean?

He shouldn't notify the boss to avoid disturbing Yukio's business? Didn't Shiina already know that?

So why did he need to cover for Yukio? It seemed like it wasn't necessary! Was doubling his practice sheets just him asking for trouble?

It hurt, it really hurt!

After hearing Ishizaki's lament, Yukio slightly turned his head to look in Shiina's direction.

Shiina was sitting at her desk, her smile as radiant as summer flowers. Her light silver-gray hair draped behind her, a few strands fluttering in the breeze from the window, enhancing her delicate face with a touch of allure.

Under her refreshing smile, there was a captivating beauty that stirred the heart.

Shiina didn't seem angry at all; she was very gentle. However, the smile in her eyes seemed to silently communicate with Yukio: "Tonight, you better explain everything properly."

Yukio nodded in understanding, then turned back to face Ishizaki: "Sorry, Ishizaki, I can't help you with this."

Shiina wasn't angry about the matter with Ichinose, and she even told Ishizaki not to notify him to avoid interrupting his encouragement of Ichinose.

Given this, could Yukio really reduce the number of practice sheets for Ishizaki? Absolutely not.

"Besides, Hiyori is right, the midterms are coming up. With your grades being so precarious, doing more practice sheets will help you pass through sheer volume."

Ishizaki's eyes widened like dangling copper bells. The pain he felt last night was being relived today. It was excruciating, truly excruciating.

He suddenly let out a wail, drawing the attention of the entire class. They were all discussing whether Ishizaki had offended Yukio. Hearing that wail, it was enough to bring tears to the eyes of those who heard it. How aggrieved must he be?

Yukio also felt that being a follower wasn't easy, so he patted Ishizaki's shoulder: "I'll treat you to lunch later. Pick the most expensive one and eat your fill. Only then will you have the strength to do more practice sheets."

"Ugh." Ishizaki's tears flowed uncontrollably.

Watching this scene from afar, Shiina revealed a happy smile, her cute little feet swinging under the desk.

Surely after this, Ishizaki would never dare to cover for Yukio again, right? In the future, if he couldn't find Yukio, Ishizaki wouldn't dare to deceive her and would honestly tell her everything.

'Hehe, plan succeeded...'

***

Enjoyed the chapters? Read 20 chapters ahead on Patreon

PATREON.COM/METARLN

500 power stones = 1 extra chapter