Chapter 171 – A man remains a boy until death

After leaving the tea ceremony club, Ichinose's radiant blonde hair trailed behind her, and her expression was a mix of laughter and sighs, looking complicatedly at Yukio: "Yukio-kun was very cool just now~ but our student council still needs to be reasonable."

Yukio might view these as trivial matters, but for Ichinose, joining the student council meant that managing club finances was a responsibility the council had to uphold.

Yukio gave a mischievous smile: "Isn't this good? When we encounter those who are reasonable, you handle it, and when we meet those who are unreasonable, I'll handle it. It's a fair division of labor."

Ichinose blinked, realizing that this method could indeed improve their efficiency.

Feeling somewhat joyful inside, Ichinose thought Yukio was always so interesting. Maybe because she was in a good mood, her words carried a joyful ease: "But we can't always have Yukio-kun playing the bad cop."

Yukio pondered for a moment then shook his head: "I can't imagine it, Ichinose. I can't picture you blustering about being unreasonable."

"True, true," Ichinose chuckled awkwardly, realizing she wasn't cut out for playing the tough part.

"So," Yukio found Ichinose's naive expression particularly amusing, which made him want to tease her: "Ichinose, you'll definitely be a kind mother in the future, so you'll need to find a strict father."

"A kind mother…" Ichinose's eyes fluttered rapidly, her cheeks flushed a bright red: "I-I'm still in high school, talking about this is way too early."

She was clearly uncomfortable with the topic. Previously, even discussing love letters with Yukio had made her blush, let alone discussing future parenting with a husband.

As she was embarrassed, Yukio gently reached out, his thumb brushing past the corner of her mouth, which completely stunned Ichinose.

Yukio's thumb was warm… that was Ichinose's first thought, followed quickly by the urge to look away, overwhelmed by embarrassment.

Her heart raced, her cheeks burned, and her bright eyes nearly spun with emotion.

Was Yukio's sudden action a boyish prank, or was he trying to make a more intimate gesture?

Ichinose was internally chaotic, feeling as if a sports festival was happening inside her heart, utterly disordered.

"Look," Yukio said, showing a thumbs up with a bit of yellowish-brown powder still clinging to it.

Ichinose, who was looking down, could see it clearly and immediately recalled the yokan she had just eaten in the tea room: "Is this the soybean flour that comes with the tea snacks?"

This was also a characteristic tea snack from Japan. In a culture with a preference for milder flavors, traditional Japanese sweets served with tea are typically eaten with soybean flour instead of being drizzled with honey.

Remembering that she had been walking around with soybean flour on her lips made her feel like a little greedy cat. Ichinose blushed and took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, making sure there was no residue left before she dared to look at Yukio again.

What caught her eye was Yukio's face, squeezed into a silent laugh, his face slightly contorted from holding back the laughter: "No, don't laugh, hurry up, hurry up, we still have so many clubs to visit!"

With that, she took the lead, pushing open the door of the next club in a rush, as if someone were chasing her, which made Yukio finally burst out laughing outside before following her in.

Inside, Ichinose, with a flushed face, was discussing the budget with a senior member of the Flower Arrangement Club, who was looking at Ichinose's reddened cheeks with excitement filled with gossip as Yukio entered.

With Yukio playing the role of the 'bad cop' and Ichinose the 'good cop,' the strategy simplified many things. For the more agreeable clubs, whatever Ichinose suggested, they agreed to.

For the more difficult clubs, Yukio would step in, starting with slashing their budget in half, and if there were any objections, threatening to cut their funding to zero, effectively silencing any opposition.

Soon, Yukio's notoriety spread throughout the club building as a sort of 'Great Demon King.'

This efficiency came at a cost, much to Ichinose's distress. Although Yukio cut many budgets, this left a substantial surplus, and it was unclear which club should receive the excess funds.

After leaving the club building and heading to the sports clubs located in places like the playground and gymnasium, Yukio and Ichinose's work proceeded even more smoothly.

The reason was simple; most of their classmates were members of these sports clubs. With these connections, the seniors had no objections, and the student council's decisions on fund allocation were readily accepted.

This made things much easier, so Yukio even slightly increased their funding.

Finally, after leaving the swimming pool, it was already growing dark...

The twilight's gilded sunset, like an office worker rushing to finish tasks before heading home, was fervently casting its final glow, gilding every drifting cloud around.

It was late summer, not yet fully autumn, with the sun setting in the dusk and a gentle evening breeze bringing a touch of coolness that made everything extraordinarily comfortable.

Yukio stretched lazily, enjoying the breeze on his face, his eyes sparkling: "I've decided, the extra two million in funds will all go to the swimming club."

Thinking back to the inspection inside, seeing the youthful and beautiful figures of the high school girls in competitive swimsuits, Yukio felt that this money was indeed necessary for the swimming club.

Many people don't understand the difference between regular swimsuits and competitive ones. To Yukio, the cut of the leg openings isn't even comparable.

If a regular swimsuit is a U-shape, then the competitive type is a high-cut V, and while regular swimsuits often cover more of the back, competitive ones reveal more, marking a fundamental difference.

Right now, he especially wanted to see Ichinose in a competitive swimsuit.

Ichinose widened her eyes in surprise: "Are you serious about what you just said, Yukio-kun? All the cut funds to the swimming club?"

"Of course, I'm serious." Yukio gazed at the now gentle sunset, one of the few moments in the day when one could look directly at the sun: "Ichinose, you might not know."

"I've always felt out of place with people my age, as if there was some barrier. I thought it was because my mental age was far beyond theirs, even during the spirited sports festival, I only briefly felt part of the youthful atmosphere."

"It was only when I saw the competitive swimsuits that I realized, there really wasn't any barrier, because a man remains a boy until death."

Ichinose couldn't help but laugh and sigh: "Yes, yes, I always thought Yukio-kun was so mature, but today I realized that Yukio-kun is still just a boy!"

Under the sunset, the playful young man and woman walked side by side, casting long shadows that were very close together, almost like lovers nestled against each other.

Seeing this scene from a distance, Nagumo immediately turned and left, afraid of being noticed by the two, and even deliberately hunched his back.

Under the same sky, illuminated by the same round of sunset, the young man and woman appeared like the most beautiful youthful lovers, while the departing Nagumo seemed like a lonely dog.

***

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