Hachiman Hikigaya, who returned from his studies after completing his training.

Page 114

"I've gotten used to it after all these years." Horikita gently stroked her black hair, her expression gradually calming down.

The fact that she didn't deny it and answered that she's used to it suggests that she must have had short hair before, and she still prefers short hair now.

The case is solved; Horikita's liking for long hair was likely a trap he set for himself.

Hikigaya thought to himself that he finally understood what Horikita Manabu meant by "you'll know once you see it." If he asked Horikita Suzune to get a short haircut now, Horikita Manabu would definitely not be indifferent.

However, this goes against Horikita Manabu's original intention in setting a trap.

What Horikita Manabu wants is for Horikita Suzune to realize this herself and act on her own, instead of being a parasite who blindly listens to him.

"Hachiman, could you please come outside with me for a moment?"

Just as Hikigaya was thinking about how to make Horikita Suzune realize why Horikita Manabu didn't approve of her, Yukino suddenly stepped in and interrupted, her expression as cold as when she first greeted Horikita.

"clear."

Knowing that Yukino wouldn't call him out without a reason, Hachiman followed her out of the classroom and was told the reason in the corridor.

Sakayanagi, who was participating in a competition to see whose chocolate was better, suggested that he go outside and mix up the chocolates that everyone had made before submitting them to him for judging, so that he wouldn't have to worry about cheating.

This was agreed upon by all the participants.

“…Is it really necessary?” Hikigaya sighed.

"Deserved it."

Like Horikita Suzune, Yukinoshita made the same declaration to him.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Hikigaya and Yukinoshita returned to the classroom together at Asahina-senpai's call.

Eight paper plates filled with chocolates of different shapes were neatly arranged on the long table that had been cleared out. Several girls standing on the other side of the table had different expressions as he arrived.

"Let me make it clear first, this is entirely my personal opinion and shouldn't be taken too seriously." After casually picking up a chocolate bar, Hachiman first cast a protective buff on himself.

This wasn't exactly a lie, because he planned to go along with their opinions and decide which chocolate to choose first based on his own preferences.

Even if he couldn't tell who did it, he could roughly tell by carefully observing the expressions of the female contestants, especially those like Sakura and Yamamura whose emotions were written all over their faces.

"If ten points is a perfect score, I'd give it eight."

After carefully tasting the first chocolate, Hachiman judged that, as he expected, the chocolate in his mouth was sweeter than the ones usually sold at Beechwood Center.

He makes no secret of his love for sweets.

"This one is also eight points." Without trying to find out who made the chocolate he was eating, Hachiman continued to sample the chocolates, ignoring the girl's expression on the other side of the long table.

"Eight points."

"Eight points."

"Why are they all 8 points? Hachiman, are you trying to get away with this?" Nagabe interrupted when Hachiman said the fourth 8 point, his delicate face showing some dissatisfaction.

Now, even if Hachiman didn't want to, he knew who made the chocolate that was so sweet it was unbearable for him.

"You can't fool me, Hachiman."

"Right, right, we can't divide them all the same."

After Sakayanagi smiled and spoke, Karuizawa immediately followed up, and Hachiman confirmed that two of the remaining four copies belonged to these two people.

"Don't worry, I'm not that tactless." Without looking at everyone's expressions, Hachiman picked up another chocolate and put it in his mouth. A very familiar taste exploded in his mouth.

"very."

Looking up at the young lady whose eyes were already crinkled into crescent moons with laughter, Hachiman knew his guess was correct.

Chapter 218 Off-campus Dinner

“I won, Hachiman.” Sakayanagi Arisu said with a hint of pride.

After Hachiman tasted the last few chocolates and gave them a score of nine out of ten, Sakayanagi's victory was clear.

It's worth mentioning that the nine-point portion was made by Ichinose, and its sweetness was only slightly less than that of Max Coffee's.

"This should be considered cheating, right?"

Hikigaya was a little annoyed. Sakayanagi's chocolate was not something a beginner could make, or rather, it must have taken many experiments.

This is a complete game-changer compared to others.

"Hehe, cheating sounds too awful." Sakayanagi covered his mouth and chuckled. "This is a victory of foresight."

She wouldn't have gone to such lengths to organize this competition if she wasn't absolutely certain of victory.

Nobody likes to lose.

The discontent of the many girls around her brought her more pleasure than the exquisite desserts.

"This is for you, I made a little too much."

After hesitating for a while in the corner, Karuizawa, her face slightly flushed, suddenly stepped between Hachiman and Hikigaya, stuffed a small gift box into Hikigaya's hand, and then hurriedly walked out of the cooking classroom with her head down.

The nimble Hachiman could only say thank you to her as she hurried away.

"If they're too sweet, give them all to Xiao Ba. Airi, you seem to have made a lot too. Calories are a girl's worst enemy."

Pushing Sakura's slightly shaky back, Hasebe and Sakura arrived in front of Hikigaya. After Hasebe handed him a small gift box, the trembling on Sakura's face became even more obvious.

The hands hidden behind his back were clearly holding something.

"If Airi makes too much, you can give it to me too. I can eat as much chocolate as I want." He encouraged Sakura Hikigaya, who was looking a little timid in front of him.

Long, bright red hair, a delicate and lovely face, and a graceful figure—any one of these is enough to fill a girl with confidence.

If Sakura were more lively and confident, I believe her popularity wouldn't be any less than Ichinose's.

Now that things have come to this, Hachiman has realized that the real purpose of this chocolate-making workshop was not what it seemed, since he was even considering taking the day off for Valentine's Day.

It seems he no longer needs to fake illness to ask for leave.

"Then... I'll have to trouble Hachiman."

"I should be the one saying thank you for the gift."

When Sakura presented him with a small gift box that was the same color as Hasebe's but different, Hikigaya wanted to accept it with both hands, but his left hand was already holding two.

Following Hasebe and Sakura, Yamamura arrived in front of Hikigaya. At this moment, her eyelids drooped even lower, and her dark blue side ponytail swayed back and forth, showing her unease.

"If you have too much from the mountain village, give it to me too. I never refuse sweets like chocolate," Hachiman said gently.

"I'll trouble you too..., Hikigaya-kun."

After a faint buzzing sound, Hachiman held another small gift box in his hand.

After receiving another chocolate from the carefree Asahina-senpai, which was simply wrapped in a plastic bag, all that remained in front of Hikigaya was Sakayanagi, who was always looking at him with a mocking expression.

Shiina, standing next to Ichinose, showed no intention of giving him chocolates.

This made Hachiman feel inexplicably down.

"As a prize for the victor, my father wants to see you tonight, is that alright, Hachiman?"

"What's going on, Sakayanagi-san? Why does your father want to see Hachiman? And isn't the school's rule against contacting the outside world?"

With lightning speed, Ichinose stood next to Hikigaya and questioned Sakayanagi, who had just invited her boyfriend.

At the same time, Shiina quietly approached with a blank expression.

“No problem, Ichinose-san.” Sakayanagi’s face was full of smiles. “My father is Sakayanagi, the chairman of the board, whom you have all met once. It’s normal for him to seek out Hachiman, the student council president.”

It is not common for school leaders to seek out the student council president, but it is also reasonable.

As for why he would use his daughter to deliver the message, opinions vary.

"Chairwoman Sakayanagi..."

Ichinose's face was somewhat gloomy. Judging from Sakayanagi's performance in this competition, her boyfriend had once again been targeted by a vixen, and a wealthy, powerful, and cute one at that.

This heightened her sense of crisis; compared to Shiina, she felt that the ruthless Sakayanagi was more difficult to deal with.

"When?" Hikigaya freed one hand and patted Ichinose's head.

Knowing Ichinose well, he naturally knew that Ichinose Kyuu was jealous again, but he couldn't refuse the invitation from Chairman Sakayanagi this time.

Judging from the timeline, it's about time that Tsukishiro made his move against Chairman Sakayanagi, and preparations may already be underway.

"Let's go back to the dorm to drop off our things and then head out. We can still make it in time for dinner." Sakayanagi's lips curled up. "Thanks to Hachiman, I can finally have a meal with my father after so long."

How can I refuse with that reason?

Severing a daughter's expectation of eating with her father?

Hikigaya nodded in agreement, inwardly complaining that he felt like he was being led by the nose by Sakayanagi.

If there were no other reason, he would have insisted that Sakayanagi postpone the meeting. Just thinking about having dinner with such an important figure as Chairman Sakayanagi made Hachiman feel uncomfortable.

night.

Hikigaya's clothes have changed to black suit trousers paired with a light gray long-sleeved shirt, and his hairstyle has also been styled like an adult's.

Holding hands with Sakayanagi, who was wearing an expensive-looking pure white evening gown, the two climbed the steps in front of the Western restaurant.

"If you had told me earlier that it was this troublesome, I definitely would have refused."

That's why I only told you after you agreed.

The beautiful dress accentuated Hachiman Hikigaya's delicate profile as he smiled, making him somewhat smitten.

They weren't at Gaoyu now, which was why they couldn't wear school uniforms; they were dropped off in the chairman's personal black sedan.

The privileged class is the privileged class.

Good evening, Chairman.

Led by an attendant, the two arrived at a luxurious yet tastefully decorated private room, where the mature and elegant figure of Chairman Sakayanagi appeared in their sight.

Beneath his neat, short hair, his expression was calm and kind.

"Good evening." After answering Hikigaya's question mark, Chairman Sakayanagi looked at his daughter with an even gentler expression. "It's been a long time, Arisu."

"It's only been a month since we last met, Father."

After giving an elegant reply to her father, Sakayanagi Arisu sat down next to Hikigaya, which made Chairman Sakayanagi, who had pulled out the seat next to him, look somewhat embarrassed.

"......"

Didn't you say you were looking forward to having dinner with your father? Then sit down next to the chairman!

Facing the somewhat complicated gaze of Chairman Sakayanagi, Hikigaya, who was inwardly frantic, tried his best to maintain a calm expression.

"Ahem, Hikigaya-kun, I called you here because I have something to tell you."

"Yes, please speak frankly, Chairman." Hachiman stood up straight with a serious expression, looking every bit like an elite working-class subordinate.

"I have been reported for embezzlement and have to temporarily leave the school to undergo investigation."

After adjusting the position of his glasses on the bridge of his nose, Chairman Sakayanagi appeared calm and composed, as if he were talking about something trivial.

Chapter 219 The Moonlight Is Beautiful Tonight

"You look very tired, Hachiman."

In the smoothly moving car, Arisu Sakayanagi smiled and looked at Hikigaya, who was sitting next to her with a tired face.

If you were the one being interrogated, you'd know how tiring it is.

Hikigaya slumped back in the back of the car and closed his eyes. The feeling he had just experienced from Chairman Sakayanagi was like that of the matriarch of the Yukinoshita family.

His words were full of subtle probing.

"Actually, your father likes you quite a bit."

"I wish he would just treat me like a normal student."

Without opening his eyes, Hikigaya loosened the tie around his neck a little. The matter that Chairman Sakayanagi had asked him to do during dinner left him in a less than pleasant mood.

On February 15th, after Valentine's Day, Tsukishiro Changcheng will be officially appointed as the acting chairman of the Advanced Development Institute.

During the period when Chairman Sakayanagi was under investigation, he would remain the highly cultivated top leader.

A man closely associated with Ayanokoji's father becomes the head of the high school, and Hachiman can't imagine how he can win against Ayanokoji's juniors in the White House.

Don't let Yuecheng do whatever he wants? How could a kid from an ordinary family like him possibly do that?