Reikou and Ryuuto burst out of the girls' restroom like they were escaping a burning building. They didn't even look back at the screaming student as they sprinted toward their classroom.
"YOU DUMP-ASS!" Reikou roared, delivering a mid-air kick to Ryuuto’s rear as they ran. "How did you lead us into the wrong toilet?!"
They tumbled into the classroom, panting and disheveled. Instantly, the room went quiet. Every eye turned toward them. No... every eye turned toward him.
The "Viral Video" was all anyone could talk about. Reikou, feeling the pressure, made an instinctively weird, defensive face that looked like a mixture of a snarling donkey and a gargoyle.
"Eek! He's even scarier than the video!" students whispered, huddled at their desks.
Reikou’s gaze shifted toward the window. There she was. Meiyu Sazanami sat with her usual frozen, cold expression. But Reikou noticed something a single bead of sweat rolling down her temple. He realized then that the viral video wasn't just a joke; it was a PR nightmare for her family’s pristine image.
Everything else blurred. Time, air, and noise froze. In that moment, Reikou didn't see an heiress he saw a girl carrying the weight of an empire.
Shiori and Yueko arrived, sliding in behind Ryuuto.
"Hey, Ryuuto-kun," Shiori whispered into his ear. "Did you tell him about... that?"
"Yeah," Ryuuto sighed. "He knows."
Yueko stepped toward Reikou, looking at his distorted face. "Reikou-kun, what’s with the tension? You look... intense."
Reikou turned his face toward her, a literal drop of mucus hanging from his nose. "Hyy, Yueko-san... am I really that ugly? Everyone is saying the video was an improvement."
"WAHHH!" Yueko gasped, nearly losing her battle with laughter. ‘This face is truly something else,’ she thought.
"No, you aren't ugly!" she explained with a comforting, faint smile. "You're actually quite handsome when you aren't trying. It’s just... you make such weird faces that people get scared!"
Reikou instantly dropped the mask and wiped his nose. He flashed a massive, genuine smile.
"Now you're scaring me in a different way," Yueko whispered, sweating.
"Ahh! Sorry!" Reikou rubbed the back of his head.
From her seat, Meiyu watched them. Her mind was a whirlwind of anxiety. ‘Who edited that video? Was it Shiun? My parents are going to be furious... Reikou is going to be dragged into the scandal.’ She lowered her head, a tiny, sad smile touching her lips. ‘Wait... why am I worried about that fool?’
“Good morning, students.”
Yinglan-sensei entered, adjusting his glasses with clinical precision.
“GOOOOOD MORNING, SENSEI!” the class droned, sounding like a chorus of zombies.
“Take your places. Today is the scheduled test. No cheating, or I will ensure your school life becomes a tragedy.”
The classroom was transformed. The "Three-Desk Blocks" were pushed apart. Now, every student sat in a lonely, single row.
Ryuuto slumped into the very first seat in his row. "Oh god... why me?" he moaned, clutching his head. Being right under Sensei’s nose was his personal version of hell.
Kiyoshi. seat was empty.
"Where is Kiyoshi-kun?" Yueko had asked earlier.
"Football tournament," Ryuuto had replied. "He's the ace he's busy winning today."
"I'll have to go cheer for him after this," Yueko decided, resting her cheek on her hand.
Reikou sat at the very back of his row. Directly in front of him just one seat ahead was the back of Meiyu’s head.
The papers were distributed. “Begin!”
Everyone started writing furiously, but Reikou leaned back, his eyes locked onto Meiyu. He ignored the test paper. He had a much more important challenge Cracking the Rules.
‘The key to her rules isn't logic,’ he recalled his whisper to Ryuuto earlier. ‘It’s emotion. I have to see what makes her flinch. What makes her lose that perfect mask.’
He stared intensely at her spine. She sat with flawless posture, her pen moving with rhythmic grace.
‘Is the first rule about her image? Or is it something deeper?’ Reikou smiled faintly, finally picking up his pen.
In the seat ahead, Meiyu felt a literal chill run down her back. ‘Why is he staring at me so intently? I can feel his gaze through my uniform!’ "Idiot!" she whispered under her breath, her heart racing. "He really is going to give me nightmares!"
[End of Chapter 11]
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