Seeing that Ayanokoji had no intention of lecturing her, Saotome breathed a sigh of relief and quickly nodded.
"Don't worry, I'm a good child. If Aiura Kokoro wasn't so arrogant, I wouldn't cheat!" Saotome raised her hand to clarify, "I've never cheated on any test since I was little!"
"Yes, yes, you're truly a good child..." Ayanokoji responded perfunctorily.
Saotome glared at Ayanokoji in dissatisfaction. She didn't know what she thought of, but her mood suddenly became low.
"Speaking of good children, Hanatemari was so popular in elementary school, how did she end up like this now...?"
So something really did happen between the two of them?
Ayanokoji asked, pretending not to care, "Saotome, did something happen between you and Hanatemari in the past? You even stood up for her, I thought you two were already friends."
"We are not friends! I just got angry seeing her being treated like a fool!"
Saotome brought up Hanatemari Kazura and grew angrier the more she thought about it. Looking at the half-eaten food, she suddenly lost her appetite, put down her chopsticks, and grumbled irritably.
"Seriously, back in elementary school, she was the type of young lady who was surrounded by everyone, like an elegant white swan standing center stage.
Now she's like a humble cinderella, being pranked by a fool like Aiura Kokoro, acting as her dog, and even being bullied by her…"
"It seems you have a lot of grievances against her."
"Don't talk about me, talk about you. Why are you also wary of her? She's much prettier than me. Don't you boys always like to save the damsel in distress?" Saotome teased Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"You must like a fragile cinderella like her, right? If you just give her more care now, she might even fall for you and be willing to be your girlfriend."
"Even if I had the intention of saving a damsel in distress, I'd have to consider first whether the other party would try to extort me."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka took a sip of orange juice, smiled, and shook his head: "Let me tell you a story that happened at this academy."
So, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka told Saotome Meari the story that Kuroki Ya had told him, about the rich second-generation who was extorted by a "livestock."
Saotome listened, feeling very indignant: "How could a girl be like that? That boy had good intentions and wanted to help her. Even if she didn't thank him, that's fine, but how could she bite him back?!"
Even Saotome Meari, as a fellow female, disdained that girl's behavior.
"In short, girls who become 'Stray Cats' are either genuinely naive and sweet, or they're master manipulators. I'm not very familiar with Hanatemari, so I don't know what type she is. Of course, I need to stay away from her."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shrugged helplessly: "What if I really get extorted? I wouldn't even be able to prove my innocence. The Student Council President of this academy is also a girl. What if she directly assigns me full responsibility? Who would I go to for justice?"
Saotome Meari didn't expect Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to be thinking about these things. She tried to hold back her laughter but couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha…" Saotome wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka sympathetically: "I understand how you feel. No wonder… after hearing you say that, I also feel like staying away from girls with livestock tags."
"Hey… you're a girl, you don't have to be afraid of extortion."
"That's true…"
Saotome had laughed enough. She was silent for a moment, then spoke: "Ayanokoji, you can actually rest assured about this. Hanatemari Kazura is the type of person who likes to get close to others.
Because she's easy to talk to, friendly, and a rich young lady, she was very dazzling in elementary school and was always a popular little princess. I didn't expect that in high school, this personality of hers would become her weakness…"
"A people-pleaser…" Ayanokoji sighed.
A "people-pleaser" is a personality type that will even sacrifice themselves for others.
Habitually apologizing, accommodating others, lacking personal principles, not knowing how to refuse, fearing to trouble others, silently enduring, and having low self-esteem while fearing negative evaluations from others…
"In a normal academy, a cute and gentle girl like her would definitely be adored by many, but in this academy, her personality might only be seen as humble people-pleasing in others' eyes, eventually becoming an object that can be bullied at will."
Ayanokoji sighed: "This is really troublesome."
"Yes, I don't know what Hanatemari is thinking. She's been bullied for three years, why would she still attend this academy in high school? Is she not tired of being bullied yet!?"
Saotome also nodded with considerable dissatisfaction, feeling heartbroken by her choice.
"The reason isn't hard to guess. It's nothing more than her parents having great expectations for her, believing she can learn a lot at this academy, and she can't bear to trouble her parents, so she has been hiding the fact that she's being bullied."
Ayanokoji rested his chin on his hands and looked at Saotome Meari with a playful gaze.
"So, tell me about yourself. Didn't you have a high opinion of Hanatemari? Why aren't you willing to be her friend now? If you were her friend, she could definitely escape her current life, right?"
Ayanokoji abruptly shifted the topic to herself, which made Saotome Meari choke, unable to catch her breath.
She patted her chest while quickly bringing a drink from the table to her mouth, finally managing to relieve the precarious situation.
'That's my drink…' Ayanokoji Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
When he first met Saotome Meari, he thought she was some refined young lady from a scholarly family. He didn't expect her personality to be so… uninhibited?
Saotome guiltily turned her face away: "Do you really want to know?"
"If you're willing to tell me."
Saotome sighed as if she had given up resisting.
"You can probably tell, my family's financial situation is just average. When I was little, I only attended ordinary public schools, where most of the children had similar economic backgrounds to me.
However, Hanatemari Kazura, this rich kid, for some reason, also attended that academy.
Hanatemari had no airs, was gentle to everyone, and was generous with her money, often bringing new and interesting toys to academy. Naturally, everyone had a very good impression of her, and she was always surrounded by a group of people."
Saotome clicked her tongue, seemingly reminiscing about that time.
She seemed to want to confide these old matters to someone and told Ayanokoji without reservation: "Me, at that time, I actually disliked her very much. Because she was rich, she was able to be so popular.
I didn't want to be like those people, circling around her to flatter her, so I deliberately stayed far away from her and avoided contact. But she would still greet me every time we met, and her enthusiasm made it difficult for me to even deal with her.
She was like that 'child from another family' that everyone always talked about. In front of her, I couldn't even feel jealousy."
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