"Perhaps in others' eyes, our relationship was quite good, but in reality, we were not friends, merely ordinary classmates. At least, in my heart, I didn't consider her a friend.
Then one time, for her birthday party, she invited all the classmates to her home as guests.
I originally didn't want to go, but I don't know where my mother heard the news. She took it very seriously and told my father, and after discussing it, they insisted on forcing me to be a guest at Hanatemari's house…"
As she spoke, Saotome's expression became melancholic: "On that day, my parents gave me ten thousand yen and told me to buy her a souvenir."
She showed a bleak, self-deprecating smile.
"Ten thousand yen, for me at that time, it was more than my allowance for a whole year. They wanted me to use that money to curry favor with Hanatemari, to make me friends with her, simply because her father knew the Director of the Board of Education…"
Saotome Meari was silent for a moment, then continued: "I love my parents very much. They are both very gentle people and are very good to me, never forcing me to do anything.
But that day, the fawning expressions they showed were truly nauseating.
I know it wasn't their fault; they were only doing it for my sake.
But I don't want to be that kind of person; I don't want to end up like them, bowing and scraping to others—I don't want to be a loser."
Saotome Meari took a deep breath, her eyes becoming resolute, as if she had rediscovered her goal through that memory.
"So, from that day on, I studied desperately; I wanted to become a superior person, to become a winner like Hanatemari Kazura; I wanted my parents to live a life where they didn't have to depend on others… That's why I came to this school."
The story of a hard worker always evokes admiration.
Ayanokoji seemed to see his past self in Saotome.
Saotome Meari aimed to be like Hanatemari Kazura, a respected young lady, and for that, she studied diligently, hoping to get into this rumored aristocratic school.
However, when she arrived, she was surprised to find that her former goal had become a 'weakling' who was bullied.
At that time, Hanatemari's willingness to be her friend felt like a favor, leaving Meari at a loss. But now, she was humbly asking Saotome to be her friend.
The tables had turned, and this disparity greatly affected Meari… No wonder she said nothing when Hanatemari asked.
"By the way, Saotome, what did you do with the ten thousand yen your parents gave you back then?"
Saotome smiled proudly: "Hmph… Ten thousand yen was a huge sum for me back then, so of course I wouldn't use it to buy gifts to curry favor with others.
I hid most of the money and spent it myself, then bought a cheap hair tie from a hundred-yen store as a gift for her.
I still remember, that hair tie was pink…"
Saotome's smile gradually faded halfway through her sentence, her expression slowly becoming serious.
Ayanokoji also realized something.
—Hanatemari did have a hair clip in her hair, and that hair clip happened to be pink.
"Was that hair tie the one you gave her back then?" Ayanokoji's gaze towards Saotome became playful.
"Definitely not!"
Saotome quickly denied it: "The hair tie I gave her back then was for children, and it was of very poor quality, basically just a piece of plastic. The hair tie she's wearing now is clearly high-end; it's absolutely different from the one I gave her!"
"Really?"
"…Uh, I'm not sure either." Saotome suddenly hesitated.
When she saw Hanatemari, she hadn't paid much attention to the hair tie in her hair, but now, thinking that the gift she had given her was still being worn, she inexplicably felt concerned.
Ayanokoji also noticed Saotome Meari's restlessness, so he suggested, "How about we go back and check?"
This idea was exactly what Saotome wanted. She quickly nodded, and after she and Ayanokoji eagerly cleared their plates, they left the restaurant and returned to the Teaching Building.
Saotome and Ayanokoji arrived at the Class 1 classroom, where only a few scattered students were seated, and Hanatemari Kazura was not among them.
It was lunchtime, and besides the students who went to eat lunch, a considerable number of students were still lingering in the casino.
They couldn't perceive the passage of time in the windowless casino, and many would gamble for an entire day.
"I'll go into the casino to check." Saotome said, pushing open the door and entering the casino.
The casino doors were specially thick, soundproof doors; once closed, the casino's noise would be completely shut out.
As soon as she pushed open the door, shouts and clamor returned to Saotome's ears. Her gaze swept around the casino, but she didn't see Hanatemari Kazura. Instead, she saw Aiura Kokoro still gambling as if nothing had happened.
Sitting opposite her at the gambling table was a new student who, like Saotome, had just enrolled today. His face was pale, and Aiura Kokoro's gambling table was already piled with over a hundred thousand yen, indicating he had lost terribly.
Saotome completely ignored the atmosphere and walked straight up, slamming the table as she questioned Aiura Kokoro: "Hey, have you seen Hanatemari?"
"What do I care where she is?" Aiura Kokoro looked up, clearly annoyed: "Get out of the way, I'm gambling with someone, don't ruin my fun!"
Saotome Meari glanced at Aiura Kokoro's eyes; she was still wearing emerald-green contact lenses. She then looked down at the poker cards; the pattern on the back of this deck was the same as the one she had used before.
Saotome sneered: "Aiura Kokoro, if you don't want me to expose your cheating method, then stop this game immediately and answer my question."
"Impossible, how could you know my cheating method?"
Aiura Kokoro panicked for a moment, then immediately became aggressive: "No, I didn't cheat at all, don't slander me!"
"…Contact lenses."
Saotome leaned close to her and softly uttered a single word, causing Aiura Kokoro's face to instantly turn flustered.
"Alright, I get it, I'll stop gambling now!"
Aiura Kokoro wanted to stop, but the new student who had just lost over a hundred thousand naturally didn't want it to end like this. He protested unhappily, "Running away after winning is too cheap!"
"…Tsk."
Aiura Kokoro clicked her tongue in annoyance and pushed all the money on the gambling table to the new student: "It's just over a hundred thousand, take this money and get out, commoner!"
I'm not a commoner!
The new student wanted to retort, but seeing the money in front of him, he still felt that money was more important than pride, so he closed his mouth, scooped the money into his arms, and ran out of the casino with his head down.
"Are you satisfied now?" Aiura Kokoro crossed her arms irritably, looking at Saotome Meari with hostile eyes: "My money is gone, and my fun is gone. How are you going to compensate me?"
Saotome looked at Aiura Kokoro with cold eyes: "Me compensate you? You should be thinking about how to shut my mouth and prevent me from revealing your cheating secret."
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