After finding a random restaurant on the roadside for dinner, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka returned to his home.
That empty home, with only him in it.
While changing shoes at the entrance, Ayanokoji zoned out for a moment, vaguely seeing a woman in a professional skirt kneeling in front of him, taking out his slippers.
Sigh...
Ayanokoji sighed lightly.
He didn't know where Hiratsuka-sensei went to work. She suddenly left this home, even changed her phone number, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka couldn't even contact her.
Even when he asked his father, he knew nothing.
After all, she was his first love, and Ayanokoji was disheartened for quite some time back then.
Even if she didn't agree to be with him, leaving a contact method would have been fine. Why did she just disappear as if avoiding a plague?
It was precisely because of her departure that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka turned his grief and indignation into motivation, focusing entirely on making money.
He didn't know if this was good or bad.
Now... Ayanokoji Kiyotaka quite liked Saotome Meari.
Cute, ambitious, good-tempered, and easy to get along with... Her personality traits perfectly matched Ayanokoji's aesthetic.
Except for her tendency to bet everything at the drop of a hat.
If he really gave her a belt, would her catchphrase become "betting my life" like Kadota?
To correct her misguided notions, she needed a good dose of the harsh realities of society.
After washing up, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka lay on his bed, playing with his phone, and thinking about how he would "teach Saotome Meari a lesson" tomorrow, when to his surprise, he received a phone call.
It was a call from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"Hello, Qingping, why did you go to Private Hyakkaou Academy!? Do you know what kind of school that is!?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka on the other end of the line had lost his usual composure, asking anxiously as soon as he picked up.
"Are you okay? How much money have you lost so far? Do you still have money on hand? Do you need me to send you more?"
Several questions bombarded him as soon as the call connected, making Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's head spin a bit. He quickly sat up.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was surprised to receive this call.
From what he understood, Advanced Nurturing High School was a completely closed-off school. All students attending classes there were obligated to live in the school dormitory, and during their time at school, external contact was prohibited except in special circumstances.
Even with family, contact was not allowed without permission.
It was precisely because of this closed management that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't want to go to this school.
How did Ayanokoji Kiyotaka know he had enrolled? And how could he call him?
"Big brother, I'm fine, don't worry. By the way… how can you call me?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked with a wry smile.
"He told me."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka heard Kiyotaka's usual voice and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He regained his composure and said indifferently, "He contacted me through a special method and told me that you went to that high school where gambling is rampant. I spent a sum of points to apply for this call opportunity."
The "he" in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's words referred to their father. Their father-son relationship was very poor, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka generally wouldn't use honorifics.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka continued to earnestly persuade him: "Kiyotaka, I know you'll have to pay a compensation fee if you want to drop out. I have some money on hand, enough for you to drop out.
This school isn't suitable for you. I'll transfer the money to you, so drop out quickly. Even if you don't come here, just don't stay in that school any longer."
"...Don't worry, I'm doing great now. I actually feel this school is quite suitable for me.
Movie theaters, golf courses, bowling alleys, gyms, swimming pools... these places don't require extra expenses or membership cards; you just need your student ID to use them for free. In the restaurant, there are even famous chefs cooking for you..."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka smiled and listed a bunch of the school's advantages.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't interrupt, listening until Kiyotaka finished. He was silent for a moment, then stated with certainty:
"But... gambling is prevalent in your school, isn't it? Even if you can win some money at first, once you start gambling, you won't stop. You'll always want to win back your losses.
You'll borrow money to gamble, and eventually owe a huge, unpayable debt... I don't want you to become that kind of gambler."
As expected of brothers, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and his thoughts coincided.
In this world, if anyone truly cared about him, besides that home tutor, it was his older brother...
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt a warmth, and instead, he comforted the very anxious Ayanokoji Kiyotaka on the other end of the line.
"Don't worry, I'm a good student. Even if I gamble, I'll just dip my toes in and definitely won't get addicted.
This school is really good, besides the gambling. The girls are also very cute. I even made a good female friend.
She has blonde twin tails and is a very cute girl. I'm already trying to develop a romantic relationship with her. Oh, and just today, I even had a friendly gamble with her. We both had a lot of fun, and things are progressing rapidly."
If Saotome Meari were here, she would definitely complain.
Friendly gamble? Who had a lot of fun? Whose friendly match wager was making herself work for free for half a year!?
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't want Kiyotaka to worry. In Advanced Nurturing High School, a school surrounded by wolves, he must be having a much harder time than himself.
In that high school where strength reigned supreme, he was just a D-class student. What kind of monsters were the A-class students—Ayanokoji Kiyotaka still thought this way.
The two talked for a while, and it seemed Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's call time was up, as he hastily hung up.
"Forget it, as long as you're okay. It's fine if you want to gamble, but no matter how much you lose, never borrow money..."
Before hanging up, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka reminded Ayanokoji Kiyotaka again: "I will try my best to apply for a leave of absence soon, and we'll meet up then."
Ten minutes later, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka received a transfer.
It was from his brother, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
A transfer of ten million Japanese Yen.
His brother definitely had some side business.
To be honest.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and his brother had spent six years together, but their actual time spent together was very limited.
In front of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, he had always acted like a reliable older brother.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't know that this older brother was a passive recluse who especially liked to hide his abilities.
If he had known this, he probably wouldn't have regarded the people of Advanced Nurturing High School as a great menace.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka also didn't know that his younger brother was a wealthy individual with tens of millions of US dollars in assets.
If he had known this, he probably wouldn't have worried that his younger brother would go crazy from gambling.
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