Forty-five minutes remained of the lunch break.
Hoshino Jun bought a carton of yogurt, inserted a straw, took a sip, and then entered the school library.
Because it was midday, there were many more people reading than when he had come in the morning; almost every table was occupied.
He did not borrow any books.
Holding the materials in his hand, he naturally made his way towards Vice Chairman Saionji Ayako, who was seated in the middle, by the window.
The midday sun shone on the woman's rather frail body, and the dark hair scattered on the table beside her delicate face reflected golden light.
She wore a long black trench coat with a pure white lining, a slender arm resting on the desk, her fingers slowly turning the pages of a book.
"Early Spring"—one of the works of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, a Japanese novelist from the last century.
Regarding this author's books, Hoshino Jun couldn't say he hadn't heard of him; he just hadn't read any of them.
If Saionji Ayako's preferred literature was of this type, then the approach of attacking from this angle could be considered useless.
[Name: Saionji Ayako]
[Stamina: 3]
[Intelligence: 8]
[Charm: 8]
[Occupation: One of the directors of the Saionji Group, Vice Chairman of Amano Academy.]
[Affection: She currently owes you thirteen C-level affection debts. Please urge her to complete payment as soon as possible.]
[Payment Methods:]
[Money: Thirteen million three hundred thousand yen exactly.]
[Food: Thirteen consecutive years of homemade bento boxes.]
[Affection: Learning kissing techniques.]
This was the information that popped up on the system panel. For Hoshino Jun, it was somewhat useful, but not greatly so.
"Saionji Ayako, female, 32 years old, no marriage history, no dating history. She has been pursued by hundreds of people, the vast majority of whom were sent by her older sister, Yamada Ran, to cause trouble."
"Her hobby is reading."
"She mainly enjoys reading works by literary figures such as Osamu Dazai, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, and Sōseki Natsume, and occasionally reads books by new authors."
"Aside from that, she basically has no other activities every day."
"Due to mild anorexia, her health is poor, and her physique is rather frail."
Perhaps it was precisely because she was relatively thin that Saionji Ayako's charm was a notch lower than her sister Yamada Ran's.
After all, plump, round figures always attract more attention than flat ones.
This was the information Yamada Ran had given Hoshino Jun, a full ten pages. Now, after Hoshino Jun sat down, he quietly read out the first few sentences in front of Saionji Ayako.
But he could guarantee that unless she was deaf, Saionji Ayako, sitting opposite him, would definitely hear what he was saying.
The other party seemed a little surprised by his actions, looked up for a few seconds, and then withdrew her gaze.
There was a cup of tea on the desk, which looked cold. Perhaps she was extremely thirsty, so Saionji Ayako raised the teacup and took a sip.
During this time, she did not acknowledge Hoshino Jun, as if there was nothing in front of her.
"Vice Chairman must have guessed that Chairwoman Yamada gave me a reward to pursue you and make you fall in love with me."
"So?"
Saionji Ayako replied indifferently, her face expressionless and devoid of emotion, as if she had long been accustomed to such matters.
Seeing her demeanor, Hoshino Jun clicked his tongue.
This was drug resistance, wasn't it? Being pursued so often that she was now calm and unruffled in such situations?
"I'd like to cooperate with you to get past Chairwoman's hurdle together."
"Cooperation?"
The novel word successfully caught Saionji Ayako's attention, and her eyes, as she looked at Hoshino Jun, finally showed a hint of confusion.
She had seen this young man once, in her sister Yamada Ran's office.
He was very handsome.
"Yes, cooperation, to overcome this difficulty together."
Hoshino Jun's lips curved into a smile. He pushed the "Saionji Ayako Life Details" in his hand towards the protagonist in the text, gesturing for her to take a look.
Saionji Ayako nodded, placed "Early Spring" aside, and then flipped through the file in front of her.
She read very slowly.
Sometimes she nodded in agreement, sometimes she frowned slightly.
Sometimes she would even refute, her voice very, very soft.
"This information is not comprehensive; many parts of it are incorrect."
"Self-perception and objective perception are not the same."
Hoshino Jun flipped through "Early Spring" for a while and realized it wasn't a book he could get into, so he focused on Saionji Ayako's face.
In terms of facial features, she was not inferior to her sister Yamada Ran.
"Sometimes objective evaluations are not entirely correct. If you don't enter the maze, how will you know the fog is thick?" Saionji Ayako still held a dissenting opinion.
"That is true, but as I said before, I just want to work with Vice Chairman to get past Chairwoman's hurdle, so there's no need to enter the fog, is there?"
Hoshino Jun replied with a smile.
"I forgot to tell you, someone else has tried this trick before."
Tapping her fingers on the table, Saionji Ayako's gaze seemed to pierce through everything: "False surrender, but in reality, serving one while secretly loyal to another."
"Others might, but I won't."
Perhaps because Hoshino Jun's tone was too certain, Saionji Ayako's expression froze for a moment.
Then, she asked, "Why should I believe you won't?"
In this world, too many people are driven by profit. A mere sliver of what Yamada Ran possesses is enough to make countless people flock to her.
So, it was perfectly normal for her not to believe Hoshino Jun.
But Hoshino Jun had a trump card.
"Yamada Kaoru pursued me, but I didn't agree, and I still maintain my distance from her to this day."
The eldest daughter of the Yamada Family could undoubtedly bring Hoshino Jun more wealth than working for Yamada Ran, yet Hoshino Jun refused.
Regardless of the reason, this alone could rule out the suspicion that he was approaching Saionji Ayako for money.
The frail, beautiful woman fell into contemplation. After a long, deep frown, her brows finally relaxed slightly.
She asked, "Then why can't you just directly refuse Yamada Ran?"
Hoshino Jun replied, "How could I dare?"
Saionji Ayako then said, "You don't dare to defy her, yet you dare to be frank with me. Do you think I'm a pushover?"
Hoshino Jun shook his head, "I believe you are a good person; you wouldn't lay a hand on me."
The young man's eyes were too gentle. He turned his head to look out the window, his calm and composed demeanor not appearing to be feigned.
After staring for a long time, Saionji Ayako still couldn't fathom where his confidence came from.
"Where did you get the idea that I'm a good person?"
"Pfft!" With a light chuckle, Hoshino Jun pointed to the file in Saionji Ayako's hand: "Those who pursued you didn't meet a tragic end, but Chairwoman gives off a very strong impression."
The meaning was clear: compared to Yamada Ran, Hoshino Jun felt that Saionji Ayako was a more suitable partner.
Under the brilliant sunlight, the corners of this frail beauty's lips curled into an almost imperceptible arc, and a smile appeared in her eyes.
She hoped that after this time, her sister would no longer send people to bother her.
I will put on a good show of sadness for you, Sister.
"I'll be here reading for about an hour every noon and afternoon. You can come then."
"I have club activities in the afternoon."
"Cancel them and start a reading club of your own."
"Yes."