Chapter 45: The Power of Cash (Revised)

"Ring, ring, ring!"

The after-school bell rang, marking the end of the day's classes.

The reason daily life is considered daily life lies in its repetition.

For the quartet of gyarus, however, today was far from ordinary, as they did not rush off to play as they usually did.

At the entrance of Takeo High School, four youthful, radiant, and distinctively charming gyarus lingered, creating a picturesque scene.

"Yuki, what on earth are we waiting for?"

Standing by the school gates, Kyoko Utada felt the gazes of passersby upon them, making her feel like a monkey in a zoo. She simply couldn't stand still any longer.

"Don't be impatient; you'll know in just a moment."

Despite her close friend's restless reaction, Yuki Takanashi remained unperturbed, offering a gentle and reassuring smile.

After all, she held a trump card in her hands that would turn the tables completely.

However impatient Kyoko was right now, she would be equally amazed shortly.

As a dear friend, Yuki knew this little hopeless romantic all too well—she was utterly defenseless against handsome guys.

Truth be told, lingering at the school gates was a rather conspicuous behavior.

Two first-year female students, after leaving the school grounds and walking a short distance away, couldn't resist looking back, whispering to each other like explorers who had just discovered a new world:

"Could they possibly be the legendary third-year gyaru quartet?"

"With their skirts pulled up that high and wearing clothes so revealing, it definitely has to be them."

"What are you looking at!"

Noticing this, Aiko Ishiguro still frowned and let out an angry reprimand.

Though they were far away and speaking in voices too soft to make out clearly, based on past experience, she could tell it was certainly nothing pleasant.

Hearing the hostile rebuke from the underclassmen who had been whispering, the first-year girls were instantly startled and hurried off with quickened steps, feeling a guilty conscience.

"If you had been this cool last night, how wonderful that would have been."

Seeing this, Yoshino Sakai teased with a hint of amusement.

Although Aiko's fiery and impulsive temper was somewhat detrimental to their reputation and image, the pros generally outweighed the cons.

For instance, when approached by unwanted guys outside of school, Aiko's fierce attitude had helped fend off quite a few troubles.

Even so, for some unknown reason, Aiko had completely lost her fire when she confronted Ryuichi Sugawara yesterday.

"..."

Aiko paused upon hearing this, not quite knowing how to respond.

In truth, she herself didn't know why she had lacked courage yesterday.

Perhaps it was because she was in the wrong, or perhaps because she had long since heard of Ryuichi Sugawara's formidable reputation; even though she felt deeply resentful, she found herself unable to hold him accountable.

Seeing that Aiko actually refrained from talking back, Yoshino found it even more amusing.

"Yuki, how much longer do we have to wait?"

Feeling her scalp tingle under Yoshino's gaze, Aiko began to grow anxious as well and couldn't help asking.

"He's here."

Faced with her urging, Yuki responded with total composure.

Hearing this, the other three girls exchanged glances and then looked around.

"Ah, it's Sugawara-kun."

As a hopeless romantic with a natural radar for handsome guys, Kyoko poked her head out to scan the surroundings and quickly locked onto Ryuichi Sugawara, who was walking toward the school gates.

"Yuki, are we waiting for Sugawara-kun?"

Hearing her words, Yoshino craned her neck to look in that direction, a sudden realization dawning on her.

"Yuki, you surely aren't thinking of inviting him again, are you?"

Noticing this, Aiko immediately sensed that something was amiss.

"Yuki, say something!"

Realizing this possibility, Kyoko grew immensely anxious.

Faced with their intense reactions, Yuki said nothing, her lips merely curving upward into a growing smile.

Before long, Ryuichi arrived before them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I ran into a bit of matter and got delayed."

Facing their gazes, Ryuichi spoke with a slight touch of apology.

In truth, he should have been earlier, but Shota Sato, upon discovering that Ryuichi intended to leave alone with his school bag without any intention of inviting him along, finally reached his breaking point.

However, guests shouldn't invite themselves, and given Ryuichi's rather peculiar circumstances, he genuinely couldn't bring anyone else along.

It ultimately took him a few precious minutes to successfully calm Shota down.

"Eh?"

Hearing his opening remarks, the three gyarus, save for Yuki, were utterly dumbfounded, exchanging bewildered looks.

The turn of events far exceeded their expectations.

"It's fine, we just got here. Can we set off now?"

Seeing the shock on her friends' faces and witnessing Ryuichi arrive as promised, Yuki couldn't control the corners of her mouth from rising as she spoke.

[Yuki Takanashi feels her heartbeat quicken, Heart Rate Value +1]

"We can."

The sudden system notification surprised Ryuichi slightly, but after a brief pause, he nodded.

"Let's go."

With the meeting successfully achieved, Yuki took the lead and began walking.

As she took her steps, Ryuichi followed closely behind.

The three girls left standing in place hurriedly trailed after them upon seeing this.

"Yuki, what is going on right now?"

Aiko was truly astounded. Catching up to Yuki and glancing back at Ryuichi following in the rear, she asked in a low voice.

"Yuki, is Sugawara-kun actually coming with us to karaoke now? How on earth did you manage to convince him?"

Yoshino, who had also caught up, felt her mind go completely blank.

"Yuki, do you possess some kind of superpower? Did you hypnotize him?"

If anyone was the most excited, it was undoubtedly Kyoko. She kept turning her head to steal glances at Ryuichi, and upon confirming that he was genuinely following them, she found it simply incredible.

It was entirely absurd. After all, just last night down at the O茶水 (Ochanomizu) instrument street, Ryuichi had projected a cold, untouchable demeanor—the embodiment of "don't get close to me," "I love no one," and "save your breath."

Yet, only a short time had passed, and Ryuichi had completely changed his tune, offering apologies, saying he had kept them waiting, and even explaining that he had been held up by a minor matter.

"Remember during the lunch break when I said I was going to the restroom?"

Seeing their astonished and animated reactions, Yuki beamed from ear to ear.

"I remember," Kyoko nodded vigorously.

"Since you were gone for so long back then, Aiko even guessed that you must have eaten something bad and had an upset stomach," Yoshino chimed in with the scoop.

"Yoshino! I was just joking to liven up the mood!" Aiko panicked upon hearing her expose this, hastily offering an explanation.

"Anyway, I went to find him again... because I clearly assured him we just wanted him to join us for karaoke and that I definitely didn't have a crush on him, so he was moved by my sincerity," Yuki explained with an amused glance at Aiko.

"You told him you didn't like him, and in return, he agreed to go to karaoke with us? What kind of logic is that?"

Having finally heard the whole story from beginning to end, Yoshino looked thoroughly baffled.

"I know! This is the psychology of reverse reaction in romance. Handsome guys are always like this—the less you like them, the more interested they become in you."

Faced with this question, Kyoko raised her hand decisively like a student who had found the correct answer.

"Reverse psychology my foot. I think he's just a massive M. Lay off the shojo manga for once."

Finding the whole affair utterly ridiculous, Aiko couldn't help but retort.

"Ahem..."

Walking less than half a meter behind them, Ryuichi could hear every word of their whispers, particularly Aiko's remark. To avoid any further misunderstandings, he had no choice but to let out a deliberate cough to make his presence known.