Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 202 The relationship between the three became shattered.
After a long time without kissing Ji Yexue, Qiuyue Cheng seemed incredibly greedy, holding her lips tightly and refusing to let go, even when she felt suffocated, began to struggle, and let out painful whimpers, he still wouldn't let go.

If we could kiss like this until we die, maybe that wouldn't be so bad?

Akizuki Makoto couldn't help but harbor such absurd thoughts.

However, it was just a thought. When he felt it was about time, he released Ji Yexue.

"Ha ha……"

Ji Yexue was breathing heavily, her chest heaving, and her fair cheeks were flushed an unnatural red.

A thin, viscous strand of liquid clung to the corner of her lips, evidence of their passionate kiss, giving it an inexplicably erotic appearance.

After catching her breath and calming her heaving chest, Ji Yexue said in a low voice, "You're really getting carried away now, daring to force a kiss on me?"

"You used to always forcefully kiss me, so let's not blame each other."

Akizuki Makoto wiped his mouth and revealed a smug smile. The taste of the forced kiss wasn't bad at all.

Besides, if Ji Yexue really wanted to resist, she would have bitten his lip long ago.

He wasn't so tactless as to point that out; the proud and aloof Ji Yexue was quite adorable, especially when she said one thing but did another.

Even though she clearly enjoyed the long-awaited kiss, she acted as if she was disgusted and repulsed.

"...Let me go right now!"

Ji Yexue glared at Qiu Yuecheng and shook off his arms.

Then, she wiped her lips and said resentfully, "Don't misunderstand, I'll just pretend I was licked by a dog when I kissed you."

“How cute.”

Akizuki Makoto's smile grew even brighter. He hadn't seen the sharp-tongued and arrogant Ji Yexue in a long time, and he felt a little nostalgic.

"You pervert, die, you scum!"

Ji Yexue glared at Qiu Yuecheng and kept cursing at him, her heart filled with shame and humiliation.

Recalling her disgraceful behavior just now, she really wanted to die immediately.

Suddenly her psychological defenses were breached, and she hugged Qiuyue Cheng and burst into tears. Wouldn't that make it seem like she really couldn't live without Qiuyue Cheng and was about to give in and compromise?
"I really miss it. Scold me a few more times."

Akizuki Makoto laughed nonchalantly, then went a step further and reached out to continue embracing Ji Yexue, whispering, "It would be best if you could whisper in my ear. Didn't you used to really like whispering?"

Whenever Ji Yexue teased him, she liked to whisper in his ear.

This trick is indeed very effective; the pauses in speech and the sounds of breathing, which feel like panting, are extremely alluring.

In particular, Ji Yexue's voice was very pleasant to listen to, with its high and low tones like a feather, making him feel unbearably itchy inside.

"Who would like that!"

Ji Yexue pushed Qiuyue Cheng away forcefully and fled in panic, as if she could no longer bear it.

The current Akizuki Makoto is incredibly powerful, and he's a shameless and persistent character.

Even if you scold or beat him, he won't care and will just want to flirt with you.

...Ji Yexue couldn't stand this situation, so if she didn't escape soon, things would get very bad.

Before leaving, she continued to hurl insults at Akizuki Makoto, calling him shameless, despicable, scum, and other derogatory terms.

"As expected, you're my favorite person..."

As Qiuyue Cheng watched Ji Yexue flee in disarray, he murmured to himself, his heart filled with emotion.

Whether she's sharp-tongued, arrogant, or otherwise, in his eyes, Ji Yexue is the cutest one, unmatched by anyone else.

Unfortunately, she managed to escape in the end, otherwise he would have skipped his afternoon classes to continue flirting and being ambiguous with her.

Afterwards, before the lunch break ended, Akizuki Makoto returned to the classroom, sat down, and hurriedly ate the lunch bento that Shiina Maki had prepared for him.

Ji Yexue never came again; she must have gone home, which made him feel a little regretful.

He still misses the days when Ji Yexue would sneak up on him and play pranks on him while he was in class.

……

……

After school in the afternoon.

Makoto Akizuki packed up his textbooks, picked up his schoolbag, and went home with Maki Shiina.

As they left the classroom, they invited Shiraishi Rin, intending to invite her and Niijima Rie to go somewhere for afternoon tea.

But Shiraishi Rin refused them, saying that he also had something to do that day and couldn't get away.

This surprised Akizuki Makoto, who wondered where Shiraishi Rin was going, but he soon found out.

"What should we do? Rie-chan also said she can't come along, she has something to do too."

When Akizuki heard Shiina Maki say that, he immediately guessed that Shiraishi Rin had been called away by Niijima Rie.

No wonder Shiraishi Rin's expression has been strange ever since the first class.

Specifically, she appeared very uneasy and kept glancing at him, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn't.

Although he noticed it, Akizuki Makoto didn't ask, because he didn't know what Shiraishi Rin wanted to say.

If he was uneasy about their current relationship, then they had nothing to talk about; he had to do this for Ji Yexue's sake.

Even though he knew that Shiraishi Rin was so apprehensive because of Niijima Rie, he didn't really have anything to say.

"Then let's go back together."

Qiuyue smiled nonchalantly and said, "It's still early. I'll ask the student council for leave today and go sightseeing with you."

"Is this okay? The student council president must be quite busy."

Shiina Maki was a little worried. She was happy that Akizuki Makoto was considerate of her, but she was also afraid of causing him trouble.

“We are already seniors in high school, and we should have retired and let the second or first year students take over as president. But my approval rating is too high, and the teachers want me to continue serving, which is giving me a bit of a headache.”

Akizuki sighed and then said, "Let's wait and see. I'll resign from my student council position next semester."

Many high school seniors at this stage can actually stop coming to school and focus on preparing for exams at home.

However, Ming Sheng High School has abundant educational resources, so it did not do that.

"Hehe, I understand, Cheng-kun is very reliable."

Shiina Maki laughed happily, put her arm around Akizuki Makoto's hand, rested her head on his shoulder, and leaned on him completely.

The thing she was most proud of in her life was finding such an outstanding boyfriend as Xiang Qiuyuecheng.

Therefore, she would forgive Akizuki Makoto for many things and would also tactfully pretend not to know.

Akizuki Makoto is too gentle, always carrying everything on his shoulders. She is worried that if things continue like this, Akizuki Makoto will break down.

It was precisely because of this worry that she made up her mind to suppress her dark and twisted side.

She wanted to heal Akizuki Makoto, to be his support, to avoid causing him trouble or making him feel bothered.

even if...

She was hurt, she suffered, and she was betrayed because of this.

……

at the same time.

In the backyard of the school, behind the empty teaching building, stood two girls facing each other.

Rie Niijima looked at Rin Shiraishi, who stood before her with her head bowed, her face filled with shame and guilt, and said in a low, hoarse voice, "Rin-chan, I saw everything you and Akizuki-senpai did at the Shinjuku Gyoen Cafe yesterday." "Th-this..."

"What exactly happened? I asked Senior Qiuyue, and he said he wanted to cheat on you. Is that true?"

Rie Niijima interrupted the stammering Rin Shiraishi. She didn't want to waste any more words and just wanted to get to the bottom of things and persuade Rin Shiraishi.

"...That's what Akizuki-kun said."

After a moment of silence, Shiraishi Rin nodded slightly in response, his expression complicated. "He said he wanted to get along with me, but I don't know what he's trying to do or why he's doing it."

"None of that matters. Senior Qiuyue is just that kind of person. He keeps everything to himself, and he probably can't say the reasons why he does it, so there's no need to worry about it."

As Rie Niijima spoke, she suddenly took Rin Shiraishi's hand, looked at her, and said softly, "Hey, Rin-chan, lift your head and look at me."

"..."

Shiraishi Rin timidly raised her head and met Niijima Rie's gaze. Her eyes began to wander, and she subconsciously looked away.

Unlike Makoto Akizuki, she doesn't possess strong mental fortitude or the unwavering belief to achieve her goals at all costs.

"Rin-chan, what do you think? Do you think this is a good idea?"

Rie Niijima ignored Rin Shiraishi's attempt to escape and said in a serious tone, "Do you know what you're doing? Even if it was Akizuki-senpai who took the initiative, it's definitely not normal for you to obey him without refusing."

"me……"

Shiraishi Rin stammered, then involuntarily lowered his head, wanting to escape.

Faced with Rie Niijima's questioning, she couldn't say a word.

She also had her own difficulties. She didn't want to respond to Akizuki Makoto's request, but she couldn't refuse him.

"Rin-chan!"

Seeing that Shiraishi Rin kept running away and showed no intention of repenting, Niijima Rie couldn't help but get angry and called out Shiraishi Rin's name loudly.

"Have you gone mad too? Don't you know that Akizuki-senpai is Maki-chan's boyfriend? Don't you know how much Maki-chan likes Akizuki-senpai?"

"I...I know..."

Shiraishi Rin responded softly, his face filled with sadness and embarrassment.

Being interrogated like this left her feeling terrible, both pained and tormented.

But she couldn't say anything, because she was the one who made the mistake.

"If you knew that, why did you still do it?!"

Rie Niijima raised her voice slightly and said angrily, "Are you going to betray Maki-chan? Are you willing to hurt Maki-chan just to interfere?"

"No, no, that's not it!"

Shiraishi Rin shook her head vigorously, subconsciously refuting the claim.

She never intended to betray Shiina Maki, nor did she want to interfere in the relationship between Shiina Maki and Akizuki Makoto.

Even if she wanted to interfere, it would be completely impossible; Akizuki Makoto only used her as a tool.

"What is it?!"

Rie Niijima frowned and demanded, "Rin-chan, tell me! How am I supposed to know if you don't tell me?"

"I...I'm sorry..."

After stammering for a while, Shiraishi Rin suddenly started sobbing, as if she couldn't bear the pressure and her heart suddenly collapsed.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I didn't... I didn't mean to betray you... I just... I just couldn't refuse..."

Yes.

She couldn't refuse Akizuki Makoto.

It wasn't just out of gratitude, but also because she couldn't forget Qiuyue Cheng.

Those lingering feelings of affection for Akizuki Makoto that remained in her personality caused her great distress.

She was just using repaying a debt of gratitude as a pretext to save face.

Even if she had rejected Akizuki Makoto back then, Akizuki Makoto certainly wouldn't have said anything, because even he himself knew that using gratitude as a reason to blackmail someone was despicable and shameless.

So it's okay to be rejected.

But instead of refusing, she compromised.

Even if it's fleeting and illusory, filled with false sweetness, she wants to possess it, even if only for a moment.

"Why, why can't I refuse?!"

Rie Niijima also suddenly erupted, yelling and demanding, "Why are you crying! If you have any compelling reasons, just say so! Don't act like you're the victim!"

She really couldn't stand Shiraishi Rin and Akizuki Makoto, who were clearly traitors but were acting like victims one after another.

As for Akizuki Makoto, well, she couldn't interfere with him, nor could she persuade him.

She thought she could persuade Shiraishi Rin to change her mind, but it turned out she was overthinking it.

"I'm sorry... I don't want to... I don't want to make excuses..."

Shiraishi Rin shook her head, sobbing. She couldn't find any reason to hide her betrayal, because it came from the bottom of her heart.

"Ugh, really... that's enough!"

Rie Niijima forcefully shook off Rin Shiraishi's hand and screamed hysterically, "You guys are such selfish bastards! How badly do you want to hurt people before you stop? Maki-chan is already pitiful enough, why do you have to do such cruel things?"

"Woo..."

At this moment, Shiraishi Rin was sobbing uncontrollably and could no longer speak, only weeping.

"So, you don't intend to end your relationship with Akizuki-senpai?"

Rie Niijima suddenly calmed down and, in an extremely calm yet extremely terrifying tone, questioned Rin Shiraishi.

Continuing the conversation would be pointless; all she needed was an answer from Shiraishi Rin.

"Before I answer, let me tell you first that based on your answer, I will decide whether to tell Maki-chan, and whether we will break up."

"If you still want the three of us to continue being friends, then answer that you are willing to end it. If you feel that it doesn't matter even if you betray Maki-chan, and it's okay not to continue being friends with us, then say that you are not willing to end it."

“I cherish our relationship, so I would be happy if you were willing to end it and would help you keep it a secret, provided that you stay away from Akizuki-senpai.”

Everything that needed to be said had been said. Rie Niijima felt that the relationship between the three of them was very strong, and Rin Shiraishi would choose them after weighing the options.

but……

She was wrong.

"I don't want it to end."

Shiraishi Rin wiped away her tears, raised her head, and spoke in a weak but resolute voice.

"Oh, really? Is that so..."

Rie Niijima immediately laughed, as if something had broken, and nodded, understanding everything.

"It seems I was just being presumptuous. I thought we could be friends for life."

"Goodbye, Rin-chan. I really hate you the most, you traitor. I will never forgive you."

In the end, Rie Niijima smiled through her tears, her heart utterly shattered.

(End of this chapter)