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Saturday and Sunday were more like legitimate days off for Akira.
Although he was just a student, he was earning a "salary" at this school. Of course, in the form of points.
He now held over ten million points. If he didn't consider transferring classes, the next three years would be more than enough to live quite lavishly, and he could even save a good amount.
After all, there didn't seem to be any facilities in this school that required a lot of points.
...
At 6:20, the moment Akira pushed open his door, the door next door also opened in response, and Ayanokoji's figure came into view.
He was holding an empty trash can, and from the looks of it, he'd just come back from taking out the trash.
He remembered that last time, thanks to Ayanokoji's reminder, he'd become aware of Kushida's intentions in advance and had timely turned on his phone's recording.
Though he'd treated Ayanokoji to coffee as a thank you afterward.
"Ayanokoji, would you like to go for a run together?" Akira tentatively extended the invitation, his gaze falling on Ayanokoji's calm face.
"Why are you inviting me?" Ayanokoji paused slightly, his tone betraying little emotion.
"I always feel like several eyes are watching me when I run. I'd say at least five people," Akira said seriously, not joking. "With you by my side, I'll probably feel more at ease. As a thank you, breakfast is on me today."
"Okay." After a brief silence, Ayanokoji actually agreed directly.
Akira was momentarily stunned.
He'd originally prepared for rejection, as Ayanokoji usually gave off a sense of detachment, so he hadn't expected such a straightforward answer.
...
The two walked side by side on the path to the sports field, the morning dew wetting the grass by the roadside, and the air carried a faint fragrance of grass and trees.
Akira glanced at Ayanokoji beside him. Ayanokoji was wearing simple sportswear, his pace neither fast nor slow, yet his expression remained unchanged.
"Speaking of which, do you usually run at this time, Ayanokoji?" Akira broke the silence.
"Occasionally," Ayanokoji replied concisely, his gaze fixed on the track stretching ahead, as if he was measuring something.
The plastic track of the sports field gleamed dark red in the morning light, with a few early-rising students jogging sporadically.
As soon as Ayanokoji stepped onto the track, he subconsciously scanned his surroundings.
"What's wrong?" Akira noticed his pause and stopped, turning to look at him.
"Nothing," Ayanokoji composed himself and shook his head.
Akira then sped up and started running. "Let's go, let's see who finishes ten laps first."
The wind swept past their ears, carrying the coolness of the morning.
Ayanokoji's running posture wasn't standard, but it was exceptionally steady, his breathing as even as a metronome. No matter if Akira sped up or slowed down, Ayanokoji always maintained a half-step distance.
By the third lap, Akira deliberately accelerated sharply, trying to widen the gap, but when he looked back, Ayanokoji was still following not too far behind, his face not even showing a ripple, and he even had the presence of mind to turn his head and observe his surroundings.
The two maintained a parallel posture throughout, completing the entire run at a steady pace.
They sat down on a bench by the sports field to rest. Akira was fanning himself with his shirt when Ayanokoji, after a few soft breaths, suddenly spoke. "At least five first-year girls are watching you run from their dorms, and also from the Chairman's office. And the Student Council. At least seven people in total."
"Huh?" Akira was taken aback, then realized Ayanokoji was talking about the people monitoring him. "Wait, you were looking around while running just to see this?"
Ayanokoji looked down at his hands clasped on his knees. "Mm."
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Akira immediately asked, curious.
Ayanokoji looked toward the teaching building. "In the high-rise area where the first-year girls live, five windows had their curtains open at the same time when you were running. It was the same with the Chairman's office and the Student Council. Someone specifically opened the windows. Of course, it's not entirely certain. You can pay attention tomorrow when you run."
Akira followed his gaze. The windows in the high-rise area were densely packed, most of them closed at the moment, with only a few scattered ones open.
So Kamuro and those people really have nothing better to do every day than to wake up in the morning and watch him run live!
"Shimizu-kun," Ayanokoji's gaze fell on his face. "You seem to know exactly who's monitoring you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have that not-so-surprised expression."
Akira twitched his lips. "Probably." His voice held a hint of helplessness. "A few people have already greeted me. But even knowing it's them, being watched like this for the entire run still makes me uncomfortable. However, hearing you say it, it seems the number of people doesn't quite match up. There are several more."
He, of course, knew exactly who they were.
It was none other than Horikita, Kushida, Kamuro, plus the Chairman.
He just never expected that someone from the Student Council was also watching him.
But first, he could rule out the Student Council President. Akira didn't think Horikita Manabu was the kind of person who'd do such a boring thing.
His gaze swept over the direction of the Student Council office. He wondered which idle person was sitting inside.
Could it be Nagumo?
"Anyway, Ayanokoji, thanks for the analysis, though my original intention wasn't quite this," Akira stood up from the bench.
"?" Ayanokoji looked at him with some surprise. "Didn't you invite me to run so I could help you deal with being monitored?"
"Uh, you're thinking too much!" Akira immediately looked at him, speechless. "Who would stare at the teaching building windows while running like a normal person? Who would analyze so many things like you? It was purely an invitation to run! At most, it was to have someone help block the sight of those few people."
"But, last time Yamauchi invited me out for a stroll, and after he called me out, he bought me a drink and then asked me to help him create an opportunity to 'accidentally' meet Kushida," Ayanokoji said seriously.
"?! You agreed? You were dismissed with just one drink?"
"No, I refused, because I'm not very familiar with Kushida."
Akira felt that Ayanokoji seemed to have a hidden meaning in his words.
Ayanokoji actually treated him as Yamauchi!
This guy's too good at roundabout insults!
Who are you calling Yamauchi!
"I'm not Yamauchi, you just have bad judgment! If Yamauchi were a decent person and treated you as a friend, he shouldn't have dismissed you with just one drink."