Normally, if Ichiko showed such determination and refused him on some unreasonable matters, Sento would quite like it.
This way, he could feel even more how Ichiko was different from other girls.
But now!
It was because of Haruko that she was talking back to him, and Sento disliked it very much.
But because the person was Ichiko, whom he liked, he still held back his temper, his voice just gradually turned cold, "Ichiko, do you know what you're saying? For this banquet, I invited my parents from Beijing, and countless family businesses are focused here. Why do you think I had you dress so formally?"
"Because I want them to get to know you, I want to pave the way for you, to let you break free from your ordinary commoner status, so you won't be looked down upon by others because of your background anymore!"
"Time, energy, connections, money, countless resources, yet now you're telling me that because of Haruko, you're choosing to leave when the event officially begins?"
Each of his words was heavier than the last.
He wanted to see Ichiko back down.
However, the scene he imagined didn't happen.
Ichiko's eyes were very calm, completely unmoved by his words.
Her tone was very serious, "Sento, I'm very grateful for you preparing all this for me, and I understand your efforts, but have you ever considered if I truly like these things? I told you a long time ago, I don't care about your money and power. Now Haruko is in danger, I must go back!"
"Heh!" Sento covered his forehead with one hand and laughed, "You clearly know I hate that Haruko guy, yet you're still asking me to drive you back?"
"Heh... heh hahahahaha!"
Sento burst into laughter, then suddenly moved closer to Ichiko, his presence like a mountain pressing down, "Have you forgotten how Haruko treated you these past few months!"
He suppressed his voice, yet it sounded like a roar.
"These past few months, I haven't treated you poorly at all, have I? I give you everything you want, I put in all my heart and soul for you. In your eyes, am I still not as important as Haruko?!"
Ichiko met Sento's gaze, without a trace of fear.
After closing her eyes and lightly exhaling.
She seemed to have made some decision.
She lightly took a step back.
Holding her skirt with one hand and covering the neckline of her dress with the other, she bowed to Sento, "Sento, I am very grateful for your efforts for me. I don't know what the future holds, but now—"
She raised her head, her beautiful eyes incredibly firm, "To me, Haruko is more important than you."
"I'm truly sorry for embarrassing you today. I will formally apologize and compensate you later. I won't trouble you further."
After speaking, Ichiko turned around without hesitation, her skirt swaying and swirling with the light.
As she did so, she took out her phone, praying she could still get a taxi in this heavy rain.
But just as she took a step, Sento suddenly grabbed her right hand again.
She turned her head and saw Sento asking with a gloomy face, "Why... why in your eyes is she more important than me?!"
She's clearly just a cheap woman.
Targeting her, spreading rumors about her, making her embarrass herself in public, even instigating others to harm her, and finally even doing something like kidnapping.
Anyone else would find it unforgivable, right?
Why?
If it were Inari or Shin, then so be it. Although they are rivals, Sento would admit that these two are very excellent opponents.
But Haruko, just a woman, why does she make Ichiko care so much!
Sento widened his eyes, staring intently at Ichiko's eyes, wanting to see what she was truly thinking.
Under his questioning, a hint of gentle recollection appeared in Ichiko's eyes.
She said faintly, "You've been by my side for a few months, and I'm very grateful, but Haruko has been with me for over ten years."
Deep down, she still firmly believed that Haruko's recent rebellion could be corrected.
Having said that.
She shook off Sento's hand.
She hurried towards the exit of the hall.
She dialed Haruko's number again, but the prompt was still that it was turned off.
Just then, a whistle came from the side, "You're not just planning to go back like this, are you?"
Ichiko looked sideways and saw Inari walking over, a keychain dangling from his fingertip, shaking the keys, "Although I don't know what happened, having a car would be much better, right?"
Ichiko pursed her lips, her tense pretty face relaxing slightly, "Thank you."
"No problem. Anyway, this banquet is quite boring. There are umbrellas at the entrance. Go wait for me outside the cruise ship. I'll go get the car from the garage."
"Okay!"
Ichiko didn't say much more. Getting Inari's help made her feel much more at ease.
She walked straight out of the hall, without even a single lingering glance back.
She didn't notice that after his anger, Sento stood rooted to the spot as if he had lost his soul.
Soon, she got into the car in the heavy rain. There was some standing water on the road, but it didn't affect driving.
Inari sat in the driver's seat and asked, "Where to?"
"Back to school."
Rumble—
The roar of the sports car mixed with the thunder as they quickly drove away.
"Speaking of which, what exactly happened? Did Haruko get into trouble?"
Inari had a similar thought to Sento at this moment.
Haruko had done so many excessive things, yet Ichiko still cared about her so much.
Now something happened that made her so anxious she wished she could fly back.
Ichiko sat silently in the passenger seat.
She didn't know if she should tell Inari the truth.
Saying something like Haruko waited for her on the school rooftop in the rain for an hour and might have jumped off now was truly shocking.
She looked so normal during the basketball game in the afternoon. Saying she was acting strangely would probably make people misunderstand her as having a mental illness, right?
She hesitated for a moment and asked, "Inari, what kind of situation do you think would cause a person's personality to change drastically and become extremely unstable?"
Inari glanced at Ichiko again.
Wisely, he didn't ask further. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "They must have encountered something that's enough to make a person break down and unable to accept it. It could also be a latent mental illness, or something like a second personality."
Ichiko nodded upon hearing this.
She stopped talking.
She took out her phone and contacted people she knew to see if anyone was still at school and could go to the rooftop to check.
At the same time, she browsed the school's Tieba forum. There was still no news of anyone jumping off a building, which eased her mind quite a bit.
Along with her inner anxiety, the car stopped ten minutes later.
Horns blared from all directions, and outside the car window were flashing car lights.
Inari frowned and hit the horn on the steering wheel, saying helplessly, "Traffic jam. Don't know what's happening ahead. A car accident is highly likely in such heavy rain."
There was no standing water on the road, but an accident still happened.
Ichiko's first reaction was to turn around and take another road, but when she looked in the rearview mirror, she found that the blurry mist was also full of car lights behind them.
They were completely blocked in the middle of the road.
Inari exhaled and looked at Ichiko, asking, "Are you in a hurry?"
Ichiko nodded seriously, "If I go back late, I'm afraid Haruko will be in danger!"
Perhaps, she already is.
She just didn't dare to think in that direction.
As soon as she said this, Inari couldn't help but gasp.
He looked sideways at Ichiko, "Can you drive?"
Ichiko was stunned for a moment, "I failed my driving test part three."
"That's enough. As long as you can drive it. With this car and license plate, no one would dare hit you. You wait here, I'll ride a bicycle back first."
The situation was urgent, and being unable to contact Haruko, this was the only way.
Ichiko followed his gaze and looked outside, finding a few shared bicycles parked by the roadside.
She pursed her lips, opened the passenger door, and got out into the rain, "I'll ride back."
"In such heavy rain, you're riding back? Are you crazy?!"
Of course, Ichiko wasn't crazy.
She understood that if Haruko was still on the rooftop, she would definitely only be willing to see her.
Seeing that he couldn't stop Ichiko, Inari also anxiously shouted, "Hey, there's a raincoat in the trunk!"
"No need, wearing a raincoat is a waste of time."
Ichiko reached up and pushed the wet strands of hair from her forehead aside, her delicate face calm and serious.
Scan code, unlock, ride.
Haruko, you must be okay!