Chapter 240: The Ruthless Man

Unlike the long, narrow corridor outside with its oppressive air, Advanced Nurturing High School's clinic was equipped with a luxurious private room specifically prepared for Sakayanagi Arisu.

There was no stinging smell of disinfectant. A dedicated air conditioning system continuously blew fresh air into the room.

Rather than a hospital room, it would be more accurate to call it a girl's bedroom. The entire room was done in a soft, pale green. A television, a sofa, and a private bathroom were all present. There was even a chess set placed specifically in the corner.

In the middle of the room, a frail silver-haired girl sat half-upright, propped up on her arms. A velvet quilt was spread over her lower body. An oversized hospital gown draped over her petite frame.

"Father..." Sakayanagi held her phone to her ear and spoke weakly.

"The doctor said it was another emotional episode this time, just not as severe as last time. Also, you took a whole day off yesterday," a refined, gentle voice came from the other end of the line. "Arisu, is there anything you want to tell Daddy?"

"..."

After a brief silence, Sakayanagi lowered her head. Her silver-white hair fell forward. She pressed her thin lips together.

"No, Father. I was simply in a bad mood and didn't want to go to class."

The linen curtain was stirred by the air conditioning, lifting and falling...

"Arisu," the voice on the other end paused, then spoke with reminiscence, "did you know? You and your mother share the same bad habit. When you get used to lying outside, you bring it home. It's not that you bear any ill will toward your family. You just like to tough everything out and keep the family from worrying."

"You already know everything. What else is there for me to say?" Sakayanagi said quietly.

A public place like a cafe was absolutely covered in cameras. No doubt the moment she fainted, the footage of who she had come into contact with and who she had spoken to was already on her father's desk.

"I want to know what you're thinking. My expectations for my own daughter are very low. I don't care about children or heirs. I don't care about the family fortune either. I only hope she can live out this life happily."

"..." Sakayanagi remained silent.

Finally, the voice on the other end couldn't hold back anymore. "Arisu, let's go home. Our family doesn't lack that Class A graduation slot anyway," he said earnestly. "Originally, you wanted to come to the school to find Ayanokouji-sensei's child. But now that he hasn't come to school, doesn't that mean your goal is gone? Besides, your current Class D has zero points. Even if you dropped out, it wouldn't make any difference."

"I want..." Sakayanagi murmured.

"What?" The voice on the other end involuntarily grew a bit louder.

"I want," Sakayanagi raised a hand to cover her chest, her long, slender eyelashes trembling faintly, "to compete with him one more time. No matter win or lose." Her slender hand felt the beating of her heart beneath her chest. "Only in those moments can I feel that I'm alive."

The other end of the line was silent for a long time, long enough that the breathing on the other side was clearly audible.

Then, he let out a long sigh, every word filled with helplessness.

"Do as you please. But your monthly health checkups will be increased to twice. The moment there's any danger, you drop out and come home immediately."

"Okay."

After several more minutes of casual chatting, Sakayanagi hung up and quietly stared at her phone screen.

After a while.

She lifted her head, glanced at the wall clock, and pressed the call button at the same time, asking coldly: "Are those two students who brought me here still outside?"

"Um, please wait a moment," a moment later, the careful voice of a medical staff member came through. "They're still here. The girl has been waiting on the bench by the room door the whole time. But... the boy has gotten up and is wandering around..."

"I see." Sakayanagi hung up the call button and turned to look toward the door.

The glass of the room door was one-way transparent. From outside, you couldn't see in. From inside, you could see out.

Fuyuji Mikage leaned against the corridor window, idly gazing at the distant scenery. Through the room door, a small part of his back was visible.

Sakayanagi gripped her phone and murmured: "Is this your way of telling me that you only came here to accompany Kamuro, and that you've seen through my boring tricks? Telling me not to delude myself into thinking I can use this as leverage to do those pointless things? Heh..."

In the quiet room, a scoff suddenly rang out.

"A ruthless man. Just what I wanted. Well then... next, let's see who makes the other drop out first."

With that, Sakayanagi raised a hand to tuck the stray strands of hair behind her ear. Her usual composed, elegant smile returned to her face. She lit up her phone screen again, her fingers moving rapidly a few times, and made another call.

"Hello, Horikita-san. Have you arrived?"

"Not yet. A few more minutes." Horikita Suzune's cool voice echoed in her ear.

"Good. Please hurry." Sakayanagi's mouth corners lifted slightly. "Otherwise, once that Ryuen-boy comes to his senses, things won't be fun anymore."

How do you prove whether a heart patient is faking or genuinely having a heart attack? The boundary was actually very blurry, but most of the weight had to fall on the heart patient's final condition.

In reality, after being angered twice, for some unknown reason, Sakayanagi's heart condition had actually improved compared to when she enrolled a year ago.

"Understood. But," Horikita hesitated for a moment, "Sakayanagi-san, are you... okay?"

Last time Sakayanagi had fainted in front of Horikita, it had given her quite a fright.

"No problem. My mood has become quite pleasant now."

"That's good." Horikita let out an obvious sigh of relief.

"Later, we'll follow the original plan. You will negotiate with that Ryuen-boy. The terms will be decided by you as well." If Sakayanagi were in charge of the negotiation, it would be too easy for problems to show.

"Does Sakayanagi-san have no terms she wants to raise?"

"No," Sakayanagi said with a confident smile. "If you're confident enough, you could even make Ryuen-boy give up on this special exam entirely. Though I imagine, given his personality, that would be very difficult to achieve."

He'd only just half-unified his class and already pulled something like this. Unless Ryuen had already given up on his dream of conquering Advanced Nurturing.

"I understand. Leave it to me."

"Of course. I have confidence in the partner I've chosen. As long as you remember our agreement, I look forward to your good news."

With a smile, Sakayanagi hung up.

Class D. Though most of them were defective products with problems, the fact that the school had admitted them meant they themselves possessed a certain potential. If utilized well, they would be quite a decent force.

Add to that the favor owed by the only son of the Kouenji conglomerate, who had guessed the preferential exam's VIP incorrectly on the cruise ship last time, causing his own complete defeat.

"Next time we compete, I won't lose."

After murmuring to herself for a while, Sakayanagi straightened her back and pressed the call button.

"Nurse, please let that purple-haired girl in."

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