June 6th, Friday, a clear day, yet the morning weather forecast was all about the impending rainy season.

Dubian Che entered class 2-4, where the majority of students had already begun preparing for their final exams.

Jiutiao Meijie lay on her [pillow], absentmindedly staring at Kiyono Lin, who was reading a book with perfect posture, while catching sight of Dubian Che entering from the corner of her eye and then focusing on him.

Watching him come over, watching him sit down right in front of her.

She propped herself up, her hand adorned with a ring supporting her chin, "Did you have fun last night?"

"Fun?" Dubian Che's gaze was drawn by 'the ring's red gemstone, her slender fingers, her fair profile'.

"Didn't those two women celebrate your birthday early for you?" Jiutiao Meijie asked with a playful smile.

"We had dinner together, enjoyed some fine fruits, then chatted, and I received a birthday gift from Mr. Xiaoquan, a water cup bought from Osaka."

"Mayi Asuka and Xiaoquan Aonai together?"

"Mmhmm."

"They seem pretty open-minded," Jiutiao Meijie snickered.

Dubian Che reached out and took one of her hands, "We're all thankful for you."

"We?" Jiutiao Meijie repeated the word.

She withdrew her hand, pointed at Dubian Che, then pointed at herself, "You, me, that's the only 'we' there is, me and you, we're a pair, a family, understand?"

"Jiutiao," Kiyono Lin, without looking up from her book, said, "If you want to keep beating me, being this aggressive won't work, why not be a little more submissive?"

"Kiyono, I have a question for you—despite already losing, why don't you tell Che, 'Being with me, I'll allow you to date them, too'?"

"Because I'm strong," Kiyono Lin turned her head, looking at Jiutiao Meijie, "stronger than you three combined, I don't need to accommodate anyone."

"Still so confident even as a loser?" Jiutiao Meijie wondered mockingly.

Then, she suddenly had a mocking epiphany with an "Ah"—"Is it precisely because you're too confident that you ended up a loser?"

Kiyono Lin's eyes, both icy and beautiful, were fixed intently on Jiutiao Meijie.

Jiutiao Meijie's contemptuously alluring gaze met hers without flinching.

"Today is Kiyono's birthday..."

"Are you defending her?" Jiutiao Meijie shifted her gaze to Dubian Che.

"Do you think I need a birthday as a reason for her to show mercy?" Kiyono Lin glared at Dubian Che.

"...I'm just trying to break up the fight."

It was Xiaoquan Aonai's arrival that saved Dubian Che; she wore jade-colored earrings.

During lunch break, Ichiki Aoi seized the opportunity when the two young ladies were off to their club activities and stealthily asked Dubian Che.

"Mr. Dubian, what was that about Mayi we heard this morning?"

"She and I, along with Mr. Xiaoquan who lives in the same apartment, had dinner last night at Mr. Xiaoquan's place, along with our English teacher Akiko from class 2 and Mr. Miyazaki from the infirmary."

"And the 'permission for you to date them' part?"

"Meijie's jealous outburst."

"I see," Ichiki Aoi breathed a sigh of relief, "then I'm off to the Wind Instrument Club, thank you, Mr. Dubian."

After speaking briefly, she dashed out of the classroom, her pleated skirt bouncing against her legs, her short hair fluttering as she ran off to catch up with the Wind Instrument Club members from class 2-4.

Dubian Che met up with Saito Keisuke and another.

"What did Ichiki just talk to you about?" Kunii Shuichi asked, arms folded behind his head.

"You still into her?" the class representative asked.

"Not into her, just a bit curious."

"Relax," Dubian Che reassured, "Ichiki came to me to ask about Mayi."

"Hey, Kunimi," Saito Keisuke bumped Kunii Shuichi with his body, breaking his cool pose with hands behind his head, "Ichiki has a lot more heart than you, she's liked you since middle school, you don't deserve her."

"Agreed," Dubian Che nodded.

"Agreed," the class rep said, adjusting his glasses.

"Hmph," Kunii Shuichi had nothing to retort, instead he declared angrily, "Just you watch! Once I make it to the final of Koshien this year, I'll be even more popular than this guy!"

"Even if you don't just make the finals but win a hundred Koshien championships, you won't be as popular as Dubian," Saito Keisuke put a hand on Kunii Shuichi's right shoulder.

"Reality is reality, and consciousness is consciousness. Reality determines consciousness, not the other way around. Give it up," the class rep said, placing a hand on his left shoulder.

"What kind of philosophy is that?" Dubian Che inquired.

"Interested?" the class rep immediately let go of Kunii Shuichi, turning his head over, "Material determines consciousness; it's the dominant thought in current materialistic philosophy, which is discussed in both macroscopic and microscopic terms..."

The three of them had lunch together while taking the class rep's philosophy class.

After school, Dubian Che and Kiyono Lin rode in Jiutiao Meijie's car, heading to the palatial mansion standing on the shore of Tokyo Bay.

"I was expecting a whole crowd of people in formal wear to be waiting for us," Dubian Che remarked, stepping into the spacious and bright living room.

"You're talking about my fifth and sixth birthdays," Kiyono Lin responded.

Dubian Che wondered if she didn't like celebrating her birthday, like Mayi Asuka, or if it was because she despised liars and such occasions.

"Lin, Meijie, Mr. Dubian!" Mrs. Kiyono, dressed in a sexy black gown, addressed the three, "Hurry up and change your clothes!"

"Do I need to change too?" Dubian Che asked.

"Of course! You're my son. This house has a room for you, with a wardrobe that belongs to you. Go on."

Dubian Che wanted to ask something else, but it seemed no matter what it was, changing clothes was obligatory.

A servant led him into a room, right next to the ones for Kiyono Lin and Jiutiao Meijie.

The room's decor, the variety of outfits in the wardrobe, everything was prepared for him—if it weren't for the lack of formal registration, Dubian Che would believe Mrs. Kiyono intended to give him a share of the Kiyono family.

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