Ayanokoji provided the gambling funds, and Meari gambled at the table, so splitting it half and half was very reasonable.
Ayanokoji thought so, but Meari was truly startled.
Half!? Half of eighty million, that's forty million!
This number greatly exceeded Meari's expectations.
Meari quickly shook her head: "No, I don't deserve it. I can't accept this money!"
"Are you not satisfied? Do you think the money is too little?" Ayanokoji asked deliberately.
"No, it's too much! I just played a game at the casino table, how can I get so much money…?"
"This is gambling. You can easily gain a huge sum of money, and you can also easily lose everything. You took a risk by gambling on stage, so naturally, you should receive a reward commensurate with that risk."
Ayanokoji said with a definitive tone, "It's settled then. Once Mibuomi Aoi's money arrives, I'll give you half."
Seeing Ayanokoji's irrefutable tone, Meari could only nod.
Although she had never expected Ayanokoji to give her much money from the start, only wanting to wholeheartedly protect Ayanokoji's "assets," now that Ayanokoji was willing to give her half, it would be a lie to say she wasn't happy.
After all… this was forty million! Who knows how many people would need decades to save such a large sum of money, and now this money appeared on a high school student like her!
"How amazing…" Togakushi Yukimi looked envious: "Meari actually won so much money all at once…"
"Envious, aren't you? I can lend you eighty million too. You just need to sit at the casino table and win the gamble, and you can also win that much money." Ayanokoji said jokingly.
Togakushi Yukimi was tempted but still shook her head, self-deprecatingly saying, "Forget it. I don't have Meari's strong heart. If I owed eighty million in gambling debt, I definitely couldn't bear it. I'd probably jump off a building."
Togakushi Yukimi was very clear-headed, knowing what money she should take and what money she shouldn't.
Even Meari, whose gambling skills far surpassed hers, almost lost the game, only narrowly turning the tide against the odds. With her own skill level, she would probably just be giving money away if she sat down.
Her current "part-time job" was more suitable for her. The money she earned was considerable and the work was easy, and she could also read her favorite books in her spare time.
"Ayanokoji, if she doesn't want to borrow, you can lend it to me!" Ruricho Nadeshiko leaned over, full of anticipation: "You don't need to lend me eighty million, just twenty million Japanese Yen will do! I'll return the borrowed money to you tomorrow, and give you half of the winnings too!"
Ruricho Nadeshiko's thoughts were written all over her face. She definitely wanted to borrow money from Ayanokoji, win ten million, and then buy the piano in the room from Ayanokoji.
Ayanokoji rolled his eyes: "Forget it, why are you joining in the fun? If I really lent you this money, you'd be twenty million in debt tomorrow."
"Why do you think I'll lose? You confidently gave this gambling opportunity to Meari, so why don't you trust me? It's not like I won't pay you back!" Ruricho Nadeshiko was very unconvinced.
"Alright, I can lend you money, but first, explain how you plan to pay it back if you lose?" Ayanokouji Kiyohira looked at her with interest.
"Well…" Ruricho Nadeshiko hesitated, glanced at the piano, and a lightbulb went off: "If I lose, I'll play the piano for you to repay the debt! One song will pay you back thirty thousand!"
"Rejected." Ayanokouji Kiyohira found it quite amusing: "Ruricho, what are you thinking? The piano was originally bought by me. You playing the piano and you still want to ask me for money? I haven't even asked you for the piano's rental fee yet."
"Oh, it doesn't work like that…" Ruricho Nadeshiko was greatly disappointed. She had thought it was a brilliant idea.
She thought for a while but still couldn't come up with a good idea, so she threw herself at her good friend Kurume Kurumi for help: "Laiwei, help me, what should I do!?"
Ayanokoji shook his head helplessly.
When they first met, he thought Ruricho Nadeshiko was a noble and elegant rich young lady, but now… he just felt like she was missing a screw.
Kurume Kurumi was wiping the bar counter. Seeing her suddenly run to her, she gave her an irritated glance: "Why don't you just not borrow money? You don't really lack that ten million. This piano is for you to play anyway, so you don't necessarily have to make it yours right now."
"You don't understand that feeling. I won't feel at ease until I buy the piano!"
Ruricho Nadeshiko shook her head seriously: "I can feel it, this piano is my dream piano! But lately, when I play the piano, I always feel anxious, making me feel that my beloved doesn't truly love me, that she's intimate with me on the surface but has already married someone else behind my back…"
It was just a piano, yet she could associate it with "cheating"… Kurume Kurumi was a bit speechless.
She casually said while wiping a glass, "Why don't you try to think about it from another perspective: This piano originally belonged to someone else, already married to someone else, but she always secretly comes to find you and has a clandestine affair with you… Does that make you feel better?"
"You mean… we're true love?" Ruricho Nadeshiko's eyes lit up: "Laiwei, you're right! I don't need to care who she belongs to. I just need to know that right now I'm riding her, freely manipulating her to make all sorts of sounds, and that's enough!"
She was clearly talking about playing the piano, but why did her words sound so easily misleading…?
Ayanokouji Kiyohira shook his head speechlessly, no longer focusing his attention on Ruricho Nadeshiko.
As long as this young lady was happy, she could think whatever she wanted.
"Hey, Ayanokoji…" Meari, who was beside him, suddenly tugged at Ayanokoji's sleeve.
"What is it?" Ayanokoji turned his head to look at her, "You want this money, right? Wait until tomorrow, I'll deposit the money into a bank card and give it to you. After all, such a large sum of money isn't safe to give directly."
"That's not it!" Meari shook her head vigorously, turned her face away, and asked casually, "Ayanokoji, by the way, what did you go do just now?"
Meari actually already knew the answer in her heart, but she still asked on purpose.
"I went to find Miharu Taki Senior," Ayanokoji replied truthfully.
It was her after all!
"Why did you look for her?" Meari said with a hint of jealousy, "That guy has always been working for Mibuomi Aoi. It's her own fault that she was kicked out by him now."
"You can't say that. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and besides, Miharu Taki Senior is already my friend. If I can help, I'll help."
Meari was still a little displeased, but she reluctantly accepted the answer.
When she first came to this school, if Ayanokouji Kiyohira hadn't helped her, she might not have had a chance to turn things around at the beginning.
Ayanokoji's personality was just like that; he always liked to help some good girls. From her to Kurume, and now to Ruribird and Miharu Taki, she had gradually gotten used to it.
It was fine if Ayanokoji helped her, as long as he treated her as a friend. If she could help him, she would.
But… if that woman Miharu Taki wanted to covet Ayanokoji and become his lover, then she shouldn't blame her for being impolite!
Meari secretly made up her mind.
Ayanokoji had no idea what Meari was thinking. He clapped his hands and said to everyone, "Alright, it's getting late today, let's get off work."
Saying that, he took out a concert ticket from his pocket, waved it, and said with a smile, "Oh, by the way, we won't be working tomorrow afternoon. Remember to come see Yumemi Yumemite's concert."
Meari nodded, "We still have to support Yumemite's concert. After all, she came to support us when our casino first opened…"
Everyone still remembered that when they opened, Ayanokoji didn't know where he found her and asked her to be the host.
Each of them had a concert ticket given to them by Ririka, and the time written on it was 3 PM tomorrow.
This was the time Yumemi had carefully chosen.
On the first day of the Ryōran Festival, everyone would focus on the interesting festival activities and some casinos they were interested in. On the second day, everyone's attention would shift slightly, and at this time, her concert would suddenly be released, which would surely attract many people's attention!
—That's what she thought.
Unfortunately, she herself had no appeal at all in this school. Passersby were completely uninterested, and those who knew her were only because of her identity as a "Student Council member," wanting to see what abilities this new member had to gain the favor of the Student Council.
Few cared about her identity as an "idol."
If she were to hold a gambling event, perhaps more people would be interested in buying tickets, but a concert… was truly a failure.
She didn't know how she would turn the situation around…
Ayanokouji Kiyohira thought of this, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly upward. He was a little excited in his heart, truly wanting to know what kind of performance Yumemi would put on tomorrow.
…
At the same time, on the other side.
"Okuri, you lost to Meari?"
Mibuomi Aoi asked this question with his arms crossed and a calm tone. There was no emotion on his face, making it impossible to guess his thoughts.
Shimotsuki Okuri bit her lower lip, explaining in a painful and unwilling voice, "It was only by one point. I lost because my decision was wrong! If I had chosen Liar's Dice, I would have won…!"
"Lost is lost, no need to make excuses for yourself." Mibuomi Aoi snorted, "Did Miharu Taki Sakura make excuses when she lost to you?"
Shimotsuki Okuri thought that Mibuomi Aoi wanted to scold her, and her face turned extremely pale, "No, I wasn't making excuses, I was just stating the reason I lost…"
Mibuomi Aoi was noncommittal, "Since you lost the game, the loser naturally has to pay the wager. Do you have 80 million?"
"…I don't."
Shimotsuki Okuri shook her head with a pale face, then quickly added, "But I will work hard to save this money. I will definitely not implicate Mibuomi-sama!"
Mibuomi Aoi looked at her without a word. Just when Shimotsuki Okuri's mood became more and more anxious, thinking that Mibuomi Aoi was going to fire her, he suddenly showed a gentle smile, "Okuri, what are you talking about? You are working for me, so of course, I will pay this money for you. You don't need to pay a single penny; I will bear this money for you."
"Mibuomi-sama…!" Shimotsuki Okuri had originally thought she was going to be fired, but unexpectedly, things took a turn. She looked at him with an excited expression.
Sure enough, she hadn't misjudged him. Mibuomi-sama would not abandon her!
Mibuomi Aoi showed a kind smile, "Okuri, you are a talent of our Zenshoukai, someone I personally recruited. You are a very important key figure, so don't feel frustrated because of this setback and become disheartened…"
Shimotsuki Okuri excitedly shook her head, "I won't! As long as Mibuomi-sama speaks, I will definitely bring victory to Mibuomi-sama!"
"Then, if there's a next time, can you win?" Mibuomi Aoi asked.
"No matter who the opponent is, I have the confidence to win!" Shimotsuki Okuri answered without hesitation.
That's right.
Shimotsuki Okuri was an important card and couldn't be disheartened so easily.
By the way, I didn't expect Meari to actually be able to win against Okuri. I really underestimated her. Could it really be as Ayanokoji said, that I misjudged her?
…
The second day of the Ryōran Festival was also the opening day of Yumemi Yumemite's concert.
Yumemi was a member of the Student Council. The venue for her "concert" this time was a theater capable of accommodating 500 people. This was chosen for her by Student Council Secretary Igarashi Sayaka and provided to her for free.
The staff maintaining order here were also subordinate members of the Student Council who helped out for free.
A week before the concert, posters for this concert were posted on bulletin boards in many places, and many channels were also promoting it with great fanfare.
All of these were benefits of being a Student Council member, provided "for free," but this kind of benefit was only for this time.
If she were to hold similar concerts again in the future, she would have to pay for them herself and find her own staff to maintain order.
It could be said that this was a do-or-die concert for Yumemi Yumemite. If, even with so much "promotion" and favorable conditions, she still couldn't make a splash, she would not be able to gain a foothold in the school afterward, and her idea of continuing to hold concerts would become even more difficult.
Therefore, for Yumemi, this was a battle where she could only win, not lose.
PS: This chapter will not be divided into sections, 4000 words.
By the way, the extra chapter has been finished and posted in the group. The group number can be found in the comment section.
Fifteen thousand words, all action scenes. Those interested can take a look.
This is just a benefit for all readers, please do not spread it after reading.
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