In his past life, Kanda Shuichi had heard something before.
It was said that Japanese girls had a "guaranteed satisfaction" mindset—as long as you had money, they could act like the perfect girlfriend for a lifetime.
And Kanda Shuichi's response to that was simple:
Isn't that a good thing?
As long as I have money for life, wouldn't that mean I get a perfect wife by default?
What? That's still not enough? What more do you want? A brand-new bike?
After dinner, Kamuro, Kushida, and Ichinose cleaned up a bit before leaving. Of course, they didn't bother washing the dishes, saying it was a little punishment for being a playboy.
To be honest, Kanda Shuichi hadn't expected the issue to be resolved so easily.
Well, not exactly resolved—more like temporarily settled.
At least nothing unpleasant happened. If Kushida or Ichinose had really decided to cut ties with him, Kanda Shuichi wouldn't even know what to do. That was something he hadn't thought about yet.
So, for now, things being stable was a relief. He decided to just go with the flow and wait until adulthood.
But Kamuro kept casually dropping hints about the Kanda family. Yet every time he asked for details, she refused to say anything, which was starting to give him a headache.
Wasn't he just an adopted son? But from the way Kamuro acted, it was like she saw him as the next heir of the family.
Even Sakayanagi had mentioned that the heir of the Kanda family was said to have the ability to see the past. That lined up a little too well with his "past-viewing TV" ability.
Kanda Shuichi found it all pretty strange, but he had no clues to investigate further.
Kamuro was obedient most of the time, but when it came to this, she completely shut down. No matter how much he pushed, she wouldn't say a word.
As Kanda Shuichi was lost in thought while washing the dishes, there was another knock at the door.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Hold on a sec."
After rinsing the soap off his hands, Kanda Shuichi opened the door.
He thought it might be one of the three girls returning, but to his surprise, it was Karuizawa Kei.
"You? What are you doing here this late?"
"Yeah, I've got something to talk about."
Karuizawa blew on her hands, a small puff of white mist forming in the cold air.
"Come inside first. Do you girls not feel the cold? You're all wearing so little. I promised to keep you safe, but if you go looking for trouble yourself, don't blame me."
The three girls from earlier weren't too bad—they at least had tights on to keep warm. But Karuizawa? She was out here with bare legs. That took some guts.
"Huh? Kanda, are you worried about me?"
As soon as she stepped inside, Karuizawa's face lit up with excitement.
Isn't it obvious? Kanda Shuichi thought she was acting a little strange.
"You want something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Hot cocoa?"
"Cocoa!"
"Alright, take a seat."
After Karuizawa walked in, Kanda Shuichi filled the kettle with water, plugged it in, then turned back to finish washing the dishes.
By the time he was done, the water had boiled. He made two cups of cocoa and handed one to Karuizawa.
"Smells so good!"
Karuizawa sniffed the cocoa and praised it, which made Kanda Shuichi pause for a moment.
"It's just regular cocoa."
He set his own cup on the table to cool and picked up a Jump magazine to read.
As for why Karuizawa was here, he didn't bother asking. If she wanted to talk, she would bring it up herself. No need to rush.
Kanda Shuichi couldn't go around looking after everyone. They had to learn to come to him when they needed help. That was the only way he could ensure their safety.
Miyake was really good at this—whenever he ran into something he couldn't handle, he would go straight to Kanda Shuichi for advice.
Kushida was similar... No, actually, she wasn't acting out of responsibility. She probably just found it easier to let Kanda Shuichi handle things for her.
But ever since that bet with Horikita, she hadn't caused any major trouble, so things had been relatively peaceful lately.
As for Kamuro, she had at least 20 million points on hand, so Kanda Shuichi was more worried about Ichinose's situation.
Class A, huh...
Thinking about this, Kanda Shuichi let out a quiet sigh.
"Actually, Kanda, Yosuke and I... No, I mean, Hirata-kun and I broke up."
"Huh?" Kanda Shuichi, lost in thought, paused for a moment before responding. "Oh."
"Eh?" Karuizawa blinked. *That's it?*
"This is probably a good thing for you. Too many girls have their eyes on Hirata. Dating him makes you a target." Kanda Shuichi thought for a moment before continuing. "Besides, after nearly a year, you've already secured your place in the class. You don't need the title of 'Hirata's girlfriend' anymore."
Karuizawa nodded. "But once the third semester starts, the class is going to be shocked, right?"
"Definitely. That guy is always at the center of everything. The moment people find out, I bet a war will break out over him."
Thinking about it, Kanda Shuichi felt pretty lucky to have a childhood friend like Kamuro.
Oh, right—something suddenly came to his mind.
"By the way, you don't mind if I spread the news about your breakup, do you?"
"Huh? I don't really mind, but... can I ask who you're telling?" Karuizawa hesitated for a second before nodding, but she was still a bit curious.
"It's Wang Meiyu from our class. She seems to have a serious crush on Hirata."
Hearing this, Karuizawa's face filled with confusion.
Wang Meiyu?
Who the heck is that?
"You know, Wang Meiyu—the foreign student."
"Ohhh, her. I didn't know you were in touch with her, Kanda."
"Yeah, Kikyo gets along well with her, so we've met a few times."
Of course, the part about her liking Hirata came from Kushida, but there was no need to mention that. Let Karuizawa figure it out on her own.
"Ehh~ Kikyo, huh~"
Hmm?
It was obvious that Karuizawa wasn't interested in how Kanda Shuichi knew Wang Meiyu. Instead, she was focused on how he casually said Kushida's name.
"I want to call you by your name too," Karuizawa sighed dramatically, sneaking a glance at Kanda Shuichi.
"Go ahead, I don't mind."
Kanda Shuichi had no particular opinion on this. Unlike Horikita Suzune, he didn't have any strong feelings about it.
Even if Sakayanagi wanted to call him by his first name, Kanda Shuichi wouldn't care. To him, the surname was more important—his given name was just a label.
"Then can I call you Shuichi from now on?"
"Sure, whatever makes you happy."
Kanda Shuichi was fine with it. After breaking up with Hirata, Karuizawa was no longer in a risky position, but she also lost Hirata's protection in some people's eyes.
By calling each other by name, it created the impression that they had a close relationship. To some, it was as if Kanda Shuichi was openly declaring, *She's under my protection now.*
Besides, Karuizawa isn't the only one close to Kanda Shuichi, so it's unlikely to make anyone jealous. In fact, this situation benefits her in multiple ways.
After all, based on how Kanda Shuichi presents himself, anyone who can get along well with him must be pretty capable. Take Kushida from their class, for example.
So instead of feeling jealous, people would probably just think Karuizawa is impressive.
After getting Kanda Shuichi's approval, Karuizawa let out a silly laugh.
"Hehe, Shuichi~"
"Hm? What is it?"
"No, no, it's nothing. Hehe, Shuichi~"
…
Is she losing her mind?
After calling his name a few more times, Karuizawa finally seemed satisfied. A happy smile spread across her face.
"But in return, I'll start calling you 'Megumi' from now on."
"Huh!?"
"What's with that reaction? You don't like it?" Kanda Shuichi was the one confused this time. If she wanted to call him by his first name, wasn't it only fair that he did the same?
"N-No, t-thank you very much."
It was obvious that Karuizawa was completely flustered.
And right after she said that, her face suddenly turned bright red.
"I-I-I just remembered I have something to do! S-See you later!"
Before Kanda Shuichi could even react, she hurriedly put on her shoes and dashed out of the room.
What's with her? Did Sakura's spirit suddenly possess her or something? She was even stuttering…
After leaving Kanda Shuichi's room, Karuizawa placed a hand over her chest, feeling her heart pounding wildly.
What the heck is going on?
I haven't even talked to Shuichi that much, so why do I care so much about how he treats me and what he calls me?
The way I felt jealous and envious whenever I saw him calling Hasebe and Sakura by their first names… And now, the excitement I feel from being able to call him by his name too.
Does this mean… I like him?
He's not even my usual type, but the way he always seems to have everything under control is just so attractive…
I'm really bad at showing weakness, but for some reason, when I'm with Shuichi, I can be my real self. I can let my guard down without even thinking.
And Shuichi always just accepts it so naturally, like he doesn't mind at all…
Oh no… I think I might actually be falling for him.
But he seems to have unclear relationships with a few other girls…
So if I join in, it should be fine, right?
A cold gust of wind blew past, making Karuizawa shiver. She quickly ran toward the elevator while pulling out her phone, thinking about telling her best friend, Sato Mako, about this.
But just as she was about to type, she stopped.
Mako had just been rejected by Ayanokouji earlier that afternoon. This definitely wasn't the right time to bring up something like this.
Nodding to herself, Karuizawa instead decided to tell Sato about her breakup with Hirata.
Meanwhile, the other three, who had either returned to their rooms or gone to hang out with friends, were also deep in their own thoughts.
Kamuro Masumi returned to her room. Like Kanda Shuichi, she didn't really care about Christmas. To her, Kanda Shuichi and Kanda Sakura were living miracles—there was no need to believe in Jesus when she already had them. And if she didn't believe in Jesus, then Christmas wasn't something she needed to take seriously.
"But to think things have really come this far… Sakura, you were right. Shuichi is a flirt and greedy too. There's no way to have him all to myself."
She muttered to herself while pulling out a card and looking at it. If Kanda Shuichi saw it, he'd definitely recognize it.
It was something the fortune teller had given Kamuro when she and Kanda Shuichi went to a fortune-telling event over summer break.
[*Trying to keep him all to yourself won't work. That will only lead to failure. Think carefully about how to win this battle and gain the most from it.*]
That's right—the person who had given Kanda Shuichi that fortune was none other than his own sister, Kanda Sakura.
That was why she had been able to say things so accurately that even Kanda Shuichi himself found the reading unbelievably precise.
But he had never realized the fortune teller was actually his little sister.
Meanwhile, back in her dorm, Kushida let out a deep breath of relief.
Good thing it was Horikita who asked her out today. If it had been someone else, they probably would have kept her out until late, and then she would have missed her meeting with Ichinose—letting the other girl take the advantage.
Damn it, there's really no time to relax.
And Kamuro… that girl isn't to be underestimated either. She actually agreed just like that?!
Kushida Kikyo realized that Kamuro might actually be her biggest rival.
But at least they were from different classes. That gave her an advantage—she was closer!
As for Ichinose, she had joined a gathering with friends.
That whole afternoon party thing? A complete lie. It was just an excuse so she could have dinner with Kanda Shuichi later.
Ah, I'm such a terrible person. Lying just so I can spend Christmas Eve with Shuichi…
But the pressure is insane. My rivals are Kamuro and Kushida?
I can't see any way to win this fight.
"Honami, is something wrong?"
Ichinose's absent-mindedness caught the attention of her classmate, Shiranami Chihiro.
"Huh? Oh, nothing… I was just thinking… love is really hard."
Ichinose's casual remark made Shiranami Chihiro freeze, her mouth slightly open in shock.
Shiranami had once confessed to Ichinose and been rejected.
Ichinose's reasoning? "Yuri is wonderful, but it won't give me kids."
Even so, Shiranami had never given up. To her, Ichinose was the perfect partner.
And now, to see Ichinose struggling over love—romantic love? That hit her hard.
"Honami, do you… like someone? Who is it?!"
"Is it Shibata?"
"No, no, no—could it be Kanzaki?"
Compared to Shiranami Chihiro, the other girls were just excited for the gossip.
After all, there weren't many people Ichinose would actually fall for.
Faced with their relentless questioning, Ichinose gave an awkward laugh, doing her best to explain that she had just been speaking in general, not about anyone in particular.
But there was no way the girls in Class A were going to let this go so easily.
So this Christmas night… was bound to be a sleepless one.