That's the bad thing about Japanese social media apps. After you've opened a message, the other side will see a 'Read' notification, making it impossible to pretend you're offline.
Mori Shinra: Was busy with something just now, couldn't get my hands free. I'm free. Send me your address.
Miura Yumiko: No need, I'll come pick you up.
Mori Shinra: So formal?
On the other end of the line, Yumiko rolled her eyes. It was more than just formal. The way her father was acting, even her grandfather hadn't received such a grand reception when he visited.
Even as they were chatting, her father was at the side, pretending to read the newspaper, but in reality, he was constantly paying attention to her conversation.
It was because of her father's behavior that she truly realized the power of Mori Shinra and the family behind him.
And looking at him now, if the contract couldn't be renewed, it would likely be far more serious than just a severe blow.
Thinking of this, her mood grew a little heavier, and her attitude towards Shinra also underwent some indescribable changes.
Weekend evening.
Miura Yumiko arrived downstairs at Mori Shinra's place as scheduled. The mode of transportation was a Mercedes S-Class business sedan.
It was clear that she had dressed up carefully for the occasion. Although she wasn't wearing an evening gown like at [Angel's Ladder], one could see from the details of her makeup and accessories her high regard for tonight's dinner.
After a simple greeting, Shinra got into the back seat. Yumiko followed, sitting in the back as well, with only an armrest between them.
The car started. Since neither of them spoke after the greeting, the atmosphere in the car was a bit dull.
Seemingly unable to bear the atmosphere, but not knowing what to talk about, she mulled it over for a long time before forcing out a sentence: "How do you think you did on the exam?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, I should be first. If something unexpected happens, then I'll be second."
Shinra had already estimated his score. The science portion wasn't too difficult this time, so the score difference with Yukinoshita wouldn't be very large. The deciding factor would basically be the essay.
His essay was a standard exam-style composition. It definitely wouldn't be as inspired as hers, but with systematic training and a vast amount of reading as a foundation, the final score certainly wouldn't be bad.
So even when the final scores were out, the difference between them would only be around five points.
But in the end, his accumulated knowledge was still too little. If he were given a bit more time to develop, he was fully confident he could firmly suppress her.
To be evenly matched even with a cheat ability, doesn't that mean I'm using it for nothing?
"First or second?" Miura's first reaction was that he was bragging. In her mind, those two positions were basically reserved for Yukinoshita Yukino and Hayama Hayato.
Even Hikigaya, who was third in liberal arts, was still a certain distance behind those two.
"Yeah. The science was a bit too easy this time. Even with a perfect score, I can't pull too far ahead of her," Shinra sighed.
"Easy..." Hearing his words, the corners of Miura's mouth twitched slightly.
Easy? She didn't feel it was easy at all. Forget a perfect score; she would have been satisfied just reaching the class average.
It was clear that people couldn't be judged by the same standard. Although she believed he could get a perfect score in science, she was still skeptical about him getting first place overall.
For no other reason than his previous liberal arts scores were simply too poor.
Because of her family's situation, and his previous performance, she had specifically looked into him a few days ago and found that his National Language scores were abysmal, even worse than Yuigahama's!
It didn't seem like something that could be caught up with just by cramming.
During their conversation, they quickly arrived at their destination. The Miura family home was a detached villa in a wealthy district. It wasn't large, about mid-range for the area.
Upon arrival, Shinra was warmly welcomed by her parents. For a time, both host and guest were happy. No one mentioned anything about business, as if they were simply entertaining their daughter's classmate.
But the problem was, for just a classmate, this level of hospitality had clearly exceeded the standard. Even a son-in-law wouldn't have received more.
Of course, this situation only lasted until the end of the dinner. Miura's father was clearly getting impatient.
He hadn't expected Shinra to be so composed. His daughter should have mentioned the company's situation to him, but Shinra acted as if he knew nothing about it, not once steering the conversation in that direction throughout the entire meal.
Even when he deliberately tried to lead the topic that way, the other party skillfully deflected it. It was as if he knew what he was thinking. The rhythm of the conversation seemed to be led by him, but in reality, it was firmly controlled by the other party.
If he didn't know he was a high school student, Miura's father would have thought he had run into an old veteran of the business world!
Are the children of large families all so outstanding these days?
Watching the time tick by, he finally made up his mind, no longer planning to beat around the bush with this little fox.
However, just as he was about to speak, he heard Shinra say, "Uncle Miura, why don't we go to the study to chat?"
Miura's father: ...
It was like having a lump of phlegm stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down. In the end, he could only agree. "Alright."
And so, the two of them went into the study.
Miura Yumiko was left outside. She had heard the entire conversation between her father and Shinra. To be honest, she didn't understand much of it.
Unlike the social interactions at school, their conversation had been rather rambling. For example, one second they were talking about school life, and the next, they had jumped to the international situation, leaving her completely baffled.
But although she didn't understand the conversation, she had clearly seen Shinra's final move of suggesting they go to the study.
It was her father who had lost his patience and wanted to lay his cards on the table, but Shinra had perfectly timed his proposal for a private talk at that exact moment.
It was clear at a glance who held the initiative.
Even if Shinra was naturally in an invincible position due to the contract, this result still exceeded her expectations.
In her mind, her father had always been an elite figure. But he had been at a disadvantage in a conversation with a boy from her class who had always had a low presence.
This left her with mixed feelings. According to her plan, her mission was completed after bringing him here. What happened next had nothing to in with her, and she should have gone back to her room to do her own thing long ago.
But for some reason, she chose to stay in the living room on the first floor, quietly waiting for them to come out.
After an unknown amount of time, the door opened. Her father was all smiles, the faint melancholy that had been on him previously completely swept away. He had clearly achieved a satisfactory result.
Shinra was also smiling, though not as obviously as her father. But he didn't look like he had lost out either. It was more like... everything was under control?
Miura Yumiko didn't understand. After driving Shinra home, she returned to find her father still sitting on the sofa.
Seeing her come back, he opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but as if constrained by his fatherly pride, he could only say gruffly in the end, "Yumiko, your allowance is tripled."