Chapter 44: You’re Even Going After Your Sister-in-Law?

Hearing Aphrodite say this, my mind was put at ease, and I stepped out from the corner toward the backstage area. By this time, all the preparations on stage were complete, and students with time to spare were gradually trickling into the auditorium!

On the left side of the stage, dressed in a pure white evening gown, Kakae stood looking lovely, gesticulating as she rehearsed her script. She was too far away for me to hear what she was saying, but the person standing next to her made my stomach turn. For no other reason than it was Shohi—the guy who had bullied me since we were kids. Dressed in a white tuxedo, he looked undeniably handsome, and by the looks of it, he seemed to be hosting as well.

I was genuinely baffled. Though he wasn’t terrible, Tokyo University was a world-renowned institution packed with top talents—it was the kind of place where if you threw a stone at random, you’d hit either a top scorer from this province or a top scorer from that city. How could it possibly be his turn to host? But after thinking it over, it wasn’t surprising. Since Hikaru Li was the Student Council President, a word from him would ensure no one offended him over such a minor issue. Realizing this, I couldn’t help but despise Shohi even more.

Looking quite distinguished in his white tuxedo, Shohi was hovering around Kakae, trying every trick in the book to curry favor with her, while Kakae was doing her best to dodge him. Shohi’s eyes already gleamed with lust, as if sizing up his prey. Having met Kakae before, Athena was infuriated to see Shohi harassing her. "Fuitsu, go up there and kick that scoundrel out!" she said indignantly.

A flicker of subtle anger also appeared on Aphrodite’s naturally noble and elegant face, and she signaled for me to go over. Since I already had a very favorable impression of Kakae, my senior classmate, I naturally had to lend a hand! Besides, I disliked Shohi—a fellow member of my family—and remembering his disgusting face made me want to kick him until his face turned into a shoehorn.

I walked up to them, calling out from afar, "Kakae, what are you doing?"

Hearing my voice, Kakae turned around and looked at me with delight. "Fuitsu, you’re here?"

The moment Shohi saw me, his face fell instantly. Damn it, do I owe you money or something? Ignoring him completely, I walked straight over to Kakae’s side. Looking at her with a gentle smile, I lightly grabbed her fair, smooth little hands and said tenderly, "Kakae, why do you never listen to me? I told you not to chat with random men—I’ll get jealous!" I swear, I uttered those words purely on instinct.

Holding her small hands, I felt her body quiver slightly. Hearing my words, her face flushed red with bashfulness. She lowered her head as fine sweat quickly formed in her palms, and she murmured in a voice as quiet as a mosquito, "I’ll listen to you from now on!"

I was stunned for a moment. Could she really be willing to stop talking to other men for my sake? However, with Shohi standing right next to us, I couldn’t break character—he wasn’t a complete fool, after all. Setting that question aside for the moment, I cast a provocative glance at Shohi, who stood nearby looking completely dumbfounded.

Seeing Kakae lower her head shyly like a young girl in love, Shohi no longer doubted it. His face turned livid, and seeing my arrogant expression, his rage erupted. "You useless trash!" he hissed angrily. "How do I run into you everywhere? Are you trying to steal my property?"

"Property? What property of yours is there to steal? Your shamelessness, or your idiocy? Because I certainly don’t want those!" I scoffed, casually wrapping an arm around Kakae’s slender waist.

"You’re the idiot! Aren’t you stealing my girl right now?" Flustered and furious, Shohi blurted it out without thinking.

Before I could even speak, Kakae was already glaring at him. With contempt in her eyes, she shouted, "You really are shameless! Who’s your girl? Stop reaching for the stars! I already have a boyfriend, and someone like you isn’t even fit to carry my shoes!" As she mentioned having a boyfriend, she stole another shy glance at me.

"A toad that ate swan meat is still a toad!" I piped up in agreement.

Since both Kakae and I spoke quite loudly, the surrounding crowd erupted into laughter upon hearing us play off each other. Shohi had never suffered such humiliation before; he was about to charge at me to fight, but realizing how many people were watching, he hesitated, his long horse face turning beet red.

Hearing my backing, Kakae giggled as well, her waist swaying gently with her laughter, completely forgetting that my hand was still resting on it. Since it was still the tail end of summer, people weren’t wearing many layers, so I quietly took advantage of the situation, thoroughly enjoying the captivating feel of her waist.

"Kakae, how could you fall for such a useless guy? I’ve been head over heels for you from the moment I set eyes on you!" Shohi pleaded, still refusing to give up.

Hearing him say this, the surrounding crowd showed disgust, and some even started shouting abuse. "Damn it, are you from the North? If you’re a Northerner, I’ll break your legs today so you stop bringing shame upon us!"

"What do you mean? Do you think us Southerners like shameless men like him?" another chimed in. "We utterly despise people like this too! Buddy, I advise you to stop dreaming. Look at who’s standing in front of you—the top scorer of the entire National Exam! If you die, the university won’t care, but if you harm even a single hair on his head, I guarantee you won’t walk out of Tokyo University’s gates alive!" a burly male student threatened Shohi.

My mind raced, and a wicked idea struck me. I quickly waved my hands at everyone, putting on a reluctant, pained expression. "Everyone, please don’t get worked up. He’s actually my younger cousin. My name is Fuitsu, and his name is Shohi."

As soon as I said this, everyone froze. Kakae also looked at me in total confusion, wondering what trick I was playing!

Just as I expected, after a brief pause, the crowd’s insults grew even fiercer: "You shameless bastard! You won’t even spare your own sister-in-law? Are you even human?!" Even the girls who had previously harbored fantasies about Shohi due to his handsome looks began to look at him with disdain—after all, no girl liked someone like that.

Seeing so many people looking at him with fury, Shohi knew that if he did anything to displease the crowd right now, the consequences would be dire. He had no choice but to swallow his anger, glaring death at me. "Just you wait! Sooner or later, I’ll make you realize the cost of crossing me!" With that, he turned and fled frantically toward the backstage area.

Seeing the villain scurry away in disgrace, the crowd saw no point in staying, and after giving Kakae and me friendly, knowing looks, they dispersed.

Kakae raised her small face, looking at me coyly. "They’ve all left... could you... could you take your hand off now?"

Only then did I realize that my hand was still resting on her waist—so slender you could wrap a single hand around it. I quickly withdrew my hand and said embarrassed, "I’m so sorry, I completely forgot for a moment!"

"It’s okay. In fact, I should thank you for coming to my rescue!" Kakae smiled gently.

"There’s no need to thank me. He really is my cousin—my uncle’s son. I hate him too, so don’t take it to heart!" I explained hastily.

Hearing this, Kakae raised her head, gave me a forced smile, and stammered, "Is... is that so?"

I couldn’t detect any joy in that smile; instead, there was a trace of disappointment.

I nodded and said, "Yeah, he’s my cousin. Well, everything’s fine now. Go ahead and do what you need to do. Let’s grab dinner together after the evening show ends!"

"Mhm, okay!" Kakae agreed with a nod, turning back three times with every step as she walked toward a small dressing room nearby.