Chapter 25: "Please Don’t Refuse, Quillan."

Fortunately for Quillan, the board chairman didn’t keep him waiting too long, and his physical stamina allowed him to hold out until she finally said her name!

"My name is Rumiko Hosokawa, Ruri Hosokawa’s mother, and the board chairman of St. Sakura Academy! Of course, Quillan, you might doubt my age, but I’ll have you know—I’m already thirty-three years old!"

With a smile on her face, she finished her self-introduction, and then Rumiko Hosokawa even extended her hand and shook Quillan’s!

Quillan was a bit embarrassed, but upon hearing that she wasn’t Ruri Hosokawa, he did feel a sense of relief.

If the person in front of him really had been Ruri Hosokawa, then he would have been in trouble.

He had just finished messing with Ruri Hosokawa, only to have her immediately get payback!

So as Quillan shook Rumiko Hosokawa’s soft, delicate hand, he let out a long sigh of relief. Seeing this, Rumiko Hosokawa asked with concern: "You seem relieved, Quillan. Might I ask—is it because of Ruri?"

It seemed Rumiko Hosokawa had deliberately said only half of her name earlier and greeted Quillan as if she were a peer, all on purpose. She had done it to gauge Quillan’s reaction.

After all, Rumiko Hosokawa had previously received complaints about Quillan from her daughter. And when Quillan saw Rumiko Hosokawa’s face—so strikingly similar to Ruri Hosokawa’s—he had been visibly shocked and surprised. That gave Rumiko Hosokawa ample reason to suspect that something unpleasant had indeed occurred between Quillan and her daughter!

Knowing that his conflict with Ruri Hosokawa had been discovered, Quillan had no choice but to confess honestly: "That’s right! Madam Chairman, please let me explain—this whole thing is a misunderstanding..."

Quillan recounted his phone call with Gavin. However, he didn’t mention that he had originally declared he would date every beautiful girl at St. Sakura Girls’ High School. Instead, he changed those words to an expression of admiration and affection for Ruri Hosokawa.

That way, Quillan could explain later that he had just been looking for an excuse to shut his friend up. Since it was his first day at the school and he didn’t know any classmates yet, he happened to see Ruri Hosokawa walking by and just blurted it out!

"Oh? Is that how it happened?"

What happened next caught Quillan completely off guard. Rumiko Hosokawa didn’t listen quietly to the rest of his explanation—she interrupted him halfway through. And what was even more surprising was that as Ruri Hosokawa’s mother, she didn’t get angry. Instead, she folded her hands under her chin and looked at Quillan with a smile, saying: "So you want to date Ruri? How exciting!"

"Uh..." Quillan stared at Rumiko Hosokawa, speechless. To be honest, he was completely floored.

He had just told Ruri Hosokawa’s mother—to her face—that he liked her daughter and wanted to pursue her. And Rumiko Hosokawa, as both Ruri’s mother and the school’s board chairman, not only didn’t sternly condemn his behavior, but actually said she was looking forward to it?

What... was going on?

Seeing the shocked look on Quillan’s face, Rumiko Hosokawa explained apologetically: "Please don’t be upset, Quillan. You see, it’s like this! Ruri’s father suffered a terrible accident years ago and became someone who can neither speak nor move. So Ruri grew up without a father’s guidance, and her personality became very... peculiar. I’ve always worried that if Ruri continues like this, no boy will ever like her, and she’ll never be able to get married!"

So just because of that, hearing that someone wanted to pursue her daughter actually made Rumiko Hosokawa—both a school official and Ruri Hosokawa’s mother—happy?

The Japanese way of thinking really was something else...

Quillan was at a loss. That wasn’t how things were supposed to go at all! But now Rumiko Hosokawa had completely misunderstood his intentions, thinking he liked Ruri Hosokawa!

"I’m counting on you, Quillan!" Rumiko Hosokawa suddenly stood up and bowed to him, startling Quillan!

Quillan looked at Rumiko Hosokawa in confusion and asked: "Madam Chairman, what are you..."

Rumiko Hosokawa explained: "You see, Ruri’s personality has always troubled me, so I sometimes complain about this problem to friends of mine. Coincidentally, Mrs. Kazumiko from the Oda family and I are quite close. After hearing my concerns about Ruri’s future, Mrs. Kazumiko recommended you to me. She said you’re a very remarkable young man, Quillan—even more impressive than her nephew in America. So... we both felt that you would certainly be able to help Ruri. Please don’t refuse!"

"So that’s..." Quillan rolled his eyes and asked: "Is that why I was placed at St. Sakura Girls’ High School?"

"That’s correct!" Rumiko Hosokawa said: "And as board chairman, I used my authority to waive many of your tuition and fees. You are the only special-admission student in all of St. Sakura Academy!"

"Well, that’s..." Quillan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but out of politeness, he could only say to Rumiko Hosokawa: "Thank you, Madam Chairman!"

Rumiko Hosokawa nodded to Quillan, then asked: "So, does this mean you’re agreeing to my request?"

"Well..." Quillan certainly didn’t want to agree, so he tried to decline: "Madam Chairman, please understand. I’m afraid I can’t accept. Because as you’ve probably guessed, my relationship with Ruri Hosokawa is... extremely terrible!"

"And what problem is a terrible relationship like that for someone like you?" Rumiko Hosokawa said with inexplicable confidence in Quillan!

"Fine!" Quillan gave in. He felt like a duck being herded onto a perch—he had no choice now, because he... couldn’t just leave St. Sakura Girls’ High School and transfer to another school right now.

If he had the money to transfer, he would have done so the moment he found out St. Sakura Girls’ High School was an all-girls school!