Chapter 104 Do you know this is the men's restroom?
Following Ayakoji Chiyoko, the one who caused another wave of screams from the girls was Kagura Hikaru, who appeared in his swimming trunks after taking off his shirt.
After placing first in the 3000-meter endurance run yesterday, he became quite a topic of discussion on the campus forum. Some students had secretly taken photos of him and uploaded them online, and somehow, those photos went viral. The comments underneath were hysterical, with people saying they wanted to lick his sweat or smell his armpits.
It was so cringeworthy that it made one's skin crawl. Kagura Hikaru took a quick look and closed the browser immediately. It was more terrifying and frightening than encountering a billion serial killers.
Even now, standing on the swimming pool's starting platform, Kagura Hikaru felt a bit intimidated, afraid that someone taking photos outside would post them online and create another frenzy. He just wanted to finish the competition quickly.
With the sound of a whistle, Continue reading on empire
Kagura Hikaru shot out faster than anyone else, diving into the water with the most standard form. After a segment of underwater swimming, he surfaced, having already put an entire two meters' distance between himself and the other swimmers—his technical gap was even more exaggerated than Ayakoji Chiyoko's.
With his maximum level LV5 swimming skill, speaking solely of technique, he was on par with Olympic champions, completely defying logic.
While others had only just reached the middle of the pool, Kagura Hikaru was already at the end, turning over in the water, performing a beautiful flip turn with such perfect form it was elegant.
The gap grew wider and wider.
The competition lost its meaning from that moment on.
In just a short while, Kagura Hikaru won the 100-meter freestyle for men with an entire pool's length between him and the second finisher, without a shred of suspense.
Next were the 50-meter freestyle, the 800-meter freestyle relay, and water polo.
Except for the relay, which had some suspense due to the team members, all the events featuring Kagura Hikaru inevitably became his personal stage.
But neither his opponents nor his teammates could foster feelings of envy towards him.
With a large gap, people tend to feel envy,
but when the gap is so vast that they are certain they could never catch up, it's a different set of emotions that come to the fore.
That would be admiration and respect.
Those who don't understand the sport are only aware that Kagura Hikaru is very impressive, while those in the know are aware of just how incredible he really is.
His agile strokes and stable rhythm give him the air of a professional athlete, identical to those seen on television.
No, logic suggests he should be a professional athlete, given that the timing for his freestyle events was on par with the national team's standards.
He's like a machine, a racing machine.
Once he starts up, he surpasses his opponents and leaves them far behind like an F1 race car tearing through the track.
So why is such a person a high school student?
A crowd of bewildered sports students saluted him as they passed by.
As soon as Kagura Hikaru finished his races, the coach for the Uka Swimming Club was practically on his knees begging him to join the team, saying he was a world-class talent and the hope of the Island Nation, and so on.
It was similar to what the Track and Field Club coach had said yesterday.
Why don't you have a fight about it first?
"Mr. Kagura, here, a towel,"
Saijo Mari appeared out of nowhere, smiling like she did yesterday as she offered a towel.
Just as Kagura Hikaru was about to take it, he saw from the corner of his eye Ai Cheng Hua Lian also holding a towel and running over with water. Seeing them, she slowed her pace and hesitated.
The towel suddenly felt too hot to handle.
He withdrew his hand, "Sorry Senior Saijo, I think I'd like to go rinse off directly."
"Eh?"
"Thanks for the towel,"
Kagura Hikaru waved to Ai Cheng Hua Lian not far away and hurriedly ran to the shower room.
Watching him go, Saijo Mari turned to see Ai Cheng Hua Lian standing behind with a towel as well, squinting her eyes with understanding.
The two looked at each other from a distance for a few seconds, each snorting in their mind and walking away.
After Kagura Hikaru finished showering and changed back into his uniform, the two girls were nowhere to be seen, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
He had no desire to get caught up in the girls' competition.
But as soon as he left the pool, he ran into his father and stepmother.
"Kogane, you're so amazing. You were first in running yesterday and first in all your swimming events today." As soon as she saw him, his stepmother began to lavish praise on him with a smile.
"No, just lucky."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"It's not just luck. I saw you pull way ahead of the others. You must have practiced hard. Are you planning to pursue athletics?"
"That... I haven't decided yet. We can talk about it later."
Father, with a stern face, said nothing beside them, only uttering "Let's have lunch together later" upon meeting and then watching his wife and son talk.
Kagura Hikaru smiled awkwardly in response.
There are two kinds of students in this world: those who wish to see their parents at a sports day, and those who do not.
He was of the latter type.
It's not that he didn't like them; objectively speaking, his father and stepmother were very good to him.
But the thought of adults watching him compete always made him feel embarrassed.
And then there was the fact... that he could clearly sense his stepmother was deliberately trying to ingratiate herself with him.
Ever since his father remarried, Kagura Hikaru had found it difficult to fit into the new family, and his stepmother probably considered that, always hoping to close the distance between them to form a real mother-son relationship.
The stepmother was a gentle person, kind-hearted, and a very good cook.
But Kagura Hikaru did not want her to become his mother.
He didn't want to acknowledge that she had become a substitute for his biological mother, nor did he want his real mother's place in his heart to be replaced.
Perhaps, that was the true point of contention within this family.
The reason he could not blend in.
"Sorry, I need to use the restroom."
Kagura Hikaru played his excuse card and went to the bathroom to catch his breath.
While washing his hands, he watched, wide-eyed, as Ayakoji Chiyoko walked right in.
Kagura Hikaru's eyes widened: "Do you know this is the men's restroom?"
"I know, I came to find you."
She didn't walk into the wrong place!
There were a few other boys at the urinals, and Ayakoji Chiyoko glanced over with a release of Spiritual Pressure, making them shake like sieves and hastily zip up before running out.
The restroom became quiet in an instant.
"What is so important you couldn't say outside that you had to discuss it in here?" Kagura Hikaru asked with a sense of resignation.
"If we talked outside, your parents might see," replied Ayakoji Chiyoko, crossing her arms.
"The atmosphere between you and your family seems off. Are you not getting along with them?"
He thought she came to discuss something serious but turned out she just wanted to chat about family matters.
He sighed, "Eavesdropping on others is considered bad manners."
"I didn't eavesdrop; the conversation just entered my ears without permission."
"At least come up with a believable excuse when you're being evasive..."
Kagura Hikaru shook his head helplessly.
He found himself feeling helpless in front of Ayakoji Chiyoko more often than he did in front of Hina.
Hina always offered irresistible conditions and quietly achieved her goals.
As for Ayakoji Chiyoko, she tended to be forceful, the type who would board the train first and buy the ticket afterward.
For someone like Kagura Hikaru, who wasn't very good at refusing others, Ayakoji Chiyoko's assertiveness was somewhat his bane in a sense.
Not to mention her beyond-normal curiosity.
If Kagura Hikaru dared to dodge a topic she brought up, he would surely be subjected to all-around probing and harassment afterward.
So, what else could he do?
"You want to hear about my family affairs?" Kagura Hikaru looked at his reflection in the mirror, pursing his lips, "It's hardly a pleasant story."
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