I Don't Want An Ordinary Life

Chapter 6: No Smoking on Campus

"In any case, because of your Shinomiya family, both my career and love life have completely blown up. If I don't get revenge for this, my mental state is going to explode too."

Ronan pointed at Kaguya, his expression nothing short of ferocious.

"Although my current task is to attend school normally and not cause trouble for you, don't think for a second that you've won."

After saying this, he left without looking back.

"..."

"Um, Shinomiya... who exactly is that Ronan guy...?"

"Ah, just someone I knew from the past."

"He mentioned Hayasaka Ai, who I remember is a student in Class 2-A, right? What's her relationship with you...?"

"We're just ordinary friends. We just happened to take some classes together before."

Hayasaka Ai being Kaguya's personal maid is something Kaguya herself doesn't want Miyuki to know, and she has her reasons for that.

Of course, Ronan doesn't know this either. To this day, he still thinks Hayasaka is just someone who happens to live with Kaguya.

"So... what kind of person is Ronan?"

"Him..."

Kaguya Shinomiya glanced in the direction where Ronan had disappeared.

"Fierce, brutal, someone who disregards rules and can treat people as if they're nothing without a second thought."

"...That extreme, huh?"

...

"Tch, so the Shinomiyas really are at this school, and I just had to get a warning from Aunt Kaname... Lucky you, dodged a bullet this time."

Ronan walked along the stone-paved path of the school, idly kicking a small pebble in front of him.

Back then, he really did have a thing for that girl named Hayasaka Ai. When he had no friends in Japan, she was the first person he could actually talk to.

Although he blamed the Shinomiya family for his failed confession, deep down, he knew that even without their rules, the girl might not have fallen for him anyway.

He couldn't help but recall the conversation he had with his father two days after his heartbreak.

...

"Even now, you're still using that outdated 'Crossing the River in White' strategy? My Queen Roach has already risen, hahaha..."

...

"Wait, no, that's not it. That was what Dad said when he was playing that blindfold game with me. I need to go back one more day."

Ronan couldn't help but recall what his father had said to him on the first day after his heartbreak.

...

"Kid, you've inherited my genes, so there's something I need to tell you. When I was young, I wasn't exactly popular with women either. In the end, marrying your mother was pure luck. So, as my son, it's completely normal for you to get your heart broken. A few more experiences like this..."

"Then I'll find a girlfriend?"

"No, then you'll just get used to it."

"..."

...End of recollection...

"Tch, thinking about it just makes it worse."

Whether his father was actually unpopular with women, Ronan had no idea. But one thing he was sure of was that his father had absolutely no talent for comforting people, and his emotional intelligence was undoubtedly in the negatives.

When his father heard about his heartbreak, he put aside his work and spent the whole day playing computer games with him. But he ended up crushing Ronan in every single match, which only made him feel worse.

Honestly, the fact that his father managed to get married at all felt like some kind of miracle to Ronan.

"Whatever, I'll put all this pointless stuff aside for now. I've got one year left before I can leave Japan. Right now, I need to focus on making money."

Thinking back to the $100 million his father gave him when he first arrived in Japan, after losing $80 million to scams, he was left with $20 million. Thanks to some work in the Middle East and helping with shipping on the high seas, he managed to recover a bit. Now, he's got $23 million left.

"$23 million... If I budget carefully, I can make it through the year. But if I go home with just this much..."

He could already imagine his father's mocking look, thinking, "This kid really can't make it without me."

"...Aside from studying in Japan, Uncle Sagara also got me a position in the research department of the Japanese branch. The monthly salary is $200,000. Then... I guess I'll have to go back to running operations on the high seas? Ugh, if only I were as rich as those bastards from the Shinomiya family."

The total assets of the Shinomiya conglomerate amounted to 200 trillion yen (approximately 2 trillion dollars), with over a thousand subsidiaries under its control. With that kind of wealth, crushing Ronan would be as easy as snapping their fingers.

Of course, that's assuming Ronan doesn't lose his mind and escalate things to armed conflict.

Under normal circumstances, it's practically impossible for Ronan to multiply his $23 million by a hundred thousand times.

Unless he decides to rob someone.

And don't doubt it—Ronan is absolutely capable of pulling off something like that.

"Sigh, this is frustrating. I need a smoke."

Deciding to push aside all the annoying thoughts, Ronan leaned against the corner of a building, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and lit one up.

Click.

With the sound of the lighter, he exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Which idiot thought sending me to Japan was a good idea? Uncle Sagara? Or my old man?"

"Hey, you! Smoking is prohibited on school grounds!"

"Huh?"

Ronan turned his head nonchalantly and noticed two girls standing in front of him.

One of them had chestnut-colored hair tied into two braids that draped over her shoulders. She was pointing at him angrily, her face flushed with irritation. The other girl wore thick glasses and, at first glance, seemed rather unremarkable.

"Cops?"

"Who are you calling a cop!?"

The girl at the front shouted furiously, pointing at the armband on her sleeve.

"I'm a member of the disciplinary committee! What class are you in? Don't you know smoking on school grounds is against the rules!?"

"How should I know what class I'm in?"

Class assignments wouldn't be announced until that evening.

Although Ronan didn't know who this girl was or what exactly the disciplinary committee did, he instinctively felt that she was going to be a handful.

He held out the cigarette in his hand.

"Want one?"

"..."

The girl trembled with anger, clearly furious.

"You... you jerk..."

"Huh? Oh, I get it."

Ronan suddenly understood and pulled out a $100 bill from his pocket, holding it out to her.

"First offense. Let it slide, and we'll pretend this never happened."

This move was something he had learned when he was once brought to the police station after doing business in international countries.

"What do you take me for!?"

The girl's anger was about to explode as she slapped Ronan's hand away.

"..."

This girl was indeed a bit difficult to handle.

Ronan's expression turned serious.

It seemed he had no choice but to use that move.

"Ah... what are you saying? I'm a foreigner, I don't understand (in a heavily accented and broken tone)."

"No smoking on campus, what's your class?" (English)

Ronan: "..."

Damn, this girl is unshakable.

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