After deciding to give up, I became popular

Her eyes were glazed over, her brain nearly crashing, but she still subconsciously closed the door, thinking that things shouldn't be like this. She should have seen the seniors diligently working, setting an example for her. Why did she see a half-naked man... and with his butt facing her?

Is it a hallucination?...

Yes, it must be a hallucination! Because she was too excited last night and didn't sleep well, so she just had a hallucination!

How could this be?! She needs to buck up and strive to become a qualified student council member! Like being half-naked and facing something... how could such an absurd thing happen!

With that president's character, he should be sitting responsibly at the head seat, sipping tea and revising documents, right?

Thinking like this, Iino Miko slowly pushed open the door again, then peeked inside—

Ah, that's right.

Indeed, as she thought, the respectable student council president was now sitting upright at the head seat, diligently handling official business, not at all as unbearable as she had imagined.

"Morn-morning, President..." Holding the clipboard with both hands, Iino Miko's pretty face was red, looking very embarrassed.

Just now, she had done something very sorry towards him, imagining him as someone who was self-stimulating in the sacred student council room...

In short, she was very sorry! She misunderstood the president, she was really sorry!

"..." Summer River Melody did not reply, seeming to be immersed in busy official duties. Only after Iino Miko raised her voice and called out several times did he look up, appearing as if waking from a dream.

"Oh, it's Iino, good morning..."

"Yes! Good morning, President..."

085. Iino Miko's Outburst

"President, is there anything I need to do?" Iino Miko asked softly.

It had been at least 10 minutes since she entered the student council room, but other than exchanging a few words with the president when she first came in, she hadn't heard him say anything else. Plus, not knowing what to do, she could only sit on the sofa and blank out. Iino Miko felt a little restless.

"Anything is fine! As long as I can help."

Summer River Melody looked up at her, just about to say something but was interrupted again.

"Perv... Perverted, strange things are definitely not okay! Anything else is fine..."

"..." Summer River Melody was silent, and after a long time, he slowly uttered a few words, "Then hand me those documents on the coffee table."

He originally thought he had fooled her with Iino Miko's expression, but she suddenly said such a thing. So she really did notice? But he was really just changing clothes, not doing anything strange, just not wearing underwear.

It seemed that the other party was not fooled at all, but was just pretending that nothing had happened to avoid being too embarrassed.

Hmm, she's a good kid, Iino Miko.

"I remember you also have a part-time job as a disciplinary committee member, right? Don't you have to be on duty today?" Summer River Melody asked.

Since the other party was so sensible, he didn't need to pretend anymore. He treated it as an accident, and then acted naturally, interacting as they should.

"Senior Fujiwara asked me to come over, saying that new members should report. She said she would do my work for me." After handing him the documents, Iino Miko stood very obediently beside him, planning to watch him work up close.

"Uh... is it okay to leave it to her?" He was already too lazy to complain, "Ah, it's Fujiwara Chika's fault again." He just didn't expect the other party to trust Fujiwara so much. Could it be that she didn't know her true nature at all?

"Of course, because that's Senior Fujiwara?! The person who won the gold medal in the Pythia Piano National Competition!"

"That was when she was in fourth grade..."

"Not only that, Senior Fujiwara also knows five languages! She's a linguistic genius!"

"But her national language scores are like that..."

"And she's also a talented person with very ordinary grades in Shuchiin!"

"Isn't that a disadvantage..."

"In short! Senior Fujiwara is very amazing, a very powerful person, and someone I respect very much!"

"..." Summer River Melody had to nod woodenly, gaining a new understanding of the other party's purity. As expected, she was just a poor child completely deceived by Fujiwara Chika's appearance.

"Although there are many things I want to say, but... I'll give you a reminder—no matter who it is, don't expect too much from them based solely on subjective assumptions. Perhaps she is not as you think..."

He said it relatively implicitly, after all, he also had the experience of being confused and disappointed after witnessing the shattering of his dreams, so he wanted to remind the other party who admired Fujiwara Chika so much. If she knew that the 'Senior Fujiwara' she admired was that kind of person in the future... she might become autistic.

"Don't expect..." Iino Miko frowned, looking at him with a very puzzled look, "What does the president mean? Could it be... are you telling me not to misunderstand Senior Shinomiya?"

"... Ah?" Summer River Melody was really confused. Wasn't he talking about Fujiwara Chika? Why did it suddenly jump to Shinomiya Kaguya?

"But Senior Shinomiya did propose that kind of deal to me. I saw it with my own eyes... No! How did the president know? Could it be... is the president instructing her?!" The Iino Miko, who had been looking at him very respectfully, suddenly put on a look of being in the face of a great enemy. She took a few steps back, looking at him with a look of anger.

"Sure enough! I knew it! As the vice president, Senior Shinomiya suddenly proposed that kind of deal to me. The president definitely couldn't not know! It makes sense if you instructed her!"

"That's why you said these things to me. The president wants to clear his name, right?! I'm sorry, but I will never collude with you! As expected, it was right not to agree to join the student council before! This student council uses dirty means..."

"No, no, no, wait a minute. I didn't understand a word of what you said." Summer River Melody had a headache.

In his eyes, this first-year junior was inexplicably excited, pointing fingers at him, and even starting to criticize their student council.

He really couldn't understand. He was clearly just talking about Fujiwara Chika's affairs, so how did it suddenly turn in this direction?

"Calm down, let's talk from the beginning, at least... let me understand what's going on."

"..." Looking at Summer River Melody's confused look, Iino Miko was still a little suspicious that he was pretending, but thinking that it wouldn't hurt to ask a few questions, she nodded and agreed.

"Okay, ask away."

"Well, first, what is that so-called 'deal' about?"

"Hmm... that happened last week. Senior Shinomiya invited me to talk, and then proposed that she wanted me to give up the student council election. The reward was that after you guys go to the third grade, she would help me become the student council president..."

"I see..." Summer River Melody nodded slightly. It turned out that not only the clubs, but even the candidates wanted to be bribed. Should he say that she was worthy of being Shinomiya Kaguya? A style that completely lived up to the Shinomiya family's reputation.

"You said just now, 'Sure enough, you instructed her', do you think I am the mastermind behind the scenes?"

"... Yes."

"Okay, I understand." Summer River Melody nodded slightly, having an idea in his heart, "Next is the last question... Iino, have you ever lied?"

"Hmm? Does this have anything to do with what we're talking about?" Iino Miko frowned.

"Of course, you just need to answer yes or no."

"Yes..."

"Very good." Summer River Melody nodded. He had indeed grasped the initiative in the conversation, "I won't ask about the specific situation. I just want to know one thing, your lies... are they for yourself or for others?"

Now that the trap had been entered, it didn't matter how the other party answered later. If it was the former, he could criticize the other party's bad character to quibble and get rid of what Kaguya had done. If it was the latter, it would be easier to solve. He could even be more direct, completely take the responsibility on himself and then dispel her vigilance with a 'sincere' apology.

"..." Iino Miko was silent for a while before slowly saying.

"It's for others..."

086. Join the Student Council, Iino Miko

Iino Miko was not a completely good child, at least—she had lied.

In her opinion, a completely 'correct' person should be someone who obeys the rules, is moral, sincere, and serious... Therefore, lying is not allowed, that is not the correct behavior.

Even if... her lies were to reassure her parents who were busy with work—since she was a child, she had seen and encountered various bad things, being labeled, being treated with abusive words, and even being threatened, etc., but she never revealed her weak side to her parents, never let them worry, and never gave up on becoming a 'correct' person, because she was proud of her parents.

"It's for others." Iino Miko's attitude became firm.

"It's precisely because it's for others that I don't feel ashamed. I'm sorry your plan failed."

"No, you misunderstood." Summer River Melody shook his head, not taking the other party's naked malice to heart at all, "I'm not talking about that shallow thing."

"In your opinion, is lying a good thing? Even the white lies that are for others?"

"Of course, it depends on the situation. Although they are all deceptions in essence, they differ because of the heart."

"In other words, do you approve of that 'feeling of paying for others'? Even if it is with 'bad methods'?"

"... What exactly do you want to express?"

"You seem to be very hostile to me, but we are debating now, aren't we? Please think calmly."

"..." Iino Miko took a deep breath before slowly replying to him, "Of course, the heart that pays for others is worth affirming, but you can't use crooked ways!"

"It's just that it looks like that to you." Summer River Melody's voice was a little low, and the other party's resilience was somewhat beyond his imagination. It seemed that his and Kaguya's status were not high enough in the other party's heart. If it were Fujiwara Chika, who had enough goodwill, she would have been abducted long ago.

Therefore, he had to change his method.

"Take your covenants for example, do you think that 'shaving heads' is a correct mandatory requirement?"

"Of course it's right! Because it is conducive to..."

"So I said, it's just what you think." Summer River Melody shook his head and continued to refute her: "What about other students? What about their parents? What about the school teachers? Have you done a questionnaire survey? If so, how many people agree? Is it more than half?"

"If in yesterday's election, some people just thought it was interesting and voted for you, and you were lucky enough to be elected president, would you continue to issue policies according to your own ideas or determine intentions through various surveys?"

"..."

"You just think that 'shaving heads' helps students develop discipline and can improve the school's atmosphere, but have you ever thought about another possibility—students resist this kind of discipline and even threaten it with 'suspension from school' and other means, leading to a worse school atmosphere?"

Since ancient times, any policy or rule will breed a group of rebels, and he naturally understood this. Now he was exaggerating it a little.

"But some people also said they would support me..."

"How many people? I'm afraid not many, right? Since elections are mainly based on votes, this aspect should also be consistent, but you don't seem to have done a survey, right? In other words... all of this is just what you think."

Iino Miko was a person who didn't know how to be flexible. He had seen it before from Ishigami's mouth and the school rules she advocated, but now he had a deeper understanding.

However, it was nice to say that she didn't know how to be flexible, but to put it bluntly, she could be described as stubborn and unwilling to understand each other.

She may have never stood in the perspective of others to think about problems, so both her thoughts and words and deeds were filled with a strong personal will, and judging things solely on the basis of subjective assumptions could not be called a 'correct' person.

Even Yukinoshita Yukino, who also pursued 'correctness', would not do such a thing.

"I actually admire you very much, Iino Miko." After severe reprimands, there was a benevolent smile.

He didn't want to be like this originally, but the other party's rough jade was a bit difficult to chew.

"I've seen many people like you, but they are all guys who flaunt their own noble character and do dirty things behind their backs, but you are different. I believe you will lead by example and practice the covenants you have put forward."

"But it's not enough just to do that. If you want to practice only what you think is right, that's far from enough. You must go deep into the public, investigate, and understand everyone's intentions before determining the best plan. That's what you should do as a 'student council president'."

"..." Iino Miko looked a little shaken.

Then he should show the other party his fish intestine sword.

"Your father is a judge, right? I wonder if he has revealed to you some 'regrettable cases'—clearly out of good intentions and kindness, but being punished for using inappropriate means, but even in law, such people can still get a chance to reduce their punishment..."

"No matter which world it is, it is not black and white, and there is also a delicate gray line."

"For example, our Neon's Yakuza organization, you clearly know that those are definitely not 'correct' existences, but they have been recognized because there is a demand and a meaning for their existence."

"Of course, you can stand on the moral high ground and accuse them, accuse those things you deem 'incorrect,' but you must learn to accept them, even learn to coexist with them. When that time comes, whether you want to integrate or remain a lotus flower untainted by mud, that will be your choice."

This world is neither correct nor gentle, so excessively pursuing 'the correctness of everything' will only plunge you into pain. Unless you have the power to change the world, you can only ride a small boat, letting the waves crash over you.

"I'm not trying to excuse anyone, but I hope you can understand that the so-called means are simply a necessary condition for achieving the goal. If the intention behind them is acceptable, then slightly overstepping the rules isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it?"

"..."

Summer River Melody never felt that he was a good person, and he knew very well that he would only care about the people he wanted to care about, and everything else had nothing to do with him.

"Acts of kindness should be judged by the heart, not by the deed, for it's hard to find genuine kindness in deeds. I believe that during my tenure, I have never done anything to betray the school or the trust of the students, and I have managed this school well, diligently fulfilling my duties as student council president."

"And Kaguya Shinomiya certainly trusts my leadership ability, and therefore, she did not hesitate to use that method to ensure my election path. Her original intention is naturally good for me, but the method may make you feel a little inappropriate. Here, I sincerely apologize to you on her behalf." Seeing that the time was right, Xia Chuanzou bowed deeply to the other party in order to seek forgiveness.

Originally, he could have avoided doing these things, and even told the other party that he was completely unaware of it and removed the responsibility, but he couldn't do that.

First, Huiye did those things for him, so he had to make corresponding efforts, at least not to let the student sister in front of him feel dissatisfied with her and create estrangement, or even spread that kind of thing in private...

Perhaps with the background of the Shinomiya family, no one would say anything in person, but inevitably some people would discuss these things in private, which would cause some damage to Kaguya Shinomiya's reputation, so it would be best to avoid this situation.

"Of course, you may not be able to trust, or even forgive us, but it doesn't matter. This invitation to join the student council is also a test for us. If you can't trust us, then use your 'correct' qualities to supervise this student council, right? If there is any illegal behavior, you can directly feel it, can't you?"

"..." Iino Miko was silent for a long time before slowly uttering a word, "Okay."