Chapter 141 ⟴ Making the Same Mistake as Everyone Else

"Mmm..."

Raindrops pattered against the window glass.

The steady drumming of rain roused Yotsuba from her sleep.

Heavy clouds blanketed the sky like an enormous curtain, while relentless rain cascaded down the car windows, obscuring the view outside.

The weather had been clear yesterday — how had it turned into such a downpour?

The sturdy windows created a barrier between two worlds: the dry sanctuary inside and the tempest beyond.

Yotsuba weakly raised her arm to prop herself up, her body aching all over.

'Wait! Last night I went behind Miku and the others' backs...' A quick scan of her surroundings revealed only Haruno and Daiki.

On the back seat, faint traces of red blood mingled with white and water.

Yotsuba froze as reality crashed over her. She had only impersonated Miku to protect Nino and the others' love, but now she'd gotten herself entangled in the same web.

If Miku found out, how heartbroken would she be?

If Nino and the others found out... well, that didn't matter.

'Does this mean everyone except Miku is involved?' The horrifying conclusion crystallized in her mind.

Her guilt lightened somewhat — after all, she'd only made the same mistake as Nino and the others. Safety in numbers, she reasoned; surely Miku couldn't kill all four of them.

Besides, with the Yukinoshita family's mother and daughters forming such a strong alliance, would it make sense for the Nakano quintuplets to fight among themselves?

This self-consolation finally calmed Yotsuba's racing heart.

She spotted Daiki with his eyes narrowed and playfully punched him.

"Daiki-kun, you cunning fox! Everything was within your expectations, wasn't it? Since you could tell Nino and me apart, you must have known I was Yotsuba — you just chose to watch!"

Daiki opened his eyes from his meditative state, having spent until dawn practicing the Yin-Yang Primordial Technique and extracting another twenty strands of Yin-Yang Spiritual Power.

"But wasn't you working hard yesterday too? Even after it was over, you still kept going with Haruno like that."

Yotsuba's face turned red — at the time, she had acted purely out of spite. With her physical stamina from years in the track and field club, she had easily overwhelmed Haruno.

"Once Haruno-san wakes up, will she be able to withdraw?" She still naively believed that woman would keep her promise.

"That's impossible." The exhausted Haruno opened one eye and teased, "Besides, Yotsuba-san, are you really okay with this? You wouldn't want Miku-san to know about your relationship with Daiki-kun, would you?"

Yotsuba's eyes widened as she stared at Haruno like she was facing a terrifying demon.

Is this person a devil? Taking advantage of their open-minded family culture to do whatever she wants?

Thinking of the three Yukinoshita family members together made Yotsuba shudder.

Just as she was about to speak, her phone screen lit up.

[Hey, Yotsuba, where did you run off to again? I just woke up and found your bedroom empty.]

Nino, sitting in Yotsuba's bedroom, asked with clear displeasure.

With the disaster at the shōgi hall still fresh in their minds, no one could guarantee similar attacks wouldn't happen again — why was she running around outside?

Hearing these complaints, Yotsuba scratched her head anxiously.

"Sorry, I just went out for a run and got caught in the heavy rain! I'm taking shelter for now, but I'll come back once it stops!"

Hearing that she was safe, Nino relaxed slightly.

[By the way, have you seen Daiki-kun? He hasn't come back either.]

"No, I haven't really been paying attention while running." Yotsuba's heart pounded — she had never been good at lying.

Fortunately, Nino didn't notice anything amiss and, after asking a few casual questions, told her to be careful and come back soon before hanging up.

Yotsuba let out a heavy breath, then turned around to find Haruno shamelessly eating breakfast, already stuffing her face with sausage and eggs, making herself completely at home!

"You untrustworthy person!"

She angrily waved her fist and pushed Haruno aside to use it herself, while Haruno stepped back with a faint smile.

"Daiki-kun... isn't it time for tutoring today... my English grades are about to become excellent... need to finish before the holiday..."

Yotsuba's face turned red as she suddenly remembered their tutoring sessions.

"Yes, your liberal arts subjects are fine now, and once we finish the science tutoring, your grades should rank among the top at Sōbu High School."

Hearing this, Yotsuba made excited mumbling sounds.

She could finally shed her identity as a poor student!

"Come to think of it, doesn't Daiki-kun have a special ability? Just by doing that thing, he can transfer all knowledge to you..." Even Haruno couldn't help but point out the girl's endearing naivety.

Could she really not know the true method of using the Hundred Teachings?

"Huh?" Yotsuba looked at her in surprise.

She had no idea Daiki had such an ability.

She suddenly thought of Ichika and Nino's rapidly improving grades. So this was how they'd achieved such quick progress?

And they'd claimed it was natural talent.

"You mean I wasted so many chances to improve my grades yesterday?" Yotsuba was shocked — she must have really missed out.

"It's not too late now." Haruno said with a mischievous smile.

Yotsuba's cheeks flushed — this was all for the sake of grades.

As the luxury car shook again, the heavy rain gradually obscured it from view.

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When they returned to the apartment, Yotsuba's mind was brimming with knowledge.

She felt incredibly powerful — even the most challenging subjects now seemed as fleeting as passing clouds.

"After this tutoring session, I should head back." Rizu said, who had more than accomplished her tutoring goals during her extended stay.

There was no reason for her to continue staying at the Nakano family's apartment.

After Daiki employed the Hundred Teachings for tutoring and they took another test at noon, all six students passed with flying colors.

"The highest score is Yotsuba 5.0, ninety-nine points." He announced after grading the test papers.

"What? I still got one question wrong? How disappointing." Despite her full stomach, Yotsuba couldn't contain her excitement.

Her grades had far surpassed the other five.

Itsuki, Nino, and the others exchanged meaningful glances, while Miku, completely oblivious to the situation, couldn't help but express her amazement.

"How strange — why did my grades suddenly fall so far behind?" Miku wondered aloud, examining the others' science scores in confusion.

Rizu's success made sense, given her reputation as Sōbu High School's science genius, but the others' improvement was puzzling.

Unable to solve the mystery, she dismissed it, assuming it was because she had let Daiki use his palm, which must have weakened the effectiveness of the Hundred Teachings.

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