Chapter 139: Fujiwara Miao's Love Letter

"Tsukasa-kun, I’m about to go hand in my family survey form... would you like to make any changes to yours?" Teruhashi Kokomi hesitated, clutching a thick stack of forms as she approached Aoki Tsukasa.

Aoki Tsukasa looked up, frowning slightly. "Why would I change it?"

"Well..." Kokomi sighed, deciding to be honest. Looking at him with concern, she said, "If you fill this out carefully, you can actually get quite a bit of money. I heard the teachers chatting in the office—between the tuition waivers and the subsidies, it adds up to about seventy or eighty thousand yen."

Eighty thousand was certainly not a small sum, but Aoki just smiled. "Forget it. Let it go to someone who needs it more."

He could earn several tens of thousands of yen a day, and since he didn't have many expenses, that money was just a weekend's wages to him. There were several students in the class who did nothing but bury themselves in their studies and didn't seem to come from well-off families; it would be better for them to have it. If he wanted money, he could just earn a scholarship—weren't there small cash prizes for the mock exams anyway?

Kokomi’s eyes turned slightly red, and a massive wave of emotion surged through her heart. *So touching! This is just too touching!*

Tsukasa-kun worked so hard and struggled so much to make a living; how many people in the entire school had it worse than him? And given his situation, if he had just applied earnestly, this money would have been practically handed to him! Yet, he was willing to voluntarily give it up and leave the opportunity for others...

*Oh, it’s just... it’s just too cool!* Kokomi couldn't help herself; she covered her mouth and let out a soft, muffled "Oh wow."

Aoki looked up, speechless, only to see Kokomi bashfully covering her face as she ran away.

*Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?*

Watching her retreating figure, Aoki thought to himself, "I really feel like she has a deep misunderstanding about me... Oh well, it doesn't matter."

Turning his head, he intended to focus once again on the medical book in front of him. However, before he could read a few lines, the tearful voice of Fujiwara Miao drifted in from the classroom door: "Boss, save me!"

Aoki turned to look at Fujiwara’s expression and frowned slightly. "What is it this time..."

"I, I..." Fujiwara walked over to Aoki, looking embarrassed. Behind him, Matsusaka Dabu followed, clutching his stomach and wiping away tears as he laughed hysterically without making a sound.

Maeda Tora, who had been hunched over his desk playing on his phone, saw the two of them and immediately grew excited. "What’s wrong? What happened?"

Fujiwara looked around nervously, leaned into Aoki’s ear, and whispered, "Boss, can you help me steal back my family survey form?"

"Huh?" Aoki’s eyes widened in shock. "Why?"

Fujiwara glanced at Maeda Tora, who was leaning in to listen, and his face flushed red. "It’s, it’s just..."

"Hahaha, this guy accidentally clipped a love letter to his survey form and turned it in!" Matsusaka Dabu, seeing his state, couldn't help but laugh out loud, blurting out the reason first.

Hearing how loudly he said it, Fujiwara quickly covered Matsusaka’s mouth, his eyes filled with shy rage. "Keep it down! Do you want to die?"

Matsusaka, having his nose covered as well, turned bright red and almost suffocated before finally breaking free. He coughed twice. "Easy, easy! I get it!"

"A love letter?" Maeda Tora paused, then burst into hysterical laughter, clutching his stomach and slapping his desk. "Hey, Miao, that is so pathetic!"

"Shut up!" Fujiwara, embarrassed and angry, punched Maeda in the stomach, causing him to double over with a groan.

Fujiwara turned back to Aoki with a look of desperate anticipation. "Boss! Save me!"

Aoki chuckled, speechless. "How did you manage to mix a love letter into the form? And why are you writing love letters anyway?"

Fujiwara lowered his head, feeling awkward. "I, I just wrote a letter and put it under the survey form, and when I handed it in, I accidentally..."

"To whom? Salted Fish-chan?" Aoki watched as Fujiwara nodded shyly. He couldn't help but advise, "You haven't even met your Salted Fish-chan in real life, have you? Isn't it a bit too early to confess?"

Fujiwara stiffened his neck, his face beet red. "My relationship with Salted Fish-chan is already very close. She’s sent me plenty of photos of herself. And, and I didn't say I was going to send it to her right away; I was just practicing."

"Fine..." Aoki rubbed his temples in frustration. "Where did you hand in your form? I’ll just go get it for you."

"Th-that’s already been handed over to the Dean of Students," Fujiwara said, his shoulders slumping like a deflated balloon. "I originally wanted to just grab it from the teacher, but I didn't expect our teacher to turn it in so quickly..."

"Then just go tell the Dean you filled it out wrong and ask for it back," Aoki glanced at him. "Is it really worth getting this worked up? 'Stealing it back'—that’s a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

Fujiwara’s face turned as red as a monkey’s bottom. "What if someone sees it! No, no! Absolutely not!"

Aoki chuckled helplessly. "Fine, I’ll get it for you, okay? I think if I talk to the teacher properly, I can definitely get it back for you without a scratch, and the teacher won't even know what it is."

"Boss~" Fujiwara dropped to his knees, his expression utterly tragic, looking like a miserable, tiny match-selling boy. He grabbed Aoki’s pant leg, his eyes welling up with tears as he choked out, "Boss, please, just find a way to steal it back! You can never be too careful! If this gets out, how am I supposed to hold my head up in this school?"

*Hmph, serves you right.*

Aoki’s mouth twitched. He wanted to let him fend for himself, but seeing his pathetic state, he hesitated for a moment and sighed. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

"Great!" Fujiwara sprang to his feet with a radiant smile. "Yes! Boss!"

"You kid..." Aoki shook his head at his opportunistic grin and gave his stomach a light punch. "Don't get cocky. Start thinking about how to actually steal it."

"Hehehe, Boss, here’s the plan..." Fujiwara began to explain his scheme with a grin. Maeda and Matsusaka listened, looking at each other, and then the three of them turned their gazes toward Aoki.

Aoki’s mouth twitched as he stared at them with a sharp look. He scoffed, "What are you looking at? Just do it."

The three of them immediately broke into smirking grins, showering him with praise. "I knew the Boss was the best!"

"The Boss’s character is truly impeccable!!"

"Boss Aoki is the best in the world!"

Aoki watched as they threw away all dignity, shouting and fawning over him shamelessly in the classroom. Feeling the complex gazes of the people around him, he sighed speechlessly. "Shut up! Get it done before class starts!"

"Yes!" The three stood at attention and gave a synchronized salute.

And just as Aoki, Maeda, and the others were fooling around, two delinquents lurking by the classroom door—Kohmoto Haruta and Kindaichi Ichi—were peeking through the window with grim expressions, trying to uncover Aoki Tsukasa's true colors.