You Will Regret This Ichinose! [129]

"Mmm~"

Lying in bed, wrapped snugly in his blanket, Uesugi Gen let out a long sigh of contentment.

Just a moment ago, he'd successfully sent Ichinose away, which meant he could now enjoy his precious second round of sleep—the kind where he could snooze until the world turned dark.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

Ding-dong, ding-dong~

A leisurely doorbell chime rang out.

Uesugi Gen slowly turned over, cocooning his head in the blanket, and shut his eyes again.

Nope. I'm dreaming.

Ding-dong, ding-dong~

The doorbell rang again, but this time, there was a noticeable urgency.

Still, Uesugi Gen remained unresponsive.

Pretend I'm not here.

Ding-dong, ding-dong~

The third chime came, this time carrying a hint of irritation from the visitor.

After a brief silence, Uesugi Gen finally sat up.

Judging from the increasingly forceful doorbell rings, whoever was outside was absolutely certain that he was inside. There was no point in pretending anymore.

That said, Uesugi Gen was not a morning person.

With an irritated tug, he yanked open the door.

"Whoever you are, disturbing someone's sleep like this should be a crime punishable by death."

"My, my, keeping a lady waiting for so long—what poor manners."

(Simultaneously.)

Both of them paused upon hearing the other's words.

Uesugi Gen looked down.

Standing outside his door was a delicate-looking girl with dreamlike silver hair, a black beret adorning her head, and a doll-like face.

Arisu Sakayanagi.

The former Class A's resident chuunibyou and self-proclaimed genius. She spent her days doing anything but serious work, instead flooding his inbox with spam messages, constantly challenging him to a game of chess.

After being left on read for three consecutive days, had she finally decided to escalate from digital harassment to a full-on in-person ambush?

After a brief silence, Uesugi Gen voiced something he'd been wondering for a while.

"Does your dad know you're this much of a weirdo?"

"#! …There's no need for you to worry about that. My father doesn’t concern himself with my affairs."

Arisu Sakayanagi smiled, though the expression didn't quite reach her eyes.

"By the way..."

Uesugi Gen peeked outside and looked around.

"Where's Kamuro?"

"Masumi had her own matters to attend to, so she didn't come with me."

"Tch..."

Uesugi Gen clicked his tongue quietly.

"My, my, Uesugi-kun, do you like Masumi that much? If you win against me, perhaps I can lend her to you for a while?"

Of course. If you hadn’t butted in back then, my little thief might already be mine. Just thinking about her annoyed expression is enough to make my heart race.

But since Kamuro Masumi had chosen to follow Arisu Sakayanagi, there was nothing he could do about it now.

"No thanks. I have zero interest in playing chess with you. Please leave, Sakayanagi-san. And even if you're using Kamuro-san as a wager, shouldn't you ask for her opinion first?"

Sleeping, gaming, movies—literally anything was more enjoyable than chess. Wasting his weekend on something so pointless was not an option. The only reason he'd played with her last time was because of the uninhabited island deal.

With that, Uesugi Gen reached for the doorknob, ready to shut the door in her face.

However—

A cane suddenly wedged itself between the doorframe, preventing it from closing.

"Turning away a young lady at the door—is that truly how a gentleman should behave?"

"Blocking a guy’s door first thing in the morning—is that truly how a lady should behave?"

Uesugi Gen sighed and reopened the door.

"Is it really worth all this trouble? All this effort just for a single game of chess?"

"It is worth it. Because… I must prove that I am a true genius."

Arisu Sakayanagi smiled, her voice unwavering, filled with absolute conviction.

"A genius isn't someone who wins a single chess match. A true genius is someone capable of shifting the course of the entire world by their own power."

"Perhaps a single match can't prove such a thing. But… if the opponent is a real genius, then that changes everything."

Arisu Sakayanagi’s words carried a clear provocation.

"I never admitted to anything of the sort. And I don’t have time to entertain you."

"Oh, but I think you do. After all… Uesugi-kun, deep down, we’re the same, aren’t we?"

Retracting her cane, Arisu Sakayanagi continued speaking in a leisurely tone.

"Back on the cruise ship, during that special exam… you tossed away eighty million points as if they were nothing more than game pieces."

"You orchestrated such an absurd event simply because you thought it would be fun."

"You’re confident that, even if you played again, you would still win. You believe there’s no one in this school who can rival you, and because of that… you’re bored."

After finishing her analysis, Arisu Sakayanagi scrutinized him carefully before making her final judgment.

"How arrogant, Uesugi Gen."

For a moment, silence stretched between them.

Then—

"Heh…"

Uesugi Gen lowered his head and let out a dark chuckle.

"So… you saw through me, huh? My true nature…"

A victorious smirk formed on Arisu Sakayanagi's lips.

"So, let’s have a match. I promise—I’ll make this exciting for you."

"No…"

Uesugi Gen took a step closer to her, his gaze sweeping over her from head to toe like an X-ray, his lips curling into a wicked grin.

"I just thought of a way to make things even more interesting."

Unfazed, Arisu Sakayanagi took a measured step back, her voice as calm as ever.

"My, my… are you implying something improper, Uesugi-kun? I must say, I overestimated you. If the school were to discover such misconduct, you’d be expelled without question. Not to mention, this is the boys' dormitory."

"You don’t need to worry about that."

Uesugi Gen took another step forward, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"As long as I take care of you here and now, with the Uesugi family's influence, if your father doesn’t want the Sakayanagi family bankrupt and Advanced Nurturing High School shut down, he’ll have no choice but to accept it."

"At that point… you’ll have no choice but to become my personal maid."

For the first time, Arisu Sakayanagi’s expression changed.

She had always lived under the assumption that rules dictated everything at Advanced Nurturing High.

But in the real world… there were people who simply didn’t have to follow the rules.

And Uesugi Gen was one of them.

At this moment, all the wit and intellect she prided herself on suddenly felt utterly powerless.

Panicking, she stumbled backward, tripping in her haste.

Her beret fell off. Her cane slipped from her grasp.

And she landed on the floor with an unceremonious thud.

"Keh-keh-keh…"

Uesugi Gen let out a sinister chuckle, reaching toward her.

Was it really going to end like this?

Seeing his hand draw closer, Arisu Sakayanagi shut her eyes.

…

A few seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

She cautiously opened her violet eyes—

Only to see her beret being gently placed back on her head.

Then—

Click.

A photo was taken.

Before she could react, Uesugi Gen swiftly helped her up, shoved her cane into her hand, and slammed the door shut with a loud bam.

"Ahaha~ Thank you, Sakayanagi-san! Thanks to you, I’m definitely not bored anymore."

…

For two full seconds, Arisu Sakayanagi sat in stunned silence before realizing—

She’d been played.

Her pale, porcelain-like face instantly flushed pink.

Arisu Sakayanagi stood frozen outside the door, her mind struggling to process the sheer absurdity of what had just happened.

One moment, she had been completely cornered—her plans, her logic, her very sense of control crumbling before an overwhelming reality. And the next?

Uesugi Gen had simply… taken a photo, tossed her cane back at her, and slammed the door in her face.

It wasn’t intimidation.

It wasn’t some grand power play.

It was humiliation.

A perfectly calculated, flawlessly executed, and utterly merciless mockery of her entire existence.

Her lips quivered, her breathing unsteady. Her delicate hands clenched tightly around the cane, her knuckles turning white.

Then—

"Not bad, Uesugi-kun. You actually dared to toy with me like this."

She knocked firmly on the door, her tone cool yet carrying an unmistakable edge.

From inside, his voice rang out, completely unbothered.

"Weren’t you the one who wanted a match? I challenged you one-on-one, and you lost. This is what you asked for—how is that my fault?"

Arisu Sakayanagi’s lips twitched.

A one-on-one duel?

How… how was she supposed to respond to such shamelessness?

Her small chest rose and fell, her breath slightly ragged. She gritted her teeth, silver locks swaying as she tightened her grip on her cane.

"Uesugi-kun, I’ll give you one last chance. Apologize."

Silence.

Then—

"No need to be so angry. Consider this a lesson—if your health isn’t great, maybe don’t run around causing trouble."

A vein almost popped in her forehead.

"So, you’re not planning to come out, then?"

"That’s right. Give it up already—I’m the man you’ll never have."

—!

Arisu Sakayanagi had always been composed. Calculated. A true strategist who could bend people to her will without breaking a sweat.

Yet at this moment, all she wanted to do—

Was break down his damn door.

Her fingers trembled slightly before she took a deep breath, suppressing the boiling frustration.

"Just you wait!"

With that, she spun on her heel and stormed away.

…Or at least, that’s what it looked like.

In reality, as she walked, the fury in her expression gradually faded.

Instead, a more complex emotion took its place.

Her brows furrowed slightly, deep in thought.

Her grip on her cane loosened.

Because the truth was—

That hand just now…

---

This is a fan translation of 人在实教，一之濑你会后悔的 by 作者：白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!