After seeing off Kushida Kikuno, Hashima sat at his desk in the dormitory, staring at his system panel.
It had to be said that following the analysis of stock information was the optimal strategy for operation, and it would never go wrong. Although he had previously lowered the short-haired girl's stock price to its lowest point, it had now rebounded to 40.
Following this line of thinking and the opponent's trading methods, it seemed that he could smoothly raise Kushida's stock price again.
The young man examined the Stock Interface on the system panel. Currently, he held four stocks, and he was working hard to raise the prices of Kushida Kikuno Stock, Sakura Airi Stock, and Shiina Hiyori Stock.
The highest-priced stock was still the first one he acquired, Ichinose Honami Stock, currently priced at 170 points. Since he knew that the rise in stock prices represented an increase in favorability, Hashima had to be even more cautious in his operations.
Ichinose Honami's previous confession made the young man acutely aware of the issues that could arise during stock manipulation. Before deciding on his future plans, he needed to be more mindful of his actions.
The relationship could not undergo any substantial changes for the time being; this was the most fundamental rule. Moreover, to ensure that no unexpected situations would disrupt his plans, he needed to control the rate of stock price increases.
If he solely focused on raising stock prices without being mindful, it could lead to unpredictable behavior from the other party. This would require more effort to manage and maintain in the future, which would clearly be counterproductive.
As for lowering stock prices, after experimenting with Kushida, the young man planned to select the next target for price reduction. This person had to meet multiple criteria and could not be chosen lightly.
For example, considering Ichinose Honami, with whom Hashima currently had the closest relationship, there were three different approaches to lowering her stock price.
Stock Price Reduction Risk: Lying to her, doing things detrimental to the class, betraying classmates
Doing things detrimental to the class and betraying classmates were not options Hashima would consider. After all, his goal was to lead his classmates to graduate as Class A, and such actions would be extremely troublesome. The potential risks outweighed the benefits, so these options could be directly eliminated.
The only remaining option was to lie to her.
In fact, since getting to know the pink-haired girl, Hashima had lied to her more than once. However, since Ichinose hadn't discovered the lies, her stock price hadn't decreased.
If he wanted to pursue this approach, he could expose some of the lies directly to her, which would be more beneficial to his interests.
But ultimately, Hashima felt differently about Ichinose Honami compared to the other girls.
He wasn't a robot blindly executing plans for system funds. After spending a long time together, it would be impossible for him to feel nothing towards Ichinose Honami.
However, he was still far from wanting to become her lover, which was why Hashima had rejected the girl's confession, using delaying tactics to temporarily shelve the issue.
"For now, I'll focus on the remaining three."
Hashima rubbed his chin. As for Ichinose Honami, since her stock price was currently the highest, to avoid affecting his future manipulation plans, he could temporarily leave her alone. Besides, the pink-haired girl had been quite busy lately.
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In the following days, Hashima continued to execute his manipulation plan.
Ichinose Honami Stock
Since Ichinose Honami had joined the student council at Hashima's recommendation, the two had less private time together.
The pink-haired girl was naturally diligent, whether in her studies or in maintaining relationships with her classmates. After accepting Hashima's request to have her and Ando investigate Nanase Ya, she had been working very hard in the student council.
Even many upperclassmen praised Ichinose, and her abilities were fully demonstrated in the student council.
Sakura Airi Stock
Sakura Airi still maintained a distant attitude in class, but she would actively message Hashima whenever she had free time.
Hashima naturally responded enthusiastically. Although the dual-identity idol's stock price was also high, she was not in the same class as him, so their private time together was limited. This allowed him to control the distance effectively.
Under Hashima's deliberate control, he met with Sakura Airi about twice a week.
One meeting was to help her choose outfits for her blog photos, and the other was to take photos together in various hidden spots around the campus.
When they were alone, Sakura Airi became more talkative. Although she didn't dare express her feelings to Hashima, being able to spend time with him like this was enough to make her happy.
Shiina Hiyori Stock
This quiet girl from Class D would visit the library almost every day, so Hashima didn't need to message Shiina Hiyori to find her; he just needed to go to the library.
And her seat was always the same—the row where they had read books together before.
Since Hashima was a fan of mystery novels and Shiina's stock price was currently low, he took the initiative to start conversations and discuss various mystery topics with her.
Although they started as book friends and enthusiasts, Shiina Hiyori gradually realized that this Hashima classmate was becoming increasingly important to her during their interactions.
It wasn't just about discussing books; even his perspective on many things and his view of the world resonated deeply with her. Thus, their relationship naturally grew closer.
From discussing mystery novels and literary classics, they eventually talked about various topics, and Hashima also learned about the quiet girl's daily habits in many aspects.
In this long-term relationship maintenance, Hashima successfully raised Shiina's stock price to 80 points. If calculated based on the full stock holdings, cashing out would yield over 200,000 funds, which was a very pleasing result.
Kushida Kikuno Stock
As for Kushida Kikuno, her manipulation was more complicated compared to Shiina Hiyori and Sakura Airi. Unless Horikita Suzune did something completely unexpected, Kushida wouldn't proactively ask Hashima to take action.
However, even if Hashima didn't actively investigate Horikita Suzune, it didn't mean Kushida Kikuno wouldn't come to him.
After Ichinose Honami started going to the student council every day after school, the regular visitor to Dorm 303 became Kushida.
Unlike Ichinose, Kushida would message Hashima before each visit, confirming his presence in the dorm, and would appear at his door within five minutes.
Spending time with Kushida Kikuno certainly didn't bore Hashima. Not to mention that she was a beautiful girl, but more importantly, she represented 5,000 shares of high-quality stock. Building a trusting relationship was also a good way to raise stock prices.
After Kushida's stock price rose to 40 points last time, it increased once more, but it had almost nothing to do with Horikita Suzune.
That day, the two had dinner in Dorm 303, and Hashima proactively brought up the "handprint" incident from that night.
"So, does Kushida understand now? Leaving handprints is useless, after all. Our school uniforms are made of high-quality material, and fingerprints won't remain for long, or even leave much trace."
Hashima took a sip of water from his glass and smiled faintly, "That night, Kushida must have been too anxious, which led to such a desperate move."
"What do you mean? Are you calling me stupid?"
Kushida held her bowl, her cold gaze fixed on the boy sitting across from her.
Over time, when she spent private time with Hashima, she wouldn't wear her mask. Without deliberately maintaining her gentle and sweet demeanor, Kushida Kikuno was actually quite quiet in her normal state.
Perhaps it was because playing the role of the class's popular girl was too tiring, so when alone with Hashima, she didn't want to make too many expressions.
But her attacks were just as sharp as ever.
"Of course not. If someone discovered my secret, I might also make some rash decisions due to the sudden situation." Hashima shook his head and said softly, "So I think it was a unique coincidence."
"How so?"
Kushida swallowed a mouthful of rice, her eyes fixed on the other person's face. She had only recently started eating at Hashima's place, initially because she happened to catch him cooking and, after tasting his food, realized that this guy was actually a decent cook.
Anyway, she didn't have many private points left, and eating here could save her money, so she gradually got used to having meals here.
"If not for that coincidental event, perhaps I wouldn't have had the subsequent series of stories with Kushida."
Hashima smiled inwardly; this was indeed true.
At that time, he had just purchased Kushida Kikuno's stock, but the price increase wasn't fast. The "handprint" incident that night was a crucial turning point in their relationship.
From pretending to like her to the subsequent stock price reduction and now re-establishing a trading relationship, everything stemmed from that night's sudden event.
Watching the boy's nostalgic smile, Kushida Kikuno suddenly felt her heartbeat quicken uncontrollably.
That night, she had indeed acted impulsively, using that method to force him to keep her secret. But she hadn't expected to become so entangled with this guy afterward.
"I'll keep this secret for Kushida, so you don't need to worry."
"Hmph, even if fingerprints don't remain, don't forget our current cooperative relationship. If you want me to gather intelligence for you, remember your position."
A faint blush crept onto the short-haired girl's cheeks, and her previously cold tone softened considerably.
Your attitude has greatly satisfied Kushida Kikuno. She trusts you even more. Kushida Kikuno's stock price rises by 20, current price: 60.
"Of course."
The boy glanced at the system panel, his smile deepening.