After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

Chapter 153 Between competition and self-esteem, choose self-esteem

The fastest way to get a blackmailer to give up their plans is naturally to change the mindset of the person being blackmailed.

The fundamental reason why blackmailers can succeed is only one: they hold someone else's weakness.

With leverage in hand, conversations with others seem more assertive.

Kohinata Motoyo held sway over Kagura Hikaru's weakness, which was his lingering feelings for his ex-girlfriend Kiryu Hina.

Or should I say, the kindness to protect a girl's reputation.

He was manipulated because of his kindness.

But conversely, if he were not kind or moral, temporarily losing these qualities, then he could completely ignore the leverage in Kohinata Motoyo's hands and break free from her control.

This was indeed a certain way to guarantee victory over blackmail.

Don't care about any compromising photos, let her send them.

Don't care about any hostages, let her tear up the ransom note.

Overcome your own weaknesses and you will be the strongest!

Of course, Kagura Hikaru didn't agree to this.

And it was to be expected, for if Kagura Hikaru were the type of person who was heartless and had a disagreeable character, Ayakoji Chiyoko wouldn't have fallen for him in the first place.

His kindness and caring too much about others, to the point of being somewhat altruistic, were all parts of what Ayakoji Chiyoko liked about him.

What happened next was just as she had predicted.

She declared war on Kohinata Motoyo.

Perhaps that's an exaggeration, but she did something very similar.

After all, she confronted Kohinata Motoyo face-to-face, telling her that she would do everything in her power to break up her relationship with Kagura Hikaru.

Even though Kohinata Motoyo had proactively requested her help in the Student Council election, with her personal charm, gathering more than twenty votes in a week seemed more than doable.

Objectively speaking, Ayakoji Chiyoko actually held Kohinata Motoyo in high esteem.

Twenty votes were enough to leave Kiryu Hina, who had accomplished nothing of late, far behind in the final vote tally.

Yet, Ayakoji Chiyoko still chose to push her away.

This was not rational, not logical at all.

Even if they were to have a falling out, waiting until the week was over and the voting ended to do so, utilising her for maximum benefit, was the kind of decision she would normally make, wasn't it?

Yet now, she was ready to overturn her own principles for a man.

Of course, Ayakoji Chiyoko had to admit, she wasn't doing this solely for Kagura Hikaru.

It was a matter of self-respect.

It was whether to compromise with people she disliked for a better outcome, or to stand up for her dignity.

In between these two outcomes, Ayakoji Chiyoko chose the latter.

Between the election and her self-respect, she chose self-respect.

She had completely given up on the idea of cooperating with Kohinata Motoyo, positioning herself as an enemy, the second in the school after Kiryu Hina.

She was even prepared to risk losing the Student Council election.

But Kohinata Motoyo seemed not to care.

```

Just like humoring a child, she smiled and responded with a few cordial words and then left with Kagura Hikaru.

It was as if she wanted to demonstrate her resolve in front of Ayakoji Chiyoko, interlocking her fingers with his and walking away hand in hand.

What an infuriating woman.

Find your next read at empire

Ayakoji Chiyoko stared at their retreating figures, her gaze dark and stormy.

Unable to change Kohinata Motoyo's attitude, and unable to change Kagura Hikaru's either, was she just supposed to maintain the status quo?

Of course not, there were still options available to her, one of which she could implement right now.

That was to seek the help of Kiryu Hina.

As a former friend of Kohinata Motoyo and one of only two victims in the entire extortion incident, if she were to confront Kohinata, there might be a chance to break through her defense.

After all, in some ways, Kohinata Motoyo owed Kiryu Hina quite a lot, including stealing her boyfriend in secret and taking compromising photos of her.

If that woman had any conscience left, then Kiryu Hina could actually be the second most influential person on her after Kagura Hikaru.

But, as feasible as this idea seemed, it wasn't reliable.

The first reason was that Kiryu Hina currently harbored resentment towards Kagura Hikaru because of his past infidelity.

If she were to take action, one would have to tell her the truth about Kagura's reluctant affair.

Just this step alone was something Ayakoji Chiyoko really did not want to take.

She, too, was a person with her own selfish motives.

If Kiryu Hina learned the truth and her fondness for Kagura rekindled, even though he had now fallen for Ayakoji, there was no guarantee he wouldn't return to his ex-flame because of lingering feelings for her.

With their relationship history so fraught with complications, if Kiryu Hina played her emotional cards right, Ayakoji Chiyoko feared she was in great danger, and might end up losing both her reputation and her man.

She might consider this option if things got to a desperate point and there were no alternatives, but not now.

The other reason was Kiryu Hina's fear of Kohinata Motoyo.

Past traumas had left deep psychological scars on her, making it impossible for her to confront Kohinata, and even if she did, it was likely she wouldn't be able to give it her all and would easily crumble.

She couldn't think of a win-win solution.

Ayakoji Chiyoko clicked her tongue in frustration and turned to leave in another direction, heading back to the Disciplinary Committee.

She hadn't lied to Kagura Hikaru—there was indeed a great deal of work piling up in the Disciplinary Committee, and with the Student Council elections, it was already a busy time.

Lunch break ended, and in the afternoon, it was Japanese language class.

"Everyone knows the ancient Chinese poet Li Bai, the legendary figure who created timeless masterpieces like 'Bringing in the Wine' and 'Departure at Baidi City,' and who is known as the 'Immortal Poet' in China— a testament to his status. But do you know the background of his life, and in which dynasty he lived? Correct, the Tang Dynasty, and Li Bai's era was during the most flourishing period of the Tang Dynasty."

The middle-aged female teacher with a commanding voice was Kagura Hikaru's Japanese language teacher, currently reading from the textbook while writing key terms on the blackboard.

Below her, the students listened attentively since they all aimed for higher education and had managed to get into Yuqiu High School with the intention to study seriously.

However, if one looked at the two students ranked first and third in the class, they were currently whispering to each other.

"Why did you say that to Suse? Do you realize I had to spend an entire hour explaining our relationship to her after you left?" Kagura Hikaru whispered, keeping his voice down and pretending to read his book as he complained to Ayakoji Chiyoko.

Ayakoji Chiyoko, who had been pondering over Kohinata Motoyo's matter and not fully concentrating, suddenly widened her eyes and gave him a glare.

"How dare you blame me? I wanted to ask you why you kept quiet when I talked about her, but now you have the nerve to lecture me?"

"I can't afford to offend either of you, but you shouldn't have provoked Suse," sighed Kagura Hikaru. "You've messed up all my plans."

```