Chapter Summaries

Hirata told Bai Lan how he had used violence to suppress bullying at his middle school, then explained his new hope of building a harmonious class at Advanced Nurturing High School. Bai Lan defended Hirata’s past actions and offered advice on resisting bullies, while Hirata asked him not to undermine his goal even if Bai Lan still intended to drop out.

• Hirata recounted how his high-profile campaign against bullies brought fear to his school, prompting stricter management, and led him to rethink how to prevent bullying.
• Bai Lan teased Hirata about his past and suggested that victims should learn to solve problems themselves rather than rely on someone to protect them.
• Bai Lan advised using practical tools and public exposure to fight bullying, then argued that Hirata’s actions had helped deter future abuse.
• Hirata paid Bai Lan for advice and said he still wanted to move closer to a class without bullying, while accepting that he could not force it.
• Hirata warned Bai Lan that if his plans to drop out disrupted class unity, Hirata would oppose him, and Bai Lan asked whether that was a threat.

Bai Lan made a deal with Hirata to stop actively targeting Class D, then chose Kei Karuizawa as a human shield against romantic rivals. He asked Kushida for information on Karuizawa, and Kushida replied that she was coming in.

• Hirata offered Bai Lan 80,000 points a month and help in exchange for holding back against Class D, and Bai Lan agreed to retaliate only if classmates provoked him.
• Bai Lan searched the love letters in his shoe locker for a challenge but found none, then sent polite rejections to the named writers.
• Bai Lan chose Kei Karuizawa as his fake girlfriend and was satisfied when she glared back at him.
• Bai Lan asked Kushida for information on Karuizawa, and Kushida replied that she was coming in.

Kushida used Bai Lan’s advice to ambush Horikita with an insult and escape before Horikita could retaliate, costing Horikita time and focus. After a quiet school day, Bai Lan stayed behind to investigate Karuizawa so he could learn how to gain her loyalty.

• Kushida asked Horikita to be friends, then shouted that Horikita was an idiot when Horikita let her guard down and escaped as class began.
• Horikita stayed angry for over ten minutes, then realized she had missed part of the lesson and planned extra study to catch up.
• Bai Lan spent the school day doing nothing, believing his classmates’ enthusiasm for him would gradually fade.
• After school, Bai Lan stayed behind to investigate Karuizawa and had Kushida collect information about her.

Bai Lan used Kushida’s connections and Karuizawa’s phone location to investigate Karuizawa, but learned nothing useful after following her for hours. He bought the school’s delivery directory for 10,000 points and feasted on takeout, leaving Chabashira exasperated by his unpredictable requests.

• Bai Lan questioned Kushida about Karuizawa’s information, rejected her offer to conduct risky surveillance, and asked her to gather information about the other classes.
• Bai Lan used Kushida’s access to Karuizawa’s live location to follow her after school as she shopped with the Gyaru group.
• Bai Lan watched Karuizawa until she returned to her dormitory, but saw no bullying or clear sign of what she wanted.
• Bai Lan bought the school’s delivery directory through Chabashira and ordered an extravagant takeout meal.
• Chabashira was left speechless by Bai Lan’s request and reflected on how his actions had repeatedly unsettled her.

Chabashira struggled to make sense of Bai Lan’s erratic behavior and spending, swinging between hope that he was guiding Class D and certainty that he was simply reckless. When Chie Hoshinomiya and the other teachers revealed that Bai Lan had sold information to several classes, Chabashira realized he might have earned far more points than she thought.

• Bai Lan repeatedly insulted Class D, while Hirata defended him and restored his standing with the class.
• Bai Lan spent 10,000 points on a delivery menu after already buying information, leaving him with less than 40,000 points.
• Chabashira complained about Bai Lan to Hoshinomiya, who recognized his name and said he might have enough money to order takeout.
• Sakagami and Mashima admitted that Bai Lan had visited their classes to sell information.
• Chabashira realized Bai Lan had sold information to other classes as well and wondered how much he had earned.

After a week of following Karuizawa, Bai Lan finally discovered her going alone to a secluded spot after dark to meet a boy. As he watched them meet, he wondered what Karuizawa was hiding and judged the boy to seem like an honest, easily bullied type.

• Bai Lan learned that Class A remained cautious, Class B stayed cheerful, and Ryuen was forcing Class C into submission despite his injuries.
• Bai Lan continued following Karuizawa after school and exchanged intense, challenging looks with her.
• After a week, Karuizawa parted from her friends one evening and headed alone to a secluded place, with Bai Lan following her.
• Karuizawa hurried toward a waiting boy in a school uniform, and Bai Lan watched their meeting from a distance.

Bai Lan secretly followed Karuizawa and Hirata, expecting to uncover leverage against Karuizawa, but overheard her asking Hirata to be her boyfriend. He misinterpreted fragments of their conversation and concluded that Karuizawa wanted the status of dating someone popular and that Hirata had suggested Bai Lan as an alternative.

• Bai Lan spotted Karuizawa leading Hirata to a secluded spot and wondered if she had learned that Hirata lied to clear his name.
• Bai Lan crept closer and hid behind a flower bed so he could eavesdrop and record their conversation.
• Bai Lan heard Karuizawa ask Hirata to be her boyfriend and assumed she wanted his popularity to make others fear her.
• Hirata rejected Karuizawa and mentioned Bai Lan, whom Bai Lan believed Hirata was recommending as a more impressive boyfriend.
• Bai Lan decided Karuizawa might avoid dating him because she feared being dragged down by his reputation for self-sacrifice.

Bai Lan overheard Karuizawa apparently threatening Hirata and decided to use a doctored recording to turn the tables on her. After Hirata accepted Karuizawa’s request, Bai Lan edited the recording to make her believe he had proof of the threat.

• Bai Lan interpreted Karuizawa’s words as a threat to bully Hirata’s classmates if Hirata refused her request.
• Bai Lan watched Hirata closely, fearing he might lose control and hurt Karuizawa, but Hirata stayed calm and appeared to accept her terms.
• After Karuizawa and Hirata parted ways, Bai Lan considered warning Hirata, then chose to let him worry so he would owe Bai Lan more gratitude.
• Bai Lan returned to his room, connected his phone to his laptop, and used ventriloquism to dub the unclear parts of the recording.
• Bai Lan edited only what he had heard, leaving muffled sounds in place of unclear speech so the recording would seem to show Karuizawa threatening Hirata.

Bai Lan threatened Karuizawa by text, and she panicked as she realized he knew what she had told Hirata. The chapter revealed that Karuizawa had asked Hirata to date her because she feared being bullied again, then ended with an author’s note about the story going premium.

• Bai Lan texted Karuizawa that he knew what she had told Hirata.
• Karuizawa dropped her phone into the bath, retrieved it, and panicked when she saw Bai Lan’s name.
• Karuizawa recalled asking Hirata to be her boyfriend because she feared being bullied, endangered, and terrified if he refused.
• Karuizawa’s past bullying had left her traumatized, so she had modeled her gyaru disguise on the people she feared to protect herself.
• The author announced the story was going premium and set an extra-chapter goal of 50 blades or 5,000 in tips.

Karuizawa sought Hirata’s protection by asking him to pretend to be her boyfriend, driven by her fear that Bai Lan would expose her as vulnerable. After Bai Lan sent her a recording of her meeting with Hirata, Karuizawa realized he had been present and feared he would use what he learned against her.

• Karuizawa recalled how past bullying had taught her to act tough and how Bai Lan’s intimidating looks had made her fear he would attack her.
• Karuizawa asked Hirata to be her boyfriend in name so other students would be less likely to bully her, and Hirata eventually agreed to lend her the label when needed.
• Karuizawa maintained her forceful manner while asking for help, which contributed to Bai Lan misunderstanding her motives.
• After reading Bai Lan’s message, Karuizawa feared that failing to reply would provoke him and sent a dismissive response.
• Bai Lan sent Karuizawa a recording of their secret meeting, and she realized the recorder had been at the scene and feared he knew she was vulnerable.

Bai Lan summoned Karuizawa intending to blackmail her, but her distressed reaction made him suspect that she was actually a victim seeking Hirata’s protection. He contacted Hirata for the truth and prepared to question Karuizawa further, leaving her status unresolved.

• Bai Lan met Karuizawa by the lake and began threatening to expose her, but she misunderstood his unfinished demand to mean he wanted her to be his girlfriend.
• Karuizawa broke down and cried that she could not escape being bullied, prompting Bai Lan to reconsider whether he had mistaken her for a perpetrator.
• Bai Lan reasoned that Karuizawa might have sought Hirata’s pretend relationship to protect herself and felt uneasy about possibly hurting an innocent person.
• Bai Lan emailed and called Hirata, asking for details about Karuizawa and threatening to cause trouble in class if Hirata did not tell him the truth.
• Bai Lan planned to compare Hirata’s account with what Karuizawa told him before deciding whether she was a victim or a liar.

After learning from Hirata that Karuizawa had only sought protection rather than coercing him, Bai Lan apologized for misjudging and frightening her. He promised to keep her secret and help her feel safe, but said she did not meet his requirements to be his fake girlfriend.

• Bai Lan tried to calm the crying Karuizawa, and his warning about her exposed skirt briefly interrupted her distress.
• Karuizawa accused Bai Lan of wanting to force her into intimacy, but he clarified that he wanted a fake girlfriend only as a shield from unwanted attention.
• Karuizawa agreed to be Bai Lan's fake girlfriend because she thought they would both benefit from the arrangement.
• After reading Hirata's email, Bai Lan realized Karuizawa had asked Hirata for protection and had not coerced him, so he apologized to her.
• Bai Lan promised to keep Karuizawa's secret and help protect her, then told her she did not qualify to be his shield and left her asking what his requirements were.

Karuizawa asked Bai Lan to help protect her from bullying, but he explained why a boyfriend could not keep her safe and offered her a choice of solutions. Meanwhile, Bai Lan’s plan to reduce his influence in Class D backfired as Kushida and Horikita’s verbal battles made him the center of attention, while he continued coaching Kushida.

• Karuizawa recognized Bai Lan as principled and dependable and considered him a more reliable ally than Hirata.
• Bai Lan told Karuizawa that his fake girlfriend had to protect herself and explained that even a popular boyfriend could not guard her constantly.
• Karuizawa realized her belief that a powerful boyfriend would prevent bullying was mistaken, and Bai Lan offered her a choice between treating the symptoms and curing the root cause.
• Kushida used guerrilla tactics to provoke Horikita, and their verbal battles became a popular spectacle in Class D.
• Kushida credited Bai Lan with teaching her to roast Horikita, drawing even more attention to him and making it harder for him to lower his profile.
• Bai Lan continued privately coaching Kushida, who practiced especially harsh roasts on him and used subtler, more cutting lines against Horikita.

Bai Lan learned that Ryuen had nearly recovered and went to fight him, while Ibuki explained that she had challenged Ryuen first to defend bullied classmates. Bai Lan revealed he had been waiting to beat Ryuen again, then left Ryuen badly injured as his subordinates obeyed Ryuen’s order to stand down.

• Kushida complained to Bai Lan about Wang Meiyu and Hirata while practicing verbal attacks, and Bai Lan assigned her more information-gathering work.
• Bai Lan learned that Ryuen had brought nearly all of Class C’s brawlers under his control but was avoiding Yamada Albert and recovering from his injuries.
• On April 20, Bai Lan saw Ryuen playing basketball and judged that he had mostly healed.
• Ibuki told Bai Lan she had challenged Ryuen because he was bullying classmates, then backed away in case Bai Lan blamed her for starting the fight.
• Bai Lan said he had planned to wait for Ryuen to recover so he could beat him again, and Ryuen’s subordinates stopped advancing when Ryuen waved them back.
• Ryuen’s pain left him unable to get up, and Bai Lan regretted that he had hit him too hard and ended the fight so quickly.

Bai Lan persuaded Ibuki to let him take the next chance to fight Ryuen, then arranged for her to monitor Ryuen’s recovery and notify him. After Bai Lan left, Ryuen explained to his lackeys why he feared Bai Lan and how their past dealings left him vulnerable to further pressure.

• Ibuki wanted to challenge Ryuen, but Bai Lan convinced her that she owed him a favor for intervening and should let him fight Ryuen next.
• Bai Lan and Ibuki agreed to exchange IDs; Ibuki would alert him when Ryuen recovered, and they would later compete fairly for the next duel.
• Ryuen’s lackeys questioned why he let Bai Lan leave, and Ryuen warned them that Bai Lan was calculating and had already outmaneuvered him before.
• Ryuen told his lackeys how Bai Lan had tricked him after enrollment and claimed he had paid 500,000 points to settle the threat before it grew.
• Ryuen reasoned that Bai Lan had attacked him to collect the 420,000-point settlement compensation and one million points owed for information, while Ryuen remained unable to oppose him until he paid.

Ryuen realized Bai Lan had cornered him financially, then decided to make an alliance by offering tribute in exchange for help unifying Class C. Bai Lan rejected Ryuen’s surrender and threatened to keep beating him, leaving Ryuen pushed toward fighting back.

• Ryuen’s lackeys discussed paying his debts, but Ryuen explained that he would owe 1.42 million points and likely face further demands from Bai Lan.
• Ryuen concluded Bai Lan’s actions had left him unable to repay the debts or unify Class C without offering ongoing tribute, and he wondered whether Bai Lan had planned it all.
• Ryuen decided that Bai Lan’s pursuit of profit might benefit Class C, then emailed him an offer of debt repayment, an extra 500,000 points, and half the class’s monthly living expenses in exchange for letting him unify the class.
• Bai Lan rejected the offer, said he would keep beating Ryuen, and told him to drop out if he had the guts.

Ryuen interpreted Bai Lan’s refusal as a demand for control of Class C and offered him a share of future class gains, but Bai Lan rejected the offer by insulting Ryuen. Ryuen began to suspect that Bai Lan’s repeated phrase “someone like me” pointed to a deeper reason for refusing him.

• Ryuen reasoned that Bai Lan had refused his first offer because he wanted more than half of Class C’s living allowance and might want to command the class in profitable activities.
• Ryuen emailed Bai Lan, inviting him to name his price and offering him a share of gains from activities conducted under his leadership.
• Bai Lan rejected Ryuen’s offer, saying that someone like Ryuen had no right to cooperate with him, and expected this to provoke Ryuen into fighting him.
• Ryuen read Bai Lan’s reply and noticed that both emails used the phrase “someone like me,” leading him to question whether Bai Lan meant more than Ryuen personally.

Ryuen agreed to reform Class C and give Bai Lan most of its earnings in exchange for help raising the class’s evaluation, while Bai Lan expected the agreement to collapse by May 1. With Sakagami witnessing their contract, Ryuen claimed he had a plan to make Class C accept it while obeying the rules.

• Ryuen concluded that he needed to abandon violence and lead Class C to obey the rules if he wanted Bai Lan to cooperate with him, then offered Bai Lan most of the class’s earnings.
• Bai Lan demanded a 30,000-point monthly allowance for each student and eighty percent of the income, expecting Ryuen to reject the terms, but Ryuen accepted.
• Bai Lan reasoned that Ryuen would be unable to enforce the contract without either losing control of Class C or violating its rules, and agreed to the deal.
• Ryuen and Bai Lan signed the contract under Sakagami’s supervision after Ryuen argued that Bai Lan could use Class C’s points to defeat their enemies and protect the class.
• Sakagami asked how Ryuen would make Class C accept the agreement while following the rules, and Ryuen said he had his own ideas.

Bai Lan learned how to unlock the school’s point-to-cash exchange system, but decided to wait until he had more points. As April ended, he heard that Ryuen had returned to action, with Ibuki reporting the news.

• Bai Lan called Chazhu to ask about converting points into cash, and she explained that he needed one million points to unlock unrestricted exchanges at a rate of 0.8 yen per point.
• Bai Lan decided not to spend nearly all his remaining points on the exchange permission and planned to earn more before leaving school.
• On April 20, Kushida told Bai Lan that Class B had finally learned about the Disciplinary Inspection Month exam.
• On April 28, Bai Lan heard that Ryuen had returned at full strength, and Ibuki was the one who informed him.

Bai Lan delayed his planned fight with Ryuen until their contract ended, while Ibuki agreed to challenge Ryuen first. At school, Kushida accidentally revealed her unrestrained side in front of Class D, and Hasebe praised her performance.

• Bai Lan remembered his agreement with Ibuki and asked her to wait until May 1 before he fought Ryuen, but she accepted the chance to challenge Ryuen first.
• Bai Lan arrived at Class D and found Kushida arguing with Horikita in the aisle to his seat.
• Bai Lan poked Kushida to get her attention, and she called him an idiot and a pervert before realizing the whole class had heard her.
• Bai Lan completed Kushida's familiar insult with “Shut up,” prompting Kushida to blush and retreat to her seat.
• Hasebe told Kushida that she liked both her smile and her spirited argument with Bai Lan.