And even if he knew what kind of person Bai Lan was, so what?
The conflict between Bai Lan and the class was still there.
If mutual understanding were enough for people to coexist peacefully, there would be no wars in the world.
In his view, rather than helping Hirata understand Bai Lan, it would be simpler to directly help Hirata resolve the conflict between Bai Lan and the class.
Ayanokoji quickly came up with a solution.
After coming up with it, Ayanokoji did not immediately say it out loud. After all, that would not fit his persona as an "ordinary person."
Ayanokoji decided to package himself up a little and find a reason why an "ordinary person" like himself could solve a problem even someone as outstanding as Hirata could not...
16, Does Bai Lan have a communication disorder?
Ayanokoji: "Hirata, have you ever considered this? Bai is an international student from Huaguo."
Hirata: "Huaguo? Could it be because of history..."
"No, no, no! If that were the case, he wouldn't have come here to study abroad in the first place. What I mean is, could it be that his Japanese isn't very good?"
"No way. I think he speaks quite fluently."
"He told me that he only scored... 44 points in Japanese Language on the entrance exam."
"44 points?"
Japanese Language classes in Japan naturally taught Japanese, and Japanese was a skill that Japanese citizens used every day, from childhood onward. Even without deliberately studying, one's score generally would not be too low.
"Then it seems his Japanese really isn't very good..." After hearing the score of "44," Hirata immediately accepted the explanation. "Someone with a normal level of Japanese could score around sixty even with a casual attempt. And... wow~ He even told you that? It seems your relationship really is quite good."
"..."
Ayanokoji thought: Looks like I can't keep scoring fifty in Japanese Language from now on. In this subject, sixty is apparently considered 'ordinary'; merely passing isn't enough.
Ayanokoji then continued, "He probably has no problem with everyday communication, but he isn't very good at accurately using the most appropriate words.
"When choosing his words, he only cares about their meanings and doesn't pay much attention to their parts of speech or the context. Also, when people in Huaguo communicate as equals, they aren't as respectful and polite to each other as we are.
"They even have a habit of using certain crude expressions as sentence particles, such as wo-cao, kao, ni-ma, bi-bi, bi..."
"When he says crude things, he might not be cursing anyone. He may simply be communicating normally, with his tone only being a tiny bit more intense.
"Could this be... a cultural difference?
"Because of various reasons, in short, he probably has something between us called a 'communication disorder.'"
"A communication disorder?"
"Actually, I used to be like that too. Even now, I still am..."
Exactly. Sympathetic because they shared the same illness, and becoming a doctor after suffering from it for a long time—that was the method Ayanokoji used to conceal his abilities.
That way, at most, others would think Ayanokoji merely understood his "kindred spirit" with a "communication disorder" particularly well. They would not notice his true abilities because of it.
Moreover, he could use this to create a "communication disorder" persona.
With this persona protecting him, any lack of common sense he displayed in the future would not seem abrupt.
After all, someone with a "communication disorder" found it difficult to communicate with others, so it was only natural for him to be inexperienced in worldly matters and lack common sense, wasn't it?
It killed two birds with one stone!
Ayanokoji continued, "In the past, I interacted with people, but I wasn't good at choosing my words. I was eager to express myself, so I blurted out a word, and people took it as some kind of impolite metaphor or something.
"Then I was bad at speaking too,... so I couldn't explain myself clearly.
"After that, I became isolated...
"For all these years, those people have been the ones around me.
"I've been isolated for so many years too."
As he said these words, Ayanokoji remained expressionless.
But Hirata sensed the loneliness in them and was deeply moved.
"I'm sorry... Ayanokoji. But don't worry. From now on, we'll definitely become good friends! We'll also help you become friends with everyone!"
Ayanokoji felt that this would be a good time to cry, but after forcing out two little sobs, he found that he really could not cry. In the end, he could only nod with a depressed expression, looking as if he had already grown used to it—or perhaps become numb to it.
Hirata continued, "So you think Bai has a communication disorder? He didn't actually intend to say those unpleasant things, but because his vocabulary is insufficient, he couldn't find words that suited the context while conveying what he wanted to say. Since he was in a hurry to say something, he simply picked a word that seemed more or less appropriate but was completely wrong from our perspective...
"Bai didn't originally intend to insult anyone. It was merely because he used the wrong words that he seemed disrespectful toward others.
"So when we communicate with him, we should first ignore all the subjective elements in his sentences.
"We should only listen to the essence, focusing on what useful, factual information his words provide us and how much harmful information they contain that is meant to lead us in an unfavorable direction."
Hirata looked as if he had suddenly understood everything. "I get it! Let's try it. Let's use this method to reinterpret Bai as a person!"
Ayanokoji: "Also, I think... we shouldn't only look at what he says. We should also look at what he does and what changes he has brought to the class, both good and bad..."
After a lengthy discussion,
under Ayanokoji's guidance, Hirata began translating Bai Lan's "encrypted speech."
Hirata: "First of all, it's obvious that Bai exposed the school's trap. He made everyone understand that their living allowances were connected to their usual conduct, forcing them to restrain themselves and preventing them from indulging recklessly."
"Next, although Bai's words were unpleasant, they also bluntly pointed out the class's current dire situation: of the forty people, fewer than ten possess good self-control. The remaining thirty-plus cannot control themselves. Even if they know that breaking the rules will result in deductions, they probably won't be able to stop themselves from doing so..."
"Seen this way, Bai Lan really has made a tremendous contribution to the class. Without what he said, everyone would have remained immersed in the school's sweet trap until next month, when they discovered that their living allowances had dropped to zero... Although he speaks unpleasantly, it can also be understood as 'honest advice that grates on the ear.' What's more, Bai may very well be like you said, Ayanokoji: his poor Japanese caused him to have a communication disorder. If so, even the 'grating' part can be completely understood."
"I think this kind of 'grating' speech seems to have more power than euphemisms..." Ayanokoji interjected.
"I understand everything else, but..." At this point, Hirata once again looked puzzled. "What was the purpose of his 'three violations'? And why were they all truancy and leaving early?"
Hirata turned to look at Ayanokoji, his eyes seemingly saying: As a fellow 'communication disorder' sufferer, Ayanokoji, please put yourself in Bai Lan's shoes. If it were you, under what circumstances would you do something like this?
Hirata: Use your invincible 'communication disorder' to think of something, Ayanokoji!
Ayanokoji: ...Why are you making things so difficult for me, a person with a 'communication disorder'?
17, Hirata: Bai Lan actually... I'm crying to death (Please vote~)
Ayanokoji sighed inwardly, once again assuming the appearance of deep thought before saying:
"You can think of it this way. After Bai insulted the entire class, he became, by default, the class's 'bottom line for proper conduct,' an existence isolated by everyone. This is how many incidents of school bullying begin."
When he heard the word "bullying," the water cup in Hirata's hand let out another anguished cry.
"What? Bullying? No! That absolutely cannot happen in Class D!"
Ayanokoji seemed to understand something.
But now was not the time to provoke him.
"Don't worry..." Ayanokoji hurriedly said. "Bai is very capable. He used this point in reverse. On the surface, he became everyone's target for bullying. But in reality, I think he treated the terrifying factors behind bullying as weapons.
This text is garbled and cannot be translated.
"He disguised himself as the 'prey' about to be bullied. In reality, the people trying to bully him were the prey. By relying on the principles of bullying, he turned around and manipulated everyone in the class!"
"What do you mean?" Hirata could not understand. Why could someone who might become the target of bullying instead manipulate everyone who wanted to bully him?
Ayanokoji explained, "Think about it.
"Since Bai has become the 'bottom line for proper conduct,' any opposition to him by anyone in the class will be viewed as only natural and politically correct.
"Conversely, any behavior resembling Bai's will cause that person to be classified by the entire class as 'just like Bai Lan,' making them a legitimate target for everyone. That, too, will be politically correct.
"To avoid becoming the target of the class as a group, no one will want to be categorized as someone like Bai.
"They will try their best not to do the things Bai likes doing.
"And the deepest impressions Bai has left on the class are, first, his arrogance, and second, his violations of the rules.
"Once someone acts arrogantly or breaks the rules, everyone will easily think of Bai Lan. They will compare that person's insults and violations to Bai Lan's as an insult.
"To avoid being isolated, everyone will instinctively avoid acting arrogantly or committing violations similar to or more serious than Bai's.
"Once someone becomes 'more Bai Lan than Bai Lan,' wouldn't that mean their conduct had already broken through the 'bottom line for proper conduct'?"
"I see..." Hirata suddenly understood. Then inspiration flashed in his eyes, as if he had thought of something. "Bai Lan's three violations were equivalent to drawing a red line for every person in the class! He put everyone under a tightening spell!
"The number 'three' was also just right. It wouldn't make people feel overly restricted. If someone slipped up once, they wouldn't immediately become 'Bai Lan,' so there would still be room to turn back. Otherwise, since many people had already violated the rules once at the very beginning, everyone would become 'Bai Lan,' which would mean that no one was 'Bai Lan.'
"Moreover, those two violations weren't without consequences. Each violation meant becoming more 'Bai Lan.' To avoid becoming 'Bai Lan,' everyone would try their best not to violate the rules even once!
"The number of violations would become a kind of 'basis for ranking.'
"Those with no violations would rank above those with violations.
"Those with one violation would rank above those with two.
"As for three violations...
"No, everyone's actual limit was only two violations!
"Because once someone violated the rules three times, they would become 'Bai Lan.'
"With only two chances, everyone would feel a strong sense of urgency. At the same time, because there was still room to turn back, they wouldn't become so tense that they simply gave up trying."
"That makes sense," Ayanokoji said.
Ayanokoji did not care about the truth. He merely wanted to give Hirata an "explanation" he was willing to accept, one that could resolve the current conflict and send him on his way.
At this moment, Hirata seemed to remember something else.
"Oh, right! Ayanokoji, do you remember that Bai first spent points to buy information from Teacher Chazhu about the penalties for being late, leaving early, and skipping class? Only after reading that information did he suddenly decide to skip class twice and leave early once, for a total of three violations."
"Yes."
Hirata: "Could there be some deeper meaning behind that?"
"Skipping class and leaving early are more conspicuous, I suppose. When a teacher sees someone missing, they'll call attendance."
"That's probably one reason, but I've thought of another possibility..." Hirata's gaze deepened. "The severity represented by different violations is also different. Leaving early is clearly less serious than skipping class.
"Two instances of skipping class plus one instance of leaving early are clearly less serious than skipping class three times.
"Could Bai have discovered something after reading the information? For example, accumulating violations equivalent to skipping class three times might result in some severe consequence?
"And two instances of leaving early or being late are greater than or equal to one instance of skipping class.
"That's why he chose two instances of skipping class and one instance of leaving early."
"..." Ayanokoji said, "Perhaps."
Before you continue