He decided to put his will into action!
Without saying a word, Horikita Suzune immediately picked up her schoolbag and headed for the classroom door.
Seeing Horikita walk over to him, Bai Lan was surprised.
"Why are you following me?"
Bai Lan did not want his affairs to affect anyone else, so he quickened his pace.
Third aunt and second uncle, one dead and one 139
Horikita quickened her pace as well.
"Why are you chasing me?" Bai Lan continued speeding up.
Horikita did not ask him for cough syrup. She simply followed him silently, matching his pace.
The two of them left the classroom in a great hurry.
Strangely, some time had already passed since class ended, yet many people in the class still had not left, as if they were waiting for something.
After the two had gone far away—or, more accurately, after Bai Lan had gone far away—
The gazes of everyone in the class quickly fell on Hirata and Kogenji.
They had only realized that there was something wrong with Bai Lan's words because of Kogenji's "reminder."
But they did not know what the problem was.
They urgently needed to figure out what Bai Lan and Kogenji's words meant.
Otherwise, they would not know what attitude to adopt or how to face Bai Lan.
This was extremely important.
If they got it wrong, they would be in trouble!
34. Hirata, come out and clean this mess up!
How exactly they should treat Bai Lan was an extremely important matter to everyone in Class D.
What if Bai Lan was like yesterday? Although he had said a whole lot of things that sounded unpleasant, he had actually been sacrificing himself, using himself as a target and a warning line to contribute to the class?
If he ended up not becoming the class enemy but instead rose to the top of the class, becoming something like a "hero" or an "idol," what were they supposed to do?
If they treated the class's hero or idol badly and were later retaliated against by Bai Lan's supporters, they would be doomed!
Even more frighteningly, there might be some people in the class who wanted to "get ahead." Those people might take advantage of the situation to push them down to the "bottom" of the class hierarchy, turning them into people anyone could step on!
After all, only by stepping on others could one appear superior.
On the other hand, if Bai Lan was conclusively proven to be the "common enemy of the class" who wanted to oppose everyone, then anyone who knew nothing and went to show Bai Lan goodwill would incur the resentment of the entire class!
That was how many incidents of bullying at school came about.
Japanese high school students, who were highly sensitive to "bullying," were extremely alert to such matters, fearing that they might accidentally become targets themselves.
"Hirata? Say something!"
Everyone hoped Hirata could point them in the right direction.
As long as Hirata said something, they could choose a relatively suitable attitude toward Bai Lan based on his words.
If trouble arose in the future, Hirata's words today would serve as the basis for shifting the blame onto him.
Hirata did not respond directly. Instead, he looked at Kogenji and said, "Kogenji, could you explain what you meant by what you said to Bai just now? Was there some kind of misunderstanding?"
Hirata asked Kogenji this question partly to buy time for his "translation team" companion, Ayanokoji, and partly to test Kogenji's attitude.
Kogenji's presence made Hirata feel extremely uneasy.
That was because, earlier that morning, Hirata had felt that Kogenji's gaze seemed to say he had already seen through what Hirata was doing.
Yet for some unknown reason, although Kogenji seemed to have guessed part of the truth, he had not exposed Hirata.
Perhaps Kogenji felt that it was none of his business and preferred to stay out of it, seeing no need to expose him. Or perhaps he thought he could gain something from it?
Hirata did not understand. All he could do was hope that Kogenji would maintain the same attitude toward this matter.
However, Hirata now sensed a crisis.
Because during class today, Kogenji had said that Bai Lan was targeting him!
Did that mean Kogenji believed Bai Lan had attacked him, and that Kogenji would now regard Bai Lan as an enemy?
At a time like this, Kogenji only needed to expose Hirata's plan to turn his own enemy, Bai Lan, into the enemy of the entire class.
Would Kogenji really let such an opportunity to strike at his enemy slip away?
But on closer thought, everyone dealt with their enemies differently.
What if Kogenji was the sort who enjoyed challenging powerful opponents, hoping to defeat them openly through absolute strength in order to prove his own might, rather than weakening them through schemes and defeating them while they were vulnerable?
If that was the case, they still had room to turn things around.
In response to Hirata's question, Kogenji did not even raise his head. He continued combing his splendid hair in front of the mirror and admiring his own beautiful appearance, then said nonchalantly, "You don't have to worry about me, Hirata boy~
Just go with your own understanding. I'm looking forward to your performance!
If your performance is beautiful enough, I may be generous enough to give you a reward.
So please do your best to entertain me, Hirata boy~"
In the eyes of the other students in Class D, Kogenji's declaration was merely mocking Hirata and comparing him to some kind of attention-seeking clown. It only enraged the girls who liked Hirata.
Only Hirata and Ayanokoji, who had personally woven this entire situation, could understand what he meant.
After hearing Kogenji's words, Hirata breathed a sigh of relief.
Leaving everything else aside, at the very least, this showed that Kogenji did not seem to intend to expose him. He might even...
"Just go with your own understanding."
Kogenji had said that.
In other words, could it be understood that Kogenji might even cooperate with his "performance" to some extent?
At that thought, Hirata felt somewhat reassured.
After adjusting his mindset, Hirata prepared to begin explaining things to the class in a way that would clear up their misunderstanding...
Hirata first took out his phone and glanced at it. After quickly reading its contents, he revealed a confident yet gentle smile and began:
"Actually, with so little time, I haven't completely understood what Bai meant either. But Kogenji's words when he interrupted Bai's speech gave me a hint."
When he said the name "Kogenji," Hirata glanced at Kogenji.
Kogenji merely gave two soft "hm-hm" sounds, as if he had remembered something amusing, but he did not seem displeased.
Seeing this, Hirata confirmed his suspicion. The other party really would cooperate with him to some extent.
With that thought, Hirata felt much more at ease and continued, "Kogenji said that Bai was targeting him.
"The reason was that Bai's self-introduction imitated Kogenji's.
"Think about it. Like Kogenji, Bai was sitting while he spoke, and both of them were smiling—smiling very... confidently?
"Now let's compare the core content of everything they said.
"Kogenji said he was the heir to a zaibatsu and would shoulder the burden of Japanese society in the future.
"Bai Lan said he was a successor of GC-ism and would inherit the glory of the revolutionary predecessors.
"GC-ism is actually the ultimate form of socialism.
"A zaibatsu can be said to be a symbol of capital. A powerful zaibatsu can even control this country..."
When Hirata reached this point, everyone in Class D could not help looking at Kogenji, the future head of a great zaibatsu.
At that moment, Kogenji gave two seemingly proud "hm-hm" sounds. It was unclear whether he was proud of the face he admired in the mirror or proud that he would one day be able to "control this country."
Everyone instinctively assumed it was the latter.
Seeing Kogenji's reaction, they immediately felt a measure of fear toward him.
Hirata continued, "Bai said he was a successor of GC-ism, which means he believes in socialism.
"And the thing socialism most likes to do is—eliminate the capitalists and zaibatsu that monopolize vast amounts of production resources."
35. The children have grown up and can fill in the blanks themselves! Mama Hirata is so pleased.
"And the thing socialism most likes to do is eliminate the capitalists and zaibatsu that monopolize vast amounts of production resources..."
By the time Hirata said this, many people in Class D had already believed him.
They believed that Bai Lan's words had been aimed at Kogenji.
"Hahaha~ A great zaibatsu? You mean someone like Kogenji?" someone asked with schadenfreude.
The moment he said it, everyone in the class turned toward the source of the voice and gave him the silent farewell reserved for a brave warrior.
When they discovered that the speaker was Ike Kanji, however, they rolled their eyes and withdrew those looks.
As for the person being mentioned—Kogenji Rokosuke—he remained absorbed in admiring himself, as if he had heard nothing.
Hirata also pretended not to hear Ike's foolish question and pressed his advantage.
"Let's compare the other parts as well.
"Kogenji said he disliked seeing ugly things.
"Bai Lan said he would curse at anything he disliked.
"Kogenji said he would punish anyone who got in his way.
"Bai Lan said that if anyone dared to attack him, he would definitely strike back.
"You see? It all lines up. Every bit of it lines up!
"Bai probably felt that Kogenji had gone too far, so he responded with words that were similar in form to Kogenji's but directly opposed in content.
"His Japanese isn't very good, though. After copying Kogenji's template, he only had time to polish the rhetoric of the first sentence.
"Think about it. In Bai's first sentence, aside from Kogenji, did he mention anyone else in the class?
"That was the result of Bai's painstaking choice of words!
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