Horikita Suzune thrust the compass in her hand toward Tenyo Yagetsu's side. She had had enough of Tenyo Yuyuki's attitude. With a helpless sigh, Tenyo Yuyuki seized Horikita's wrist with his right hand, lifted it, and pulled her backward.
Horikita Suzune lost her balance and fell into his arms, making it look as though she had thrown herself at him.
Smelling Tenyo Yuyuki's scent and feeling the warmth radiating from him, Horikita Suzune's expression changed instantly.
"You bastard, let go of me!"
"Calm down." He released her wrist and smiled. "What would I gain from messing with you? I can give you the information, of course, but you have to agree to one condition."
"Tenyo Yuyuki, there's no need to talk about dating or anything like that. I'd never agree."
Horikita Suzune quickly backed away as she spoke. Perhaps because this was her first time getting so close to a boy, she seemed a little uncertain.
"I know that, of course." Tenyo Yuyuki sat back down on the bench and glanced at the spot beside him. "Sit down and let's talk."
"If you do anything weird, don't blame me for what happens."
After hesitating for a moment, Horikita Suzune still sat down beside Tenyo Yuyuki.
Horikita Suzune wasn't afraid of Tenyo Yuyuki. They'd only had a brief scuffle just now, and she hadn't been serious, so it didn't prove anything.
Having studied martial arts, Horikita Suzune was still extremely confident. If the two of them really fought to decide a winner, Tenyo Yuyuki couldn't possibly beat her.
"Of course not."
Tenyo Yuyuki replied casually, took out a pen and paper from his schoolbag, and quickly wrote up a contract before handing it to Horikita Suzune.
"Sign this contract, and I'll give you the information for free!"
"Tenyo Yuyuki, what's this supposed to mean?"
Horikita Suzune frowned as she looked at the contract in her hands.
The terms were very simple.
First, whenever Kushida asked Horikita Suzune a question, Horikita Suzune had to answer, "So what?"
Second, she was forbidden from revealing anything about Tenyo Yuyuki.
Otherwise, she would have to pay him Ten Thousand Private Points.
In other words, it was a contract to make her take the blame!
Horikita Suzune didn't mind any of that. There was just one thing she still couldn't understand!
"Who's Kushida Kikyo?" Horikita Suzune asked coldly. "And what are you after, Tenyo Yuyuki? What consequences will this contract have for me? I won't sign until I understand that!"
"Are you serious?" Tenyo Yuyuki looked a little speechless. "Kushida Kikyo went to the same middle school as you, and she's your classmate now. You heard her during introductions, didn't you?"
"So what?"
After hearing Tenyo Yuyuki's explanation, Horikita Suzune remembered Kushida Kikyo, but only her name.
She didn't care about Kushida Kikyo at all. She was more concerned about what Tenyo Yuyuki was planning and what consequences or losses it might bring her.
"Fine."
Tenyo Yuyuki smiled indifferently. "If you sign this contract, you'll incur Kushida Kikyo's hostility. I imagine she'll target you relentlessly throughout all three years of high school."
After a brief pause, Tenyo Yuyuki added playfully, "You can get the information you want either by paying fifty thousand Private Points or by signing this contract. Horikita Suzune, which will you choose?"
"There's no need to choose!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Horikita Suzune signed the contract!
She was even a little pleased with herself.
The deal hadn't even begun, and she'd already learned two things.
[Points can buy anything] and [contracts]. Judging by Tenyo Yuyuki's attitude, this contract must have a powerful binding force and be recognized by the school!
Besides,
there was no need to care about Kushida Kikyo's hostility. At worst, she'd resort to bullying or gather a group of girls to ostracize her!
After all,
Horikita Suzune had never planned to get close to anyone. She only wanted to be a little closer to her older brother. As for bullying, she was confident in her own strength.
The other condition,
keeping Tenyo Yuyuki's identity secret, didn't matter to her either.
In short,
Horikita Suzune thought the contract would cost her nothing, and she'd get Tenyo Yuyuki's information for free!
What a bargain!
"All right, where's the information?"
"That's a surprising choice!"
Taking the contract from Horikita Suzune, Tenyo Yuyuki pretended to look astonished.
Horikita Suzune tucked her hair behind her ear and replied coolly, "You probably wanted to scare me with this contract and force me into a choice: either pay fifty thousand Private Points for the information or sign it. But unfortunately, the door-in-the-face technique doesn't work on me!
"And I'm not interested in things like getting along with everyone. You miscalculated, Tenyo Yuyuki!"
"Fine!" Tenyo Yuyuki shrugged and glanced at the two bottles of Black Tea beside Horikita Suzune.
This time, Horikita Suzune handed one of them to Tenyo Yuyuki. "All right, now tell me the information."
Horikita Suzune thought she'd won the negotiation, so she decided to be generous.
"Of course. I'm not the kind of man who breaks a promise."
Tenyo Yuyuki played with the bottle of Black Tea as he said, "First, starting next month, the school will stop handing out one hundred thousand Private Points. Instead, it'll use the S System to give everyone an overall score!"
"The S System?" Horikita Suzune immediately seized on the key point.
"That's right."
Tenyo Yuyuki nodded and continued, "It's a system that rates each class based on its usual performance and exam results. The points they earn are called Class Points, or S Points."
"I see. So that's why there are free products."
Horikita Suzune frowned in displeasure. "You mean the class's overall performance will affect our Private Points. What's the ratio between Class Points and Private Points?"
"One hundred to one."
Tenyo Yuyuki smiled lightly. He could fully understand Horikita Suzune's displeasure.
As someone with excellent individual abilities, Horikita Suzune was unhappy at the thought of being dragged down by the rest of the class.
"No wonder Chabashira-sensei said strength is everything."
Horikita Suzune analyzed it aloud. "The students have to fully understand the importance of money. If they want a comfortable school life, they have to discipline themselves, improve their grades, and grow in order to earn points."
After talking to herself, Horikita Suzune looked at Tenyo Yuyuki again. "Is there any other information?"
"Of course."
Tenyo Yuyuki stood up and casually tossed the can in his hand into the trash before continuing:
"The school divides its students into A, B, C, and D Classes. Only those who graduate from A Class are considered outstanding elites, and only they have the right to freely choose from among the major companies.
"The other classes are just nourishment for A Class's growth. D Class is even considered a defective product."
At his words, Horikita Suzune sprang to her feet and stared at Tenyo Yuyuki with a cold gaze.
"Is that true?"
Her grades were among the best in all of Sakurajima, and the same was true of her athletic ability. She could have freely chosen any top high school in Sakurajima.
And yet,
at this school, she'd be considered defective. It was almost impossible to understand. As for the right to choose her career, Horikita Suzune didn't care about that.
"That's the truth," Tenyo Yuyuki replied calmly.
After a moment of silence, Horikita Suzune gradually calmed down. If she hadn't started in A Class, then all she had to do was climb her way up and prove herself.
"I see. So this is what meritocracy really means."
She could easily imagine that the exams at this school wouldn't be as simple as the ones she'd taken in middle school.
Besides,
in Sakurajima,
the importance of a resume went without saying. Just being branded "dismissed" made it extremely difficult to find another job.
Failing to graduate from A Class could even get someone branded a "failure." Seen that way, graduating from B, C, or D Class could be considered a black mark!
"Suzune, that's all the information. Is there anything else you want to ask?"
Tenyo Yuyuki picked up his shopping bag again, looking ready to head back to his dorm.
This information would be common knowledge in a month, so there was no point hiding it. Of course, Tenyo Yuyuki wouldn't tell her anything more important.
Horikita Suzune scoffed. "This is information you should have shared with the whole class. Aren't you ashamed of using it to make a deal with me?"
"Not at all."
Tenyo Yuyuki smiled indifferently. "I'm not interested in being promoted to A Class, so I have no reason to help the class."
After a brief pause, Tenyo Yuyuki added, "And now that you know this, it's up to you how you use the information."
"I see. You're free to enjoy your high school life, but don't get in my way from now on."
After saying that, Horikita Suzune picked up her shopping bag and returned to the dorm without hesitation.
Now that she knew everything, she had no interest in why Tenyo Yuyuki didn't want to be promoted to A Class, nor did she want to talk with him any further.
As long as she could reach A Class and show Horikita Manabu how much she'd grown over these three years, she was sure her brother would be proud.
"Suzune's still only at this level."
Watching Horikita Suzune's retreating figure, Tenyo Yuyuki murmured to himself.
Although being promoted to A Class was a basic requirement for the Tenyo Family's assessment, you should never let others know what you wanted. That would only give them a weakness to exploit.
He'd been trying to work out how to handle Horikita Suzune's next questions, but he hadn't expected her not to take him seriously at all.
This wasn't just a matter of narrow vision. Arrogance, conceit, and plenty of other flaws were clearly visible in Horikita Suzune.
Of course, Tenyo Yuyuki had also noticed many of her strengths. She was good at logical analysis, and her ability to seize on key points was exceptional—almost instinctive.
She was consistent inside and out. Only her kindness was a little awkward: a sharp tongue and a soft heart.
Most importantly, Horikita Suzune was extremely decisive, even more so than Ichinose and the others. She also had a relentless drive to achieve her goals. With the right guidance, she'd make an excellent leader!
After waiting a while,
Tenyo Yuyuki carried his shopping bag back to the dorm.
Room 402 was the single-occupancy room the school had assigned him.
Although it was a single-occupancy room, it had everything: a kitchen, toilet, bathroom, bedroom, and balcony. A school backed by the state certainly had money to burn.
"I've only got a little over ten thousand Private Points left."
Looking at the number on his phone, Tenyo Yuyuki lay on the bed and sighed.
On the first day of school, he'd spent more than fifty thousand Private Points. Besides buying an untraceable account from Chabashira, he'd also bought a Punching Bag.
"I've taken care of everything I needed to prepare. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."
He logged into the account he'd bought from Chabashira and posted on one of the school's forums.
Tenyo Yuyuki immediately abandoned the account.
The account he'd paid fifty thousand Private Points for had fulfilled its purpose..
Before you continue