On the way to the cafeteria, sunlight spilled through the hallway windows and onto the floor. Shangguan Che kicked a pebble along, still savoring his earlier interaction with Ichinose.
No wonder she's got a name in gold, just like Hirata. She really is nice. The more he thought about it, the more he felt his idea had some merit. If I could borrow 100,000 points from them, I could help them out without it seeming weird and even snag an attribute point while I'm at it. That's killing two birds with one stone!
But the thought had barely crossed his mind for three seconds before Shangguan Che stamped it out himself. Forget it. That'd be way too pathetic. People would say I, Shangguan Che, got by mooching points. It'd ruin my image. Absolutely not.
At the cafeteria, Shangguan Che and Sakura found a seat by the window.
The vegetables in the free meal looked limp. As Shangguan Che shoveled rice into his mouth, he used Clairvoyance to observe everyone else. Karuizawa Kei was chatting and laughing with a few girls, twirling a strand of hair around her finger and glancing this way now and then.
Ichinose was eating quietly, occasionally taking out a notebook to write and doodle. Sunlight fell on her pink hair, as if sprinkling it with sugar.
"Finish up, then hurry and write that application." Shangguan Che wolfed down his meal in a few bites. After Sakura had cleared away her tray, they each went back to their own dorms. He pulled up the photo of Ichinose's application that he'd saved on his phone and got down to writing.
"Huh, she was student council president in middle school? So Japanese middle schools really do have those." Shangguan Che clicked his tongue in amazement at the photo, then quickly came up with a plan.
I'll just copy the content and tweak the real experiences. Easy.
For instance, where Ichinose had written, "I joined the student council in middle school," he changed it to, "I didn't get into the student council in middle school, so I'd like to try making up for it in high school." Where she had written, "I organized a school culture festival," he changed it to, "I watched the school culture festival and thought it looked fun."
Copying homework is my specialty! Shangguan Che wrote furiously, secretly pleased with himself.
Ichinose's almost done with her evaluation anyway. My application's just a formality. Who's really going to scrutinize it? Before long, an application with a "95% similarity rate" was fresh off the press.
He immediately messaged Ichinose: "I finished the application! But who should I turn it in to? Also, thanks so much for letting me use yours as a reference today. It helped a ton!"
A few seconds later, Ichinose replied: "You finished that quickly, Shangguan! You can give it to Tachibana, the Student Council secretary. If you're not sure where the office is, I can give you directions~"
"Of course I finished quickly. Your application was practically the answer key, so how could it not help?" Shangguan Che smiled faintly at his phone. He also used Clairvoyance to find Ichinose's dorm before finally putting his phone away, satisfied. At least I got today's main business taken care of.
Before he knew it, it was the fifth day. Shangguan Che's daily draw had given him a pebble. There can't be anyone in our class who likes bugs, right? In that case, there's no point holding onto this rock. I'll just leave it gathering dust in the system space.
He casually stuffed the pebble back into the system space and headed to school. A quick glance around the classroom showed that even the students who usually arrived last had gotten there early today. The noise of people talking in class was gone, but a new problem had cropped up.
I've finished the math textbook, and I'm about to wear out the physics and chemistry ones too. I'll be all out of reading material in a couple more days. Shangguan Che groaned with his face against the desk. If I've got nothing to do in class, won't I be tempted to do something "special"? They can't seriously expect me to read the textbooks all over again... Forget it. Using Clairvoyance to slack off is much more comfortable.
At lunch, he went to the cafeteria with Sakura. They had just sat down when she stared at his free meal and asked softly, "Shangguan, you always get the free meal. Are you trying to save points?"
"At first, I just hated spending points. Now I really need to save them." Shangguan Che took a bite of vegetables, then suddenly realized what she was asking and looked up at Sakura. She had her head lowered, the tips of her ears red as if they were about to drip blood. Her fingers were gently twisting the hem of her uniform.
"Hey, hey, I just thought you and Hirata knew a lot, so I wanted to ask your opinion!"
"Oh, I see. Hahaha." Shangguan Che hurriedly tried to smooth things over, though he was thinking, Good grief. If she hadn't lowered her head and blushed, I wouldn't have realized she was asking a boy how to manage money! Could she be... No, no, I'm definitely overthinking it. Sakura's just shy.
"Should I save points too?" Sakura looked up, her eyes sparkling like a curious little rabbit.
Shangguan Che cleared his throat and replied solemnly, "That depends on what you need. I've got a 'big dream' that'll take a lot of points over a long time, so I have to live on vegetarian meals every day. Maybe one day I won't be able to resist the smell of meat and I'll give up on saving."
"Oh, I see." Sakura nodded as if she only half understood, then lowered her head and resumed eating in small bites.
The afternoon classes dragged on under the scorching sun. Shangguan Che lay on his desk and yawned, regretting his decision bitterly. Why did I get so carried away and decide to get close to Ichinose? I could've handed in the application once, gone to one interview, and been done with two trips. But now, I have to meet her once, turn in the application once, go to the interview once... That's an extra trip for no reason. What a rip-off!
At long last, school let out. Shangguan Che carried his application and hurried to the Student Council Office, still thinking about Soccer Club practice. I didn't ask for the day off. I need to hand this in and get to practice as soon as possible.
At the office, Shangguan Che handed the application to Tachibana, the secretary, and was just about to turn around when he smacked his forehead. "Oh, no! Senior Tachibana, I forgot to mention that I'm in Soccer Club. Is that a problem?"
Tachibana looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "You do know you can't join any other clubs if you join the Student Council, right?"
"Yeah, I know!" Shangguan Che waved a hand, looking perfectly calm. "If I get into the Student Council, I'll quit Soccer Club right away. If I don't get in, I'll stay with the club. That shouldn't cause any trouble, right?"
"Fine. That's no problem." As soon as Tachibana finished speaking, a cool male voice came from the room beyond.
"Good afternoon, President!" Tachibana immediately stood up and greeted him respectfully.
Shangguan Che turned around. Horikita Manabu was leaning against the doorframe, his gaze cold. "Let's do the interview now. That'll save you another trip."
"Sure! No problem!" Shangguan Che was overjoyed. One less trip was one less trip. He'd come out ahead!
In the interview room, Horikita Manabu sat at the head of the table and got straight to the point. "Why do you want to join the Student Council?"
Shangguan Che's brain glitched, and the words slipped out before he could stop them. "Do you want the truth or a lie?"
The moment he said it, he wanted to slap himself. When would I ever have dared to talk like that in front of a boss? This has to be the will of the world messing with me! I'll have to keep myself in check next time!
"What's with you, junior? Of course he wants the truth!" Tachibana set down her pen with a sharp slap, a hint of irritation in her voice.
Shangguan Che hurriedly flashed an apologetic smile. "Oh, right, that's my fault. I misspoke."
He cleared his throat and answered seriously, "The truth is, I thought joining the Student Council might help Class D get some benefits, so I decided to give it a shot."
"That's it?" Horikita Manabu raised an eyebrow.
"That's it. I can't think of anything else." Shangguan Che spread his hands, feeling a little uneasy.
"Then what qualities do you have that make you worth choosing?" Horikita Manabu asked again.
"You mean, what can I bring to the Student Council?" Shangguan Che stroked his chin and replied confidently, "I can chat with native speakers in Japanese, English, Russian, French, and Chinese. Advanced Nurturing High School is famous, isn't it? If people from those countries come to visit, I could be their interpreter. That'd be impressive! If you don't believe me, download a translation app. Pick any language I speak and test me. You'll see I'm not bluffing."
"Tachibana," Horikita Manabu said, without looking at Shangguan Che.
"Of course, President." Tachibana immediately pulled out her phone and opened a translation app.
Just then, Horikita Manabu abruptly changed the subject. "I heard Class 1-D discovered something. Do you know the details?"
Shangguan Che's heart gave a thump, but he kept his expression composed. "I do. I was one of the main people involved."
"Do you want to join the Student Council?" Horikita Manabu stared at him as if he meant to see right through him.
Shangguan Che was screaming inside. This question is a trap! What if I say yes and he actually lets me in? What I said earlier was pretty bold, but refusing now would be disrespectful. If I say no, then everything I said earlier will sound like a bunch of nonsense.
Thinking fast, Shangguan Che put on an "innocent" expression. "Well, of course... Actually, President, I'm a really naive person. You see, I was naive enough to believe everything written in a senior's diary, but then I thought about it. What respectable person keeps a diary?
"And takes it out of their room, too? I was also naive enough to think no one would notice if I copied someone else's application, but not only did you see through it, you even doubted whether I was sincere about joining the Student Council.
"Now that I think about it, I'm not cut out for the Student Council at all. I'd better take my application and get out of here!"
As he finished speaking, Shangguan Che deliberately put on a slightly "hurt" expression, but inside he was relieved. Good thing I reacted quickly, or I'd have gotten myself into real trouble! This president's questions are way too convoluted!
Horikita Manabu said nothing. He simply watched Shangguan Che in silence. The invisible pressure made Shangguan Che's scalp prickle, and he couldn't help turning to look at Tachibana, silently screaming, Senior Tachibana, save me! Please save me!
"It's ready!" Tachibana suddenly spoke and held out her phone to Horikita Manabu.
Shangguan Che nearly cried with gratitude. What a wonderful person!
"Okay, I'll start!" He cleared his throat and said a few lines about "Advanced Nurturing High School welcomes you" in English, Russian, French, and Chinese. His pronunciation was impeccable, and he spoke smoothly and naturally.
The translation app showed that he had passed the test. He hadn't lied.
Horikita Manabu finally spoke. "You can go back for now. We'll let you know."
"Sure! Bye, President Horikita. See you, Secretary Tachibana!" Shangguan Che grabbed his application and bolted faster than a rabbit.
Only after Shangguan Che had disappeared down the hallway did Tachibana finally complain, "President, that junior really doesn't take the Student Council seriously, does he? He copied his application and spouted nonsense."
"He's a little arrogant, but he has some grounds for it, albeit not many." Horikita Manabu leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the tabletop. "There's no need to let him join the Student Council. Let's keep an eye on him."
In his view, Shangguan Che didn't seem like the kind of person who could come up with the school rules all on his own. Hirata, who was steady in every way, seemed more likely to be responsible. As for the so-called "senior's diary," it was best to take it with a grain of salt.
"What respectable person keeps a diary? Do you?"
If Shangguan Che had known what he was thinking, he would've jumped up to protest: "If you've never seen someone with cheats, don't go making wild guesses! I came up with those rules myself. Hirata had absolutely nothing to do with it!"
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