Horikita's Efforts and Sakura's Distraction

The faint scent of disinfectant still lingered in the hallway early in the morning. Shangguan Che yawned and greeted Hirata, who was walking toward him, "Yo, good morning, Hirata."

"Good morning, Shangguan." Hirata's gaze landed on his face, and he paused, asking with concern, "Eh? Did you not sleep well last night? How come you have dark circles under your eyes?"

"Is it that obvious?" Shangguan Che subconsciously touched his eyes, thinking to himself: Of course it's obvious. After watching those two "pixelated seniors" last night, my brain felt like it was playing a movie on loop. I tossed and turned for half the night; how could I not have dark circles?

But he couldn't say that out loud, so Shangguan Che just made up an excuse: "It's nothing, I just stayed up too late reading a novel."

"I see. Well, make sure to stay sharp in class today." Hirata didn't think much of it and nodded with a smile.

Shangguan Che quickly changed the subject: "By the way, Hirata, how are things going with the other students joining the study group?"

"Most have agreed, but there are a few still hesitating. I plan to ask them again tonight." Hirata's tone carried a hint of melancholy; clearly, he wasn't very satisfied with his progress.

Shangguan Che understood perfectly—when he couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, he had already used Clairvoyance to "peek" at Hirata's progress.

Ike Kanji, Yamauchi Haruki, Sudo Ken, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka—these four had flat-out rejected Hirata's invitation.

He couldn't guess the reason for Ayanokoji's refusal (Ayanokoji had promised to help Horikita Suzune, so when Horikita refused to join the study group, he had no time to join either and had to decline).

But in the middle of the night, when Shangguan Che wasn't using Clairvoyance, Ayanokoji had received news that Horikita had decided to join the study group.

Ayanokoji: What a mess.

So, Ayanokoji had agreed to join the study group when he saw Hirata again in the morning, though Shangguan Che hadn't seen that part.

However, the actions of the other three truly baffled Shangguan Che.

After rejecting Hirata, those three immediately dove into a small group chat to vent, complaining about how they hated Hirata's "handsome and excellent" persona, claiming they would rather fail and get expelled than attend a study group organized by him.

Are you kidding me, brothers? You'll get expelled if you fail! To sabotage your own future just because you dislike someone—what kind of bizarre logic is that? Do they think they're being brave? They're just idiots! Shangguan Che rolled his eyes in his mind. Sure enough, the anime world is full of wonders. You three have really mastered the diversity of human stupidity.

He patted Hirata on the shoulder and offered his sincere well-wishes: "Hirata, you could find others to help you invite them. Getting the study group up and running early is good for the class. Regardless, I hope you succeed today!"

Even though he knew Hirata would likely hit a wall, as a "best friend," he still had to provide the necessary encouragement.

Seeing Hirata head straight for Kushida Kikyo the moment he entered the classroom, Shangguan Che quickly cleared his mind.

The image of Kushida kicking the guardrail by the river last night was still fresh in his memory. He'd heard that a girl's sixth sense was incredibly sharp; if he accidentally made eye contact with her while his mind was wandering and she sensed something was off, that would be trouble.

Returning to his seat, Shangguan Che could finally slump for a while.

He glanced at Sakura to his right and noticed her dark circles had faded quite a bit, wondering to himself: Is it her good constitution recovering quickly, or did she secretly use makeup to cover them? This change is too fast.

His brain felt a bit fuzzy, and forgetting that they usually chatted via phone, he asked directly: "Sakura, aren't you sleepy today?"

"Yes, Shangguan-san, I had a good night's sleep," Sakura replied softly, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Then I'm going to nap for a bit. Wake me up when class starts, thanks." After saying that, Shangguan Che tilted his head and slumped onto his desk.

The "passive skill for sleeping during breaks" he had honed in high school activated instantly, and he was nearly asleep within seconds.

Sakura looked at his sleeping profile, stunned for a moment, then quickly took out her phone, staring at the time on the screen without blinking, terrified of missing the bell.

But as she watched, her thoughts drifted to the third letter she had received today, and her brows furrowed involuntarily: Should I tell the teacher? Chabashira-sensei is so stern, I'm afraid to go alone... Should I bother Shangguan-san? Would that disturb him... Maybe I should just ignore it. It's just a few nasty letters anyway...

Just as she was lost in her thoughts, a cold voice rang out: "Hey, hey, hey, class is about to start."

Shangguan Che jolted awake, skillfully pulling out his textbook and picking up his pen in one fluid motion, though his brain hadn't fully booted up yet. He looked up and saw it was Horikita, quickly saying, "Thanks, Horikita-san."

"I hope you can pay more attention to class times in the future so you don't affect the class points." Horikita's tone remained flat, yet carried an unquestionable seriousness.

Shangguan Che's newly booted brain processed the information a bit slowly. By the time he reacted and wanted to reply, the best moment had passed, so he just gave up: Whatever, if I don't reply, I don't reply. It's just a small matter anyway.

He turned to look at Sakura and found her staring blankly at her dark phone screen, her eyes hollow. Shangguan Che was puzzled: No way, when did Sakura start staring at a dark phone screen? Didn't she always stare at the desktop before?

"Sakura-san, class is starting, you should put your phone away," he reminded her.

But Sakura didn't react at all, maintaining the same posture. Shangguan Che started to panic: Is she in a trance? Or did I pass my sleepiness on to her?

He gently tapped Sakura's shoulder: "Sakura, class is starting."

"Eh, is it time for class? I need to remind Shangguan-san." Sakura snapped back to reality, her eyes still a bit unfocused.

"I'm already awake," Shangguan Che laughed helplessly.

"Oh, Shangguan-san, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Sakura was so flustered her face turned red, but before she could finish, the bell rang.

"Ring-a-ling~ Ring-a-ling~"

Shangguan Che quickly made a "shh" gesture, and Sakura immediately closed her mouth and sat up straight.

During this class, Shangguan Che clearly felt that the atmosphere in the class had changed—previously, people would either sleep or pass notes, but now at least half the class was taking notes diligently.

He used Clairvoyance to scan the other classes and was instantly stung: Good grief, almost everyone in the other classes is taking notes. The gap is just too huge; it's frustrating to compare!

Thinking that he still had to help his classmates with tutoring in the afternoon, Shangguan Che picked up his pen, intending to take some serious notes.

But after writing only a few characters, he frowned at his crooked handwriting: This writing is too ugly; even I can't stand to look at it. Forget it, I'm quitting. This definitely isn't my true level!

He loosened his grip on the pen and began to zone out again.

One moment he was wondering who sent Sakura's letters, the next he was wondering if Hirata could handle those "troublemakers," and then he wondered what exactly Ayanokoji had talked about with Horikita Manabu last night.