Karuizawa Violently Outputting Missions to Shangguan Che in Her Heart

As soon as the bell rang, Hirata paced around the classroom with a seating chart in his hand, wearing his signature gentle smile. "Everyone, please wait a moment. I've rearranged the seating to group friends together as much as possible, which should make discussing problems easier."

Shangguan Che leaned against a desk with his arms crossed, watching Hirata work. He chuckled to himself, This guy really has a firm grip on the class atmosphere.

Once the new seating was settled, he found himself sitting next to two classmates he didn't know well: one wore black-rimmed glasses and looked rather shy, while the other was the impeccably dressed Karuizawa Kei.

"Hi, I'm Shangguan Che," he initiated. After all, it had been a month, and he still hadn't memorized the names of all forty students in the class. It would be too awkward if he couldn't name them when it came time to discuss problems later.

"My name is Sotomura Hideo," the bespectacled boy said, bowing slightly and speaking with a touch of archaic flair.

Shangguan Che almost burst out laughing. "My name is..."? Was he living in a period drama? Could he be a closeted chuunibyou?

"Karuizawa," Karuizawa Kei replied coldly, just stating her surname. She tapped her fingertips against her textbook, though her gaze kept drifting toward Hirata not far away.

Shangguan Che cleared his throat to bring the conversation back to the task at hand. "I've seen the results of the quiz. My plan is to focus on your weak points first, then do a general review. After all, if anyone in our class fails, they'll be expelled. We should avoid that if we can."

He wasn't bragging; even if his Japanese and Japanese History weren't top-tier, he had still scored in the seventies, so he was in no danger.

"Do you have any questions?" he asked the two of them.

"I have no questions," Sotomura nodded immediately, though his voice was quiet.

Karuizawa Kei raised an eyebrow. "As long as I can pass, I don't mind."

"Alright, then let's start with the subjects you're likely to fail," Shangguan Che said, pulling out his notebook to take notes.

"I... I..." Sotomura suddenly started sweating, his eyes darting toward Karuizawa Kei every few seconds.

Shangguan Che understood immediately. The kid was afraid of Karuizawa Kei; her "gyaru" aura was indeed a bit intense.

He had just promised Hirata he would help solve problems, and he didn't want to go back to him to swap members right at the start. He had to patiently reassure him, "Sotomura, take your time. Don't be nervous, I'll help you."

"Thank you, Shangguan. Aside from Japanese and Japanese History, I need help with everything else," Sotomura said, his face turning bright red.

"No worries, it's a small matter," Shangguan Che said, though he muttered to himself, The subjects Sotomura doesn't need help with are exactly the ones I'm not familiar with. Could Hirata have arranged this on purpose?

He didn't know that Chabashira Sae had actually sent the detailed quiz results for the whole class to Hirata, who had then assigned the groups based on everyone's individual situation.

"What about you, Karuizawa?" he turned to the other side.

"I'm not very good at science," Karuizawa Kei said, pulling her math and physics textbooks from her bag and spreading them on the table.

"I see. Let's start with some problems then. It'll help me figure out exactly where you're struggling. Is that okay?" Shangguan Che suggested.

"No problem," the two replied in unison.

In truth, Shangguan Che didn't have any special teaching methods. He could only copy the routine he used with Sakura Airi: solve problems to find the gaps, then provide targeted explanations.

He had no choice; as a student himself, that was the only way he knew how to do it.

Shangguan Che glanced at the rest of the classroom. Sakura Airi was sitting in the corner, quietly working through problems by herself. She didn't need help, nor did she disturb others, completely immersed in her own world of study.

Ayanokoji had actually shown up too, sitting next to Horikita. It looked like he was there to be "tutored."

Shangguan Che almost dropped his jaw. Horikita was actually willing to be a tutor? That combination was certainly interesting.

In all of Class D, only Kōenji Rokusuke hadn't come to the study session, though with his ability, he certainly didn't need the help.

Since he had a moment, Shangguan Che's gaze drifted toward Hirata's group. He teased internally, This is like the legendary scene of "Three Heroes Fighting Lu Bu."

Hirata was patiently explaining a math problem to Ike, his hand moving constantly across the scratch paper. Ike was slumped over his desk, his eyes glued to Kushida, who was tutoring someone else nearby, with no intention of doing his work. Sudo was even worse; he had been staring at the problem for ages without writing a single word, his brow furrowed so tightly a fly could have been crushed in it.

Shangguan Che pulled his gaze back, focusing his energy on the two he was responsible for, terrified they might slack off.

Fortunately, Sotomura was buried in his work, and Karuizawa Kei was scribbling on her scratch paper. Both seemed quite focused. He silently cheered for Hirata: Hang in there, brother!

Before he knew it, the study session was over. Sotomura packed his things and left after saying goodbye to the two of them.

"Shangguan, about that..." Karuizawa Kei suddenly spoke up, then hesitated.

"What is it?" Shangguan Che looked at her, puzzled.

"Nothing, I'm leaving too." Karuizawa Kei shook her head, shouldered her bag, and walked toward Hirata. She even patted Hirata on the shoulder, though he couldn't hear what she said.

Shangguan Che scratched his head, unable to figure out what she had wanted to say. But he had a vague feeling that his workload was about to increase.

The tension from the day of the quiz hadn't fully dissipated. Karuizawa Kei's knuckles were white as she gripped her pen, and she intercepted Hirata during the break after handing in her paper.

She looked into his gentle eyes, hesitating for a long time before speaking. "Hirata, where did those partial answers you gave me earlier actually come from?"

Hirata's smile stiffened for a moment, and his eyes flickered. He was silent for a few seconds before answering truthfully, "They were from Shangguan Che. He didn't say I had to keep it a secret from you, and I didn't want to take credit for someone else's kindness."

Karuizawa Kei's heart sank. She stared at Hirata's profile, her mind in a chaotic mess.

She didn't know why Shangguan Che and Hirata would do such a thing, but since she was currently relying on Hirata, she could only nod and follow their arrangements.

When the quiz results came out, seeing the checkmarks on her paper that matched the answers Shangguan Che had given her, her suspicion only deepened. That boy, who always seemed so nonchalant, had suddenly become incredibly suspicious.

She remembered the day of the club recruitment, when Shangguan Che had suddenly leaned in and asked with a smile, "Have we met before? Do you have a twin sister?"

At the time, she had just thought it was bizarre and felt a flicker of fear, so she had brushed him off and walked away.

But looking back now, that sentence felt like a thin needle pricking at her nerves. Did he know about her past? Had he already caught a glimpse of those sordid, shameful things she was desperately trying to hide?

And if so, why was he doing this? Was he pitying someone like her who lived behind a mask, or was he... interested in her? Karuizawa Kei's cheeks flushed slightly, but she immediately cooled them down.

She already had Hirata—that gentle, reliable boyfriend who was willing to accept everything about her.

That was why she had breathed a sigh of relief when Hirata said he would pass the answers to her, thinking that this would allow her to keep her distance from Shangguan Che.

Yet, Shangguan Che had pointedly left his name on them, as if he were deliberately making sure she knew the source of this "kindness."

"If you fail any subject on the midterm, you will be expelled all the same." As Chabashira's words echoed through the classroom, Karuizawa Kei immediately sought out Hirata, her voice laced with an imperceptible urgency: "Does Shangguan Che have the answers for the next exam?"

Hirata shook his head, his tone helpless: "He said he doesn't."

It was only at this very moment that Karuizawa Kei suddenly seemed to understand something.

It wasn't that Shangguan Che didn't have the answers, but that he wasn't entirely certain they would be enough for her to pass. That was why he had asked Hirata to hand her over to him for tutoring, so he could clearly grasp her academic progress and then do everything in his power to help her.

This realization left her feeling a complex mix of emotions, as if something were lodged in her chest, making it hard to breathe.

When the first tutoring session ended, Sotomura packed his things and hurried away, leaving only her and Shangguan Che in the classroom.

The setting sun spilled through the window, casting a warm glow over him.

Karuizawa Kei opened her mouth, the words "Is it really worth it for you to help me like this?" already on the tip of her tongue, but looking at Shangguan Che's profile as he diligently organized his notes, she swallowed them back down.

She turned and walked toward Hirata, and looking at his ever-gentle smile, her heart gradually settled.

Hirata and Shangguan Che were good friends; perhaps Shangguan Che, who knew about her past, was simply trying to show kindness, just as Hirata was willing to help her.

As for the thoughts hidden behind those answers and the questions left unsaid, perhaps there was no need to delve too deeply into them.

To have someone willing to accept her facade and reach out a hand when she was about to hit rock bottom—that was enough.

Karuizawa Kei took a soft breath, pushed those surging emotions back into the depths of her heart, and, just as she always did, offered Hirata a sweet smile.