Hirata's Regression?

Ichinose Honami spotted Shangguan Che leaning against the hallway railing from a distance. Her pink hair swayed gently as she walked, and she smiled and waved at him. "Shangguan!"

Shangguan Che had just found an empty corner where he could take a break and slack off. Hearing her voice, he looked up and met Ichinose's sparkling eyes. He quickly waved back. "What a coincidence. Are you done with work?"

"Not yet. I just finished recording one club's activities." Ichinose walked over to him and glanced down the empty hallway before asking curiously, "What are you doing here? Thinking of joining a new club? This is the club activities building, after all."

"Yeah, right. I don't have the energy for that." Shangguan Che waved a hand and stretched as he leaned against the railing. "I joined the Soccer Club on the very first day of school, during the club recruitment fair."

"That early?" Ichinose's eyes widened a little, and her expression turned puzzled. "I thought you might consider joining the Student Council. You seemed pretty interested when we talked about it before, didn't you?"

Shangguan Che knew exactly what she was thinking. She must have remembered their earlier WeChat conversation, so he hurriedly laughed it off. "Oh, that was just a passing whim! Joining a club is like a gust of wind—it blows by and then it's gone. It's nothing to take seriously."

He didn't dare tell her that he couldn't be bothered to get involved because he knew Horikita Manabu and Miyabi Nagumo were both in the Student Council.

"I see. You really are an easygoing person, Shangguan." Ichinose smiled and nodded, then said no more.

Shangguan Che quickly changed the subject, pointing at Hirata, who was still talking to a second-year student nearby. His tone was rueful. "By the way, have you heard about the fight at school? Between Class C and our Class D. Sudo got caught up in it, and now they're looking for witnesses. Look at Hirata—he's like he's been pumped full of stimulants. He's been asking around since this afternoon and still has more energy than a husky."

"You mean what happened at the abandoned club building on Friday evening?" Ichinose frowned, then shook her head. "I asked everyone in my class, but no one went over there around that time. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"It's fine, it's fine." Shangguan Che waved a hand and teased her with a smile. "You went out of your way to ask everyone for us. That's plenty. My 'good Samaritan' Ichinose never lets me down!"

"Shangguan!" Ichinose's cheeks instantly turned red. She glared at him indignantly with her hands on her hips, like a little squirrel that had been provoked. "Why do you keep calling me a 'good Samaritan'? It sounds weird."

"Just a hunch!" Shangguan Che held back a laugh, thinking to himself, I can't exactly tell you I've got 'god's-eye view' and already know you're such a kindhearted person, can I?

Just then, a low voice came from the end of the hallway. "Ichinose, break time is over. We need to move on to the next club."

Shangguan Che followed the voice and saw a boy with blond hair wearing a Student Council uniform. He had a sharp gaze, and he was none other than Miyabi Nagumo, the Student Council vice president he'd seen in the documents before.

His heart skipped a beat.

That blond hairstyle and height were exactly like the "mosaic-faced boy" he'd seen in the hallway that day! Then who was the girl with him? He couldn't remember her at all. She was probably a second-year student too.

"I'm coming, Nagumo-senpai!" Ichinose immediately dropped her playful mood and bowed to Miyabi Nagumo. Then she turned to Shangguan Che and said, "Shangguan, I'll get back to work. If I find any leads, I'll let you know right away!"

"Sure, thanks!" Shangguan Che waved as he watched Ichinose jog to catch up with Miyabi Nagumo. He couldn't help muttering, "Does Miyabi Nagumo have a girlfriend? What am I even thinking?" He quickly shook his head, driving those random thoughts away, then turned to find Hirata.

"Hirata, I just asked Ichinose. No one from Class B went to the abandoned club building. No luck." Shangguan Che patted Hirata on the shoulder, his voice weary.

Hirata nodded. A gentle smile still rested on his face, but he couldn't hide the exhaustion in his eyes. "It's okay. Every extra class we ask gives us another chance. Come on, let's ask the music club next door. Maybe someone saw something."

Shangguan Che watched him turn and walk off, and sighed inwardly.

Well, looks like I wasn't getting a break today.

And so the two of them kept asking around from afternoon until dusk, going through every club in the activities building. But all they got in response was either "I didn't see anything" or "I haven't heard anything."

The setting sun streamed through the windows, bathing the hallway in warm yellow light. Shangguan Che trudged behind Hirata, feeling as though his legs no longer belonged to him.

"I can't do this anymore." Shangguan Che dropped into a cafeteria chair and slumped into a "Ge You-style" sprawl. "You're on your own tomorrow. I need to go back to the dorm and catch up on sleep. If we keep running around like this, they'll have to carry me out of school alongside Sudo."

Hirata didn't say anything. He simply set his tray on the table and mechanically shoveled food into his mouth with his chopsticks.

Seeing him so dazed, Shangguan Che suddenly felt uneasy. Even when Hirata was exhausted, he was never this quiet.

He hesitated, then asked, "Hirata, what if... I mean, what if we never find any leads? What then? Could Sudo really be expelled?"

At that, Hirata's hand froze as he picked up a piece of food. A few grains of rice spilled onto the table.

He lowered his head, his long eyelashes hiding his eyes. For a long time, he said nothing.

"Hirata? What's wrong?" Shangguan Che's heart tightened. He reached out and nudged Hirata's arm, even calling him by his given name, "Yosuke." "Don't scare me. Just tell me what's going on."

"I won't let that happen." Hirata suddenly spoke, his voice low and cold. He was nothing like his usual warm, sunny self. It sounded as though he were making a vow to himself—or suppressing something inside.

Shangguan Che froze. He'd never heard Hirata speak in that tone before. The almost obsessive determination sent a chill through him.

Before Shangguan Che could react, Hirata looked up. His usual smile had returned, as though that cold, low voice had been nothing but an illusion. "Shangguan, don't worry about it so much. We should wait until everyone's done their best before we decide anything. Eat up before the food gets cold."

"Oh... okay." Shangguan Che nodded, but his thoughts were in a jumble.

What had happened to Hirata in that moment? Shangguan Che picked up his chopsticks, but he had no appetite. After a few mouthfuls, he put them down.

After dinner, the two of them walked back to the dorms together in unusual silence.

Several times, Shangguan Che wanted to ask about what had happened, but each time he looked at Hirata's still-gentle profile, he swallowed his words.

It wasn't until they reached the dorm that Hirata finally spoke. "Shangguan, thanks for spending the whole day running around with me. Get some rest."

"Yeah. You should get some rest too." Shangguan Che nodded and watched Hirata turn and enter the dorm building, his doubts growing deeper.

What exactly had Hirata meant when he said he "wouldn't let it happen"?

Meanwhile, as soon as Hirata returned to his room, he leaned against the entrance and stood motionless. The hallway lights cast a long shadow behind him. His fists clenched and unclenched, over and over, until his knuckles turned white.

I can't go back to how I was before... he silently told himself. I want to make good memories here with everyone. I don't want to lose anything again.

That afternoon in the cafeteria, he'd almost lost control of his emotions. The thought of Sudo being expelled, of the Class Points being deducted, of the atmosphere everyone had worked so hard to build being ruined—it had made his heart race with panic.

The fear of losing everything had washed over him like a tide, making him say something so cold.

"I must have scared Shangguan..." Hirata sighed, full of regret.

Shangguan Che hadn't said a word on the way back to the dorm. He must have been frightened by the way Hirata had acted. Hirata raised a hand and rubbed his brow, feeling that he'd been far too tired lately.

Not only was he busy looking for clues, but he was also responsible for the study group and had to stay up late answering his classmates' questions.

"Getting a little more sleep doesn't seem to be enough to ease the exhaustion..." Hirata went to his desk and opened his phone. Several messages from classmates popped up on the screen.

They were all messages from girls in his class and questions about material they hadn't understood at the study group. Before leaving that morning, he'd told everyone they could leave their questions for him and he'd reply when he had time.

"I'll answer these questions before I rest." Hirata took a deep breath, opened his notebook, and began working through them carefully. In the lamplight, his profile still looked gentle, but the exhaustion in his eyes grew deeper and deeper.

What he didn't know was that Chabashira Sae had known about a "way out" for some time.

At the hearing, all they had to do was say that the punishment demanded by Class C was too severe and ask the school to impose a more appropriate penalty—for example, a week's suspension—and Sudo could avoid expulsion.

This was an unspoken school rule, and information that Chabashira Sae was allowed to disclose.

But Chabashira Sae didn't tell them. First, the school wanted students to think independently and solve problems on their own. Second, she believed Hirata would figure it out. In her eyes, Hirata was Class D's "ace"—calm and capable. There was no way he wouldn't think of such a simple solution.

But she'd forgotten that, for all his maturity, Hirata had little experience. He knew that "failing grades could get you expelled" and "serious misconduct could get you expelled," but he didn't know that the school left some leeway when punishing students. This gap in their knowledge was exactly why Hirata was so anxious and pushing himself so hard.

Night fell. Hirata finally finished answering all his classmates' questions, turned off his phone, and fell asleep with his head on his desk. In his dream, he saw Sudo expelled, his classmates leaving one by one, and Class D becoming lifeless... He jolted awake, his forehead slick with cold sweat.

"We have to find a lead..." he murmured, his eyes filled with a determination he'd never felt before. "I can't let what happened in that dream come true."

Meanwhile, Shangguan Che lay in bed, tossing and turning. His mind kept replaying Hirata's cold gaze that afternoon, along with the words, "I won't let that happen."

"That guy's definitely hiding something from me..." Shangguan Che muttered, then abruptly sat up. "No, even if I'm exhausted tomorrow, I have to stick with him. Maybe I'll find something out."

He picked up his phone and sent Ichinose a message: "Ichinose, could you ask some students from the other clubs tomorrow if you have time? If we find a lead, I'll buy you milk tea!"

Before long, Ichinose replied: "Sure, no problem! But you should get some rest too. Don't wear yourself out like Hirata!"

Shangguan Che looked at the message and couldn't help smiling. Ichinose really was thoughtful.

He put down his phone and lay back down, silently deciding that no matter what, he'd help Hirata resolve this. He wouldn't let him carry it all alone.