Degenerate Hirata?

Ichinose Honami saw Shangguan Che lounging against the corridor railing from a distance. Her pink hair swayed gently with her steps as she smiled and waved at him: "Shangguan-kun!"

Shangguan Che had just found a quiet, empty corner to slack off and rest for a bit. Hearing the voice, he looked up and met Ichinose's sparkling eyes, quickly waving back: "What a coincidence, are you done with your work?"

"Not yet, I just finished recording the activity status for one of the clubs." Ichinose walked over to his side, her gaze sweeping across the empty corridor as she asked curiously, "What are you doing here? Are you looking to join a new club? After all, this is the club activity building."

"Forget it, I don't have the energy for that." Shangguan Che waved his hand, leaning against the railing to stretch. "I joined the Soccer Club on the first day of school, back during the club recruitment fair."

"That early?" Ichinose's eyes widened slightly, a look of confusion crossing her face. "I thought you would consider joining the Student Council. Didn't you seem quite interested when we chatted before?"

Shangguan Che knew exactly what was going on; Ichinose must have been thinking about their previous WeChat conversations. He quickly brushed it off with a laugh: "Hey, that was just a passing whim! Joining a club is like a gust of wind—it blows over, and you can't really take it seriously."

He certainly wouldn't dare say that he only avoided the Student Council because he knew Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi were in it, and he couldn't be bothered to get involved in that mess.

"I see, Shangguan-kun is truly free-spirited." Ichinose nodded with a smile and didn't press further.

Shangguan Che quickly changed the subject, pointing toward Hirata, who was still talking to a second-year senior not far away, his tone laced with helplessness: "By the way, do you know about the fight that happened at school? The one between Class C and our Class D. Sudo got dragged into it, and now we're looking for witnesses. Look at that guy Hirata, he's like he's been injected with adrenaline; he's been asking around since this afternoon, with more energy than a husky."

"Are you talking about the incident at the abandoned club building on Friday evening?" Ichinose frowned, then shook her head. "I've asked everyone in my class, and no one went near there at that time. I'm really sorry I couldn't help."

"It's fine, it's fine," Shangguan Che waved his hands quickly, teasing with a smile. "The fact that you went out of your way to ask for us is enough. As expected of my 'Good Samaritan' Ichinose, you're truly reliable!"

"Shangguan-kun!" Ichinose's cheeks flushed instantly. She glared at him indignantly, hands on her hips like a ruffled little squirrel. "Why do you always call me a 'Good Samaritan'? It sounds so weird!"

"Just a gut feeling!" Shangguan Che suppressed a laugh, muttering to himself, I can't exactly tell you that I have a 'God's-eye view' and have known you were a kind soul all along, right?

Just then, a low voice came from the end of the corridor: "Ichinose-kouhai, break time is over. It's time to head to the next club."

Shangguan Che looked toward the sound and saw a boy with dyed yellow hair wearing a Student Council uniform standing there. His gaze was sharp; it was Nagumo Miyabi, the Student Council Vice President he had seen in the documents earlier.

His heart skipped a beat.

The yellow hair, the height—he looked exactly like the "mosaic boy" he had seen in the corridor that day! And who was the girl with him then? He had no memory of her; she was likely a second-year student too.

"I'm coming, Nagumo-senpai!" Ichinose immediately tucked away her small fit of temper, bowed to Nagumo Miyabi, and turned back to Shangguan Che. "Shangguan-kun, I have to go to work now. If I find any clues, I'll let you know right away!"

"Alright, thanks!" Shangguan Che waved, watching Ichinose trot off to catch up with Nagumo Miyabi. He couldn't help but mutter: "Does Nagumo Miyabi have a girlfriend? What am I even thinking about?" He shook his head to cast those messy thoughts aside and turned to find Hirata.

"Hirata, I just asked Ichinose. No one from Class B went to the abandoned club building. It was a wasted trip." Shangguan Che patted Hirata on the shoulder, his tone heavy with exhaustion.

Hirata nodded, his face still wearing a gentle smile, but the weariness in his eyes couldn't be hidden. "It's okay. Every class we ask is one more chance. Let's go, let's try the music club next door. Maybe someone saw something."

Shangguan Che watched his retreating back and sighed inwardly.

Well, it looks like there's no resting today.

And so, the two of them asked around from afternoon until dusk, hitting every club in the activity building, but the only answers they got were "didn't see" or "didn't hear."

The setting sun spilled through the windows, dyeing the corridor a warm yellow. Shangguan Che dragged his heavy feet behind Hirata, feeling as if his legs were no longer his own.

"I can't do it, I can't," Shangguan Che plopped onto a chair in the cafeteria, collapsing into a "Ge You slouch." "You go by yourself tomorrow. I have to go back to the dorm and catch up on sleep. If I keep running around like this, I'll be 'carried' out of school right along with Sudo."

Hirata didn't speak; he just silently placed his tray on the table and picked up his chopsticks, mechanically shoveling rice into his mouth.

Shangguan Che watched him, looking so soul-absent, and suddenly felt a bit panicked. Even when Hirata was exhausted, he was never this silent.

He hesitated for a moment before asking: "Hirata, what if... I mean, what if we never find any clues? Will Sudo really be expelled?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Hirata's hand stopped mid-air, and a few grains of rice spilled from his tray onto the table.

He kept his head down, his long eyelashes shielding his eyes, and didn't speak for a long time.

"Hirata? Hirata, what's wrong?" Shangguan Che felt a tightness in his chest. He reached out and nudged his arm, even calling him by his given name, "Yosuke." "Don't scare me, talk to me."

"I won't allow such a thing to happen." Hirata suddenly spoke, his voice low and cold. He sounded like a completely different person from the gentle, sunny boy he usually was, as if he were swearing to himself or suppressing something deep inside.

Shangguan Che was stunned. He had never heard Hirata use that tone before—it carried a near-obsessive determination that made his skin crawl.

Before Shangguan Che could react, Hirata suddenly looked up, his face returning to his usual smile as if that low, cold voice had been a hallucination: "Shangguan, don't think too much about it. We have to wait until everyone has tried their best before we can say anything. Let's eat, the food is getting cold."

"Oh... right." Shangguan Che nodded, though his mind was in a mess.

What was that moment with Hirata just now? He picked up his chopsticks, but he had no appetite, and after a few bites, he put them down.

After eating, the two returned to the dorm together in complete silence.

Shangguan Che wanted to ask about what happened earlier several times, but seeing Hirata's still-gentle profile, he swallowed the words back.

It wasn't until they reached the bottom of the dorm building that Hirata spoke: "Shangguan, thank you for accompanying me all day today. Get some rest."

"Yeah, you get some rest too." Shangguan Che nodded, watching Hirata turn and walk into the dorm building, his confusion deepening.

What exactly did he mean by "won't allow" in that sentence earlier?

On the other side, as soon as Hirata returned to his room, he leaned against the entryway, motionless. The corridor light shone on him, casting a long shadow. His fists clenched and relaxed, clenched and relaxed, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"I can't let things be like they were before..." he whispered to himself. "I want to create beautiful memories with everyone here. I don't want to lose anything again."

This afternoon in the cafeteria, he had almost lost control of his emotions. The thought of Sudo being expelled, the class points being deducted, and the hard-won unity of the class being destroyed made him panic.

That fear of loss washed over him like a tide, forcing those cold words out of his mouth.

"I must have scared Shangguan..." Hirata sighed, filled with regret.

On the way back to the dorm, Shangguan Che hadn't said a word; he must have been terrified by his behavior. He raised a hand to rub his brow, feeling that he had been far too exhausted lately.

Not only was he busy looking for clues, but he was also in charge of the study group and staying up late to answer questions for his classmates.

"Just sleeping a bit more doesn't seem to relieve the fatigue..." Hirata walked to his desk and opened his phone, where several questions from classmates had popped up on the screen.

These were mostly messages from female students and questions they hadn't understood during the study session; he had told everyone before leaving that morning that they could leave messages if they had questions, and he would reply when he had time.

"I'll reply to these questions before I rest." Hirata took a deep breath, opened his notebook, and began to answer them earnestly. Under the lamplight, his profile remained gentle, but the exhaustion in his eyes grew deeper and deeper.

What he didn't know was that Chabashira Sae had actually known about a "way out" all along.

As long as they argued at the tribunal that the punishment demanded by Class C was too severe and requested that the school provide a more appropriate penalty, such as a one-week suspension, they could save Sudo from being expelled.

This was an implicit rule of the school, and it was information that fell within the scope of what Chabashira Sae was authorized to disclose.

Yet, Chabashira Sae hadn't said a word. For one, the school hoped that students would learn to think independently and solve problems on their own; for another, she felt that Hirata would surely think of this. After all, in her eyes, Hirata was the "ace" of Class D—calm and capable—and it was impossible for him not to think of such a simple solution.

But she had forgotten that although Hirata was mature, he had experienced too little. He only knew that "failing grades lead to expulsion" and "serious disciplinary violations lead to expulsion," but he did not know that the school left room for maneuver when punishing students. It was precisely because of this information gap that Hirata was so anxious and pushed himself so hard.

The night grew late, and Hirata finally finished replying to all the students' questions, turned off his phone, and fell asleep slumped over his desk. In his dreams, he saw Sudo being expelled, saw his classmates leaving one by one, and saw Class D becoming lifeless... He woke up with a start, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"I must find a lead..." he muttered to himself, his eyes filled with unprecedented determination, "I absolutely cannot let what happened in that dream come true."

On the other side, Shangguan Che lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. His mind kept replaying the cold look in Hirata's eyes that afternoon, as well as the words, "I won't allow such a thing to happen."

"That guy is definitely hiding something from me..." Shangguan Che muttered, suddenly sitting up, "No, even if I'm exhausted tomorrow, I have to follow him; maybe I'll be able to discover something."

He picked up his phone and sent a message to Ichinose: "Ichinose, do you have time to ask students from other clubs for me again tomorrow? If we find a lead, I'll treat you to milk tea!"

Not long after, Ichinose replied: "Sure, no problem! But you also need to pay attention to your rest; don't wear yourself out like Hirata-kun~"

Shangguan Che couldn't help but smile as he looked at the message; Ichinose was as thoughtful as ever.

He put down his phone and lay back down, secretly deciding in his heart: no matter what, he had to help Hirata resolve this matter; he couldn't let him carry it all alone.