"Unexpected Gathering" and a Minor Alliance Interlude

On the way back to the dormitory, Shangguan Che walked only a few steps with his camera in hand before his arm began to ache.

The camera looked compact, but it was actually quite heavy.

He turned his head to look at Sakura, who was clutching her broken camera beside him, and with a roll of his eyes, he handed his own camera over: "Sakura, here, take this."

"Eh? Shangguan, what are you doing?" Sakura was startled and hurriedly waved her hands, not daring to take it.

Shangguan Che cleared his throat and said with a straight face, "I was just thinking, since your camera is broken and will take three days to fix, you must be feeling stifled not being able to take photos in the meantime. I don't need mine for now, so just borrow it."

"This... this isn't appropriate, is it? It's too much trouble for you." Sakura's face flushed bright red, and she twisted the hem of her shirt nervously, still refusing to take it.

Shangguan Che chuckled inwardly; Sakura's reaction was exactly as expected.

He changed his tone, deliberately furrowing his brows: "Alright, alright, I'll be honest. This camera is too heavy and my arm is sore. Could you help me carry it for a while? Just consider it a favor."

"Eh? So that's it." Sakura instantly let out a sigh of relief, quickly took the camera into her arms, and whispered, "Okay, I'll help you carry it."

I really am a genius, Shangguan Che praised himself in his heart.

He had helped Sakura, lightened his own load, and ensured she wouldn't feel indebted to him—this trick only worked on someone like Sakura.

He flexed his sore fingers and said with a smile, "Thanks a lot, Sakura. You're really a good person."

"No, it's nothing at all..." Sakura's cheeks flushed again, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Shangguan Che immediately shut his mouth and walked along obediently.

If he teased her any further, she might just die of embarrassment and try to crawl into a crack in the ground.

As the two reached the bottom of the dormitory building, Shangguan Che saw a group of people gathered ahead, and one familiar figure among them was standing with his back to them, talking on the phone.

"Yo, Hirata, what are you doing here?" he asked instinctively.

Hirata turned his head, and upon seeing them, his eyes lit up: "Shangguan, you're here too?"

Only when Shangguan Che got closer did he notice that Horikita, Ayanokoji, and Ichinose were standing beside Hirata, along with a strange boy.

He was wearing a first-year uniform and looked refined; he must have been a student from another class.

Damn it, I walked right into a trap, Shangguan Che thought, his heart sinking.

With this group gathered together, it definitely wasn't for anything good; they were surely discussing the situation with Sudo.

If he had known, he would have taken a detour. Now that he was involved, there was no telling if he'd be roped into "doing chores" again.

"Good afternoon, Shangguan!" Ichinose was the first to greet him with a smile, her pink hair swaying gently as she nodded, looking exceptionally friendly.

Shangguan Che scanned the group and noticed that Horikita and Ayanokoji didn't say anything, and the strange boy only gave him a glance.

He calculated silently: out of five people, two took the initiative to greet him, which was a ratio of two-fifths—not bad at all.

Hirata definitely counted as proactive; yes, that was it.

Thinking this way, he felt much more at ease.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" Shangguan Che immediately beamed, putting on an "enthusiastic" expression, trying to bluff his way through.

"Perfect, we were just talking about class matters. You should listen in too, Shangguan." Hirata grabbed his arm, afraid he might run off.

"Eh, isn't this Sakura?" Hirata only then noticed Sakura and quickly added, "Oh, I see. If it's inconvenient for you, Shangguan, it's fine if you don't stay."

Shangguan Che rolled his eyes internally: Hirata, the way you say things, it would have been better if you hadn't said anything at all! The first half pulls me in, and the second half gives me an out—am I supposed to leave or stay?

Of course, he knew Hirata meant well.

The whole class knew he and Sakura often ate together and walked back to the dorms; Hirata was surely worried about interrupting their time together.

"Sakura and I really aren't like that!" Shangguan Che waved his hands helplessly. "When did you become such a gossip?"

"Sorry, sorry, I misunderstood." Hirata immediately bowed in apology, his attitude so sincere that Shangguan Che felt bad about complaining.

"It's fine, it's fine," Shangguan Che quickly smoothed things over, pulling Sakura back as he retreated. "Sakura and I will head off first. You guys continue your chat; we won't disturb you!"

Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing was the best; he didn't want to get dragged into the trouble of forming alliances.

Besides, looking at Sakura, she definitely didn't want to speak in front of so many people either.

It wasn't until their backs disappeared at the stairwell that the group gathered back together.

"Hirata, there was no need to keep Shangguan. It makes no difference whether he's here or not." Horikita crossed her arms, her tone flat; she clearly didn't think much of Shangguan Che.

In her eyes, Shangguan Che was no different from Ike and the others—just a "slacker" thinking about dating in high school.

The only difference was that Ike wore his thoughts on his sleeve and was always fawning over girls, mainly Kushida Kikyo, while Shangguan Che didn't say it out loud but always stuck to a weak-willed girl like Sakura; there was nothing special about him.

"Horikita, that's not right," Hirata quickly countered. "Shangguan is actually quite capable. Last time, when we needed to get the surveillance footage from Chabashira-sensei, and when we were gathering clues from Ichinose, he was the one who took the initiative. If it weren't for him, things might not have gone so smoothly."

"As you wish." Horikita didn't argue further, only glancing coldly at Ayanokoji beside her.

That guy hadn't said a word since just now; she wondered what he was plotting.

"Alright, alright, let's not argue about this. Let's talk about the real business," Ichinose said with a smile, steering the topic back. "Should Class D form an alliance with Class B?"

As soon as she said this, everyone's eyes focused on her.

In truth, there was a reason Ichinose proposed an alliance: yesterday, she heard that Hirata and the others were still looking for witnesses to the Sudo incident, so she went to the area near the abandoned club building early this morning to see if she could find any clues. As it turned out, she ran into Horikita and Ayanokoji, who were also investigating, and later, Hirata arrived alone.

When they started talking about the matter, Ichinose mentioned what she knew about the situation in Class C.

She possessed strong social skills, and long before Ryuen had established absolute authority in Class C, she had already learned of their modus operandi through various channels, knowing full well that they preferred to solve problems using "violence" and "threats."

The Sudo incident this time was clearly a trap set by Class C, intended to take advantage of the situation to bring down Class D.

Ichinose felt that in the current situation, only by joining forces could they counter the threat from Class C, so she immediately contacted Kanzaki Ryuji, the vice representative of Class B, and called him over to discuss the matter of an alliance.

"An alliance?" Hirata was taken aback, looking somewhat surprised. "Why the sudden need for an alliance?"

Kanzaki Ryuji adjusted his glasses and spoke first: "Ichinose-san has already explained the situation to me. Although Class C's target this time is Class D, given Ryuen's personality, he might target Class B next. Rather than fighting individually, it is better to join forces; that way, whether we are looking for witnesses or preparing for next week's disciplinary hearing, we will have a better chance of success."

Hirata nodded, feeling that what Kanzaki said made sense, yet he still hesitated: "But... if we form an alliance, what exactly should we do? Given the current situation of Class D, it seems we wouldn't be able to help Class B with much."

"That's not true," Ichinose said with a smile. "We can share resources. Class B has many connections within various clubs and can help you inquire about witnesses. Although Class D is currently ranked low, you, Hirata-kun, have great influence, and the students in your class are very united. As long as we work together, we will definitely be able to solve this problem."

Horikita frowned, raising her own concerns: "If the alliance is discovered by Class C, won't they target us even more? Furthermore, how can we guarantee that Class B won't turn around and use us?"

She had always been one to distrust others, especially when it came to cooperation involving class interests.

Ayanokoji finally spoke, his voice as flat as ever: "The core of an alliance is aligned interests. Right now, Class C is our common threat; as long as this threat remains, Class B will not betray us. As for being discovered... even without an alliance, Class C wouldn't let Class D go, would they?"

His words suddenly awakened everyone.

Hirata took a deep breath and looked at Ichinose and Kanzaki: "Alright, I agree to the alliance. However, we still need to discuss the specific details of our cooperation, such as how to divide the labor in searching for clues and how to handle next week's disciplinary hearing."

"No problem!" Ichinose nodded immediately, a happy smile appearing on her face. "Then let's discuss the specifics right now..."

The group gathered together and began to discuss earnestly. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell upon them; although everyone had different thoughts and even some disagreements, they chose to join forces temporarily to counter their common threat.

That afternoon, the small episode of the alliance beneath the dormitory building was like a pebble thrown into a lake; while it didn't stir up huge waves for the moment, it unknowingly changed the situation for Class D. And the days to follow were destined to be anything but calm.