At 9:30 p.m., Zhuge Linghao left the library with a blissful smile.
As expected, no matter which Classroom of the Elite fanfic it is, Shiina Hiyori is always such a gentle, kind girl!
Thirsty, Zhuge Linghao headed for a vending machine and suddenly noticed someone talking beneath the dim streetlights.
"Suzune, I never thought you'd choose this school."
"I'm not the useless girl you used to know anymore! I came here to catch up to you!"
Isn't that Horikita Manabu and his younger sister, Horikita Suzune?
Wasn't this scene supposed to be something Ayanokoji ran into? How did I end up stumbling across it?
What should I do? Pretend I didn't see anything?
But curiosity got the better of the cat, so Zhuge Linghao decided to eavesdrop a little longer.
"You still haven't realized your own shortcomings. Choosing this school was your biggest mistake."
Horikita Suzune had dropped her usual cold, forceful demeanor. Her voice lacked confidence as she said, "I'll be promoted to Class A soon. Then I'll be able to catch up to..."
Horikita Manabu cut her off coldly and mercilessly. "You can't do it!"
Horikita Manabu raised his younger sister's right arm and slammed it against the wall.
"Having a younger sister in Class D is an embarrassment to me. Leave this school at once. You don't have the qualifications or the ability to climb higher. Face reality!"
Then Horikita Manabu drew back his right hand and struck Horikita Suzune hard in the stomach.
Zhuge Linghao recorded the whole thing on his phone, the corners of his mouth rising uncontrollably!
Who would've thought? The student council president, who should be the most committed to following school rules, is publicly attacking someone over personal matters!
This is just too interesting!
Three seconds later, Zhuge Linghao jumped out, shouting righteously, "Stop!"
The panel's Experimenter and Sharp-tongued skills activated again.
"Oh? Is this really the same Horikita Suzune I know? Always looking down on people and calling them losers. How come the tables have turned now?"
"Oh? Isn't that the famous President Horikita? The president's hitting someone! And it's his own sister! This news will be all over school tomorrow!"
For the first time, Horikita Suzune's voice sounded so uncertain. "Zhuge? This has nothing to do with you. Get lost!"
"Suzune? A friend of yours? I never thought you'd make a friend," Horikita Manabu said with a faint smile, looking somewhat pleased.
Horikita Suzune lowered her eyes and denied it. "He's not a friend. At most, he's just a classmate!"
No one spoke. The three of them were left in awkward silence.
Horikita Manabu decided to test Zhuge Linghao's skills. Without warning, he punched toward Zhuge Linghao's head.
Zhuge Linghao barely dodged with an awkward roll.
He didn't forget to run his mouth. "President, you sucker-punched me! That's not very honorable!"
"Tomorrow's news will have another headline: 'The President Attacks the Weak!'"
Horikita Manabu wasn't fazed. He closed in at an astonishing speed.
Zhuge Linghao couldn't make out his opponent's footwork or movements before a left roundhouse kick landed squarely on him.
Zhuge Linghao went with the momentum, theatrically flung himself three meters away, and lay motionless on the ground...
"Yamete! Stop hitting him, onii-chan!" Horikita Suzune cried out, sprawled on the ground.
System, damn it! Your host's getting beaten to a pulp! Why haven't you triggered a choice yet?
Ding! Horikita Manabu means no harm. He only wanted to test the host, so no choice can be triggered.
Then I take back what I said earlier. Turns out I'm not invincible when I'm passive!
Ah, now I realize how important emotion points are!
If I had enough emotion points right now, I could buy a Combat Expert trial card or something. Then I wouldn't be getting beaten this badly!
I've decided. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to stir up trouble like crazy and earn emotion points!
Horikita Manabu knew when to stop. He pushed up his glasses and said to Zhuge Linghao, slightly disappointed, "You're really weak!"
Bruised and battered, Zhuge Linghao sprang upright and pointed at Horikita Manabu, his voice trembling with tears as he stubbornly retorted, "Hmph! Don't get cocky. One of these days, I'll fight you for three hundred rounds!"
Horikita Manabu ignored Zhuge Linghao and turned to Horikita Suzune, his voice cold. "Being alone isn't the same as standing alone. Think about it."
"Suzune, if you want to make it to Class A, then fight tooth and nail and keep struggling."
Watching Horikita Manabu's shadow disappear beneath the streetlights, Zhuge Linghao couldn't resist another barb. "Siscon!"
The scene shifted to a park bench.
"Sorry you had to see that. Are you hurt?" Horikita Suzune asked.
"No, not at all!" Zhuge Linghao snickered.
At once, the summer heat vanished, replaced by a chill that chilled the soul.
Frost seemed to cover Zhuge Linghao's entire body. Faced with Horikita Suzune's murderous glare, he chose to give in.
"No, I didn't say anything! Right, I just remembered something funny!"
Zhuge Linghao hurriedly changed the subject. "By the way, Hirata and the others said they were starting a Study Group?"
"Yeah. I'm not joining. I don't think there's any point wasting time and energy on people who are bound to fail. There's nothing to gain from it!"
"But people like me, who fail, will be expelled! And those other weak students in the back will be expelled too, right?"
"No, you won't be expelled."
"Why not?"
Sitting on the bench, Horikita Suzune seemed to have regained some confidence. "With me tutoring you, how could you still fail? If you did, you might as well dig a hole and bury yourself right now!"
Suzune-chan, I was just being polite earlier. You actually took me seriously?
I'm busy! I have trouble to stir up! How am I supposed to find all that time to study under your watch?
Zhuge Linghao said seriously, "But is it really okay to just watch the others get expelled?"
Horikita Suzune replied casually, "What happens to them has nothing to do with me. Besides, getting rid of the worse students should make it easier to move up a class."
Zhuge Linghao frowned. "That way of thinking is dangerous."
Come on, the battle music was about to start!
Zhuge Linghao transformed into the Sharp-tongued once more.
"Suzune-chan, has anyone ever told you that you're actually really self-centered?"
"You always think that students with bad grades or weak physiques are dead weight. When you meet someone you think is useless, you want to kick them aside."
"Isn't that condescending attitude and way of thinking exactly why you ended up in Class D?"
A while passed. Zhuge Linghao was already bracing himself to get beaten, but Horikita Suzune didn't fly into a rage. Instead, she seriously considered whether what he said was true!
The next day, during the long break.
Several classmates caught in a Point crisis were desperately asking others to lend them Points.
System, open Ayanokoji's profile.
Ding! Opening now!
School: Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School
Class: Class 1-D
Name: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka
Alignment: Neutral
Combat Power: ???
Academic Ability: C
Intelligence: C-
Cooperation: D
Emotional Intelligence: C+
Physical Ability: C-
Judgment: C
Identity or Skills: Concealer, Combat Expert, Politician, Chess Grandmaster, etc.
Personality: Always emotionally stable; a free-spirited recluse. However, he'll use any means necessary to achieve his goals!
Famous Quote: I only care about the outcome. The process doesn't matter, as long as I'm the one who wins in the end.
As expected of the protagonist. What a presence—he even has a famous quote!
But, System, are you sure you're not fake?
Ayanokoji's stats are obviously wrong!
Ding... Ayanokoji is constantly using his Concealer skill, so his true stats cannot be detected.
Fine. Then check Horikita Suzune's profile for me!
Ding! Opening now!
School: Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School
Class: Class 1-D
Name: Horikita Suzune
Alignment: Good
Bust: ???
Academic Ability: A
Intelligence: A
Cooperation: E
Emotional Intelligence: B
Physical Ability: B+
Judgment: B-
Identity or Skills: Straight-A Student, Sharp-tongued, Brocon, Lone Wolf, etc.
Personality: Dislikes socializing, thinks highly of herself, depends on no one and trusts no one, but is pure and kind at heart.
Just as Zhuge Linghao was examining Horikita Suzune's profile, a beautiful figure stopped in front of him.
"I thought about it last night and decided to help the weaker students get through the midterm exams," Horikita Suzune said, her cool demeanor restored.
"Really? That's great! Then we won't have to worry about losing Class Points, right?" Zhuge Linghao enthusiastically agreed.
"So I need you to do me a favor."
"What favor?"
"Bring the three struggling students who refused to join the Study Group—Ken Sudō, Kanji Ike, and Yamauchi Haruki—to me for tutoring."
"I'm busy. Can I say no?"
Horikita Suzune silently took out a pair of compasses. The sharp metal point looked especially frightening in the sunlight.
Zhuge Linghao immediately changed his tune. "Hey, Suzune-chan, you've finally gotten motivated! Don't worry, I'll get the job done! I'll bring all three of those problem students over! I can even supervise them, hehe!"
"Supervise them? I think you've misunderstood something! That includes you, you idiot. All four of you are coming to my Study Group!" Horikita Suzune wore her signature mocking smile again.
"Uh... Seriously?"
Zhuge Linghao's scream rang out through the classroom.
Before you continue