With the most crucial evidence missing, the two sides began arguing again. In the end, Horikita Manabu revised the verdict:
[The five students from Class 1-C and Class 1-D are suspended for a week and a half! During this time, the five students must repent, do hard labor, and reflect on themselves.]
Hearing the verdict, Zhuge Linghao grinned from ear to ear. A week and a half off!
The hearing ended, and everyone left. Only Zhuge Linghao and Ryuen remained in the meeting room, facing each other.
Zhuge Linghao spoke first. "Things are a little awkward, so I'll put on some background music to liven things up!"
He pulled out his phone and tapped on a recording.
"You're getting expelled, no question! Not even Jesus can stop it, I'm telling you!"
"You're getting expelled, no question! Not even Jesus can stop it, I'm telling you!"
"You're getting expelled, no question! Not even Jesus can stop it, I'm telling you!"
Listening to the recording of himself repeatedly eating his words, Ryuen felt like his whole world had fallen apart!
[No wonder this guy was so cocky. He had evidence!]
Zhuge Linghao grinned. "Ryuen, about the 600,000 points you owe me—when are you going to transfer them?"
Ryuen's face was cold, but suddenly he burst out laughing. "Interesting. You're one entertaining black-haired monkey. Just you wait. Make sure you stay alive until I take you out!"
Looking at the extra 600,000 points on his phone, Zhuge Linghao couldn't control his expression. The corners of his mouth rose so high that not even a million-ton weight could push them down!
In an exaggerated, squeaky voice, Zhuge Linghao said, "We hope to see you again soon, Big Brother Ryuen!"
Ryuen had barely gone when Horikita Manabu and Tachibana-shoki appeared in front of Zhuge Linghao. Several people were still waiting outside.
Horikita Manabu said formally, "Zhuge Linghao, I have to say, you did an excellent job this time! Would you be interested in becoming my secretary in the Student Council?"
Tachibana-shoki's expression suddenly soured. The president already had a secretary—why did he need to hire another one?
Zhuge Linghao looked utterly shocked. "Secretary? Me? What have I done to deserve that? A Class 1-D loser as your secretary? How about I give you a hundred trillion yuan instead?"
Horikita Manabu said coldly, "Don't joke around."
Zhuge Linghao immediately replied, "But you were the one who joked with me first, President!"
Horikita Manabu didn't press him. "There's still a position open for secretary. I'll keep it open for you. I hope you'll give it serious thought."
Zhuge Linghao shook his head. "No thanks. I hate rules and regulations."
Horikita Manabu fixed Zhuge Linghao with a sharp gaze. "I've already delivered a fair and impartial verdict. You can delete that video now, right?"
The video Horikita Manabu was referring to was the one in which Zhuge Linghao had caught him hitting his younger sister.
Zhuge Linghao looked at Tachibana-shoki and suddenly had a Good idea!
With a straight face, Zhuge Linghao said, "The video? Oh, I remember. I deleted the video of you and me hooking up ages ago. Don't worry!"
At that, Tachibana-shoki's mouth fell open, as if she could swallow an entire ostrich egg!
Her eyes widened like saucers as she stared at the president, her face full of shock and disbelief.
Horikita Manabu and Tachibana-shoki had barely left when Chabashira Sae appeared in front of Zhuge Linghao. Several people were still waiting outside.
Chabashira Sae folded her arms and smirked. "You really went all out, huh? Weren't you afraid of getting expelled?"
Zhuge Linghao patted his chest, acting as if the realization had just dawned on him. "Teacher, I wasn't thinking that much at the time. I only realized how scary it was after watching the video! I might've been possessed or something..."
Chabashira Sae stepped forward and looked down at him, showing no mercy. "Hand in a five-thousand-word reflection tomorrow!"
Zhuge Linghao wailed, "What? Would 4,998 words less be okay?"
Chabashira Sae didn't even turn around. "That's not up for negotiation."
Chabashira Sae had barely left when Horikita Suzune appeared in front of Zhuge Linghao. There was only one person waiting outside now.
Zhuge Linghao glanced around nervously and could only steel himself. "Hey, Suzune-chan! What a thoroughly satisfying victory! We owe it all to your brilliant performance! Sudo and I won't be expelled thanks to you!"
Horikita Suzune said coldly, "So you've finally revealed your true nature as a perverted scumbag!"
Zhuge Linghao's eyes darted about as he protested guiltily, "Suzune-chan, let me explain! It was unavoidable!"
A chill seemed to radiate from Horikita. "Then I'd love to hear what made it unavoidable!"
Zhuge Linghao hurried to explain. "When a person is zoning out, or in any other state, giving their body a stimulus—like a light touch—can break them out of their usual mindset and state. It gets their brain working again, restoring clear consciousness and the ability to think."
Zhuge Linghao looked utterly certain. "I was trying to wake you up! That's right, exactly! Don't get the wrong idea!"
Horikita lowered her head, then took a compass from her hand. She looked like a demon straight out of hell!
Then Zhuge Linghao's earth-shaking "Awooo! Awooo!" echoed far and wide!
Horikita Suzune had barely left when Ayanokoji appeared in front of Zhuge Linghao. No one was waiting outside.
Ayanokoji said impassively, "Zhuge, you've been hiding your true nature well."
Zhuge Linghao was completely baffled. "Bro Ayanokoji? What do you mean?"
Ayanokoji said, "How arrogant do you have to be to sit through a two-hour hearing without saying a word? You must have nerves of steel."
[Bro Ayanokoji, don't read too much into it!]
[I'd tell you the system had muted me, but would you believe me?]
Ayanokoji looked Zhuge Linghao in the eye. "You were behind all of Sudo's unusual behavior, weren't you? There's no need to deny it. Neither of you put your phones down during such an important meeting, so you were sending Sudo instructions, telling him what to do."
"Otherwise, I can't imagine that idiot Sudo putting on such an impressive performance."
Zhuge Linghao dropped the act and openly nodded in admission.
Ayanokoji sat down beside Zhuge Linghao. "And aren't you going to explain yourself? The others might mistake you for a vicious person. Especially Sakura—she looks at you like you're a murderer."
"Actually, you went easy on those three delinquents from Class C, didn't you?"
Zhuge Linghao folded his hands. "Oh? What makes you say that?"
Ayanokoji's eyes were deep and thoughtful. "I've practiced piano and calligraphy too. Your punches looked fast and vicious, but they only grazed the three thugs' cheeks, didn't they?"
Afraid that Ayanokoji would see through him, Zhuge Linghao put on an exaggerated act. "Huh? But in the video, their noses were gushing blood!"
Ayanokoji gave a soft, emotionless laugh. "That's true, but you aimed at the right side of their noses. You used the recoil and a bit of finesse to make the scene look that frightening."
Ayanokoji continued to speculate. "In other words, those three thugs were only lightly injured. You made them hurt and scared, but you didn't actually try to kill them."
Ayanokoji leaned close to Zhuge Linghao's ear. "Think about it another way. If you'd really hit them hard, you'd have broken their noses or given them severe fractures. They'd need to be hospitalized for ten days or half a month."
Ayanokoji stood up. "But they're perfectly fine and full of energy now. The claim that you maliciously caused serious injuries, which President Horikita made, doesn't hold up at all. You could've asked for a medical examination and easily defused the expulsion crisis."
Standing at the meeting-room entrance, Ayanokoji looked at Zhuge Linghao from a distance. "You could've edited the video so the part where you and Sudo maliciously injured them disappeared. Wouldn't that have made it easier to get those three thugs from Class 1-C expelled?"
Zhuge Linghao hurriedly defended himself inwardly: [I wanted to! But Ryuen and I had just made a bet. If all three of them got expelled, I'd lose and have to pay Ryuen 400,000 points. I'd be completely broke!]
Before closing the meeting-room door, Ayanokoji left him with these words.
"I've been wondering why you were assigned to Class D. Now I think I might have an answer."
"You really like the thrill, don't you?"
"You keep deliberately turning the tables when you're in all kinds of desperate situations."
"You really get a kick out of messing with people, then putting on a mask and savoring all the different emotions they feel."
"You keep walking along the edge of danger. As your classmate, I'm warning you: one day, you'll slip and fall into an abyss."
"If that day ever comes, I'll be the one to correct you—the most seriously defective student in Class D."
Click. The meeting-room door closed.
[Heh. First Horikita Suzune, then Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. What a joke. What a joke.]
[Me, Zhuge Linghao, need correcting? There's something wrong with me?]
[It's all an act. You've all been fooled!]
[I act so well that you think I'm defective, when I'm actually a transmigrator!]
Suddenly, Zhuge Linghao's wild laughter rang through the empty meeting room.
[System, open my profile.]
[Beep. Opening...]
School: Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School Class: Class 1-D Name: Zhuge Linghao Alignment: Evil (16%) Emotional Points: 1985 ... Academic Ability: A Intelligence: A Cooperation: A Emotional Intelligence: A Physical Ability: A Judgment: A Identity or Skills: Acting Emperor, Triple Slide-Kneel Kowtow. Increases the chance that others will agree to your requests by 50% when you beg them. (System included; ability activates at random.) Personality: Bad at everything but loves talking back; hopelessly dense; a rich inner life. Hidden Personality (Identity): A thrill-seeking yandere!
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