Anomalous

A week had passed since the start of school, and in that time, even though Zhuge Linghao had racked his brains, he had only managed to trigger a handful of options—three, to be exact.

After all, there were almost no students who would actively provoke Zhuge Linghao.

Consequently, he had only accumulated a total of 90 Emotion Points over these seven days.

Sitting in the classroom, Zhuge Linghao stared blankly at the sparrows outside the window.

[System, open personal panel.]

[Ding...]

School: Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School

Class: Class 1-D

Name: Zhuge Linghao

Alignment: Kind (Progress 2%)

Emotion Points: 182

Academic Ability: C

Intelligence: C

Social Intelligence: C

Physical Ability: C

Judgment: C

Skill: Triple Slide-Kneel Kowtow (System-granted, a random ability.)

Personality: Weak but loves to talk back, iron-willed straight man, rich inner monologue.

As an observer, Zhuge Linghao had already noticed that many small cliques had formed within the class.

For instance, the academic underachievers—Yamauchi Haruki, Ike Kanji, and Sotomura Hideo—often played games together online.

Then there were the groups surrounding Kushida Kikyo and Hirata Yosuke, who were chatting happily not far away.

Furthermore, there were the girls right in front of Zhuge Linghao: Karuizawa Kei, Shinohara Satsuki, Wang Meiyu, and Matsushita Chiaki.

These girls were very close, often shopping, buying clothes, gossiping, and eating lunch together.

Of course, there was no shortage of loners like Zhuge Linghao, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Horikita Suzune, Sakura Airi, Koenji, and Sudo Ken.

Zhuge Linghao had been tearing his hair out over Emotion Points these past few days, but he hadn't taken the initiative to make friends; he was just hoping someone would start some trouble with him!

At noon, Zhuge Linghao packed his bag and prepared to head to the cafeteria for lunch.

Suddenly, Horikita Suzune's cold yet pleasant voice drifted over: "This school really is indulgent toward its students. During class, some people sleep, others play games, and the teachers don't intervene at all. Is this really a key national school?"

Zhuge Linghao chuckled: "Once you're in high school, it's all about student autonomy."

Surprisingly, Horikita Suzune didn't retort; she simply pulled out a piece of bread and prepared to eat.

The "kind" Zhuge Linghao stared openly at Horikita Suzune's chest and remarked: "That kind of instant bread doesn't have much nutritional value. No matter how much you eat, it won't help you grow..."

Horikita Suzune put down her bread and shot him a death glare.

Zhuge Linghao quickly shut his mouth, grabbed his other desk-mate, Ayanokoji, and bolted.

"Ayanokoji, come have lunch with me, let's go!"

Unexpectedly, the two of them were intercepted by Kushida Kikyo the moment they stepped out of the classroom.

"Um, you're Zhuge-kun and Ayanokoji-kun, right? Could I steal a moment of your time?"

When he wasn't acting like a lunatic, Zhuge Linghao was quite unremarkable.

His entire gaze was drawn to a pair of full, firm mounds, and as his throat bobbed, he said: "Uh, you're Kushida, right? What do you need from us?"

"You two are on good terms with Horikita-san, aren't you? I want to become good friends with her. Could you help me ask her to meet at a cafe after school to chat?"

Ayanokoji said uncertainly: "Um, we aren't really that close with her."

Kushida Kikyo blinked her large eyes and said: "But you're the only ones who can actually talk to Horikita-san, right?"

As she spoke, she intentionally leaned her body forward, causing those large mounds to look as if they were about to burst out...

"I really, really want to be good friends with everyone in the class. I even asked Horikita-san for her contact information, but she said she didn't want to make friends with anyone and rejected me."

Zhuge Linghao exhaled a hot breath and nodded in agreement: "Yeah, that's just the kind of personality she has."

Without warning, Kushida Kikyo grabbed Zhuge Linghao's left hand with both of hers and began to act coquettishly, using an even more pitiful tone!

"But I really want to be good friends with Horikita-san. Can you help me?"

Trembling with excitement, a blush creeping up to his ears, Zhuge Linghao—whose Judgment was only a C—unconsciously wanted to agree to the request.

[Ding, detected that Kushida Kikyo intends to use the host to stir up trouble. Triggering option mission...]

[Whoo, that was close! I almost got bewitched by her beauty!]

[But, as someone who has been single since birth, this is my first time holding a girl's hand... hehe, so sweet.]

[Option A: The Neutral Party. Push all of Kushida Kikyo's requests onto Ayanokoji to resolve, while beautifully telling him: "This is a welfare opportunity I've secured for you, brother! It's a piece of cake! Go on, go on! Go pursue your happiness! I wish you a hundred years of harmony, and may you have children soon! May you live forever!"]

[Option B: The Love-Struck Fool. Immediately kneel on one knee, foolishly agree to Kushida Kikyo's demands, and willingly let her use you as a pawn. Treat every word of hers as an imperial decree, and after every action, shout at the people around you with a yandere expression: "Kikyo is the best! Kikyo is the best! Kikyo is the best!"]

[Option C: The Politician. Adjust your imaginary glasses, ruthlessly expose Kushida Kikyo's conspiracy on the spot, call the involved party Horikita Suzune to confront her face-to-face, and jump around between the two of them, fanning the flames, wishing they would start fighting right there and then!]

[Damn, that's some fat cat behavior right there. Option B is an immediate pass. So, should I pick A or C?]

[Push it to Ayanokoji to solve? That works too, after all, he's the real powerhouse, and I must hold onto his thighs tightly! But this time... I choose C!]

[The coexistence of justice and evil is what makes me a complete person!]

Zhuge Linghao let go of Kushida Kikyo's soft hand with great reluctance, and with a face full of righteous indignation, he said, "What exactly are you trying to do? Why do you want to use me to help you meet Horikita Suzune?"

After saying this, Zhuge Linghao gave a wicked smile, turned his head, and shouted toward the classroom, "Horikita, Horikita, come out quickly, someone is looking for you!"

Horikita Suzune walked out step by step, looked coldly at Zhuge Linghao and Kushida Kikyo, and questioned, "Do you two have business with me?"

Zhuge Linghao immediately started his performance: "Uh, well, it's this Kushida classmate here who wanted to use me to arrange a meeting with you. You should be asking her what this is about, right?"

Zhuge Linghao's move completely disrupted Kushida Kikyo's plan. Her expression became somewhat unnatural; she lowered her head and whispered, "I just wanted to be friends with Horikita-san..."

Zhuge Linghao started dancing the Kemu San and said, "Oh my? If you wanted to ask Horikita-san out, why didn't you do it yourself? Using a nobody like me to do it—what exactly is your intention?"

Watching the expressions of Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo slowly darken, Zhuge Linghao continued to fan the flames: "Kushida-san, your true goal isn't to be friends with Horikita."

"Because your temperaments and personalities are too different; it would be very difficult for you to become good friends, wouldn't it?"

"So, in reality, Kushida Kikyo, your true thought is that you must absolutely hate Horikita-san, right?"

Zhuge Linghao delivered the final blow!