Shadow, What Do You Want to Do Again!?

July, with only one month left until the school's final exams. But for the students of Class B, this was hardly a difficult matter.

"Ying, let's go celebrate Watanabe's birthday together later." After school, Hamaguchi approached Ying.

Watanabe Norito—Ying didn't usually have much interaction with him, but the students of Class B were incredibly close-knit, and they made it a point to celebrate whenever someone had a birthday.

"Let me check if the Student Council has anything going on first." Although Ying enjoyed eating, drinking, and having fun, the constant partying was starting to wear him out, and he hoped to use the "busy with Student Council" excuse to decline this time.

"This is a guys-only session, we can play some games that the girls wouldn't be able to let loose with~." Hamaguchi tempted him.

"Hmph, do you take me for that kind of person?" Ying thought of himself as a man of integrity; how could he possibly play shady games with such vulgar people?

"Tetsuya, I'll only ask you one question." Ying looked into Hamaguchi's eyes and said solemnly, "What kind of birthday gift does Watanabe like?"

"Tetsuya, is this what you meant by games the girls wouldn't be able to let loose with?" Ying asked, looking at the noisy crowd.

"Yeah, don't you think it's fun, Ying?" Hamaguchi said as if it were obvious.

"That's not it, who hides from girls just to play video games?" Ying's eyelid twitched as he looked at the Class B boys inside the Esports Party Hall.

"Can you just play properly or what?" Hamaguchi said, speechless.

"Play what, for crying out loud! What kind of trash teammates did you assign me! I want to play seriously, but I can't even get started!" Ying lamented in agony.

"Now you know why they didn't let the girls come play," Hamaguchi said, looking at the teammates paired with Ying.

"Ah, if they were on a team with girls, they'd be ruining it for them, but why are they ruining it for me now? Losing normally is one thing, it's just a game after all, but why do the losers have to pay the bill!" Ying really couldn't carry this team; even if he had a reason not to lose, he was destined to lose.

Personal points reduced by 10,000...

After finishing the games, a question suddenly occurred to Ying, "Tetsuya, when is Ichinose's birthday?"

Hamaguchi thought for a moment and replied, "I don't know, she hasn't had a birthday in the few months since school started."

"Now that you mention it, I seem to recall that Ichinose's birthday is in July, though I've forgotten the exact date," Shibata added from the side.

Ying and Hamaguchi exchanged a look and both sent a message to a certain girl.

"Amikura, do you know when Ichinose's birthday is?"

"I already told Hamaguchi."

"...Right."

"I've got it, Ichinose's birthday is July 20th, two weeks from now," Hamaguchi said.

Ying smiled mysteriously, put his arms around the two of them, and said, "Ichinose has done so much for the class, and now that her birthday is coming up, shouldn't we do something?"

"Uh... prepare a birthday gift in advance?" Hamaguchi replied.

"Do more work for Ichinose?" Shibata replied.

"Are you guys idiots? Isn't that a given?" Ying gave them both a flick to the forehead, speechless. "Ryota, you tell them what we should do." Ying shouted toward Beppu, who was walking behind them.

"What were you guys just talking about?" Beppu asked.

Ying: ...

Then, Ying explained the situation to Beppu all over again.

"That's obviously a surprise party."

"Tetsuya, Sata, you guys should learn a thing or two. As expected, Ryota is the one who understands my thoughts best," Ying said, crossing his arms.

"So... you want to prepare a surprise for Ichinose?" Hamaguchi asked.

"That's for sure, and it won't just be me. You guys have to help too. It's best to call a few more people and tell the rest of the class in advance, but make sure they keep it a secret."

"So Ying, how do you want to prepare it?" Shibata asked.

"Don't you trust me yet? I always handle things perfectly."

Everyone: It's precisely because you're the one handling it that we don't trust you.

Ying set up a secret group chat and began discussing the surprise preparations within it.

＜Class B Secret Organization (23)＞

Codename Ying: "Everyone, hurry up and pull in the rest of Class B."

Chihiro: "Got it."

'Ichinose joined the group chat'

'Ichinose was kicked from the group chat by Codename Ying'

Codename Ying: "Everyone, don't add Ichinose!"

Yume: "Huh? Why? Does Byakuya want to isolate Ichinose?"

I am Ichinose's Dog: "Byakuya wants to isolate Ichinose? You brat looking for a death wish?"

Chihiro: "Isolation is wrong! And the username above is disgusting."

Codename Ying: "No, you guys misunderstood, we want to prepare a birthday surprise party for Ichinose!"

Zhe-Zhe-Zhe-Zhe-Zhe: "That's right, Ichinose has helped us so much, we should do something for her too."

'Group chat renamed to Ichinose Birthday Surprise by Sata'

Chihiro: "But Ichinose is right next to me, I don't know if she saw my terminal or not."

'Chihiro was kicked from the group chat by Codename Ying'

'Chihiro was added to the group chat by Asako'

Asako: "I'm with them, Ichinose isn't peeking at the screen. Baiye, are you sick in the head?"

Codename Ying: "Sumimasen! (Sorry)"

"So, does anyone have any ideas? Like, what kind of things Ichinose likes?"

Ying felt a headache looking at the flood of suggestions on his screen. Is throwing a surprise party really this much trouble? Is it too late to back out?

"No, seriously, how are we supposed to set up a birthday surprise party that is pure and healing, full of youthful vibes, yet also nostalgic and retro, immersive and heart-pounding, includes tons of interactive segments, and ensures everyone has an incredibly intense experience?!"

Ying couldn't help but feel speechless. Aren't these two completely different styles? Can they really be blended together?

Inside the student council room, Ying was doing his tasks absent-mindedly.

"Baiye, you're missing a page from the documents you revised. Can you be a bit more serious?" Tachibana scolded Ying while holding a stack of papers.

"Sorry... By the way, Tachibana-senpai, have you ever helped organize a birthday party for someone?" Ying asked.

"I have, why?"

"I wanted to ask how to pull off a healing, youthful-style party," Ying asked.

Tachibana pondered for a moment and said, "You could decorate with more balloons and use softer color tones. You could also prepare some background music and add some greenery."

Is that so? Ying thought to himself.

At the 401 dormitory, Ying stopped by for a visit and found it quite lively; the idiot trio was actually studying!?

"Ying! You have to save me! The final exams are coming up soon, but I'm still failing math!" Sudo pleaded with Ying for help.

"Uh..." Ying then taught the idiot trio math for a while. As the three were about to leave, Ying remembered the party and asked.

"Do you guys know how to set up a nostalgic, retro, and immersive heart-pounding birthday party?"

"I'm an expert at this!" Ike grabbed Ying and said excitedly, "First and foremost, the most important thing is the surprise! You have to create a huge contrast to give people a refreshing feeling. Like, it might look like an ordinary box, but when that person opens it, it triggers a series of chain reactions—like exploding lights, background music suddenly kicking in, and everyone jumping out from somewhere. You also need a script in advance and assign everyone a specific role."

Is that so...? Ying thought. So, can these two styles really be fused together?

To clear his head, Ying strolled through the park on campus. Then, he spotted a strange girl.

She had long purple hair and was meditating under a tree, even though there was a bench right in front of her. Ying just glanced at her and continued thinking about the party...

"Young man, is something weighing on your mind?" the girl suddenly said as Ying walked past.

"Wha... how did you know?" Ying was shocked.

"I can hear it," the girl said.

"You can hear my inner thoughts!?"

"No, I can hear the whispers of the forest. They say you are troubled."

"!? If I could hear the forest too, could they solve my troubles for me?" Ying asked hurriedly.

"It's not impossible, but it is very difficult."

"I am willing to try."

"Baiye, what are you doing?" An hour later, Kanzaki walked past the park and saw Ying hanging upside down from a tree, with the girl still meditating underneath.

"Oh, Kanzaki. I am listening to the voice of the world... Why are you upside down?" Ying said slowly.

"Baiye Ying, can you hear it yet?"

"No, Morishita Ran, I'm still a little short."

"Is that so? Then, I'll be going." Kanzaki felt like something bad was about to happen.

"I, I think I've reached enlightenment! But, Kanzaki, do you know dark magic? Why is my vision slowly turning black?" Ying stared at Kanzaki and said.

"Baiye... what are you talking about? Baiye! Baiye!"

Before Kanzaki could finish his sentence, Ying fell from the tree and passed out.

In the infirmary, the doctor told Kanzaki that Ying had fainted due to cerebral congestion from hanging upside down for too long and just needed to rest. However, he noted that this was the first time he'd seen someone hang for so long before fainting. (Dangerous action, please do not imitate)

On the hospital bed, Ying suddenly snapped his eyes open.

"I, I have reached enlightenment!"