Horikita Suzune: What Do You Want Me to Do? / Horikita Suzune's Devoted-Dog Side.

Perhaps because she had been under constant tension since the Additional Exam, Ibuki Mio rubbed her temples wearily after the initial cooperation was finalized, showing that she hadn't been having a good time lately.

"Hehe, the future needs to be created by our own hands."

Hashiba Hikaru Shiina Hiyori exchanged a glance. The other woman's stock price was 150, and the previous incident in which she revealed her feelings had already explained her true thoughts.

"I believe that Classmate Hashiba can achieve his goal."

The gentle and beautiful gray-haired girl smiled slightly, her expression tender. Even though she couldn't always be by his side, just being able to see him was enough to make Shiina Hiyori very content.

"How about this: after this Additional Exam is over, if I achieve all my goals, I will make you a promise."

Perhaps thinking of something, Hashiba Hikaru Ibuki Mio, who was sitting opposite her, "This is an additional condition I've added."

"What promise?"

Upon hearing this, the short-haired girl immediately sat up straight and stared intently at his face.

"It means you can ask me to do something, and if I can do it, I definitely won't refuse."

Hashiba Hikaru's tone was gentle. He felt Shiina Hiyori's gaze, but his expression remained calm. "Of course, this matter cannot harm the interests of Class A. What do you think?"

"Your promise?"

Ibuki Mio looked at the boy's handsome face with some suspicion, but quickly understood.

Indeed, Hashiba Hikaru is very capable. She has achieved outstanding results in every Special Exam since the start of the school year, and now she has taken over as Student Council President as a first-year student. If nothing unexpected happens, her power and influence will reach a new level after she enters her Second Year.

"Any request is acceptable as long as it doesn't harm Class A's interests?"

Ibuki Mio repeated herself, seemingly to confirm Hashiba Hikaru's sincerity.

"Of course, a gentleman's word is as good as his bond, and I will definitely do what I promised."

Hashiba Hikaru nodded. This promise was actually a statement to Shiina Hiyori, and he believed that the intelligent girl would understand this.

"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony!"

Although Ibuki Mio doesn't want to rely on a man, if he could unconditionally help her with something, given his abilities, he might be able to accomplish many important plans.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you."

Seeing a smile on Ibuki Mio's face, who had always been hostile to her, Hashiba Hikaru extended her hand to her.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

The two clasped hands lightly and then let go. After receiving this promise, Ibuki Mio's mood did indeed improve a lot.

She had always disliked Ryuen Kakeru. If she hadn't lost the vote, how could the girl have allowed this guy to run wild in class? Once she regained her authority as class representative, she would do what she was supposed to do.

"That's wonderful! Ibuki and Classmate Hashiba have finally gotten along better. I'm so happy!"

Shiina Hiyori clasped her hands together, a genuine smile appearing on her quiet and elegant face.

"I have no choice, seeing how difficult things are for you, I'll give you a little something extra."

Hashiba Hikaru shrugged, striking a very magnanimous pose.

"Hmph, don't get too cocky, I'll make you pay later!"

After a while, as if she had thought of something, Ibuki Mio suddenly turned her head to look at Shiina Hiyori, who was all smiles, and then turned her head to look at Hashiba Hikaru's gentle expression.

"Wait a minute, you're not making this promise for Shiina, are you?"

A guess flashed through Ibuki Mio's mind, and her expression instantly turned ugly.

"How could that be? I was just expressing friendliness."

Hashiba Hikaru spread her hands, looking completely innocent.

"Give me a straight answer, is it for Shiina?!"

Ibuki Mio's gaze darted back and forth between the two faces, her suspicions growing stronger, and her expression turning even angrier.

"Don't be too loud, this is Library."

Hashiba Hikaru unfolded the magazine again, grinning like a fox who had stolen a chicken.

Chapter 589 Horikita Suzune: What do you want me to do?

After finishing her discussion with Shiina Hiyori and Ibuki Mio, Hashiba Hikaru left the Library with her phone.

The boy actually had a lot of confidence in Ibuki Mio. She had been chosen as the class representative at the beginning of the school year, and regardless of whether it was for something as intangible as collective honor, he believed that this girl must want Class C to become better.

Ryuen Kakeru's behavior is highly unpredictable, so it's normal for Ibuki to disapprove.

If Ibuki and Shiina can secretly win over other students, and if more than half of them choose to support them, Ryuen Kakeru will realize this serious problem. If he's not stupid, he'll definitely think about trading Praise Vote.

"Next, we should meet up with Suzune."

Hashiba Hikaru took out her phone and glanced at it. The time she had arranged to meet the black-haired girl was 12:30 pm. She had booked a table at the restaurant and planned to eat and chat with her today.

Because it was Saturday, most of the popular restaurants required reservations. When the boy arrived at the restaurant, there was already a long queue outside.

"Hello, this is Hashiba, who made an appointment yesterday."

Hashiba Hikaru took out her phone; her Student ID was the only valid pass on the Artificial Island. The clerk quickly led the boy to a table suitable for the two of them to sit facing each other.

"My companion hasn't arrived yet, so I won't order anything. Could I please have a hot drink?"

"OK."

After the shop assistant left, Hashiba Hikaru took out her phone and browsed the Student Forum. After the rules for the Additional Exam were announced, there were many more posts on the forum related to the exam.

This Addition Voting Exam wasn't the first of its kind. While its rules were harsh, the way to participate was simple: all it took was filling out a few names, requiring absolutely no physical exertion.

However, students who lack confidence in their interpersonal relationships and worry about being disliked often feel helpless, such as those who rank low in exams.

After all, each class is a large group. If it really comes down to who should be abandoned, everyone will subconsciously want to abandon the least useful one.

The definition of "useless" is particularly evident in this school, which is rife with class competition. For example, dragging down the class in Special Exam, having low scores on Written Exam, and having weak Comprehensive Ability are all considered reasons for being "useless."

"Once the comprehensive evaluation system for individual qualities is released, the atmosphere in schools will likely become even more brutal."

Hashiba Hikaru sighed. After this Additional Exam, the boy would have to start building his new department, a very important centralized plan that required a steady and meticulous approach.

"Classmate Hashiba."

Just as the boy was deep in thought, he heard Horikita Suzune's voice. He looked up and saw the delicate face of the black-haired girl.

The girl wasn't wearing her school uniform today; instead, she was dressed in a very wintery-style casual outfit.

She wore a long black wool coat over a cream-colored sweater, and high-waisted wide-leg jeans that accentuated her long, shapely legs. To keep warm, Horikita Suzune also wore a light blue scarf around her neck, the only bright color in the outfit, which made her look very stylish.

"Good afternoon, Horikita."

Hashiba Hikaru guided the girl to sit down, and upon seeing her attire, he offered words of praise almost without hesitation—an essential basic skill.

"You look great in this outfit today, it suits you perfectly."

"Classmate Hashiba."

Horikita Suzune's lips curled into a faint smile. Being praised by someone she liked was certainly a wonderful thing. It was worth it for her to have spent so long choosing clothes in the dormitory, all to make the boy's eyes light up.

"Let's order first, then we can chat while we eat."

"Um."

"Ladies first."

Hashiba Hikaru handed the menu to the other person. He had about ten million Private Points, which, while not as much as Ichinose Honami who was the class's treasury, was more than enough to pay the bill.

During the ordering process, the young man thoughtfully ordered a hot drink for the girl to warm her up, and then came the main event of the day.

Have you spoken to Hirata?

Hashiba Hikaru took out his phone; he had Hirata Yosuke's contact information and they had chatted several times in the past few days.

"We've talked. Although Hirata is unhappy with this Additional Exam, he expressed his unwillingness to cooperate with Ryuen."

After the rules for the Additional Exam were announced, Horikita Suzune received instructions from the boy that same day: she needed to go to Hirata and tell him something important—to refuse any cooperation requests from Ryuen Kakeru.

"Is Hirata so agreeable?"

Hashiba Hikaru was quite surprised by this, as Hiroshima's personality flaws had actually been exposed quite early on during his interactions with Hirata Yosuke.

Hirata is a very gentle boy who cares about every student in his class. Although he seems to accept everyone's requests, it is precisely this indifferent personality that puts more pressure on people and directly affects the other students in Class D.

This resulted in Hirata Yosuke being a class representative, but he didn't have much control over the class, and many people still wouldn't listen to him and continued to do things their own way.

"Because Ryuen had targeted many people in Class D before, Hirata felt that cooperating with him was too dangerous."

Horikita Suzune, holding a hot drink, spoke calmly, "After I explained to Hirata- kun that Class A wanted to trade Praise Vote, he immediately understood that this was your arrangement, but he..."

"Um?"

Seeing the girl hesitate, Hashiba Hikaru looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong Hirata?"

"Hirata has been acting strangely lately. Perhaps it's because this exam was so sudden; when everyone was discussing countermeasures, he couldn't say anything."

After thinking for a moment, Horikita Suzune gave a somewhat subjective impression: the girl usually had very little interaction with Hirata Yosuke, and this time she was only discussing things with him because of Hashiba Hikaru's instructions.

"Because there's no good strategy for this exam, unless someone can get 20 million Private Points, someone will definitely face expulsion."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled. He could roughly guess Hirata Yosuke's true feelings, but Class D couldn't avoid this exam; they could only choose one person to be expelled.

"Yes, the students in our class have been forming small groups lately, wanting to vote together to reduce their chances of being expelled."

"Really, when facing this kind of exam, it's very important to reach a consensus internally."

Hashiba Hikaru looked at the girl's pretty face. If she wanted to train Horikita Suzune's abilities, she had to become the leader of Class D.

"What does Classmate Hashiba want me to do?"

"Let's deal with Hirata Yosuke first. Although he's weak, he can influence the most students in Class D."

After a moment of contemplation, Hashiba Hikaru made this preliminary decision.

Chapter 590: Horikita Suzune's attributes as a loyal dog.

After lunch, Hashiba Hikaru took the initiative to call Hirata Yosuke. Although he couldn't fully exercise the power of the class representative, this guy currently had the greatest influence in Class D, while Horikita Suzune was still a bit behind.

"Let's go, he agreed, let's go see Hirata together."

Hashiba Hikaru led Horikita Suzune away from the restaurant. To ensure that the content of their conversation would not be leaked, the boy chose his dormitory room as the meeting place.

"Since Hirata has agreed not to cooperate with Ryuen, why should we continue talking to him?"

Horikita Suzune voiced the question that had been bothering her. She could guess the content of Hashiba Hikaru's plan, but she didn't know the specific details.

"Because I want to be absolutely certain."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled and laid out her thoughts to Horikita Suzune: "Even if Hirata's inner inclination is not to cooperate with Ryuen Kakeru, people's thoughts are easily influenced by their surroundings. If Ryuen Kakeru really comes up with an unexpected move, it might really affect his decision."

"To ensure my plan goes smoothly, I need to ascertain Hirata's true thoughts later. It would be best if I could solidify his resolve."

"Then what do I need to do?"

Horikita Suzune felt that as Hashiba Hikaru's lover, she had to help him do something.

"What you need to do is what comes next."

Looking at the girl's fair face with an extremely serious expression, Hashiba Hikaru, "Once Hirata has made up her mind, I will leave the negotiations with Class C and Class B to Suzune."

"Um?"

"Of course, I'll go with you, but I won't say a word. I'll leave all the negotiations to Suzune. I trust you can handle it."

The two had already left the Keyaki Mall. When they reached the dormitory building, the boy changed his address and called her by her name.

"Hmm... I understand."

After listening to Hashiba Hikaru's arrangements, Horikita Suzune began to think about the situation she would face. The girl had a strong personality and would not be intimidated at this time.

"After all these things are done, I will prepare a gift for Suzune."

After seeing her nod, Hashiba Hikaru said softly, "Please look forward to Suzune."

"Um."