Horikita Keeps Failing

Inside the White Team's tent, Ryuen looked at Aoyama, who would be competing alongside him later, with a dark expression. The first event for the entire school was the most basic, and also the most entertaining, 100-meter sprint.

According to the schedule, the order of the matches is first-grade boys, second-grade girls, and third-grade boys. After the break, the matches will start again with third-grade girls.

The list of first-grade boys' 100-meter race participants for the first group includes Aoyama Shiki, whose name is prominently featured. Other strong students in the same group include Sudo from Class D, and Aoyama himself, the leader of Class B.

As for the randomly selected students in Class A, they were all unknown and insignificant.

"Refund? You should add more money." Aoyama chuckled. "If you don't want me to embarrass you by pulling you ten meters ahead, keep popping your rice."

He tested his abilities on the school playground at night, and the result was simply phenomenal, far surpassing the level of international athletes; in short, he was beyond human.

Ryuen didn't seem to believe him. "Ten meters? You try it if you think you can do it."

He wasn't the strongest fighter in Class B; Albert was still ahead of him. But when it came to running, he was undoubtedly the fastest in Class B.

Although he's not quite as good as Aoyama, who outshone his class on the school playground that day, the difference isn't that big.

"Let's give it a try."

Amidst the quiet cheers of the Yamamura, Aoyama and Ryuen led the boys from Class B and Class C together to the meeting point. When they arrived, they found that the boys from Class A and Class D were already there.

Kanzaki's expression turned even colder upon seeing them.

This time, Class A came in last place, and the culprit was none other than Aoyama from among them.

"I'm not trying to be mean, Kanzaki, but how can you still hang out with such shady people? I think you're hopeless." Aoyama's gaze fell on the expressionless Ayanokoji.

Class D secretly submitted their entry forms ahead of schedule, which undoubtedly put Class A, their partner, in a difficult position.

Not wanting Ayanokoji to have it too easy, he naturally informed Class A about the matter through Ichinose, only to be falsely accused by him.

When Ichinose told Amikura and Kanzaki about this, Kanzaki replied that it might be him. Aoyama Shiki deliberately set up a scheme to destroy the alliance between the two classes, asking the traitor in Class D to submit a report framing Ayanokoji.

Ayanokoji had already analyzed this possibility with him beforehand. Right now, Class C is only thinking about returning to Class A, so why would they help their enemies?

Kanzaki didn't appreciate Aoyama's "well-intentioned" reminder at all, saying, "You're the most insidious one, aren't you?"

"Heh, let me tell you a fact, Kanzaki."

Aoyama smiled casually and continued speaking under the gaze of many boys.

"Don't even think about the Red Team having a chance of winning. I arranged for Second-Year Class D to play passively in the second year. No matter how strong the Red Team is in the third year, they can't possibly fill the vacancies left by the first and second years."

"That means next month, you can call yourself a student in Class C."

Adding 200 points to one class and subtracting 200 points from the other, a difference of 400 points is enough for Class C to surpass the defeated Class A in Class Points.

"Cherish this month while you're still a student in Class A."

Having had his fill of playing the villain, Aoyama, at the urging of the faculty and staff, left the assembly point and went to the starting line.

He looked around the playground, waved to the familiar eyes looking at him, and then prepared to start running in a crouch position next to Ryuen.

"I will win."

"I'm sorry, I might have to disappoint you."

Responding to Sudo's words that suddenly rang out beside him, Aoyama burst off the starting line with the speed of an electromagnetic catapult as the starting gun fired.

Amidst the deafening roar, he pulled the Ryuen 10-meter jump as promised, securing first place in his group.

Ryuen, who crossed the finish line in third place, did not stop. He ran straight past him and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Tsk tsk."

Shaking his head in a lonely, invincible manner, Aoyama returned to his class's headquarters, where, unsurprisingly, he was greeted with praise from the girls who stayed behind.

After replying to the girls' compliments and encouraging them to run well, Aoyama sat down next to Sakayanagi and watched the first group 100-meter race with her not far from the track.

"Where did Masumi Miki go?" Aoyama asked, still hoping to receive compliments from the two girls.

"After you finished your run, they went to watch the second-year students' competition together."

Glancing sideways at Aoyama, Sakayanagi refocused his gaze on the track. In a race that would take less than a minute to complete, the tenth group of first-year students quickly took to the track.

Grouped with students who were either a little chubby or a little thin, Ayanokoji effortlessly took first place.

"I thought you were going to compete against Ayanokoji." Uninterested in the second-year girls' competition that was about to start, Sakayanagi turned to look at Aoyama's face.

Based on the first-grade boys' 100-meter race that had just finished, she deduced that the list of participants from Class D had been leaked, and that Class D could only win one of the ten boys' groups.

Meanwhile, Class C achieved four first-place finishes and numerous high rankings, a clear case of overwhelming victory through a classic "Tian Ji's horse racing" strategy.

"Heh, I don't value Ayanokoji as much as you do. I'll step on him if I'm interested, and ignore him if I'm not." Aoyama replied without turning his head as he spotted Kamuro and the other two from the side of the track in the distance.

In his view, Kiryuin was the first girl group to appear, and then won first place in the group with an overwhelming victory.

Both the girls in the White Team and red teams cheered for the dashing Kiryuin.

"The Kamuro and the others went to see is Kiryuin- senpai, right?" The noisy cheers caught Sakayanagi's attention, and what came into her view was a dazzling, confident, and tall figure.

"Yes, Kiryuin- senpai is a heroine among women, far more outstanding than Arisu."

Aoyama added somewhat jokingly, "It's not just about physique or athleticism; in other areas like academics, personality, and communication skills, he's better than you in every way."

Even among geniuses, there are differences.

Sakayanagi's memory and thinking abilities are on a whole level above ordinary people, but she is lazy because she takes advantage of her genius. No matter what, she can't compare to the hardworking and talented Kiryuin.

Sakayanagi's expression stiffened for a moment before returning to normal. "I'm already used to being belittled by you."

"Heh, I actually hope there will be a day when I have no reason to belittle you." Aoyama stroked his chin. "Reminding you to change your annoying way of thinking, it gets irritating to me too."

He was nicer to Sakayanagi who was pretending to be obedient and submissive, so Sakayanagi didn't consciously breathe on him.

It wasn't the Chairman who was her father; he would more or less have the idea that you already have a way to drop out of school.

Chapter 235 Horikita's Persistent Failures

The red team is finished.

In the second-grade girls' 100-meter race, after several instances of red-group students waiting for White Team students to cross the finish line before crossing it themselves, the smarter students realized that the red group was doomed.

The fact that Second-Year Class D was so open about their activities shows that it's difficult to shake their determination to do so.

The Red Team has only a little over two hundred students. With dozens of students in one class giving up, the remaining students, unless they are all athletes, are destined to lose.

"Koenji! Why aren't you participating in the competition!"

From the tent of Class 1-D, Sudo's furious roar echoed.

In the competition among the ten groups of boys in Class D, only one group came in first place, and the other groups didn't rank much higher either. Even a fool could see that the situation was very unfavorable for Class D.

And things got even worse after Koenji withdrew from the contest.

Koenji leaned back in his seat to rest, saying, "That's because I'm not feeling well, Red Hair."

"You're perfectly healthy!"

Sudo continued his loud voice, completely unaware that his classmates, who were staying in the tent, were leaving one by one with disgusted expressions, including Horikita Suzune.

She's in a bad mood right now, and it's gotten even worse after Sudo disturbed her.

The first-grade girls' 100-meter race had just ended, and as expected, Aoyama appeared by the track during the race.

During the race, Aoyama cheered on numerous girls, including Ichinose, Shiranami, Amikura, and Sakura. When she stepped onto the starting line, Aoyama did indeed shout encouragement.

However, the person cheering Aoyama on wasn't her, but Ibuki, who stood beside her with a fierce look on her face.

Then, in a fit of rage, she lost the competition to Ibuki by a very narrow margin, finishing in second place.

It's all that bastard Aoyama's fault, otherwise I wouldn't have lost.

Biting her lower lip, Horikita Suzune looked up and realized that she had unknowingly walked around most of the playground to the White Team area, stopping near Class 1-C.

No, I can't go to see him, even if it's to yell at him.

Remembering her brother's words, Horikita Suzune felt an increasingly strong urge to see Aoyama, talk to him, and have him rub her head.

She stomped hard on the soft grass and turned to walk towards her class tent.

Before long, it was the first graders' turn to compete in the hurdles race. Aoyama once again appeared in the first group of the first-grade boys and then easily won first place.

When the first-grade girls took the stage, he cheered for the numerous girls amidst the envious glances of many boys.

Apart from Horikita Suzune.

We lost again.

After passing the qualifying score in third place, Horikita Suzune only glanced at Aoyama, who was comforting the eighth-place finisher from the Yamamura, before silently returning to the class camp to rest.

This time, she was defeated by two track and field club girls from Class B with a considerable advantage, so you can't blame Aoyama.

Ball throwing competition, tug-of-war, three-legged race, horseback riding game.

After a morning of competition, Horikita Suzune hadn't received any cheers from Aoyama, and she hadn't won first place in any of the competitions she participated in.

Having leaked the class's competition schedule, she was relentlessly targeted by Class B.

On the large display board showing the scores for each group on the playground stage, the red group was at a significant disadvantage compared to the White Team, with absolutely no chance of catching up.

That's absolutely terrible.

Instead of picking up the free premium bento boxes that were readily available on the playground and distributed by the school, Horikita Suzune returned to her class tent, took out the bento she had made herself from her schoolbag, and planned to eat in the cafeteria.

The school designated only one place to eat on the playground; otherwise, you have to go to the cafeteria.

She didn't want her brother to see her after failing to win a single game, nor did she want to see Aoyama happily eating with other girls.

"Ibuki, you're so easily satisfied."

On the picnic blanket that comfortably seated ten people, Aoyama smiled faintly as he looked at Ibuki, who was happily eating without a bento box or anything else.

At mealtimes, he would direct Kamuro to grab a good spot on the grass, while he would take Yamamura to Class B's tent and invite Shiina to eat with them, and Ibuki would do it as a favor.

"Waaah--waaah--" Without stopping eating, Ibuki mumbled a couple of unclear replies before immersing herself back in her rice.

"When Arisu, you'll be as straightforward as Ibuki, then I definitely won't belittle you anymore."

Aoyama glanced at Sakayanagi next to the Kamuro. When he brought Shiina and the other two back, the Chairman's daughter was already there next to the Kamuro.

Despite being silently ostracized by everyone in her class, Sakayanagi receives quiet care and concern from Kamuro.

Sakayanagi smiled gracefully, "While I don't dislike Ibuki's way of being, I'd rather you, Shiki, belittle me."

She found Ibuki quite endearing now, but asked her to forgive her for not being able to make her look like this, even though it would earn her Aoyama's favor.

"Shiina, you need to exercise more." Aoyama shifted his gaze from Sakayanagi to Shiina, who had finished last in all five matches.

Apart from Sakayanagi, he couldn't find an opponent that Shiina could defeat.

Shiina lightly bit the chopsticks in her mouth before taking them out, then turned her Shiina away somewhat embarrassedly. "I'll try my best in PE class."

She doesn't consider herself lazy, because she studies quite diligently; it's just that she doesn't really enjoy sports, and outdoor activities are a complete no-go for her.

"How about we start with daily morning exercise?"

I like to sleep in a little longer in the morning.

"That night you ran? Masumi runs almost every day."

"Tonight I... I need to study."

Shiina's gaze began to wander. She accepted the fact that she was physically weak, but Aoyama seemed not to accept it.

As for physical exercise, you can leave that to yourself during PE class.

"Then let's train on Saturday afternoon, and Miki can join us too." Aoyama rubbed Yamamura's head. In terms of physical strength, she and Shiina were about the same, with limited abilities.

"Ah..." Shiina frowned slightly as her sore spot was hit.

Saturday afternoons spent reading together were what she looked forward to most each week; if it became exercise time, she wouldn't look forward to it at all.

In that case, she might as well agree to let Aoyama find another time to train.

Suddenly, Kamuro slapped Aoyama on Aoyama back, "Stop teasing Shiina, I don't believe you'd force Shiina."

She knew that Aoyama didn't like to force his friends, even if it was for their own good. He preferred guidance to coercion, just like with herself.

Before she knew it, she had become inseparable from this philandering man.

"Did you get caught? Or did you not escape Masumi's eyes after all?" Aoyama wasn't angry after being hit; instead, he smiled. "Well, Shiina doesn't want to train right now, so I won't force her, but—"

"If Shiina ever gets the idea to exercise, just come and ask me for help."