Rotting Grass Turns into Fireflies

"I heard that when Kiryuin, he was a student in Class 1-A, but now he has been pushed into Class B by Nagumo."

"I'm not telling you this for such a trivial reason."

Kiryuin Fuka spoke with utter disdain:

"Capable people can thrive in society even without graduating from Class A, while incapable people, even if they get into Class A, won't have a smooth life afterward."

"Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School is only three years in a lifetime. It's too hasty to use that to decide your entire life."

Kitagawa Ryo looked at Kiryuin, who was leaning against the sofa cushion with his arms outstretched, and chuckled:

"Senior is indeed an interesting person."

"That still can't compare to you, junior, who spent 20 million points on the cat."

Kiryuin Fuka seemed to appreciate Kitagawa Ryo's words quite a bit:

"I'm telling you some things about Nagumo just to make things more interesting."

"So, senior student really knows about Student Council matters."

Kitagawa Ryo rested his chin on his hands and answered calmly:

"Even though you said that, I'm still very curious about your stance."

"My stance, my personal stance, doesn't really matter."

Kiryuin Fuka shrugged indifferently.

"Just like you said, I don't have any friends at all, and I'm always all alone in class."

"With her looks, making friends should be a pretty easy thing for her."

Even though Kitagawa Ryo didn't have much contact with Kiryuin Fuka, he knew very well that if she hadn't been deliberately ostracizing him, Kiryuin would never have been isolated given his abilities and appearance.

From this perspective, the other party should have common topics with Koenji Rokusuke from Class 1-D.

"Maybe it's because I'm just unlucky. At first, my classmates wanted me to join the group activities, but it seems like they all failed in the end."

That's just because no one can stand your eccentric personality.

Kitagawa Ryo took the drink that was served. It seemed that Hotaru, who was lounging in front of the coffee shop, had brought a lot of people to the place, so the shop also gave them an extra free shaved ice dessert.

Kiryuin Fuka picked up her spoon and started eating without any hesitation. She didn't seem to care about her current situation; rather, she seemed to be enjoying her life.

"There seems to be a lot of people gathered up ahead, shall we go check it out?"

Wow, what an adorable kitten!

Why is there a cat here? Is it a stray cat from the school?

"Please, how could there be stray cats here? And it's obviously very clean, okay?"

It seemed that another group of girls shopping had been attracted by Ying. They squatted around Ying with great interest, looking like they wanted to touch her but didn't dare to.

"Little kitty~"

The girl at the front finally dared to reach out and touch Hotaru's head.

The lazy firefly sensed the change in wind pressure, swayed, and raised its head. The first thing that caught its eye was a pair of white sandals, above which were ivory-white calves with round, bent knees. A girl in a sleeveless dress was peeking out from there with a radiant smile, her azure eyes shimmering with curiosity and gentle light, and she was cautiously reaching out her hand towards her.

"Now I'm starting to believe that my senior has some bad luck on her side."

Kitagawa Ryo looked at the Matoba there speechlessly.

To Karuizawa Kei's somewhat surprised reaction, the kitten, who had been lying on the ground indifferent to everyone else's various remarks, suddenly jumped into her arms.

And he was intimately rubbing his fingers against hers.

This is truly... a rather unfortunate turn of events.

Chapter 54: Rotten Grass Turns into Fireflies

Even after finishing her Uninhabited Island Exam, Karuizawa Kei still dreams of the Matoba she and Kitagawa Ryo gaze at the starry sky in the deepest night on the island.

The moonlight, like water, created a weightless, ethereal atmosphere. The lush grass in the woods swayed in the shimmering water, growing softly and damply around them.

For the first time, she felt completely at ease. Even though everything in the past had told Karuizawa Kei that this relaxation would only melt away her protective shell little by little, causing her to lose all vigilance and defenses, becoming soft and bloated.

But she still couldn't resist these feelings; in fact, these feelings swelled up rapidly, like a sponge that had gradually absorbed water.

Karuizawa Kei felt a sense of security stemming from Kitagawa Ryo's understanding of her. He knew her past well, which allowed him to avoid touching any points that might hurt her. From this perspective, Kitagawa Ryo was the most suitable person for Karuizawa Kei.

This feeling can quickly establish an initial trust between the two, but it becomes an obstacle when Karuizawa Kei wants to take it further.

Karuizawa Kei would be frustrated to discover that she actually knew nothing about Kitagawa Ryo, from his eating habits to his hobbies. After realizing this, every time she talked to Kitagawa Ryo, Karuizawa Kei had a strange feeling, as if she was not facing a person, but a mystery shrouded in mist.

Reason told her that she didn't need to rack her brains to solve the mystery, because Karuizawa Kei didn't have that much energy; she only needed to protect herself.

But Karuizawa Kei still went up to him, trying to glean details of the past from Kitagawa Ryo's fragmented words.

For example, a scar.

Or, a cat.

"Meow!"

Karuizawa Kei stretched out her finger, and the white kitten nuzzled against it familiarly with its head. Its fluorescent eyes were full of kindness and affection, as if it had seen a long-lost friend.

"Hui is so popular with small animals."

Accompanying Karuizawa Kei on her shopping trip were Matsushita Chiaki, Sato Maya, and Sakura Airi. They were quite interested in the cat that suddenly pounced on Karuizawa Kei and gathered around it.

"This cat seems quite affectionate towards Hui."

"Is it the cat at the coffee shop? Used to attract customers?"

Girls are naturally powerless against such cute creatures; even the most shy Sakura Airi couldn't resist reaching out to touch Hotaru's head.

However, Hotaru still nestled into Karuizawa Kei's arms with considerable pride. After all, this was her number two former Pooper Scooper, so it was understandable to pet her, but she could leave the others alone.

"If it weren't for the rule that pets aren't prohibited on campus, I think Hui could have taken the cat home with her."

"I feel like I'm only attached to Hui."

After being rejected Sakura Airi looked at Karuizawa Kei with envy, which made Karuizawa Kei herself a little embarrassed.

"Haha... I don't know what's going on either. Why don't we go ask the shop owner? Since the cat is lying by the door, the staff inside should know something about it."

Just as Karuizawa Kei was about to let the kitten go in and ask, the coffee shop door opened from the inside out. Kiryuin Fuka, holding a shaved ice and munching on it without any manners, glanced at Karuizawa Kei and said:

"Kitagawa Ryo is looking for you. Oh, and the cat is his too."

With just that one sentence, and without caring whether Karuizawa Kei understood, Kiryuin Fuka turned her head with great flair, her waist-length silver hair drawing an arc in the air, and strode back into the shop with arrogant steps.

"Kitagawa Ryo? Is he the one in Class C?"

Matsushita Chiaki, who was standing nearby, noticed what the other person was saying and asked Karuizawa Kei with a curious expression:

"Why don't you go in and take a look first? I just saw a dress in a shop next door. Sato and Sakura can come with me."

I'll come find you later.

As soon as she finished speaking, Matsushita Chiaki grabbed Sato Maya and Sakura Airi, who were still confused, and ran into another clothing store not far away.

Startled by her friend's sudden action, Sato Maya, who was already staggering while running, asked, panting heavily:

"What's wrong?"

"Ha, you haven't figured it out yet?"

Matsushita Chiaki looked on incredulously as she watched Karuizawa Kei walk into the coffee shop through the glass wall, explaining as she did so:

"Megumi is clearly dating Kitagawa from Class C."

Seeing the puzzled looks on his two friends' faces, Matsushita Chiaki sighed.

"From the alliance between Class C and Class D on the Uninhabited Island to being spotted going to the swimming pool together before the VIP Exam, all signs indicate that Kitagawa and Megumi's relationship is unusual."

"That doesn't necessarily mean they're dating."

Sato Maya looked completely oblivious.

"Besides, it always feels a little strange to interact with people outside of class."

"..."

Matsushita Chiaki rolled her eyes in return, then took out her phone and searched the school forum for a post that the Student Council had published just an hour earlier:

[Approval that Kitagawa Hotaru enjoys all the rights of a regular student within the school]

"Huh? Kitagawa Hotaru? Who's that?"

Sato Maya leaned closer to take a look and asked a question:

"Matsushita, you actually pay attention to the Student Council's posts? That's amazing!"

Because the Student Council manages various clubs and other affairs at the school, in accordance with the principle of information transparency, almost all school affairs, big and small, are published on the forum. Due to the high frequency, many First Year students have chosen to block the official account, since everyone will discuss things on the forum anyway, and there's no need to worry about missing important announcements.

It's truly rare to see someone like Matsushita Chiaki reading through Student Council posts one by one.

"I just happened to be flipping through some things today and noticed it."

Matsushita Chiaki naturally wouldn't reveal that she had been actively following the school's activities to obtain firsthand information. Similar to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, she was also a Class D student who hid her abilities, deliberately suppressing her presence to please her friend.

"Kitagawa Hotaru is that cat."

"Judging from the announcement, it seems that Kitagawa Ryo spent points to purchase this qualification for it."

"Tsk, Class C has so many points, they still need to collect 400,000 from Class D every month."

After making a small, sarcastic remark, Sato Maya finally realized the original topic:

"But what does this have to do with their relationship?"

"..."

Matsushita Chiaki leaned against the wall and sighed, realizing for the first time how impoverished his friend's thinking ability was.

"Didn't you see how affectionate the cat was towards Hui?"

"What kind of relationship do I need to establish to get the cat belonging to a boy from another class to be affectionate towards me?"

Still reeling from Matsushita Chiaki's reasoning, the two nodded in agreement, though they didn't quite understand.

"That does make sense."

"This cat might be something they both raised together."

Why did Nae pretend she didn't recognize this cat?

"It's always awkward to date boys from other classes, especially since Beichuan and Class D don't have a good relationship."

The three girls, one after the other, pieced together the truth of the matter.

"Then what do we do?"

Sakura Airi cautiously raised her hand to ask a question.

"It's definitely a secret. Since the two of them don't plan to go public, we certainly can't reveal it."

Matsushita Chiaki looked around at the coffee shop not far away, but unfortunately, the glass curtain wall there only allowed people to see out from the inside, but not from the outside.

"Actually, I'm more worried about another issue."

Seeing the puzzled looks from the other two, Matsushita Chiaki thought for a moment and finally shook her head:

"Never mind, I guess I'm overthinking it."

She still didn't voice her hypothesis, because if it were to spread, it would undoubtedly cause a major upheaval in Class D:

Will Karuizawa Kei use the more than 20 million points she won to transfer to another class?

Actually, Matsushita Chiaki had never thought about this question before, but today's encounter made her feel a little uncertain.

If Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Kei are indeed dating...

Matsushita Chiaki pursed her lips, trying to dismiss the thought of unpredictable consequences, because she knew very well that if the other person really wanted to transfer classes, Class D had no way to stop them.

Its name is Firefly.

Kitagawa Ryo initially thought he would be a little flustered when facing Karuizawa Kei, because for the past semester, he had not chosen to let Hotaru and Karuizawa Kei meet. Every time Karuizawa Kei visited his room, Hotaru would obediently hide in the closet without making a sound.

However, when Karuizawa Kei actually met Hotaru, he regained his composure without a second thought. From his speech to his actions, his every move was so fluid that even he found it hard to believe.