What Is This, an Idol Handshake Event?

"Liang has already gained the upper hand."

On the other side, Ichinose Honami, who had been paying close attention to the situation on the field, suddenly spoke up. Horikita Suzune also turned her gaze back upon hearing this, and saw Kito Hayato squatting down on the ground.

Behind him was the boundary line, and it looked like Kitagawa Ryo had actually bumped into him there, then finally lost his balance and collapsed to the ground.

Even so, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka did not give up his last chance, attempting to switch Sakayanagi Arisu's headscarf one-on-one the moment she made her move.

Just like how he had restrained Hamaguchi Tetsuya earlier, Kitagawa Ryo supported Sakayanagi Arisu's thigh with one hand and directly blocked Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's hand with the other, firmly trapping it under his arm.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Sakayanagi Arisu leaned forward and directly removed the headscarves from both of them.

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka - Kito Hayato eliminated, two points."

"This research project has concluded."

After Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's group was eliminated, the teacher in charge blew the whistle to signal the end and began announcing the results:

"First place: Kitagawa Ryo -- Sakayanagi Arisu, four points."

"Second place: Kanzaki Ryuji - Hamaguchi Tetsuya, 3 points."

Third place: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka - Kito Hayato, two points.

"The rewards have been sent to your group accounts. Please check and confirm them promptly."

Without even putting down Sakayanagi Arisu, Kitagawa Ryo immediately checked his watch:

[Discount: Cardholders will receive a 65% reduction in points spent when redeeming items (lv9)]

"We won!"

After seeing the upgrade result, Kitagawa Ryo put Sakayanagi Arisu down, then mischievously picked her up again and hugged her from head to toe amidst Sakayanagi Arisu's short gasp.

"Arisu and I work perfectly together!"

Kitagawa Ryo said, pursing his lips as he spoke:

"I wouldn't bear to throw Arisu out."

His dark pupils sparkled with a bright smile, and his own reflection was clearly seen in them.

Sakayanagi Arisu's heart had never pounded so fiercely as at this moment.

Chapter 169: What Idol Handshake Segment?

Just as Kitagawa Ryo's group finished the [Two-Person Cavalry Battle] project, nearly half of the groups from across the island gathered at E5 for the [Singing] project. Ken Sudō's group from Class D, having arrived earlier, occupied a prime position at the front.

But then a group of domineering male students appeared, pushing past Ken Sudō as if driving him away, shouting loudly:

"Hey, you're in the way! Get out of the way, you defective products!"

The boy in the lead wasn't particularly tall, but his tone was quite aggressive. He glared at Miyake Akito with wide eyes as if to intimidate him, and then, as if to make an example of him, he shoved Miyake Akito's shoulder. Caught off guard, Miyake Akito stumbled and fell forward rather awkwardly before Ken Sudō steadied him and helped him regain his balance.

When the boy in the lead saw Miyake Akito's appearance, he smiled contemptuously.

"What do you mean?"

While straightening up Miyake Akito Sudo frowned and questioned him without any politeness.

"You all understand the structure of this school, right? It's a meritocratic school. Class D has no human rights; flawed products have to behave like flawed products."

Even his classmates couldn't stand his comments anymore. A student from Class A tugged at the boy's sleeve and whispered with a troubled expression:

"Hey, Totsuka, that's enough."

But Totsuka Yahiko of Class A showed no sign of stopping. Instead, he turned around and glared at the student in his class who was trying to dissuade him. Ever since Katsuragi Kohei became the Leader of Class A, Totsuka Yahiko's status in the class had risen accordingly.

"Unlike you bunch of trash who are at the bottom in both Class Points and this exam, we are the noble Class A."

Having said that, Totsuka Yahiko also crossed his arms with a smile on his lips, striking a rather irritating pose.

"It's more accurate to say that having students like you makes me feel that the class division at this school isn't so rigorous."

Just as Ken Sudō was barely suppressing his anger at punching the other man in the face, a smiling figure appeared from the other side. It was Amasawa Ichika, who was in the same group as Sakura Airi and had just finished her own assignment and returned to join Sakura.

"What—what did you say?"

Perhaps it was too humiliating to be ridiculed so openly in front of everyone by a pretty girl, but Totsuka Yahiko's anger surged to his head like blood rushing to his head, veins bulging on his forehead, as if some innate privilege had been denied.

"I'm talking about you, Totsuka Yahiko."

Amasawa Ichika playfully shrugged:

"You're bad at both academics and sports. Besides being Katsuragi's sidekick in class, you haven't played any real role. If we're being honest, you're probably the least qualified student in Class A to mock others."

After saying that, Amasawa Ichika pointed to her lips in confusion:

"The only point we can make is that he's relatively loyal to Katsuragi? But even a dog could probably do that."

"Asshole!"

Having been hit where it hurt by Amasawa Ichika's words, Totsuka Yahiko also lost all composure and started cursing. The students from Class A nearby quickly went to keep an eye on him to prevent him from doing anything irrational, since violence against other students was prohibited during the Uninhabited Island Special Exam.

His finger trembled as he pointed at Amasawa Ichika for a while, and to everyone's surprise, Totsuka Yahiko suddenly burst into laughter:

"No matter what you say, it can't change the fact that you're in Class D and I'm in Class A. Saying these things is just jealousy. After all, whether it's now or when we graduate in two and a half years, I'll be living a life countless times better than you flawed products."

"Your Class Points have been zero for months on end, and your Private Points are being spent very frugally. It's pitiful to see. You'll be stuck here for three years, and in the end, you can only watch as our Class A graduates in style, freely choosing your life and future."

"The same goes for this Uninhabited Island Exam. The class that's consistently ranked last is absolutely hilarious. But at this point, you should really be thankful that your Class Points won't go into the negative."

Faced with Totsuka Yahiko's mockery, Amasawa Ichika just listlessly played with the ends of her hair. After a few days on the Uninhabited Island, she felt that her hair quality had deteriorated a bit.

Or should I spend a few more points to buy a better shampoo?

"Please keep quiet, students over there!"

"To reiterate, all students are requested to remain quiet during the lesson!"

The farce was temporarily brought to a halt by the teacher in charge's loudspeaker; faced with the school authorities, Totsuka Yahiko had no choice but to shut his mouth.

The one taking the stage was Sakura Airi from Class 1-D.

For a former professional idol with extensive stage experience, this open-air karaoke was no problem at all. After getting familiar with the equipment, the atmosphere in the room seemed to change as the background music started.

Unlike the stiff posture of the previous girl in Class A, Sakura Airi's every move was quite natural, even giving the impression that she was enjoying the atmosphere.

It felt like being on a stage.

"Airi has a good voice and a great image, and most importantly, what you want to convey to others is something more positive, and that's enough. That's all an idol needs."

"I can help you contact a singing and dancing instructor, so would you like to give it a try?"

"Not just Gravure Idol posts personal photos online, but an idol who can shine on stage."

Just before she spoke, Sakura Airi suddenly remembered a conversation she had with Kitagawa Ryo a few years ago, where the young man, who was already making his mark in the entertainment industry, offered her another path.

It all started with Kitagawa Ryo's suggestion, and then we unknowingly arrived at where we are today.

Sakura Airi lowered her eyes.

Unlike Karuizawa Kei was keen on searching online, withstood cyberbullying with her strong will, and reversed online public opinion through her personal efforts, she never actually cared about those comments.

One person's praise is enough; it can overshadow ten thousand negative comments.

At first, she could give individual responses to someone on stage, but as her popularity grew, more and more cameras and spotlights magnified her every subtle expression and movement.

Since Kitagawa Ryo had already retired from the entertainment industry at that time, Sakura Airi naturally wouldn't want him to get involved in the media spotlight again.

But I still want to give a special, unique, and one-of-a-kind response.

Singing while reminiscing about the past.

It seems that even the emotions of that time were perfectly replicated in the song.

Kitagawa Ryo once lost a limited edition fan support shirt autographed by Sakura Airi, and Sakura Airi later used this as a reason to send him a new one of the same style.

However, as he grew older and his physique changed, the support shirt that fit him two years ago no longer fits him. Kitagawa Ryo didn't even bring it into Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School; he just kept it in his closet at home.

What Kitagawa Ryo didn't know was...

Actually, the other support shirt he lost is now neatly stored in another closet.

In Sakura Airi's dormitory closet.

"This is the first time I've ever seen a karaoke rating system that can give a score of 98.9."

"The last girl I spoke to only scored around 30 or 40 points."

"When I go to karaoke, I can only manage a passable score on the songs I'm good at."

"Hehe, I always turn off the rating system when I go to karaoke."

As Sakura Airi finished singing, the students watching around her started discussing it enthusiastically, and many even chanted "Encore! Encore!" The students, regardless of their class, thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

"Would the 'young master' from Class A like to go up and sing a song too?"

Amasawa Ichika tilted her head, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

"Let me think... In the last Final Exam, your score was near the bottom of Class A, right? Sakura also more academically gifted than you."

"In terms of sports, we met a few days ago about the [400-meter race]. Although the men's and women's groups competed separately, your time wouldn't even be in the top three in the women's group, you were about a minute slower than me?"

"What else? Private Points? Hmm, let me think. Class A currently has over 500 Class Points, so they can receive over 50,000 Private Points each month, which is equivalent to over 50,000 yen. That's amazing!"

As Amasawa Ichika spoke, she clapped her hands enthusiastically:

"It's a bit of a shame, though, that price doesn't even seem to cover the cost of one of Sakura's limited-edition fan-exclusive support outfits."

"However, even though that's what I said, I believe that Totsuka- san's future will be much brighter than ours, the flawed products of Class D. After all, she's from the prestigious Class A."

Amasawa Ichika flashed a playful smile, her small tiger teeth peeking out from under her.

"If Totsuka hadn't reminded me, I would have really thought we were going to stay at this school forever. Turns out it's only for three years. What a boring situation."

"In this respect alone, you're no match for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who served alongside you as Katsuragi's follower."

Originally enraged Totsuka Yahiko suddenly heard Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's name and, unusually, temporarily suppressed his temper, frowning as he asked:

"What's the meaning?"

"It doesn't mean anything."

Amasawa Ichika patted her calves, stood up, and without any intention of explaining, ran out and gave Sakura Airi a big hug:

"First place should be secure."

"It's only a thousand points, and besides, I'm not Ichika."

Sakura Airi smiled with a hint of distress, after all, unlike Amasawa Ichika who held the [Chosen One] card, her score didn't have a 1.5x increase.

"That's pretty good too."

Amasawa Ichika lowered her voice:

"Should we go find Ryo later? He should be nearby. I got an upgrade opportunity for a regular card in the project just now, so Horikita and the others won't have any excuse."

"Whoa whoa--"

Sakura Airi was also quite excited, but she quickly remembered Karuizawa Kei's matter:

"What about Na Hui? It seems like she's being targeted by Class A."

"She's the one you don't need to worry about the most."

Amasawa Ichika rolled her eyes at Sakura Airi:

"The Class B groups have all gathered here, so there's no point in us Class D staying here. I was even planning to freeload a meal."

"Are you going or not? If not, I'll go find Liang by myself."

"Go! Go! Go."

Seeing that Amasawa Ichika looked like he was really going to abandon her and act alone, Sakura Airi quickly nodded in agreement.

Although Karuizawa Kei is indeed her good friend, even good friends sometimes have little secrets.

Sakura Airi comforted herself with these words.

Following Sakura Airi's outstanding performance, the remaining contestants had essentially entered the stage of vying for second place. A dozen minutes later, the teacher in charge, who was picking her ear with her little finger, weakly announced the results:

"[Singing] The competition is over. First place: Sakura Airi, second place..."