People Whose Paths Begin to Cross / Farewell, Flower Language

If possible, she might inherit the will of a second-year student named Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and become a legendary observer.

But reality didn't give her that choice.

This afternoon after school, Nanase Tsubasa received an anonymous text message on her phone. The message contained only a few words:

"Found you."

She was targeted by students from Ayanokoji Faction.

So it seems like my life at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School has never been peaceful from the very beginning?

Nanase Tsubasa took out her notebook, sighed, and flipped to one of the entries:

Minister Kitagawa is safe most of the time, and you can safely ask him for help if you encounter difficulties or get involved in the problems of other seniors.

Then please take some responsibility.

Senior.

Chapter Sixteen: The People Who Begin to Intersect

"So, in conclusion, I also think it's better for Arisu and Yuki to be partners in this Special Exam."

"Of course, rather than being partners, you're more like competitors on the same starting line. In this Special Exam, you two just need to focus on how to score higher than each other. This way, your group ranking will naturally improve, making it a win-win situation."

After listening to Kitagawa Ryo's idea, Sakayanagi Arisu casually raised her hand to indicate her agreement:

"I don't care."

In any case, rather than pairing Yuki with Kitagawa Ryo, it's better to forcibly bind her to herself, which in a sense is a kind of alternative one-for-one self-destruction.

"What about the snow?"

After Arisu agreed, Kitagawa Ryo turned his attention to Yuki:

"If Yuki wants to settle things with Arisu, I think this is the fairest and most appropriate way."

"So, who will Liang partner with?"

Without immediately agreeing or refusing, Yuki turned to Kitagawa Ryo and asked him:

"It's that new guy who just joined your Drama Club..."

"It's Sakurako."

Before the snow question could be finished, Kitagawa Ryo answered first:

"Now you can rest assured, right?"

"Besides, she is very academically gifted, so Xue doesn't need to worry about holding me back."

"... Sakurako never told me about this."

"That's because you didn't tell her your thoughts beforehand."

As he spoke, Kitagawa Ryo shook his head again:

"What can't sisters say to each other?"

"I'm just not used to it, okay?"

Yuki offered a somewhat complicated explanation, while Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at her with empathy. After all, among the three participants in the last simulation, apart from Amasawa Ichika, neither she nor Yuki were particularly comfortable with the return in the early stages. It was as if they had been abruptly loaded into another save file, without any weapons or equipment. The main quest was completely overturned, and the side quests were abruptly ended. It would take a long time to readjust.

As for Yuki herself, during the year she didn't enroll, she did spend a real year with Tsubaki Sakurako. Their relationship wasn't like the two parallel lines in the simulation, and their feelings for each other were completely different from those in the simulation.

"Although I know that talking to Ryo about this topic will definitely not be of any use, sometimes I really don't know how to get along with my sister, it's that kind of direct kindness that comes from being family."

"Well, no one can give you advice on this, and every family's situation is different. Neither I nor Arisu can directly apply our experience."

When Kitagawa Ryo mentioned her, Sakayanagi Arisu. Although she didn't have a younger sister, she had a father who doted on her since she was a child. People always share certain emotions.

"Never mind, it's actually quite good for Ryo to team up with Sakurako. She didn't really like you before, so it's good for you to get to know each other better for the future."

Seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic in front of the two, Yuki ultimately agreed to Kitagawa Ryo's suggestion and formed a partnership with Sakayanagi Arisu using OAA in person, becoming their partners for this Special Exam.

"Speaking of which, are you two planning to start a study group or something?"

"Do you want me to teach her?"

"I feel like I'll become dumber if I study with a junior who's been lying in the hospital for years and only got a B on the OAA (Oncology and Assessment of Ability)."

"... Okay, never mind."

Frankly speaking, it wasn't difficult for the Ayanokoji Faction and the Kitagawa Faction to find each other in their First Year. As long as they checked the recruitment lists of the Student Council and the Drama Club one by one, they could quickly identify a few suspects.

For the former, Nanase Tsubasa and Tsubaki Sakurako, who have entered the Drama Club, are the two most obvious suspects.

"One is in Class A, the other in Class B. Ishigami and Takahashi are in your classes. What do you think? Are they really in Class A or Class B?"

At another karaoke gathering of four boys, Hosen Kazuomi from Class 1-D, flipped through their personal profiles on OAA and asked somewhat impatiently:

"If it's confirmed to be her, find a way to expel her from school."

"Tsubaki? She's pretty low-key in class. Aside from joining the Drama Club, you'd never guess she's the younger sister of that guy from Class D who beat you up so badly, Hosen."

As Takahashi Osamu sipped his drink, he seemed somewhat displeased with Hosen Kazuomi's tone and retorted.

Although they belong to the Ayanokoji Faction with a common goal, their rivalry remains unchanged. Since realizing this, their relationship has become more superficial.

The main reason is that the mysterious senior Ayanokoji Kiyotaka is most qualified to oversee the whole situation, has never come even once. In addition, the final round of Student Council interviews has not yet started, so the group has not taken the initiative to contact him as a precaution.

"Nanase... it's possible, it's possible."

Ishigami Kyo from Class 1-A had his hands crossed and rested on his chin, seemingly already starting to act as a riddle teller.

As the one who had the opportunity to speak directly with Ayanokoji Atsuomi and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka before the start of the semester, he naturally knew more information than the other three, including the fact that Nanase Tsubasa had once tried to bring ANHS to Japan as someone on Ayanokoji Atsuomi's side, but it seems that she ultimately failed.

Even so, Ishigami Kyo couldn't be sure if this was a deliberate arrangement by Ayanokoji Atsuomi on the fifth floor, a play to allow Nanase Tsubasa to infiltrate Kitagawa Ryo's camp, hence his hesitant tone.

"We have to choose someone to do it, and I'm 100% sure that at least one of them is from Beichuan."

"I choose Nanase. After all, Tsubaki and her sister are on the same side. If we mess with one, it will definitely affect the other. I don't want to go up against that she-devil from Class D right now."

"Yes, I'll also choose Nanase."

Seeing the other three suddenly confirm in unison that they had started with Nanase Tsubasa, Ishigami Kyo wasn't surprised. After all, the other party was a student in Class 1-A. For students in the latter three classes, being able to expel a student from Class A in the early stages and deduct those 300 Class Points was a sure-fire way to make money.

"Let's test the waters first."

"However, do not take any action before you are certain."

"The other side could also be on our side."

Two days have passed since each class announced the rules for the first Special Exam, but there's been little activity on the team-up system available on the OAA System. Fewer first and second-year students have actually formed teams than expected, as if they're all observing and waiting for something to happen.

"Did the process not go very smoothly?"

Taking advantage of the time before classes started this morning, Kitagawa Ryo, after putting down his schoolbag, naturally asked Karuizawa Kei and Ichinose Honami, who were in charge of the Special Exam strategy, for a question.

"Yeah, the price gouging in the First Year is even more intense than we expected. Several other classes have also seen some students dropping out. Our Class A is doing relatively well, since none of our students are particularly weak and would definitely not pass without a mentor."

Karuizawa Kei sighed and replied:

"We can indeed quickly get to know and recruit First Year students through the OAA, but conversely, First Year students can do the same to us. In addition, the pressure on second-year students is significantly greater than that on First Year, so we are naturally at a disadvantage in negotiations."

"Yes, actually, it wasn't that no students in the First Year were willing to help for free at first, since they were all seniors they knew and relied on in the club. But later, someone in the First Year started spreading rumors that someone had earned 500,000 Private Points for free because of this partnership. As a result, the prevailing opinion among the First Year has become that not making money is a loss."

Ichinose Honami added from the side:

"But this so-called 500,000 Private Points is completely fabricated. What second-year student would be so foolish as to allow such a price gouging? It must be someone in the First Year orchestrating this whole thing."

"However, it can't be said that there has been no progress at all. After all, there are many First Year students who don't want to waste three months of Private Points, even if their grades aren't good. Our class has recently been negotiating with students in Class C and Class D, where there are more Student Council with lower academic abilities."

"But I don't see many people confirmed to form teams yet."

"Because they wanted to finalize everything at once, to put it bluntly, it was like a package deal? They wanted one of their high-achieving students to mentor a First Year student with lower academic ability, and then the high-achieving student from their class to mentor the low-achieving student from their class."

As she spoke, Ichinose Honami also frankly revealed some of her plans:

"Actually, although it doesn't seem like many things have been finalized, we've already reached secret agreements with many First Year students. This is mainly to lull students from other classes into a false sense of security, making them think that everyone's team formation isn't going smoothly and there's no need to rush."

"Of course, it's also thanks to the fact that Ryo hasn't established a partner with anyone yet. We've misled quite a few students because of this, and it makes me feel like if Ryo were willing to hold a study session, all the students in Class A would have already found partners with academic abilities of at least B."

Ichinose Honami didn't seem to find Karuizawa Kei's joke very pleasant, and awkwardly changed the subject.

"I didn't expect Ryo wouldn't team up with Yuki this time."

"Well, there are various reasons, I suppose. Honami and Hui, are you planning to try and improve your group's ranking this time, or are you going to help out the poorer students in the class?"

"The prizes for the top three spots do look pretty good and tempting, but they probably have nothing to do with the two of us."

Karuizawa Kei shook her head upon hearing this, then held up a few fingers:

"First, there's Ryo and Sakurako's group. It wouldn't be difficult to find First Year junior with strong academic abilities on Ayanokoji's side. Arisu and Yuki are also clearly very competitive. Just by counting, there are already three."

Because Hoshinomiya Chie specifically emphasized that this Written Exam contained extremely difficult questions, some of which were a perfect 100 points and even students with an A grade in academics couldn't answer them, Karuizawa Kei naturally did poorly, since her academic ability wasn't that high.

"I'd really like to give it a try, and I've already chosen Nanase as my partner. She's doing quite well academically, so maybe we'll have a chance to get into the top three."

Unlike Karuizawa Kei, Ichinose Honami, who is more academically capable, intends to take this Special Exam seriously and test her own abilities.

Unlike Karuizawa Kei, who has decided to continue her career as a theatrical Actor, she doesn't possess the talent or the hard work she's put in. Therefore, she has decided to pursue higher education after graduating from high school, and naturally, she will focus on maintaining good academic performance.

"Nanase, what does Honami think of this child?"

"It's fine, but it seems a little... afraid of me?"

"Oh? So there are people who are afraid of Honami."

"That's normal. After all, I'm different from before, and I've been feeling inexplicably angry lately, not towards her, but I think people have noticed it."

Ichinose Honami rubbed her forehead in exasperation, but she didn't seem to have any other thoughts about the change. In fact, it seemed rather abnormal and unhealthy that she used to be so universally loved.

Just as the three of them finished talking, the bell rang for class, signaling the start of lunch break after a morning of lessons.

Shiina Hiyori arrived at Class 2-A as scheduled, but today, unlike usual, she didn't eagerly open her surprise bento. Instead, she first asked Kitagawa Ryo:

"Is Ryo really close to that girl in Class 1-D... Tsubaki?"

"Hiyori was talking about snow, right? Hmm, what's wrong?"

Kitagawa Ryo slowed down his chopsticks, chewed slowly and carefully, and finished his food before nodding in reply.

Perhaps because of her shocking actions in Class 1-D, the news of Yuki's actions had already spread to the second and even third years. However, unlike the First Year students who called her a "female demon" or "violent girl," many second-year students secretly called her "Female Ryuen," which was truly a double insult.

However, the main reason is that the two of them dominate the class in a very similar way. But in terms of results alone, Xue's performance is much more impressive. After all, Hosen Kazuomi look much stronger than the boys in Class C. The level of their opponents is different.

Incidentally, even though both methods involved subduing someone through force, Yuki's reputation is actually much better than Ryuen Kakeru's. It just goes to show that beautiful girls do have privileges. If Ryuen Kakeru were also a beautiful, tall, red-haired girl, Class C would probably have had far fewer rebellions.

"I want Class C to form an alliance with Class 1-D in this Special Exam, in a class-to-class format."

Shiina Hiyori began earnestly:

"So, I'm hoping you could help me introduce them."

Chapter Seventeen: Farewell to the Language of Flowers

Kitagawa Ryo quickly agreed to Shiina Hiyori's request to negotiate with Class 1-D. He arranged for the two to meet after school that day, choosing the classroom of Class 2-A as the intermediary.

"Hello, I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class 2-C. I heard from Ryo that you're actually the same age as us in this year, so you don't need to call me senpai or anything. I'll just call you by your name, okay?"

After a year of living in ANHS, Shiina Hiyori had developed quite a few social skills. Upon seeing Yuki, she immediately extended her hand to her with a smile, showing her goodwill.

"Alright then, Hiyori -kun."

Facing the poised and confident Shiina Hiyori, Yuki felt somewhat uncomfortable. Rather, from the moment they met, she had been thoughtfully observing the other woman, her expression complex and subtle, as if she had seen the answer she was seeking replicated in someone else.

Shiina Hiyori didn't think too much about it. After all, she didn't know Yuki before, and she was only there for the sake of the class, so she quickly got to the point:

"It seems like no student in Class 1-D has paired up with a second-year student yet. I guess that's what Xue wants."

Although everyone criticizes Ryuen Kakeru, this extreme approach is indeed brutal and effective. Before the next challenger emerges or the Leader himself makes a major mistake, few people will be willing to be the first to take the lead.

"Well, actually, your Class C should be the second one to come knocking."

Xue averted her gaze, sat down opposite Shiina Hiyori, and spoke to her face to face.

"Someone from Class D came here before."

"Class D?"

"Yes, but their demands were a bit excessive, so in the end, we couldn't reach an agreement."

At this point, Xue didn't show any regret. After all, she was very clear about the situation of each class in the second year. Although Class D, which was originally Class A, now looked pitiful, even a lean camel is bigger than a horse. In terms of academic ability, it was naturally beyond reproach. By taking the initiative to find Class 1-D, she naturally put herself in a position of 'helping the poor'.