Despicable

Seeing that the girl was completely unyielding, Suzuki Tsubame had no choice but to threaten:

"Just now, when someone was venting, I secretly recorded a video. You wouldn't want that video to end up on the school forum, would you?"

"You despicable—!"

Kushida Kikyo glared at him. If she could do it over, she would never have asked him for help!

"I can tell you, but you have to delete the video." She chose to concede a step. Not having any leverage over him made her feel deeply insecure.

"You're in no position to bargain with me. Even if you don't tell me, I can always ask Suzune."

"I'm sure she'd be happy to fill me in."

Suzuki Tsubame was emboldened by his confidence. He already knew everything about her. Whether the two girls spoke or not didn't matter to him—it was just a bit more trouble.

Afraid of pushing Kushida too far, Suzuki Tsubame tried to soothe her: "You don't need to worry too much. Honestly, I do like you."

"After all, you're very pretty. You can rest a hundred percent assured on that point."

Hah, that's exactly why I'm worried, Kushida Kikyo grumbled inwardly. The thought that Horikita also knew her secrets filled her with helplessness—it made it impossible for her to fabricate anything.

Then, she laid out her entire story.

When she was little, her academic performance was outstanding. Her parents and relatives all praised her, and she reveled in that feeling of being admired.

Gradually, as time passed, she found herself struggling more and more with her studies.

Her grades were no longer excellent, and her parents' praise grew scarce.

She began seeking ways to feel good about herself. She discovered that when someone needed her, she could feel a flicker of pleasure.

That feeling of being surrounded and adored like the moon among stars was incredibly comforting.

Her dream became: to be friends with everyone.

In middle school, she managed to befriend almost her entire class.

While being needed by everyone, she also became an emotional trash can for dozens of people. Alongside the satisfaction of being needed, countless negative emotions came crashing down on her.

Guys like Yamauchi and Ike, the kind of lowlifes. Or, for instance, girls who were supposedly best friends but ended up falling for each other's boyfriends. All sorts of backbiting, gossiping, and even someone confiding in her about having an abortion for a scumbag.

In short, after who knows how long, to vent, she started spreading negative rumors about her class online.

As the rumors spread more and more, reaching further and further, she was eventually discovered by her classmates.

It escalated into her confronting the entire class alone, and she spilled all the class's secrets.

The whole class fell into chaos, completely paralyzed. In the end, not a single person in that class was willing to return to school.

As for her relationship with Horikita... it wasn't really that significant. Horikita Suzune just happened to attend the same middle school.

Because Horikita was always first in her grade, Kushida Kikyo had a strong impression of her. She envied her ability to earn praise without caring about anyone else's opinion.

Since Horikita was always busy studying and had a solitary nature, no one ever gossiped with her about such things. So while Horikita had some impression of Kushida Kikyo, it wasn't much.

"So that's how it is!" Suzuki Tsubame pretended to have an epiphany.

She'd been assigned to some kind of weak class. The students' quality was so outrageous—talents like that would be rare even in the current Class D.

Of course, she had her own part to play in it.

Suzuki Tsubame didn't plan to lecture her right now. Though Kushida Kikyo's inner strength was immense, she was still just a young girl. He didn't want to accidentally break her.

"Your emotional breakdown—isn't it because you've been hanging around too many bad friends?"

Suzuki Tsubame wanted to guide her toward making some truly good friends.

"You think I don't want to be friends with capable people?"

Kushida Kikyo leaned against Suzuki Tsubame's chest. From the outside, they looked like a couple deep in love. But her voice was as cold as the ice of the Nine Abyss.

She said bitterly, "If I could be as smart and pretty as Horikita! Would I still be afraid of not making good friends?"

Hmm... that wasn't necessarily true. After all, Horikita Suzune had no friends besides herself.

Looks were a matter of genetics, no argument there. But Horikita's ability wasn't just from talent.

Kushida Kikyo only saw that Horikita was always first in her grade; she didn't see the effort behind it.

Aside from eating and sleeping, she spent almost all her time studying. And her studies weren't limited to academics—she mastered cooking, physical fitness, and all sorts of other skills.

She was practically all-around. Suzuki Tsubame had to wonder what kind of genes the Horikita family had, with both brother and sister being so absurdly talented.

If Suzune's personality hadn't been warped, she would definitely have been assigned to Class A.

"In any case, your goal is just to get everyone's attention, right?"

Suzuki Tsubame temporarily gave up on guiding her. For now, the priority was to earn her trust.

"So what! You've ruined everything for me!" Kushida Kikyo could already imagine her future.

Suzuki Tsubame would hold leverage over her. She'd either become his plaything, choose to drop out, or endure being ostracized by the whole class—or even the whole school.

None of those options were acceptable to her.

Seeing her gaze gradually go numb, her pupils even starting to lose focus, Suzuki Tsubame gently let her go, letting her collapse to the floor in a W-shaped slump.

"Here..."

Suzuki Tsubame handed his phone to her and said, "I didn't record anything or take any videos. You can look through it yourself."

Though he wasn't as cold as Ayanokoji, he was definitely no pervert like Yamauchi. Satisfying his animal urges by threatening a girl was far too low-class.

Kushida Kikyo's gaze refocused, and she snatched Suzuki Tsubame's phone from his hand.

"Mm... no photos in the album... no recordings..." She sat on the ground, meticulously searching through his phone.

No matter how hard she racked her brains, she would never have guessed that, at that very moment, a hidden camera was watching her from behind.

Suzuki Tsubame had already cleaned up his phone. Chabashira's recording and the deal with Class A were all stored in a top-secret file on his computer.

The password was his past life's 18-digit ID number. Even a genius hacker would have no way to crack it.

"Why do you have so many points?" she exclaimed. Over 3.8 million was indeed a fortune for a freshman like them.

"At yesterday's club orientation, I got lucky and won a few rounds against some seniors."

Even if telling her about the deal with Class A wouldn't matter, why invite trouble when it could be avoided?

Kushida Kikyo looked unconvinced.

If it were a hundred thousand or a few hundred thousand, she might have believed him. But he'd won over three million and still called it luck? Did he take her for an idiot? Still, she couldn't be bothered to press further.

"Nah~ Here's your phone back." After finding nothing, Kushida Kikyo put her smile back on and shoved the phone into Suzuki Tsubame's hand.

"Since there's nothing else, I'll be going now. See you, Suzuki-kun."

Kushida Kikyo waved and smiled, about to leave.

Suzuki Tsubame could imagine that if he let her walk away now, his life from here on out would be anything but easy. She would go all out to target him.

Though it wouldn't affect him much, completing her task would become incredibly difficult.

"Well, is Kushida-san in such a hurry? Have you already confirmed that I'm not hiding a recording pen?" he said with a smile.

Kushida's smile froze as she turned around. Looking at Suzuki Tsubame's smiling face, she felt a chill run through her, as if she were staring at a demon.

The two were silent for a moment before Kushida Kikyo couldn't help but speak first: "Suzuki-kun, you wouldn't hide something like that, would you?"

"Well, you never know. After all, when betting with seniors, if you don't prepare enough evidence, they won't honor the deal." Suzuki Tsubame shrugged helplessly.

It was true. Some seniors, seeing no signed contract or teacher guarantee, would just outright renege.

That's when the importance of a recording came in.

Hearing this, Kushida Kikyo's face instantly darkened again. It was almost as dramatic as a Sichuan opera mask change.

"Kushida-san was in such a hurry to leave just now. Were you thinking about how to target me? Have me expelled?"

Suzuki Tsubame spoke with a smile, but it sent a shiver down Kushida Kikyo's spine.

That was exactly what she'd been thinking. She'd just been plotting how to get this guy expelled, and Suzuki Tsubame's expulsion priority had already surpassed Horikita Suzune's.

The question short-circuited Kushida Kikyo's brain. She figured that if she didn't answer properly, she was done for.

"How could that be! Suzuki-kun is my first friend at this new school!" Kushida Kikyo scrambled to make amends.

"How could I ever lay a hand on a friend?!"

Her flustered look made Suzuki Tsubame want to laugh. Weren't the people in your class during middle school your friends? How did you treat them?

Suzuki Tsubame shook his head, casting out the churning thoughts in his mind, and said with sincerity, "Don't worry, Kikyo. You're one of my few friends too. I wouldn't lay a hand on a friend."

He emphasized the word "friend," warning her to think twice before acting. If she disregarded their friendship, he wouldn't mind giving her a little injury.

With that, Suzuki Tsubame turned and walked toward the dormitory.

Leaving Kushida Kikyo alone, her face cycling through shades of green and white, like a human palette of colors.