Ayanokoji, Still Ayanokoji

Hiyori Shiina sniffled, trying hard to stop her tears. As she looked at Yuefeng's calm, resolute profile, the fear and guilt in her heart seemed to lessen somewhat.

She remembered how carefully and decisively he had helped her recover her pendant that day. She remembered his determination to finish the Sports Festival despite the pain. She remembered how straightforwardly he had said, "It wasn't your fault."

This transfer student, who seemed gentle and sometimes even a little distant, somehow always gave people a feeling of... reassurance.

"Thank you... Yuefeng," she said softly, her voice carrying a little more genuine gratitude this time.

"You're welcome." Yuefeng smiled, but the movement tugged at his injured arm, making him frown slightly.

"Your arm... does it still hurt?" Hiyori Shiina noticed and asked with concern.

"It's fine. As long as I use the medicine on schedule, it'll heal in a few days." Yuefeng flexed his fingers to show that it was nothing serious.

A brief silence fell between them, but the atmosphere was no longer as heavy and oppressive as before.

The lingering glow of the sunset gently enveloped them, while the hydrangeas swayed softly in the evening breeze.

"Um..." Hiyori Shiina suddenly spoke in a small voice, unconsciously twisting the strap of her cloth bag around her fingers. "Yuefeng, do you... do you like reading?"

Yuefeng froze for a moment, not expecting her to ask that so suddenly. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"The library is a good place." Especially in an environment like Class C, the library was practically a refuge.

"I... I do too." Hiyori Shiina seemed to have found a topic, and her voice became a little smoother. "Behind the library, there's an Old Book Section that hardly anyone visits. There are lots of old books and documents there that you can't find elsewhere... and it's very quiet."

She raised her head and looked at Yuefeng. Her cheeks were slightly red, but her eyes were clear. "If... if you want to look for any special materials, Yuefeng..."

"Or... if you just want somewhere quiet to stay, you can go take a look."

Was this... her way of sharing her "secret base"?

Yuefeng looked into her eyes, filled with sincerity and a trace of expectation, and something in his heart stirred slightly.

In this school full of schemes and calculations, such pure, purposeless kindness seemed incredibly precious.

"Sure, thanks." He nodded. "Once my arm feels a little better, I'll definitely go take a look."

A faint, relieved smile appeared on Hiyori Shiina's face, and she nodded firmly.

As the sky gradually darkened, the two stood and left. Hiyori Shiina was clearly in a much better mood. Hugging her cloth bag to her chest, even her steps had become lighter.

"Yuefeng," she suddenly stopped before they parted, gathering her courage as she looked at him. "Those rumors... I'll try not to care about them. You... you should be careful too."

"I will," Yuefeng said seriously.

Watching Hiyori Shiina's slender figure disappear into the distance, Yuefeng rubbed his left arm, which still ached faintly.

The rumors would not disappear after a single conversation, nor would Ishizaki's hostility lessen because of it.

But at least he had comforted an innocent companion who had been dragged into this, and he had also received a little... unexpected warmth.

A few nights later, Yuefeng's arm pain kept him from sleeping soundly, so he simply got up and decided to take a walk to the library.

He also wanted to check out the "Old Book Section" Hiyori Shiina had mentioned.

The campus was silent in the dead of night, with only the dim halos cast by the streetlights. Most of the library had already gone dark, with only the duty room and a few self-study areas still lit.

Relying on his memory, Yuefeng went around the main reading area and passed through a narrow corridor, where he indeed found an almost forgotten section.

The lights here were dim, the bookshelves towered overhead, and the air was filled with the distinctive scent of old paper and dust.

It truly was quiet—so quiet that he could hear his own breathing.

Yuefeng casually scanned the book spines on the shelves. Most were obscure academic works or local chronicles from long ago.

He pulled out a book that appeared to be about changes in modern educational systems and found a corner against the wall.

By the faint moonlight filtering in through the window and the green glow of a distant emergency exit sign, he began reading.

The book's contents were dry, but Yuefeng read with great focus. Understanding the background of this world could only be beneficial.

He had no idea how much time had passed when an extremely faint sound of footsteps, almost swallowed by the dust, came from behind another bookshelf.

It was not the teacher on duty. A teacher's footsteps would not be this light, nor would they come here at this hour.

Yuefeng immediately closed the book and held his breath. His body tensed slightly, and his injured left arm instinctively took a defensive posture, though it would not be much use.

The fingertips of his right hand rested on the bookshelf, ready to exert force at any moment.

The footsteps stopped nearby.

After a while, a familiar voice—so familiar that it made Yuefeng's heart nearly stop—rang out quietly in the silent Old Book Section. It was calm and devoid of emotion, as though speaking to himself, yet it also sounded as though he had pinpointed Yuefeng's position exactly.

"Analysis of Private Elite Education Models... quite an obscure topic."

"Will it help you understand the founding philosophy of Advanced Nurturing High School, Brother Yuefeng?"

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

Why was he here?! At this time, in a place like this?!

Yuefeng slowly stepped out from behind the bookshelf and saw Kiyotaka standing several rows away, holding a thick old book as well. The words on its cover were difficult to make out in the darkness.

He was still dressed in his neat uniform, as though he were not sneaking into the library in the middle of the night, but simply taking an ordinary evening stroll.

"Kiyotaka." Yuefeng tried to keep his voice from sounding too surprised. "You came... to read too?"

"I'm looking up some information." Kiyotaka's gaze fell on Yuefeng's suspended left arm and lingered there for a second. "How is your arm recovering?"

"Fine." Yuefeng answered briefly, not wanting to discuss his injury. He was more concerned about why Kiyotaka was here. "Shouldn't the library be closed at this hour?"

"There's a loophole in the management system. The duty teacher's patrol route follows a predictable pattern."

In the same tone one might use to discuss the weather, Kiyotaka had essentially said, "I exploited the system and figured out the patrol pattern, then slipped in."

He walked a few steps closer. Moonlight streamed through the high windows, casting shifting patches of light and shadow across his face.

"Rumors." Kiyotaka suddenly changed the subject, still speaking in a matter-of-fact tone. "About you, Hiyori Shiina, and Ishizaki Daichi."

"They're spreading faster than expected. There's more than one source."

Yuefeng's heart tightened. Kiyotaka had noticed too, as expected. And from the sound of it, he had more specific information.

"I know," Yuefeng said. "Someone's fanning the flames."

"Within Class C, some people are dissatisfied with Ryuen Kakeru's rule, or they simply feel threatened by the rise in your 'value,'" Kiyotaka analyzed calmly. "They can use rumors to create internal conflict, weaken Ryuen's control, or isolate you."

His analysis hit the mark. Yuefeng had vaguely suspected that possibility as well.

"People from Class D are involved too." Kiyotaka's next words made Yuefeng even more alert. "Kushida Kikyo. She has close ties with some of the girls in Class C, and her channels for passing information are smooth."

"Spreading rumors unfavorable to you fits her pattern of maintaining a 'popular' image while weakening potential competitors."

Kushida Kikyo! That key figure from the original story, an angel on the surface but... She had gotten involved too?

Was it because she wanted to target him as "Kiyotaka's older brother"? Or did she simply enjoy seeing chaos unfold?

"Why are you telling me this?" Yuefeng looked directly into Kiyotaka's eyes, which seemed especially deep in the dim light.

Kiyotaka met his gaze without the slightest attempt to avoid it.

"Rumors affect the accuracy of 'observation,'" Kiyotaka said slowly, his voice carrying a faint echo through the empty Old Book Section. "They also interfere with the progress of the 'task.'"

Again, "observation" and "task." A chill rose in Yuefeng's heart.

Kiyotaka was not telling him this to help him. He merely wanted to eliminate variables that interfered with his "observation" and ensure a stable environment for the "task."

"Then what do you think I should do?" Yuefeng asked, with a hint of sarcasm he did not even notice himself.

Kiyotaka seemed not to hear that sarcasm. Or perhaps he simply did not care. He thought for a few seconds, then said:

"Rumors themselves do not cause tangible harm."

"Their danger lies in influencing the judgment of those around you and the mental state of the person being targeted."

"There are two ways to break them. First, use a more impactful fact to overwhelm the rumors. Second, make the rumors lose the environment and value necessary for spreading."

He paused, then added, "The way you handled your relationship with Hiyori Shiina was the beginning of the second method. But it wasn't enough."

Yuefeng fell silent. That was true. He had only comforted Hiyori Shiina and temporarily stabilized the emotions of one of the "victims," but he had no effective means of striking back against the source and spreaders of the rumors.

"The 'accident' at the Sports Festival caused Ishizaki Daichi to lose part of Ryuen Kakeru's trust," Kiyotaka continued in his machine-like analytical tone. "That is why his recent behavior has become increasingly impatient. It is also your opportunity."

"An opportunity?"

"Ryuen Kakeru needs 'useful' people to maintain his rule."

"Ishizaki Daichi's recent failures and recklessness have weakened his 'usefulness.'"

"And your performance at the Sports Festival demonstrated another kind of 'usefulness'—adaptability and perseverance in an unfavorable situation."

"Although you were injured, you completed the task and did not create greater chaos." Kiyotaka's gaze seemed to pierce through the darkness as it settled on Yuefeng's face.

Something stirred in Yuefeng's heart.

Kiyotaka meant... that he should strive to gain more of Ryuen's "favor," squeezing Ishizaki's space and making the rumors lose their provocative value?

"That's very risky," Yuefeng said. Cooperating with a tiger meant that a single misstep could leave him utterly shattered.

"At Advanced Nurturing High School, there are no zero-risk options. There is only the weighing of risks against rewards."

"And the ability to control 'variables,'" Kiyotaka stated calmly.

Variables. Again, variables. Yuefeng sighed inwardly.

"You seem very good at analyzing these things," Yuefeng said.

"Necessary information processing," Kiyotaka replied. Then he suddenly returned the book in his hand to the shelf and turned to face Yuefeng. In the darkness, his outline looked somewhat unreal.

"Yuefeng," he called out. Then he paused, as though choosing his words carefully. "'Father' needs to see a 'reason.'"

"And a 'reason' is often born from... a sufficiently complex and convincing 'situation.'"

After saying those ambiguous words, Kiyotaka did not linger. He walked away and, just as silently as he had arrived, disappeared behind the overlapping shadows of the bookshelves, as though he had never been there.

Yuefeng stood alone in the dim Old Book Section, accompanied only by the cold moonlight outside and the faint green glow of the distant emergency exit sign.

The pain in his arm still persisted.

The shadow of the rumors was still spreading.

Kiyotaka's words echoed over and over in his mind.

"Reason"... "situation"...

He lowered his head and looked at his suspended left arm, then raised it again toward the direction in which Kiyotaka had vanished.

This maze woven jointly by his control-freak "father" and CPU-kun "younger brother" seemed even more complex, even more... unfathomable than he had imagined.

And all he could seemingly do was keep moving forward with these injuries, groping through the darkness for that faint glimmer of light that might exist and might belong to him.

Outside the library, the night had deepened.