Transferring Classes

After Horikita Suzune left, Ichinose dropped a bombshell:

"Horikita, Shiranami Chihiro confessed her feelings to me."

"Oh, is that so?"

Horikita Etsuka merely nodded, wearing a look of mild surprise.

Ichinose looked puzzled: "Horikita, you don't look very surprised. Does this not even warrant a reaction from you?"

"That's not it." Etsuka shook his head: "You and Shiranami act so intimate that some rumors have already started to circulate. I just didn't expect them to be true."

"Eh? Rumors?" A rare trace of nervousness appeared in Ichinose's eyes: "Horikita, do you know who is saying these things? I'm worried it might affect Chihiro, so we need to stop the rumors from spreading immediately."

Etsuka spread his hands helplessly:

"You can't stop these rumors, and it doesn't look like anyone is spreading them intentionally. It seems everyone has tacitly agreed not to show it in front of Shiranami; instead, they've been quite cooperative in covering it up."

"Ah, really? So you mean I've been kept in the dark this whole time?"

Etsuka nodded: "You guessed it, Ichinose."

"Sigh~" Ichinose let out a long sigh, looking like a helpless man: "I really don't know what to do about this. I'm afraid that if I'm not careful, I'll ruin my relationship with Chihiro."

She then looked at Horikita Etsuka with an expectant expression: "Horikita, you seem quite experienced in these matters. Could you tell me how to resolve this?"

"What the heck? I'm experienced?" Horikita Etsuka pointed at himself in disbelief: "Are you asking me, a lifelong single who has never been in a relationship, how to solve this?"

"Eh?" Ichinose looked surprised: "Horikita, you've never been in a relationship? Why doesn't it look like that at all?"

"Ahem!" Etsuka coughed a few times to hide his embarrassment: "Well... obviously, I had to focus on my studies during high school."

Ichinose nodded at that; in her eyes, Horikita Etsuka didn't look like someone who lacked admirers.

Ichinose slumped her shoulders as if she couldn't quite support the weight on her chest, and she sighed again:

"Sigh~ This is really difficult."

"But, could I ask for the details of what happened?" Etsuka asked, feeling gossipy.

"Emmm, it was probably after the study session. Chihiro and I were about to go eat, but she pulled me into a corner and confessed. I couldn't make up my mind on the spot, so I told her I would think about it."

"Oh, pulled into a corner?" Etsuka raised an eyebrow: "Shiranami looks like such a well-behaved girl. She didn't do anything to you, did she?"

"Horikita, what are you thinking? Everything you're imagining is impossible," Ichinose said, sounding dissatisfied.

"Fine, fine, I'm overthinking it." Etsuka stroked his chin and asked tentatively: "Why don't you just reject her directly?"

"I've thought about that, but I'm worried it will destroy the relationship between us."

"Ichinose, think about it carefully. You only have three ways to handle this: one, agree; two, reject; three, stay silent.

First, you definitely won't agree. Third, if you stay silent, she might think she still has a chance and keep holding onto hope, only to be rejected in the end. That would cause her the most harm, so I think you only have the second path: rejection."

Ichinose felt that what Etsuka said made sense, but she was still hesitant.

Horikita Etsuka added more fuel to the fire:

"Ichinose, having spent this much time together, I have a general understanding of your personality. You are truly too kind, but have you ever considered that your kindness sometimes ends up hurting others?"

"My kindness... sometimes hurts others?" Ichinose muttered to herself.

"Honami!"

At that moment, Shiranami Chihiro's voice rang out, and she waved happily while carrying her bag.

"Horikita is here too?" Shiranami greeted him politely.

"Yeah." Etsuka nodded in response.

Shiranami immediately grabbed Ichinose's hand and muttered happily: "Honestly, I've been looking for you for so long, and here you are."

Looking at Shiranami before her, Ichinose suddenly made up her mind and spoke slowly:

If you like this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

"Shiranami..."

"Hm? What is it, Ichinose?"

"I'm sorry, I cannot accept your confession."

As soon as those words left her lips, Shiranami froze, her entire body trembling as if struck by lightning.

She let go of her hand in disbelief and took two steps back, tears already welling up in the corners of her eyes.

"Honami, this... why?" Shiranami's petite frame began to shake uncontrollably.

"Chihiro, I don't think this is right..."

"Is it because we're both girls that we can't be together?!" With that, Shiranami Chihiro wiped her tears with her sleeve and turned to run away.

"Chihiro!" Ichinose instinctively wanted to chase after her.

"Ichinose." Horikita Etsuka reached out and grabbed Ichinose's shoulder: "Let Shiranami have some space to calm down. If you go after her now, you'll only make her lose control of her emotions."

"Yeah... I suppose you're right." Ichinose stopped in her tracks, looking dejected, as if her soul had been drained from her body.

"Still, I have to thank you, Horikita." Ichinose looked up at Etsuka: "Thank you for your advice. I've finally made up my mind."

"Glad you've figured it out. I'll be heading off now."

"Mhm, goodbye, Horikita-kun."

"Goodbye."

Time passed quickly. After several weeks of intensive study, most of the students in Class B showed significant improvement, and they began the midterm exams full of confidence.

As expected, not a single person in Class B failed.

According to the information Ichinose had gathered, it was said that no one in the entire grade had failed, which meant no one was expelled.

Hoshinomiya arrived at Class B with her usual scent of alcohol. She first encouraged everyone and acknowledged their results, then began to explain the current Class Points situation.

Class A: 1004cp

Class B: 780cp

Class C: 580cp

Class D: 90cp

"Whoa, Class D jumped up by 90 points all at once? That's incredible!"

"Yeah, even with all our hard studying, we only gained 80."

"Class C is outrageous too. I never even saw them come to the library to study, yet they still gained over 80 points!"

"Huh? Haven't you heard that Class C has evening study sessions?"

"What? Doesn't the curriculum exclude evening study sessions?"

"Damn, they're so disciplined!"

The crowd discussed it heatedly.

Horikita Etsuka rested his chin on one hand, remaining indifferent to the classroom chatter. He looked out the window at the girls having their physical education class, seemingly lost in thought.

Ryuen of Class C had not only spent the last few weeks frantically investigating for moles, but he had also forced his entire class to attend evening study sessions; his methods could be described as quite ruthless. However, the most surprising ones were undoubtedly Class A and Class D.

Class A had the smallest increase in Class Points, while Class D seemed to have unleashed their potential, surging directly to 90 Class Points. One had to remember that the maximum gain for this exam was only 100 Class Points.

The youthful and beautiful girls were reflected in Horikita Etsuka's eyes.

For the past few days, he had been pondering a question: if points could buy anything, could they be used to transfer classes?

If you like this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.