Friendly Gathering

"Is that what Himeno said?"

"Yes, she does prefer to be alone." Horikita Etsuka replied to Ichinose's text message on his mobile terminal.

"Alright, I understand, but you really must come, Horikita."

"Understood, I will be there."

After sending the reply, Horikita Etsuka closed his student terminal.

He was currently sitting on a movable chair in his dormitory room.

It had to be said that the dormitory conditions were excellent; not only did everyone have their own room, but the facilities didn't look cheap at all, appearing simple yet high-end instead.

Horikita Etsuka checked the time: 4:12 PM.

"It's about time, I should get going."

The gathering spot Ichinose had arranged was at a KTV, and the time was 4:30.

Horikita Etsuka stepped into the elevator, where he happened to run into the thin, bespectacled boy with blue hair who sat in front of him.

"Hello there, Horikita." The boy greeted him the moment he saw Horikita Etsuka.

Thanks to Hoshinomiya, almost everyone in the class knew him, while he himself had only just learned the names of two people.

"Hello." Horikita Etsuka greeted him generously: "I have some impression of you, what is your name?"

The boy adjusted his glasses and said gently: "Hamaguchi Tetsuya."

Horikita Etsuka nodded: "Hamaguchi Tetsuya, I'll remember that."

The elevator began to descend.

Hamaguchi Tetsuya seemed not to want the atmosphere to become stiff, so he took the initiative to speak: "Is Horikita also heading to the gathering organized by Ichinose?"

"Yes, it seems Ichinose has invited quite a lot of people."

"As far as I know, Ichinose has invited almost the entire class, and she even booked three private rooms."

"Oh? Is that so?" A hint of surprise leaked into Horikita Etsuka's voice; clearly, he had underestimated Ichinose's ability to win people over.

Based on his previous assessment, the number of people Ichinose would be able to recruit was only about half the class.

However, reality had far exceeded his expectations.

In just one day, she actually managed to win over almost everyone in the class?

Horikita Etsuka marveled inwardly. Just how much charisma and what kind of methods did this Ichinose possess to achieve such astonishing results in such a short time?

Over the course of this day, Horikita Etsuka had gained a deeper understanding of this school and had developed a keen interest in it.

First, they deposited 100,000 yen, guiding the students to think they could spend it freely. Then, judging by the attitudes of the teachers and students, there are clear differences between classes A through D. Whether it's the quality of the uniforms or the geographical location, Class A is far superior to the other classes. Ultimately, this will lead students to feel that the campus is unfair and stir up emotions. Analyzing it based on the school's motives and the current situation...

Just as Horikita Etsuka was deep in thought, the elevator door suddenly opened with a crisp "ding."

He stepped out of the elevator, the bright lights reflecting in his ink-black pupils.

Guiding class competition? Meritocracy? The corners of Horikita Etsuka's mouth curled up slightly.

The rules of this school are truly interesting.

Inside the KTV suite, Horikita Etsuka pushed the door open directly.

Many people had already arrived, and Ichinose had thoughtfully purchased fruit, snacks, and the like for each room, placing them on the coffee tables.

Horikita Etsuka took a rough scan.

The drinks have barely been touched, which means the level of relaxation is very low.

The room was large, with both boys and girls present, but there was a long, empty stretch of space between the sofas.

Moreover, no one was singing at the moment, and even the conversations within small groups were very quiet.

It seems Ichinose went to the other rooms; no wonder it's so deserted here.

Horikita Etsuka didn't like this awkward feeling, so he prepared to break the ice.

Because Horikita Etsuka didn't close the door immediately after pushing it open, the intense light from the hallway spilled in, accompanied by a bit of noise.

Everyone's gaze was instantly drawn, and they all looked toward the door in unison.

Hamaguchi Tetsuya, standing beside Horikita Etsuka, felt a moment of panic at being scrutinized by so many eyes.

Horikita Etsuka, however, calmly flashed a sunny smile:

"Yo, looks like everyone is indeed here?"

In front of everyone, Horikita Etsuka pulled Hamaguchi Tetsuya by the arm and walked naturally to the middle of the sofa, his eyes constantly scanning the expressions of those present.

After sitting down, his gaze immediately locked onto a girl with short blue hair who was holding a microphone but looking around restlessly.

"That girl with the blue hair, was that you singing Kenshi Yonezu's Lemon just now?"

In an instant, all eyes converged on the blue-haired girl.

"Ah? Huh? Me?" The blue-haired girl was a bit dazed; feeling everyone staring at her, her face immediately turned a bit flushed.

The others were also full of confusion, as no one had actually been singing just a moment ago.

Horikita Etsuka didn't give the blue-haired girl any time to react: "That song you sang just now was pretty good, come on, keep going."

As he said this, he nudged Hamaguchi Tetsuya, who was sitting beside him.

Hamaguchi Tetsuya was no fool, and he immediately understood what Horikita Etsuka meant, chiming in: "I heard it too, come on, come on, sing one for us."

With the two of them taking the lead, the other students who weren't as familiar with each other also began to speak up one after another.

"Yeah, sing one for us, classmate."

"We're all really looking forward to it."

Seeing that everyone was so enthusiastic, the blue-haired girl nodded while holding the microphone and said: "Okay, okay, but I'm not a very good singer, so please don't laugh at me!"

"Don't worry, we won't."

"I'm not even good at singing myself, I'm just here to admire the pro."

From the moment the topic was brought up, the lively atmosphere in the room was maintained, and the frequency of interaction among the group increased rapidly.

"Come on, let's give this classmate some encouragement." Horikita Etsuka was the first to start clapping.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap..."

In an instant, everyone else followed suit and began to applaud.

The blue-haired girl was naturally an optimistic person, but there were just too many people, and she didn't know most of them, so she had felt too embarrassed to sing while holding the microphone. However, with the opening Horikita Etsuka had provided, she began to sing cheerfully.

With the singing as a backdrop, the atmosphere in the private room gradually heated up, and the volume of everyone's chatter grew louder.

Hamaguchi Tetsuya looked at Horikita Etsuka, who was pouring drinks, his eyes filled with disbelief. This was the only person he had ever seen in the class, other than Ichinose, who could mobilize the atmosphere so quickly.

And unlike Ichinose, he didn't make himself the center of attention; instead, he passed the spotlight to others while perfectly blending into the group himself.

While pouring drinks, Horikita Etsuka said to the person next to him: "What would you like to drink, classmate? Do you need me to get it for you?"

"Um, I'll have some juice, thank you."

"You're welcome."

After finishing everything, Horikita Etsuka leaned back lazily on the sofa; now, all he had to do was enjoy the fruit and snacks.

At this moment, Ichinose was like a busy bee, shuttling back and forth between the three private rooms.

Although there was a smile on her face, she felt a bit troubled inside.

Because whenever she entered a room where she acted as the mediator, it was always filled with laughter and the atmosphere was exceptionally warm.

However, when she moved to the other rooms, the situation was the exact opposite, appearing exceptionally cold and awkward.

This forced her to exert all her effort, using every ounce of her enthusiasm to adjust the atmosphere so that everyone could relax and enjoy their time.

Just like that, Ichinose kept switching between the three rooms, as if it were never-ending.

"Ichinose? Do you want to sing?" Suddenly, a girl's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Ichinose snapped back to reality and saw the girl handing her a microphone, looking at her with full expectation.

"No, thank you." Ichinose smiled and waved her hand, politely declining, "I think I'll go check on the other rooms first, you guys go ahead and sing."

"Alright." The girl nodded in understanding and gave an OK gesture.

Ichinose stood up with a sense of relief, took a deep breath, and then slowly walked out of the room.

As she walked, she prayed silently in her heart, hoping that the next room, Room 1, wouldn't be as cold as it had been before.

When she finally reached the door of Room 1, she stopped, hesitated for a moment, and then gently turned the handle.

Just as she was about to push the door open, a burst of cheerful laughter suddenly came from inside.

If you can't find the book title, you can try searching for the author; perhaps it just changed its name!