Horikita Suzune's Unwillingness

At this moment.

Sitting in her seat, Horikita Suzune remained expressionless, yet the lecture content, which she could usually listen to no matter how dull it was, had uncharacteristically lost its voice to her today.

Her entire aura also appeared extremely low.

Yesterday...

The words Elder Brother said felt like a thorn, pricking at my heart for the entire night.

Class D... a disgrace...

I don't understand.

I consider myself—whether in academics, physical ability, or even self-discipline—inferior to no one.

The results of the class assignments.

Shouldn't they be purely random?

Why would Elder Brother make such an evaluation of me just because of the label "Class D"...

This question.

It made me restless; I needed an answer.

And so.

I didn't sleep all night.

Early in the morning, I set off to the office to find her—our Class D homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira.

Time returns to a short while ago.

Early morning.

Classes had not yet begun, and the homeroom teachers of the various classes in the same grade were still in the office.

"Teacher—"

Horikita Suzune looked straight ahead, walking directly to her homeroom teacher, ignoring all the curious, probing, or observant gazes around her.

"What is it?"

Sae Chabashira frowned.

She cast a subtle glance at the others in the office.

"Teacher." Horikita Suzune tried to keep her voice steady. "I would like to ask, what criteria is the class assignment for this school based on?"

" ?!"

Upon hearing this.

Sae Chabashira was stunned for a moment, her heart shaken.

What was going on? How could another student have figured it out? Could it be that this year's Class D was full of geniuses?

No—

Looking at the stubborn girl before her, Sae Chabashira felt a vague sense of oddity, an inexplicable feeling of discrimination—it was as if she were seeing herself from back then.

But she hadn't been this sharp.

She shook her head vigorously.

Immediately, another figure surfaced in her mind.

...That's it.

It must be him.

Sae Chabashira smoothed her brow, feeling she had discovered the truth, so she leaned back in her chair and lit a cigarette, as if she had heard a very funny question.

"You heard that from someone else, didn't you?"

Her tone was very certain.

Seeing the girl's expression, which seemed to default to agreement, she was instantly convinced of her thoughts and countered:

"What do you think?"

"...I think it is the result of a comprehensive evaluation based on entrance exam scores." Horikita provided the most logical answer.

"Correct."

Sae Chabashira nodded.

Then, she tapped her cigarette and shifted the tone, saying, "And Class D is where the students judged as the 'worst' by the school's evaluation are placed."

"In other words..."

She paused, speaking in a cold tone:

"It is a recycling bin for defective products."

Boom—

It was like a bolt from the blue.

Horikita Suzune's mind went completely blank in an instant.

A defective product?

Me?

How is that possible! My entrance exam scores were clearly...

"Why?"

Horikita Suzune hurriedly pressed for an answer, her tone incredibly urgent, as if trying to prove something. "My scores should have been among the best. You must have..."

...made a mistake.

"Listen—"

Before she could finish, Sae Chabashira raised a hand to cut her off, her tone flat and devoid of any ripples.

"Your academic and athletic abilities are indeed quite good. If we were to judge solely on those two criteria, you would undoubtedly be at the level of Class A. You shouldn't have ended up in Class D."

"Then why..."

"In your interview evaluation, your teamwork ability was an E. You have zero social skills. The school believes you are an honor student with a fatal flaw."

A fatal flaw?

Am I... a defective product?

Horikita Suzune's pupils constricted, and her entire body trembled.

And so it went.

The teacher and student parted on bad terms.

"Suzune, what happened?"

It must be said that Xu Nuo's question, delivered with a hint of mockery despite knowing the answer, was exceptionally effective.

Horikita Suzune, whose mentality had already exploded due to the truth about Class D, was like a lit firecracker upon hearing this "concern."

She whipped her head around.

Her reddish-purple eyes burned with raging fury.

"Shut up, you piece of trash."

Very good, even the form of address had been upgraded.

"Well~ I actually think this expression of yours is much closer to a normal person. It's much cuter than that 'keep everyone at a distance' look you usually wear."

"You're scoring high in my book."

Xu Nuo nodded with a straight face, completely ignoring her anger and even adding fuel to the fire.

I don't look like a normal person usually?

"You...!"

Horikita Suzune gritted her teeth, her chest heaving violently. She desperately wanted to pick up the compass on her desk and give this gloating bastard beside her a jab.

But her remaining sanity stopped her.

Because.

The words of Teacher Chabashira were still echoing in her ears.

"Your neighbor is no simple person. If you really want to know everything, then go and ask him for advice."

Ask this... piece of trash for advice?

Thinking of this, Horikita Suzune felt extremely unpleasant.

But in order to gain her older brother's recognition and to ascend to Class A, she had to suppress her temper.

The girl took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

Afterward.

When Horikita Suzune spoke again, her voice had regained a measure of composure, but that stubborn, reluctant tone could not be hidden.

"Tch."

"Teacher Chabashira said... I should ask you for advice more often."

When she said this, her eyes were fixed on the concrete floor, as if she were merely relaying a message.

However.

Even though she was unwilling, she had still said it.

"Oh?"

Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow slightly, then stroked his chin with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "Let me guess... she must have said that while she was bringing you to class, right?"

This reaction.

Horikita Suzune felt even more incensed, but once she heard the content of his words clearly, her emotions vanished in an instant.

She had been hit right on the mark...

As expected, he was formidable.

Horikita Suzune's heart was a complex mess as she nodded mechanically; she was always willing to submit to those stronger than herself.

This was the law the young girl lived by.

"Ahem."

"Since Chabashira-sensei has put it that way, as your seatmate, I am naturally duty-bound to help."

Xu Nuo said with a solemn expression.

Immediately after.

He leaned his body slightly forward and lowered his voice.

"So then..."

"Your first task has arrived. Look over here, Suzune. Do you see that blonde little angel?"

He gestured with his chin toward the right.

"..."

Horikita Suzune frowned and looked in the direction he indicated, her gaze meeting a sweet, smiling face.

Even while in class.

Kushida Kikyo still waved a friendly hand.

"...Little angel?"

Seeing this.

Horikita Suzune immediately turned her head back, her gaze seemingly filled with disdain, and spat out a few words coldly.

"I see her."

"She wants to be friends with you."

"I refuse."

The answer was categorical, without a shred of hesitation.

To Horikita Suzune, a social butterfly like Kushida Kikyo, who went around currying favor with everyone, was exactly the type she despised associating with.

What's more.

Things like friends would only become a burden.

"Don't be so quick to refuse."

Seemingly having anticipated this answer, Xu Nuo spoke unhurriedly, "You're frustrated, and you can't figure out why you were assigned to Class D, right?"

"?!"

This sentence.

Made Horikita Suzune's pupils contract. She whipped her head around, her reddish-purple eyes locked onto Xu Nuo, filled with shock, confusion, and suspicion...

"Why do you even know that?"

Her voice was somewhat dry.

Xu Nuo blinked. "Of course, it's because I know many things that you don't. For example—"

"The truth about this school."