Suzune Decides to Let Go

Soon enough.

Xu Nuo returned to the classroom.

He was alone; Sae Chabashira hadn't accompanied him, having hurried off halfway down the road.

Probably felt uncomfortable sticking around.

The sound of the door opening drew everyone's attention.

Seeing it was Xu Nuo.

The crowd instantly lost interest.

It was class time, and the homeroom teacher had left a "self-study" order before departing. Class D, living up to expectations, had been in chaos ever since.

No discipline whatsoever.

Meeting the Chairman had only taken about half an hour, so the class was still in its previous atmosphere.

Occasionally, someone shot a contemptuous glance in a certain direction.

Whispering quietly.

Clearly.

The one they were united against like this had to be our—Horikita Suzune.

The girl sat upright in her seat, back straight, arms crossed in front of her chest in a defensive posture, her delicate face expressionless.

She looked like she was ready to take on the whole world.

Besides that.

Those red-violet fox eyes were quietly fixed on the window, as if staring at something far away.

Or rather.

She simply didn't want to look at the crowd in this classroom.

Seems like.

She'd gotten the short end of the stick again.

Xu Nuo walked to his seat, pulled out the chair, and sat down. His movements were neither heavy nor light, but in this subdued atmosphere, she still noticed.

She turned her head and glanced at her neighbor.

That look was complicated—

A bit annoyed, a bit aggrieved, and something else... hard to describe.

If he had to find a word for it...

Despair?

Well, fair enough—being in Class D, who wouldn't despair?

"You're back."

Horikita Suzune's voice was flat, but there was a hint of restraint in it. She didn't ask what the teacher wanted with him.

She had no mind for that.

"Mm."

Xu Nuo nodded, then asked somewhat tactfully, "You look... not so great."

"What happened?"

Horikita didn't speak.

Instead, she slowly closed her eyes, as if calming herself. After a few seconds, she spoke coldly.

"Just now."

"I told them the school's rules."

"Class competition, the point system, Class A's privileges, this month's special exam... everything."

"And then?"

"Then they thought I was crazy."

A faint, subtle curve tugged at the corner of Horikita Suzune's lips—a self-mocking, sardonic smile.

"Or rather, they thought I was exaggerating."

"Ridiculous."

"..."

Xu Nuo didn't respond.

Because he knew she didn't need comfort right now—she just wanted an outlet to vent her grievances.

Troublesome.

Comforting a downcast girl... not my forte.

Xu Nuo sighed, but since he was the one who had set this whole situation in motion, he could only bear with it and listen patiently.

On the other side.

Horikita Suzune grew more confused as she spoke.

"I thought..."

"I thought that if I just told everyone the truth, they'd understand, they'd start to take it seriously, they'd..."

She couldn't finish.

Because reality had already given her a bloody answer.

Just then.

Class D suddenly stirred.

"Hey, look, the system sent a notification!"

Someone shouted.

Instantly.

Everyone pulled out their phones. Xu Nuo took his out too and glanced at it—the content was no surprise.

It was a school notice.

[Emergency Notice]

[Private Point system maintenance nearing completion]

[Estimated recovery time: 11:45]

[With the school's accelerated efforts, all Private Points will be displayed once the system is back to normal. We apologize for any inconvenience.]

"Awesome!"

"I knew it, it was just a system glitch."

"Scared me to death, thought the points were really gone... I can have my combo meal at noon again!"

The classroom erupted in cheers.

It wasn't just Class D.

Similar sounds drifted in from the neighboring classrooms. In an instant, the whole building came alive.

Yet.

Horikita Suzune's face looked even worse than before.

"See?"

"They don't care at all."

"Because in their eyes, everything will 'go back to normal.' All that so-called intel I just gave them? A joke to them."

As she spoke.

A faint mist of tears gathered in her red-violet fox-like eyes.

Damn.

Was she about to shed little pearls?

Xu Nuo found it hard to bear. He hadn't expected this lofty flower to have such a fragile heart.

Luckily.

In the end, she held it together.

"Horikita—"

Just then.

Yosuke Hirata walked over, his face still wearing that gentle smile. The return of the points filled him with genuine joy, and he also came to offer comfort.

"Everyone might need some time to take in all that information, but I believe what you said is true."

"It's just..."

"Now might not be the best time."

This good-natured guy's tone was very soft, but the meaning of his words was essentially urging her to give up.

"Heh."

"Not the best time?"

"Then when is? When you all find your Private Points at zero at the end of the month?"

At that moment.

In front of others.

Horikita Suzune instantly withdrew her vulnerability, her tone cold and merciless as she sneered.

Hearing this.

Hirata was taken aback.

It seemed he hadn't expected her words to be so direct.

"Forget it."

"Please stay away from me."

Before he could reply.

Horikita Suzune simply turned her head, offering him only her profile, a clear gesture of refusal to engage.

In her view.

This goody-two-shoes blond clearly knew she was right, yet chose to side with that ignorant bunch of fools—nothing more than a sycophant.

So there was nothing left to say.

"Ah..."

Seeing her dismiss him, Hirata left reluctantly.

Before leaving, he shot Xu Nuo an apologetic look, as if apologizing for the interruption.

Admittedly.

This guy was genuinely decent before he turned dark.

"You knew all along."

"Didn't you?"

"You knew no one would believe me, knew I'd hit a wall."

As if something clicked, Horikita Suzune took a deep breath and turned to her deskmate, demanding an answer.

Xu Nuo shrugged and admitted openly:

"Yeah."

"Then why didn't you warn me?"

"If I told you, would you have believed me?"

"..."

"Besides, back then I told you to sell intel to other classes. I didn't tell you to make a clown of yourself in Class D."

"..."

Horikita's face flushed red, but she couldn't argue.

In the end.

The girl seemed to deflate, burying her head in her arms, curling into a ball, clearly shutting down.

Gone was her usual icy demeanor.

She looked more like...

An ordinary girl who'd just been slapped hard by reality—her dream of leading Class D to Class A was shattered, and she didn't even know what to do anymore.

Impossible.

Leading this bunch of lunatics to Class A was simply impossible...

I'm sorry, Elder Brother.

I can't do it.

Her mood sank lower, Horikita Suzune completely gave up, a stagnant aura enveloping her.

"Ahem..."

Seeing this.

Xu Nuo cleared his throat, judging the moment was right, and carefully chose his words.

"Actually."

"With just twenty million points, you can transfer classes."

Hearing this.

Horikita Suzune was momentarily stunned, her stalled mind began to turn, and a light gradually lit up in her eyes.

Her fighting spirit was reignited.