The Benefits of Being Able to Talk

To maximize the effect, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had specifically told Kushida Kikyo to reveal it in the final few days.

Kushida Kikyo was no fool.

She understood immediately.

That made things difficult for the trio.

If they knew there were answers available,

why would they bother wasting time studying?

Wasn't enjoying life better?

But if anyone was truly suffering,

it was really only Sudo Ken.

Because his head was genuinely packed full of muscles.

"Ah!" At the convenience store entrance, Sudo Ken swallowed a mouthful of soup and let out an oily-mouthed cry of release.

The other two had not finished eating yet and were still chewing slowly.

They were suddenly startled by the loud noise.

They nearly sprayed food from their noses.

Just as they were about to curse whoever had such poor manners,

they saw it was Sudo Ken having one of his fits and immediately lowered their heads again.

As for where this bunch of paupers had gotten the money,

of course, Shi Cheng had kept his word and really treated them to instant noodles.

Shi Cheng did not care. It was only a few hundred yen, nothing much.

Besides, seeing the moved expressions on their faces was rather amusing.

Just how long had they been living such hard lives?

They were this touched by a cup of instant noodles.

After slurping down the last bite of noodles, Yamauchi Haruki, who had not expected to actually get a free meal, tossed out his trash and came over to Shi Cheng.

Satisfied, he patted Shi Cheng on the shoulder. "I forgive you a little now."

What he really meant was that he wanted to mooch off this meal ticket for a while longer.

Sudo Ken was not shameless enough for that, and besides, food was not the most urgent issue right now.

He was about to be expelled.

Sudo Ken grabbed Shi Cheng by the back of his collar and easily pulled him aside. "Shi Cheng, do you have any other way to help me deal with the exams?"

Before he could get an answer,

Sudo Ken interrupted again.

Yamauchi Haruki could only stand to the side and sulk.

Ike Kanji said nothing. It would be great if he could tag along for freebies, but it did not matter if he could not.

Shi Cheng looked at Sudo Ken's pleading gaze and felt rather speechless.

Did he take him for the Blue Robot Cat?

Besides, the passing mark was only in the thirties.

No way, right?

Could he not even score that much?

Shi Cheng mercilessly mocked him. "You could pass just by reviewing a little. The requirements aren't that high."

Rarely finding an opportunity to strike back, Yamauchi Haruki immediately seized it and puffed up. "Exactly. You just need to look over it a little."

"Shut up!" Sudo Ken roared behind him in embarrassment and anger.

How could he not know that?

But what was he supposed to do if he could not understand it?

Yamauchi Haruki shrank his neck and muttered something under his breath.

"What the hell was that noise?" Just then, several figures came over after following the earlier commotion.

When they saw Shi Cheng and the others,

they paused, then burst out laughing. "Well, if it isn't everyone from Class D. I never expected you to be so good at disturbing the peace too. Just what I'd expect from you."

Everyone now knew that Class D was a gathering place for poor students.

"Looking for a beating?!" Sudo Ken could not stand being provoked. His eyes immediately reddened as he raised his fist and prepared to charge forward.

"Don't, Ken!" Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji immediately grabbed him.

If Sudo Ken rushed in,

it would not look good if they did not help. Their friendship would be over.

But the problem was, they did not know how to fight.

And those guys across from them looked like trouble.

They had no interest in getting beaten up one-sidedly.

"Damn it, let go of me!" Sudo Ken shouted.

In truth, more than half his anger had already faded.

Now it was a matter of pride.

"This savage little performance of yours was quite entertaining. Since you amused me, I'll forgive you this time."

The leader was incredibly arrogant and clearly did not take them seriously at all.

Shi Cheng noticed that his gaze flicked toward a surveillance camera for an instant.

It seemed he was still a rational person.

"Bastard, are you running away?!" Sudo Ken put in a little effort to break free.

But right now, he was trapped between two men.

He would not be able to get free without using more strength.

To keep a fight from breaking out,

Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji were putting all their effort into holding him back.

"Ha, maybe next time—provided you're still at this school when we meet again."

"Damn it."

After those people disappeared from sight, the freed Sudo Ken punched the stone pillar beside him with all his strength.

Looking at the slightly cracked surface,

Shi Cheng glanced up and thought, Good thing it's already like this. He can pick at it all he wants.

He just did not know whether there were negative numbers.

"I'm going back."

After that interruption, Sudo Ken no longer held any hope.

In truth, he had not expected Shi Cheng to be able to help him anyway.

He had only asked in passing.

"Then we're leaving too."

Compared with Shi Cheng, they got along better with Sudo Ken.

Although he was a bit violent,

he was actually easy to get along with.

"That was really close just now. Good thing no fight broke out, or I could only have helped call the security guards."

Just after they left, a fragrant breeze appeared beside Shi Cheng.

Shi Cheng turned to look.

A memory he had not forgotten surfaced once again.

It was the first target from the Library.

There had been too many people at the time.

So Shi Cheng had temporarily given up.

He had not expected her to approach him on her own now.

Shi Cheng did not know what to say. Was it fate again?

He did not think so.

Because she had absolutely no reason to come over and talk to him now.

She definitely had an objective.

"From the sound of it, you seem to know the leader?"

Ichinose Honami, with her pink hair, froze briefly and asked in surprise, "You don't know him?"

"Is he that famous? Why should I know him?"

Shi Cheng looked over the girl before him, who outclassed Kushida Kikyo in every aspect.

Then he teased, "I don't even know you yet. Who does he think he is?"

This person was really amusing.

Ichinose Honami covered her mouth and chuckled. She had not expected that casually coming over to start a conversation would bring such an unexpected gain.

"Hello, I'm Ichinose Honami from Class B."

Although she did not believe birds of a feather flocked together,

with so much evidence before her,

she had still instinctively thought that way.

It seemed she could not be too subjective after all.

Because she had discovered an exception in Shi Cheng.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ichinose. I'm Shi Cheng from Class D."

Unlike his quick appraisal earlier, Shi Cheng could now openly stare at her face.

"Hello, Shi Cheng. That person just now was Ryuen Kakeru from Class C."

Ichinose Honami gave him information that barely counted as information. "Apparently, he rules Class C through violence. He's a very dangerous person."

"That impressive?" Shi Cheng leaned back slightly in surprise.

"Mm-hm." Ichinose Honami nodded repeatedly, her beautiful eyes full of sincerity.

If she could make Shi Cheng more vigilant, then this operation of hers had ended perfectly.

There was no helping it.

Everyone in her class was a good student.

They would likely suffer in the future when facing the violent Ryuen Kakeru.

For everyone's sake, Ichinose Honami could only start making other plans in advance.

Class A was not worth considering. They could never be used as pawns.

So in her eyes,

Class D was undoubtedly the best choice.

"Looks like I need to be careful. It seems I've caught the attention of a troublesome person."

Shi Cheng chuckled, speaking with a double meaning.

Ichinose Honami did not catch it and simply nodded firmly.

"If you ever need help, feel free to come find me!"

Ichinose Honami raised her clenched fist and declared, "Violence is unacceptable!"