A Conversation with Horikita

Before parting, Shiina insisted that Xia Mu must study hard and not lose to her.

She was torn between fearing that Xia Mu would perform poorly and fearing that he would perform too well.

Shiina felt like an overprotective mother, deeply concerned about Xia Mu's situation.

She had also gradually come to understand her own heart and feelings.

There was nothing wrong with admitting it; like is like.

But she was unsure of what Xia Mu was thinking.

"There will be a chance to ask him!" Shiina told herself.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

"Bang!"

A wine glass shattered on the floor. Long Yuan looked at the three people trembling on their knees, his anger rising.

This time, he was truly furious.

This was the second time Xia Mu had ruined his plans.

What an arrogant brat who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.

He grabbed one of them by the neck with one hand, then raised his fist and smashed it down hard.

Blood splattered, and the man was instantly beaten into a pulp, yet he dared not say a word.

The other two trembled, fear creeping into their hearts, but they knew they were no match for Long Yuan, so they could only kneel and accept their punishment.

After beating the three idiots, Long Yuan rubbed his knuckles, wondering if there was a traitor in his class.

Why did Xia Mu happen to appear at the school building and ruin his flawless plan?

If Long Yuan had previously regarded Xia Mu as just an arrogant kid, he was now starting to take him seriously.

It seemed that dealing with Class D might not be such a simple matter after all.

Time flew by, and soon, the midterm exams were over.

Xia Mu handed in his test paper, returned to his seat, and packed his things.

"How do you feel you did?" Horikita Suzune asked, showing an unprecedented interest in Xia Mu's grades.

"Not bad, I should be able to get first place," Xia Mu replied confidently.

"Hmph!" Horikita Suzune threw a book at Xia Mu, which he caught with ease.

"Can't you be serious for once?" Horikita Suzune frowned. "If you fail the exam, you really will be expelled."

In her view, Xia Mu was definitely a very useful tool for her future path to upgrading Class D.

Moreover, since the consequences of expulsion were still unknown, she could not allow Xia Mu to be expelled.

"I am being very serious." Xia Mu tossed Horikita's book onto her desk, packed his bag, and turned to leave.

"Something up?" Just as he turned, he found Sudo standing there looking very uneasy, clutching a bottle of soda.

"Here."

Sudo turned his face away and handed the drink to Xia Mu. "I was wrong about what happened before. I apologize."

To be honest, for someone like him to apologize in person, he really felt like he was losing face.

But Xia Mu had won his respect, not to mention that he had accidentally saved his life.

Later, he went back and thought about it carefully; if it weren't for Xia Mu at the time, he would likely have been branded with the charge of bullying a classmate.

After waiting for a while without hearing a response from Xia Mu, he thought Xia Mu didn't intend to forgive him.

His patience had already reached its limit.

Just as he was about to retract the drink, Xia Mu grabbed it from his hand, pulled the tab, and took a sip. "Ah~"

"I was just thirsty. Thanks."

He didn't dislike people like Sudo, nor did he like them.

But with this kind of personality, as long as you provide some favors, they become extremely useful tools.

After all, Xia Mu couldn't do everything himself.

"Ahem."

Sudo cleared his throat and pulled his hand back. Did this count as accepting his apology?

He scratched his head. "Uh, there's a basketball game later. Do you want to join?"

Before Xia Mu could answer, Horikita Suzune, who was behind him, stepped forward and grabbed Xia Mu's wrist with a 'snap'. "No, he has other things to do later."

With that, she dragged Xia Mu out of the classroom. "Come with me."

Xia Mu wanted to see what kind of trouble Horikita Suzune was trying to stir up, so he didn't resist.

And so, he was led to the school rooftop.

This familiar place reminded Xia Mu of the process of using Hypnosis on Kushida that day.

Should he just use Hypnosis on Suzune Horikita right here and now, and then deal with her on the spot?

She knew too much.

It was just that he didn't have his full equipment with him, and given Suzune Horikita's willpower, if the Hypnosis failed, wouldn't he be exposing even more things to her?

Besides, she would be on guard in the future, so after thinking about it, Xia Mu decided to forget it.

"Why are you keeping things from me?"

Suzune Horikita suddenly turned around and stared at Xia Mu, her beautiful eyes sharp and boundless, as if they could slice a person open.

If a girl like Sakura were questioned like this, she would probably be scared into incoherence immediately.

"What are you talking about?" Xia Mu slumped his shoulders. "Can you stop being a riddle-maker? It's disgusting. Can you just say it all at once?"

Faced with the blunt Xia Mu, Suzune Horikita furrowed her brows. "Are you the one pulling the strings behind everything?"

"Long Yuan came to find me, saying you ruined his plan and asking if it was my doing."

"Is that clear enough now?"

"So."

"Please answer me."

Horikita took two steps forward, trying to overwhelm Xia Mu with her presence.

But unfortunately, at just over 1.6 meters tall, she really didn't measure up in front of Xia Mu.

"Oh, that was just an accident."

On this point, Xia Mu had no reason to lie to Suzune. "Sakura was there at the time, too."

Although it was an accident, it was indeed something Xia Mu had done on purpose.

If Long Yuan wasn't happy, then he was happy.

As for whether he could help Class D, he didn't care at all.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Suzune Horikita couldn't figure it out. Could it be that Xia Mu really didn't intend to sabotage the plan of Class C?

"Forget it, that's not the main reason I asked you here today."

Suzune Horikita stopped digging deeper. "I want to invite you to join me in defeating the other classes and helping Class D rise to Class A."

She seemed to have an inexplicable obsession with rising to Class A.

"What's in it for me?" Xia Mu neither agreed nor refused.

"As the class points increase, your individual base points will also increase."

"In addition, I will pay you an extra amount of private points every time you contribute."

Suzune Horikita took out her phone to prove she had the means.

"The terms are good." Xia Mu said sincerely, then took a turn. "But it's a pity, I don't like being used as a pawn."

"I refuse."

"But you can still talk to me. If it's appropriate, I will help you, but it depends on whether you can afford the corresponding points."

For this school, points were very important things, equivalent to gold coins in a game.

As long as the rules allowed it, they could accomplish quite a lot.

Very useful.

"Sigh."

Suzune Horikita wasn't surprised, just let out a slight sigh. Watching Xia Mu turn and leave, she suddenly asked, "You clearly have that kind of ability, so why are you unwilling to rise to Class A?"

"Do you want to be treated as trash for the rest of your life?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Mu immediately chuckled. "Whether one is trash is not determined by a class ranking."

"If you think you are trash, then you are trash."

"If you don't think so, then you aren't."