Honami Ichinose

This point value probably wasn't worth Xia Mu's trouble.

But taking the long view, with Sudo Ken's temperament, he was bound to attract challenges from plenty of people.

So Xia Mu would definitely have plenty of points coming in.

"Xia Mu, over here!"

From a distance, Xia Mu saw Sudo Ken waving excitedly at him.

He hadn't expected Xia Mu to be so easygoing. When he'd invited him to help with the match, he'd been prepared to take a beating.

But in reality, Xia Mu wasn't that violent.

His earlier behavior had been entirely his own fault.

Kanji and Yamauchi were different, though. When they saw Xia Mu, it was like they'd seen the Grim Reaper.

They kept their heads down and tried to stay out of his way, afraid he might notice them.

Xia Mu ignored the two completely.

Compared with Sudo Ken, one was brainless and the other was a coward. Neither of them was much use.

You could say that even if Class D lost both of them, not much would change.

So Xia Mu would look for a chance to get their points transferred to his account.

At the other end of the court were the students from Class C.

The two classes had disliked each other for a long time, and a minor scuffle on the court had been the spark that led to this match.

Xia Mu hoped Sudo Ken would provoke more students from other classes. That would mean more matches—and more points rolling in for him.

To Xia Mu, these students' basketball skills were like babies' to an adult's. One punch would knock them down.

"Hey, Sudo, you think bringing in an extra player means you won't lose?"

The Class C students were still as arrogant as ever.

Perhaps they'd grown used to Long Yuan's oppressive violence, because they treated students from other classes with the same aggression.

"Haha, just wait—you'll be crying in a minute!" another Class C student said, giving a thumbs-down and laughing.

Two of the students playing in the match had been beaten by Long Yuan after Xia Mu ruined their plan last time. They hated Xia Mu with a passion.

No matter what, they were going to get even this time!

The match began as scheduled.

But no one had expected it to become a one-man show starring Xia Mu.

As soon as he stepped onto the court, the whole game seemed to change. Sudo, Kanji, and the others kept passing him the ball.

The moment he got it, he jumped right where he stood and shot.

And the most important thing was, every shot went in. The Class C players couldn't react in time.

In the second half, the Class C players realized just how good Xia Mu was, so they all rushed over to stop him.

But whether they tried to block his shots, swarm him to steal the ball, or foul him by slamming into him, none of it worked.

Instead, Xia Mu sent several of them flying meters away. They looked utterly pathetic.

And that was with Xia Mu holding back and not using any basketball techniques, because he didn't want to draw attention. Otherwise, the others would probably have been nothing more than background scenery.

In the end, victory was inevitable.

The girls on the sidelines stared at Xia Mu with stars in their eyes and screamed.

Even the best students at the school had only a decade or so of basketball experience. Xia Mu, on the other hand, had trained professionally and reached the highest level.

At least, that was how it was in his memories. Basketball was like an old friend he'd known for years, familiar and close.

Still, to keep his influence from spreading too widely, Xia Mu took out his pocket watch and hypnotized them.

Everyone's attention was focused on him just then.

He couldn't change their memories completely, but he could still make them think it had been an ordinary basketball game, with Xia Mu merely showing off a little skill.

"Woohoo!"

Sudo Ken and the others even tossed Xia Mu into the air, cheering in celebration.

He readily transferred his points to Xia Mu, even paying him ten thousand in advance and saying he wanted Xia Mu to help again next time.

"I-I'm sorry, Xia Mu. We were wrong before..." After what had happened, Kanji realized Xia Mu wasn't so unreasonable after all. He lowered his head, blushing as he apologized.

Seeing Kanji apologize, Yamauchi followed suit and went over to apologize to Xia Mu, even though he still felt a little resentful.

"No, it's fine."

Xia Mu shook his head, his gaze utterly calm. "I don't care at all."

That was right. What happened to these people had nothing to do with him.

He was only after points. Even if someone from Class C or another class asked him to betray Class D, as long as they offered enough points and he wouldn't be exposed, why not?

To him, everything was just a means of earning Skill Points. Everyone was merely a chess piece in his hands.

The only people he cared about were Zhu Xincheng and, perhaps, Shiina.

Time passed, and the days flew by.

Life was peaceful after that. Two months went by in a flash.

Aside from working out every day with the fat guy and keeping Shiina company while she read, nothing much happened to Xia Mu.

Kikyo Kushida, on the other hand, was so quiet that it surprised him.

Her revenge should have come crashing down like a storm. Why had she fallen silent?

But Xia Mu knew she would act sooner or later. When she did, it would be another good opportunity to earn Skill Points.

That day, Xia Mu once again helped Sudo, the troublemaker, play a basketball match against students from Class B.

The result was, of course, another win for Xia Mu.

Honestly, unless they put a team of the world's strongest players on the other side, it would be hard for anyone to beat him.

This time, there was someone in the stands who caught Xia Mu's attention.

Honami Ichinose.

She had a warm, approachable face, and her long black hair fell loosely around her shoulders. Her every word and gesture was accompanied by a gentle smile that made it hard to imagine anyone wanting to make an enemy of her.

Although she had another side to her, most of the time she was just as she appeared now:

Reliable, gentle, and kind.

Ichinose had noticed Xia Mu too, of course.

Seeing her classmates lose so badly, she went over to comfort them so they wouldn't feel too dejected.

She even made it seem as though they were the ones who had truly won the match.

Hmph, so what if we lost on the court? We've got Ichinose to comfort us. Do you?

It was true that Xia Mu didn't have many girls around him.

Part of it was that his manner made him hard to approach. The other part was that he was busy hypnotizing people.

Ichinose watched Xia Mu and noticed the watch swinging in his hand. Suddenly, she felt dizzy, as though he were drawing her into another world.

She shook her head and broke free of the sensation. Then she stared at Xia Mu, utterly astonished.

"He's in Class D, right? His name is..."

"Xia Mu, right? I think he came first in the midterm exams last time!"

His grades had quickly fallen to the bottom in the exams since then, which only made it more intriguing.

There had been plenty of rumors about Xia Mu going around Class D lately, so she'd heard a little about him too.

After a student beside her confirmed it, her gaze flickered with a strange light. "Xia Mu..."

So Class D had such a formidable opponent. It really was full of hidden talents.

We can't afford to make an enemy of Class D, Ichinose thought.

As for Xia Mu, after the match, he changed his clothes and headed back to the dormitory.

Just then, a familiar figure he hadn't seen in a long time came hurrying over.

A camera hung around her neck.