Awakening!

The bus pulled slowly into the station.

The students on board disembarked one after another, a few of them casting fearful glances at Ayanokoji before stepping off, their hearts still racing with lingering dread.

They were terrified that he might beat them up once he got off the bus.

Ayanokoji followed the crowd off the bus.

Because there were still dried tear stains on his face, he kept his head bowed as he walked, giving off a deeply gloomy aura.

"He's so handsome~"

Even so, one or two fangirls were still captivated by his performance on the bus and the "stay away" aura he exuded after stepping off.

After walking only a few steps, the grand and imposing school gate appeared before him.

Ayanokoji surveyed the scene, his heart completely unmoved.

Students passed by him, chatting and laughing, their faces beaming as they entered this nationally renowned institution of higher learning, yet he felt absolutely no interest in it.

The gloom of his recent breakup lingered, and the reality of having transmigrated into a book weighed heavily upon him; his mood at this moment was incredibly complex.

Moreover, as far as he knew, this school was no ordinary high school. It was a Darwinian institution that evaluated students based on strength—a place that essentially encouraged internal competition and imposed consequences for failure. He truly didn't understand how those people could be so happy.

Ignorance is truly bliss.

Ayanokoji muttered to himself, though his face remained a permanent poker face.

Perhaps because the original owner had maintained this expression for years, Ling Xiaolu felt it was quite a struggle to make any facial expressions; his facial muscles felt somewhat stiff.

"Excuse me, are you Ayanokoji-san?"

While he stood still to observe, a soft female voice reached him from behind, and Ayanokoji turned his gaze toward her.

Standing before him was a young girl with a pretty face and a slender yet curvaceous figure.

One hand toyed with the tips of her orange hair, while the other rested against her smooth, fair thigh. Her eyes were clear but occasionally darted away, giving her a very shy appearance.

"Who are you?"

Ayanokoji responded expressionlessly.

"Eh... I'm the girl who urged everyone to give up their seats to the elderly lady on the bus," the girl said, her expression slightly dazed before she explained, "Thank you for what you did on the bus, Ayanokoji-kun."

She hadn't expected the boy to have such a poor memory.

"Oh..."

Ayanokoji furrowed his brows slightly, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

He didn't understand; he truly didn't understand.

A new trend in picking people up?

What a meaningless expression of gratitude...

While he was puzzled, he glanced at the girl before him without leaving a trace. Her face was flushed, her smile was like a flower, and the impressive mounds on her chest rose and fell, which was somewhat dazzling.

She must be under a lot of pressure in her daily life.

Seeing that Ayanokoji didn't continue the conversation and was just staring at her inexplicably, the girl's gaze began to shift away, her cheeks turning red.

She hadn't expected that initiating a conversation would be so awkward, and the other party didn't seem to feel the awkwardness at all.

It was as if only she had fallen into a barrier of shame.

She had originally intended to chat about a few more topics before handing over the item in her hand, but now she had no choice but to use it to save the situation.

"Ayanokoji-san, this is the item you dropped earlier. Here."

The girl took something resembling a brooch from the pocket of her skirt. The front featured a butterfly, and the two wings were engraved with the initials of Ling Xiaolu and his ex-girlfriend.

On the back was a small line of text: "Your husband, Ling Xiaolu."

Due to some unknown force, the three characters for Ling Xiaolu had changed from Chinese to Japanese script, and the writing style was identical to Ayanokoji's, so only Ling Xiaolu himself knew the difference.

This was a 7th-anniversary gift he had given his girlfriend before transmigrating into the book. Although it looked a bit shabby, he had decided on it because he felt they no longer needed external things to maintain their relationship.

It wasn't as if he hadn't spent a fortune on their previous six anniversaries—the jade bracelet he bought after scrimping and saving from his part-time job for a semester, the designer handbag and skincare products he purchased at the cost of several months' living expenses; the list was endless.

And this butterfly brooch, which he had customized under the assumption that they no longer needed expensive gifts to maintain their bond (in reality, he just couldn't squeeze out any more money), was the only gift that had been "returned" because it was looked down upon.

Ayanokoji looked at the exquisite brooch in the girl's hand, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Finally, after a low "thank you," he took the brooch and tucked it into his pocket.

"Um, you're welcome."

"Then... see you at school, Ayanokoji-kun~"

The girl took light steps, waving goodbye to Ayanokoji as she entered the campus, letting out a sigh of relief once she turned her head away.

Although she had full confidence in her social skills, for some reason, she felt an indescribable sensation when facing this boy—should she call it pressure or something else?

In any case, she felt that this boy might not be as dull as he appeared on the surface.

On the other side, Ayanokoji watched the girl's retreating figure, lost in thought for quite a while.

Was her name Kushida or something like that...

He whispered to himself in his heart.

He knew he had transmigrated into the world of Classroom of the Elite, but he had read this novel during his second year of high school. After entering his third year, he had been too busy preparing for the college entrance exams to keep up with the updates, and he had forgotten most of the plot. He only vaguely remembered a few main characters and certain plot points. After starting university, he never went back to review the previous story; he had simply read along as the author updated, and for the sake of efficiency, he had skimmed through it, missing many details until he eventually kept reading only for the character designs.

In short, it was as if he had seen the script, but only remembered the story outline and some character traits.

It was what people often called understanding, but not quite understanding—like rice boiled down into thin porridge.

Ayanokoji frowned with a bit of frustration; he couldn't blame anyone but himself for not doing his homework.

Besides, he had just gone through a breakup before transmigrating into the book, so he had no mood to revisit the novel.

However, no one could have expected to transmigrate into a light novel and become the protagonist.

After a brief moment of making excuses for himself, Ayanokoji prepared to head to his class, Class 1-D.

Come to think of it, this school divided classes based on ability, right? He thought he had done quite well on both the entrance exam and the interview, so why was he assigned to Class 1-D?

It was baffling.

Forget it, it didn't matter anymore.

Since he had been reincarnated as Ayanokoji, he would make good use of this body and the knowledge it contained.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of a gift?

From today on, he was a Japanese high school student named Ayanokoji.

Coming to this school, he was here to prove just how extraordinary he was!

Because what was lost could truly never be recovered.

Therefore, he would repay it with resentment!

From now on, he would no longer compromise or cater to anyone, acting solely according to his own will.

He would never let himself fall into the situation of his past life again!

Betrayed by brothers, cheated on by a girlfriend...

"Die!"

Thinking of this, Ayanokoji clenched his fists, and a long-lost 45-degree smile finally appeared on his face.