I Know You Better Than Ryuen

Ayanokoji reached his hand out toward the sky.

A beam of sunlight slipped through his fingers, casting a glow upon his cold eyes.

He found it somewhat blinding, yet he craved that touch of warmth.

The girl beside him laughed at the sight: "So much for that saying about not staring directly at the sun."

Ayanokoji pursed his lips: "That's exactly why that line of mine never took off."

Sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your reputation, Keigo Higashino-san!

Afterward, Ayanokoji said his goodbyes to the girl.

Before leaving, she told him that if he found any good books, he could recommend them to her; she would be waiting in the library for him to pitch them.

Ayanokoji nodded willingly. After all, learning has no end, and even he needed to read often to brush up on his knowledge.

Uh... right, brush up. Aside from romance and interpersonal relationships, what else did Ayanokoji even need to learn?

Not to mention that Ling Xiaolu, who had transmigrated into this body, had also patched up Ayanokoji's lack of knowledge regarding anime and manga.

Simply invincible!

The hardware was even more impressive; Ayanokoji sensed it for a moment, and only two words could describe it—awesome!

The air after the rain was always exceptionally refreshing.

Ayanokoji took a deep breath, feeling invigorated and thoroughly pleased.

He might have been even more pleased if he hadn't seen the purple-haired man and his lackeys walking toward him.

"Yo, kid, you're pretty smart."

"From Class A? How about you become my mole? Once I take down Sakayanagi and Katsuragi, I'll make you the leader of Class A. How about it?"

Ryuen raised his voice high, as if he weren't speaking to Ayanokoji at all.

I should take a detour.

Not knowing why the guy had inexplicably linked him to Class A, Ayanokoji simply acted as if he hadn't heard him and turned to leave.

However, the next second, he realized his path was completely blocked.

He had coincidentally appeared in an awkward position.

The white-haired girl leaning on a cane walked slowly toward him, followed by a few of her own cohorts.

In an instant, the two classes formed a standoff. As their gazes collided, the air grew thick with tension, with Ayanokoji caught in the middle as a mere bystander.

Hey, hey... don't drag an innocent citizen into your gang fight.

Ayanokoji grumbled to himself.

And it seemed the other party wasn't really aiming for him, either.

"You've only been in school for a month and you're already acting like a princess, Sakayanagi."

"Have you been too comfortable in Class A? Why don't you come down and play with me?"

Watching the white-haired girl with the calm smile in front of him, Ryuen began his provocation, a look of contempt on his face.

"Isn't this Dragon Boy? It's been a while. It looks like that shoddy dragon throne of Class C is still sitting quite comfortably."

The girl said lightly, her composure not wavering in the slightest.

"Hmph, don't get too cocky, Sakayanagi Arisu!"

"It started with Class B, and you're next. One day, I'll drag you down from that position."

"When that happens, it won't matter if you make a little girl's face and beg me to let you go."

Having said that, Ryuen ignored Ayanokoji, who was stuck in the middle, and walked straight past Sakayanagi. The flippancy on his face had clearly shifted into a hint of irritation.

Annoying...

Sakayanagi's high-and-mighty attitude, her self-proclaimed genius persona, annoyed Ryuen to the core.

Academic ability A? Entrance exam scores near perfect? Every student in Class A followed her lead?

What a load of crap!

In his eyes, she was ultimately just a sheltered young lady who could only talk big and had nothing but book smarts.

One day, he would make Sakayanagi deeply realize what true meritocracy was!

Watching Ryuen's back, which radiated intense hostility, Ayanokoji couldn't help but sigh slightly for him.

You lost, Ryuen. You care too much about the class rankings—so much so that the moment someone uses the title of Class A to pressure you, you lose your temper, lose your reason, and relegate yourself to the status of a defective product from a lower class.

Confidence gave you a strong sense of self-esteem, but that self-esteem has become your weakness.

Even though nothing happened on the surface, the moment your mindset faltered and the smile vanished from your face, you had already lost.

"So, Mr. Ayanokoji, is there anything else you would like to advise me on?"

A melodious voice drifted over. Ayanokoji lowered his gaze slightly, only to realize that the petite, beautiful girl had walked up right in front of him at some point.

"..."

"Sorry, I'm not familiar with Ryuen. He was just trying to stir up trouble on his own earlier."

"I know," the girl said softly, a sweet smile gradually spreading across her face. "I understand Ryuen."

Hearing this, Ayanokoji's eyes narrowed slightly.

Very good... Class A students are indeed sensible.

However, just as he thought there was nothing left for him to do, the girl's next words slipped out:

"I understand Ryuen, and I understand you even better."

Ayanokoji: "?"

The girl paused before saying that, as if she wanted to see what kind of reaction Ayanokoji would have.

The effect was quite good; she was very satisfied with this reaction.

Although she couldn't discern the emotions hidden within the boy's subtle expression at all, that brief moment of blankness brought her great comfort.

Did that momentary lapse in his composure mean that she had managed to intrude upon the boy's thoughts for a second?

If only there were a chance to talk in private, she would be happy even if it were just for a few short minutes.

With this expectation in her heart, she performed the same bow she had used when they first met at this school, then slowly walked away with her companions behind her.

???

On the street after the rain, puddles were scattered everywhere.

Ayanokoji stood by the roadside, his expression looking slightly grave.

Have I... stumbled into a nest of riddle-mongers?

Is there no one who can just speak clearly?

What the hell.

Leaving behind a final curse, Ayanokoji headed back toward the dorms.

On the other side, in the library, Horikita slowly stretched, looking thoughtful as she watched the group of people discussing at another table.

Following the request of the stoic boy, she had been tricking and coaxing Sudo and the others into attending study sessions for a week now.

There were results, but they often got into arguments with her over trivial matters she couldn't understand.

As expected, she still couldn't grasp the mindset of poor students.

And during the study sessions, another thing that made her feel uncomfortable was that the girl named Kushida Kikyo seemed a bit too eager to get close to her.

Even though her own attitude had remained basically the same from start to finish, Kushida Kikyo kept throwing topics her way, as if she were intentionally testing something.

It made her feel somewhat strange.

Furthermore.

Could the stoic boy's methods really prevent everyone in the class from being expelled?

Horikita didn't feel very confident about it.

There were only two days left until the midterm exams.