Stereotypes

Suzune Horikita and Sudo had erupted into a massive conflict, and what made it even worse was that neither side felt they were in the wrong.

From Horikita's perspective, the reason Class D was falling behind the other classes was precisely because of a group of good-for-nothing students who refused to follow rules and had no interest in studying.

She was forced to sacrifice her own precious time to help them pass their exams, yet not only were they not grateful, they didn't even appreciate her efforts!

Worst of all, she had always held herself in high regard, yet the school had evaluated her as being in the same category as these people—a failure.

From Sudo's perspective, there was even less to say; because of his abrasive personality, he had been subjected to finger-pointing and cold stares since he was a child, which had caused him to develop a social anxiety that made him inherently distrust any stranger.

Although he knew he wasn't smart, he felt that the way she had stated her purpose in front of everyone was just a way to attack him!

Furthermore, that ice-cold Horikita had dared to attack his most precious dream! This was absolutely unforgivable!!

This cold war atmosphere lasted for several days, but perhaps because neither of them had many friends, no one stepped forward to mediate.

At this moment, the man named Ayanokoji stepped up!

"Horikita, have you ever thought about the fact that this school punishes the class severely even for tardiness or skipping class? What would happen if someone were to drop out?"

"This..."

"Besides, no matter what, you were too harsh that day..."

The one who tied the knot must be the one to untie it; compared to Sudo, who didn't seem to have a brain, Suzune Horikita was much more reasonable.

Therefore, as long as Horikita took the initiative to apologize, the chauvinistic Sudo probably wouldn't be too petty about it... hopefully.

On the other side, after half a month of burning the midnight oil, Kei had made rapid progress with the help of Katsuya Shinjo!

"Not bad, Kei. At this rate, you'll have fully mastered the current curriculum in less than half a year!"

It was hard to tell if Katsuya was being sarcastic or genuinely offering praise, but Kei always felt like he was insulting her.

"Half a year..."

"That's already pretty good. At the very least, if you took an exam now, your score would definitely be higher than last time. With that, the midterms or whatever else won't be a problem at all!"

Hearing this, Kei tossed the pen in her hand onto the desk and stretched happily, feeling that her hard work—sacrificing sleep and food, and pushing herself to the limit—had finally paid off.

"Thank you, Katsuya. I definitely couldn't have done it without you."

"True. But your own effort was just as important."

"Eh... I thought you were going to tell me, 'It's all the result of your own hard work.'"

Katsuya pointed to his own eyes, which, like hers, were circled with dark bags from staying up late:

"It's all the result of your own hard work."

Several days of high-intensity studying left Kei wanting to do nothing but rest, and Katsuya finally had some rare, long-overdue leisure time.

Before he knew it, he had wandered into the library, thinking of picking out a novel or magazine to relax.

As soon as he went upstairs, he saw a gray figure in the distance standing on tiptoes, trying to reach a dusty, thick book placed on a high shelf.

"You're looking for this, right?"

It was a small favor, so Katsuya reached up and grabbed it, handing it to the quiet-looking girl.

"Ah, thank you."

She was every bit the literary girl; she took the copy of Moonstone with both hands, held it to her chest, and bowed to thank Katsuya.

Elegant, truly so elegant!

"You're welcome. Though, I couldn't tell at first—a cute girl like you actually likes detective novels."

"Yes... I read a little bit of everything."

At this moment, she noticed the white-covered novel in Katsuya's hand:

"Classmate, so you also like Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino?"

"Well, I've been a long-time fan of his..."

There was nothing wrong with saying that, considering he was an extremely prolific author who had written nearly a hundred novels.

"Eh?! Really? I love Keigo Higashino too! Which of his representative works is your favorite?"

"Uh... I..."

If the girl across from him had been as calm and graceful as a peony a moment ago, she was now as lively and spirited as if she'd been injected with adrenaline. Her sudden enthusiasm and social butterfly state were a bit much for Katsuya, who was currently playing the role of a civilized person, to handle.

Seeming to notice that she had been a bit too excited, the girl blushed and took two steps back:

"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I got too excited all of a sudden. I didn't expect to meet a fellow fan here, and I lost my composure for a moment."

"Hahaha, it's fine. I understand how you feel. Don't let my appearance fool you; when I meet someone with the same interests, I get incredibly excited too!"

(Especially when limited-edition desserts are being swarmed by a crowd! "Put down my donut! You bastard!")

"By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Katsuya Shinjo from Class D. Nice to meet you."

Upon hearing this, the girl froze for a moment, because Ryuen had been constantly mentioning names like Shinjo or Ayanokoji lately.

That Shinjo... could it be this classmate right in front of her??

"My name is Hiyori Shiina, from Class C."

As if he had heard something unbelievable, Shinjo's pupils instantly constricted and his eyes widened:

"Class... C..."

How could there be such a cute, literary girl in Class C?!!! Wait... I think I've fallen into a stereotype again.

The number of people from Class C that Shinjo had encountered was neither small nor large, but every single one of them was either acting like they were owed a fortune or were burly, rough-looking men.

Therefore, in his stereotypical view, Class C was supposed to be a collection of delinquents.

Hiyori's eyes darted around. It seemed the classmate in front of her was indeed Shinjo. Could it be that because he was afraid of Ryuen, he was also afraid of everyone from Class C?

[I don't want that! I finally managed to meet a classmate who shares similar hobbies...]

"Shinjo-kun... is there... something wrong with Class C?"

"Ah? Uh, no. I, I was just surprised, that's all."

"Is that so... I thought that once you knew I was from Class C, you wouldn't want to get to know me anymore."

As she spoke, a hint of dejection and sorrow flashed through Hiyori's eyes.

Once upon a time, she was someone who wasn't good at hiding her true self, someone who would excitedly introduce the books and authors she loved to the friends around her.

Unfortunately, the girls her age simply weren't interested in such things.

Over time, after hitting wall after wall, she no longer had the courage or the desire to reach out to others, so she simply locked herself away in the library or wherever there were books, isolating herself from the world.

"That's not the case. Although some students in Class C seem a bit difficult to approach, I feel like Shiina is different... After all, how does that saying go... Ah, people who like to read aren't bad people! Right?"

"People who like to read aren't bad people... Ah! Do you really think so, Shinjo-kun?!"

Clearly, Shinjo's comforting words had struck a chord deep within Hiyori's innocent heart.