An Xiao: Was I a bit hasty?

"Huh?"

"Isn't my brother having you act as my teacher? An Xiao."

After Manabu Horikita left, Suzune Horikita's demeanor underwent a noticeable change. Although she still retained a trace of that 'inferiority' and 'timidity,' the vast majority of her personality had reverted to her original temperament.

"It seems you took your brother's words to heart, Suzune Horikita."

"I look forward to working with you."

Suzune Horikita pursed her lips, looking at the boy before her who was staring at his phone screen with a smirk he couldn't quite suppress. She opened her mouth several times, but in the end, she said with a hint of resentment.

"Why... exactly were you able to, to gain his approval? While I..."

We both just enrolled at the same time, so why was he able to...

Watching Suzune Horikita, who was holding her breath and unable to let it go, An Xiao scratched his head and said helplessly, "Actually, your brother, he cares about you quite a bit."

I really don't understand how the relationship between these two siblings ended up in such a state.

Can't they just talk things out properly when there's an issue?

And just after An Xiao finished this sentence, Suzune Horikita froze in place. Her thoughts, which had just begun to settle, suddenly went blank and crashed, as she mindlessly repeated An Xiao's words.

"My brother... actually cares about me?"

Sigh.

An Xiao sighed, looking at the number on his phone screen, feeling that he really ought to provide a proper explanation for his benefactor.

"Why do you think your brother specifically mentioned how I obtained the rules just now, right after I told him I knew them?"

"And he even demonstrated it right in front of you, showing exactly what points can be used for in this school."

"That doesn't look like someone who doesn't care about you. Manabu-senpai... he's at most just a tsundere."

Suzune Horikita had been listening carefully, thinking it over as he spoke. Once she calmed down, she realized that everything was exactly as An Xiao had said.

But the moment she heard that last word...

When the term 'tsundere' was applied to her cold-looking brother in her mind, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward, and even her previously dejected mood improved significantly.

Coughing lightly, Suzune Horikita flicked her long hair behind her, regained her previous cold and aloof posture, walked over to An Xiao, took his phone to operate it, and then handed it back.

"Since it's my brother's request... I look forward to working with you from now on."

"I'll come find you when I have time later."

"Yes, yes, sure."

Watching Suzune Horikita leave without looking back after confirming they had added each other as friends, An Xiao put his phone back in his pocket, smacked his lips, and muttered uncertainly.

"Did I... act a bit too rashly?"

But he really did pay a lot.

Forget it, no use thinking about it now. Things will work out when the time comes.

I should focus on what I'm going to prepare for tomorrow's meals instead.

As it turned out, An Xiao was wrong—wrong in a truly ridiculous way.

On the afternoon of the second day, An Xiao was slumped over his desk like a pile of mush, his eyes devoid of light. Only the lollipop dangling from his mouth bobbed slightly up and down, proving that he was still a living person.

"An Xiao, is something the matter?"

Honami Ichinose, who sat in the row in front of him, turned around and looked at An Xiao behind her with some concern.

"It's nothing, I'm just being stupidly naive."

An Xiao said, lacking the energy to even speak properly.

No matter how he looked at it, he never expected the gap between the four classes—A, B, C, and D—to be this massive!

Especially Class D. He had assumed the students in Class D were just a bit slow, but the reality far exceeded his expectations.

If one were to categorize them by social standards:

Class A consists of the elite members of society.

Class B consists of high-level white-collar workers.

Class C consists of corporate slaves.

Class D... can only be described as a chaotic mess.

When An Xiao had snuck over to take a look during gym class, he found that the students in Class D were basically doing their own thing during lessons. An Xiao even saw a few geniuses using tablets to read manga during class.

One can only call this the diversity of species.

Compared to that, Class C, which used violence to 'beat' the whole class into submission, seemed almost normal.

But then again, does the school really not care about this kind of behavior?

Even though there are so many surveillance cameras.

An Xiao thought about how his privacy had been invaded several times in just a few days, and sighed again.

That was truly careless of me.

Could that student Horikita be the same way? She doesn't look like it!

How on earth did she end up being placed in Class D?

An Xiao scratched his hair in frustration, recalling the deal he had made earlier with Hoshinomiya. He shifted the candy in his mouth from the left side to the right, looked at Honami Ichinose, and asked in a listless tone, "Ichinose-san, do you think there are any normal people in Class D?"

"Huh?"

Thinking of Ichinose's unique social skills, An Xiao recounted the scenes he had witnessed in the other classes.

"Class D... they are definitely going to have a miserable time next month."

After listening to what An Xiao had to say, Ichinose held back for a long time before finally coming to that conclusion.

She hadn't expected Class D to be like this either.

"Right?"

Just as An Xiao was lost in thought, a mop of dark blue hair appeared in his field of vision, and immediately after, his neck was hooked and pulled toward someone.

"An Xiao, An Xiao, look at this post on the Student Forum!"

"Cough, cough! Soh Shibata, let go, you're choking me! Cough, cough, I've still got food in my mouth!"

Giving Soh Shibata's thigh an annoyed slap, An Xiao finally turned his gaze toward the phone being thrust in front of him.

Hm? This is...

An Xiao raised an eyebrow, looking with great interest at a pinned post on the forum.

[Chess Challenge

Location: Chess Club

Participation requires a fee of 100,000 points. Best of three, winner receives 500,000 points.]

Good grief, are they really playing for stakes this high? And... it's a first-year?

Since all posts on the school network are verified with real names, An Xiao could clearly see who the poster was.

Class A, first year, Arisu Sakayanagi.

Tsk tsk, she really is confident!

However, the fact that the post had been up for this long meant she must have some real skill.

"Thanks, Shibata, I'll bring you something good next time."

An Xiao stood up, patted Shibata on the shoulder, and then packed his things before heading out of the classroom.

As for class?

What a joke, classes in Japan end around three in the afternoon anyway.