The Student Council's Work Continued

"Tsk, how come I never noticed there were so many vendors at school before?"

An Xiao bit down on his pen cap, holding a clipboard as he checked the information recorded on its forms one item at a time. Every so often, he marked something down with his pen.

"My face is about to freeze into a smile."

An Xiao sighed and rubbed his sore cheeks.

"Kushida... How does that girl manage to keep that fake smile up all the time? Doesn't her face get sore?"

"Hey, kid, you're still here!"

A middle-aged man who looked a little older came out of the drink shop beside An Xiao and greeted him with a smile.

"Yeah, sir. I've still got work to do."

As he spoke, An Xiao waved the clipboard in his hand at him.

"Tsk, don't call me 'sir.' Call me 'bro.' I'm not that much older than you, am I?"

"Sure, Watanabe. You're only ten or twenty years older than me."

"I'll be honest, you can be pretty annoying sometimes." Watanabe clicked his tongue in annoyance, walked over, hooked an arm around An Xiao's neck, and gave him a noogie.

"You weren't like this when you first came to my shop."

"We've gotten pretty familiar with each other, haven't we?"

Watanabe Yuichi, the owner of the coffee shop beside An Xiao, was someone An Xiao had met while inspecting his shop.

There was quite an age gap between them, but they unexpectedly got along well. Lately, An Xiao had often stopped by to take a break while inspecting the other vendors in the area. Before long, the two of them had become familiar with each other, and An Xiao had even gotten a membership card here.

"Alright, I'll go get you something to drink. Look at the state you're in. An iced latte, right? Go find a seat."

"Take the points off my card."

"Got it." Watanabe waved a hand as he spoke.

"Let's see, a seat... Huh?" An Xiao walked into the shop and was just about to find an empty seat when he came face-to-face with a familiar pink-haired girl.

"Sakura, what a coincidence."

"Hi, An Xiao."

"Um, why don't we find a seat first? It's probably not great to stand in the doorway." An Xiao pointed to the glass door beside them.

The two of them found a nearby seat, and their drinks arrived soon after.

"How's your class doing...?"

Watching Sakura sit with both hands wrapped around her cup, sipping from it in tiny mouthfuls, An Xiao asked curiously.

"It's... okay, I guess." At his question, Sakura's fingers instinctively tightened around the cup. "They found me earlier and wanted me to testify for Sudo as a witness..."

At that, Sakura suddenly looked up, her face flustered. "I didn't mention you."

"Alright, alright, there's no need for that. Am I really that scary?" An Xiao said helplessly. "What happened next?"

"After that..." Remembering what had happened, Sakura's body trembled unconsciously.

"Later, Ayanokoji, Horikita, and Kushida came to talk to me several times, but... but..."

"I really didn't want to agree."

Remembering what Class C's homeroom teacher had said at the hearing, Sakura curled up into herself, her voice clearly choked with sobs.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

An Xiao didn't get an immediate answer. It was quite a while before Sakura came back to herself. She shook her head and finished what she had been saying. "This has nothing to do with you, An Xiao."

"As for how things turned out in the end..." Sakura pressed her lips together, her expression complicated. "I think our class submitted something else, so the really cold Student Council president postponed the hearing for another day."

"..." An Xiao.

The way things had unfolded caught An Xiao off guard.

If they had something like that, why hadn't they brought it out earlier? They'd just made everyone suffer for nothing.

"Um, about what I mentioned to you before—have you thought it over?" An Xiao changed the subject.

"Are you talking about the senior from the Photography Club?"

At the mention of something she was interested in, Sakura's mood improved somewhat.

"We've chatted on our phones. She's really nice, and she taught me a lot about photography."

"I came out this time because I accidentally dropped my camera, and it needs to be checked."

Watching the girl touch her backpack, An Xiao smiled and stood up. "Then let's go."

"Huh?" Sakura looked uncertain.

"I happen to know where the electronics shop nearby is."

"But, wouldn't it be too much trouble for you, An Xiao?"

"Not at all. I need to go that way anyway," An Xiao said. "Besides, if you went by yourself, you'd probably spend ages hovering outside the door without daring to go in."

"Th-thank you." Sakura's face reddened. She stood up and was about to bow to An Xiao, but she had barely bent halfway when he stopped her by pressing the back of his hand against her forehead.

"There's no need for that. Just consider it an apology for what I said earlier."

An Xiao helped Sakura straighten up as he spoke.

With An Xiao leading the way, the two of them soon arrived at the electronics shop in the mall.

But...

"Well, it looks like this can't be repaired."

"I see. It seems to be a problem with the power supply. By the way, do you have your warranty card?"

The shop assistant held Sakura's camera and turned it over in his hands.

According to him, the impact had damaged an internal component, preventing the camera's built-in power supply from working properly. Fortunately, she could get it repaired for free with the warranty card.

"Then, could you show me your warranty card, please?"

For some reason, looking at the shop assistant made Sakura feel physically uncomfortable. She quickly ducked behind An Xiao and handed the card to him from behind An Xiao's back.

"Mm-hm, everything checks out. You just need to fill in the basic information."

"Name, address, and contact details."

An Xiao frowned as he looked at the shop assistant.

It wasn't just Sakura. An Xiao felt a strange sense of revulsion too.

There was something sleazy and disgusting about the shop assistant.

An Xiao grabbed Sakura's hand, which was trembling slightly as she held the pen, and took it from her.

"I'll come pick it up myself. I'll be here often over the next few days anyway."

"Wait a moment, sir. That's not really how this is supposed to work!" the shop assistant said anxiously.

"What's against the rules? How about I call the person with me when I come to pick it up?"

An Xiao quickly filled out the form and handed it back to the shop assistant.

"Would that work for you? Or do you insist on making her come here?"

"No, that's not it. In that case... that should be fine."