After rejecting Ken Sudō's proposal, Yi Chen decided to go see how the other groups were doing.
Yi Chen took the elevator and headed straight to the eighth floor of the cruise ship, where Ayanokoji was.
He arrived in the lobby and looked around to see if Ayanokoji had come out.
Yi Chen wandered around the center of the lobby and soon spotted Ayanokoji.
Yi Chen looked in Ayanokoji's direction.
Ayanokoji was blocking Teruhiko.
Yi Chen looked over, puzzled.
Ayanokoji noticed him and gave Yi Chen a cold glance.
Yi Chen looked toward them.
Down the corridor,
a blond, a green-haired boy, and a brown-haired boy were surrounding someone.
Yi Chen slowly looked over.
"Karuizawa?"
Yi Chen couldn't help feeling puzzled.
The blond in the middle lifted Karuizawa's bangs, while all three boys took pictures of her furiously with their phones.
"You really stink, Karuizawa."
"Hahaha, you really are ugly."
"Seriously, I've never met anyone who stinks this much."
Teruhiko, whom Ayanokoji was holding back, couldn't take it anymore.
He shook Ayanokoji off and strode forward, shouting:
"What are you doing?!"
The three boys turned around, saw Yi Chen and the others, and walked off in annoyance.
All they left behind were:
"Tch."
"What a buzzkill."
And Karuizawa, standing in the corner and trying to look calm.
Teruhiko went over to check on her.
"Are you okay?"
Karuizawa calmly walked away.
"I'm fine. Leave me alone."
Yi Chen watched Karuizawa silently.
Since Kushida had played the victim on the Uninhabited Island before, Karuizawa had helped her.
Yi Chen didn't have any particular feelings about Karuizawa.
But then he remembered that Karuizawa seemed to be a pitiful person.
Yi Chen thought it over. He didn't have much sway in his class at the moment anyway.
He might as well help Karuizawa.
Yi Chen gazed quietly at Karuizawa's retreating figure.
I remember Karuizawa getting bullied by those people.
But never mind. When was that supposed to happen?
I should keep an eye on her from now on.
Yi Chen chatted briefly with Ayanokoji and Teruhiko about how things were going.
Just then, Ichinose came out and spotted Yi Chen.
She ran over and threw herself into his arms, leaving Yi Chen no choice but to awkwardly say goodbye to Ayanokoji and Teruhiko.
Ichinose gave Yi Chen a playful look.
"Yi Chen, how's your group doing today?"
"Is everything going smoothly?"
Yi Chen replied calmly:
"Pretty ordinary. I guess you could say it's going smoothly."
Ichinose looked at him with a bright smile.
"Yi Chen, which group are you in?"
Yi Chen answered:
"Saturn."
Ichinose thought for a moment, then said excitedly:
"Oh, Kanzaki and the others are in the same group as you!"
"Kanzaki's pretty kind. I'm sure you two will get along."
Yi Chen said:
"Is that so? Then I'll have to rely on you to help me get on good terms with him."
Ichinose puffed out her cheeks.
"What's that supposed to mean? Yi Chen, he's in my class. Are you jealous of that, too?"
Yi Chen smiled.
"You know what I'm thinking?"
"Of course. You're always getting jealous."
"Then what should we do next?"
Ichinose said gently:
"Yi Chen, how about our two classes work together? This time, we'll help Class D move up."
"Then Class D can help us out in the next exam."
Yi Chen looked around and saw that nobody was nearby.
He smiled.
"You're pretty bold, Ichinose. What if someone overhears?"
Ichinose stared into Yi Chen's eyes.
"Yi Chen, do you think you're the only clever one?"
Yi Chen shook his head helplessly.
"That's not what I meant."
Ichinose said calmly:
"I know you're really capable, Yi Chen, but I'm not that far behind you."
"So?"
Ichinose held out her little finger.
"Yi Chen, I'll help Class D move up to Class C. Then you can help us move up to Class A."
"Or we can compete to see which of our two classes gets to be Class A."
"What do you think, Yi Chen?"
Yi Chen patted Ichinose's head and gently lowered her hand.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Why do our two classes have to compete?"
Ichinose looked puzzled.
"?"
Yi Chen asked:
"Have you heard of transferring classes?"
Ichinose looked shocked.
"Really? Yi Chen, transferring classes costs an enormous amount of points."
Yi Chen asked:
"Don't you want me in your class?"
Ichinose shook her head vigorously.
"No, that's not it, Yi Chen."
Ichinose looked at him with a bright smile.
"I understand, Yi Chen. I'll contribute some of the points, too."
Yi Chen smiled from the heart.
"Suit yourself ┐('~`;)┌"
Ichinose said:
"Then, before you transfer, Class B will help you gather the 20 million points as quickly as possible."
"Got it. The exam's still a long way off."
"Come to my room tonight, and we can talk it over in detail."
Ichinose blushed at his words.
"Your room, Yi Chen?"
"Don't read too much into it."
Afterward, Ichinose and Yi Chen explored the cruise ship together, then grabbed some snacks.
Around four in the afternoon, Ichinose had to go back to take care of class matters, so she parted ways with Yi Chen.
At six in the evening, the second meeting began.
Yi Chen arrived right on time at the meeting room. Everyone else was already there.
They chatted casually, but there wasn't much to talk about.
Tangben Yishan brought out Monopoly and invited everyone to play.
The Monopoly board was huge and could accommodate up to twelve players.
Tangben Yishan had figured from the start that there might not be twelve players, but he'd brought it anyway.
The discussion period lasted an hour, but if nobody had much to say,
an hour could feel very long.
Yi Chen didn't want to join in and would rather watch from the side, so he looked quietly at Tangben Yishan.
Tangben Yishan called out enthusiastically:
"Since we're planning to announce the VIP on the final day,"
"why don't we spend the next two days relaxing and doing something else?"
"Big sis, want to play Monopoly with us?"
Ken Sudō said enthusiastically:
"Sounds great! I'm in!"
Tangben Yishan looked at Yi Chen.
"Yi Chen, want to join us?"
Ken Sudō grabbed Yi Chen's hand and raised it high.
"Yi Chen, of course you're playing!"
Yi Chen laughed in exasperation, but then thought, what the heck—it wouldn't hurt to play.
Seeing that Yi Chen was joining, Airi and Sato said they wanted to play, too.
Tangben Yishan looked around. Including himself, there were only five players.
There were fourteen people here. Naturally, the more, the merrier!
Tangben Yishan gazed at Shiina Hiyori with stars in his eyes.
Shiina reluctantly agreed to play, too.
Seeing Shiina join, Nishino Takeko joined as well.
Tangben Yishan looked at the players and unfolded the Monopoly board completely.
To his surprise, it was so large that it covered nearly half the conference table.
The students from Class A reluctantly moved over to a sofa.
Tangben Yishan checked the rules. There were rules for four players,
six players,
and eight players.
There were seven of them now, so Tangben Yishan fixed Kanzaki with a look like he was about to eat him.
Kanzaki looked awkward.
"What are you doing, Tangben Yishan?"
Tangben Yishan pressed himself against Kanzaki's back.
"Kanzaki, want to play with us? This set of rules needs one more player."
Kanzaki looked haughty.
"I'm not playing."
Himeno Yuki and Beppu Ryota laughed at Kanzaki.
Because they knew Kanzaki would definitely finish thinking it through.
Himeya Yuki smiled.
"Kanzaki, just play with them. It's not like anything bad will happen."
"Isn't Class B the best at dealing with people?"
Tangben Yishan chimed in as well.
"Come on, Kanzaki, play. Class B's the best."
Ken Sudō urged him warmly.
"Exactly, Kanzaki! Come play with us."
Kanzaki put on a reluctant look.
"Fine, fine. I'll play."
The eight of them started an intensely competitive game of Monopoly.
The few who didn't join in, along with Class A, watched the heated game from the sidelines.
The entire conference room...
Before you continue