Chapter 20

The only successful case in years, hailed as a genius and the greatest masterpiece. What could Chabashira-sensei want with someone like that? It certainly made me curious."

"What are you talking about? Why are you telling me all this?"

"Come on, don't be so coy. Hoshinomiya-sensei, you really don't want Chabashira-sensei to make it into Class A, do you?"

At that, Hoshinomiya laughed. She hadn't expected Yuan Yuyuan to see through her, but he was one of her own students. She wasn't about to let something like that throw her off.

"Honestly, it's like I can't hide anything from you. You're right, I can't stand that woman getting her way. Someone like her belongs in Class D. But now she's talking about the greatest masterpiece..."

Seeing her gaze wander, Yuan Yuyuan realized she was weighing her options. He had no choice but to carefully explain the hundred ways Ayanokoji could cause trouble.

"You may not understand what kind of place the White Room is. It's an institution that raises students through a brutal, survival-of-the-fittest system. Ayanokoji is one of the products it produced."

"But even so, his opponents are just a bunch of kids."

"Wrong! Don't underestimate them. They've been subjected to what could only be called cruel education since childhood. It wouldn't be surprising if the failures who were eliminated ended up mentally unstable. Just surviving that environment puts them far ahead of most people, let alone Ayanokoji, who managed to beat everyone."

Only then did Hoshinomiya realize how serious things were. She hurriedly grabbed Yuan Yuyuan's hand.

"So you're saying even you aren't confident you can deal with Ayanokoji?"

Yuan Yuyuan wasn't sure how she'd reached that conclusion, but he still made things sound dire.

"You could put it that way. After all, he has a teacher helping him cheat. Even I might have to stand by and watch them make it to Class A."

"No, that's not it. From what I know of Chabashira, she won't make a move until she sees that Ayanokoji can really lead Class D to promotion. So, if you defeat Class D in the next Special Exam, that woman won't see any hope, and she'll naturally lose heart."

No wonder the two of them could still act like bickering friends on the surface. Chabashira had been hiding what she was really thinking, waiting until she found a student capable of leading Class D to Class A before striking a decisive blow. Little did she know that Hoshinomiya had already seen right through her.

Yuan Yuyuan mentally raised his estimate of how dangerous Hoshinomiya was, but kept his expression calm as he nodded.

"That should make things easier. Still, we need to be careful. It'd be bad if she were thinking of giving it her all with this class and resigning if it still didn't work out."

"True. It's been so many years already."

Only then did Hoshinomiya realize what he'd implied and give Yuan Yuyuan a push on the shoulder.

"Are you hinting that I'm old enough to retire? I'm still young, you know."

"I just hope you won't let your guard down. It'd be bad for all of us if Class D caught us off guard. Besides, don't you think our position is safest if we're the ones in Class A? Even Class B is just a bunch of losers. I hope you're not like Chabashira-sensei, waiting to get something for nothing."

"Don't compare me to her. I don't mind putting in the work. For example, there's a way to help everyone get a perfect score on the next exam. That's all I can tell you. If you want me to risk getting fired to help you, then make sure you perform well on the exam."

I Just Didn't Want Suzune to Be Deceived by Some Man Outside

At last, Yuan Yuyuan had reached an agreement with Hoshinomiya. Satisfied, he left. Just then, he saw Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji leaving the guidance room, apparently discussing something.

Of all people, Chabashira's favorites were those two. He'd thought she might choose Ayanokoji, Hirata, and Kushida. Could those two really get the others to follow their orders? Yuan Yuyuan decided to go over and greet them.

"Hey, Suzune. Long time no see. Did Chabashira-sensei ask you to do something, too?"

"How do you know about that?" Horikita Suzune eyed Yuan Yuyuan suspiciously, then seemed to realize something and shot Ayanokoji a hostile look. "Could it have been you, Ayanokoji-kun?"

"That's not it. I only saw her when Chabashira-sensei called me in."

"Exactly! Don't blame Ayanokoji-kun, Suzune."

Yuan Yuyuan first defended Ayanokoji, then continued under their puzzled gazes.

"I just wondered why Chabashira-sensei had suddenly summoned Ayanokoji-kun, who'd been hiding his abilities."

"How would you know that? Did you know each other before?"

Unlike Horikita Suzune, who seemed to have a hundred thousand questions, Ayanokoji wanted to look surprised, but neither his tone nor his expression changed in the slightest.

"I don't remember us ever crossing paths."

"That's true. But the name Ayanokoji Kiyotaka is practically legendary in our circles. We've all been curious about who this Ayanokoji-kun is—the one some people call the greatest masterpiece."

Ayanokoji knew there was no benefit to letting Horikita Suzune learn about his background, so he denied it outright. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just an ordinary high school student who's a little lucky."

"It's fine if you don't know. But someone else already does. Once she gets a free hand after dealing with the factional struggle, your peaceful school life will be over."

Horikita Suzune couldn't quite follow their conversation. But one of them could help her reach Class A, while the other stood in her way, so she knew whose side to take.

"Listen, you've been saying strange things since the beginning. What exactly did you come here for?"

"What? Suzune, why are you making me sound like a bad guy? Aren't we allies? I'm just worried that Ayanokoji-kun will use underhanded tactics against you. Surely even you can see that he's a cold-blooded creature with no feelings."

Horikita Suzune looked at Ayanokoji, who'd been called cold-blooded. His expression hadn't changed, and he showed no sign of wanting to argue. Thinking about how he usually acted, she couldn't think of anything to say.

Seeing that, Yuan Yuyuan smiled, but he still wasn't about to let Ayanokoji off the hook.

"Now you get it, right, Suzune? Ayanokoji-kun wants to deny it, but he knows I know everything about him. He's staying quiet to keep me from revealing it all. Once I leave, he might make up some excuse to deceive you."

It was the first time Ayanokoji had felt completely exposed in front of someone. What he couldn't understand was how Yuan Yuyuan knew so much about him. The only explanation was that Yuan Yuyuan was looking in a mirror—but he had no information about Yuan Yuyuan at all. In the end, he could only silently accept Yuan Yuyuan's assessment.

"That's enough, isn't it? Saying too much won't do you any good."

"What do you mean by that? I just don't want Suzune to be deceived by some man outside. You understand, right, Suzune? After all, I've been so good to you."

Horikita Suzune hesitated. She remembered that when she'd made a deal with Class B, Yuan Yuyuan had offered to waive her fee, as well as the 200,000 he'd called compensation for her hard work. But she knew he had no reason to do any of that. Could he really like her?

"I appreciate that, but please don't treat me like your personal property."

"I thought Suzune would be touched by what I've done for her. How heartless. Well, I'll leave you two alone. Don't do anything outrageous, Suzune, or I'll be very upset."