Chapter 21

Yuan Yuyuan hadn't reminded Horikita Suzune for such a shallow reason. He'd simply hoped that if she noticed Ayanokoji doing anything unusual, she'd be the first to consult him, since he knew Ayanokoji inside and out—if she really did notice, that is.

"What should I do next?"

After saying goodbye to the two of them, Yuan Yuyuan wandered aimlessly around campus. Midterms were coming up soon. He'd thought he could relax a little longer, but then Hoshinomiya had suddenly announced that the whole class could get perfect scores, leaving him with no choice but to worry about everyone again.

"If only they'd get their act together and help me move up a class. What a shame."

Just then, Yuan Yuyuan's phone rang. He took it out and saw that Ichinose was calling.

"Hello? Did you need something, Honami?"

"Well, midterms are coming up soon, so everyone wants to organize a study session. Would you be able to help tutor everyone, Yuyuan?"

"I don't mind, but I don't think I'm very popular in class."

"How could you say that? You helped everyone get through the first month's test safely, and your classmates really admire you. Besides, I know you're actually a kind person. Why not try talking to your classmates more?"

You're the kind one, Angel. He was only kind to people who were useful to him. Just thinking about having to humor Ichinose's little yes-men made Yuan Yuyuan's skin crawl.

"Honami, you've really put me in a tough spot. I've never had many friends, you know. But I'll do my best to get along with everyone."

"That's wonderful! I'll let you go, then. Don't forget to come to the study session, Yuyuan!"

"Sure, sure."

Looks like he wouldn't have any free time even without Hoshinomiya. A study session was a complete waste of his time. They could just look up the answers and explanations online. What a pain.

First Semester: Chapter 21

"You're here, Yuyuan. Have a seat."

"What's going on?"

Yuan Yuyuan looked at Kanzaki and the Class C students arguing nearby, then asked Ichinose.

"It's nothing much. Class C often bothers us, and this time they said they'd always used this spot and couldn't study anywhere else. It's really troubling me."

"I see. Then they shouldn't study here. I'll kick them all out."

"Huh? Wait!"

Ignoring Ichinose's attempts to stop him, Yuan Yuyuan walked straight over to the leader of the Class C students and grabbed his arm.

"What you're doing is illegal. Come on, I'm taking you to turn yourself in."

"Who the hell are you? Mind your own business."

"I'm Brot-Hendel. You can call me the Student Council vice president. What's your name? Do you realize you're seriously disrupting the library? Come with me."

The Class C students immediately fell into disarray. They'd thought harassing Class B would be an easy job, since its students were all softies who never did anything out of line. But they hadn't expected to be caught red-handed by the Student Council.

"My name's Nomura. I was just... negotiating with them. Right, negotiating. We've always sat here, and we can't study at all if we don't sit here."

Yuan Yuyuan stroked his chin thoughtfully, as if he'd figured something out, then nodded at Nomura.

"I see. Now I understand. Looks like I was wrong to accuse you. How about we pull up the security footage? I'll vouch for you with the staff, so don't worry. The Student Council would never wrong an innocent person."

"This... isn't that a bit much?"

Now it was Nomura's turn to panic. If Yuan Yuyuan had just stepped in, told him he was being unreasonable, and made him apologize, he could have left. That was why he'd been so brazen. But now Yuan Yuyuan thought he'd wronged him and wanted to pull up the footage to clear his name. Heaven help him, he'd never even studied in the library.

"What's the problem? You're only asking them to give up a seat. If you prove what you said is true, they'll give it to you out of basic decency. Otherwise, I'll condemn them on moral grounds!"

"This... wouldn't that be too much trouble for them? We don't mind studying somewhere else."

Yuan Yuyuan's expression darkened before their eyes. He narrowed his eyes at Nomura.

"But didn't you just say you couldn't study anywhere else? Why are you suddenly okay with it now? Are you trying to make a fool of me, Nomura?"

"Of course not! It's just... I suddenly realized what I'm doing is wrong. If everyone acted like me, the world would be a mess, wouldn't it?"

"Tch. Since you know that, behave yourself. We've gotten quite a few reports about your Class 1-C lately. I'll let it go this time, but if I catch you again, I'll punish you severely. Understand?"

"Yes, yes. I won't do it again. I'm really sorry."

A distant authority was no match for someone on the spot, but Nomura knew that if he disobeyed Ryuen, he'd only get beaten up. If the vice president held a grudge against him, though... With that thought, he didn't even bother with the task Ryuen had given him. He hurriedly led the others away.

But Yuan Yuyuan's thoughts had already wandered elsewhere. The Class C students had no idea that he, the vice president, was from Class B. Otherwise, they'd surely accuse him of abusing his power. In that case... the library meet-cute really had happened! Shiina seemed like a shy girl. She'd finally worked up the courage to talk to him, and he'd... I'm the worst! ┭┮﹏┭┮

Kanzaki, who'd been watching from the sidelines, walked over and apologized.

"I'm really sorry you had to come all the way over for such a trivial matter."

Yuan Yuyuan waved a hand, indicating that Kanzaki shouldn't worry about it.

"Kids can be a handful. It's not like I'm making the two of you compete or anything. Don't take it to heart."

Ichinose had been helping her classmates study, but she'd also been keeping an eye on what was happening. Class C had been causing trouble for a long time. Class B and Class A had already been driven to their wits' end by them, but hadn't been able to do much about it. Seeing Yuan Yuyuan send the Class C students away, Ichinose couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's wonderful. Thanks to you, Yuyuan, Class C probably won't come back now."

Yuan Yuyuan didn't respond to Ichinose's comment. Instead, he criticized her.

"Honami, you're the Student Council secretary, aren't you? You should've thought of this solution too."

Ichinose hurriedly waved her hands. "I could never do something like that."

Yuan Yuyuan knew this put the little angel in a difficult position, but this time he didn't let Ichinose off the hook. He looked her in the eye, his expression serious.

"Doesn't it matter if your classmates keep getting harassed? You've heard what people say about Ryuen, haven't you, Honami? Things like this will only happen more often. Are you planning to just say something half-hearted every time and let them do whatever they want?"

"I know it might be hard for you to do something like that, but think about your classmates. Everyone trusts you, but right now they're in dire straits!"

Ichinose was a good leader who listened to other people's advice, even if doing so went against her usual principles. She also knew that at this school, especially during exams, scheming between classes was unavoidable. So...

"So we really can't do without you, Yuyuan! Didn't we agree?"