Chapter 25

on the victim, Horikita. Horikita lived up to expectations; she didn't want to see the class points suffer any further. "Since I'm fine, let's just let this matter slide." "Is that so? Generally speaking, if the victim doesn't pursue the matter, it's fine. But I was right there at the scene. If it gets reported, it would be very difficult for me as the vice president to explain why I stood by and watched a violent incident occur without intervening." Horikita Suzune finally caught on that Yuan Yuyuan was looking for trouble, and she realized her earlier gratitude had been in vain: "Then what do you want?" "Is Suzune trying to help me fulfill a wish? But I haven't decided on one yet. What should I do? How about this: as long as it doesn't harm the class, your Class D has to do one thing for me. How does that sound?" "Even if you say that, we can't represent the class." It was the first time Horikita Suzune felt that Class D not having a leader was a good thing. It wasn't out of pride, but their Class D currently couldn't even reach a consensus on anything. "That's fine. Then I'll just have to visit Class D myself when the time comes. I certainly won't let the points of everyone in Class D disappear without a clear reason." "Enough, we understand." "I'll print the contract in a few days. Don't think about going back on your word; the Student Council has the authority to pull surveillance footage. I won't disturb your studies any further. Farewell." After saying this, Yuan Yuyuan left with Kamuro, who had been thoroughly entertained by the drama, leaving behind the members of Class D who were glaring at him. After parting ways with Kamuro, Yuan Yuyuan kept wondering whether Kushida Kikyo's actions were unintentional or if she was deliberately targeting Horikita Suzune. Given the angelic persona she projected, she should have been the first to stop the argument between Horikita and Sudo. The reality, however, was that Kushida, like him, only intervened after one side had already thrown a punch. But since he was just there to watch the show, Kushida's behavior was quite intriguing. The two shouldn't have any major grievances; otherwise, given Horikita's personality, it would be impossible for her to hold a study session with her. Therefore, it must be one-sided hatred from Kushida. Yuan Yuyuan had now discovered a nail he could truly drive into Class D. After all, he now saw Horikita Suzune's true colors; someone as single-minded as her would likely disdain being an undercover agent. He would observe the specifics slowly when the time came. Since he was already here, Yuan Yuyuan decided to head to the long-unvisited Student Council to get some answers for everyone. "President-sama, don't hide inside and stay silent. I know you're in there." "Come in." Seeing that Manabu Horikita didn't play along, Yuan Yuyuan wasn't embarrassed; he flopped onto the sofa in a relaxed manner. Finally, Manabu Horikita couldn't hold back and spoke first: "You didn't come here just to rest, did you? If you have something to say, just say it." "Actually, it's like this: I think the seniors' test papers have great reference value. Name your price." "We haven't had much contact, but from what I know of you, you shouldn't have only just realized that now." "Isn't it exam season? I've been running around and haven't had any time. You should understand, right? As soon as I had a moment, I came to find you." First Semester : Chapter 25 Chapter 24 The Strong Should Humiliate the Weak Manabu Horikita nodded in agreement. His philosophy was that the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility, and he personally handled all affairs for Class 3-A. Yuan Yuyuan didn't have that kind of mindset. His principle was to let others do the labor; as long as someone could solve the problem, he wouldn't lift a finger. If it weren't for the fact that Hoshinomiya had set conditions and he needed to secure an insurance policy with her, he would be too lazy to care about the already passable academic performance of Class B. "I have the test papers here. Forget about the payment; it's nothing important." "You're just giving them to me like this? How generous. Arigato, Manabu Horikita-san." Yuan Yuyuan specifically emphasized that this was a gift from him, to prevent Manabu Horikita from using small favors to make him do things. Although the possibility was slim, it was better to be safe than sorry. "Since the problem is solved, I won't disturb you further. I'm off." "Wait. I heard you had some conflict with Class 1-D." "You aren't here to stand up for Suzune, are you? I only got into a feud with Class D to protect her." Yuan Yuyuan wasn't surprised that Manabu Horikita knew about this. It wasn't that Manabu Horikita had eyes everywhere, but that third-year students often went to the library to study—the lower classes were preparing for their future, while the upper classes didn't want to fall behind in academic exams. The third years were different from others; they didn't have much time left. The point gap among the upper classes wasn't that large, and the lower classes had no hope left, so they were just counting on reading more books to get into a good university. Plus, that hot-headed monkey Sudo was no different from a shrew when he got angry; the entire library could probably hear his voice. "No, I was just curious about what you told me last time—that Suzune hadn't grown. Looking at this incident, you were indeed right." "Although she stopped me from punishing Sudo, according to her way of thinking, she was actually just holding onto a sliver of hope for promoting to Class A." "Let her be. If you can, please look after her a little." "Don't worry. Thanks to you, Suzune isn't that cold or sharp-tongued toward me. Overall, she's like a tsundere little sister." After getting the answers, Yuan Yuyuan didn't stay in the Student Council any longer, mainly fearing that Manabu Horikita might get a whim to make him work overtime. He finally had a bit of a break during exams and didn't want to waste his youth in front of a desk. A few minutes before class in the afternoon, Yuan Yuyuan walked onto the podium and tapped the table to signal everyone to quiet down. "Alright, everyone has worked hard recently. I got some good things from President Horikita. A few people, come up and hand these out." Once everyone received the midterm papers with the answers, as well as the practice tests—which, despite being dated two years ago, were identical to the questions from their last quiz—they shouted in surprise: "Is this real? Isn't this cheating?" "Ahem, watch your words. Are you trying to say that President Horikita is leading the charge in violating school rules? I don't know if you remember what Hoshinomiya-sensei said on the day the test results came out?" "Is this the method Hoshinomiya-sensei mentioned to ensure everyone passes?" The one who stood up this time wasn't Ichinose, but Himeno Yuki, who had been frequently appearing by Ichinose's side in place of Yuan Yuyuan recently. Of course, to help Himeno Yuki stand out in Class B, the two had already coordinated their stories. "That's right, this school is just like that. This situation isn't unique to our class. As far as I know, even Class D's homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei, has said this before. Setting aside whether it was necessary for Hoshinomiya-sensei to gild the lily given our class's grades, based on Class D's performance, could they really all pass?" After establishing the general direction, Yuan Yuyuan shared his deductions about the whole matter, naturally with Himeno Yuki acting as his straight man. At the same time, it made everyone realize once again that Class B couldn't function without Yuan Yuyuan, just as the West couldn't function without Jerusalem. When everyone was rejoicing over having the answers, Yuan Yuyuan didn't forget to pour cold water on them: "Don't be too happy too soon. There won't be many good things like this. Next time, or starting next semester, there probably won't be any answers. Besides, we still have Class A, whose average academic ability is above ours, as our opponent. So, the study sessions will continue as usual. Honami and Yuki can decide on the specific details." Yuan Yuyuan returned to his seat. Seeing Himeno Yuki staring at him with a resentful expression, he had no choice but to take out his phone and send her a message.