Chapter 27

"People with the abilities of the others shouldn't have been placed in Class D." "That's right. Anything else?" "If I had to say, Koenji and Horikita were there because they thought too highly of themselves and refused to cooperate with others. But Hirata and Kushida seemed especially unusual. They had excellent social skills and strong academic records. Hirata was also the Soccer Club's star player, while Kushida's athletic ability was above average for a girl. So the two of them probably had some serious flaws that would make people shudder once they learned about them." After hearing Himeno Yuki's analysis, Yuan Yuyuan was more and more pleased with her. Maybe this girl really could become a capable leader. "Good. But you missed one thing: Kushida really hates Horikita." "Just because of that comment? Maybe it was an honest mistake." "With her social skills, she wouldn't make such a low-level mistake. But it's possible. You weren't there when the incident happened in the library last time, so I'll let you off the hook this time." Yuan Yuyuan then told Himeno Yuki about Kushida's strange behavior at the library. Only then did Himeno Yuki see the light, though there was one thing she still couldn't understand. "But why? Our classmates often see Kushida going out of her way to suck up to Horikita." "Maybe she wanted to stay close to Horikita and dig up dirt on her. After all, she always presents herself as an angel, just like Honami. People are willing to vent to her and bad-mouth others. Wait..." As he spoke, Yuan Yuyuan suddenly realized something was off. "Could she have spread dirt on someone and caused a violent incident? No, that doesn't sound right. Something on that scale would at most be Class C material." Himeno Yuki nodded in agreement, then added, "Maybe she spread dirt on everyone? Plenty of people bad-mouth others behind their backs. With her social skills, it wouldn't be surprising if she got the whole school fighting." Yuan Yuyuan didn't disagree, but he still thought it sounded a little far-fetched. "But if she's such a blabbermouth, who'd tell her something like that? The theory makes sense, but she probably didn't spread it around school... Still, one thing's certain: she must have let it out somehow, and someone else found out." "Did she really have to let it out? If she's as calculating as you say, couldn't she just keep it to herself?" Yuan Yuyuan shook his head and gave Himeno Yuki a look that said, You're so naive. "You don't get it. Chat logs can take up so much memory that you run out of storage. It's even worse when you're a living, breathing person. But she can't exactly confide in people she knows. Writing in a diary is just talking to herself, and the more she reads it, the more frustrated she might get." "That makes sense. But so what? We don't have any evidence." "Exactly. So I'm entrusting this difficult task to you!" ??? Himeno Yuki tilted her head, now full of question marks, and stared in disbelief at Yuan Yuyuan, standing beside her and talking as if it were no skin off his nose. "What do you mean, you're entrusting it to me? You want me to find evidence, don't you? How am I supposed to do that out of thin air?" "It's not that simple, of course. Think about it: there are fewer than five hundred students across all three years at our school. So she definitely won't let any of this slip now, or we'd be able to identify her right away." "That still doesn't help. If she doesn't say anything, it'll be even harder to find evidence." "Tsk. Xiaoxue, you've still got a long way to go. If she can't talk about it, won't she find some other way to blow off steam? Climbing a tree, slamming into a railing, throwing herself in front of a train... anything's possible." "You mean she'll go somewhere deserted to vent, right? Wait, are you asking me to be a creepy girl who stalks people?" "What are you talking about? What is this? I want to see my lawyer! How does that make you a creepy girl? If we get leverage on her, we'll have leverage over the whole year! Then, whichever class we go up against, we can throw them into chaos. Class A will be a piece of cake! It's all for the class. Don't be so unmotivated." "Tch. What a sanctimonious guy. You've got a whole routine ready whenever you need to make excuses." Seeing Yuan Yuyuan start joking around again, Himeno Yuki knew she wasn't getting out of this. But given the choice between her old life and being a tool, she still chose the latter without hesitation. "Fine. Even spying on someone's better than pretending to get along with people. Sigh, sometimes I really envy Horikita Suzune. She can live without caring what anyone thinks, and she's fine even if she's all alone. Unlike me—I have to be bossed around by you, a guy who comes up with a new idea every five minutes." "How did we end up getting all gloomy? How about I take you out for a big meal sometime? Japanese, Chinese, Western—you can pick. For now, sorry for the trouble. I'll buy you some desserts to make up for it, too." "You promise! I want French food. I've always wanted to try it... Wait, you're so sly! I'm working myself to the bone spying on someone, and you think one meal is enough to bribe me? No way. While I'm keeping an eye on her, you have to take me out for a big meal every week." "Are you trying to drain all my points? Do you know a French meal costs at least ten thousand yen when you eat out?" That was what he said, but Himeno Yuki knew the difference between one lavish meal and getting one every week. For the sake of those meals, she was ready to go all in. She turned and poked Yuan Yuyuan in the arm, saying nothing as she gazed at him with pleading, fluttering eyes. He'd never seen the iceberg Himeno Yuki make that kind of face before. In the end, he could only give in. "All right, all right. Since you're so eager to go on a date with me, Xiaoxue, I'll reluctantly agree." "Bleh! Call it whatever you want. I'm getting my big meal, and I want it after school!" "Huh? But I promised Shiina I'd go to the library with her after school." "Who's Shiina? Another girl, right? Hah. So you're a pervert after all." "What are you talking about? Though I have to admit, I'm surprised I'm so popular with girls. Xiaoxue, you'd better make your move soon. I'm quite a catch. If you miss your chance, you'll regret it so much you'll cry ten pounds of tears into your pillow." "Stop calling me Xiaoxue, will you? You pushy jerk. Who'd want a young master like you, rolling around in a pile of rouge? You and Ichinose have seemed a little distant lately. Could it be that you've gotten bored with her and moved on to pursuing Shiina?" Yuan Yuyuan had to admire the high schoolers' imaginations. He was innocent with everyone. Sure, when he'd first started school, he'd been a little too full of himself and ended up with some embarrassing memories only he knew about. The rest of the time, he was mostly just trying to show off by casually pulling a pretty girl over to his side. "Why are you making up all these stories? I've been worrying about the class for ages. Can't I enjoy myself a little? By your logic, I moved up classes for Honami, studied for Shiina, and slacked off for you? That's got everything backward. Still, I wouldn't mind having a relationship. Xiaoxue, have you ever dated anyone? What's it like? Tell me about it." Himeno Yuki felt like Yuan Yuyuan was insulting her somehow, but she couldn't prove it. "Forget it. Look at me. What boy would dare come near me?" "Huh? I don't think you're ugly. Have a little confidence. And when it comes to judging looks, I'm extremely picky." "What are you even talking about? I'm not talking about my looks! I've always been like this, even as a kid. There were boys who tried to hit on me, but they couldn't get a single word out. Eventually, I couldn't be bothered with them." "That explains it. No wonder they..."