After looking around the class, Himeno Yuki saw him rush out with an excited look and ran after him, hoping to join in the fun. On their way to Class D, they heard Chabashira's voice, so they simply stood in the hallway and listened openly. "I see. You seemed to have predicted that Sudo's grades would be in danger, so you deliberately scored so low only in English." Sudo froze. He looked at the blackboard with the posted grades: Horikita Suzune had scored perfectly in four subjects, but only got 51 in English. It was obvious she had deliberately scored low because she knew Sudo struggled with English. "What? Horikita, you..." After Chabashira continued to put everyone down for a few more moments, she left. Once she was gone, Horikita Suzune said to Sudo, "Sorry. I should have scored even lower." "Why? Aren't you supposed to hate me?" "Don't misunderstand. I just didn't want the class to lose any more Class Points, though it was all pointless anyway." Just then, Ayanokoji left the classroom. He saw Yuan Yuyuan standing outside the door, but didn't stop; he simply headed downstairs. Yuan Yuyuan paid him no mind. As expected, Sudo was going to be expelled. He looked over at Horikita Suzune's seat. How should he put it? She had grown, but not all the way. Seeing him inexplicably shake his head, Himeno Yuki asked in confusion, "What's wrong?" "This was obviously an opportunity. If she'd just told Sudo that she scored low because she didn't want him to be expelled, and played on his feelings for Horikita, she could even have turned him into her devoted lackey. But she completely missed her chance and just sat there, giving up on herself." After saying that, Yuan Yuyuan walked over to Horikita Suzune's seat and looked down at her. "What do you want now?" Ignoring King Jiji, who was making a fuss, he said to the downcast Horikita Suzune, "Are you giving up already?" Horikita Suzune raised her head to look at Yuan Yuyuan. She bit her lip, but could only lower her head helplessly. "But what can I do? Did you come all this way just to mock me?" "Suzune really is a useless girl." Yuan Yuyuan grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. "Have you forgotten what I told you? At this school, personal points can buy anything." "You mean..." "Go. Ayanokoji should already be on his way to find Chabashira." "I don't know why you're telling me this, but thank you." Yuan Yuyuan watched her leave the classroom, then shook his head. Her inability to win people over was just like her brother, but if Manabu Horikita were in her place, he'd already be negotiating with his homeroom teacher. Horikita's little sister still had a long way to go. After Yuan Yuyuan left, everyone realized just how terrifying he was. But more than that, they were preoccupied with his remark that Ayanokoji was on his way to find Chabashira. As the others wondered what that meant, only Kushida Kikyo watched him leave, a shadow lurking in her bright eyes. After school, Yuan Yuyuan once again received thanks from Horikita Suzune, along with Kushida Kikyo's late-but-inevitable negative energy. [What was that about? Do you know that because of this, everyone thinks more highly of Horikita? Sudo's even more infatuated with her now. Whose side are you on?!] [Calm down. Didn't I tell you? Ayanokoji went to find Chabashira. Didn't anyone in your class think more highly of him? Besides, buying points takes points. This is also a chance for everyone to learn that she's loaded. What do you think will happen when they realize the gap between Suzune and those of us who can't even get 20,000 points a month?] Kushida Kikyo thought it over. If things went the way Yuan Yuyuan described, the result would probably be good, but it would take a long time. [I'm so sick of this! If you're right, how much longer do I have to put up with that woman?!] [Kikyo? Don't forget your task. Answer my question.] Kushida Kikyo's heart sank. It was the first time Yuan Yuyuan had called her by name, and she wasn't foolish enough to mistake it for affection. She knew he was reminding her of her place. She didn't dare indulge in any other feelings now. [Ayanokoji's not a big deal, actually. They all think he's just a gloomy guy with a bit of cleverness. I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought he wasn't important...] [Right. Don't underestimate him. If he were in Class C, then as long as he wanted to be, Ryuen wouldn't be leading it now.] In the past, Kushida Kikyo would have questioned him, or even argued back. But now she didn't have the courage. She didn't even dare ask how Yuan Yuyuan knew about Ayanokoji. Still, she worked up the courage to ask him something that mattered a great deal to her. [I understand. Can I still say those things to you?] [Yes, but don't mix irrelevant things in when I'm gathering information.] [I understand...] Yuan Yuyuan put down his phone. He really had been indulging Kushida too much lately. He didn't need a subordinate who would only vent her feelings at a critical moment. If Kushida couldn't change, he'd have no choice but to expose those things. At least it would plunge Class D into a crisis of trust and serve as a warning to the others; that would be her last contribution. But he never put all his hopes in other people. Wouldn't that mean he'd have to find someone new? Yuan Yuyuan felt a headache coming on. But the only people in Class D with influence like Kushida's were that popular-guy-and-hot-girl couple. Unlike Kushida, though, Hirata was completely unreadable with that image of always putting the class first. At most, he gave the impression of trying to make up to his current partner for feeling guilty about his ex. As for Karuizawa... her influence was limited to the group of girls, and he'd never paid her much attention. After school that evening, to celebrate everyone passing the exams, Ichinose suggested they all go to a restaurant for a big meal. "Yuyuan's coming, right?" Ichinose leaned close to Yuan Yuyuan's ear and whispered, "You've been drifting away from the group lately. You can't keep doing that." "I don't mind. Did you do this for my sake, Honami?" "Hehe, everyone's been saying that you're really capable, but you always seem unapproachable." In that respect, Ichinose was better than Manabu Horikita, but Yuan Yuyuan truly didn't care. As long as Ichinose followed his lead, the class wouldn't fall apart. Still, he had no reason to pass up such an easy opportunity. "Then I'll leave it to you, Honami. I'll cover the meal." "That sounds good. You really are generous, Yuyuan." Ichinose knew this was a way to win the people's favor, and this amount of money was nothing to Yuan Yuyuan, so she had no reason to object. Class B headed for the shopping center in a great throng. Yuan Yuyuan waved his hand and booked an outdoor restaurant. They hadn't expected it, but what they thought would be a split-the-bill dinner was being paid for by Yuan Yuyuan alone. After everyone had taken their seats and thanked him, Yuan Yuyuan, seated at the head of the table, merely waved a hand. "No need to thank me. I often have to handle matters involving the class and other groups, so I rarely get to spend time with you all. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't had much time to help students during study sessions, either. Luckily, we have Honami." Yuan Yuyuan patted Ichinose's head beside him. Lately, he seemed to have developed a habit of patting girls...
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