Chapter 42

"It doesn't matter." "Yuyuan, you're not just trying to comfort me, are you? I know..." "That's not it." Yuan Yuyuan cut off Ichinose before she could continue blaming herself. "If Class D can rise to the challenge, they'll be easier to deal with. On the contrary, I'm glad Honami has held on to her original principles in this kind of environment." That was assuming Class D could handle Class C on their own—and as for those principles... Yuan Yuyuan wasn't actually happy about them at all. But that was part of Ichinose's charm, and the key to keeping Class B united. "I thought you'd look down on me... Yuyuan, am I really that useless? You've told me so many times, and I kept saying I'd grown, but when it comes down to it, I'm still the same." Ichinose suddenly broke down. She thought of Yuan Yuyuan's advice and remembered proudly telling him that she'd grown. She understood everything, but her compassionate nature meant she would always side with the victim. Even when they were opponents, she wanted to defeat them fair and square. Yuan Yuyuan regretted it a little then. He'd only thought about getting Ichinose to change her saintly ways, never considering how much pressure it would put on her. Maybe he really had pushed too hard. Fortunately, Yuan Yuyuan still had some emotional intelligence. He pulled Ichinose into his arms and wiped away her unending tears. "Honami, don't put so much pressure on yourself. You're not carrying Class B all on your own. Leave this kind of thing to me." "I know you don't like trouble, Yuyuan, so I thought... if I could just be a little more capable, maybe I could help you. But in the end... I'm so useless." Ichinose hadn't quite recovered yet. She sniffled, her voice still choked with tears. "You're already more than capable, Honami. This is what I'm supposed to do. I was the selfish one. Can you forgive me?" Yuan Yuyuan gently patted her back. He wasn't sure what good it would do, but it was what everyone else did. "You're trying to cheer me up again, Yuyuan. But I promise I'll help you someday!" Does this feel like it's turning into Horikita's little sister if I keep writing it this way? I feel like I messed up both of these chapters. My abilities are limited, and I couldn't perfectly express the scenes I had in mind. If you want to roast me, do it in the book reviews, because I don't read them! First Semester: Chapter 40

Chapter 37: How Could We Disappoint Our Teacher's Kindness? Yuan Yuyuan raised an eyebrow. Ichinose looked soft and squishy, but she sure was stubborn. Still, it didn't matter, as long as she stopped dwelling on it. "That's right. But I'm scared that if I get serious, Honami won't have anything left to do." As he spoke, she felt the arm around her waist tighten. Only then did she realize she was still lying in Yuan Yuyuan's arms. Blushing, she pulled away, then puffed out her cheeks to protest against this conceited guy. "Yuyuan, you're a narcissist. So what should we do about this conflict?" "Tch, how did we end up talking about work again?" He said that, but Yuan Yuyuan went on to explain to Ichinose. "The simplest way is to ask the student council president for a seat on the review panel, then go easy on Class D. If we want to take down Class C... I'm afraid we'll have to hope the useless lot in Class D can stand up for themselves. We can't have outsiders worrying about them, can we?" "What else can we do? If Class C doesn't get taught a lesson, they'll just get more brazen. They might even use the same tactics against us." Ichinose pursed her lips. She didn't mind, but she also didn't want Yuan Yuyuan going to all that trouble for Class D. "That's true... but we're not directly involved. Even if Class C slips up, we wouldn't know about it." Yuan Yuyuan really couldn't be bothered to help Class D. If Class C crushed them that easily, his plan to use Class D to keep Class C occupied would fall apart. Besides, Hoshinomiya had already taken his side. As far as he was concerned, Class D was a pointless asset he couldn't quite afford to discard. Oh, right, there was also the tribute. But what would he do with all those points... take a dump? Tch, even virtual currency couldn't do that much. "True. We'll just have to take it one step at a time." "Oh, right, Honami, go tell the class about this. Because of what happened, Class Points might change, so next month's points will be delayed. We can't let the class panic." Ichinose nodded. "Yuyuan, you always think things through. I'll tell everyone in class later." On the first day of July, Hoshinomiya walked into the classroom with a mysterious look on her face and stood at the podium without saying a word. After a while, when she saw that the students below weren't saying anything either, she scratched her head. "That's strange. Why isn't anyone asking why the points haven't been handed out yet? Come on, ask me! Ask me! I know what's going on, but unfortunately, I can't tell you yet." "Um... Hoshinomiya-sensei, we already know about it, so could we maybe hurry through homeroom?" When someone called her out, Hoshinomiya's expression quickly darkened. "How could you do this? Your teacher came all this way to show off... to bring you the news! How could you disappoint your teacher's kindness? No! You have to listen to me!" In the end, the whole class was forced to hear the whole story again. At last, Hoshinomiya was satisfied and posted a sheet showing each class's points on the blackboard. Class A: 1,004 points; Class B: 950 points; Class C: 600 points; Class D: 407 points. The figures made Yuan Yuyuan's temples throb. How had the gap become fifty points? Had he been caught chatting with Himeno Yuki during class...? And although their points had gone up, the gap with Class A had widened, so Yuan Yuyuan's expression turned stormy again. Since no one knew what he was thinking, none of them dared show any emotion. "Well, that's that. Homeroom is over." Hoshinomiya broke the silence, then left the classroom. Yuan Yuyuan realized his presence was making everyone uncomfortable, so he left too. They didn't know why the gap had suddenly grown by several dozen points anyway. He'd let them think he was in a bad mood! When class started, Yuan Yuyuan returned with his usual background music. The others had finished exchanging opinions, and then they all began their lesson as if nothing had happened. Yuan Yuyuan zoned out again. He was still wondering whether to help Class D, as Ichinose had suggested. The best-case scenario was that Class C's scheme would be exposed, and the roles of Classes C and D would be reversed. The next-best outcome was that nothing happened and Class D kept biting at Class C. But both possibilities depended on one thing: him putting in the effort to help Class D. If he had to do all that just to keep Class C occupied, what was the point of having Class D around? It wasn't as if Class B were dead weight. If he didn't help, then unless Ayanokoji stepped in, Class D would probably have to take the 300-point penalty for Sudo's expulsion. Even if he went easy on Class D during the review, Sudo would probably still be suspended for a while. After this, Class C wouldn't take Class D seriously anymore. They'd focus on dealing with Class B instead. Ayanokoji? Oh, right. Why not just leave the worrying to that guy? But he couldn't threaten him. This wasn't important enough to him, and threatening Ayanokoji would only cause trouble for someone who hated trouble. Looks like it was time to send Kushida in. He couldn't let her confidant act go to waste. After arranging for Kushida to sound out Ayanokoji, Yuan Yuyuan forgot the most important thing. Yuan Yuyuan: [Prime Minister, that