Chapter 46

"High schoolers, you know." "It's not as simple as you think. If I let people in my class think I'm a heavy hitter in class but a pushover outside, that would be the most disadvantageous thing possible. Not to mention, the target is Yamauchi, the bottom-feeder of the bottom-tier Class D. Think about it, if they start thinking, 'this guy isn't anything special,' what kind of losses would that bring me? Don't be so narrow-minded." Yuan Yuyuan shook his head in disappointment. He wondered if Himeno Yuki was truly airheaded or just insensitive to these things; he felt like he had made a terrible decision. "Oh, is that so? Then why didn't you just say that from the start! What about Ayanokoji? How did you know he was hiding his strength? And also, by 'Arisu,' you mean that Sakayanagi from Class A, right? How do you know about the two of them?" "That involves a past I'd rather not look back on." Yuan Yuyuan briefly explained Ayanokoji's background and abilities to her, as well as Sakayanagi Arisu's almost obsessive desire to defeat him. Himeno Yuki blinked, wearing an expression that suggested he was a eunuch, and said, "And then? Is that it? You still haven't said how you know." "...Our fathers were friends when they were young, and our family played a role in the founding of this school. That led to our families being quite close, so we got to know each other back and forth when we were kids. But I'll state for the record: once I realized that girl was crazy, I started avoiding her." Upon hearing that they had known each other since childhood, Himeno Yuki's expression stiffened, but she patted Yuan Yuyuan's hand and comforted him with a sad look: "Don't be too jealous. It's perfectly normal for a childhood friend to lose to a newcomer. After all, no one can stop a development like something out of a novel. You really don't need to take it to heart." These words made the corner of Yuan Yuyuan's mouth twitch. The fantasy time of a high school girl was truly astonishing; was this some kind of romance novel world? "Give me a break. If I were jealous, would I be able to talk to Ayanokoji so calmly? Tell me, did you copy these comforting words from a novel, too?" Himeno Yuki's face gradually froze. While it was good news that Yuan Yuyuan wasn't jealous, but... she re-examined him. Could it be that he read those kinds of novels too? Wait, why was that good news? "O-of course not, I thought of these to comfort you." "Oh, I thank you so much!" Yuan Yuyuan had already understood when he saw Himeno Yuki's expression, but he didn't intend to pursue the matter. "Alright, alright, you've heard enough. If there's nothing else, you should head back." "I'll go when I go, as if I care." Himeno Yuki pouted and muttered, but she didn't move for a long time. Seeing Yuan Yuyuan close his eyes and start playing dead, Himeno Yuki finally stomped her feet and left.

First Semester: Chapter 40 - The Dump Truck Starts Moving

The day after school, Yuan Yuyuan finished the morning classes as usual. The investigation for evidence in Class D was proceeding according to plan, but as far as he knew, it seemed to have made absolutely no progress. This couldn't help but make Yuan Yuyuan suspicious of Ayanokoji. Was this "greatest masterpiece" just a flash in the pan? That made no sense; the White Room, as a competitor to the Advanced Nurturing High School, wouldn't let a loser ruin its reputation. Something must have gone wrong somewhere. Yuan Yuyuan returned to his dorm for meditation (spacing out) as usual. The life of a max-level human was just that dull and boring. It was all Ryuen's fault for being a bully who picked on the weak; instead of provoking Class B, he went after the pathetic Class D. Before long, the entertainment Yuan Yuyuan had been craving finally arrived, brought by the one and only double-faced person, Kushida Kikyo.

Kushida Kikyo: [That woman Horikita joined the group helping Sudo. She said the witness might be Sakura from our class.]

Yuan Yuyuan: [Not bad, not bad. You've really improved.]

After receiving the message, Yuan Yuyuan first praised her. The fact that she hadn't included various telegraphic sounds while reporting information was enough to show that Kushida was listening to him well. He was very satisfied, and then he continued to ask:

Yuan Yuyuan: [So, the question is, who is Sakura?]

Kushida Kikyo: [A girl with pink hair and glasses who carries a camera with her. She looks like she has social anxiety, and also... that area is very large.]

Yuan Yuyuan: [What "thing" is large? You've started playing riddles too, haven't you?]

Kushida Kikyo: [It's not like that, it's her... female features... are very large.]

Yuan Yuyuan couldn't hold it together on his end of the phone. Thank goodness they were texting; Kushida didn't know he was asking a question he already knew the answer to. Besides this, there was nothing else that could make a social butterfly like her stammer. Moreover, this Sakura was likely even larger than Kushida, otherwise, given her personality, she would have proudly said, "But compared to me, it's still not enough!" or something similar.

Yuan Yuyuan: [I see. And she carries a camera. If she really is the witness, then it's very likely she captured the scene of Sudo's incident. What do you guys plan to do?]

Kushida Kikyo: [I'm not sure yet. Sakura won't answer her phone, Horikita left, and those idiots only know how to stand there, so there's no plan at all.]

Yuan Yuyuan: [6. I almost forgot you guys are Class D. Well, let me know when you have a plan. Maybe I can mooch some benefits again.]

Kushida Kikyo couldn't do anything about Yuan Yuyuan, the money-grubber. However, he had forgotten that he was a member of Class D himself; this could be considered a backhanded compliment to himself.

And he even took a jab at Class D? What Class D? He didn't know them; stay away.

What Yuan Yuyuan didn't expect was that the members of Class D hadn't come up with a plan all day, which was somewhat abstract.

Time reached July 4th. With only five days left until the hearing, Yuan Yuyuan received another message from Kushida, saying she would go find Sakura after school.

Honestly, what were they doing all this time?

After school, Yuan Yuyuan stretched and was about to head to Class D when, unexpectedly, the angel herself approached him.

"Yuyuan, are you going to the Special Building later? It seems like we haven't investigated this matter in the last few days."

"It's fine, it's fine. The only one who hasn't investigated is Honami. I've been keeping an eye on it the whole time."

"Ah?"

Ichinose scratched her little face, looking at Yuan Yuyuan in confusion.

Yuan Yuyuan also showed an awkward but polite smile. Life had been a bit too comfortable lately, and he had accidentally spoken his true thoughts. He quickly changed his tune:

"No, what I mean is... I can handle it myself. Honami should go play with the girls. Believe, then believe again, keep believing."

"Oh, alright then! Leave it all to Yuyuan! Good luck!"

"Alright, alright, Honami, go ahead. Don't keep the girls waiting."

After saying that, Yuan Yuyuan walked toward Class D, not knowing if he would make it in time.

Before Yuan Yuyuan reached Class D, a girl ran toward him. Just as he was about to step aside, he suddenly noticed this person... a pink-haired girl with glasses, clutching a camera in her arms.

A plan formed in Yuan Yuyuan's mind. He acted as if he hadn't noticed Sakura and rammed into her like a dump truck.

"Ah!"

Sakura cried out in pain after being knocked down by Yuan Yuyuan, and the camera in her hand traced a perfect parabola through the air.

She stood up.