Chapter 48

Ayanokoji. They absolutely couldn't let anyone discover Sakura! That was the only thought on Yuan Yuyuan's mind. He had to keep this possibly sole witness under his own control. With that in mind, Yuan Yuyuan called out to them loudly. "Yo! If it isn't Suzune and Ayanokoji! What brings you two here?" He glanced furtively toward Sakura, who was shy around people and hurriedly ran toward the staircase on the other side. Horikita Suzune raised an eyebrow. She'd never seen Yuan Yuyuan, who was usually so unflappable, act like this, and it struck her as rather strange. "Why are you shouting so loudly? And why are you here?" "Because the Special Building is always so empty. I may not look it, but I'm actually terrified of being alone. Some sister-obsessed guy was afraid people would say the Student Council wasn't doing its job, so he sent me here to check for any clues. Are you here for the same reason, Suzune? What a coincidence... it's fate that brings us together!" Yuan Yuyuan deliberately rambled on, buying Comrade Sakura time to escape. "I am here for that, yes... Why do I get the feeling you're unusually talkative today?" "Huh? It's nothing. Didn't I say? I'm afraid of being alone, so naturally I feel closer to people when I run into the two of you." Only after Sakura had finally left did Yuan Yuyuan relax and talk to Horikita Suzune. Come to think of it, even that "I am here for that, yes" phrasing was copied from Manabu Horikita, wasn't it? "Um, Suzune, have you found any clues?" "No. I only just got here." Horikita Suzune didn't press him. After all, they didn't know each other that well; perhaps Yuan Yuyuan really did have a strange weakness like that. "I see. But since Ayanokoji has stepped in, I'm sure Class D will get through this crisis safely." Good, she'd only just arrived. Yuan Yuyuan was relieved. He'd thought the two of them had come specifically to find Sakura. It seemed they couldn't confirm whether she was a witness either, and were just taking a shot in the dark. Ayanokoji, the one who'd been brought up, remained silent. Thanks to Yuan Yuyuan, Horikita Suzune no longer believed him when he denied anything related to this. She even said that Yuan Yuyuan had been right after all. Ayanokoji knew he had to find a way to turn things around. Until then, all he could do was put up with whatever Yuan Yuyuan said. The more he tried to explain himself, the more Yuan Yuyuan would reveal about him. "Aw, Ayanokoji-kun seems to dislike me a little. I can't blame him. It must be awful to have memories buried deep in your heart dug up. Ayanokoji-kun must be so troubled right now. School bullying is truly terrifying. Good thing I'm... an ally of justice!" Yuan Yuyuan had no idea that he was the very source of Ayanokoji's troubles. He struck a righteous pose, as though he were about to help him, but his next words left the two people in front of him speechless. "Well, I'll be off, then. I won't get in the way of you two working hard for your classmate." As he left, Yuan Yuyuan even wiped at the corners of his dry eyes. "Boo-hoo, how moving." "What on earth was that guy here for?" Horikita Suzune watched him go, puzzled. Had Yuan Yuyuan really just come by to make an appearance? But she couldn't think of any other reason he might have come, either, so she focused on looking for clues instead. Once he'd left the Special Building, Yuan Yuyuan began sorting through the whole situation. Horikita Suzune thought Sakura was a witness, and Sakura had happened to be taking selfies in the Special Building earlier. Perhaps she had indeed seen what happened with Sudo, and had let something slip that Horikita Suzune picked up on. Yuan Yuyuan considered it and decided he should have Kushida keep an eye on Sakura. He couldn't let someone else steal his cash cow. Wait... Class D had 407 Class Points. Subtract the 250 he'd already taken... Suddenly, he lost interest in the whole thing. After all, working for a capitalist still meant getting paid. If he took too much, Class D would be working for nothing. They'd work hard to earn Class Points, and in the end, only his pockets would be full. Besides, their chances of making it to Class A were practically zero. That meant the only two uses Class Points had for Class D were both close to worthless. Even Yuan Yuyuan, who came from a capitalist background, felt like he was bullying honest people. Mostly, he was afraid Class D would decide there was no point trying if they couldn't afford anything, and just give up. He'd have to turn his attention to the other classes. He couldn't keep shearing the same sheep. So he still had to get involved this time. Yuan Yuyuan thought carefully about how he could profit from the incident at Class C's expense. But how could he get in there and take a cut? It was easy to resolve a little scheme like this, but turning defense into offense wasn't simple. After all, the three students from Class C had genuinely ended up covered in blood. Unless there was evidence that Class C had deliberately provoked Sudo into attacking them, after which Sudo would kill himself to prove his innocence and blow the whole thing wide open, the school wouldn't be pressured into severely punishing Class C. Everything was ready; all they needed was for Sudo to kill himself... How could that possibly happen? Wait, covered in blood? Just as Yuan Yuyuan was about to let this one go for now, he suddenly thought of something... Hoshinomiya could be useful after all. Yuan Yuyuan went to the Infirmary and found Hoshinomiya enthusiastically watching a TV series. He knocked on the door. "Hoshinomiya-sensei." "Ah!" Hoshinomiya had just reached out to turn off the show, but when she saw it was Yuan Yuyuan, she pulled her hand back. "Oh, it's Yuyuan. You scared me. What do you need, teacher?" Yuan Yuyuan closed the door and sat across from Hoshinomiya. "I just wanted to find out whether those students from Class C have been to the Infirmary." "They have, actually. Let me look..." Hoshinomiya rummaged through her cluttered desk. "Found it. Here, this is their report." Yuan Yuyuan took it and looked it over. Just as he'd expected, the timing didn't add up at all. Hoshinomiya looked at the sinister smile on Yuan Yuyuan's face and asked, completely bewildered, "Is something wrong?" "A lot is wrong. The fight happened after club activities on Friday. You'd think the first thing they'd do after getting injured would be to come to the Infirmary, but they didn't show up until that evening. The time in between is crucial." Yuan Yuyuan chose not to hide anything. This time, he was helping Class C, and his goal didn't conflict with Hoshinomiya's. Hoshinomiya had a suspicion, but she didn't intend to say it out loud. As a teacher, she'd look foolish if she was wrong! "You mean... What do you mean?" "Think about it. Sudo may be a delinquent, but would he really dare to beat someone up that badly? A few bruises and a swollen face would be one thing, but covered in blood? Never mind whether he was even capable of it—he wouldn't have the nerve. Besides, using violence would cost him the chance to become an official team player, which he'd been dreaming of. Why would he do that?" It made sense, but Sudo was the sort of thoughtless person who probably wouldn't think that far ahead. So this was all just Yuan Yuyuan's conjecture. But if he could prove it, he stood to gain a considerable amount, and for once, that didn't put him off. "So Class C deliberately provoked Sudo into attacking them, then beat themselves up like this?" Seeing that things seemed to match what she'd suspected, Hoshinomiya hurriedly voiced her theory. If Yuan Yuyuan figured it out and she hadn't, wouldn't that make her look even more foolish? "So Yuan Yuyuan—"