Chapter 50

Reading together—this time, it was finally Yuan Yuyuan's turn to invite her. She felt a small sense of accomplishment. "Since this is one of the rare times you've taken the initiative to invite me, Yuyuan, I'll forgive you."

"Um..." For some reason, her words made Yuan Yuyuan feel a little guilty. He looked into the distance. "I've been a bit busy lately, and spending time with Hiyori helps me relax..." Even he didn't believe what he was saying... Shiina Hiyori had noticed the change in his expression and realized things probably weren't that simple. "Could it be that you actually came to see me because you need something, Yuyuan?"

First Semester: Chapter 47—Chapter Forty-Four: The Reclusive Strategist Under a Simpleminded Delinquent Leader?

"Um..." After a full two seconds of inner debate, Yuan Yuyuan decided to come clean. From spending time with Shiina over the past few days, he'd learned that she was far too clever. If she saw through him, he'd only end up worse off.

"Fine, there is something I need to talk to you about."

"I see..." Shiina nodded. "But it's all right. I'm happy to be able to help you, Yuyuan."

That response nearly made Yuan Yuyuan, who considered himself thick-skinned, blush. Compared with Shiina, he was practically a novice. Still, his professional composure kept any sign of it from showing on his face.

"Hiyori, you know I'll be presiding over the hearing about the incident involving Classes C and D next Tuesday. So I looked into it a little. I didn't realize there was anything to it until I started digging, but Ryuen seems to have left behind evidence that could get the three people involved expelled. I want to talk to him about it."

"What? Expelled? You mean Ishizaki and the others? That absolutely can't happen!" Shiina Hiyori sprang to her feet. Then she remembered she was in the library. After apologizing to the people looking her way, she continued, "Sorry. That was very rude of me."

"It's fine. Anyone would be shocked by news like that."

Yuan Yuyuan hadn't known about Shiina's situation in her class. He'd assumed she kept to herself, but he hadn't expected such a strong reaction. Were she and the others friends? If only he'd known, he wouldn't have gone through Shiina to contact Ryuen! But at this point, all he could do was follow through. "So I was planning to discuss, well... that matter with Ryuen."

"I'll do my best to persuade Ryuen. It would be terrible if Class D got their hands on it."

Since someone's actions had already spread through poor Class D in the form of complaints, Shiina Hiyori knew exactly why Yuan Yuyuan was doing this. But she wasn't someone who failed to see the bigger picture. She didn't really mind this sort of thing, and if Yuan Yuyuan suffered a loss because of her, she'd feel guilty.

"So, though this might be a bit difficult, could you make the deal with our class alone, Yuyuan? Of course, we're willing to pay more. Please."

"Of course. When I do business, I put honesty first. I'd never do something like that!"

Yuan Yuyuan was more than happy to agree. Class D was already broke; if he squeezed them any harder, he might not get a single point out of them. Sure, the debt would carry over, but he couldn't count on Class D giving up and earning zero points for all three years!

What Yuan Yuyuan found strangest, though, was what Shiina had said. From her words, she seemed confident she could persuade Ryuen, and she'd even made the decision to offer more on her own. That suggested she had considerable influence in Class C—she might even be its second-in-command. Why had nobody ever told him?! He'd always thought Shiina was practically invisible in her class! She was also clever enough to shut down any chance of him selling the information a second time. If Class B hadn't been in such an awkward position, he would've tried that in his first month. He'd have to reassess his friend.

The reclusive strategist under a simpleminded delinquent leader? Somehow, the leaders of two rival classes had become friends in private...

"Thank you so much. Then, without further ado, I'll contact Ryuen now. Please excuse me."

Shiina Hiyori left the library. Yuan Yuyuan smiled and nodded, staying right where he was, completely unperturbed. No matter what happened, he couldn't lose here. If Ryuen accepted, points would come in; if he refused, things would get even more interesting.

That would mean the leader of Class C's delinquents had no foresight at all. Never mind that the class would lose all its points once the truth came out; even if Ryuen hoped to keep his personal points and use them to move up a class, it wouldn't help.

Under Comrade Ryuen's brilliant leadership, Class C had lost all its Class Points and seen three students expelled before the semester was even over. One of them had even been his loyal follower.

For Ryuen, who already had no popular support, this was enough to be fatal. Ishizaki's sacrifice would make his other followers feel the same grief as a fox mourning a dead hare. At least then, his death wouldn't have been for nothing.

Unfortunately, Shiina was there. Even if Ryuen were an idiot, she'd persuade him. Yuan Yuyuan was deeply frustrated. Why was someone as talented as Shiina in Class C?! If she were in Class B, she'd save him so much trouble.

"I'm back."

While Yuan Yuyuan was lamenting, Shiina Hiyori returned after finishing her call. "Ryuen said he wants to look it over first. If everything's fine, we can make the deal."

"Sure. I'll send it to you."

"Okay."

Shiina Hiyori received the video and forwarded it to Ryuen, then watched it herself. The more she watched, the more her brows drew together.

Shiina Hiyori rubbed her temples. Contrary to Yuan Yuyuan's assumption, she'd never meddled in Class C's affairs. She hadn't expected Ryuen to leave behind such an obvious weak point. This amounted to deliberate false accusation, and Ryuen would also have to bear the label of a bully.

Although everyone in Class C had tacitly accepted what happened, and students in the other classes knew what Ryuen was like, if this were brought into the open, Ryuen's actions were clearly against the rules.

"Ryuen was really careless." Shiina pursed her lips and looked at Yuan Yuyuan. "It's a good thing you were there. Otherwise, our class would've been in real trouble this time."

"Don't mention it. We're friends, after all. Friends are supposed to help each other."

Just then, Ryuen, who was at the karaoke place, finished watching the video. He hadn't expected there to be a camera in the private room. What a shady business. But he couldn't worry about that now. The urgent question was how to get the others to hand over their points. Expulsion wasn't a joke.

But the whole mess had started because of his own mistake. He could already imagine how much the others would complain. The more Ryuen thought about it, the angrier he got. He slammed his fist on the table. "Just you wait. You're next."

Unlike the furious Ryuen, Shiina Hiyori was still chatting and laughing with Yuan Yuyuan in the library, completely unaware that their classes had already become adversaries.

"It's a message from Ryuen. He agreed. He said he'll pay the 500,000 points all at once..." Shiina Hiyori checked again to make sure she hadn't misread it. She was dumbfounded. If all three students were expelled, that would mean 900 Class Points. Even if Class C only had 600 points right now, nobody knew whether negative points were possible. Was Ryuen out of his mind?

"Really? Your classmate Ryuen has quite a sense of humor. Could I talk to him on the phone?"

"Of course. Go right ahead."

First Semester: Chapter 48—Chapter Forty-Five: The Angel Who Received a Confession

"Yuan Yuyuan? What do you want?" Ryuen wasn't surprised. He didn't even bother hiding that he knew Yuan Yuyuan had borrowed Shiina's phone to call him.

"If you really agreed to his terms, that would be the strange part. In that case, you probably wouldn't have had the brains to catch him in the first place..."

"All right, Ryuen." Seeing him put on that act...