Sudo After the Ordeal and the Gathering

Linmu continued to whisper, his warm breath brushing against her ear, "Just wait until they get back to ask. Don't tell Sudo yet—"

He paused, glancing at Ken Sudo, who still looked utterly dejected, a hint of imperceptible coldness in his voice:

"Let him think for a while longer. Failing even with the answers in hand—he didn't take this exam seriously at all."

Kikyo Kushida widened her eyes, frozen in place.

Her brain seemed to have crashed for a moment, unable to process this sudden piece of good news for several seconds.

Her lips parted slightly, wanting to say something, but she didn't know what to say.

Her eyes were first filled with confusion, then disbelief, and finally, a sense of relief washed over her.

Sudo... didn't have to drop out?

Was it really... resolved just like that?

She had already prepared for the worst, even starting to calculate in her heart how to comfort Sudo and how to explain the situation to the other classmates later...

She never expected that, at this very moment, things would suddenly take a turn.

And it was Linmu who had told her the news first.

Kushida's gaze fell on Linmu's face.

The boy still wore his usual lazy expression, a lollipop stick hanging from his mouth, his eyes unfocused.

It was as if what he had just said was as trivial as "potato chips are half-price at the convenience store today."

Yet, this was the person who, while most people were silent, had gone out and returned with this news.

Although it was Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Suzune Horikita who had solved the problem, Linmu claimed he had merely gone along to watch.

But as Kushida looked at Linmu, she still whispered a "thank you," her voice carrying genuine warmth.

At the same time, her mind was already racing:

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Suzune Horikita... how did they manage it?

With Chabashira's firm attitude, what method did they use to persuade her? Points? Or some other condition?

Curiosity grew like wild grass.

She couldn't wait to know the answer, to understand the entire negotiation process.

But for now, she had to suppress this curiosity and cooperate with Linmu's suggestion—not to tell Sudo yet, and let him "panic" for a while longer.

After all, just as Linmu said: failing an exam while holding the answers meant Ken Sudo truly hadn't taken it seriously.

Teaching him a lesson might not be a bad thing.

Kushida took a deep breath, readjusted the expression on her face, and turned to walk toward Yosuke Hirata and the other classmates who were still worried.

She began to comfort them: "Everyone, don't worry too much, perhaps there's still a chance for a turnaround..."

Her voice was gentle and full of hope, a stark contrast to the despair she had felt just minutes ago.

Linmu returned to his seat, sat down, and fished an unopened box of milk-flavored lollipops from his drawer.

This was truly his last strategic reserve kept in his desk; he tore open the packaging and popped one into his mouth.

The moment the sweetness spread through his mouth, he squinted in satisfaction.

Alright, this farce had finally come to an end.

He leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the classmates still immersed in the low-pressure atmosphere, finally resting on the clear autumn sky outside the window.

Next, he should think about what to have for dinner.

But before that...

Linmu pushed the lollipop with the tip of his tongue, moving it from his left cheek to his right.

Let's enjoy this candy first.

The campus night was as dark as ink, the night veil slowly soaking into the Advanced Nurturing High School campus.

The noise and tension of the day sank below the horizon along with the sunset, and the windows of the dormitory buildings lit up with warm yellow light one by one.

Most students were already resting in their rooms, saving their energy for the next day's classes.

But in this calm night, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's single dormitory had become a temporary gathering spot for the study group members of Class D.

Although the atmosphere of this "gathering" was less of a celebration and more of an awkward meeting where everyone had their own hidden agendas.

Linmu Fujimiya leaned against the wall by the door, a newly unwrapped milk-flavored lollipop in his mouth.

He watched the people in the room with boredom, feeling like an observer who had stumbled into a strange tribe, the most abrupt "outsider."

In the center of the room, Ken Sudo, Haruki Yamauchi, and Kanji Ike sat cross-legged on the floor.

They were gorging themselves on the various snacks brought by Kikyo Kushida, the sounds of chewing and the rustling of snack bags exceptionally clear in the not-so-spacious room.

Suzune Horikita sat alone on the chair by the desk, her back straight, hands on her knees, silent as an exquisite ice sculpture.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji leaned against the head of his single bed, his expression indifferent, his gaze staring blankly at the ceiling, as if the liveliness before him had nothing to do with him.

And Kikyo Kushida, the nominal organizer of this gathering, was busy running back and forth distributing snacks, wearing that signature smile of hers:

"Everyone, please eat up! I bought plenty on purpose! Ken Sudo, you had quite a scare today, so you need to replenish your energy!"

As for why Lin Mu was here...

Let's rewind to the classroom this afternoon.

Not long after Lin Mu returned from the rooftop, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Suzune Horikita walked back into the Class D classroom one after the other.

They walked straight up to Ken Sudo, who was still slumped in his seat with a deathly pale complexion, and informed him in the most concise language possible that his expulsion had been rescinded.

Ken Sudo was stunned at first, his brain still in a state of system failure, as if he couldn't grasp the meaning of those two words combined.

Then, ecstasy crashed over him like a tsunami, washing away all the despair on his face. He slammed his hands on the desk and stood up, his laughter nearly blowing the roof off:

"Hahaha! I don't have to be expelled! This is great! This is amazing!!"

This tall boy, who usually charged around the basketball court and had a volatile temper, finally revealed a vulnerable side after experiencing a rollercoaster ride from hell to heaven.

Kikyo Kushida immediately stepped forward.

Watching Ken Sudo's narrow escape, she wore a look of genuine relief, though her bright eyes flickered with intense curiosity.

She turned to Ayanokoji and Horikita, asking in a soft voice: "That's wonderful! Ken Sudo doesn't have to be expelled, but...

Ayanokoji-kun, Horikita-san, how did you manage to convince Chabashira-sensei? She was so firm in her stance at the time..."

Ayanokoji remained expressionless and simply said, "Nothing special."

Suzune Horikita was even colder: "It's resolved, that's all that matters. The details aren't important."

With one being a deadpan and the other an ice queen, they blocked all of Kikyo Kushida's follow-up questions.

Kikyo Kushida blinked, and although she was dying to know, she had no choice but to let it go for the time being given their attitudes.

Then, in order to "celebrate the successful conclusion of the study session" and to "help Ken Sudo recover from the shock," Kikyo Kushida took the opportunity to suggest a small gathering.

This proposal was immediately met with enthusiastic responses from Haruki Yamauchi and Kanji Ike. These two, who had long since spent all their points and were living off free vegetable sets from the cafeteria, had their eyes turn green the moment they heard "gathering" and "snacks."

Ken Sudo agreed with full joy; he needed a celebration to vent the excitement of his narrow escape.

Suzune Horikita frowned, clearly reluctant, but after Kikyo Kushida said, "We're all members of the study group, let's celebrate together," she finally gave a cold "hmph," which served as her tacit consent.