Ayanokoji stayed silent the entire time. He neither agreed nor objected, which everyone took as his consent.
When they were deciding where to hold the get-together, Haruki Yamauchi's eyes lit up, and he immediately suggested:
"Let's go to Ayanokoji's dorm room! There's not much in there, so there'll be plenty of space, and we won't disturb anyone!"
Ayanokoji looked up and glanced at Yamauchi. His expression was so calm that it gave nothing away.
A few seconds later, he gave a slight nod. "Sure."
Everyone readily agreed.
Then Kikyo Kushida hurried to the back of the classroom and grabbed Lin Mu, who was sitting there in a daze.
"Lin Mu~" Kushida's voice was as sweet as freshly melted honey. She clasped her hands in front of her chest and gazed at him, blinking.
"You're always by yourself. You'll never make friends that way! Why not come to the get-together?
"We're all in the same class. Wouldn't it be nice to have some fun together?"
Lin Mu had planned to refuse.
He had never been interested in group activities. To him, they were just hollow, tedious, lifeless gatherings.
With that time, he'd rather go back to his dorm and play a couple of rounds.
But Kikyo Kushida had clearly come prepared.
First, she brought up the high-minded argument that "classmates should spend more time together." Then she played the emotional card: "Sudo just went through something so awful. Having more people around to liven things up will help him get over it sooner."
Finally, she even resorted to a meek appeal: "I have to prepare snacks for so many people all by myself. It's so much work. Could you come help me, Lin Mu?"
She wore him down, pressing him at every turn.
Lin Mu looked at her eyes, which seemed to say, "If you don't agree, I'll keep pestering you forever."
Then he glanced at the others in the classroom, who were watching them, and finally sighed and nodded helplessly.
Fine. He had nothing else to do anyway.
But his decision displeased some people.
Ayanokoji and Horikita showed no reaction—the former remained expressionless, while the latter stayed as frosty as ever.
But Haruki Yamauchi and Kanji Ike's faces darkened instantly.
Yamauchi grumbled to himself: This is our study group's get-together. What's an outsider doing here?
He'd been hoping to use the get-together to get closer to Kushida. Now this pretty boy she'd invited had shown up, and he was a real nuisance!
He stared at Lin Mu's conspicuous white hair and excessively handsome face, a vague hostility rising in his heart.
Ike didn't say anything, but his reluctance was obvious in his eyes.
Kikyo Kushida keenly picked up on their feelings and immediately smiled to smooth things over. "We're all classmates, so we should make friends with one another! The more, the merrier!"
Out of consideration for Kushida, Yamauchi could only accept it grudgingly. But throughout the get-together,
he never gave Lin Mu a friendly look. More accurately, he ignored him the whole time, as though Lin Mu were just another piece of furniture in the room.
By now, the get-together had been going on for a while.
Ken Sudō, Haruki Yamauchi, and Kanji Ike had long since forgotten the embarrassment of running out of points. They were wolfing down chips, chocolate, and cookies.
They'd been getting by on the cafeteria's bland free vegetable meals for so long that they'd almost forgotten what snacks tasted like.
As they ate, the three of them teased one another, and the conversation soon turned back to the midterm exams.
"Sudo, you're something else." Yamauchi crunched on a chip and laughed through a mouthful, his tone tinged with schadenfreude.
"You had the answers and still failed. You nearly gave us all a heart attack!"
Ike chimed in, stuffing a large chocolate wafer into his mouth.
"Exactly! We thought you were a sure thing, but you nearly got expelled. That's so embarrassing!"
Sudo's face reddened, and he retorted indignantly, "Don't get cocky!
"If it weren't for the answers Kushida gave you, you two wouldn't have done any better! You'd have failed too!"
"But we passed, at least!" Yamauchi said smugly, bobbing his head. "Unlike you—you missed by one point! One point! Hahaha!"
"You—!"
The three of them bickered noisily, their voices growing louder and louder until the room was filled with the smell of snacks and the rough laughter of boys.
Kikyo Kushida watched with a smile from the side, occasionally reminding them, "Take it easy, there's plenty more," playing the part of the perfect host.
As for Lin Mu, he remained leaning against the door.
He kept his distance from the lively crowd, a lollipop between his lips as he watched with detached eyes.
He didn't join the conversation or take much food, though Kushida had warmly invited him to several times.
He just stood there like an audience member who'd wandered onto the wrong set, waiting for the show to end.
His gaze occasionally swept across the others in the room.
Ayanokoji was still lost in his own thoughts.
Suzune Horikita had her brow slightly furrowed, clearly uncomfortable with all the noise, but she forced herself to stay.
After handing out snacks to the boys once again, Kikyo Kushida quietly slipped over to Ayanokoji and Suzune Horikita.
Her face still wore its sweet smile, but her voice dropped a little, her curiosity carefully measured.
"Um... Ayanokoji, Horikita, I'm still curious... How did you manage to persuade Chabashira-sensei?
"She was so firm about it at the time. I really want to know what you said to her..."
Her eyes sparkled, plainly asking them to tell her.
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji looked up, calmly glanced over Kushida's face, then glanced at Lin Mu in the distance.
Then, in his characteristically flat, emotionless tone, he said:
"It was all thanks to Horikita."
He gave all the credit to Suzune Horikita.
"If she hadn't argued her case with Chabashira-sensei and left her speechless, Sudo's expulsion could never have been overturned."
Kikyo Kushida blinked, not entirely convinced.
She turned to look at Suzune Horikita, then at Lin Mu, seeking confirmation in their expressions.
Lin Mu shrugged, shifting the lollipop to the other side of his mouth. His tone was languid.
"I just happened to pass by and watch. I didn't hear anything, so I don't know the details."
That was a lie. After returning from the rooftop, he'd received brief messages from Ayanokoji and Horikita on his terminal, asking him to keep the truth about the "one hundred thousand points for one point" deal secret.
He hadn't wanted to get involved anyway, so he simply went along with it.
Suzune Horikita spoke coolly, with her usual distant air.
"It was only for the sake of the class. There's no need to pry."
It sounded high-minded, but buried all the details beneath a layer of ice.
Ken Sudō, who was wolfing down a bag of chips, heard this and was instantly moved.
He jerked his head up and looked at Suzune Horikita, his eyes reddening again.
"Horikita! Thank you so much! I never thought...
"I never thought you'd argue with the teacher for my sake. I'm... I'm really so touched!"
His voice trembled with emotion.
Before you continue