The Passerby at the Gathering

Ayanokoji remained silent throughout, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, which everyone took as tacit consent.

When it came time to decide on the venue for the gathering, Haruki Yamauchi's eyes darted around before he immediately proposed:

"Let's go to Ayanokoji's dorm! He doesn't have much in his room, there's plenty of space, and we won't be bothering anyone else!"

Ayanokoji lifted his eyes to look at Haruki, his expression so calm that it was impossible to read any emotion from it.

A few seconds later, he gave a slight nod: "Fine."

The group reached a consensus instantly.

Then, Kikyo Kushida ran to the back of the classroom and grabbed Lin Mu, who was currently zoning out.

"Lin Mu-kun~" Kikyo's voice was as sweet as melted honey; she pressed her hands together in front of her chest and blinked at him.

"You're always on your own, you won't make any friends like that! Why don't you come to the gathering?

We're all classmates, wouldn't it be nice to have a bit more fun?"

Lin Mu had wanted to refuse.

He had always lacked interest in these kinds of group activities; to him, they felt like hollow, tedious, and lifeless assemblies.

If he had the time, he would rather go back to his dorm and play a few games.

But Kikyo Kushida was clearly prepared.

She first brought out the grand principle that "classmates should interact more," then played the emotional card, saying, "Ken Sudo just went through such a terrifying ordeal, having more people around will help him move past the shadow faster."

Finally, she even deployed the "I have to prepare snacks for so many people all by myself, it's so hard, could you come help me, Lin Mu-kun?" weak-and-vulnerable tactic.

She wore him down with soft persistence, pushing him step by step.

Lin Mu looked at her eyes, which seemed to say, If you don't agree, I'll keep pestering you.

He glanced at how the others in the classroom were looking in their direction, and finally, he sighed and gave a helpless nod.

Whatever, he was just idling anyway.

However, his decision caused dissatisfaction among certain people.

Ayanokoji and Horikita showed no reaction to this—the former remained a poker face, the latter an iceberg.

But the expressions of Haruki Yamauchi and Kanji Ike darkened instantly.

Haruki Yamauchi muttered to himself: This gathering is for our study group, why is an outsider like him crashing it?

He had hoped to use the gathering to get closer to Kikyo, but now that this pretty boy invited by her had arrived, he was just a massive eyesore!

He stared at Lin Mu's striking white hair and his overly handsome face, and an inexplicable sense of hostility welled up in his heart.

Although Kanji Ike didn't say anything, his reluctance was obvious in his eyes.

Kikyo Kushida keenly sensed their emotions and immediately smiled to smooth things over: "We're all classmates, we should be making friends together! The more people, the merrier!"

Haruki, out of respect for Kikyo, could only reluctantly acquiesce, but throughout the entire gathering.

He didn't give Lin Mu a single pleasant look; to be precise, he ignored him entirely, as if Lin Mu were just a piece of furniture in the room.

At this moment, the gathering had been going on for a while.

Ken Sudo, Haruki Yamauchi, and Kanji Ike had long since cast their embarrassment over running out of points to the back of their minds, stuffing their faces with potato chips, chocolate, and cookies.

They had been living off the bland, free vegetable sets from the cafeteria for so long that they had forgotten the taste of snacks.

The three of them teased each other while eating, and the topic soon returned to the midterm exams.

"Sudo, you're really something." Haruki Yamauchi laughed incoherently while chewing on a chip, his tone laced with a bit of schadenfreude.

"You failed even with the answers in hand, you nearly scared us to death!"

Kanji Ike chimed in as well, shoving a large piece of chocolate wafer into his mouth:

"Exactly! We thought you were in the clear, but you almost got expelled, how embarrassing!"

Ken Sudo's face flushed, and he retorted defiantly: "Don't get cocky!

If it weren't for the answers from Kikyo, you two wouldn't be any better off! You would've failed too!"

"But at least we passed!" Haruki Yamauchi shook his head triumphantly. "Unlike you, missing it by one point! One point! Hahaha!"

"You—!"

The three of them bickered, their voices growing louder and louder, the room filled with the scent of snacks and the boisterous laughter of boys.

Kikyo Kushida watched from the side with a smile, occasionally saying, "Everyone, eat slowly, there's still plenty," playing the role of the perfect gathering organizer.

As for Lin Mu, he remained leaning against the door.

He kept his distance from the center of the commotion, a lollipop in his mouth, watching coldly from the sidelines.

He neither joined the conversation nor reached for many snacks, even though Kikyo had warmly invited him several times.

He simply stood there like a spectator who had wandered onto a film set, waiting for the play to end.

His gaze occasionally swept over the others in the room.

Ayanokoji was still lost in his own world.

Suzune Horikita frowned slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the commotion before her, yet she forced herself to stay.

Kikyo Kushida, after distributing snacks to the boys once again, quietly sidled up to Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Suzune Horikita.

Her face still wore a sweet smile, but her voice lowered, carrying just the right amount of curiosity:

"Um... Ayanokoji-kun, Horikita-san, I'm still really curious... how exactly did you manage to convince Chabashira-sensei?

Her attitude was so firm at the time; I really want to know what method you used..."

Her eyes were sparkling, clearly begging for an answer.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping calmly over Kikyo Kushida's face before glancing at Lin Mu not far away.

Then, in that tone of his devoid of any ripples, he said flatly:

"This is all thanks to Horikita-san."

He pushed all the credit onto Suzune Horikita.

"If she hadn't argued her case with Chabashira-sensei and left the teacher speechless, Ken Sudo's expulsion could never have been revoked."

Kikyo Kushida blinked, half-doubting.

She turned to look at Suzune Horikita, then at Lin Mu, her eyes seeking confirmation.

Lin Mu shrugged, shifted the lollipop in his mouth, and spoke in a lazy tone:

"I was just passing by to watch the fun; I didn't hear anything and don't know the specifics."

That was a lie. After returning from the rooftop, he had received a brief message from Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Suzune Horikita via his terminal, asking him to keep the truth about the "one hundred thousand points for one point" transaction a secret.

He hadn't cared about such things anyway, so he naturally went along with it.

Suzune Horikita spoke coldly, her tone carrying her usual sense of detachment:

"It was just for the sake of the class; there's no need to dig deeper."

The words sounded high-minded, yet they buried all the details beneath a layer of ice.

Ken Sudo, who was busy devouring a bag of potato chips, was instantly moved to tears upon hearing this.

He jerked his head up to look at Suzune Horikita, his eyes reddening again:

"Horikita-san! Thank you so much! I never thought...

I never thought you would argue with the teacher for my sake. I'm really... I'm just so touched!"

His voice trembled with emotion.