Let's Talk About a Twenty Million Deal

"Good, you're a sensible one. Since you're so sensible, let's talk about another big deal worth twenty million." Yagami Shizuka beckoned to Horikita Manabu, signaling him to come over and sit.

"Don't be shy, come sit down first. The ground is cold; you'll get sick if you sit there." Yagami Shizuka invited him to sit beside him, his attitude respectful, yet his words were playful.

Horikita Manabu walked over with a sense of trepidation. If Yagami Shizuka proposed using that video to extort twenty million, he would be helpless.

He hated himself for not taking Sakayanagi Arisu seriously; he was filled with regret.

However, Yagami Shizuka didn't mention the previous matter at all. Even a lean camel is bigger than a horse; he didn't want to truly make an enemy of Horikita Manabu yet.

Yagami Shizuka helped him sit down. "You want Horikita Suzune to enter Class A? Actually, there is still one way."

A faint glimmer flashed in Horikita Manabu's eyes, and his entire body shifted.

"This method, as you know, is that as long as you give me twenty million points, you can have her transfer to my class."

"Why should I give you twenty million points? I could give them to her instead--" Horikita Manabu stopped mid-sentence.

"If you give her the points directly, what would she think? Would she even come? You have to consider things comprehensively. You can't give her the points directly, and you certainly can't let her know about this."

After a pause, Yagami Shizuka continued, "Giving the points to me is different. I can poach her into my class under the guise of recruitment. That way, there won't be any rift in the relationship between you two siblings."

"She can rely on her own efforts to rise to Class A. If she can't do it, then it's just her own incompetence."

"Do you even believe what you're saying? As her brother, do you really not care about her at all? If you didn't care, would you be here meeting her? And standing out in the cold wind for half an hour?" Yagami Shizuka retorted powerfully.

A direct hit.

Everything was spot on. He even knew how long he had been waiting downstairs. Just how long had he been lurking there?

If I stood for half an hour, then didn't you lurk for even longer?

Yagami Shizuka continued to persuade him: "I don't believe you don't want your Little Sister to graduate from Class A. This is a lifelong matter for her. If she ruins her future out of a moment of stubbornness, what will you do if you regret it?"

"Even if she can't graduate from Class A, I will..."

"Will what? Take care of her? Isn't it better to let her rely on her own efforts? Besides, you have the ability to help her now, don't you?

If you don't help her, what if she becomes obsessed and her mental state worsens because she can't promote? What if she goes crazy?

Will she have the face to see you in the future? Do you know how much pain she will be in?

Help her with one word now, and you help her for a lifetime. You should think about it carefully."

Horikita Manabu fell silent and began to reflect.

He knew that Yagami Shizuka's words were the optimal solution. He had a way to ensure his Little Sister graduated from Class A; it would be self-deception to refuse to do it.

If it weren't for his Little Sister's personality, he would have liked to try giving her the care she deserved.

In fact, he had spoiled his Little Sister when they were young. That was when he had spoiled her rotten, and by the time he wanted to correct her, it was already too late.

Yagami Shizuka continued: "It's unwise for you to give me the points now to have her come over, and you can't be too obvious about it. It's obvious my class couldn't possibly have that many points from the start.

So, you can give me an answer before graduation. Just treat it as an insurance policy for her. You have two choices.

One is to have her come to my class next year. I have the ability to lead her to graduate from Class A. If you don't trust me, there is another option: in the latter part of the third year, if she doesn't have the ability to rise to Class A and doesn't have the points to get there, I will use the points you gave me to give her a hand.

You understand, right? When the time comes, whichever class is Class A, I'll have that class help her."

After a moment of silence, Horikita Manabu asked, "Why are you helping us? What good does this do for you?"

"Naturally, it's because I value her ability. You look down on your Little Sister too much; she is strong. With careful polishing, she is a piece of fine jade.

Her coming over is also a way to weaken her current class.

Also, I'm not helping you unconditionally. There is risk involved. If I fail to poach her, or if she has the ability to defeat me and rise to Class A on her own, then the twenty million you give me will not be refunded.

Those twenty million points are the insurance premium I'm buying for her."

Horikita Manabu fell silent again. Upon closer inspection, it seemed he even had to thank the other party.

"You seem very concerned about her class."

"That's right. I didn't expect you to figure that out. That's why I said you're buying insurance for her. No matter how much I guarantee, I can't predict the future. You can choose to believe it or not."

After another period of deep thought, Horikita Manabu made up his mind. "If I still have sufficient funds at graduation, I will give you an answer."

"Good, thanks for the cooperation. It seems we had a very pleasant chat." Yagami Shizuka stood up. "Don't worry, you will be able to come up with the twenty million by then, because I will help you."

"That's it then. Goodbye, Senior! Goodnight, Senior!" Yagami Shizuka waved at Horikita Manabu and left.

Watching his back, Horikita Manabu fell into deep thought. This was merely a student who had only been enrolled for a month, yet his composure surpassed even his own as the student council president. He had even been played.

A hero emerges from the youth!

A madman also emerges from the youth!

Time quickly reached Monday.

During the break, Horikita brought Tachibana Akane to Class 1-A.

At first, everyone thought he was looking for someone to question again.

They saw him walk straight into the classroom, go to Yagami Shizuka's seat, and bow 90 degrees to Sakayanagi Arisu. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have been impolite to you at the student council last time, and I shouldn't have been disrespectful. Please forgive me."

"Isn't that the student council president?" a girl whispered.

"It really is him! How could that high-and-mighty Student Council President possibly be apologizing to someone?"

"It looks like he's apologizing to Arisu Sakayanagi. Did he do something to her?"

A flurry of whispers broke out across the classroom.

Katsuragi Kohei was the only one who knew about what happened that day, but even he was completely baffled. The Student Council President hadn't seemed to do anything out of the ordinary; Arisu Sakayanagi had simply been angry when she returned.

And the reason for her anger was that the Student Council President had rated Shizuka Yagami higher than her.

An apology just because of that?

Horikita Manabu's actions left many people's worldviews shattered.

Was everyone still dreaming today? Why was the Student Council President here, and why was he apologizing to someone?

Even the person involved, Arisu Sakayanagi, was stunned, unable to understand why the Student Council President was apologizing.

Fine, she admitted that she had been in a truly foul mood that day. She had expected to be praised when she went to the student council office, but instead, this Student Council President had told her she wasn't worthy...

If I wasn't worthy, why did you call me over?

To call me over just to scold me?

After so many days, she had almost forgotten about it, but now it all came rushing back.

She glanced at Shizuka Yagami, thinking that this might have something to do with him; otherwise, the Student Council President wouldn't have come all the way here.

Just as she was about to ask what was going on, Shizuka Yagami spoke up first with a smile: "What's wrong, Arisu? Did he do something terrible to you?"

"You don't know?"

"If you don't tell me, how would I know?" Shizuka Yagami countered.