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 remained utterly dejected, his voice carrying a hint of imperceptible coldness:

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

Kikyo Kushida's eyes widened, and she froze in place.

Her brain seemed to have crashed, 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 shifted from confusion to disbelief, finally settling into a feeling of immense relief.

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

It was just... resolved 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 students 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 "the chips at the convenience store are half-price today."

Yet, this was the person who, while most 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 only gone along to watch.

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

At the same time, her mind began to race:

Ayanokoji and Horikita... how did they do it?

With Chabashira's attitude being so firm, what method did they use to convince 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 could only suppress this curiosity and cooperate with Linmu's suggestion—not to tell Sudo yet, letting him "panic" for a while longer.

After all, just as Linmu said: failing an exam even with the answers, Ken Sudo truly hadn't taken it seriously enough.

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 students who were still worried.

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

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 students still immersed in the low-pressure atmosphere of the classroom, finally resting on the clear autumn sky outside the window.

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

But before that...

Linmu's tongue pushed the lollipop from his left cheek to the right.

Let's enjoy this candy first.

The campus night was as dark as ink, the veil of night slowly staining the Advanced Nurturing High School grounds.

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

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

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

Although the atmosphere of this "gathering" was less of a celebration and more of an awkward meeting filled with 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 various snacks brought by Kikyo Kushida, the sounds of chewing and the rustling of snack bags particularly clear in the not-so-spacious room.

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

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji leaned against the headboard of the 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:

"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 the clock 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 that his expulsion had been revoked.

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 put together.

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

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

This tall boy, who usually charged around the basketball court and possessed 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 in his moment of survival, she wore a smile of genuine relief, yet her bright eyes flickered with intense curiosity.

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

How did you two manage to convince Chabashira-sensei? Her attitude was so firm at the time..."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji remained expressionless, simply saying, "It was nothing special."

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

With one poker face and one ice queen, they blocked all of Kikyo Kushida's follow-up questions.

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

Then, in order to "celebrate the successful conclusion of the study session" and "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.

(Event duration: May 1st to May 5th)