So It Was Him

That day, Mu Tianchen got up especially early.

Good habits had to be built gradually, so he decided to run a few laps around the track before heading back to the classroom. As for Kushida, he would deal with that after lunch.

Strangely enough, after observing the school for the past few days, he had the feeling that it was deliberately imitating society.

In this school, almost every place where students could be active or have fun had cameras, but some corners were deliberately left uncovered.

He didn't think the school would skimp on the money needed to install cameras.

The same had been true at the convenience store with Sudo. The place where they'd gotten into a dispute was in plain sight, so of course there had been a camera. But the spot where he'd taught those upperclassmen a lesson afterward had none. It was in a relatively secluded area.

The same went for society. Cameras were installed in all kinds of public places, and anyone who committed a crime would be caught red-handed.

But in more secluded places, even if a crime occurred, it was difficult to do anything about it without evidence.

At that thought, he suddenly understood the school's intentions:

It had probably deliberately recruited troublemakers who liked causing a scene. There were many ways to succeed, and they didn't all have to be aboveboard. Taking shortcuts was a kind of intelligence, too.

In other words, as long as their actions weren't discovered, or there was no evidence, the school would turn a blind eye.

No wonder Ryuen used violence to rule his class.

This school really couldn't be judged by conventional standards. He'd better be careful from now on. He wasn't afraid of violence, but if someone came looking for trouble, perhaps he could make use of the situation.

"I should buy a few voice recorders and carry them around," Mu Tianchen decided silently.

By the time he returned to the classroom, it was almost time for class. He rested his head on his desk for a while, then the teacher came in and started the lesson.

Most of the students were "paying attention" as usual, completely absorbed in their own pursuits, striving for their dreams of becoming manga artists, novelists, or even food critics.

"Isn't anyone going to warn these idiots?"

Mu Tianchen couldn't help complaining to himself. He didn't believe everyone in class was stupid, or that nobody had noticed anything.

Besides, paying attention in class and not fooling around were basic rules for students, weren't they? Even elementary schoolers knew that.

Did they think the school would still give them a hundred thousand points every month if they spent all their time messing around?

Who did they think they were, the son of Li Gang? Did they think the school would indulge them like this?

They were hopeless. Mu Tianchen grew more and more exasperated as he thought about it, but once he calmed down, he realized why nobody was warning them.

Most capable people probably liked to keep a low profile, just like him. Nobody wanted to stick their neck out.

It was also possible that they knew there would be punishment but didn't yet know what form it would take. They were betting the school would punish only the individuals who broke the rules, without dragging them into it, so they saw no reason to speak up.

That would certainly make sense by conventional standards.

But this school, of all places, loved to defy convention!

Hirata and Kushida were special cases. Even if they noticed something, they wouldn't point it out openly. As class leaders, they naturally wouldn't want to cause friction within the class without being absolutely sure.

Some people simply couldn't be bothered to get involved, either, like the "Beauty Bro" sitting beside him.

"Ugh, the road ahead is hard!" Mu Tianchen decided to stop thinking about it. Why make trouble for himself?

So he started listening to the lesson.

Although this school was unusual, the teacher's material was fairly ordinary, and Mu Tianchen didn't find it particularly difficult.

After grasping the main points, he leaned over his desk and went to sleep.

He might lose a few Class Points, but it didn't matter. With most people slacking off, standing out by behaving differently would inevitably attract attention.

The time he'd arranged to meet Kushida was approaching, so Mu Tianchen headed to the rooftop to find her.

Kushida was fairly clever. The rooftop was secluded and suitable for a private conversation, which was perfect for him.

Perhaps she had taken his feelings into consideration, too.

If Mu Tianchen hadn't known she was putting on an act, he might really have been touched by her thoughtfulness.

He went up to the top floor and pushed open the door. Kushida was already waiting there.

"You're here, Mu Tianchen. Good afternoon," Kushida greeted him as soon as she saw him come in.

"Yeah. What did you want to ask me?"

"Well... I was hoping you could help me arrange a meeting with Takagodera, or maybe get his contact information for me."

Kushida continued, pretending to look a little shy. "You know, I want to be friends with everyone, but Takagodera seems to really dislike me."

"...Takagahara? Who's that?"

The name sounded familiar. He thought he'd heard it during the self-introductions, but he couldn't remember who it belonged to.

"He's your deskmate, the blond boy. You don't know his name?"

Kushida was speechless inside, but on the outside she still wore an innocent, pitiful expression.

"Oh, you mean Beauty Bro! Of course I know him."

"Beauty... Bro? Who's that?" Kushida asked, puzzled by his unexpected answer.

"N-no one... I mean, I know Takagodera." Apparently, once you made a first impression, it could be hard to get used to changing it.

He remembered Takagodera's self-introduction, especially his claim that he was the son of a zaibatsu family.

But Mu Tianchen hadn't remembered his name. The nickname "Beauty Bro" had left too strong an impression, and he'd slipped into using it without thinking.

"I can help you with that, but why ask me?"

"Because Takagodera was the only one who ever started a conversation with you," Kushida replied with an innocent expression.

"..."

Does that even count? Mu Tianchen wanted to object, but held his tongue.

But how had Kushida known?

Was she observant enough to notice?

Or had she heard about it from someone who saw them? Mu Tianchen had no idea.

"So, do we have a deal?" Kushida tilted her head and asked.

"Sure. But I'll get his contact information for you instead. Getting him to meet you might be a bit too difficult."

From what Mu Tianchen had observed, he could hardly ever find Beauty Bro after school.

Even when he occasionally spotted him, he was always surrounded by several pretty upperclassmen, with girls hanging off both his arms.

Was this what it meant to be the young master of a zaibatsu family?

He acted so carefree at school, too... Ahem...

Mu Tianchen didn't think Beauty Bro would sacrifice his "precious time" to meet Kushida and play along with her tacky little friendship game.