Someone from Class C?

"Sure, thank you, Mu Tianchen. You're such a good person." Kushida looked deeply moved.

Maybe she was only pretending, but she was still cute to look at—especially those lively eyes of hers. Was that the privilege of every beautiful girl?

But why had I gotten a "good person" card right off the bat?

"Mm-hmm. I've got something to take care of, so I'll head back first. Once it's done, I'll message you on my phone."

Mu Tianchen didn't want to linger here. Though this place was secluded, it was still a public area, and students from other classes might come by to talk.

Better safe than sorry!

"Okay~ Bye-bye."

"Bye."

Aside from not wanting to upset Kushida, Mu Tianchen had agreed because he wanted to use this opportunity to test Beauty Bro.

He could tell without testing that Beauty Bro was no ordinary person, but it was better to make sure for himself.

Besides, even if people misunderstood him, he could say he was helping Kushida. What was there to lose?

After leaving the rooftop, Mu Tianchen headed straight to the library, as was his habit.

Once there, he picked out a few new books and sat down in his usual spot.

This time, all the books he'd picked were novels by Keigo Higashino. Apart from light novels, Mu Tianchen also enjoyed reading mysteries.

As before, the library was quiet and nearly empty.

"Ah!" Just as he was about to start reading, he heard a girl cry out from somewhere in the distance.

It sounded like she was hurt. Mu Tianchen picked up his book and got to his feet to see what had happened.

Following the sound to the bookshelves, he found a cute girl with silver hair and violet eyes sitting on the floor, a book in her arms. She was pressing her right hand to her forehead.

Had she been hit by a falling book? Mu Tianchen spotted several books scattered beside her and immediately figured out what had happened.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Mu Tianchen crouched down and asked.

"I'm fine. I was reaching for a book just now, and it was a little too high. I accidentally hit my forehead while taking it down. It hurts a little, but luckily it didn't fall from very high up, so it's nothing serious."

The girl noticed the boy in front of her asking after her with concern. She gently lowered her hand and pointed to a few gaps in the shelf above to show him what had happened.

"I see." Though Mu Tianchen said that, he leaned closer anyway.

The girl looked surprised and took a small step back. But when she realized he was examining her injury, she stopped retreating—and even blushed a little.

They were so close she could faintly feel his breath!

Mu Tianchen examined her carefully. Her forehead was only a little red, and there were no cuts.

He stood up and picked up the scattered books, returning them to their places.

He had to admit, the scent wafting from the girl when he'd leaned closer had been lovely. Now that he'd stepped away, he couldn't smell it anymore. His nose almost seemed to... miss it.

"Um... thank you. I haven't even introduced myself yet. That was rude of me."

"I'm Hiyori Shiina from Class 1-C. P-please be kind to me." She still seemed a little shy, and her gaze wandered as she spoke.

"Class C?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm Mu Tianchen from Class 1-D. I transferred here, so it's nice to meet you."

"You transferred here? That's impressive! Oh, is the book in your hand The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino?"

The girl lit up when she saw the title of the book Mu Tianchen was holding.

"Yes. And I borrowed several others, too." Mu Tianchen pointed toward the spot where he'd been sitting.

"Looks like we have the same taste in books! I really admire Mr. Ishigami in that story. How could he come up with a criminal method like that? And how could he do so much for Ms. Yasuko Hanaoka..."

The girl launched into an endless explanation, and Mu Tianchen did his best to respond along with her.

He felt like she'd already forgotten about the pain in her forehead.

How should he put it? She was quite different from the shy girl she'd been a moment ago.

Maybe this was what you'd expect from a bookish girl. Once she met someone who shared her interests, she was like someone chewing on a piece of gum that never lost its flavor—she just couldn't stop!

After a while, Shiina seemed to tire of talking. They went together to the library's free water station, and after drinking, she joined Mu Tianchen at his seat to read until the library announced closing time...

"Mu Tianchen, could we read together like this again sometime?" Shiina seemed a little reluctant to part.

"Of course. I'd be happy to share my thoughts on books with you."

"Thank you."

After saying goodbye to Shiina, Mu Tianchen decided to grab something to eat in the cafeteria.

At first, he'd wondered whether the Class C girl he'd run into in the library had been sent to get close to him as a spy.

But he quickly dismissed the idea. When he'd tried to get points from Ryuen earlier, he hadn't given anything away. There was no way Ryuen could have identified him so quickly.

Besides, it was clear from their conversation about books that Shiina genuinely loved reading. If Ryuen ever found out and tried to use her, he'd deal with it then.

This chance friendship was precious, and he wanted to cherish it. He didn't want to be the same as before. At least this time, during these three years, he would learn to change.

As for why his father had sent him here, Uncle Sakura would probably tell him eventually, right?

"One serving of mapo tofu and one serving of sweet-and-sour pork."

"Coming right up."

It really did make Mu Tianchen nostalgic to see dishes from back home here in the Island Nation.

He wondered whether his mother, on the other side of the sea, missed him. She must be so lonely all by herself over there.

"Damn this school!" Mu Tianchen couldn't help grumbling to himself.

You couldn't contact the outside world for three years. Who had come up with such a stupid rule? Was it because he had no family?

Never mind. Complaining wouldn't change anything. This school valued ability above all else, and as far as he could tell, ability was reflected largely in points.

Maybe once he had enough power, he could change these rules...

Teacher Chazhu had said before that at this school, there was nothing points couldn't buy!

"Your order is ready." The server's reminder interrupted Mu Tianchen's thoughts.

"Okay."

Mu Tianchen picked up his tray and sat down in a quiet corner.

He picked up his utensils and tried a bite of the mapo tofu and sweet-and-sour pork.

As expected, though the dishes looked much the same, they were nowhere near as good as the ones his mother made back home.

Mu Tianchen glanced down at the points balance on his phone:

370000 points

Those points were already a lot for an ordinary student, but they still weren't nearly enough for him.

What's more, Class D probably wouldn't receive many points next month.

Once he'd taken care of what Kushida had asked him to do, he'd get started...