Kushida's Request

On the second day of school, everything had fallen into a steady rhythm.

The teachers proceeded with their lessons one after another, yet the students of Class D remained incredibly lax, each busy with their own affairs, with very few taking the initiative to study.

Even when the teachers noticed, they showed no desire to admonish them, simply continuing their lectures and departing the moment the bell rang, without wasting a single minute.

While it is true that whether or not to study is a personal choice, it was highly abnormal for every single teacher to adopt this same attitude.

Regardless, this school is a premier institution, the best of the best; if both students and teachers continue in this fashion, how could those so-called achievements ever be attained?

There must be some form of penalty, even if it remains unknown for now. Perhaps it involves points? That seems highly likely.

The reason Mu Tianchen concluded it was points stemmed from the points he had previously obtained from Ryuen.

Points can be traded! Teacher Chazhu had also stated that there is nothing in this school that cannot be bought with points.

If that is the case, the school has no reason to waste so much funding to support a bottom-tier class; the law of survival of the fittest applies everywhere.

Rather than distributing the same amount of points to all four classes every month, it would make more sense to distribute them based on academic performance and conduct.

Mu Tianchen did not believe for a second that the school would be kind enough to coddle a group of slackers who were just "coasting through life."

Combined with the free items he saw at the convenience store earlier and the scarcity of points among the upperclassmen, the answer to the problem was already clear—it was a point-based penalty.

But how exactly does the school monitor the students?

Thinking this, Mu Tianchen carefully observed the classroom. There had been a security camera near the convenience store, and it was well-hidden, so perhaps the classroom also...

Sure enough, he discovered a concealed camera in the corner of the back row.

So that was it! Then his hypothesis held true.

Mu Tianchen glanced around again; his classmates were still busy with their own things, with people playing on their phones or reading manga everywhere.

That included Ryoji, who seemed to be discussing something with the black-haired beauty sitting next to him.

However, that black-haired seatmate seemed rather diligent; after their conversation, she began to listen to the lecture with focus.

If things continue to develop this way, there probably won't be many class points left by next month, Mu Tianchen thought, unable to help but sigh.

Fortunately, he had obtained a fair amount of points from Ryuen earlier, so he would be able to get by, but most of the students in the class would likely have a difficult time.

Once one becomes accustomed to a life of indulgence, it is very hard to adapt to a life of hardship.

However, Mu Tianchen did not intend to warn them before the situation deteriorated.

In Mu Tianchen's view, only by truly experiencing the cost of failure would they be able to change themselves; perhaps the school thought so, too.

The morning passed quickly, and as the lunch bell rang, the middle-aged male teacher in black-rimmed glasses walked out of the classroom without looking back.

The students left one after another, mostly in groups. Several small cliques had already formed since the start of the term, chatting and laughing as they headed toward the cafeteria together.

Mu Tianchen was indifferent to this; ever since that incident, he had preferred to walk alone. Acting alone often meant not having to worry about too many things—it was free and easy.

Before long, the classroom was nearly empty. Mu Tianchen finished his notes and prepared to head to the cafeteria as well.

"You're Mu Tianchen, right... aren't you?"

Just as Mu Tianchen stepped out of the classroom, a voice called out from behind him. It was a familiar voice; he seemed to hear it constantly during breaks.

"Yes, that's me. Is there something you need?" Mu Tianchen turned around and looked at the girl behind him.

The girl was a cute student with short brown hair and cherry-red lips. Mu Tianchen had some impression of her; it seemed her name was Kushida.

During the self-introductions earlier, she had claimed she wanted to be friends with everyone, which had drawn cheers from many of the boys.

During breaks, he often heard the sound of boys joking around with her, and the boys privately referred to her as the "little angel."

However, Mu Tianchen did not understand why Kushida had called out to him. Could it be that she actually wanted to be friends with him, too?

"My name is Kikyou Kushida. Could I ask a favor of you?"

After speaking, Kushida lowered her head, occasionally tapping her index fingers together, looking quite shy.

Doing this would indeed make it difficult for many boys to refuse, but it often inadvertently exposed one's true self.

Those skilled at masking themselves often have a specific agenda, and if one looked closely, her movements still appeared slightly unnatural.

Ordinary boys would often overlook this because she was a beautiful girl, but Mu Tianchen was different; he had seen plenty of beautiful girls.

Back in middle school, even if he didn't take the initiative, beautiful girls in his class would approach him—just like Hirata in his current class—so he naturally wouldn't focus solely on appearances.

This person is very good at masking herself. Mu Tianchen thought for a few seconds and made his judgment. But what was her goal?

What benefit could she possibly gain from creating a persona that didn't match her inner self just to please others?

Still, even seeing through this, he had to agree to her request. After all, in a situation where it was hard for an ordinary person to refuse, choosing to do so would appear rather abnormal.

"Sure," Mu Tianchen replied.

"I heard you transferred here. Um... I want to be friends with everyone. Could we exchange contact information?"

"No problem." Mu Tianchen took out his phone, and they added each other as friends.

"And also... eh?"

Just as Kushida was about to state the content of her request, she was suddenly tugged by the clothes by a girl behind her.

"Kushida-chan, come eat with us!"

"Exactly, I'm so hungry. Can we talk about this next time?" another girl nearby chimed in.

Those were the friends she often hung out with after class; they seemed to be growing impatient, even though it hadn't taken that much time at all.

Mu Tianchen was left speechless by these girls' impatience.

"But, Tianchen-kun is still waiting here," Kushida seemed to want to finish what she was saying before leaving.

"I'm fine. Let's talk about it another time; your friends want to go eat, right?"

If Mu Tianchen were to force her to stay now, it would inevitably provoke the dissatisfaction of her companions. While he wouldn't care, others certainly would.

He didn't want to damage his reputation in the class for this, even if he didn't really have one to begin with.

"Hmm... alright, sorry about that. Let's talk another day."

"Sure."

"You're a transfer student, right? If there's anything you're not used to, feel free to come find me. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"Let's go, let's go, Kushida-chan!" her companion urged again.

"Then I'll go grab lunch with them first. Bye-bye."

"Yeah, bye-bye."

Watching Kushida's retreating back, Mu Tianchen actually started to feel a bit of sympathy for her.

Maintaining a fake persona often requires one to fully commit to that character, and even if you are a hundred percent unwilling inside, you cannot show it on the surface. That... must be quite exhausting.

What that final request of Kushida's was still weighed on his mind. He couldn't figure out what he could possibly help her with for the time being, so he would just take things one step at a time.