Since the conflict involved two classes and Long Yuanxiang had only just brought his class together, the students from Class C followed along to the lobby, no matter what.
People were naturally curious about gossip, especially when something happened out of the blue like this. It only made them more eager to find out what was going on.
As soon as they arrived, they saw Student Council President Manabu Horikita seated in the middle of the lobby. They knew him well; they'd gotten acquainted with him on the first day of school. He was the kind of person who could give a speech onstage.
The students from Class B were seated to the right of the Student Council President.
When Long Yuanxiang was escorted in by members of the student council, he saw the students from Class B and immediately understood. He'd only just been unsure a moment ago.
But if he still didn't understand why he'd been dragged in, he might as well find a river and jump into it.
The situation was certainly unfavorable, but Long Yuanxiang still sneered inwardly. Running to the adults to complain? What a childish thing to do.
When he reached the scene and faced Student Council President Manabu Horikita, Long Yuanxiang felt no fear. Instead, he let out a scornful laugh, wrenched himself free of the student council members' grasp, and irritably rubbed his left shoulder.
Long Yuanxiang wasn't afraid of the Student Council President. Wasn't the height of being a delinquent like Jiahao just acting as if the teachers weren't there? Standing up to a teacher only made a lot of students think you were badass.
"Go on, what's this about?"
Long Yuanxiang knew he couldn't act recklessly in a situation like this, but he still found it a little strange.
He knew what was going on, but he still had to pretend he didn't. What a pain. And the student council really had nothing better to do if they were meddling in something like this.
But it didn't make sense. If they really intended to intervene, then when he was bringing the class together,
Class C's homeroom teacher wouldn't have ignored it and tacitly allowed him to do as he pleased.
Manabu Horikita didn't take offense at Long Yuanxiang's rudeness. He simply said in an official tone, "Our school has always taken a strict stance on bullying and explicitly forbids it.
"I don't think you're unaware of that. In your first class, your homeroom teacher handed out an information sheet and emphasized it as well."
Long Yuanxiang went over to the left and casually pulled out a chair to sit down. His loyal underlings stood behind him.
The way he sat made quite an imposing sight. With more than a dozen lackeys behind him, he looked like a mob boss sitting at a table, there to negotiate rather than be interrogated.
"Of course I know that. But you're saying I bullied them? Sorry, I don't know anything about that."
"Are you saying there's no evidence?"
Akane Tachibana handed all the so-called evidence to Long Yuanxiang. It was a stack of photographs.
When Long Yuanxiang saw the photos, his eyes instinctively turned to the two men who'd been carrying out the job. He shot them a fierce glare, thinking they couldn't even handle the simple task of picking a fight.
The two men he'd looked at immediately began to tremble. They had no idea what kind of punishment they'd face when they got back. At the same time, their minds raced. They'd been so careful to keep everything subtle.
Long Yuanxiang turned his attention to the photos and flipped through them one after another. In the end, he nearly laughed—not because they were funny, but because he was furious.
He tossed the photos onto the table. Long Yuanxiang no longer felt like pretending to be a good student.
"Are you kidding me? You call this evidence? If you can twist horseplay between classmates into bullying, then should we keep five meters apart whenever we walk from now on?!"
In short, this evidence didn't hold up at all. It was a trumped-up charge!
Wait. In that instant, Long Yuanxiang realized what he meant by "trumped-up charge." He turned to look at the people from Class B, then at Manabu Horikita, seated with the student council.
He couldn't quite believe it, but the possibility came to mind all the same. Could the two sides be connected? Were they relatives, or friends who knew each other?
"Do you think we're framing you?"
Honami Ichinose of Class B stood up at that moment. Everyone else from Class B rose with her, every one of them glaring at Long Yuanxiang with hostility. One after another, they began to describe what they'd been through and give their accounts.
As the saying went, three men could make a tiger. Now, everyone from Class B could tell their stories as if they were facts. They were the best evidence there was. Even if it had only been a few physical altercations and never escalated into bullying, so what?
That didn't matter anymore. The student council clearly favored Class B and meant to convict Class C on a trumped-up charge!
Long Yuanxiang's face turned ugly. He felt as if a fly had gotten stuck in his throat. No matter how reckless he was,
a higher-ranking official always had the upper hand. Especially in a situation this unfavorable, yelling at the other side or throwing a punch would only give them damning evidence. All he could do was grit his teeth and clench his fists.
"Fine! Just great! Honami Ichinose, right? You really can't judge a person by appearances!"
His words were clearly meant as an insult. One of the students from Class B, Shiranami Chihiro, couldn't help retorting, "That's not true! You're the ones at fault, and Honami—"
She'd been about to explain, but Honami Ichinose stopped her.
"Chihiro!"
Hearing her name, Shiranami Chihiro could only murmur and lower her head, saying nothing more.
Honami Ichinose stepped forward and said, "Now it's your choice."
"Hmph. Hahaha. My choice? You mean the student council gets to decide what to do with me."
Manabu Horikita quietly watched the commotion below. Once it had died down, he finally spoke. "You need to apologize to Class B in person and try to earn their forgiveness."
Manabu Horikita didn't hand down a final ruling. The consequences could be minor or severe; in the worst cases, students could be expelled.
Class C could offer up a few scapegoats, but it hadn't even been a month since the school year began. Considering the bigger picture, it was obviously impossible to expel anyone.
On the other hand, if they didn't offer up scapegoats, Class B would surely keep pressing until the key figures—like Long Yuanxiang, who'd been speaking with Manabu Horikita all along and was clearly a major player—were forced to take a week off.
Long Yuanxiang had only just brought his class under control. If he got suspended, wouldn't he blow up?
Neither option was acceptable, so they could only compromise and negotiate compensation.
As for the student council, they'd already accepted something. How could they take the goods and then do nothing? They would only favor Class B from the sidelines, go along with its demands, and pin a trumped-up charge on you when necessary.
Long Yuanxiang saw this clearly, so he gave up resisting and turned to negotiate with Class B. In the end, he paid three million points to settle the matter.
Long Yuanxiang was obviously unwilling to pay, but he also noticed that the Student Council President had gone easy on him. And that girl from Class B didn't seem like the sort of person who'd come up with such a disgusting scheme.
If she really had come up with it, she'd have extorted him for every last point. But she'd only asked for three million. Even so, that was enough to make Class C howl in pain.
Honami Ichinose hadn't expected things to go so smoothly, but she hadn't intended to drive Class C into the ground, either. After collecting a reasonable amount in compensation, she transferred two million points to the Student Council President.
Manabu Horikita didn't try to hide it. He picked up the Terminal and glanced at it, then transferred the points back. He'd accepted them over this matter, but hadn't handled it perfectly—he'd even tried to smooth things over.
That one glance nearly made Long Yuanxiang lose it. He'd suspected as much, but knowing it and experiencing it firsthand were two different things. It was dirty. Damn, it was disgusting. Wasn't this a seriously underhanded move?!
With a move like that, every sort of scheme was useless. The more force you used, the more pleased the other side would be. In the face of absolute power, schemes were nothing.
Unfortunately, he'd already missed his chance to bribe them after the fact—or even to bribe them in full view of everyone. And because of Manabu Horikita's little gesture, the school would surely add a new rule down the line. He was out of luck.
Before you continue