Following?

The space really did feel cramped. Having come to Kiyotaka Kiyotaka's dorm room, three guys had already claimed spots—one lying on the bed without any pretense, one sitting beside the bed, and another sitting across from them.

Suzune Horikita occupied the room's only chair, while Kikyo Kushida stood off to the side. Counting them up, three guys and two girls made five people, and with Beihai and the faceless guy beside him, that made seven. A small dorm room packed with seven people—no matter how you looked at it, it was crowded.

Beihai could clearly feel that the moment he walked in, all those gazes turned toward him.

Kikyo Kushida was the first to strike, a naturally innocent smile on her face. "Oh my, Beihai-kun came to the celebration party too."

No one else greeted him. Even Suzune Horikita only lifted her head to glance at Beihai before her eyes returned to her book, as if she didn't care about the atmosphere in the room.

A flicker of surprise crossed Beihai's face, then he grew a bit embarrassed. "Kushida-san remembers me?"

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka watched Beihai from the side, his eyes practically gleaming. If he hadn't known the situation beforehand, even he would have been fooled. Sure enough, he still had a long way to go on this path. Inviting Beihai this time was a complete win—no question about it.

Kikyo Kushida's expression shifted to surprise as well. She covered her small mouth with her right hand to keep her shocked expression from showing, maintaining a ladylike pose that looked utterly adorable. "Mmm~, Beihai-kun, that's really mean of you to say."

Beihai didn't answer right away. Someone else would be more anxious than him, eager to show off first. Beihai couldn't help but complain inwardly: Why does hanging out with these guys feel more exhausting than being at a drinking party?

"Hey! Kushida-san remembers everyone's names in the class. You're not trying to get attention on purpose, are you? That pickup line is so lame." Haruki Yamauchi cut in directly, showing no mercy at all. After all, he already had some bad blood with Beihai.

Honestly, he's just a bookworm. I have no idea why he was so bold back then, and I don't get how I ended up losing to a bookworm. What a disgrace. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't win and Hirata's advice, he wouldn't have let it go so easily.

Beihai seized the moment as soon as the other spoke. "No, it's not that. I was just surprised. Someone as ordinary as me usually gets overlooked in class."

"Huh? Don't get any ideas, alright? Kushida-san is an angel. She's nice to everyone. Don't start thinking something's special." Haruki Yamauchi's frantic tone made it clear he was terrified Beihai might develop some inappropriate notions.

Kikyo Kushida, seeing the atmosphere had simmered enough, quickly stepped in to mediate. "Alright, alright, everyone, let's not hurt the mood. And Beihai-kun, you're not as plain as you think. Everyone actually cares about you."

That's what Kikyo Kushida said, but her inner thoughts were already spinning. No one knew what she was really thinking.

Suzune Horikita pretended to read her book, but her attention was actually on Beihai's words. The more she listened, the more absurd it seemed. She thought that believing Beihai had talent would mean she had a bump on her head—her head would have to be pointy.

Kento Sudo grabbed a handful of snacks from the floor and stuffed them into his mouth, speaking carelessly. "Beihai, a studious guy like you—you came to celebrate this too?"

Before Yamauchi could start mocking him, Kikyo Kushita stepped in to defend him. "You can't say that. Beihai's results this time were obvious to everyone. Maybe the test just happened to help him with some big questions."

Kikyo Kushida finished in a soft, gentle tone, and naturally no one continued teasing Beihai on that topic. As for the payoff, it was Beihai's slightly teary gaze.

Easy to handle, Kikyo Kushida thought to herself. First meeting left a good impression. I thought he was a gloomy type, but a little effort and I've already planted a pure, shining image in his mind.

If I told him to jump from the second floor, he'd probably agree right away.

And as for his secrets, all I'd have to do is ask, and he'd spill them honestly.

The topic of the test papers ended with Beihai, and naturally shifted to the subject of not being expelled. Everyone still didn't know what method Kiyotaka Kiyotaka had used.

Facing this topic, Kiyotaka Kiyotaka directly applied what he'd learned. "It wasn't me. I was in the bathroom that day. Suzune Horikita made the suggestion—use points to buy back the lost scores."

The excuse was undeniably flimsy, but the people present believed it. If this were Moon and L, even a hint of suspicion would have them locking on.

Suzune Horikita was thrown off by the statement. She hadn't expected him to pass the credit to her. But thinking about it was useless; she was the type who couldn't be bothered to explain. Since he was doing this, even if she didn't understand why, she couldn't deny his request, so she simply accepted it.

For a moment, the thanks and gazes of the three fell on Black Long Hair. Aside from Kikyo Kushida's smile turning a bit stiff, nothing seemed out of place.

Beihai silently found a corner and sat down. Sitting idly wouldn't do, so Kiyotaka Kiyotaka pulled out some notes he'd taken in class. After that, it was just waiting for the celebration party to end and cleaning up the mess they left behind.

Kikyo Kushida was the last to leave the dorm room. Beihai and Kiyotaka Kiyotaka said nothing, simply carrying the trash to the elevator entrance. They found the elevator was going down.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka was a little surprised and also curious. "The girls' dormitory should be upstairs."

Beihai didn't care about any of that. He only knew the elevator was out of commission, so they'd have to take the stairs.

Going down two floors by stairs wasn't actually much different from the elevator in terms of speed. As he stepped out of the dormitory, he happened to see Kikyo Kushida heading toward the small grove of trees.

Beihai noticed that Kiyotaka Kiyotaka seemed intent on following her for a look, so he immediately turned around to create some distance. But then he saw that Kiyotaka wasn't leaving—instead, he pulled Beihai along.

"Don't you want to come take a look?"

"What's there to see? Probably just some trouble again. Unless you can offer me a satisfactory reward—like one month's worth of my study points."

Whether it was reference materials or test papers, all of those required points to purchase. Even a set of Huanggang exam papers cost a few thousand points.

Add in Class D's usual behavior, and naturally, he had to make some extra preparations—saving wherever he could. Compared to asking the other party for a month's worth of study points, all he had to do now was secretly tail a single girl.