Invitation

Days returned to normal. Now all he had to do was pull out his books and study hard, preparing for the upcoming exams.

Even though this school might not require it, the final College Entrance Exam sprint was absolutely essential. The world's platform only gave one chance to charge forward—success or death!

A piece of paper was crumpled into a ball, rolled across the gap between desks, and bumped against Beihai's finger. He noticed it, since his gaze had been fixed on his homework, and the sudden intrusion of a third party naturally felt jarring.

He glanced uncertainly, only to find the destination was that overly familiar Kiyotaka Kiyotaka again.

The moment he saw the other party, Beihai felt trouble brewing.

As for Airisu Sakura, she could only knead the paper ball in her hands over and over, never managing to toss it out. Since Beihai had already been disturbed by someone else, if she went over now, it might backfire.

Forget it—she'd treat him to a meal after school to thank him. After all, she was pretty much a rich girl now.

"Throwing notes like that is fine, but have you considered the others?"

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka's expression was serious. His usual emotionless face and dead-fish eyes had even shifted a little. He raised his index finger to his lips and let out a very obvious "shh."

Even though class wasn't in session, it was clear he didn't want a third party to intrude on this topic.

And this topic—when Beihai opened the note in his hand—revealed that the month's points hadn't been distributed yet. That was clearly a problem.

In April, it was due to the Special Exam conduct rules; in May, it was the Nameplate Monthly Exam.

The exam was over, and even though the points added were only a paltry dozen or so, converted, that was still over a thousand points.

Class D had been starving for two months now, already starting to cry out for food. Asking them to swallow their pride and borrow more was truly impossible.

The main issue was that their class's internal circulation had completely collapsed—dried up entirely. Most people's pockets were cleaner than their faces.

Suzune Horikita was also frowning in thought. Why had June arrived without the points being distributed yet?

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka was sharp. Having been bossed around by Horikita twice before, he knew that if he discussed this kind of problem in front of her, he'd get dragged into work again.

But facing his close friend, some things had to be said, which was why he used a note.

After all, even Kiyotaka Kiyotaka himself didn't know why the points hadn't been distributed yet. Could it be that May had more than one exam? That seemed impossible—that would be insane.

Beihai received the note, wrote on it without hesitation, and quickly passed it back. When the other party opened it, he found three big characters: Don't know!

The reason was nothing special—very simple. He really didn't know.

Suzune Horikita was in a bad mood right now, just like the class, which had started to stir. There was a familiar feeling, like going back to April.

"Hey, Yosuke, have your points been distributed yet?"

Someone couldn't hold back and began exchanging information. Yosuke Hirata was a good entry point—who didn't like a gentle senior?

Yosuke Hirata's popularity in Class D could be said to appeal to both genders, except for a few troublemakers in the class.

But this time, though his face still carried a gentle smile, the answer he gave wasn't what everyone wanted.

"Sorry, I haven't received mine this month either. It's probably a school issue."

Hearing that kind of response, many couldn't help but groan. For students like them in Class D, three months in—aside from the initial splurge—they had zero motivation to earn extra cash.

Their homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira, was probably outside smoking a cigarette before slowly strolling in, just to keep Class D on edge.

Chabashira's expression was like she was constipated. If you had to compare, she looked like an older Suzune Horikita. Seeing that, it was hard to feel any trust or goodwill toward her.

She smoked because she was annoyed; keeping Class D on edge was purely her personal bad taste.

As soon as she entered, like a scene replay, someone immediately raised their hand to ask: "Teacher, why haven't this month's points been transferred to the Terminal?"

A familiar scene. The students quieted down, afraid the teacher would say they'd already been distributed.

But thinking about Class Points, they couldn't be zero, so they needed an explanation.

Chabashira didn't speak. She just observed the class's condition, scanning around until all eyes were on her. Then she stopped.

"There's been a problem with the school's system. The points will be distributed a bit later than usual."

Regardless, that statement stabilized the class's restless mood. As long as it wasn't their own problem, that was fine.

Suzune Horikita let out a rare sigh. So she had been overthinking things just now. Could she really be blamed for that?

Let's just say the school had too many shady moves—you never knew what they'd do next, so it was giving everyone PTSP.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka hadn't expected that result either. After his surprise, he elbowed Beihai's arm.

"Pulling an all-nighter tonight?"

Beihai: "..."

He suddenly felt that Suzune Horikita was actually pretty good—her greatest use was calling this Kiyotaka guy away.

"Sorry, I need to study."

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka rubbed his chin, completely missing Beihai's subtext. In plain terms, he hadn't learned the art of social nuance at all.

Currently, he was still observing and learning, dividing people into surface friends and close friends. So without thinking, he blurted out: "No problem, I can too. We can do it together."

Yes, Kiyotaka Kiyotaka was a ridiculously good student. In studying, even if Beihai had Mind Sharing, he probably couldn't outdo him in solving problems.

"Fine."

When class ended, Airisu Sakura immediately stood up, afraid that some guy in the class would beat her to it.

Unbearable. Outside, some girl was stealing her words, and now in class, she had to race against a male classmate for speed.

"Senior Beihai, do you have plans this afternoon? I'd like to treat you to a meal."

Airisu Sakura mustered up tremendous courage, slapping the table directly as she issued the invitation.

Even Kiyotaka Kiyotaka was startled, though his expression remained as calm as ever. Analyzing the situation with the interpersonal skills he had learned so far, he merely thought to himself: Too slow. I already made a reservation. Surface-level friends like you only get rejected when it counts.

Beihai, on the other hand, found himself in a bit of a bind. Having just agreed to someone else, it was hard to maneuver now. He couldn't exactly pull off a shadow clone—he didn't have that kind of superpower.

Beihai understood even more clearly that in Sakura's society, being a central air conditioner was the best approach—offend no one, and take no losses.

"Mm, how about this—why don't we bring Kiyotaka along too?" Beihai made his decision. After all, they were just classmates.

Although Airisu Sakura was a little surprised, she could still agree. She was a girl who didn't know how to refuse, and certainly wouldn't object at a moment like this.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka was even more confident in his simple structural handling of interpersonal matters.

He saw this as the difference between surface-level friends and true confidants.