Boom--

Now, thinking back, it's so good that I wasn't angry!!!

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 99 Chapter 093 Boom--

"Yamauchi, let me guess, aren't you feeling incredibly smug right now? Being able to distance yourself from that jinx Sudo, and to be on the side of justice, pointing fingers at the [sinner], doesn't it feel amazing?"

Hoshino En stood up from her seat and walked step by step toward Yamauchi Haruki.

His actions immediately drew a response from the other students. Those sitting around him shifted away from him, and Yamauchi Haruki also stood up from his seat and hurried to the front of the classroom. He staggered as he ran, glancing at Hoshino En from time to time, and said in a fierce but cowardly tone.

"Let me tell you, so what if you're strong? So what if you're a good fighter? This school has zero tolerance for bullying, and I... I'm not afraid of you."

He ran all the way to Hirata Yosuke, who was sitting in the first row of the classroom, and stood in front of his seat. Behind him was Karuizawa Kei on the podium, and two seats to his left were Kushida Kikyo, who was looking at Hoshino En with a surprised expression. It seemed that by standing among these people at the top of the class, he could have the courage to face Hoshino En directly.

"You're trying to label me as a [bully] and brand me as a [danger to the class], and have Hirata, Karuizawa, and Kushida judge me."

But Hoshino En didn't chase after him. He only took a couple of steps and stopped in front of Ken Sudō's seat, next to Kanji Ike's chair. He put his left hand on Ken Sudō's desk and just stood there.

"And because of your remarks, Hirata has already formed the impression that I am a [class enemy]—I guess he's now thinking about how to ease the tension between us in front of the whole class, and plans to issue me a warning after class."

As he spoke, he gestured with his chin towards the right front of the Yamauchi, drawing the attention of the entire class to that direction.

Then, everyone noticed Hirata Yosuke's unconsciously furrowed brows, his unusually gloomy expression, and the surprise he showed after hearing Hoshino En's words.

Even Ken Sudō could understand that expression— Hirata Yosuke's thoughts were perfectly captured by Hoshino En.

What exactly is this guy? Is he a mind-reading superhuman? Or does he have a father who works as a spy and a mother who works as an assassin? Is mind-reading just a family tradition?

The other Class D students who were not familiar with Hoshino En all had similar thoughts.

"But Hirata."

At that moment, Hoshino En suddenly spoke to Hirata Yosuke.

"Do you really think I want to ruin the class? Before this, I've been following your instructions carefully and haven't laid a hand on anyone... So who is it that's trying to stir up conflict and disrupt the class unity?"

As she spoke, Hoshino En shifted her gaze and looked again at Yamauchi Haruki, who was standing trembling beside Hirata Yosuke's seat.

"Yamauchi, you seem to be very good at creating a lively atmosphere and you understand the power of words. This understanding makes you very successful in the class, doesn't it?"

"But, Yamauchi, I despise your behavior—treating others as pawns to achieve your goals and treating them like fools. How dare you use us as pawns?!"

"Wait, Hoshino -kun, what do you mean by that?"

It was Sato Maya who spoke up to ask the question; her brain was having some difficulty processing the information presented in the current situation, and she genuinely couldn't understand it.

What does "[using someone as a weapon]" mean?

Isn't the meaning quite simple?

Hoshino En glanced at her, then her gaze swept over the faces of the classmates who had just harbored resentment towards Ken Sudō under Yamauchi Haruki's instigation.

"Yamauchi just went on and on about Sudo's faults, his purpose being to get everyone in the class to become his 'partners' and join him in attacking Sudo. Although Sudo is his 'friend,' Sudo got into trouble, and this matter had nothing to do with him. He didn't want to be blamed by his classmates, so he had no choice but to take advantage of the moment, while everyone's emotions were in turmoil, to quickly distance himself from Sudo."

Yamauchi Haruki's intentions are actually quite clear to anyone with a modicum of intelligence. As Zhong said, few of the Class D students, who are exceptionally good at personal risk management, would fail to see through him. However, being seen through and being brought up in public are two different things—the former is simply accepted as an unspoken rule, while the latter, once it occurs, will lead to unlimited accusations and a trial by "justice."

"You may not have seen it, but I was sitting right next to Sudo, and I saw it clearly—when Yamauchi attacked him, Sudo, who usually has a fiery temper, didn't show his usual angry expression. Instead, he looked completely incredulous. It was the first time I'd ever seen such an expression on his face."

"But it doesn't seem to matter much to Yamauchi, since that's how his friends are: they're only friends if there's something to gain, but once something goes wrong, they become his scapegoats."

"That's how it is with Kiyotaka. Yamauchi gets close to him because, in Yamauchi's eyes, Kiyotaka's status in the class is lower than his, and standing together can highlight his [excellence]."

"And Ike too. I remember two months ago, before our first swimming lesson, when I first clashed with Yamauchi and pointed out that his [flirting behavior] would deduct points from the class, he immediately shifted the blame to Ike—his friends are such convenient tools."

The two people who were named also attracted the attention of the whole class. Kanji Ike's expression of shock and fear and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's troubled look undoubtedly confirmed Hoshino En's statement.

"You... you're talking nonsense!!"

Hoshino En's remarks pushed the atmosphere in a direction unfavorable to Yamauchi Haruki, but at this moment he couldn't muster any more malicious thoughts about Hoshino En.

"Hoshino, like Sudo, is a hot-tempered, violent person. He's afraid that if Sudo gets expelled, he'll become the lowest-ranking person in the class, which is why he stood up for him at this time! That must be it!!"

He can only use such unfounded remarks to slander Xingzhuang^-qun"￣:|¤)Paul~∠[±sanˉ∴.

But one side is making a reasonable and factual argument, while the other side is making baseless and baseless accusations. Even a fool would know who is trying to muddy the waters.

The students, no longer buying into the situation, cast indifferent glances at Yamauchi Haruki.

"Am I talking nonsense? You should know best whether I'm talking nonsense or not, right?"

Ignoring Yamauchi Haruki, who was already being ostracized by the students in Class D, Hoshino En continued speaking with a blank expression.

"If you believe my judgments are lies intended to incite your classmates to attack you, then please tell me: why did you attack Sudo?"

"Well... that's just how it is! If it weren't for him, would we still be worrying about our Class Points this month?"

At this point, Yamauchi Haruki seemed to have regained his confidence, and he stopped stammering as he spoke, daring to look directly at Hoshino En.

Given this undeniable fact, he didn't think he could be refuted by Hoshino En.

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 100, Section 94: Yamauchi Haruki: I can still C!!

Although he may not be a good person, Yamauchi Haruki does have a talent for self-satisfaction: he is very good at creating a lively atmosphere, and his tone of voice always carries a mysterious confidence that makes people think, "What he says seems to make a lot of sense."

His inflammatory words brought Sudo's mistake back to the forefront of the discussion, causing some students to shift their attention to Hoshino En and become his vanguard in opposing Hoshino En.

Sudo Qi's mistake is inexplicable. Does Hoshino intend to protect him?

You seem to have misunderstood me.

But Hoshino En completely ignored the gazes of others, his eyes fixed on Yamauchi Haruki.

"Sudo dragged the class down because of his bad temper—I don't deny that."

"My question is—why did you start attacking him immediately after the incident? Aren't you his friend?"

"I--"

Yamauchi Haruki's prepared defense got stuck in his throat.

If it were about Sudo's mistakes, he could come up with countless accusations to respond; but this was precisely the question Hoshino En asked, and he simply couldn't answer it!

After thinking for a long time, he finally came up with a [reasonable] excuse.

"Well... I just wanted to put him in a good position, to let him know how much trouble his temper can cause, so that's why..."

"But Sudo was framed! Logically, he's the victim. As his friend, you not only don't believe his explanation, but you also believe the claims of Class C who attacked us, framed us, and tried to steal our points?"

Hoshino En asked in an extremely exaggerated tone, then looked at Kushida Kikyo, who, like the other classmates, had been staring at him.

"Hey! Kushida, what would you do if Wang Meiyu found herself in the same situation as Sudo —for example, being falsely accused of theft and being charged?"

■ˉ9∑∧[∧>"'∩⌒￠LU△_sOuSUO: Ah!

Kushida Kikyo was startled when her name was suddenly called; the current Hoshino En gave her a very scary feeling.

Could it be that he saw through her previous thoughts and is now retaliating against her?

This guy... is terrifying! Don't come any closer!!

But when asked such a question, and with Xiaomei (Wang Meiyu) looking at her expectantly, Kushida Kikyo could only stand up shakily under Hoshino En's chilling gaze and stammer out her answer.

"I... I will definitely find a way to help her. Xiaomei is my good friend, I believe in her."

"Kikyo- chan~"

Hearing her words, Wang Meiyu, who was used as an example, was overjoyed. Ignoring the gazes of the other classmates around her, she threw herself into Kushida Kikyo's arms.

"Oh! Xiaomei..."

The two women were enjoying themselves, but overall, the difference in their abilities was obvious, and Yamauchi Haruki's explanation was completely untenable.

Moreover, this actually proves Hoshino En's earlier point—that for Yamauchi Haruki, "friends" were indeed just useful "tools," and he had absolutely no trust in those "friends" who regarded him as close friends.

Now, even his classmates who had sided with him because of his accusations against Sudo's instigation stopped helping him.

They did dislike Sudo, that's true, because his temper was just too volatile, and they simply couldn't get along with him—but if they couldn't get along, they could simply stop interacting; at worst, they could just treat each other like strangers.

But guys like Yamauchi Haruki, who seem friendly on the surface but treat others as useful tools, have absolutely no trust in anyone, and shift all the blame onto others when things go wrong, making them their scapegoats... they're even more detestable!!!

Rather, could someone who thinks like that even be considered human?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."

My nose feels a little itchy, like someone mentioned it.

Hoshino En: "..."

Judging from their expressions... are they targeting me?

Don't lump me in with people like Yamauchi... I'm not going to shirk responsibility!!

"You, you..."

Yamauchi Haruki was truly panicked.

He was standing at the very front of the classroom, so he could clearly see that almost everyone in the class was giving him cold stares, even his usually close friends Ken Sudō and Kanji Ike.

Those guys usually get so much attention from him, and now they're joining the others in opposing him... What kind of friends are they!

But with over thirty pairs of cold eyes staring at him, he had no will to continue defending himself.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!

If things continue like this, he'll definitely become the lowest in the class, and he absolutely won't allow that kind of thing to happen!!

But who can help him now? Hirata is unreliable; he hesitated after just one sentence from that bastard Hoshino En. Kikyo was threatened by that bastard and can't help either. So the only person who can save him now is—

The thought of that person who had disappeared after the farce began immediately brought a confident smile to Yamauchi Haruki's face.

He turned around excitedly, looked at Karuizawa Kei was standing silently on the podium, and said excitedly.

"Karuizawa, you said [that you are not allowed to do anything that could have a negative impact on any classmate], right? Hoshino En slandered me like that, weren't you going to stop her?"

Lu noticed the chalk in the other person's hand, which had been broken into several pieces, and his smile became even more excited.

Lu must be furious now that her words have been ignored like that.

Karuizawa, use your power to punish that guy who defied you, hahahaha!!

Yamauchi Haruki was secretly overjoyed.

Karuizawa Kei on the podium was indeed furious.

Putting aside the fact that Yamauchi immediately started pressuring Sudo the moment after her warning about "unity and no infighting," her main reason for anger was: Yamauchi Haruki, how could he make En-kun so angry? He really doesn't know how to behave!

Others might not know, but surely she does? The expression on Hoshino En when she slammed the table and stood up was exactly the same as the expression she saw when she was bullied in the women's restroom and almost cut by a sharp blade, when he stood up to bully the bullies.

Although En-kun looks handsome and cool standing up like this, it can also make people feel sore in the lower back, weak in the legs, and unable to stand up. The reason why bad emotions are bad is because they can have some serious effects on the body: they can not only damage the liver, spleen, kidneys, and heart, but also make people do some extremely irrational things.

Just like now— En-kun always hates trouble, has actually stepped forward himself.

Although he will certainly say something like, "I did it because I wanted to, and it has nothing to do with whether it will cause trouble," objectively speaking, doing so will bring him countless troubles.

Yamauchi Haruki has gone too far in causing En-kun to act so irrationally!!

It seems we need to seriously consider how to make his exit amicable...

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 101, Section 95: The topic seems to have spiraled out of control in an even more outrageous direction!

Karuizawa Kei remained silent, but Yamauchi Haruki's remarks were not ignored.

"Exactly! You started this whole thing, and now you're trying to shift the blame onto innocent Hoshino -kun? That's shameless!!"

"..."

The eyes of the masses are discerning. Or rather, after Yamauchi Haruki's character was completely deconstructed by Hoshino En, the problems in his previous statements could no longer be ignored, and everyone could see through his previous ulterior motives.

However, amidst the agitated crowd, there seemed to be some comments that, to Hoshino En, were completely unrelated to the topic and were muddying the waters.

"That's right, if Yamauchi hadn't been putting pressure on Sudo, Hoshino wouldn't have been so angry—he was actually angry about this kind of behavior that was detrimental to unity!"

"So... although Hoshino -kun usually sits alone in the corner of the classroom and looks like a gloomy guy, he's actually someone who cares a lot about the class and everyone, right?"

"That must be it. And the fact that he's so protective of Karuizawa's orders... could it be because... hehehe!"

"Oh ho? You know a lot too!!"

Hoshino En: "..."

What do you know?! What you're talking about right now has absolutely nothing to do with the class's agenda!!

Don't think I can't hear you just because you're in a crowd. Sato Maya, and Mori Nene, is this kind of rhythm really interesting?!