One Person Apologizes, A Crowd's Heart Breaks

The next morning during the break, I took a letter to the entrance of the Class A classroom and placed it on Sakayanagi's desk.

"Ara~ Sima Zhenglong-kun really treats me differently, doesn't he? I actually thought that letter was written for me~"

After Sakayanagi opened the envelope and discovered it contained only printed paper, she looked at me with a disappointed expression.

Yesterday in the clubroom, Sakayanagi and Hiyori had watched me handwrite the invitation letter with their own eyes; given our interactions over the past few days, it was no surprise she would assume I would hand that handwritten one to her.

"Sometimes, being valued by me is not a good thing, just like that handwritten letter of mine."

Whoever received the letter I wrote by hand would become my target for the hunt; that was the logic of it.

"Then Sima Zhenglong-kun had better hurry and find Ichinose-san~ The break is almost over, you know."

"That is Hiyori's task. The two of them should have a common language, and Ichinose will not have her guard up against her."

I was responsible for delivering the letter to Class A, Hiyori was responsible for Class B, and Ryuen was responsible for going to Class D to remind Sudo not to forget the agreed-upon time and place.

"I really don't understand why you favor Hiyori-san so much. Could it be that Sima Zhenglong-kun has already developed feelings for her?"

"Who can truly explain matters of the heart? As the saying goes, the bystander sees more than the player. We are standing at different perspectives—the bell for class is ringing, so let's save this topic for another time when fate allows~"

I always feel that the time between classes passes exceptionally fast, while the time during class drags on so slowly. Is this what they call the legendary time dilation effect?

Accompanied by a powerful, rhythmic blast of music echoing outside the Traditional Literature Club, the attention of every student in the club activity building was captured.

Students from sports clubs who weren't training and those from cultural clubs remaining in their rooms all followed the sound of the music to the third floor to watch the spectacle.

By now, the guests invited by Class C had all arrived: Sakayanagi from Class A, Kamuro—whom she had "subjugated" this weekend—and several other students from the Sakayanagi faction.

Ichinose and Kanzaki from Class B were there, along with a portion of Class B students who had assisted Class D during this incident.

Problem students from Class D like Yamauchi and Ike had also received invitations, while those who had worked hard to clear Sudo's name—Hirata, Kushida, and Horikita—could only watch from the periphery alongside the other students from different grades.

Through the efforts of the Class D group and the selfless support of Class B, they had managed to scrape together 2.9 million private points by the deadline last night, handing over the month's payment to Class C.

Both sides had also confirmed the time for Sudo to apologize to Class C last night.

Now, aside from a few students maintaining order, the rest of Class C had finished setting up the venue and were lining up to hold large, framed photographs, arranged according to pre-determined positions.

Sudo, arriving just in time, ignored the bizarre setup outside the clubroom, shoved past the crowd of onlookers blocking the door, and walked inside.

"This, this isn't what we agreed on! Why are there so many people here!"

In Sudo's mind, he only needed to privately kowtow in humiliation to the four guys who framed him; no one else would see it, and he would just treat it as if he'd been bitten by a dog.

He hadn't expected the other side to put on such a massive display upon his arrival. If he were to kneel and apologize in front of so many people, he would never be able to show his face in this school again for the next three years. He might as well have just dropped out!

"I—"

Just as Sudo was about to turn and leave, choosing to drop out and be done with it, he saw Horikita staring at his movements with visible anger.

Sudo forcibly cut off his turn, steeled his heart on the spot, and strode to the position I had marked for him in the clubroom. With lightning speed, he kowtowed three times, shouted "I'm sorry" in a loud, hate-filled voice, and ran out of the clubroom with his head down.

He looked even more wretched than he had the first time he ran out of this room.

"It seems this Sudo-kun from Class D doesn't have much intention of repenting! Oh well, oh well, since we in Class C are kind-hearted, it wouldn't be right to make things too difficult for him. After all, no matter how hard we make it for him, it's the others in Class D who suffer. It's truly a misfortune for Class D to have such a student."

"Who's to say it isn't? I should kindly remind everyone in Class D: you'd better keep a tight leash on this classmate of yours in the future. He caused such a malicious incident and received such a severe punishment, yet he shows no sign of remorse. Who knows what other disgusting things he might do later on~"

"Look at this Sudo-kun, he even manages to look defiant while apologizing! If you didn't know better, you'd think he was doing it on purpose for someone to see!"

"If you ask me, he should be made to come back and kowtow three more times! Who apologizes without even facing the victim? He was kowtowing toward the Class B side! I heard Class B has been helping Sudo all along! Maybe the idea for Class D to pay people to commit perjury came from Class B!"

After Sudo left, the atmosphere in the clubroom finally reached its climax.

If Sudo were still here, there might have been room to argue against these fragmented accusations, but since he left in a fit of pique, he could only be used as a tool for gossip.

After the crowd dispersed, all the onlookers and the Class C students who helped clean up and organize the props returned to their daily school lives.

"Sima Zhenglong-kun, were those photos the Class C students were holding at the apology site today real?"

With the help of Shiranami Chihiro, a distraught Ichinose returned to her room, took out her phone, and sent this message to Sima Zhenglong.

Ever since she walked into the Traditional Literature Club room today and saw the evidence clearly identifying that Sudo had bullied Class C students, as well as the screenshots of Class B students helping Class D, she had begun to feel lost regarding the role she played in this incident.

She couldn't believe that the students of Class D had used her kindness to try and shield an abuser, but the evidence before her eyes proved that all of it was true.

Under her leadership, Class B had become an accomplice to school bullying. The words Sima Zhenglong had said to her and Kanzaki that day were still echoing in her ears.

In her perception, Sima Zhenglong—who had helped her and stopped her from heading toward the abyss—could never commit the act of framing others, because he was willing to lend a hand to her even when he didn't know her at all.

She still remembered the flimsy excuse he had used to help her back then. If he weren't a kind-hearted person, how could he possibly extend a helping hand to a stranger? Especially in a society like Japan.