Sonoko Suzuki gave a smug hum and said with complete confidence that in this school, if she ranked first in intelligence gathering, absolutely no one would dare rank second.
"Alright, I almost forgot. Sonoko is the gossip queen of the school. There isn't any gossip you don't know." Chen nodded.
Sonoko looked at Chen resentfully. He was teasing her with that again. She was fed up with it.
"Judy-sensei seems like a different person lately. Have you noticed? She's much more serious than before, and she feels colder too."
Kazuha Toyama interjected.
"So Kazuha feels that way too. I thought I was the only one. Something must have happened to Judy-sensei," Ran Mouri said.
Then they looked at Chen. Their instincts told them it probably had something to do with him.
Otherwise, why had Judy-sensei been calling Chen to her office so often lately? There had to be something going on.
Ran and Kazuha were fine; they were simply curious. But Sonoko beside them was different. If she didn't learn the truth, she felt unbearably itchy inside.
"Chen, just tell us, okay? I promise I won't let anyone else find out." Sonoko assured him.
"Sonoko, ask Ran and Kazuha whether they believe your promise." Chen pointed at Ran and Kazuha as he spoke to Sonoko.
Ran and Kazuha exchanged a glance, then said, "We do. Of course we trust Sonoko."
The two of them answered in a way that brought a proud smile to Sonoko's face. See? They still trust me.
Chen's expression stiffened slightly. He hadn't expected Ran and Kazuha to say that. It wasn't good to speak against one's conscience.
"Actually, I trust Sonoko not to tell anyone too, so Chen, just tell us."
Akako Koizumi suddenly joined in as well.
Seeing the curiosity in Akako's eyes, Chen