"Fairness"

Horikita Manabu saw that neither of the two had any intention of speaking, so he addressed Horikita Suzune, who had been forgotten in the corner: "It seems you have also made progress, having made two good friends." His tone was calm and level.

Before leaving, he cast a deep glance at Hoshida No and Ayanokoji, ignored Horikita Suzune as she tried to offer a defense, and his silhouette soon vanished into the shadows.

Horikita Suzune looked at Hoshida No with a complex expression.

She had witnessed with her own eyes Hoshida No easily defeating the brother she considered nearly invincible, and had heard with her own ears the shocking facts her brother revealed about him and Ayanokoji.

"You..." She opened her mouth, but did not know how to begin asking.

"It's just a bit of self-defense," Hoshida No said, brushing off the question of his combat prowess.

He took the pink handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the non-existent dust from his hands.

With a steady, ripple-free voice, he said "Thanks" to Ayanokoji beside him.

Ayanokoji's gaze swept over Hoshida No. "Don't mention it. Your self-defense skills are quite good as well."

Internally, however, he was wondering what the outcome would be if he and Hoshida No were to fight. It would probably be a draw.

"Let's head back," Hoshida No said.

The three walked back in silence.

Hoshida No walked in the lead, his figure upright, his shadow stretched long by the moonlight.

Ayanokoji trailed half a step behind, his gaze lowered, lost in thought.

Horikita Suzune walked at the very back, looking at the backs of the two boys in front of her, and asked herself, "What would Brother do in this situation?"

Returning to the dormitory area, the three parted ways.

Hoshida No returned to his room and locked the door. He did not turn on the lights, instead walking to the window to overlook the campus, which was dotted with lights under the night sky.

Early the next morning, while waiting for the elevator, Hoshida No was replying to a message from Karuizawa Kei.

Karuizawa Kei: Brother No, I got 5th place in the class for the end-of-month exam!

Hoshida No: That's impressive. What about Honami?

Karuizawa Kei: She got first place, →_→

Hoshida No: Alright, what do you two want as a gift?

Karuizawa Kei: No gifts. Can we go out this weekend? ...Together with Honami.

Hoshida No: Sure.

"Ding." The elevator doors opened, and he saw Horikita Suzune, who was standing with her back to the door, adjusting the straps of her school bag.

Hearing the sound, she turned her head, and her cold, clear eyes met Hoshida No's gaze in the air.

The air stagnated for half a second.

Hoshida No stepped into the elevator; the space was small, and the distance between them immediately became somewhat subtle.

He pressed the "1st Floor" button, the elevator doors slowly closed, and they were left alone in the confined space.

The silence lasted for several floors. Just as Hoshida No thought it would be like usual, with no words spoken until they reached the lobby:

"I am going to attend your study session this afternoon."

Horikita Suzune's voice suddenly rang out, breaking the stillness.

She stared straight at the floor numbers flickering above the elevator doors, not looking at Hoshida No.

Hoshida No paused imperceptibly and turned his head to look at her.

He noticed that her fingers, gripping the straps of her bag, tightened slightly for a moment.

"Is that so?" Hoshida No withdrew his gaze and looked forward as well, his voice betraying neither surprise nor welcome. "Hirata and Kushida will be happy to have you. You should know the time and place."

"I know," she replied briefly. "I won't be late."

Exiting the elevator, Hoshida No sent the news of Horikita's attendance to Kushida and Hirata. Both replied with their approval shortly after.

In the afternoon, as soon as the school bell rang, excluding Sudo Ken and a few others who had club activities, there were 15 people participating in the study session.

Horikita Suzune arrived right on time, as expected.

She sat alone in a front seat, spreading out her books and notes with an expressionless face, looking completely out of place in the somewhat excited or anxious atmosphere of the room.

When Kushida Kikyo saw Horikita, her eyes lit up, and she immediately greeted her enthusiastically: "Horikita-san! You really came! That's great! Welcome, welcome!"

Her smile was impeccable, as if she had completely forgotten about being rejected yesterday.

Horikita merely nodded slightly and said coldly, "Let's begin. Don't waste time."

Kushida's smile stiffened for a fraction of a second before returning to normal: "Right! Then let's ask Hoshida-kun to summarize today's review material for everyone!"

The study session did not go very smoothly. Horikita frequently pointed out that Hoshida No's teaching methods relied too heavily on templates, and whenever she did, someone would inevitably argue back.

Unable to watch it continue, Hoshida No agreed to let her tutor a few of the higher-performing students, though those students would occasionally complain to Hoshida No about Horikita's severity and harshness.

By the time the study session ended, it was already late. Most of the students left, feeling both enlightened and exhausted.

Horikita Suzune packed her things and walked up to Hoshida No.

"It's clear that everyone prefers your teaching," she said with a cold expression. "But that won't help them get high scores. What Class D needs right now is perfection."

After saying this, she didn't wait for Hoshida No to respond, turning and leaving the classroom.

At this moment, Kushida Kikyo walked over and let out a soft sigh: "Horikita-san is still as strict as ever... But it's a good thing she's willing to come, right, Hoshida-kun?"

Her smile remained bright, yet there seemed to be a trace of imperceptible fatigue or some other emotion hidden in the depths of her eyes.

"Yeah." Hoshida No replied, beginning to pack up his things.

Hirata Yousuke also walked over and said sincerely: "Hoshida, thank you for your hard work today. It's thanks to you, though Horikita-san's opinions are also very valuable; they can prompt us to think more comprehensively."

"Prompting us to think?"

Hoshida No walked toward the library, pondering, "If the special exam only tests a student's academic ability, it wouldn't be friendly to Class D, which has the most underperforming students. What could possibly make four unequal classes equal?"

Upon arriving at the library, Hoshida No went straight to the librarian and asked, "Hello, may I ask if past study materials, such as review notes from previous seniors or archived midterms and finals, are available for checkout?"

The librarian pushed up his glasses, his gaze lingering on the school emblem on Hoshida's uniform for two seconds, his tone serious and earnest:

"For first-years, you are only permitted to borrow public review outlines from the last three years. Exam papers are considered non-public archives and require a class application, restricted to educational use only."

"Public review outlines?" Hoshida No pressed, "May I ask if the outlines contain sample question types? I want to help my classmates organize a collection of incorrect answers to target their weaknesses."

The librarian nodded, turned around, pulled a stack of neatly bound booklets from the filing cabinet behind him, and handed them over:

"These are the first-year midterm review outlines from the last three years. They contain some typical question types. You can borrow them after registering your name and class, but they must be returned within a week."

Hoshida No quickly registered his information, and the moment he took the booklets, his fingertips brushed against the worn edges of the paper.

After thanking him, he walked to a seat by the window, opened a new booklet, and held the corner of the page to flip it open, his gaze only pausing when it swept over the mathematics section.

Leaving the library quickly and heading toward the school building, he had a hunch he needed to verify.

When he returned to the classroom, it was empty, with only the rows of desks and chairs neatly arranged.

Hoshida No walked straight to his seat and spread out the three quizzes from the previous month on his desk.

He opened the review outline, flipped to the corresponding mathematics chapter, and his eyes darted rapidly between the example problems in the outline and the quiz papers.

Hoshida No's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, his expression unchanged, as he reached out to open the other two review outlines, arranging them by year.

His fingers flipped through the pages rapidly, comparing problem after problem with swift movements.

He lowered his eyes to the papers spread across the desk, murmuring to himself: "So this is what fairness is."

At that moment, his fingertip was pointing at two mathematics problems with different settings but identical question types.