Ayanokoji's Return

"Keep eating. Come on, Kushida, drink some chicken soup." Long Aotian smiled, gently handing over a steaming bowl of chicken soup, his eyes filled with care.

"?"

Kushida was a bit suspicious as to why Long Aotian was suddenly being so enthusiastic; could it be poisoned?

"Ah~!" Kushida opened her mouth slightly, her eyes sparkling with surprise. The spoon in Long Aotian's hand steadily delivered the hot soup, a full spoonful gently filling her lips and teeth.

She chewed softly, unaware, her face glowing with a mix of happiness and slight astonishment.

Long Aotian found Kushida quite interesting; she was kind of cute, how should he put it?

Of course, she wouldn't be cute if she were stabbing him in the back.

Sakura's large, bright eyes were fixed on Long Aotian, full of confusion.

Long Aotian smiled slightly, shook his head gently, and said in a soothing tone, "It's fine, Sakura-san, don't worry. You have a share of this chicken soup, too."

"?"

Soon, this battle... this pleasant time came to an end.

The next day~

In Class D, Kushida sat quietly at her desk, her gaze focused on the scene unfolding in front of her.

Some students in the class had furrowed brows and pale complexions; clearly, their bodies, long deprived of anything but a vegetable-based diet, were starting to send out little "protest" signals.

PS: Eating like that for a long time really does cause health issues.

Karuizawa Kei frowned slightly, a trace of imperceptible jealousy flickering in her eyes as she stared at Kushida, who seemed as radiant as the spring sun.

She bit her lower lip gently, and after a moment of internal struggle, she gathered her courage and said in a slightly hesitant tone, "Kushida-san, um... could you lend me some points?"

Kushida turned at the sound. Karuizawa Kei! Wasn't she usually quite aggressive?

Immediately, her gaze fell upon Karuizawa Kei, gentle yet tinged with a hint of apology.

She slowly raised both hands, fingers lightly interlaced to form a small, prayer-like gesture, as if preparing for a ritual before speaking.

"I am truly sorry, Karuizawa-san," her voice was soft but carried a touch of helplessness.

"I have very few points left. I had originally wanted to use the points I borrowed from others to help everyone, but Horikita Suzune-san used them to help investigate Sudo's situation." As she said this, a faint shadow of worry flickered across Kushida's brow.

In reality, the moment Karuizawa Kei spoke, some eyes had already inadvertently turned toward Kushida.

Kushida said these things specifically to disgust Horikita Suzune. Didn't you use public funds under the guise of helping the class (even though they were actually Kushida's own points)? And what was the result? Nothing happened, and the points were wasted for nothing.

Human nature is complex; they will only think, If you hadn't used my points back then, I wouldn't be in this situation.

As Kushida's words fell, a subtle change seemed to permeate the surrounding air.

The expressions of some people shifted subtly, and a hint of imperceptible dissatisfaction flashed in their eyes.

Among them, Karuizawa Kei's reaction was particularly evident; her brows furrowed as if she were sighing inwardly. Then, she slowly turned her head to look at Horikita Suzune, who was sitting on the periphery.

In that instant, her eyes seemed to hold a mix of emotions: confusion and reproach.

Horikita Suzune realized the situation was turning sour. She frowned slightly, her eyes revealing a touch of aloofness, her lips pressed into a thin line as she said firmly, "For the future safety of the class, this step was necessary."

"Safety?" Karuizawa Kei couldn't help but laugh. "Do you think we're in a good situation right now? If you hadn't used our 100,000 points, would we be like this?"

"Yeah!"

"That's right!"

Soon, one voice after another rang out~

"Everyone, please stop for a moment, okay?" Hirata raised his hands slightly, making a gesture to ease the atmosphere, as if he were soothing a group of restless children.

A warm yet firm light shone in his eyes as he said slowly, "We all need to calm down and figure out how to properly resolve the problem at hand."

However, it was of no use; it only made the situation escalate further.

Kushida stood up slowly. She walked lightly to Sakura's seat, reached out to pat her shoulder gently, and then, with a gentle but firm grip on her arm, led her to the side.

The two stood side by side, their gazes quietly fixed on everything happening not far away.

This time, Kushida didn't step out to mediate. It wasn't worth it; these people were all present during the previous incident, and not a single one had come to speak up for her.

Sakura watched the scene, unmoved. It would be even stranger if she went to help, and besides, these people weren't worth it.

The scene was chaotic and the noise was deafening, but no one dared to throw a punch; they were well aware that fighting would lead to punishment.

"Huh?" A flicker of curiosity crossed Kushida's face. Her gaze drifted involuntarily toward a corner of the classroom where Wang Meiyu was sitting.

Wang Meiyu's seat was far too conspicuous, right in front of Horikita Suzune; it was hard not to notice her.

Kushida tilted her head slightly, her eyes filled with a hint of inquiry, as if she wanted to understand this girl sitting in front of Horikita Suzune more deeply.

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind: Wang Meiyu was also Chinese, the same nationality as Long Aotian.

[Taiwanese]

Her relationship with Wang Meiyu was quite harmonious. As they spent time together and she gradually got to know her, she keenly noticed the introverted and gentle nature of this friend.

Unlike Sakura's introversion—where Sakura was the type to run away without saying a word—Wang Meiyu was relatively more conventional.

At this moment, Wang Meiyu sat stiffly in her seat, her hands nervously intertwined. Her eyes flickered restlessly, clearly overwhelmed by the many gazes cast in her direction.

Summoning her courage, she slowly raised her eyes and cast a pleading glance toward Hirata at her side.

ps: Wang Meiyu is actually secretly in love with Hirata.

Hirata, however, did not notice, as he was busy raising his hand, trying his best to persuade everyone with a steady and firm tone in an attempt to calm the rising agitation.

Seeing this, Kushida walked up and said slowly, "Everyone, please calm down. We should try to understand Horikita Suzune. Even though she spent everyone's 100,000 points without finding anything, she did it for our own good."

The difference between saying points were used to help everyone versus saying they were used as everyone's points was vast; it was essentially pinning the blame on you. In a past life, the phrase "it's all for your own good" was truly a malicious sentiment.

If she hadn't mentioned it, it might have been fine, but the moment she did, the others could no longer suppress their angry rebukes.

Wang Meiyu let out a sharp cry, "Ah—," and in the ensuing chaos, was seized by Kushida and pulled to her feet, stumbling until she stood beside Sakura, a trace of bewilderment and surprise still lingering on her face.

The sound was neither loud nor soft, but it was drowned out by the crowd.

Kushida wore a sweet smile as she said, "Wang, it's safer over here."

"Thank you, Kushida."

At this moment, a figure walked in. The crowd paid no mind, but both Kushida and Horikita Suzune noticed.

[Ayanokoji!]

What is going on? Wasn't he expelled?

Ayanokoji returned to his original seat and sat down steadily, his gaze sweeping over Horikita Suzune without a word.