Awakening (Seeking Everything)

"But if we don't strive to move up a class, I'm afraid the meager monthly points we receive—or perhaps even receiving no points at all—will make our daily lives and expenses very difficult. Doesn't Watanabe-kun need more points?" Horikita Suzune looked at Watanabe Hayabara.

"I have no need for that." As Watanabe Hayabara replied, he pulled out his phone and displayed his balance—over 4.74 million private points.

The moment Horikita Suzune saw it, she was dumbfounded, wearing an expression of utter disbelief. She had been scrimping and saving during her first month and barely had 60,000 private points; Watanabe Hayabara's 4.74 million was beyond her imagination.

"How could Watanabe-kun have so many points?" Horikita Suzune asked.

"Horikita-san, there's no need for you to know the details. That is why I have no reason to work hard for the sake of Class D's class points."

"This..." Horikita Suzune didn't know how to respond.

Horikita Suzune gripped the hem of her school skirt, forcing herself to meet Watanabe Hayabara's indifferent, silver-gray eyes, her throat bobbing with difficulty. "Watanabe-kun, I need your help. I want to reach Class A. With your ability, our chances of reaching Class A would increase significantly."

The moment the phone screen went dark, Watanabe Hayabara tossed it casually into his pocket; the sound of the metal frame hitting the fabric was crisp, almost mocking. "And? What does that have to do with me? Give me a reason." He leaned against the wall with a languid posture.

Horikita Suzune's nails dug into her palms. Faced with this man who possessed an astronomical number of points, her words felt pale and powerless. "My brother, Horikita Manabu... he is the Student Council President, as you know." She heard her own voice trembling. "Only by standing at the same height can I prove myself..."

"Prove it to whom?" Watanabe Hayabara suddenly leaned in, the faint scent of cedarwood perfume on him carrying a sense of oppression. He lowered his gaze to stare at Horikita's tense jawline, as if appraising a display piece. "Prove it to the brother who treats you like a chess piece? Or to this school that divides classes by ability? You are fundamentally mistaken, Horikita Suzune."

"Do you think you'll gain recognition just by reaching Class A?" Watanabe Hayabara scoffed, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the edge of his phone. "Horikita Manabu's recognition is nothing more than gold paint on a chain. Only when you go to great lengths to wear that crown will you realize it is heavy enough to snap your neck."

"I am fundamentally mistaken...?" "That can't be right. I want to be first, I want to work hard to study to gain my brother's recognition—that isn't wrong, is it...?" Horikita Suzune lowered her head.

"If everything you do is merely for Horikita Manabu's approval, then it all loses its value. Have you ever lived for yourself, Horikita Suzune? Have you ever felt that joy that radiates autonomously from within? Horikita Manabu's recognition and values are nothing but a birdcage locking in a canary. You will have a better sky, Horikita Suzune. You need freedom, not so-called recognition. In your eyes, Horikita Manabu is a standard of an excellent student, but you don't see the endurance beneath his setbacks and failures; you only see his arrogance and success. So, Horikita Suzune, you have followed that shadow for a long time, only to end up living like an orphan!!!"

"An orphan?!!"

"Horikita Suzune, do you know who is the most pathetic? It is the striver who has their limits defined by others, who is held in the palm of someone's hand and toyed with, yet remains completely oblivious. Aren't you that striver? Horikita, you aren't doing this for Horikita Manabu—for the recognition of some 'excellent person.' You need self-awareness, self-improvement, and a healthy sense of self-evaluation. Horikita Manabu's surface-level coldness is merely meant to foster your maturity and self-realization, yet you interpret it as lonely frost and high peaks. That is the one point where your brother has failed. And so, you have become someone struggling in a swamp, trying hard to prove your strength and ability, only to sink deeper." Watanabe Hayabara paused after his long lecture.

"...", Horikita Suzune kept her head down, lost in silence and contemplation.

After a long while, Horikita Suzune finally spoke: "What should I do now..., Watanabe-kun?" Horikita Suzune looked at Watanabe Hayabara with eyes filled with a hint of pleading and expectation.

Watanabe Hayabara responded with a smile. "Don't deny yourself, Horikita. If your goal is to reach Class A, then follow that goal and strive to reach it. But remember, your purpose is not to prove yourself to Horikita Manabu by reaching Class A, but to constantly make yourself mature in the process of rising to Class A. You need to gain self-recognition, rather than blindly caring about the judgments of others. A person will always be seen as good or bad in the eyes of different people; you just need to be satisfied with your own actions. So, if you want to reach Class A, work hard to achieve it, but do it for your own growth and gains, not for the so-called recognition of the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu."

After Watanabe Hayabara finished, he smiled at Horikita Suzune. The scene fell into silence again. Watanabe Hayabara didn't know what Horikita Suzune was thinking and could only wait silently. After several minutes, Horikita Suzune finally lifted her head again, looking as if she had been transformed. She forced a smile at Watanabe Hayabara, and Watanabe Hayabara could see the tears in the corners of her eyes.

Horikita Suzune had always possessed her own judgment and critical thinking skills, but she had become stubborn and rigid after being long overshadowed by her brother, Horikita Manabu. After Watanabe Hayabara's guidance, she seemed to have changed a great deal, though whether this would last depended on her own mindset. Watanabe Hayabara had done all he could, even if he was suspected of having designs on her.

"If I say I want to reach Class A to improve myself, will you help me, Watanabe-kun?" Horikita Suzune's voice trembled slightly, even carrying a hint of a sob.

"I'm not very willing to participate in your journey from Class D to Class A, because I'm just a classmate, aren't I? I've already helped you enough by saying this much. If Class D were a group of united students, I wouldn't mind helping you, but unfortunately, there is indeed a lot of trash in this Class D that makes me uncomfortable. Do you think it's appropriate to ask me, as a mere classmate, to take on such a burden out of thin air, Horikita?"

"Are you saying that if our relationship progresses further, you'll help me? Don't daydream, Watanabe Hayabara. If you won't help me, I'll work hard on my own." Horikita Suzune wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and laughed through her tears.

Watanabe Hayabara met Horikita Suzune's gaze and also revealed a smile. "Do you think I could be interested in you, Horikita Suzune? I'm glad you've figured things out, but if you want to catch my attention, you'll have to improve yourself. Horikita, if some of the trash in this class that I find unpleasant were to be cleared out, I wouldn't mind helping you, Horikita."