The Life of a Popular Person Isn't Easy

"Cheers!"

Inside Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's dorm room, a group of people sat together, clinking their juice-filled glasses and enjoying the joy of the moment.

"Come to think of it, that was really dangerous. If Kushida hadn't brought back last year's test papers, Ike and Sudo would definitely have been finished."

"What's that supposed to mean? You barely scraped by yourself!"

So noisy. Why did things turn out like this? I should be in my own room right now, enjoying the peace of the evening. Why did I have to come to this party?

Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Chiba Yu let out a silent sigh.

After that incident, Chiba Yu had joined Ayanokoji and the others in paying 50,000 points each to pull Sudo back from the abyss of expulsion.

But the cost of doing so meant that each of them was left with less than 20,000 points.

"By the way, Ayanokoji, how exactly did you get the teacher to cancel Sudo's expulsion?"

Just as the group was cheering, Kushida asked the question she had been dying to know.

The room fell silent instantly. Everyone turned their gaze toward Ayanokoji, waiting to hear how he had managed it.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka scanned the room, his eyes lingering on Horikita and Chiba Yu for a brief moment.

Having made his decision, Ayanokoji prepared to speak.

"Let me handle this."

Just as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka expected him to stay on the sidelines and watch, Chiba Yu spoke up abruptly, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

"This time, Ayanokoji, Horikita, and I each paid 50,000 points to Chabashira-sensei to purchase the missing point for Sudo."

"Buy... buy a point?!"

"Are... are you serious?!"

"You can actually do that with private points?"

Faced with the disbelief of the trio and Kushida, and the shock from Horikita Suzune—who was clearly surprised that Chiba Yu had revealed everything—Chiba Yu continued his explanation.

"Remember what Chabashira-sensei said before? In this school, private points can buy anything you want. Naturally, that includes test scores."

"But that's just too hard to believe."

"Nothing is impossible. And Sudo, after what I said in class this morning and everything that's happened, you should realize the importance of studying by now. If you stay the way you are, I guarantee that next time, no one will be able to help you."

"Tch... I get it. I'll study hard from now on."

"Good." Chiba Yu nodded. Though he didn't put much faith in Sudo's promise, since the guy had said it himself, he wouldn't nag him further.

"Alright, now it's time to settle the accounts."

"Settle accounts? What do you mean?" Sudo looked confused.

Seeing that Sudo didn't understand, Chiba Yu told him bluntly, "Ayanokoji, the others, and I lost 50,000 points each for your sake. Did you really think those points didn't need to be paid back?"

If it weren't for the fact that they would need Sudo for future school sports festivals, Chiba Yu was certain that not even Jesus could have saved him this time.

Sudo stiffened, his words stumbling over each other.

"You... you mean I have to find a way to pay those points back to you guys?"

Chiba Yu looked at him like he was an idiot. "Isn't that obvious? I can't speak for Ayanokoji or Horikita, but you have to pay me back in full. Since we're classmates, I'll go easy on the interest. That's generous enough, right?"

In that moment, Sudo felt as if his entire world had gone dark.

"Why did you tell Sudo and the others about that?"

In the hallway, Horikita and Chiba Yu leaned against the railing. The evening breeze blew through Horikita's beautiful black hair, carrying a faint, pleasant scent.

"It's nothing. I just feel bad about the points I worked so hard to save."

Hearing this, Horikita turned her head, looking at him with confusion. "I understand you less and less. You always say you just want a peaceful school life, yet you keep helping us. What is your goal?"

Faced with Horikita's questioning, Chiba Yu remained unfazed, replying in a flat tone, "I think I should clarify one thing: I never said I did any of this for your sake."

"Huh? But you clearly..."

"I helped Hirata tutor those girls in class because if I hadn't agreed, he would have kept pestering me, which would have been a hassle."

"I helped Sudo because if he were expelled, our class would fall far behind the others in events like the sports festival. On top of that, the boys would have to take on more tasks, which is detrimental to my energy-saving lifestyle."

"As long as everyone in the class works hard and strives for better, I can rest easier and live the peaceful life I want."

"So you're saying everything you did was for your own sake?" Horikita asked again.

"What else?"

Chiba Yu didn't continue the argument with Horikita. Instead, he turned and headed toward his dorm. Their rooms were only separated by a single wall, and all Chiba Yu wanted now was to return to his warm bed and get a good night's sleep.

"Wait, I still have something to..."

But before Horikita could finish, Chiba Yu had already opened his door and stepped inside, leaving her with nothing but his retreating back.

After the turmoil of the midterms, time seemed to fly by. For some reason, Chiba Yu's popularity in the class had skyrocketed since then. Most of his classmates had changed their assessment of him from "an average guy who's decent at studying" to "a guy who's strong at academics and has quite a personality."

The reason for all this stemmed from the day Chiba Yu took a punch from Sudo without even changing his expression, combined with the sight of his undisguised muscle definition during swimming class, and finally, the revelation that he had been intentionally controlling his test scores.

These factors, coupled with the fact that Chiba Yu was quite handsome—the type whose appeal only grew the more one looked at him—caused his popularity in class to skyrocket. Many girls even began approaching him to ask for help with their studies.

The situation only intensified once it became known that Chiba Yu didn't currently have a girlfriend, and it wasn't until a week or two later that things finally began to settle down.

"Someone save me..."

Chiba Yu murmured, slumped over his desk, looking as though his very soul had been drained from his body.

"Isn't this your own fault? Who told you to be so high-profile back then and lecture Sudo for so long?"

Karuizawa, sitting in the seat in front, seemed to overhear his complaint and couldn't help but turn around to say.

"By the way, why haven't this month's points been distributed yet? We shouldn't be at zero points this month, right?"

Karuizawa looked at the still-empty point balance on her phone, feeling a bit puzzled.

This was the sentiment shared by most people at the moment.

"I don't know. It's possible that something else is about to happen."

Generally speaking, a school of this magnitude shouldn't have such issues...