After completely intimidating Karuizawa Kei, Wu Qiao didn't press the matter any further. He turned and headed straight for the teachers' office.
His deal with Hoshinomiya Chie went so smoothly it was almost unbelievable. The Class B homeroom teacher, who usually seemed carefree but still brooded over her failure back then, had her eyes flash with astonishing brilliance the moment Wu Qiao laid out his plan to reduce Class D's Class Points to zero next month.
To Hoshinomiya Chie, Class D deserved to remain Class D forever. It was the best revenge she could take on that woman, Chabashira Sae.
Getting Class D to set the ridiculous record of having its Class Points reduced to zero for the first time in the school's history was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.
Hoshinomiya Chie transferred 300,000 Personal Points to Wu Qiao's terminal as a deposit without a moment's hesitation. She readily offered him the sky-high sum of another 2.7 million if the plan succeeded.
Of course, as the price of the deal, if Wu Qiao's plan failed, he would have to pay her double in compensation. But for Wu Qiao, who held an absolute information advantage, this barely counted as a risk.
After finishing the deal, Wu Qiao left the staff lounge in a good mood. As soon as he stepped outside, he spotted Karuizawa Kei huddled in the corner at the end of the hallway, trembling like a frightened rabbit and not daring to leave.
Wu Qiao walked over at an easy pace, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into an empty corner of the stairwell. Karuizawa Kei's face went pale with fright. She instinctively tried to back away, but Wu Qiao held her firmly in place.
"Relax. I'm not going to eat you." As he spoke, Wu Qiao took Karuizawa Kei's terminal and had her unlock it before he quickly tapped through a few things.
The next second, Karuizawa Kei's terminal buzzed. She looked down, and her pupils shrank. A full 150,000 Personal Points had appeared in her account balance.
"What..." Karuizawa Kei looked up abruptly, her face full of disbelief.
"Your hush money." Wu Qiao took back the terminal and looked down at her, his tone returning to its earlier calm, detached state. "If you cooperate with my plan, I won't let Class D be ruined beyond recovery. Those few Class Points are just a bargaining chip to me, not the goal."
He paused, a warning glint flashing in his eyes. "But if you dare do anything behind my back, or let a single word about what happened today slip, don't blame me for showing no mercy. You should know by now that I know far more than you think."
Karuizawa Kei clutched her terminal tightly, feeling the reality of those 150,000 points, and remembered the terrifying pressure of Wu Qiao accurately pointing out her scars. She gritted her teeth, then could only lower her head and murmur, "I... understand."
Wu Qiao nodded with satisfaction, let go of her, and turned to leave. Watching the boy's retreating figure, Karuizawa Kei leaned against the cold wall and let out a long breath.
Karuizawa Kei had no idea what Wu Qiao was planning, but she knew very well that from this moment on, she was completely tied to this unfathomable boy's chariot.
Ichinose Honami sat in the Class B classroom, unconsciously rubbing the cold edge of her terminal with her fingertips, her heart filled with regret. She really shouldn't have gone to see Wu Qiao on her own just because of a single piece of information from the simulation.
In her mind, Wu Qiao should have been just like the simulation records described: a lazy but bookish, kind-hearted person.
But the truth... had slapped her hard across the face.
Just moments ago, her terminal had received an encrypted file from Wu Qiao. Ichinose opened it with a nervous heart and found that it was an audio recording. She quickly put on her headphones and pressed play.
A faint crackle of static came through the earpiece first. Then Hoshinomiya Chie's distinctive voice, usually tinged with a lazy smile, rang out clearly. "Reduce Class D's Class Points to zero. Three hundred thousand Personal Points as a deposit, and if it works next month, there'll be another 2.7 million. If it fails, you'll have to pay me double in compensation. Wu Qiao, you should know very well that, to me, Class D deserves to remain Class D forever."
Then came Wu Qiao's voice, so calm it held not a trace of emotion. "Deal. Next month, Class D's Class Points will be reduced to zero."
Ichinose drew in a sharp breath and tremblingly took off her headphones.
Holy crap. Was Wu Qiao the one who planned the Class D Class Points wipeout in the simulation?!
She had naively thought that a year later, Wu Qiao would be "Blackened" only because of Miyabi Nagumo and the school's malicious targeting, turning him into that cold-blooded "Tyrant."
But now that she thought about it, how was this Blackening? This guy had been a deeply hidden mastermind from the very start!
His so-called "laziness" and "just wanting to coast through life" were probably only meant to lower everyone's guard. A year from now, he wasn't going to stop pretending; he'd just finally be too lazy to keep up the act!
Gah!
Ichinose let out a despairing wail inside her mind and slumped over her desk.
Of course, Wu Qiao wasn't the only one whose image had crumbled. When Hoshinomiya Chie walked into the Class B classroom as usual, smiling warmly and greeting everyone in her kind, friendly voice, Ichinose looked at her familiar smile with a jumble of feelings.
So this teacher, who seemed so unserious and was always encouraging everyone to work together and get along, would actually make a deal like this with a student just to crush Chabashira-sensei's Class D!
Hoshinomiya Chie seemed to notice something, and her gaze swept over Ichinose almost imperceptibly. Ichinose hurriedly lowered her head and pretended to read, her feelings caught in her throat as she barely dared to breathe.
Ichinose Honami suddenly felt that her decision to approach Wu Qiao to "stop the world from being destroyed" might have been what pushed her into the biggest pit of all.
That afternoon, the club recruitment fair and student council recruitment were in full swing in the gymnasium. Ichinose Honami, who should have been working the room as one of Class B's central figures, was hiding in a corner like a deserter.
She had known all along that she couldn't get into the Student Council, and she didn't want to jump into the suspicious trap Miyabi Nagumo had set either, so she had simply given up. She might as well take the afternoon off and enjoy a rare bit of leisure.
But her leisure didn't last long before her terminal buzzed again. Ichinose Honami looked down. Another message from Wu Qiao.
He was inviting her to an all-you-can-eat meal at a buffet restaurant on the school's Commercial Street. He had even thoughtfully shared his real-time location.
Looking at the blinking red dot on the screen, Ichinose Honami let out a long sigh. She couldn't hide, and she couldn't run. Since she was already caught up in the middle of this whirlpool, she might as well go see what the guy was after.
When she arrived, Ichinose Honami pushed open the restaurant's glass door and immediately spotted two people sitting by the window.
To her surprise, Ayanokoji Kiyoha was there too. The girl from Class D was holding an elegant plate piled with all kinds of food, from sashimi to desserts, pasta to fried chicken. She had a little of everything.
But strangely, there was only a tiny portion of each item. She was sampling them in small bites with a fork, looking so focused it was as if she were conducting a meticulous food-tasting evaluation rather than eating.
Wu Qiao, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Several empty plates were already piled up on the table in front of him. He held a freshly grilled steak in one hand, eating whatever caught his eye and casually grabbing all sorts of food to fill his stomach.
"Hey, Ichinose. Over here." Wu Qiao spotted her at the door and casually waved his fork.
Ichinose Honami walked over, steeling herself. She had just opened her mouth to greet him when Wu Qiao naturally stood up, went to the counter to pay for her entry, then called out as if nothing had happened, "Come sit down. I hear this place has great desserts. They don't make much, so if you're slow, they'll be gone."
Seeing how familiar Wu Qiao acted, as if they'd been old friends for years, Ichinose Honami felt a pang of helplessness.
This guy was ruthless enough to plan to reduce Class D's Class Points to zero behind the scenes, yet he could act so completely casual on the surface.
She pulled out a chair and sat across from Wu Qiao. Glancing at Ayanokoji Kiyoha, who was eating quietly beside them, she asked tentatively, "Wu-kun, you invited me out today. It wasn't just for the buffet, was it?"
Wu Qiao took a bite of steak and smiled around his mouthful. "Smart. But let's eat first. Even if the sky's falling, we should fill our stomachs before we deal with it, right?"