Horikita Suzune: The System is Broken.

After saying goodbye to Wu Qiao and returning to the dormitory alone, Ichinose Honami felt as if her heart were filled with warm, soft cotton, making her footsteps feel incredibly light.

She looked down at the drink in her hand, her fingertips seemingly still retaining the sensation of clinking glasses with Wu Qiao earlier. Recalling the conversation they had on the bench, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward again.

The cost difference between the optimal solution and the sub-optimal solution... She chewed on these words silently in her heart, unable to stop a soft chuckle from escaping her lips.

This was Wu Qiao. He did the most gentle, thoughtful things, even sparing no expense or effort to protect the feelings of a girl with whom he had no direct interest, yet the reasons he provided were always impeccably rational.

He wouldn't say sweet nothings, nor would he admit that he acted out of "pity"; instead, he wrapped his kindness in a layer of rigorous logic.

But after experiencing that terrifying simulation called the "Abyss of the Infatuated," this pure, unadulterated rationality—devoid of any morbid possessiveness—was ten thousand times more precious to Ichinose Honami than any vow of eternal love.

In that horrific simulation, she had destroyed everything she had just to possess him, only to end up in a twisted relationship of mutual torment.

But now, looking at that open and composed boy, she truly felt for the first time that they could have such a healthy, reassuring way of being together.

"As long as we don't disturb each other's peaceful lives, we can keep walking forward like this, right?"

Ichinose Honami stopped in her tracks and looked up at the twinkling stars in the night sky. The confusion, fear, and lingering self-doubt born from the simulation's ending vanished completely at this moment.

It was just like this—standing upright and dignified by his side, facing the cruel rules of this school together with him.

"I will never let you down, Wu-kun."

She whispered the promise, her eyes shimmering with an unprecedented light. Then, she took a deep breath, hugged the drink tightly to her chest, and set off again, filled with joy and anticipation.

As the night deepened, only the rustling of pen tips against paper remained in the library's study room. Horikita Suzune sat upright at the long table, patiently explaining math problems to her group members like a qualified little teacher. Her clear logic and meticulous attitude made the classmates, who originally had weak foundations, nod repeatedly.

However, despite her calm-as-water exterior, a nameless anxiety was churning deep within her heart.

In recent days, in order to change her isolated situation in the class and successfully promote to Class A, she had set aside her former aloofness and started trying to build relationships with her classmates through the prompts of the [Favorability System].

Yet, the feedback from reality left her feeling deeply frustrated. Aside from Hirata Yosuke, the "good guy" who always greeted everyone with a smile, whose favorability had barely broken sixty, the progress with everyone else was extremely limited.

Especially with Kushida Kikyo; no matter how much goodwill she extended, the other girl's ironclad favorability remained at "0."

But what gave Horikita Suzune the most headache and confusion was Ayanokoji Kiyoha, who was sitting to the side, quietly working on problems.

This sheltered young lady's favorability score was absurd to the extreme.

At the beginning, due to a few accidental interactions, the number had fluctuated slightly, but ever since it got stuck at "10," it seemed to have been welded shut, refusing to budge no matter what she did.

The reason Horikita Suzune paid so much attention to Ayanokoji Kiyoha was simple: not long ago, their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, had specifically called her to the office for a talk, and the potential reward was quite generous.

Yet, such a person appeared completely indifferent in Horikita Suzune's eyes. Not only did she show no interest in studying, but even her daily conversations were extremely perfunctory, as if nothing in this world could stir a ripple in her.

"Alright, the auxiliary line for this problem should be drawn like this." Horikita Suzune pulled back her thoughts, tapped the workbook with her pen tip, and brought the last group member back from their confusion.

She looked up, her gaze involuntarily falling on Ayanokoji Kiyoha not far away. The other girl seemed to notice the stare, turned her head slightly, and those calm, ripple-less eyes met hers for a brief moment before indifferently turning back to her book.

Horikita Suzune frowned slightly. She vaguely felt that Ayanokoji Kiyoha was a mystery wrapped in fog, as if she were deliberately hiding herself beneath a facade of mediocrity.

Where... exactly should I start? She pondered to herself.

For her current self, if she wanted to truly lead Class D to Class A, she could no longer fight alone as she had in the past.

And Ayanokoji Kiyoha might be the key variable to breaking the deadlock. But faced with someone so impervious, how was she supposed to pry open the other girl's heart?

The study room lights remained bright. Horikita Suzune took a deep breath, pushing that anxiety to the back of her mind for the time being.

After assigning two math problems to keep Sudo and the others busy, Horikita Suzune's gaze naturally fell on Wu Qiao, who was sitting in the back row.

Since she couldn't win over the impenetrable mystery that was Ayanokoji Kiyoha at this stage, she should try to approach Wu Qiao, who was equally unfathomable.

As the study session officially ended, Horikita Suzune packed up her textbooks and walked with steady steps toward Wu Qiao, who was still resting with his eyes closed in his seat.

She stopped at the desk and moved her mind to open the panel, which clearly displayed Wu Qiao's favorability: [40].

This was an extremely strange number. Since their usual interactions were minimal—aside from the occasional meeting at study sessions—there was almost no private contact between them.

Horikita Suzune couldn't understand where these forty points of favorability had come from.

After thinking for a long time without a clue, she simply gave up. To be safe, she decided to use the system's "Speech Assistance" function, hoping it would provide her with a dignified and authoritative opening line.

However, when the system-generated text appeared on her retina, Horikita Suzune's brain completely crashed.

What did it mean... to grab his hand and say affectionately: "For the sake of a bright future, Wu-kun, please entrust your strength to me, and let me, let us, let everyone graduate with a smile"?!

Horikita Suzune felt a rush of blood surge to her head, and her fair, delicate face turned bright red at a visible speed. Her usually calm and rational fox-like eyes widened, as if she had seen some terrifying monster.

Are you kidding me?! The system actually wanted her to use such shameful lines, like a heroine in a third-rate romance manga, in this kind of situation? And she had to grab his hand? And be "affectionate"?!

If she actually said this in front of her classmates, by tomorrow, the rumor that Horikita Suzune was a hopeless, love-struck idiot would spread throughout the entire Advanced Nurturing High School! How could she perform such a frivolous act!

Hoo... no, absolutely not!

Horikita Suzune shook her head frantically in her mind, forcibly expelling the lines that would lead to her social death.

Just then, Wu Qiao seemed to notice the movement beside him and slowly opened his eyes. Seeing Horikita Suzune standing at the desk with a suspicious blush still on her cheeks, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.

"Something up?"

Horikita Suzune took a deep breath, struggling to restore her expression to its usual icy, unruffled state. She straightened her back slightly, crossed her arms, and spoke in a tone as business-like as possible:

"Wu-kun, I have some thoughts regarding the upcoming class planning that I would like to discuss with you. I believe that with your abilities, you could provide unexpected assistance to Class D's promotion."

Although she hadn't followed the system's prompt, this was the most normal version she could think of that stayed close to the original intent.