Ichinose's Gift

As they stepped out of the cafeteria, the afternoon sun was just right, and the bustling Commercial Street was filled with the vibrant energy of youth.

Ichinose Honami walked side-by-side with Ayanokoji Kiyoha behind Wu Qiao. Watching the boy ahead of them, his hands tucked into his pockets as he walked with a light, easy gait, her heart was already churning with turbulent waves.

Just moments ago at the dining table, she had actually agreed to form an alliance with him.

Recalling the moment she held his hand, Ichinose couldn't help but offer a bitter smile to herself. His palm had been warm, dry, and possessed a certain strength unique to a young man—nothing like the "mastermind" who was about to push Class D into the abyss.

Yet, the owner of those very hands had just calmly and nonchalantly admitted that he would sit by and watch Class D fall to rock bottom, even going so far as to extract a massive sum of private points from Hoshinomiya-sensei.

What on earth am I doing... Ichinose asked herself silently.

According to the original trajectory of her life, or rather, the script provided by her [Life Simulator], she should have been spending the afternoon happily with everyone from Class B.

She would have welcomed the midterms step-by-step, and only after the exams would she have met Wu Qiao through some opportunity, becoming friends who trusted one another.

But now, everything was in disarray.

Not only had she met Wu Qiao ahead of schedule, but she had also caught a glimpse of his most secretive, cold-blooded side.

Ichinose stole a glance at Ayanokoji Kiyoha beside her. The girl from Class D remained as indifferent to everything as ever, as if the conversation about "betrayal and alliance" had nothing to do with her.

But Ichinose knew clearly that Ayanokoji Kiyoha was by no means as simple as she appeared. Wu Qiao had used her as a shield, pushing her toward Ichinose as a "young lady who doesn't understand social interaction," yet Ichinose always felt that in those eyes, the girl hid an abyss even deeper than Wu Qiao's.

"Wu-kun said he would help us during the special exam." Ichinose recalled Wu Qiao's confident demeanor from earlier, her heart filled with a complex mix of emotions.

He clearly had the ability to change the fate of Class D, yet he chose to stand by and watch, even profiting from it.

And yet, he had taken the initiative to extend an olive branch to her, promising to help Class B during the special exam. Such contradictory behavior left Ichinose completely unable to grasp his true intentions.

What does he actually want?

Is it money? That 300,000 deposit and the future 2.7 million were indeed astronomical figures for a high school student.

But if he were truly only after money, he could have used a much gentler approach rather than forcing Class D's hand with such a cruel, "bystander" attitude.

Is it power? In this school where ability is everything, class points and private points certainly represented influence. But the laziness and spontaneity Wu Qiao displayed didn't look at all like someone with ambitions for power.

Could it be... that he's just doing this for fun? Ichinose was startled by her own thought.

If Wu Qiao truly treated this cruel school as a game and the fates of herself and Class D as tools for amusement, then this person was terrifying.

But upon second thought, Ichinose felt something was off. During their conversation, when she expressed concern for her classmates in Class D, although Wu Qiao's eyes held mockery, there was also a trace of imperceptible helplessness. He wasn't truly cold-blooded; he was simply disappointed in the rules of this school and in those unmotivated classmates of Class D.

He is, in fact... someone who longs to be understood, isn't he? This thought suddenly occurred to Ichinose.

Just like herself back then—because of the theft incident in middle school, she had shut herself away for half a year, afraid to go to school or see anyone.

It was Advanced Nurturing High School that gave her a chance to start over, and it was the people of Class B who gave her their trust and acceptance.

What about Wu Qiao? In this school, who could he truly trust?

He wrapped himself in layers of camouflage, using laziness and spontaneity to mask his inner loneliness and vigilance.

That must be why he took the initiative to reach out to me. Ichinose silently reached this conclusion.

Because of that [Life Simulator], she was capable of doing many things, and this alliance was also an opportunity for her to intervene.

Thinking of this, a sense of inexplicable responsibility surged in Ichinose Honami's heart.

Since I've agreed to be your ally, I will absolutely not let you walk this path alone. She vowed to herself, Even if you really are a dangerous Tyrant, I will pull you back to the right path. Because... I don't want to see any friend sink deeper and deeper into an abyss of loneliness.

The sunlight spilled onto Ichinose Honami's long pink hair, refracting a warm halo. She took a deep breath, put her signature bright smile back on her face, and quickened her pace to catch up with Wu Qiao.

"Wu-kun, wait up!" Her crisp voice rang out on the Commercial Street. "Do you have any plans for later? Would you like to walk around together?"

The boy ahead stopped and turned back, a trace of helpless amusement on his face: "Ichinose, what's this? Not afraid anymore?"

"Because I trust my intuition." Ichinose Honami clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly, her bright, lively eyes shining with determination. "Even though Wu-kun says cold things, you're actually a very gentle person, right? Am I right?"

Wu Qiao froze for a moment, then shrugged helplessly: "You... I really don't know what to do with you."

Watching their receding figures, Ayanokoji Kiyoha followed silently behind, holding the milk tea she had packed from the restaurant. She took a gentle sip, her eyes as calm as water, as if she had anticipated all of this.

What an interesting combination. Ayanokoji Kiyoha thought to herself, It seems this school will be more interesting than I imagined.

The bustle of the Commercial Street seemed exceptionally lazy under the afternoon sun. Ichinose Honami and Wu Qiao walked side-by-side, chatting idly about trivial topics.

Although they had talked about "walking around," both of them knew that this was merely a slightly awkward buffer period following the thrilling "alliance negotiation" that had just taken place.

As they passed a beautifully decorated bookstore, Ichinose Honami suddenly stopped. Through the bright floor-to-ceiling glass window, her gaze locked precisely onto a thick book on the top shelf of the social sciences section. Without the slightest hesitation, she grabbed the still-dazed Wu Qiao and walked inside.

A few minutes later, Ichinose held a copy of Game Theory and Macro Strategic Deduction, which was as thick as a brick, and handed it to Wu Qiao with a hint of awkwardness.

"Um... this is for you." A faint, unnatural blush appeared on Ichinose Honami's face, her eyes shifting away, unable to look directly at Wu Qiao. "I thought... you might like this kind of... rather hardcore stuff."

Wu Qiao looked at the massive tome, which exuded a "keep away" aura just from its cover, and was completely stunned. He took the book, feeling its heavy weight, and his mouth couldn't help but twitch: "Ichinose, this gift of yours is... truly unique. Don't girls usually give boys handicrafts or snacks or something?"

Ichinose Honami scratched her cheek in embarrassment, cursing herself internally. Of course she knew giving this was strange, but it was a judgment based entirely on information from the [Life Simulator]!

In the simulation records, before Wu Qiao revealed his terrifying power in the later stages, he was always holding various profound books, as if that knowledge were the source of his strength.

"I saw this book placed in the most prominent spot and felt... felt it really suited your... well, your temperament for strategizing?" Ichinose Honami racked her brains to make up a reason, trying to make this abrupt action seem reasonable.

Wu Qiao raised an eyebrow, opened the front cover, and looked at the dense professional terminology and complex mathematical models inside. His heart stirred.

Although he hadn't started delving into these deeply yet, this was indeed a field he would need to step into in the future. This seemingly innocent and lively girl had an intuition that was terrifyingly sharp.

"Although I don't know how you thought of it, this book... is actually quite useful to me." Wu Qiao closed the book. Instead of offering the polite, perfunctory refusal one might give for a normal gift, he nodded generously and tucked it under his arm. "Thanks, Ichinose. I accept this hardcore gesture of yours."

Watching Wu Qiao accept the book as a matter of course, Ichinose Honami let out a long sigh of relief in her heart.

Thank goodness, I bet correctly.

It seemed that in Wu Qiao's mind, the label of "bookworm" was indeed more comfortable and safer for him than that of "Tyrant."