Information Takes Root

The next morning, when Yuto arrived at the classroom, Kushida was already talking to Hirata. Her expression was serious, but her tone remained as gentle as ever. When she saw Yuto enter, she looked up at him, the corners of her lips curling slightly, before continuing her conversation with Hirata.

Yuto walked to his seat, sat down, and opened his textbook. He did not turn to look at Kushida, but he kept listening to what was happening on her side.

"...Then after first period, I'll go to the faculty office with you," Kushida said.

Hirata nodded. "Okay. But aren't you coming too, Kushida? You were the one who found the information."

Kushida shook her head. "I won't go. I'll just wait outside. If I go, the teacher might think I'm trying to take credit."

Hirata smiled. "You really think things through."

Yuto silently gave Kushida a thumbs-up. That was a great excuse. It made her seem humble while removing her from the position of being the source of the information.

After first period ended, Hirata took a deep breath, stood up, and headed for the faculty office. Kushida followed behind him, then stopped by the hallway wall after leaving the classroom and leaned there to wait.

Yuto remained in his seat. On the surface, he was reading, but in reality, he was paying close attention to the hallway. About ten minutes later, Hirata returned. His expression was complicated, as if surprise, excitement, and nervousness had mixed together. He was walking much faster than when he had left.

Kushida went up to him. "How did it go?"

Hirata's voice carried a trace of barely restrained excitement. "Chabashira confirmed it. She said the information was true. Starting next month, class points will directly determine our personal income. If our class points are low, the personal points we receive will be drastically reduced."

He was not speaking loudly, but the classroom fell quiet, and quite a few people heard him.

Sudo was the first to rush over. "Are you serious? Chabashira really said that?"

"It's true," Hirata said. "She said it herself. I asked twice, and she confirmed it twice."

The classroom erupted.

Ike was the first to wail, "It's over, it's over, it's over! I spent nearly thirty thousand this week!"

Yamauchi stabbed him from the side. "I spent forty thousand. I even bought a new pair of shoes yesterday. They cost twelve thousand."

Sudo dropped back into his chair, his expression stiff as though someone had punched him. He usually spent money freely, and he had spent more than the two of them combined.

"Good thing I didn't spend it all. I still have over sixty thousand left."

"Kushida is amazing. If it weren't for her, we still wouldn't know..."

Yuto sat in his seat and turned a page in his book. He felt several classmates' gazes land on him, but he did not look up. This was the best time to let Kushida control the situation.

And Kushida did handle it very well.

She stood up, her voice gentle but clear. "Everyone, don't panic yet. Finding out now is actually a good thing, because we still have time to prepare. If we only discovered the reduction after next month's points were distributed, that would be truly catching us off guard."

Matsushita nodded beside her. "Kushida is right."

Kushida continued, "As long as we stop spending recklessly from today onward, this month's one hundred thousand points will still be enough. We may receive less next month, but it won't be no income at all. As long as we spend carefully, there won't be a problem."

Her words were like a reassuring pill. Several students who had been tense visibly relaxed after hearing them.

Sudo looked up. "Then how much do you think we'll lose?"

Kushida thought for a moment. "That's hard to say. But the school can't possibly stop giving us points entirely. We need points to eat and live, after all. There should be some sort of guaranteed minimum."

Hirata added, "Chabashira advised us to start cutting expenses from this month."

Sudo muttered, "Got it."

During the break, Yuto saw several people gathered together discussing it. Some were calculating their expenses, while others were comforting each other. Ike had a sheet of paper and was scribbling all over it, his expression growing uglier by the minute. Yamauchi was slumped over his desk, looking like he had lost all will to live. Sudo kept a dark expression the whole time.

Several girls gathered together to talk, their voices full of regret.

"I bought a skirt the day before yesterday. It cost over two thousand. If I'd known, I wouldn't have bought it."

"I signed up for an extracurricular class and paid ten thousand in tuition. Now I can't even get a refund."

Kushida walked over and joined their conversation. "It's okay. You just need to buy less from now on. And if you attend that extracurricular class seriously, it isn't really a waste."

Her tone was relaxed and natural. The girls visibly loosened up after hearing her.

Yuto watched everything unfold and found it somewhat subtle. Kushida used to do this sort of thing to build her image, carefully calculating every word she said. But now it was different. She genuinely meant the things she said for the sake of the class. Her act was still flawless, but her motives had changed.

That afternoon, Class D's atmosphere was completely different from usual. In the past, as soon as lunch break started, people would discuss where to go after school. Today, everyone sat obediently in their seats. A few students borrowed reference books to read, saying they wanted to prepare for the exams in advance. Even Sudo, who was usually the loudest, had become much quieter.

Before school ended, Hirata organized a brief class meeting. He drew a table on the blackboard, writing items on the left and estimated expenses on the right. "I suggest everyone start keeping accounts from now on. Write down everything you spend each day."

Kushida added from beside him, "The food in the school cafeteria isn't expensive. Three or four hundred points are enough for one meal. If you don't buy snacks and drinks, one thousand points a day is more than enough."

Sudo snorted from the side. "Easy for you to say. How can anyone not buy snacks?"

Kushida smiled. "You just need to cut back a little. For example, if you used to buy two drinks every day, changing that to one a day would save quite a lot."

After the class meeting ended, several students voluntarily approached Kushida and asked whether she could still contact that information channel. Kushida naturally replied that she would try to stay in touch, but she was not sure whether the other party could obtain more information. She handled the balance perfectly.

After school, Yuto received a message from Kushida.

"Meet at the cake shop?"

Yuto replied with an okay.

By the time he arrived at the cake shop, Kushida was already waiting there. She sat in a corner seat with two cups of milk tea in front of her. One was already half-finished, while the other was still sealed. When she saw him push open the door, she smiled and waved him over.

Yuto walked over and sat down. He picked up the untouched cup of milk tea. It was the tapioca milk tea she had ordered for him, thirty percent sugar and no ice, the same kind he had drunk last time.

"How was today?" he asked.

Kushida held her cup with both hands. "I really am in a good mood. You know, when Hirata came back today, the way the whole class looked at me was completely different. That feeling was pretty great."

Yuto took a sip of milk tea. "Didn't you say you didn't like being an angel?"

"I don't," Kushida said. "But it's fine to enjoy everyone's admiration once in a while. It's not like I lied to them. The information really was true."

Kushida took another sip of milk tea and continued, "Hirata told me Chabashira looked very surprised when she confirmed the information. He had to ask several times before he dared believe it."

Yuto nodded. Chabashira had paid him four hundred thousand to get the job done, yet it had turned out even better than she expected.

"Oh, right." Kushida put down her cup, took an envelope from her pocket, and pushed it toward Yuto. "This is for you."

Yuto glanced at it. It was the envelope containing one hundred thousand points.

"What does this mean?"

Kushida blinked. "The class funds. I told Hirata the money was recovered."

Yuto looked at her. "Didn't you say it was for the class?"

"That was what I originally thought," Kushida said. "But you were the one who provided the information, so the money should naturally be yours. I only helped you put on a little act."

Yuto opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

Kushida did not give him the chance. "Besides, the three hundred thousand I got before is already enough. You need this money more than I do. You need to do business, make arrangements, and deal with all kinds of situations."

"What about future profit shares? You aren't taking those either?"

Kushida thought for a moment. "Not for now. I'll ask you when I truly need it later."

"Aren't you afraid I'll swallow your share?"

Kushida smiled. "You won't. If you were that kind of person, you wouldn't have offered to split the profits with me from the beginning."

Yuto was silent for several seconds before putting the envelope into his pocket.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The two of them sat quietly for a while. Outside the window, several students passed by with convenience store bags in their hands, chatting and laughing as they walked away.

After a while, Yuto's phone vibrated. He took it out and glanced at it. It was a message from an anonymous account. The sender was displayed as: Class C · Kakeru Ryuuen.

Yuto raised an eyebrow and opened the message. Ryuuen's message was very brief:

"The price is negotiable. Four hundred thousand."

After reading it, Yuto did not reply and put his phone back into his pocket.

Kushida noticed the change in his expression. "What is it?"

"Ryuuen," Yuto said. "He wants to buy information. He's offering four hundred thousand."

"How are you going to respond?"

"I'll leave him hanging for two days."

Kushida nodded and smiled. "You're setting rules, letting him know you're not someone to be messed with."

Yuto did not deny it. When dealing with someone like Ryuuen, he could not rush. The more anxious he appeared, the more the other side would think he needed something from them.

Two days was neither particularly long nor particularly short. During those two days, Yuto attended class as usual, worked at the cake shop, and did not open the anonymous account.

It was not until the evening of the second day that Yuto opened the anonymous account in his dorm room. Ryuuen had sent three messages.

The first read: "Four hundred thousand. Are you selling or not?"

The second read: "What do you mean?"

The third read: "Four hundred and fifty thousand. This is my final offer."

After reading them, Yuto's lips curled slightly. He had waited two days precisely for this moment. If he had agreed to four hundred thousand from the start, Ryuuen would have felt he had gotten the short end of the deal. Now that Ryuuen had voluntarily raised the offer to four hundred and fifty thousand, he would instead feel that he had fought for it himself.

Yuto replied, "Fine. Transfer first, information after."

Ryuuen replied almost instantly. "Account."

Yuto sent over his payment code. Less than five minutes later, four hundred and fifty thousand points arrived.

Yuto sent him the information, then closed the anonymous account.

With Ryuuen's four hundred and fifty thousand added in, he now had over one and a half million points in hand. Chabashira's four hundred thousand, Sakayanagi's five hundred thousand, Ichinose's five hundred thousand, Ryuuen's four hundred and fifty thousand, plus the points he had saved from working. This money was enough for him to do many things.

He picked up his phone and sent Kushida a message. "Ryuuen bought it. Four hundred and fifty thousand."

Kushida quickly replied with a happy emoji.

Over the weekend, Yuto went to work at the cake shop. When Miki saw him arrive, she smiled and said, "You've been taking leave pretty often these past two days."

Yuto scratched his head awkwardly. "There were some things going on at school."

Miki did not ask further. She simply said, "Help me make a batch of new matcha cake rolls today."

"Okay."

Yuto tied on his apron and began preparing the ingredients. He sifted the cake flour twice, separated the eggs, dissolved the matcha powder in warm water, and whipped the cream at low speed. He performed every step with practiced ease.

That afternoon, he saw several Class D students pass by outside the shop. Ike pointed at the cake shop display window and said, "Wow, that looks so good." Yamauchi pulled him away. "Stop looking. We need to save money now." "Can't we even eat one slice?" "No. I did the math. For the rest of the time, we can only spend three hundred points a day."

The two of them bickered as they walked away.

Yuto stood behind the counter, watching their backs, and found it a little funny. In the past, they would rush to the convenience store as soon as school ended. Now they did not even dare buy a slice of cake.

That night, after returning to his dorm room, Yuto lay on his bed and went over the recent events in his mind. He had already sold the information to Sakayanagi, Ichinose, and Ryuuen. People from all three classes had obtained it. On Class D's side, Kushida's information had already taken effect, and the entire class had started saving points. He had also completed Chabashira's assignment. Ryuuen's four hundred and fifty thousand had arrived as well.

Over one and a half million points. Less than two weeks after enrolling, he had already earned more points than an ordinary student could save in an entire year.