Chapter 13

Nangong Cheng went straight back to Class D.

Horikita Suzune was still sitting upright at her desk, reading. Like a snow lotus blooming alone on an icy peak, she had an air of someone to be admired from afar, never touched.

"Chabashira-sensei already knows what we did this morning. She wants me to lead Class D up the ranks."

"What do you think?"

Sitting down, preferably. Lying down would be even better.

Nangong Cheng leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, looking lazy and relaxed.

"What exactly did she say to you?"

Horikita Suzune frowned, perhaps searching for the right words.

"She heard from the other three homeroom teachers that we sold information. At first, she thought we shouldn't have done it."

"But when I told her it was your idea, she went quiet for a while, then asked me about you."

Nangong Cheng raised an eyebrow.

Sae Chabashira... There was a hint of what Horikita Suzune might look like as an adult if she had never met Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

Her reputation was poor overall, but she probably had plenty of admirers who were into her looks.

"What did you tell her?"

"I've known you for less than twenty-four hours in total, so naturally I said I didn't know much about you."

Horikita Suzune's tone remained steady. Nangong Cheng knew she was still doing a clumsy imitation of Horikita Manabu.

Manabu might become his brother-in-law someday, but as a man, Nangong Cheng wanted to be the most important man in Horikita Suzune's heart.

Hmm. I need to find a way to make that happen.

"But after I told her what you'd said to me earlier, she fell silent again. Then she let me leave without another word."

Horikita Suzune paused and glanced at Nangong Cheng before continuing. "I think she'll come to see you alone, too. Be careful."

"Yeah, I know."

Nangong Cheng stretched.

Sae Chabashira's obsession ran almost as deep as Kikyo Kushida's. Once she learned that he had sold information and wanted to reach Class A on his own, she was bound to come looking for him.

Just as she had approached Kiyotaka Ayanokoji in the original story.

But this time, she would probably be disappointed.

Nangong Cheng had no desire to become Class D's full-time babysitter. He would leave that dirty, exhausting work to Horikita Suzune. She was happy to do it anyway.

Speaking of Horikita Suzune, Nangong Cheng had a new idea.

The trial recommendation started today. From now until the paid release, I'll basically keep to three updates a day.

So this struggling author is on his knees begging you not to let chapters pile up. Even if you only have time to click in and scroll to the bottom, that would help.

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Volume One: Compensation Later

Before long, classes were over for the day.

Nangong Cheng was about to get up when the phone in his uniform pocket vibrated.

He took it out and looked at the message—

[We left in such a hurry last time, Nangong. Are you free today so we can get to know each other properly?]

It was from Kikyo Kushida.

Nangong Cheng glanced at Kikyo Kushida, who was chatting happily with her little group, and realized she had scheduled the message to send automatically.

"I heard the clubs are recruiting today, and the Student Council President might make an appearance. Are you going?"

Instead of replying right away, he turned to Horikita Suzune, who was tidying her desk beside him.

Her hands stopped for a noticeable beat.

"You knew?"

"I guessed when you mentioned that 'upperclassman.' Don't forget, the Student Council President introduced himself at the entrance ceremony."

Horikita Suzune was caught off guard.

She had completely overlooked that detail.

But...

"Whether you go is up to you. If you do, pass along a message for me while you're there. I'll pay you for the errand."

"...What message?"

The money didn't matter. Horikita Suzune just wanted to know what Nangong Cheng was planning this time.

"I'll send it to your phone in a bit." Nangong Cheng glanced discreetly at Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, who was still in the corner learning how to be an ordinary person.

Then he looked at Sakura Airi, who had not left the classroom yet.

"See you tomorrow, Sakura."

"S-see you tomorrow..."

Sakura Airi silently watched Nangong Cheng walk away until he disappeared from sight. Then, hunched over and looking as though she hoped no one would notice her, she got up and left the classroom.

Kikyo Kushida had been keeping an eye on the back of the classroom. Nangong Cheng had read her message without replying, then left as if nothing had happened.

Anger flared in her chest.

On the outside, though, she remained as sweet as ever.

"Kushida, the clubs are recruiting later. Should we go take a look?"

"Are there any clubs you all want to join?"

Kikyo Kushida had no interest in club activities. They would eat into the time she had to herself.

Unfortunately, that was how school culture worked here.

If she could, she would choose a club obscure enough to accept members who never showed up.

As Kikyo Kushida let her mind wander while keeping up with the group's conversation, her phone suddenly vibrated.

Could it be?

[Café.]

The message was, of course, from Nangong Cheng.

Her mood brightened a little.

"Why don't we go sit in the café for a while?"

"There's no rush to pick a club. I heard recruitment lasts a week, so we can learn more about them before choosing one we like."

With a little steering, she brought the subject to a close.

Kikyo Kushida's influence was already becoming apparent.

Before leaving the classroom, she glanced at Horikita Suzune, who was getting up as well. Something unreadable flashed in her eyes.

Fifteen minutes later.

Nangong Cheng watched Kikyo Kushida walk into the café with her friends, wearing a smile that did not reach his eyes.

"Nangong! What a coincidence~"

"Kushida? It really is."

Come on... You can fool other people, but don't fool yourself. You can drop the act now.

When he saw her message, Nangong Cheng had already guessed what Kikyo Kushida wanted. Either she wanted to do another task, or she wanted to use him to get close to Horikita Suzune.

Unfortunately, she had made the wrong choice.

If she had gone to the club recruitment event, she could have crossed paths with Horikita Suzune. By coming to meet him, she had missed out on that, and there were no tasks left to issue today.

You lose either way.

"These must be Inogashira and Wang Meiyu, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Nangong Cheng."

As he introduced himself again, Nangong Cheng made a point of pronouncing Wang Meiyu's name in fluent Chinese.

Sure enough, her eyes lit up.

"Your Chinese sounds so natural! Nangong... Are you from China?"

"Yes. It's great to meet someone from home here, Wang Meiyu." Nangong Cheng continued answering her in Chinese.

Meeting someone from home in a foreign country was enough to bring tears to their eyes.

Cultural differences could be hard to get used to. Ever since Wang Meiyu had moved to Japan with her parents, she had struggled to adapt to its customs and culture.

School culture had been especially difficult.

She had put up with plenty. Her social skills were decent enough to spare her from the worst bullying, at least.

Even so, life had not been easy.

Now the words came pouring out.

As the center of their little group, Kikyo Kushida felt her temper rising again. Nangong Cheng was chatting away with one of her friends right in front of her, and she could not even understand what they were saying.

"What are you two talking about, Nangong?"

"And you never told us you were from China during the class meeting. You kept us in the dark~"

Nangong Cheng was unmoved by Kikyo Kushida's forced cuteness.

Wang Meiyu, however, grew flustered.

"Sorry, Kushida! We didn't mean to leave you out. I just got a little excited, and we were only talking about things back home."

"It didn't seem important, and people might look at me differently if I brought it up, so I didn't mention it," Nangong Cheng added to smooth things over.

After all, he had deliberately used Chinese to catch Wang Meiyu's attention and put pressure on Kikyo Kushida.

But Wang Meiyu was a sweet, innocent girl with no ulterior motives. He could not let her take the blame for him.

"All right~"

Kikyo Kushida had no choice but to swallow her frustration.

She had not sought out Nangong Cheng today because she had nothing better to do. She was already impatient to complete her second task.

She knew perfectly well that a task she refused to do could bring down a harsh punishment. But... the Exchange Shop offered far too many good things.

So even though she could tell Nangong Cheng was deliberately keeping some distance from her, she had decided to approach him anyway.

Besides, she now had another reason.

Nangong Cheng was getting too close to Horikita Suzune!

Horikita Suzune's personality made her unlikely to bother dealing with other people, but there was always a chance. Kikyo Kushida would not gamble on someone else's goodwill.

"I know how it feels, so you two can take your time chatting in private. But right now, you're not allowed to leave Inogashira and me out."

"My fault. Next time, I promise."

Nangong Cheng merely smiled.

If I start meeting Wang Meiyu in private all the time, you'll just sulk again and take it out on that sweet girl.