Since they were all rather reserved, they generally did not say things outright, but sometimes a glance or a few cryptic words were enough for them to understand one another.
"Ichinose, yours float, don't they?" Chiaki Matsushita asked curiously.
"Not really. Sakura's are the kind that would," Ichinose said, steering the conversation toward the introverted Sakura.
Everyone's eyes immediately settled on Sakura. Already shy, she sank straight into the hot spring, leaving only her head above water.
"Don't be shy, Airi. Let everyone see," Hasebe said, circling behind Sakura and lifting her up.
"H-Haru, put me down!" Sakura began to struggle.
"Haha, but yours really are magnificent, Airi." Hasebe gave them a feel.
"Valentine's Day is coming up. Who are you planning to give chocolates to?" Shinohara suddenly asked.
"Hmm... Valentine's Day. I'm planning to give some to all the boys in our class, and then some to Lezheng," Ichinose answered first.
"Wow, Ichinose, you're way too nice," Matsushita said, a little surprised.
"They've done a lot for the class."
"But why give some to Lezheng? There's a story there," Hasebe said, picking up on the key point.
"He's helped me a lot, so it's purely to thank him," Ichinose hurriedly explained.
"But you and Lezheng would make a great couple, Ichinose. You're so cute, you're sure to succeed if you make a move."
"It's too early to talk about making a move. We're not even calling each other by our first names yet."
"What! You're still at the first stage?" Exclamations of surprise rang out around her.
"Oh, let's leave that aside. Who are you planning to give chocolates to on Valentine's Day?" Ichinose changed the subject.
Since Karuizawa and Hirata had officially announced their amicable breakup after returning from the cruise, most of the Class D girls' answers involved Hirata.
"Kei, who are you planning to give chocolates to?"
Matsushita patted Karuizawa on the shoulder, having noticed that her best friend had occasionally been hugging herself and smiling since returning from the cruise.
"I... I don't have anyone I want to give any to," Karuizawa said, sounding a little dejected.
"Sorry, Kei." Matsushita thought her words had brought back the pain of the breakup.
In truth, Karuizawa was dejected because she did not know whether Lezheng would let her give him chocolates.
Back on the boys' side, after Lezheng was declared the winner of the inaugural Tyrannosaurus Award, everyone finished bathing and returned to the dormitory. But during roll call, Lezheng discovered that Tsukimi had not returned yet, so he informed Katsuragi and went out alone to look for him.
Nagumo had specifically come over to threaten them that day, and that night Tsukimi had "disappeared." Lezheng figured Tsukimi had already fallen victim to him and quickened his pace.
When Lezheng found Tsukimi, he was resting against a tree with his head tilted back.
"Tsukimi, was this Miyabi Nagumo's doing?" Lezheng went over and supported him by the arm.
"Yes, and he brought a lot of people," Tsukimi said with a nod.
"I'll help you back first. Leave this to me."
On the fifth day, the school's scheduled lesson was a forest relay. Since Tsukimi was injured, his section was temporarily added to Lezheng's route.
Ever since Lezheng had given him a one-sided beating, Nagumo had been taking three to five people with him whenever he went out at night. After retaliating against a Class A student yesterday, he now brought at least ten people when he went out at night.
He had thought he would no longer be afraid if he encountered Lezheng again, until he saw him standing alone on a route he regularly took. At last, he remembered the force of that punch that night.
Lezheng had started intercepting people after dinner. Under his amiable persuasion, he had finally obtained this crucial information, so he waited alone on this path for over an hour before Nagumo appeared.
"Miyabi Nagumo, long time no see. Here I am again." Lezheng slowly approached.
"Get him. Just don't kill him," Nagumo ordered his lackeys to charge.
Five minutes later, his ten lackeys lay sprawled across the ground, clutching their noses. Lezheng stood only a meter away from Nagumo.
"Heh, so what if you can fight? I'll still go after your classmates," Nagumo said, forcing himself to remain calm.
"I certainly can't protect them every moment, but whenever they get hurt, I'll come after you. If I remember correctly, your dorm room at school is 408, right?" Lezheng smiled.
Nagumo suddenly lunged at him, intending a surprise attack, but a cross punch met him. The bandages over his nose were knocked loose, and his nose began bleeding again. Lezheng immediately followed up with a punch to his abdomen.
The pain in his abdomen doubled Nagumo over and left him unable to resist. Lezheng grabbed his hair and hauled his upper body upright, staring at him calmly.
"I look forward to our next meeting."
Miyabi Nagumo was tossed aside, his eyes fixed on Lezheng's retreating back.
On the sixth day, more than ten people taking leave finally alerted Horikita Manabu. He approached Lezheng at lunchtime; Lezheng had been his first suspect when he received the news.
"Did you have anything to do with Nagumo and the others taking leave?"
"I did it. How do you intend to deal with me, President Horikita?" Lezheng admitted.
"Don't go too far. Know where to draw the line."
Horikita Manabu only gave Lezheng a verbal warning. It seemed Nagumo going after Secretary Tachibana this time had slightly changed the normally rule-bound President Horikita.
"Is Tachibana doing all right?"
"Things are terrible. The others in Tachibana's group have isolated her."
"President Horikita, is there any way to keep Tachibana from being expelled?" Lezheng asked.
"A student facing expulsion in this exam needs 300 Class Points and twenty million Private Points to avoid the punishment."
"It actually takes that much?"
"Perhaps the rules allow such large gains and losses in Class Points because this is the third-years' final group activity," Horikita Manabu speculated.
The time after dinner was theirs to spend as they pleased. When people had time on their hands, they were prone to stirring up trouble. Igari, who was both the group leader and the one leading the effort to isolate Tachibana, started making trouble again.
"Tch, look at Akane Tachibana, slacking off again. She was the reason we failed today's forest relay."
"Exactly. She has time now, but she still won't practice. What rotten luck being in her group," someone chimed in.
"That was only because you were all walking!" Tachibana retorted loudly.
"Hah, if we were walking, couldn't you have run faster?"
Their group descended into another of its daily arguments, but compared with the boys, they were practically civilized.
"You left yourself open, bastard!" Kato from Class 2-D launched a sneak attack from behind Lezheng.
Lezheng spun around and sent him flying with a roundhouse kick, then immediately rolled right to evade Nagumo's powerful overhead blow. He then blocked a punch from the front and rose with a knee strike.
"Grab weapons!" Nagumo shouted, leading the charge.
The others still standing began searching their surroundings for anything they could use.
Nagumo swung a wooden stick. Lezheng kept dodging, then seized an opening to grab Nagumo's arm and twist it behind his back. Nagumo released the stick in pain, and Lezheng slammed a fist into his stomach.
Nagumo's eyes bulged from the blow. He collapsed to the ground clutching his stomach with both hands, his body twitching and drool spilling from his mouth.
Holding Nagumo's wooden stick, Lezheng swung at the next person.
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