The afterglow of the mid-term exams had not completely faded, and new undercurrents were already quietly stirring.
second year Class B classroom.
Ryuuen Kakeru's gaze was fixed on the class points ranking displayed on his phone screen.
Class A 1082
Class B 956
Class C 902
Class D 87
Class A was still out of reach, that mountain named "Sakamoto" stood in the way, difficult to shake.
But what made him feel a sense of urgency was Class C, hot on his heels.
902 points.
Only a 54-point difference from his Class B.
Ichinose Honami, that woman, indeed had some skill, to be able to unite Class C to such an extent.
"They're biting really close..." Ryuuen muttered to himself.
Head-on confrontation was not his style; he preferred to dismantle opponents in a more effortless and covert manner.
His gaze finally fell on Class D, at the bottom of the ranking.
87 points.
A pitiful score, almost negligible.
But sometimes, the most inconspicuous chess piece can often become the key to shifting the situation.
Especially within this class, there seemed to be some interesting "fissures" hidden.
A rough plan began to gradually become clear in his mind.
Utilize Class D.
Utilize their internal conflicts.
Let them become a blunt knife aimed at Class C.
No need to cause fatal damage, just enough trouble and suspicion to slow down Class C's upward momentum and affect their class points evaluation.
That would be enough.
As for Sakamoto... Ryuuen's gaze swept over Class A's points again, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
That man was still a huge variable.
The sudden change in the mid-term exam question types, Hashimoto's vague response, all made him vaguely feel that the second year's conspiracy to frame Sakamoto had probably been quietly resolved by the other party in some way he couldn't understand, and even used to consolidate his position.
"Is he connected to the school's higher-ups...?" Ryuuen scoffed softly, shaking off this somewhat absurd thought.
Now was not the time to delve into this.
For now, resolve the most immediate threat.
His plan needed to be more cautious, and he had to bypass areas that might attract Sakamoto's attention.
Meanwhile, in First Year Class D.
The afternoon classroom was filled with a lazy and sluggish atmosphere.
The sense of relief from narrowly passing the mid-term exams gradually faded, and the harsh reality resurfaced—they were still the bottom Class D.
The idiot trio—Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudo—were still gathered together, joking around, but in subtle ways, there seemed to be some changes.
They still gathered around Kushida Kikyo, laughing, and Kushida still responded to everything with her impeccable sweet smile.
However, a certain inexplicable sense of distance quietly existed between them.
As if separated by an invisible thin film.
Conversely, their relationship with Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had, after the "shared hardship" of the study group, become somewhat more amicable, even closer.
At least, Sudo no longer verbally abused Horikita at every turn, and Yamauchi and Ike would occasionally ask Horikita for advice.
Ayanokoji observed the changes.
He and Horikita both tacitly maintained a certain distance from Kushida.
That suspiciously sourced "past exam questions"—Horikita initially suspected it was Sakamoto's "charity" or "trap," but Ayanokoji offered a more reasonable speculation: it was more like a widespread distribution by some second year student, using Sakamoto's name, and Kushida was perhaps just one of many recipients.
This explanation greatly relieved Horikita, and her inexplicable aversion to Sakamoto seemed to have softened somewhat as a result.
But her view of Kushida quietly changed.
"Even if the exam papers came from the same source, her choice to give them privately to the idiot trio instead of publicly during the study group is suspicious in itself," Horikita told Ayanokoji during their phone call that night, "She seems... not as open as she appears on the surface."
Ayanokoji was noncommittal about this.
As long as it didn't disrupt his peaceful school life,
he was happy to see someone proactively take on the responsibility of managing these "troubles."
It was after school.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, as usual,
prepared to return to his dorm as quickly as possible.
Horikita Suzune naturally followed not far behind him.
The two lived in the same dormitory building,
and with the start of a new month,
Horikita seemed to have some ideas about the class's future plans that she wanted to discuss with Ayanokoji.
However,
they hadn't walked far when a light, lively voice rang out from behind them.
"Horikita-san! Classmate Ayanokoji! Wait for me!"
Kushida Kikyo jogged to catch up,
her face beaming with a bright, cloudless smile,
and naturally joined their group.
"What a coincidence! Shall we go back together?"
she said with a smile.
Ayanokoji nodded expressionlessly.
Horikita's reaction was somewhat subdued; she merely gave a slight nod and said nothing more.
But compared to her attitude at the start of the school year, which was outright dismissive or even disgusted,
it was a world of difference.
Kushida seemed completely unfazed by this coolness,
actively seeking topics of conversation along the way,
from trivial weather talk to minor amusing anecdotes from class.
The atmosphere wasn't lively, but it wasn't too stiff either.
As they walked,
Kushida suddenly turned the conversation to Horikita,
her tone carrying a hint of well-placed anticipation and probing:
"Hey, Horikita-san, are we… friends now?"
Horikita's steps faltered for a moment.
She glanced sideways at Kushida's large eyes, which were full of "sincerity,"
and after a moment of silence,
she replied somewhat stiffly:
"…I suppose so."
"That's great!"
Kushida immediately broke into an even brighter smile,
as if she had received immense validation.
"I've always wanted to be good friends with Horikita-san!"
Just then,
at the corner of the road ahead,
a tall, elegant figure walked unhurriedly.
Black-rimmed glasses,
an impeccable hairstyle,
and calm, unhurried steps.
It was Sakamoto.
"Good evening, everyone."
As Sakamoto-kun passed them,
he gave a slight nod and greeted them in a steady voice.
"Good evening, Sakamoto-kun."
Horikita responded instinctively, her tone slightly reserved.
"Oh."
Ayanokoji gave a brief acknowledgment.
Kushida Kikyo's smile froze for an instant.
Although she quickly resumed smiling,
and also returned the "Good evening" greeting,
that brief, unnatural pause
did not escape Ayanokoji's seemingly indifferent eyes.
Sakamoto-kun did not stop,
as if he had merely passed by coincidentally, and after greeting them, he continued walking forward,
his figure quickly disappearing into the twilight.
After the brief interlude,
the atmosphere seemed to have subtly shifted.
Kushida was still talking,
but the topic had quietly turned to irrelevant matters,
no longer involving "friends" or class affairs.
Horikita occasionally responded with a word,
while Ayanokoji remained silent throughout.
The three of them, each with their own thoughts,
walked in silence all the way to the dormitory building.
"Well then, see you tomorrow!"
Kushida waved goodbye with a smile at the elevator entrance, then turned and walked towards her room.
Horikita watched her retreating back,
frowning slightly,
seemingly wanting to say something to Ayanokoji about Kushida's reaction just now,
but ultimately she just shook her head.
"Regarding next month's plan, let's talk about it another time."
She finished speaking, then also turned and left.
Ayanokoji stood in place,
quietly watching the direction they had left.
PS: Only one chapter today, because while organizing the manuscript, I discovered a problem.
In the original work, there is a one-month gap between the first and second volumes, from the end of May to the end of June, for which the original work provides no description.
So I still have to try to fill this blank period; simply skipping over it would seem too rushed.
This means I will have to extensively revise my existing drafts again, which might be quite troublesome.
I will update three chapters tomorrow.
Thank you for your support, dear readers.