Chapter 144: That's Hard to Believe!
Students who had never wagered against Yuto thought Nagumo Miyabi was absolutely ridiculous.
He had already suffered one defeat against this first-year student at the basketball court. Now he had lost a second time and even been kicked out of the student council!
Those who had actually wagered against Yuto had a different opinion.
Nagumo's loss was completely understandable.
After all, Shimizu Yuto was a demon—one who simply could not be defeated.
With the announcement published, Nagumo's reputation and authority suffered an enormous blow, practically collapsing overnight.
That immediately stirred the ambitions of second-year students who had never accepted his rule. They began considering challenging Nagumo's Class A again.
Previously, Nagumo had been student council vice president and the likely successor to the presidency.
Afraid that he might abuse the student council's authority against them, many students had reluctantly abandoned the idea of competing with him.
But Nagumo was no longer part of the student council!
He could no longer use its authority to suppress them.
So why should they continue tolerating him?
Almost immediately, hidden currents began surging throughout the entire second year.
Nagumo's control over the grade was starting to crumble.
...
Inside his dorm room, Ryuen looked at the noticeboard announcement Ishizaki had forwarded to him and showed a mocking smile.
"Nagumo Miyabi got defeated by Shimizu Yuto too."
Although Ryuen and Nagumo had cooperated, their relationship had never been particularly good.
Furthermore, Ryuen had already obtained permission to take the midterm.
He no longer needed Nagumo.
Therefore, seeing Nagumo suffer did not make Ryuen sympathetic in the slightest.
Instead, he found it extremely satisfying and even wanted to mock him.
After all, Nagumo had previously ridiculed Ryuen because his subordinates failed their task and allowed Yuto to turn the entire scheme against them.
Now Nagumo had suffered the exact same fate because Shiraki failed to perform properly.
They had both lost to Shimizu Yuto.
Neither had any right to laugh at the other.
"Nagumo probably got caught because of the forged-paper scheme."
"Good thing I found an excuse to avoid handling it myself. Otherwise..."
Ryuen clicked his tongue.
Otherwise, given that he was already suspended, the school probably would have expelled him immediately.
Continuing to cause trouble while suspended would make it appear that he had learned nothing from his punishment.
After thinking about it for a while, Ryuen suddenly realized something.
His expression changed slightly as he fell into thought.
A moment later, he sent Ishizaki a message through Line.
[Have everyone in the class already joined the chat room?]
[Boss Ryuen, the moment they heard you had this year's midterm papers, everyone joined voluntarily. They're all waiting for your instructions!]
[Good.]
[Boss Ryuen, when are you going to give everyone the papers?] Ishizaki asked excitedly.
[Not yet. I need to confirm something first. Tell them to keep waiting. I'll send the papers before eight tonight.]
After obtaining the midterm information and examination papers from Nagumo, Ryuen had originally intended to immediately distribute them among Class C.
He wanted to harvest their gratitude and goodwill, strengthening his position as the class leader.
However, Nagumo's forged-paper scheme against Yuto had now failed.
Ryuen began wondering whether the school might change the upcoming midterm papers because of the incident.
If the school changed them, the papers in Ryuen's hands would become useless scraps.
And if he distributed worthless papers to Class C, his already damaged reputation would become even worse.
"They probably won't change them."
"Nagumo tried to deceive Shimizu Yuto with forged papers, not the genuine ones. So the school should still use the original examination papers."
Ryuen muttered to himself, trying to convince himself.
Still, to eliminate all uncertainty, he called Nagumo to confirm.
It had to be said that after completely losing to Yuto, Ryuen had become considerably more cautious.
Unfortunately, Nagumo's phone was turned off.
Ryuen could only leave his dorm room and head toward Nagumo's clubroom, or search for his lackeys Tonokawa and Mizowaki.
...
"He tried to sell you forged midterm papers?" Suzune asked Yuto suspiciously.
"Then how did you discover they were fake?"
"How would I know whether the papers were fake?" Yuto spread his hands.
"I just thought the guy looked suspicious and didn't resemble a good person, so I wondered whether he was trying to trick me."
"I frightened him a little, and he confessed."
"So if someone were handsome, you'd assume they weren't plotting against you?"
"I never said that," Yuto replied with a smile.
Suzune looked at his handsome, warm smile before quietly turning her gaze away.
Indeed...
Some people could make others lower their guard merely through their appearance and naturally inspire trust.
"I never expected this school to reuse the same examination papers for several years... Wait!"
Kei, who was holding Yuto's arm, suddenly had an idea.
She looked at him excitedly.
"Yuto, doesn't that mean we can buy old examination papers from upperclassmen?"
"Then we wouldn't need to study so hard!"
Suzune, who had been distracted by Yuto's smile, paused.
She had been so focused on his story that she had not realized they could simply purchase previous papers and practice the exact questions.
"We could, but I wouldn't recommend relying on them," Yuto said, shaking his head.
"No one can guarantee that this year's midterm papers will remain unchanged."
"Mm, that's true..." Kei replied somewhat dejectedly.
"But they'd still be useful as practice questions and past papers."
Yuto smiled and looked toward Suzune.
"Horikita, you could buy previous midterms and make Sudo and the others complete them. That would show you roughly how many points they can score."
"I was thinking the same thing." Suzune nodded.
"But I don't know who sells those papers."
"Ask your brother. He's already a third-year student, so he might still have his first-year midterm papers."
"Um..."
Suzune's gaze immediately began wandering.
Whenever this proud snow fox heard anything involving her brother, she suddenly became timid.
Yuto watched her hesitation with amusement.
At that moment, the phone in his pocket rang.
Since Kei was clinging to his arm, Yuto could not easily reach into his pocket.
"Kei, grab my phone for me."
"Okay~"
Smiling brightly, Kei reached into the pocket of Yuto's uniform and pulled out his phone.
She glanced at the caller ID.
A slightly strange expression appeared on her face before she looked toward Suzune.
"Horikita Manabu... That's your brother, right?"
"Hmm?"
Suzune immediately looked toward Yuto's phone.
The caller ID really did display Horikita Manabu.
Her brother was actually calling Shimizu?!
He never called her!
No...
He had called her before, but that was only to ask about Shimizu!
Under Suzune's slightly resentful gaze, Yuto answered with a helpless smile.
He then immediately pressed the phone beside Suzune's ear.
"Ah!"
The sudden feeling of the phone against her cheek and ear made Suzune let out a small cry of surprise.
Yuto was accustomed to seeing her cold and composed expression.
Seeing her startled and flustered instead created an unexpectedly adorable contrast.
She was actually rather cute like this.
Manabu frowned when he heard a familiar female voice through the phone.
"Suzune?"
"Y-Yes, Nii-san! It's me!" Suzune hurriedly answered before glaring angrily at Yuto.
Yuto smiled.
"Horikita, hold it yourself. Or do you expect me to keep holding the phone for you?"
Suzune shot him an embarrassed glare before taking the phone from his hand.
"Nii-san, good afternoon," she greeted quietly.
Although she had not mentally prepared herself to speak with Manabu, she had no choice now.
What else could she do?
Throw the phone back at Yuto?
"...Good afternoon."
Manabu adjusted his glasses as a sharp light flashed through his eyes.
"Suzune, are you currently with Shimizu?"
Yuto suddenly felt a chill, as though some dangerous creature had fixed its gaze on him.
"Yes. The midterm is approaching, so we're heading to the library to study," Suzune answered obediently.
Kei stared at her as though she had seen a ghost.
Was this really the same proud and cold Horikita Suzune?
She could actually sound this obedient and gentle?!
That was hard to believe!
"Good. It seems you've become friends with Shimizu."
"I was beginning to think you would continue isolating yourself forever."
Suzune pressed her thin lips together.
In reality, things were not very different.
Among everyone in Class D—no, perhaps the entire school—there was only one person she could casually speak with.
That person was Yuto.
Did Manabu not count?
Of course not.
Suzune did not possess the courage to casually chat with her brother!
Unwilling to discuss friendship with Manabu, Suzune changed the subject.
"Nii-san, do you still have your first-year midterm papers?"
Manabu sat slightly straighter without changing his expression.
"I do. Why are you asking?"
"Shimizu said this school has reused the same midterm papers for several years, so I want a copy."
"What if this year's papers are different?" Manabu asked slowly.
"That doesn't matter."
"I only want them as past papers for reference. I'm not planning to depend on old questions to earn full marks," Suzune answered without hesitation.
Manabu was extremely satisfied with her response.
If his sister had placed excessive importance on the old examination papers, he would have been deeply disappointed.
"Still, Nii-san, I think this year's midterm papers will probably remain the same."
"What makes you think that?"
Suzune glanced toward Yuto.
"Our class quizzes used exactly the same papers as previous years."
"That's why I think there's a high chance the midterm will also remain unchanged."
"You already investigated the quiz papers?"
"Not me. Shimizu told me."
Suzune answered honestly.
"You know how Shimizu likes wagering against other people."
"Before the quizzes, an upperclassman once gave him an identical copy of the old quiz paper to complete."
"That made me wonder whether the midterm papers might also be identical."
"That's a reasonable deduction."
"Since you want my first-year midterm papers, I'll bring them and meet you at the library," Manabu said.
"You don't need to go through the trouble, Nii-san! I can come and get them myself!" Suzune hurriedly replied.
"Delivering the papers is incidental."
"I mainly have something to discuss with Shimizu."
"Give the phone back to him."
"...Oh."
Suzune immediately looked dejected.
She had the distinct feeling that her brother was much more enthusiastic about speaking with Yuto than with her.
With a resentful expression, Suzune handed the phone back.
"My brother wants to speak with you."
"Hello, senpai. What did you want?"
"There's something I need to discuss with you face-to-face."
"You're going to the library with Suzune, correct? I'll come there as well," Manabu said.
"Can't you just tell me over the phone?" Yuto asked strangely.
"It'll be clearer in person. Is it inconvenient?"
"Not really. Come if you want. We'll probably be sitting somewhere near the corner of the library."
"Understood."
Manabu ended the call.
He then returned to his dormitory and took the first-year midterm papers he had kept inside a drawer.
After placing them all into a document envelope, Manabu headed toward the library.
…
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