Everyone wants to gather and take a piece of the cake when things are good, but when things go wrong, everyone runs away.
"Ayanokōji…" Kikyō Kushida stared gloomily at Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, the meaning in her eyes clear.
I'm out of points. Hurry up and give me some money.
The 100,000 points demanded by Kanzaki should have been paid by everyone in Class D. However, when points were mentioned, everyone adopted the expression of: whoever caused the trouble pays.
The midterm exam papers that Kikyō Kushida and Kiyotaka Ayanokōji paid for? We want them!
We are all classmates. It's good for the class if we score well in the midterm exams and earn more class points.
The 100,000 points extorted by Class A? Sorry, we're not close enough.
We weren't the ones who got caught buying the exam papers. Whoever got caught pays the compensation.
Blame yourselves for being so careless and letting someone record the video. If I had gone, they definitely wouldn't have caught me.
The matter finally concluded with Kikyō Kushida and Kiyotaka Ayanokōji splitting the cost, each paying 50,000 points.
Most students in Class D chose to watch coldly. When the good-natured Yōsuke Hirata tried to speak up, Kei Karuizawa pulled him aside.
With his fake girlfriend pulling his sleeve, Yōsuke Hirata quickly realized the truth.
The class members didn't have any points left. Even if he urged everyone to contribute, they simply couldn't gather the amount, and it would only cause embarrassment.
Yōsuke Hirata retracted his internal thoughts and apologized weakly to Kikyō Kushida and Kiyotaka Ayanokōji: "I'm sorry… Kushida and Ayanokōji…"
Kikyō Kushida watched everyone's actions, silently holding grudges against all of them. Yet, when facing Yōsuke Hirata's apology, she still smiled: "It's okay, Hirata."
"Mhm, it's fine."
Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, acting as if nothing was wrong, calmly accepted Yōsuke Hirata's apology under Kikyō Kushida's gaze and returned to his seat without giving the girl any signal.
Seeing Kiyotaka Ayanokōji's attitude, Kikyō Kushida became internally more anxious, looking solemnly at the points balance on her phone: 1542 points.
I won't be able to survive…
Kikyō Kushida realized she had already been drained of much of her resources by Class D.
Starting from Kei Karuizawa borrowing points, to the 300,000 points she borrowed from Ren, and now the 50,000 points compensation.
As a social girl, Kikyō Kushida's spending on points was higher than any other student in the class, excluding Rokusuke Kōenji.
And Kikyō Kushida's current balance… might not be enough to maintain her social standing.
As for asking Kei Karuizawa and others who borrowed money to return the points…
"Kushida, what's the big deal? Just go borrow more from Katsuragi~"
"I'm sorry, Kushida… I don't have any extra points right now."
"Huh? You've only lent it to me for a short while, and you're already rushing to collect, Kushida?"
Kikyō Kushida perfectly predicted in her mind what these people in the class would say to dismiss her.
This would not only fail to get her points back but would also severely damage her image in the class.
A loss too great to bear…
Closing the points balance screen, Kikyō Kushida opened her contacts list, staring blankly at the contact she had pinned to the top.
Do I really have to go to him…? But what would the price be this time?
It seems… he is the only drowning man's straw she can grab.
Kikyō Kushida's eyes were full of confusion. She didn't know what choice to make.
Class D… is truly rotten to the core…
A sharp pain shot up from her thigh. Kiyotaka Ayanokōji turned his head towards the source of the pain.
Seeing Kiyotaka Ayanokōji turn his head, Suzune Horikita removed the compass from his thigh, looking at Kiyotaka Ayanokōji without any guilt.
"You acted with Kikyō Kushida." Her tone was devoid of emotion, as if Suzune Horikita was simply stating a fact.
"Yes. You weren't suitable for that task, and Kushida was able to complete it well."
Hearing Kiyotaka Ayanokōji's reply, Suzune Horikita curled her lip into a mocking arc: "But you seem to have failed."
As if he hadn't understood Suzune Horikita's sarcasm, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji spoke calmly: "No, I didn't. All I needed in the end was the midterm exam paper. The 100,000 points taken by Class A was merely an incident that occurred during the process."
The process doesn't matter; all that matters is winning the outcome.
This was the philosophy Kiyotaka Ayanokōji had been instilled with by the adults since childhood during his growth in the White Room.
Kiyotaka Ayanokōji was not concerned about the 50,000 points he lost. Getting the midterm exam papers to ensure no one in Class D failed was enough.
Noticing Kiyotaka Ayanokōji's perpetually unchanged expression, Suzune Horikita realized she truly was naive. She couldn't read her brother, she couldn't read Ren, and she couldn't read Kiyotaka Ayanokōji.
Suzune Horikita didn't understand why Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, who had no income from points in Class D, showed no sign of distress after losing 50,000 points in one go.
Suzune Horikita knew Kiyotaka Ayanokōji was concealing his true personality, but he hadn't actively tried to earn any extra points, acting just like an ordinary person.
She didn't understand why Kiyotaka Ayanokōji's composure was so strong… so strong that… he didn't seem like a normal person.
...
Mmm…
Ren, who was hugging Koharu and burying his head in her smooth fur, mumbled: "Alright, alright, get up, I'm getting up, Mochi, stop your kneading."
Initially, Little Mochi had jumped onto his back and was just lying there quietly, but before Ren could get more sleep, the little guy started kneading his back.
Seeing that Ren was awake, Koharu gently picked up Little Mochi by the scruff of her neck and jumped off the bed. She used her tail to gently close the door as she left the room.
11:30.
Lighting up his phone screen, Ren looked at the time and understood why Mochi had woken him up.
The little one was hungry.
After getting dressed and washing up in the bathroom, Ren went downstairs and entered the kitchen to prepare porridge for the two cats.
After feeding the two cats, Ren sat on the sofa, mindlessly scrolling through his phone, pondering what to eat for lunch.
As he scrolled, a message popped up on the screen.
Kikyō Kushida: Bastard, lend me 30,000 points. I can't afford to eat.
Ren: ?
Kikyō Kushida: I will pay the price.
Ren:
Tea House Location
Closing the chat with Kikyō Kushida, a message from Airi popped up.
Airi: Ren, what about Honami?
Ren: I'll handle it.
Airi: Mhm mhm, Ren, remember to eat well at noon!
Ren: You too, Airi.
Putting down his phone, Ren took a voice recorder from the desk drawer in the study.
It's time for me to have a chat with some seniors.
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