Hachiman Hikigaya, who returned from his studies after completing his training.

"Fuck, die, die, die, die!"

Shouting, Kusuda got up from the ground and tried to eliminate this pest who had tarnished his idol, but was immediately tackled to the ground by two security guards who were lying in ambush in the coffee shop.

"Are you alright, Hachiman?" Sakura, dressed in a pure white dress, grabbed Hikigaya's arm in a panic to check for any wounds. The fight had really frightened her.

"Shizuku! Look at me, Shizuku!" Uncle Kusuda looked at Sakura with hopeful eyes instead of Hikigaya. "I'm your biggest fan! It's fate that we met here!"

Kusuda roared, her eyes practically bulging out of their sockets, "We're destined for each other, you're mine!"

"I don't belong to your kind!"

For the first time, Hikigaya saw anger on Sakura's face.

“Your existence only makes me hate you.” Sakura approached and looked down at the frantically struggling Kusuda. “I will never admit that you are my fan.”

"No, we are soulmates, we are..."

Before Nantian could finish speaking, he was punched hard by the security guard and knocked unconscious. The security guards at this school, which is backed by a government school, are all strong and muscular men, unlike the old men who guard the gates of other schools.

After knocking Kusuda unconscious, the two easily lifted him up and took him away. Before leaving, they said that according to custom, this extreme fan uncle could never set foot in this school again.

"That was really cool, Airi, the way you rejected him so fiercely." After they left, Hikigaya also praised Sakura for her brave action in standing up for him.

The fact that the well-behaved and shy Sakura can face extreme fans shows that she is gradually improving her self-confidence, which is a good thing. When she can step into school with this 'Shizuku' persona, she will probably no longer be a worrying child.

"Can you pat my head like you used to?"

Before Hikigaya could speak, Sakura grabbed his hand and placed it on her head, gently pressing both hands onto his right palm.

"Praise me again, Hachiman," Sakura said, her face flushed but her gaze lingering on him, her eyes filled with hope.

For Sakura, Hikigaya was the first ray of light after she entered the school. From encouraging her to face her own heart by making her look ugly in the past to helping her deal with extreme fans now, she felt her heart pounding.

The broad back of the man standing in front of her, facing the extreme fans, was like a city wall, giving her a sense of security and comfort. Her anger just now was because the extreme fans wanted to hurt Hachiman.

"I just complimented you on how handsome you are, why are you acting like a little kid again?"

While talking about Hikigaya, he gently stroked Sakura's head. The silky smooth feeling was as always, and her fiery red hair was more beautiful than any silk.

Looking into Sakura's clear eyes, Hikigaya really didn't want to refuse her request, and besides, the feeling of being close to someone wasn't bad.

...san (a brand name) II (a brand name) si (a brand name) ...

A week later, on Sunday at the end of June, after submitting the task completion report to the student council, Arisu Sakayanagi finally received a text message reply. His father, Chairman Sakayanagi, wanted to see him in person and tell him the outcome of the matter.

This made Hachiman feel somewhat flattered. He knew that Sakayanagi's status was that of a high-ranking official, someone with considerable power and influence, and not someone a commoner like him could meet so easily.

This might be because she benefited from the fame of her daughter, Arisu Sakayanagi.

Because the text message didn't include the time and location, Hikigaya also sent a follow-up text message to Sakayanagi to inquire, and Sakayanagi replied very quickly.

Sakayanagi: [I'll pick you up from Class D tomorrow.]

Hachiman: [No, please! Please stop!]

If Sakayanagi really comes to pick him up from Class D, the news will spread throughout the first-year students in no time, and rumors might even circulate that he is Loli Kong.

Although Sakayanagi is cute, he is not a loli, and the person he likes is not a loli.

Sakayanagi: [A small fry is a small fry.]

Hachiman: [Yeah, yeah, I'm just a nobody.]

Sakayanagi: [Since they're just small fry and can't fight back, then it's settled. What can I do? I'm just a little brat.]

...Sigh, that Sakayanagi Mason, it's been over a month since I called her a little brat, how come she still remembers it now.

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Self-Righteous Horikita Suzune

Why are they both just two pieces of bread with the same fried chicken cutlet and vegetables, but the round one is called a hamburger while the triangular one is called a sandwich? And why is his lunch a sandwich?

That damn little brat wouldn't tell me the time, so he didn't dare leave the classroom at noon, afraid that when he came back during lunch break he would see Sakayanagi sitting in his seat.

While complaining, Hachiman opened the packaging and took a big bite. The taste was worse than he expected; there was too much salad dressing in it.

Great, I've blacklisted this store.

"Why didn't you go to the cafeteria today?"

With one hand holding her chair and the other holding her lunchbox, Horikita Suzune and he achieved the feat of sharing a lunch table as classmates.

Horikita is one of the few students in the class who makes his own lunchbox and dinner, and he makes them so delicious that they are comparable to those of an average housewife. Not only is he good at academics and martial arts, but he is also good at cooking.

She's beautiful, and perfect in every way except for her personality.

"Something came up," Hachiman said, swallowing his cold sandwich. "What did you want to discuss with me?"

You don't visit someone's temple without a reason. Horikita isn't exactly driven by self-interest, but he's certainly practical. Asking him to have lunch together means you need something from him.

"Want to eat?"

Without answering his question, Horikita placed the tempura, which emitted an enticing aroma, on his sandwich. Its golden exterior showed no dark spots, making it look incredibly appetizing.

"I haven't answered whether I want to eat or not..."

"It's already covered in your saliva."

"..."

Horikita, who had started eating his bento, maintained that elegant and calm expression, showing not a trace of remorse; his skin was even thicker than Horikita's.

With the crispy outside and tender inside tempura, Hikigaya quickly finished the rest of the sandwich in a few bites, and his hunger no longer returned.

“I wanted to form an elite study group, but Hirata disagreed.”

After he finished his sandwich, Horikita immediately raised her request: there was less than a month left until the final exams, and the school groups in the class were all organized by Hirata.

Hirata's bottom line was simply that his classmates wouldn't be expelled; he didn't have a strong desire to get promoted to A. Therefore, his study groups consisted of one high-achieving student leading several low-achieving students. His approach was mediocre, but not wrong.

Horikita's dissatisfaction did not stem from the fact that it was unfair to high-achieving students who had to waste their study time teaching others.

Instead, she believed that it was better to improve the academic ability of good students than to improve the academic ability of poor students. She thought that as long as good students lowered their scores in the final exams, they could get through it, just like in the midterms.

In subsequent special exams, she believed that one elite student was more useful than several average students with good grades, and that this was a better approach for the class.

"This method is indeed more suitable for this school than Hirata's, but have you thought about how your classmates feel about being left behind, or what other high-achieving students think?"

“We’re the ones with the best abilities, and we can help them get into Class A without them having to work hard, so why aren’t they willing?” Horikita said with a matter-of-fact expression. “Besides, shouldn’t the good students agree? It’s a good thing for them too.”

"Then why does Hirata oppose you? Is he bad at studying?"

“…”

Horikita's beautiful fox-like eyes showed a hint of confusion, and she didn't lift the chopsticks she had placed into the bento box.

“Not only Hirata will oppose it, but Wang Meiyu, Koenji, and Kushida will also oppose it.” Hikigaya became increasingly speechless as he spoke, “Even Shinmura, the only one who might support this approach, will oppose it.”

None of the top students in the class supported Horikita, and even Shinmura, who was most determined to get an A, had been offended by Horikita.

Wang Meiyu, a foreigner, makes friends by tutoring students who are not doing well in school; Gao Yuanji is an unconventional and capricious genius; and Kushida may also ruin his angelic persona.

"And I also object," Hikigaya said calmly as he delivered the decisive blow to Horikita. "Haruka and Airi still need me to teach them. In my opinion, friends are more important than getting an A."

Everyone was around sixteen or seventeen years old; how many of them could truly grasp the benefits of advancing to an A grade? Only two students in Class D were determined to get into an A: Horikita and Shinmura.

The others are either ordinary students who shout that all they care about is youth, or eccentric geniuses who are more rational than adults.

After assigning Horikita the task of analyzing the reasons why each student opposed her proposal, Hikigaya sent her back to her seat. He didn't want to attract attention, as the students who had gone to the cafeteria would be returning soon.

.....

During the lunch break, Sakayanagi didn't come. When Hikigaya, who was in class, thought that Sakayanagi wouldn't come until after school in the afternoon, there was a gentle knock on the classroom door.

No way, no way, Sakayanagi wouldn't go that far, would he?

Despite the sweltering heat, Hachiman felt a chill run down his spine.

Amidst the unremarkable invitation from the Chinese language teacher, the classroom door opened, and an elegant young lady with silver hair stepped into the classroom, surveying the room with an air of superiority.

"Hachigaya Zanpakuto, the principal wants to see you and would like to ask you to come along."

As soon as Sakayanagi finished speaking, the classroom erupted in discussions of varying volumes, with all sorts of different voices rising and falling, and all eyes focused on him.

That wretched little brat Sakayanagi!

Sakayanagi shattered one of his fantasies. His fantasy during his middle school days was that a cute, naive young lady would be attracted to him, barge into the classroom, confess her love to him on stage, and say that she would take care of him for the rest of her life.

He then coldly refused, stating that as the Dark Evil Eye user, his wandering, solitary soul needed no place to be bound.

This is the right way to deal with being approached by a cute young lady in class.

Maintaining an air of indifference, Hachiman chose to stand up and walk towards Sakayanagi before the teacher asked who Hachiman was, and then asked the teacher for leave.

The unremarkable Chinese language teacher naturally agreed with a smile. Every teacher at this school knew that Sakayanagi Arisu was the daughter of the Sakayanagi chairman.

Why would the principal send a student from Class A to call a student from Class D for a meeting? What does that have to do with him, an ordinary Chinese language teacher? As long as he does nothing, he won't make any mistakes.

"Is it this direction?"

After leaving the classroom, Sakayanagi led him in the direction of Class A, which meant that he would have to pass by Class B and Class C and be discovered by students from both classes that he was having a secret rendezvous with Sakayanagi during class time.

"This is the direction, Hachiman Zanpakuto-kun."

Sakayanagi moved slowly, her ethereal, petite figure, gripping her cane, which lessened Hachiman's annoyance at being called a nobody.

"Only children call people that." Putting aside his worries, Hikigaya and Uesaka Yanagi walked side by side down the corridor.

"Hehe." Yin Wu looked at Sakayanagi with a smile that was no longer elegant. "Isn't it true that the younger a girl is, the better? Even though it's just a compliment from a nobody, I'll still thank you."

She was still very happy to be able to tease Hachiman.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Transferring Ayanokouji to Class C

With Sakayanagi Arisu's pass, Hikigaya arrived at the chairman's office without any hindrance. After knocking and receiving permission, he opened the door to let Sakayanagi in before closing it behind him.

Looking around, the chairman's office is very spacious, at least larger than two classrooms. The decoration is in an old-fashioned Western style, with a peach wood bookshelf filled with books behind a wooden desk that is several meters long.

"Welcome, my lovely daughter and Hachiman."

A handsome middle-aged man with short silver hair, just like Arisu Sakayanagi, stood by the coffee table where guests were being served and waved to them. Behind him hung a painting with the words "tireless in teaching".

"Good afternoon, Chairman." Hikigaya was somewhat flattered by being greeted first by such an important person. He hadn't expected Chairman Sakayanagi to be so approachable.

"Please sit down." Sakayanagi Shigemori chuckled and sat down, even pouring them a cup of tea. "Be careful, it's hot."

Sakayanagi Narumi served the steaming tea to the two of them, looking at Hachiman with gentle eyes, "Hachiman-kun, can you tell me about your feelings for Kiyotaka?"

"A rational, terrifying monster."

After careful consideration, Hikigaya presented what he considered to be the most suitable image for Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. He had never seen the joys and sorrows that all humans experience in Ayanokouji's eyes, so he was unwilling to even call him a human being.

"He didn't say a single kind word, even though I called him by his name affectionately," Sakayanagi Narumi said, still with his amiable demeanor.

"A big shot like the chairman wouldn't change his decision because of my flattery, a nobody like me. I'm just telling the chairman my truest thoughts."

“Just like you said, Hikigaya is an interesting person,” said Narumi Sakayanagi, looking at his daughter.

"Of course, I'm very picky."

With a smile, Sakayanagi Arisu picked up her teacup and took a small sip.

"Qinglong is my teacher's son."

Sakayanagi Shigemori suddenly revealed an expression as if recalling the past. Hikigaya was also startled by this, but maintained a calm expression on his face and waited for the chairman to continue.

As expected, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is a person of status. But why was he raised to be the way he is now? Was it his nature or something he was raised later?

"I've watched him grow up, from the moment he was born. It's like looking through a one-sided glass; he's Mr. Duchen's most outstanding work."

"It's rotten to the core." Hikigaya felt a pang of sadness upon understanding Sakayanagi Shigemori's words.

Although he had always suspected that Ayanokouji, who showed no emotional fluctuations, was trained in a special experimental institution, being confirmed by Sakayanagi Shigemori made him feel as if he had been punched in the chest.

Feeling sorry for his own kind, Ayanokouji's father was so beastly that it made him feel physically uncomfortable.

“That’s how the adult world is.” Sakayanagi Narimori just smiled helplessly. “So it’s impossible for Atsuomi-sensei to do anything to you. It would tarnish the reputation of the masterpiece. Chabashira-sensei is lying.”

"Kiyotaka was specially admitted to the school with my help. I originally thought Kiyotaka's escape was accidental, but now I think it may have been specially sent in by Professor Atsushi. He was sure that his masterpiece would win in this school and achieve his goal of promoting his experimental institution."

Ayanokouji Atsuomi's actions were merely a reminder to Chabashira that his son was a talented individual, urging her to quickly utilize him to advance to A rank.

The consequence of Chasashi Sae's actions was that Hikigaya promptly reported it, making Sakayanagi Shigemori aware that someone had infiltrated his school. After determining that his teacher was the prime suspect, the investigation began to have a clearer path.

However, Ayanokouji Atsuomi was no ordinary person. Even with clues, it took him nearly a month to trace the source back to him, and he also purged several bribed staff members.