In fact, after the information is refreshed, they always want to attack me!

The message was immediately marked as read, but no reply was given.

The classic "read but not replied" message.

The other party didn't seem to take his answer seriously.

"Looking at it this way, this president seems quite stubborn. Is she the type who finds it hard to listen to other people's opinions?"

Akira Shimizu muttered something to himself.

Withdrawing the foreword is, in a sense, quite troublesome for both the brother and sister.

He thought for a moment and then sent a text message to Horikita Suzune.

Akira Shimizu: As expected of siblings.

Horikita Suzune: ? Why are you suddenly praising me?

"Um... she actually thought I was complimenting her?"

However, before he could even grumble to himself, his phone vibrated slightly.

It was his alternate account that received the message.

The sender is Honami Ichinose.

The content of the message surprised him greatly:

"I'm sorry, student. We already know about the rules that the school deliberately concealed, so we cannot trade with you for one million points."

This was beyond his expectations.

In just one day, the other party actually cracked the hidden rules.

After all, the other party wasn't an NPC in a game, but a living, breathing person—one of the sharp-minded top students in Class B, and this student possessed social skills that Shimizu Akira could only dream of.

Class A was able to discover the hidden rules, and Class D was able to sense that something was wrong, so why couldn't Class B do the same?

"This is getting more and more interesting..." Shimizu Akira muttered to himself.

He suddenly realized that the school was much more interesting than he had imagined—all four classes seemed to possess formidable strength.

Sakayanagi Arisu enjoys playing brain teasers.

Social genius Honami Ichinose.

Ryuen Sho, a student from Class C who prioritizes violence.

Apart from Class D, it seems that none of them are easy to deal with.

......

When Shimizu Akira returned to his room, he found that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's room next door was quite lively.

Through the not-so-thin walls, one could faintly hear the voices of several boys and girls talking.

As for what exactly was said, I couldn't quite hear it.

Akira Shimizu raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised—he hadn't expected that the usually taciturn Kiyotaka Ayanokouji would be so popular in private.

He glanced at his phone; the time was already eight o'clock in the evening.

The school rules handbook states in black and white: "Male students are prohibited from staying on the female students' floor after 8:30 pm."

However, the handbook makes no mention of whether female students can stay in male dormitories for extended periods.

However, the voices coming from next door were clearly from more than one person—it seemed like they were mostly friends visiting.

It's probably Haruki Yamauchi, Kanji Ike, and a few others.

Just as Akira Shimizu was about to take out his room key from his pocket, the door to the next room suddenly opened.

"Shimizu-kun, we've been waiting for you for ages!"

A familiar voice came from the doorway. He turned around and saw that it was Kikyo Kushida standing there.

She wore her usual fake smile, but her eyes held a hint of undeniable authority.

“We heard you had something to do after school, so after we finished eating and singing karaoke, we came here specifically to wait for you.” She tilted her head slightly, her tone light and cheerful. “After all, I asked Ayanokouji, and he said you live next door.”

Akira Shimizu was silent for a moment, and before he could respond, Kushida stepped forward, his smile unchanged, but with a hint of oppression.

"I'm sorry, I know this might sound a bit too much..." She lowered her voice slightly, looking directly at him, "but in any case, Shimizu-kun is indispensable to me."

Akira Shimizu never expected Kikyo Kushida to be so persistent.

He had only politely declined one invitation, but she actually showed up at his dormitory door.

—And it was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka who revealed his whereabouts?

(I misjudged you this time. You usually seem so indifferent to worldly affairs, but you're quick to betray your teammates. I was wrong about you, Ayanokouji.)

"...Can."

After a moment of silence, Shimizu Akira finally relented.

After all, I didn't have any plans for tonight since I came back from the student council.

Refusing again would seem deliberate.

"Great! I knew Shimizu-kun didn't mean to reject me! How could you possibly reject me! Hehehe~"

Kikyo Kushida patted her chest with a sigh of relief, a bright smile spreading across her face.

But in her slightly narrowed eyes, Shimizu Akira clearly caught a hint of smug satisfaction, as if to say, "Just as I thought."

Chapter 61: 060 Ayanokouji Kiyotaka: So it turns out I wasn't friends with them after all.

"Some of the students have already reserved seats at the coffee shop next door, so it's time for us to head out." Kikyo Kushida clapped her hands lightly and turned to call out to the inside.

"Finally home!"

"We've been waiting for over an hour."

As she moved, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, Haruki Yamauchi, and Kanji Ike emerged from the room one after another, followed by several female classmates chatting and laughing.

(They actually brought more than a dozen people and waited for me in the dormitory for more than an hour...)

Looking at the group of classmates in front of him, Shimizu Akira felt a subtle mix of emotions.

Kikyo Kushida's persistence far exceeded his expectations—not only did she personally go to his door to confront him, but she also mobilized so many classmates to accompany her.

This display of force is less of an invitation and more of a subtle form of coercion.

He noticed that several girls were secretly rubbing their legs, which were aching from standing.

(To go this far... is it too much perseverance, or just too terrifying?)

"Shimizu-kun, let's go together!" Kikyo Kushida slowly approached and gently tugged at his sleeve with her delicate hand.

Akira Shimizu glanced around without making a sound, only to meet the envious gazes cast upon him by Haruki Ueyama and Kanji Ike.

Their burning gazes seemed to burn holes in him.

(Pulling at my clothes? Is some trouble about to strike...?)

...

Apart from the 24-hour convenience store, all other facilities on campus close at 9 p.m.

It's worth mentioning that the dormitory cafeteria also stays open until 9 p.m.

When Akira Shimizu and his group arrived at the coffee shop, the shop was still brightly lit.

When Kikyo Kushida saw Inokami from afar, she immediately waved enthusiastically and then led the group slowly towards her.

Due to the restaurant's four-seat limit, the dozen or so people had to choose the sofa area against the wall. This row of seats was arranged side by side, and they occupied four adjacent seats, barely enough to have a group conversation.

Kikyo Kushida chose the central seat without hesitation, and the others followed suit.

Haruki Yamauchi and Kanji Ike originally wanted to sit at the same table as Kushida, but found that the seats had already been taken by the girls, so they had to move to the right seats with disappointment.

Akira Shimizu deliberately chose an empty seat on the left that was not yet occupied.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, who was the last to choose a seat, looked around and found that all the other seats were full, so he had to sit down opposite Akira Shimizu.

After everyone was seated, they all took out their phones to scan the QR code to order food.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Shimizu Akira turned his gaze to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who was sitting opposite him, and casually asked:

"Ayanokouji-san, did you tell Kushida-san that I live next door to you?"

"This...it was indeed...I accidentally said it." Ayanokouji Kiyotaka flinched slightly, a hint of fear appearing on his face.

Akira Shimizu stared at him silently, his eyes filled with speechlessness.

—That's such a fake act.

Who is this timid and cowardly act for? Does she think she's afraid he'll actually attack her?

Given Ayanokouji's physique, the outcome of a real fight would be uncertain.

In terms of acting skills, she is far inferior to Kikyo Kushida, who sits next to her.

At the same time, a sense of confusion arose in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's heart.

Why did Shimizu look at me with that speechless expression?

He secretly recalled the scenes of other classmates interacting with Akira Shimizu: whether it was Haruki Yamauchi or Kanji Ike, they would unconsciously show some fear when facing this classmate.

In order to perfectly embody the role of an "ordinary high school student who avoids trouble," he even specifically observed and imitated Haruki Yamauchi's words and actions.

Why is it not working at all?

Akira Shimizu narrowed his eyes slightly. "What a surprise, Ayanokouji-kun. I thought you were the type who hated trouble the most, but I didn't expect you to voluntarily give up your dorm room."

Ayanokouji lowered her gaze, her voice calm yet tinged with a hint of helplessness: "...It wasn't of her own volition. Kushida-kun insisted on entertaining you tonight no matter what."

He then added, "Moreover, I always felt that Kushida-kun's real purpose in gathering everyone this time was primarily to target you."

Akira Shimizu was taken aback by what he heard.

(Is I the target?)

He subconsciously believed this judgment.

After all, it was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka who was speaking—the man who seemed unassuming but always saw through the essence of things.

The other party had no reason to deceive me.

"I understand, thank you for reminding me, Ayanokouji-san."

"...Don't worry about it, I was just saying it casually."

Suddenly remembering something, Shimizu Akira changed the subject: "Speaking of which, why did Ayanokouji-san join Kushida's side?"

Ayanokouji's expression remained calm and expressionless: "...Yamachi and Ike dragged me here." He paused, then added, "They blocked the entrance to my dormitory."

Akira Shimizu nodded thoughtfully. "I see. So you were dragged here by your friend."

His gaze swept thoughtfully over Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's calm profile.

In fact, Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi were among the few social acquaintances of this mysterious young man.

You can always see the four of them together in the corridor or the cafeteria.

This combination is truly perplexing.

This person clearly possesses abilities far beyond those of ordinary people, so why would he choose to maintain close ties with those two—especially someone as morally questionable as Haruki Yamauchi? At least Kanji Ike is somewhat frank and sincere, but Yamauchi... I can't be bothered to comment.

"Friends?" Ayanokouji suddenly spoke, his voice filled with rare confusion. "What level... is needed to call someone a true friend?"

Akira Shimizu subconsciously thought he was listening to the other person pretending to be Versailles again, but when he saw the genuine confusion in the boy's eyes, he was stunned.

He wanted to cite the textbook definition of friendship, but felt that would be too perfunctory.

After a moment's thought, Akira Shimizu concluded, "I think feeling natural and comfortable with someone... that's probably what friendship is."

Upon hearing this, Ayanokouji almost reflexively replied, "...It seems that Yamauchi, Ike, and I aren't friends yet."

"...Akira Shimizu was momentarily speechless. "If you want to make friends, you'd better say less of this kind of thing in the future."

He secretly thought to himself that the other party was also well aware that he was not comfortable with those two.

What surprised him even more was the sharp tongue of Ayanokouji.

This hurtful comment came out without thinking, without even a second of hesitation.

Akira Shimizu couldn't help but wonder what he would think if he heard such a frank assessment of Kanji Ike.