At noon on the day the midterm results were announced, the students of Class D unexpectedly received a transfer of private points from the school.
8,700 private points.
It was less than a tenth of the 100,000 points they had received before, but compared to May, when their income was zero, it was still a decent improvement.
Of course, some students were slow to realize that there was something unusual about this.
Everyone was surprised to see that Sudou, who was supposed to drop out, had somehow made a "miraculous comeback." But under Hirata's silent signal, no one brought it up, and they all just pretended nothing had happened.
—
"Cheers!"
Inside Ayanokouji's dorm, "monkey Ike" raised a can of juice and shouted.
On the night of the midterm results, the study group gathered to celebrate passing the exams. But more importantly, they were celebrating the fact that Sudou didn't have to drop out.
Everyone, except for Horikita and a certain expressionless guy, had smiles on their faces—especially the idiot trio and Kushida.
"This midterm was really close. If we hadn't held the study sessions, even if I, the ace pitcher, would've been fine, Ike and Sudou definitely would've been out," said "monkey Yamauchi," acting all high and mighty as he patted Ike and Sudou on the shoulders.
"What? Yamauchi, you were on the edge too!" Ike protested.
"Yeah, your grades were only slightly better than mine in English. You've got some nerve talking like that," Sudou said, now completely relaxed, a stark contrast to his rage earlier that morning.
"No, no, no! If I actually tried, I could've gotten a perfect score! I'm serious!" Yamauchi started spouting nonsense again.
"Sigh…"
Horikita, sitting nearby, closed her book in frustration. These three idiots were so noisy that she couldn't concentrate at all.
Sudou walked up to her, feeling grateful. If it weren't for Horikita, he would've been expelled. He didn't know how she convinced their teacher, but he owed her big time.
Though… maybe that "debt" felt a little different?
"You don't need to thank me. I only acted for my own benefit. If someone drops out, moving up to Class A will become even harder," Horikita replied coldly, as indifferent as ever.
But to a certain someone, that usual coldness now had a slight hint of tsundere charm.
Out of nowhere, Horikita shivered and instinctively hugged herself.
"Hey, Horikita, we're celebrating Sudou dodging expulsion today! Don't kill the mood!"
Now that the midterms were over, Yamauchi wasted no time letting out his complaints.
"Haruki, don't say that. We really owe Horikita for this. I mean… she's surprisingly a good person," Sudou said, looking a little embarrassed.
Ever since Horikita apologized to him before, and especially after she saved him this time, Sudou's attitude toward her had changed. Of course, no one noticed the little angel in the corner watching everything with a smile.
"By the way, about Sudou's expulsion… how did you do it, Horikita? Chabashira-sensei had already turned down Hirata's request," Kushida suddenly asked, sparking the curiosity of the idiot trio.
"I don't want to talk about that," Horikita replied flatly.
"And don't forget, this was just the midterm. The finals will be even harder. If you guys think you can scrape by again, you'll regret it."
She avoided answering the question and changed the topic.
But someone wasn't ready to let it go.
"Then what about you, Ayanokouji-kun? I saw you and Horikita chasing after Chabashira-sensei together. You must know something, right?"
"What?! Ayanokouji, what's going on?!" Sudou suddenly got worked up.
"Huh? It's not what you think. Actually, Hikigaya was there too. It has nothing to do with me."
"Hey! Ayanokouji!"
Horikita glared at Ayanokouji angrily, but he acted like he didn't even notice.
"What? What does this have to do with that guy, Hikigaya?!"
"Yeah! Speaking of which, that guy Hikigaya was even mocking Ken on purpose!"
Ike and Yamauchi kept going back and forth, as if just mentioning Hikigaya flipped some kind of switch in them. They started insulting him over and over, like they had to prove he was the worst one in the class.
"Both of you, shut up!!"
Horikita was rarely this angry. Not even when Sudou threatened to hit her or when the monkey duo caused trouble during study sessions had she been this mad.
She shot a sharp look at Ayanokouji. She had clearly warned him not to bring up Hikigaya, yet he not only ignored her but also let Ike and Yamauchi—two people she least wanted to know—find out.
There was no choice. If she didn't clear things up now, it would only get worse.
"Sudou!"
"Yes!"
Hearing his name, Sudou responded immediately, like a well-trained dog.
"Hikigaya played a crucial role in making sure you didn't get expelled. No matter what, you need to apologize to him for what happened in class today."
Horikita's tone left no room for argument.
"But that guy was—"
Sudou hesitated. He remembered how Koenji and Hikigaya had completely shut him down in class this morning, making him feel humiliated. Just thinking about it made him angry again.
"And you saw the English test results, didn't you? If you still don't get it, then you're just standing in place, not improving at all."
Horikita cut him off without mercy.
"What the hell! This isn't what you think at all! Look at Hikigaya—he had the same test questions as Ayanokouji, but he still did so badly! Are you saying Ayanokouji failed on purpose too?"
Yamauchi spoke impatiently.
He didn't realize that Sudou, standing next to him, had turned red in the face.
Ayanokouji, unfazed, looked at Yamauchi. "My grades have always been bad. I never even thought about helping Sudou."
"See? It was all a misunderstanding! Hikigaya just got lucky! Actually, I saw this coming from the start. I knew Ken's English was weak, so I deliberately scored low. Otherwise, I could've gotten a perfect score! But hey, I did it for my bro. Of course, if Ken wants to thank me with a nice meal, I wouldn't mind."
Yamauchi shook his head and sighed dramatically, leaving Ike, Sudou, and the others stunned.
Horikita, on the other hand, looked at him like he was an idiot. Or rather, she couldn't believe someone could be this shameless.
As the atmosphere got more tense, Kushida quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Don't be mad, Sudou-kun. Horikita is just looking out for her classmates. And since she sits next to Hikigaya, of course, they talk a lot. That's normal, right? If what she said is true, then we should really thank Hikigaya-kun, don't you think, Horikita?"
Kushida put her hands together and smiled brightly at Horikita. It was unclear whether she noticed how Sudou's face was getting darker behind her.
"I've said what I needed to say. It's up to you how you want to handle it."
After that, Horikita didn't join the conversation anymore. Until the gathering ended, she barely spoke. Meanwhile, the monkey duo had the time of their lives, leaving Ayanokouji to clean up the mess in his own room.
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