Practical teaching: Starting from the soul traveling through Dragon Garden

Chapter 453 Forty Million and Dropping Out of School

Hiyori's current state of mind is the same as Tachibana Akane's before; feelings of guilt often lead people to do things that harm their own interests.

"Hiyori, I think you should know very well what Sakayanagi's purpose is now. If you are really expelled from school, that will play right into her hands. And after being schemed against like this, don't you plan to fight back?"

Hiyori hesitated, wanting to speak but unable to. How could she be willing to leave Ryuen's side so easily? If they were separated this time, she didn't know when they would meet again. Hiyori was also very anxious. She dropped out of school when her relationship with Ryuen was still unclear. If they met again, would they still be like they are now?

Time, distance, communication, and companionship—all these can change how much a person weighs in another's heart.

"However, the class can only contribute 16 million points right now, which is far short of 40 million."

"Sixteen million is just the balance in the official account. If each classmate contributes their savings, it will be more than enough to raise four million."

Students in Class A will only contribute a portion of their points as class funds, meaning everyone will have some savings, and a very few will even be rolling in money. It's about time they started to squeeze some more money out of the class.

However, when Ibuki heard Ryuen say this, she was furious. Sixteen million plus four million equals twenty million. She couldn't come up with forty million, but she could come up with twenty million. Ryuen's meaning was very clear: to save Hiyori and abandon Ibuki was the best choice at the moment.

Although Ibuki had just been stubbornly saying that being expelled was no big deal, now that the decision to expel her had been made, she couldn't control her emotions. If she and Hiyori had been expelled together, perhaps she wouldn't have been so heartbroken.

Biting her lip and blinking hard, Ibuki knew she couldn't make a sound at this moment. Even if she asked Ryuen for help, she wouldn't be rescued, and Ibuki would despise herself for it.

"The students in the class would probably not be willing to do this."

Hiyori was somewhat worried. She lacked confidence in herself because even someone like Ichinose could be betrayed by her classmates when it came to personal gain. Hiyori, who considered herself inferior to Ichinose, didn't think anyone would willingly hand over their savings for her sake.

"This isn't a matter of willingness, Hiyori. Don't feel guilty. Your value far exceeds those twenty million. However, I don't want a similar problem to occur again before graduation. I can save you this time because everyone makes mistakes. I can give you a chance, but I won't save you every time, and not everyone is qualified to be saved."

Longyuan had to reprimand Rihe, hoping that Rihe would stop having naive ideas and realize that personal feelings are often useless or even have negative effects.

Hiyori's eyes were filled with complex emotions. She knew the price she would have to pay to stay, but she couldn't and wouldn't go against Ryuen's decision. She understood the meaning behind every word Ryuen said, so she couldn't speak. She knew she couldn't be so willful, couldn't be so arrogant and spoiled. But Ibuki, standing to the side, was already on the verge of collapse.

The class couldn't come up with 40 million yen. Even if they squeezed every last drop out of all the students, they still couldn't raise 40 million yen. In this situation, if they wanted to protect Ibuki, they could only borrow from someone else. But no matter who they borrowed from, they would inevitably incur debt and owe favors, and even have to pay some price.

As for Ryuen, a businessman who believes in prioritizing profit and would not engage in unprofitable transactions, abandoning Ibuki seemed inevitable under such circumstances.

"It's getting late, everyone should go home."

Ryuen waved his hand, telling Ibuki and Hiyori to go first, while he stayed behind.

Sitting on the yoga mat, Ryuen frowned, his lips bitter. Ryuen criticized Hiyori with mild words, not because he was particularly gentle, but because he knew very well that he himself was the one who should be criticized. He was too self-righteous and had neglected the defenses around him. Sakayanagi's heavy blow had hit Ryuen's weak spot, making him realize that he was just an ordinary person and could not be infallible.

But more than self-blame, Ryuen felt anger; her desire for revenge and devastation reached a new peak. Lost in her own thoughts, Ryuen opened her eyes and noticed Hiyori standing beside her. Hiyori hadn't left, or rather, she had left but returned.

"how?"

Long Yuan's voice was cold and clear; anyone could tell he was in a bad mood.

Hiyori had been mentally preparing herself for a long time, but upon hearing Ryuen's voice, she hesitated for a moment: "I, I."

"Say!"

Ryuen is very impatient now, and even though it's Hiyori in front of her, she doesn't give her a kind look.

Hiyori wanted to back down and give up, but if she did that, how would she be any different from her previous self? She shouldn't hide anything from Ryuen; she should tell Ryuen everything she was thinking.

So Hiyori still spoke up for Ibuki, but only spoke up because Hiyori knew she had no right to plead for him, at least not now.

"Ryuen, is Ibuki worth twenty million?"

Hiyori, in a questioning tone, placed the decision in Ryuen's hands: if Ryuen thought it wasn't necessary, then Ibuki would be expelled from school; if Ryuen thought it was necessary, then she would go and save her.

What seems like just a question actually puts Ibuki back on the scales to be weighed, only this time with Hiyori's attitude added to the weights.

The fact that Hiyori asked this question means that she hopes Ibuki can stay.

"Hiyori, what I think is irrelevant. The class can only get you 20 million at most. As for Ibuki..."

Ryuen shook his head. He figured that if he squeezed everyone dry and added his own savings, he could still scrape together 40 million yen. But if he did that, everyone would suffer like Class D, and Ryuen's rule would be very fragile. If he did that, there would probably be a lot of complaints, which would definitely not be good for the class. Ichinose had already proven this point: classmates can only share the good times, not the bad.

"I can take out all my savings."

The door was opened. These words were not spoken by Hiyori, because Hiyori had already given all her savings to the class fund; she was the poorest student in the class.

Shiqi and Jintian were standing in front of the door at some point, followed by all the students of Class A. When the rankings were announced, they noticed the situation of Ibuki and Hiyori. Even though some of them were not entirely willing, they all came under the influence of the group atmosphere. They were willing to hand over all their savings for Hiyori and Ibuki.

"I do not need!"

Having been swept up by the crowd, Ibuki was now completely out of control. She didn't think she was particularly popular in class and often argued and clashed with the boys, but now, they were all willing to empty their savings for Ibuki. At this moment, for Ibuki, even dropping out of school wouldn't matter.

(End of this chapter)