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

Akira Shimizu walked into the classroom and sat down, and the daily "information update" appeared on time.

[1. Hayabusa Kito, a student in Class 1-A, wants to become a fashion designer.]

[2. Sakura Airi from Class D, Grade 1, is the sole witness to the fight between Sudo Ken, Komiya Yogo, Kondo Reine, and Ishizaki Daichi.]

3. The monitoring screen at the elevator entrance will display real-time video footage of the elevator car.

Article 1.

Akira Shimizu had no recollection of Hayabusa Kito, so this intelligence naturally didn't cause him much of a stir.

The second piece of intelligence was different; it carried significantly more weight.

Did Sakura Airi actually witness Sudo Takeru and the others fighting? And was she the only eyewitness?

The problem is that Sakura Airi is from Class D.

Even if she is the only eyewitness, she will likely be accused of favoring her own class.

Unless... the evidence she has is crucial enough to discredit all the doubts.

As for the last piece of information, Shimizu Akira was taken aback—he had never really paid attention to it before, but upon careful recollection, it seemed that there was indeed such a thing.

While waiting for the elevator, people outside can clearly see what's happening inside the car. The image quality is so clear that it's 4K and 60 frames per second, and even the subtlest expressions can be seen clearly.

Sometimes, while waiting for the elevator, this device can easily tell who is about to ride it.

In his previous life, he had never seen an elevator with such a thing installed on the outside of the car.

In his mind, these kinds of real-time recording devices were always placed in the monitoring room.

......

This morning, just before class started, Chabashira Sae appeared again at the door of Class D's classroom.

Just like yesterday, she clearly had something important to do on this trip.

In just a few words, he explained the trouble that Sudo Ken had caused—the content of which was almost identical to what Shimizu Akira had heard from the chairman the night before.

Sudo got into a dispute with the students in Class C. Based on the determination of responsibility by both parties, Sudo may not only face suspension, but Class D's class points will also be deducted as a result.

However, judging from the consequences alone, the impact of this conflict is far more troublesome than imagined—for Sudo personally, it is the risk of being suspended from school, and for the entire class, it is a real loss of points, which is undoubtedly adding insult to injury for Class D, which is already at the bottom.

"Sudo? What on earth are you doing?!"

"So, it turns out the reason our class's points were delayed was because of you?!"

"I didn't have many points left last month..."

After all, class points are related to everyone's benefits, and no one can remain indifferent to such a loss for no reason.

Ignoring the complaints of the crowd, Ms. Chabashira continued, "Are there any witnesses in this class?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Shimizu Akira noticed that Sakura Airi beside him trembled very slightly, but ultimately did not take the initiative to stand up.

Chabashira Sae, standing on the podium, glanced around and, seeing no one raise their hand, added, "This matter has been communicated to the other three classes, mainly to find relevant witnesses."

"Teacher, why do we have to make this public?" A student couldn't help but stand up. "Won't this mean the other classes will know that it was because of us from Class D that everyone's points weren't credited?!"

A chorus of agreement immediately filled the classroom.

After all, points are related to class rankings, and no one wants to cause the entire Class D to be ostracized by other classes because of Sudo Ken's actions.

Chabashira Sae's tone was flat: "This is the school's procedure. If no evidence can be found to prove Sudo's innocence, not only will he be punished, but his class points will also be deducted accordingly. Making the news public is also to gather as many clues as possible."

"Alright, that's all I wanted to tell you today."

After saying this, Chazhu turned and left the classroom.

The classroom quickly erupted in discussion, with everyone chattering away.

"Everyone, calm down!" Hirata Yosuke suddenly stood up. "Class C already knew, so even if we wanted to hide it, we couldn't. The school's decision to release the information might actually be giving us an opportunity to gather evidence—there are benefits to doing this."

However, his words did not quell public anger.

"In the end, it's all Sudo's fault! Why did they have to fight for no reason!"

"Exactly! Not only will our class's points be delayed, but we'll also probably lose class points—everyone worked so hard for a month and finally managed to get 88 class points last month, and because of you, they're all going to be wiped out!"

"Now look what's happened! People from other classes are talking behind our backs! The whole class is being dragged down by you!"

The students in Class D couldn't contain themselves any longer, and their accusations rained down on Ken Sudo, making the air in the classroom feel scorching again.

"I already said it wasn't my fault!" Sudo Ken clenched his fists and retorted in a choked voice, "Those people provoked me! They were jealous that I'm about to become a full member, so they deliberately picked a fight! I had no choice but to fight back; it was self-defense!"

"Sudo-kun, did the other party provide evidence that you assaulted someone?" Hirata Yosuke's gaze fell on him, his tone carrying a hint of caution. "After all, you can't just have the other party report you whenever they want, doing whatever they want without any evidence."

“Well… when the school found me, I admitted to hitting them.” Takeru Sudo stiffened his neck and added confidently, “But it was self-defense! I did nothing wrong.”

Hearing this made Akira Shimizu's temples throb.

He was almost certain that this guy didn't even understand the true meaning of "self-defense"—he probably just felt that he had a reason to retaliate after being insulted and suffering some losses.

In the school's eyes, self-defense also means that you caused the other party's injury—a point that Sudo Ken probably doesn't understand at all.

Or rather, those guys from Class C deliberately targeted him because they knew this.

"Do you have any evidence?" Hirata Yosuke frowned even more, patiently pressing for proof. "Evidence that proves the other party provoked you first. If you do, there might still be room for maneuver."

"Huh?! Where did I get any evidence?!" Sudo Ken's face was full of frustration. "I only found out several days later that those people actually reported me! I'm the victim here!"

As he spoke, he slammed his hands heavily on the table, making a loud thud.

Looking at him like this, his classmates around him felt a bit helpless—without evidence, and having admitted to hitting him, what good was just shouting "self-defense" and "victim"?

“Um… I still believe in Sudo-kun.” At this moment, Kikyo Kushida also stood up, her voice gentle, “He’s not the kind of person who would use violence to bully others. Actually, he told me about this in the chat log yesterday. I was going to tell everyone after school, but I didn’t expect that Chabashira-sensei had already told everyone this morning.”

As she spoke, she turned slightly to the side and explained the whole story to everyone in detail: "It's roughly like this—Sudo was a strong contender to be selected as a regular player in the basketball club, but some classmates from Class C, out of jealousy, called him out and threatened him to quit the club. Later, a conflict arose between the two sides, which escalated into a fight... Sudo was acting in self-defense and had no choice but to defeat those three people."

“Actually, Class C harassed Class B last month; the controversy surrounding that question on the midterm exam might also have been orchestrated by them.” Kikyo Kushida added, her tone carrying just the right amount of indignation, “So this time, Sudo-kun is very likely being framed by Class C!”

Upon hearing this, the tone of the discussion in the classroom noticeably changed.

Many students' doubts gradually gave way to hesitation—after all, Kushida was always approachable, and her words always carried a persuasive power. Moreover, what she said was not unfounded.

Class D had heard about the underhanded tactics Class C used against Class B last month; and they had personally experienced the awful midterm exams.

Thinking about it this way, it doesn't seem impossible that Class C would resort to any means to suppress other classes.

However, just as the students' doubts were gradually subsiding, an untimely voice suddenly rang out in the classroom.

“Kushida-kun, I can’t believe what Sudo is saying.” Haruki Yamauchi suddenly stood up, his tone filled with undisguised suspicion. “I think he’s lying. That guy once told me that he used to fight every day in middle school, and he even proudly bragged to me about how to beat people up most ‘effectively’.”

"Yamachi, you bastard! What are you talking about?! We're friends, right? How could you do this to me?!" Sudo Ken froze, his voice trembling with disbelief as he stared intently at the other man. "Do you think you've done anything for me?"

If someone else had said such a thing, he might not have been so angry, but the person in front of him was Yamauchi—one of the "three idiots" who often went out arm in arm with Ike Kanji.

In the first month, after being persistently pleaded with by Yamauchi and Ike Kanji, he not only voted for Kushida Kikyo but also gritted his teeth and paid 25,000 yen in class fees.

The following month, the two of them pestered him again, urging him to study hard and forcibly pushing him into Kushida's study group.

As for those so-called "methods of hitting people," they were just jokes he made casually at the time. He's not the kind of hot-blooded idiot who likes to fight!

I treated him like a friend, did so many things for him, and this is what I got in return?

What angered me most was that the other party actually used their ultimate skill at point-blank range! They immediately mocked him as a violent maniac.

Ken Sudo's clenched fists cracked, and his chest heaved violently, as if a fire was burning inside him.

He stared intently at Yamanouchi, his eyes brimming with disappointment and anger.

The classroom fell silent; everyone was stunned by the sudden confrontation.

Haruki Yamauchi shrank back under his gaze, his eyes flickering, but he stubbornly remained silent.

Hirata Yosuke rushed forward to try to grab Sudo Ken, but his wrist was violently flung away.

Ken Sudo said nothing; he glared fiercely at Haruki Yamauchi.

But then, as if suddenly remembering something, he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

He turned around, his gaze passing over the crowd and landing directly on Shimizu Akira—or more accurately, on Ayanokouji Kiyotaka beside him.

That face, already etched with embarrassment, now held an added layer of frustration mixed with regret.

He didn't look at anyone else, and after saying that, he turned around abruptly and almost staggered as he rushed out of the classroom.

...

"That what!"

Karuizawa Kei suddenly raised her hand, her clear voice breaking the silence in the classroom.

"Let's put aside whether Sudo hit anyone or not!" She looked at Yamauchi Haruki, her eyes filled with undisguised sarcasm. "Yamauchi, instead of standing up for your friend at a time like this, you're kicking him when he's down. What do you mean by that? I really don't understand."

This question clearly did not stump Haruki Yamauchi.

Without hesitation, he replied, "Can't I think about the class?! Even if it's me, even if I have to sacrifice my friends, I still have a heart dedicated to my classmates!"

"Yanchi-kun! Do you even care about the class? Ridiculous!" A cold voice rang out. "In the first month, I reviewed all the surveillance footage, and it clearly showed that you had the most points deducted in the class, yet you didn't utter a single apology. Now you talk about contributing to the class? Is it through your shamelessness?"

Horikita Suzune had raised her eyes at some point, her gaze piercing straight at Yamauchi Haruki, showing no mercy whatsoever.

As she said, after Class D received the surveillance footage in the first month, she was the only one in the class who borrowed a computer to carefully watch the long video frame by frame and review it hour by hour, eventually listing out the students who had the most points deducted from the class.

The result was almost exactly as she had predicted: Haruki Yamauchi was the one who lost the most points, followed closely by Ken Sudo and Kanji Ike.

Kanji Ike had already formally apologized to the class for this matter last month; Ken Sudo, though he did not apologize, had never uttered any empty words about "thinking of the class".

Only Haruki Yamauchi, even when confronted with surveillance evidence, stubbornly refused to admit it.

His current claim of "dedication" is clearly blatant sophistry.

Unlike Sudo, who currently lacks evidence, Yamauchi's actions are supported by solid surveillance footage.

These words were even more logical than Karuizawa Kei's rebuttal, like a chilling slap delivered hard to Yamauchi's face.

“This…” Yamauchi suddenly looked up, his face turning from flushed to deathly pale, his lips trembling as he opened and closed them, but in the end he couldn’t utter a single word in his defense.

Those facts, nailed down by surveillance, rendered any rebuttal a futile struggle.

(Class D was really lively today.)

Akira Shimizu sighed silently in his heart.

Last night, Takeru Sudo acted as if it were perfectly natural, taking Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's efforts for granted, only to be betrayed by Haruki Yamauchi the very next day.

Just now, Sudo glanced at Ayanokouji as he left—the emotions surging in his eyes were less an apology and more a belated resonance.

Perhaps it was because he was heartbroken by his so-called "friends" that he finally realized how hurtful his taken-for-granted attitude towards Ayanokouji yesterday was?

It's true what they say, what goes around comes around, and no one escapes the wrath of Heaven.

.....

Finally, Hirata Yosuke's gaze swept across the entire class, and he slowly said, "...I still hope everyone can try to believe Sudo-kun and give him some time and space. Yamauchi-kun probably just wanted to make amends for the class, which is why he said something inappropriate." He paused, his tone becoming sincere, "Right now, the most important thing is to find witnesses to the incident—if anyone knows anyone from other classes, please ask them to keep an eye out. Thank you all."

These words acted like a soft cushion, providing Sudo with a way out, leaving room for Yamanouchi, and redirecting everyone's attention back to the key to solving the problem.

Haruki Yamauchi kept his head down, his fingers digging into the corner of the table, and didn't dare to reply.

Karuizawa Kei raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything more.

Horikita Suzune remained indifferent, as if the end of the class meeting had nothing to do with her.

However, Kikyo Kushida quickly stepped forward and said that she would handle the matter.

And so, the morning meeting came to a close with Yosuke Hirata's words.

It is truly remarkable that someone could stabilize the situation at such a tense moment and take everyone's feelings into consideration.

But Shimizu Akira always felt that the other party's statement was too much like trying to smooth things over.

Or rather, Hirata Yosuke's personality is just too "good-natured".

He vaguely remembered that Haruki Yamauchi had spoken ill of Hirata in private more than once, his words filled with disdain and jealousy for this kind of "normie".

Even so, Hirata still managed to repay evil with kindness and save face for Yamauchi in public.

It's not that this leadership style is bad—after all, maintaining the surface harmony of a class amidst chaos sometimes does require such tolerance.

However, this kind of unprincipled leniency sometimes does more than just hold the class together; it can also encourage certain individuals to take advantage of the situation.

Chapter 178: 175 Horikita Suzune can evolve even more than Pokémon.

As soon as the lunch break bell rang, the classroom gradually became noisy.

Akira Shimizu suddenly remembered the photo and quickly called out to Airi Sakura, who was about to take out her bento box.