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

Then, she turned her gaze to Horikita Suzune.

"I'm not going to vote for you."

Horikita's answer was crisp and to the point, exactly as Shimizu Akira had expected.

In fact, Horikita Suzune's dislike for Kushida Kikyo was obvious from the first day of school.

More accurately, this maverick girl maintained an equal degree of distance from all her classmates.

Kikyo Kushida's repeated attempts to strike up a conversation only intensified Suzune Horikita's dislike for her—like a vampire forced to accept sunlight, only to crave the protection of darkness even more.

However, this time Horikita Suzune glanced at Shimizu Akira. When she spoke again, although her tone was still stiff, it was much gentler: "...I plan to vote for Hirata Yosuke. He's more suitable for the class representative position than you."

Although Horikita Suzune's words were still direct to the point of being harsh, at least—this was the first time she had frankly expressed her opinions to her classmates.

Akira Shimizu raised an eyebrow without making a sound.

(It seems yesterday's reprimand had some effect...)

Kikyo Kushida smiled and nodded. "Of course I completely respect Horikita-kun's choice! Hirata-kun is indeed very excellent~"

Her gaze swept between the two of them, finally settling on Horikita Suzune's slightly tense face. "But, if you change your mind later, you can always come find me!"

These words were perfectly worded, demonstrating both tolerance and magnanimity while leaving himself an out.

"You can learn emotional intelligence from Kushida in the future."

"...I could never learn that level of fake smile in my entire life."

Chapter 56: 056 Go to the Student Council to Seek Cooperation with the President

Akira Shimizu was added to a chat group.

This group consists of people who have voted for Kikyo Kushida.

Among them were girls who were close to Kushida, such as Inoko Shin; and several boys, such as regulars like Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji was also in the group.

To his surprise, Wang Meiyu was not among them.

In his memory, Inokashira and Wang Meiyu were inseparable friends.

Kushida often takes the initiative to chat with them, and the three seem to have a very harmonious relationship.

The friendship between girls is indeed more subtle than I imagined.

At this moment, Kikyo Kushida sent two messages in the group chat:

"Thank you so much for your votes!"

"By the way, I'm planning to go to karaoke after school today. Anyone want to come along sometime?"

At the same time, Kushida's clear voice came from the other end of the classroom: "Everyone must come!" She was waving to several students with a smile.

(Our Class D is visibly improving; they've even started forming cliques.)

Akira Shimizu silently rolled his eyes in his mind.

Class D currently has two leaders, and it's natural that each of them has their own clique.

Another group message popped up.

Kanji Ike was already impatiently clamoring to request a song, while Haruki Yamauchi was egging Kushida on to sing the latest popular love song.

"I won't..."

Before Shimizu Akira could finish his rejection, he suddenly smelled a faint jasmine fragrance.

He turned around abruptly and found that Kushida was already standing behind him.

"Shimizu-kun, come join us! It's more fun with more people." She tilted her head slightly.

"Sorry, I have something to do tonight!" Shimizu Akira shook his head, indicating his refusal.

He doesn't have time to go to karaoke with her right now.

Class B and Class C haven't contacted us yet; discussing big business deals with other classes is the real priority.

"...Is that so?" Kushida's smile froze for a moment. "That's a real shame."

...

Akira Shimizu was not deliberately making excuses; he genuinely had other important matters to attend to.

He plans to go to the student council.

This idea originated from a suggestion made by Sato, the head of the boxing club—"Spend more time in the student council."

As a senior in Class 3-A, Sato's words often contain hidden meanings, and his subtle reminders are all the more intriguing.

Walking down the corridor, Akira Shimizu couldn't help but recall the special status of the Japanese student council.

Contrary to popular belief, the student council here wields real power, not only handling all kinds of disputes among students, but also having more say than the homeroom teacher in certain matters.

For example, if students get into a fight or cause trouble, the student council is fully responsible for handling it at this school.

As a homeroom teacher, all I can do is stay obediently by my students' side and say a few words on their behalf.

Based on his impression from last night, Horikita Manabu seemed to be a meticulous and rigid type, which made him a little worried about whether the other party would agree to his request.

When he arrived at the student council office, he found several people already lined up at the door.

Standing in front of him was a blue-haired girl—the aura emanating from her reminded Shimizu Akira of some kind of sharp, cold weapon, but before he could think about it further, the group's pace suddenly quickened.

It wasn't long before it was the blue-haired girl's turn.

Akira Shimizu stood at the office door, faintly hearing a heated conversation coming from inside—"Violence!" "Does it have to be on CCTV to count?" "Many people have been injured!" "They're not doing anything about this? Is this still a normal school?"

Just a few minutes later, the office door was flung open.

The blue-haired girl strode out with a gloomy face, slamming the door shut with a loud bang, making the bulletin board on the wall tremble slightly.

"Next!"

A dignified male voice came from the student council room.

Akira Shimizu then withdrew his gaze from the blue-haired girl in the corridor, straightened his collar, and gently pushed open the student council door.

Several student council members are busy at their respective posts.

At the far end of the room, in the chairman's seat, sat a composed man wearing silver-rimmed glasses.

The other party was none other than Horikita Manabu, the student council president whom he had met briefly the previous night.

He scanned every corner of the room, but still couldn't spot the vice president. Rumor had it that Vice President Nagumo was blond.

(It seems the other person isn't at the student council today.)

"Please close the door."

Akira Shimizu's gaze was drawn to the voice.

A purple-haired girl with a fluffy bun stood next to the student council president, looking at him somewhat coldly.

"OK."

The door lock made a slight clicking sound.

The moment Shimizu Akira turned around, he recognized the other person—this must be the rumored student council secretary, Tachibana Akane-senpai.

"Hello, student." Tachibana Akane closed the file in her hand. "May I ask what brings you to the student council today?"

"I hope the student council can act as a third-party guarantor to ensure the safe conduct of my transactions with students from other classes." Shimizu Akira looked directly at Horikita Manabu, his tone crisp and decisive.

This unexpected request clearly startled Akane, whose eyes widened slightly: "A...guarantee?"

Horikita Manabu maintained his characteristic composure, "Let's talk in the consultation room, Shimizu-kun."

After saying this, the president turned and walked towards the student council meeting room.

Akane Tachibana suddenly stopped and turned around. "Shimizu-san... did you and the student council president know each other before?"

Sensing the probing in her words, Shimizu Akira pondered for a moment before meeting her gaze frankly: "I suppose so. I was classmates with his sister, Horikita Suzune, and we met once."

"So that's how it is..." Akane murmured softly, lost in thought for a moment, "The student council president actually has a younger sister..."

A moment later, she resumed her usual indifferent expression: "I'm sorry to have taken up your time. Please come with me."

Akira Shimizu walked slowly into the interview room and calmly sat down in the chair opposite Manabu Horikita.

A brief silence fell over the room, broken only by the steady ticking of the second hand of the wall clock.

"I'm curious," Horikita Manabu suddenly broke the silence. "Why did you come to the student council?"

Akira Shimizu slightly raised his eyes. "I plan to sell intelligence and equipment rental rights to other classes. Because the transactions involve large sums of money, I need to ensure that the contracts between the two parties are fulfilled properly. Simply put—I need a guarantor that no one dares to default."

"So, you're planning to make a deal with Ryuen Sho from Class C of the first year, but you're worried that he'll breach the contract, resort to violence, and refuse to pay the points, so you're seeking help from the student council?" Horikita Manabu's gaze seemed to casually sweep across his profile, his tone more confident than inquisitive.

“Strictly speaking, I’m just worried that the other party might try to cheat and not give me the points.” Shimizu Akira paused. “As for violence… I personally don’t care too much about it. President, can you accept my request? After all, in this school, points should be able to buy everything.”

“Okay…” Horikita Manabu tapped the table lightly with his fingertips. “The student council can help you conceal your identity and will also provide you with a corresponding standard contract and performance guarantee to ensure that the transaction between the two parties proceeds normally. The condition is that 5% of your personal points will be deducted from your transaction proceeds—this part will be handed over to the school, similar to tax payment in society.”

Without hesitation, Shimizu Akira nodded in agreement, "I can accept it."

Chapter 57: 057 Actually, the weakest class is Class C, and Long Yuanxiang is a qualified leader.

The president only charged 5% of the fees, and handed them all over to the school, which made Shimizu Akira feel that the other party was treating him exceptionally well.

Although this is a high school that emphasizes cultivating students' autonomy, compared to the industry standard of taking a cut of 20% or more, the president's approach can be described as generous.

(With this kind of pricing, can the guild leader really accumulate personal points?)

Akira Shimizu couldn't help but have some doubts.

Although the president's abilities are beyond question, he doesn't seem to be very interested in points.

Compared to the student vice president, Nan Yunya, the two were worlds apart—Nan Yunya charged a fixed percentage of points from all four classes.

In terms of "selfishness," Shimizu Akira felt that Nagumo Masaru was far less shrewd than Shimizu Akira.

He even secretly speculated that Horikita Gakuin's personal points reserves might not be as abundant as Nagumo Masaru's.

However, in terms of prestige and popularity, Nagumo Masaru pales in comparison to Horikita Gakuen—after all, Horikita is the most renowned student council president since the school's founding.

Thinking of this, Shimizu Akira asked, "President, what are your thoughts on Vice President Nagumo Masa?"

"...You actually care about second-year students?" Horikita Manabu glanced at him with slight surprise, pondered for a moment, and then replied, "He was personally selected by me, and his abilities are beyond question. It's just..." The student council president paused, "...our philosophies are drifting further apart. His focus is now on the third-year students. As a first-year student, you don't need to pay too much attention to these things right now; I will handle the relevant matters."

"I see." Shimizu Akira nodded slightly, the chairman's unspoken meaning being exactly the same as that of Chabashira Sae-sensei.

It seems that the student vice president really has little interest in first-year affairs. Now that even Horikita Manabu has expressed this opinion, he can finally put his mind at ease.

At that moment, Tachibana Akane gracefully approached, carrying two cups of black tea.

Akira Shimizu politely rose to express his gratitude and took a sip of the amber-colored tea in his cup.

"You're planning to sell hidden information, aren't you?"

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

Horikita Manabu picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and continued, "So, after learning about these inside stories, what are your thoughts on the school's class system?"

Akira Shimizu pondered for a moment: "I think this class division concept is quite novel and also very fair."

He paused, then added, "This is the first time I've seen a school that doesn't use academic performance as the sole criterion for evaluation. The competition mechanism between the four classes is also very meaningful."

"But—" Horikita Manabu keenly caught his hesitation and stared at him intently.

Akira Shimizu bluntly stated, "The evaluation criteria are too vague. Several students in our Class D, in my opinion, are just as good as those in Class A, yet they've all been placed at the bottom." He frowned slightly. "Is the school placing too much weight on 'dark histories'? By this standard, Class C should actually be the weakest class overall."

He had been holding these words in his heart for a long time.

Since enrolling in school, I've struggled to find a suitable person to confide in, but now, facing this trustworthy student council president, I can finally pour my heart out.

(Yosuke Hirata's leadership skills, Kikyo Kushida's social skills, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's unfathomable depth... these people are undoubtedly top talents.)

He simply couldn't understand why such a student would be assigned to Class D.

(Ultimately, it's not Class D that should be worried, but Class C.)

From this perspective, Class D is certainly not the weakest, but rather the most "specialized"—it gathers students who excel in specific areas but have obvious weaknesses.

On the other hand, Class C's overall strength may be the most mediocre.

To his surprise, Class C actually earned 490 class points in the first month of school.

This is nothing like the level of the weakest class.