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

Karuizawa Kei's heart sank, and for a moment she truly felt that she had made a mistake—taking so many days off was an incredibly foolish decision.

"...Shimizu-kun, um, you should be able to get the department head to go easy on me, right?" Thinking this, her eyes pleaded, and her voice softened. "Aren't you two on good terms?"

"I can't help you with this." Shimizu Akira refused without hesitation. "You'll have to rely on yourself."

"This..." Karuizawa Kei's face instantly turned panicked, her heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, and she became more and more flustered.

An embarrassed look crept onto his face, and even his fingertips began to feel cold.

If she is really dismissed from the boxing club, it's highly likely that Akira Shimizu will not protect her anymore.

If she couldn't find a protector at this school... she dared not think any further.

Chapter 155: 152 I can do anything! Why did she steal my lines!

(If it weren't for Akira Shimizu, I...)

A thought popped into her head uncontrollably, tinged with a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve—as long as she could stay, as long as he was willing to continue protecting her, she seemed... willing to do anything.

These words stuck in her throat, burning her tongue, but she couldn't say them. She could only bite her lower lip tightly, her eyes filled with tears.

Just as she was about to abandon those naive thoughts and utter that humble plea—

Suddenly, a line from her laptop came out that almost perfectly matched her innermost thoughts:

"If it weren't for Xiangzi... What would I have to do to make you come back?!"

"Anything I can do, I'm willing to do!"

Karuizawa Kei was suddenly stunned, her gaze involuntarily fixed on the screen.

Shimizu Akira didn't notice her reaction, but unconsciously followed the plot and complained, "This Su Shi is a real character, begging Xiangzi so shamelessly, without any dignity at all? Really... they're all characters. Can't they just forget about the other person? Besides, she did something wrong herself, didn't she? Instead of apologizing to Deng and the others, what kind of person comes to Xiangzi?"

"..." Karuizawa Kei was frozen in place, her blood seemingly slowing down.

So that's how Akira Shimizu sees it...

He clearly looked down on the girl named Su Shi.

But just now, she was clearly about to say the exact same thing, about to abandon all her dignity and beg him.

She was immediately filled with a strong sense of relief—thankfully she had hesitated for a few seconds, otherwise things would have really gotten out of control.

He said Su Shi made a mistake... Could he be implying that she was the one who made a mistake in this matter?

Yes.

On Tuesday, she did skip training without informing her seniors, and then took several more days off afterward.

Even Chiaki Matsushita advised her to cherish the opportunity to join the boxing club, saying that the seniors would protect her.

So, does that mean... she should apologize to her seniors first, instead of coming here to beg him?

When this thought popped into her head, Karuizawa Kei's cheeks flushed slightly.

Suddenly, she remembered the minister's smiling face when he told her "You're one of us now" on the day she joined the department, and her heart felt like it had been gently stung by something.

"I'm sorry... I was wrong about this. I shouldn't have contacted you first." Thinking this, Karuizawa Megumi lowered her head.

"..." Shimizu Akira was stunned.

He thought that, given this classmate's personality, she would probably continue to beg without any limits, but he didn't expect her to suddenly bow her head and admit her mistake.

“Actually, the person you should apologize to is…” He was about to say something when Karuizawa Megumi interrupted him.

“It must be the seniors in the boxing club!” She suddenly raised her head, her eyes still clear. “It was me who broke the rules, skipped training without permission, and took such a long leave… I’ll go back to the boxing club this afternoon and explain it to the club president and everyone. I will do my best to stay in the boxing club.”

These words made Shimizu Akira raise an eyebrow.

He looked at the screen. In the anime, Su Shi was still crying and pleading, but the girl in front of him seemed to have suddenly changed her stubbornness, which made him look at her with newfound respect.

"Have you figured it out?" he asked.

Karuizawa Kei pursed her lips and nodded: "Mm."

She paused, then added, "Besides... we can't just be like that girl in the anime, doing things that make us a laughingstock."

Upon hearing this, Akira Shimizu couldn't help but chuckle softly.

“Then… our contract…” Karuizawa Megumi hesitated before speaking, her voice lowering again.

Akira Shimizu turned off the anime and turned to look at her: "As long as you stay in the boxing club, I will naturally keep my promise."

He paused, then added, "However, I'll handle what happened yesterday for you, so don't worry."

Karuizawa Kei paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously, her eyes finally regaining a glimmer of light: "Yes! Thank you, Shimizu!"

This time, she didn't hesitate and turned to walk towards the door.

As her hand touched the doorknob, she glanced back at the frozen image on the screen and suddenly murmured, "Actually... Su Shi, maybe she's just too afraid of losing that person named Xiangzi. He must be very important to her."

Akira Shimizu raised an eyebrow but didn't reply.

The door was gently closed, and the room returned to silence.

"I didn't expect him to be so straightforward this time."

Karuizawa Emi was able to proactively realize her mistake, even sincerely bowing her head to admit it, and finally earnestly thanking him—this truly exceeded his expectations.

If she can maintain this level of clarity, then it's not impossible for him to continue protecting her.

To err is human, to forgive divine.

Who hasn't made a few mistakes?

He glanced at the paused anime scene on the screen; Su Shi still had her eyes red from crying.

Recalling the earnestness with which Karuizawa Megumi clenched her fists and said, "I'll stay in the boxing club,"

Suddenly, I realized that this classmate was far more clear-headed than Su Shi.

"So, is she really going to be able to stay in the boxing club next Monday?"

Akira Shimizu recalled the intelligence report he had seen that morning, which clearly stated that Kei Karuizawa would be officially dismissed from the boxing club next Monday.

He was somewhat puzzled—could Karuizawa Kei's change of heart just now reverse this predetermined information? Or was everything already destined to go down a path that no one could change?

However, in his opinion, Sato, the head of the boxing club, was actually quite tolerant of his juniors.

During the last confrontation with Class C of the first year, the club president said, "For Yamada's sake," and he often treated club members to meals, so he wasn't considered strict.

Since Karuizawa Kei has taken so many days off in a row, the department head did not immediately dismiss her, but instead set the dismissal date for next Monday—perhaps this was to wait for her to take the initiative to explain her reasons?

If that's the case, then Karuizawa Kei's determination just now might actually come in handy.

"Well, Suze did stay with MyGo in the end, and she gradually became more like a normal person. As for Xiangzi, he doesn't seem like someone who would consider others. In short, he's not human." Shimizu Akira said, his gaze returning to the screen as he watched episode after episode until he finished the first season.

"So, is the second season trying to whitewash Xiangzi? That's piqued my curiosity."

He patiently watched until the end of the third episode of the second season, and just as Toyokawa Shoko transformed into "Shoko the Breathy," relentlessly pressuring Wakaba Mutsu, her aggressive demeanor finally broke his patience—"What kind of plot is this?!" He couldn't help but curse under his breath, his anger rising along with the plot, "Shoko, are you even human?!"

Chapter 156: 153 Chabashira Sae: Shimizu Akira is the one who rented the surveillance cameras.

Chabashira Sae has been in a good mood these past few days. Even her usually expressionless face has softened considerably, and she speaks with more patience when talking to people. She's even been clocking in half an hour early for work.

This change led many onlookers to wonder – Could it be that Mr. Chabashira has recently fallen in love?

But this is not the case.

The real reason is actually quite simple: her class, D, has been doing better and better lately, which has gradually rekindled her hope of moving up to class A.

Class D scored a whopping 530 class points in the first month alone, a result that she could be very pleased with.

This number had once made her misread it a week ago.

Based on her years of teaching experience, it is extremely rare for Class D to even break through 400 points in the first month, let alone 530.

But on second thought, this result seems reasonable.

After all, the students in this class not only obtained hidden intelligence in advance, but also rented surveillance equipment.

If they can't even get 500 points this way, then these students should really consider dropping out of school as a group.

Although Class D's score of 530 points still puts it at the bottom of the four classes, the evaluation criteria should not be based solely on this year's class.

Compared to the average score of 350 points in previous D classes, this score is nearly 200 points higher, which is quite a good result.

(This must be the result of my and Akira Shimizu's joint efforts!)

The thought naturally came to Chabashira Sae's mind. She wasn't just trying to comfort herself; she genuinely believed it.

Indeed, it was Shimizu Akira who initially obtained the information from his second-year seniors.

But the crucial step was that she spent 100 million personal points to buy this information and cleverly arranged for Shimizu Akira to indirectly reveal it to Class D through Kushida Kikyo or Hirata Yosuke.

Without her actions, Akira Shimizu would never have been able to share information with the class for free.

As for the surveillance, Chabashira Sae was absolutely certain that she had identified the person behind it all.

(The one who rented the surveillance footage was undoubtedly Akira Shimizu.)

She almost came to a conclusion.

After all, it was she who personally set up that backup account for Akira Shimizu.

When Hirata Yosuke mentioned that the source of the information was a person named "Yuki-sei," she immediately realized that it must be Shimizu Akira using that pseudonym.

When the surveillance incident occurred later, she specifically asked Hirata for confirmation: "Is it the same person as last time?" The affirmative answer she received made her even more certain of her judgment.

This realization evoked complex emotions in her.

The first question is: why would Akira Shimizu prefer to contact someone else to rent surveillance footage rather than directly contact her, the homeroom teacher?

This deliberate distancing was almost like avoiding her.

(Even though I'm his homeroom teacher...)

What followed was shock.

The sophistication of the monitoring plan far exceeded her expectations.

In her many years of teaching, she had never seen a student come up with such a comprehensive strategy.

At that moment, she almost dialed the number to confirm with Akira Shimizu, but in the end, she restrained herself from the impulse.

I just casually mentioned it last week, suggesting that the other person could rely on me a little.

Because she already knew that the other party had gone to see the student council president. The student council president was his collaborator.

Kikyo Kushida from my own class paid the surveillance camera rental fee at the student council meeting.

I just don't know if Shimizu Akira understood the subtle meaning in her words at the time.

Thinking about this, Chabashira Sae's thoughts became increasingly complicated.

She knew very well that she could not possibly use the matter of that small account to threaten Shimizu Akira.

The reason is simple—she was afraid of losing this student, and Class D was afraid of losing this student.

(2000 million personal points are enough to apply for a shift change... With his current points, what right do I have to control him?)

She silently calculated: with this scheme alone, Shimizu Akira had collected a total of 1200 million points from the four classes.

And this is just the result of the first month of school!

(The personal points I accumulated over a whole year back then are far less than what he has now...)

At this rate, it would be a piece of cake for Shimizu Akira to gather the 2000 million points needed for the change of leadership within a few months.

(If my inappropriate behavior causes him to transfer to another class... wouldn't all the hope that Class D has finally seen be shattered again?)

This possibility made her feel suffocated.

She had to admit that the situation was now completely out of her control.

As a homeroom teacher, she experienced for the first time the feeling of powerlessness of being controlled by her students.

If she were to rashly reveal Akira Shimizu's identity, the consequences would be unimaginable.

(How will other classes view this?)

She analyzed the situation calmly.

(They might feel like they've been tricked, but more likely... they'll be scrambling to poach this guy who tricked four classes right after the start of the semester!)

Akira Shimizu already has 1200 million personal points, which means that other classes only need to gather another 800 million personal points to easily reach the 2000 million requirement for transferring to another class.

Such things are commonplace in higher grades—each year there have been classes that have spent a whopping 2000 million to poach elite talents from other classes.