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

Looking at the second point, Hasebe Haruka doesn't like Ichinose Honami... which isn't too surprising.

If Shimizu Akira isn't mistaken, Hasebe doesn't seem to like chatting with other girls in class either.

As for the third point, Matsushita Chiaki is quite confident... Daring to declare that he will break into the top 20 in the grade, is he holding back?

At that moment, he suddenly remembered that he had promised Karuizawa Kei on Saturday that he would help deal with the dispute between the group of hot girls and Hasebe Haruka and the others.

The thought had barely formed in his mind when his gaze fell upon Hasebe Haruka, who was not far away.

But then she saw that her own vice class leader, Kikyo Kushida, had already moved closer to the other person, with a strange look of confusion on her face.

"Hasebe-kun, about... what happened last time..."

“Kushida…” Hasebe raised his eyes, his tone not particularly harsh, “I don’t want to say anything too harsh, so just leave this matter alone.”

“But…” Kushida wanted to say something more, clearly not intending to give up.

“I know you want the class to be harmonious.” Hasebe interrupted her, his gaze falling on her face, and suddenly said, “I won’t continue her arguing; at most, I’ll just ignore her.”

These words were like a small pebble, making the conflicted look on Kushida's face even more obvious.

She opened her mouth, but for a moment she couldn't speak.

Akira Shimizu was somewhat surprised—he hadn't expected to have an extra "helper".

It seems that Kikyo Kushida was also present at the last study session, and that's probably when she noticed the signs of conflict.

Judging from the current situation, her mediation is clearly not going well.

He then turned his gaze to the other side; Karuizawa Kei had not yet arrived.

On the contrary, Chiaki Matsushita sat in his seat, staring blankly ahead, as if he was thinking about something.

Seeing this, Shimizu Akira walked straight over and said, "Matsushita-kun, would you like to go outside and have a chat?"

"...I didn't expect Shimizu-san to take the initiative to contact me." Matsushita Chiaki looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, then nodded, "Okay, let's go."

Seeing that she readily agreed, the two walked out of the classroom one after the other and came to a quiet corner.

"I heard about your argument from Karuizawa-san. Would you mind telling me the details?" Shimizu Akira asked calmly.

Having Chiaki Matsushita recount the events was undoubtedly the quickest way – she was both a party involved and a witness, and her previous impression was that of an intellectual and rational person.

"Does Shimizu-san want to resolve this matter herself?" Matsushita Chiaki paused, her tone revealing a hint of understanding. "However, there's really no need to bother anymore."

"What do you mean?"

“I’ve already explained everything to Teruhiko Yukimura, and I even took the opportunity to ask him for help with some academic questions,” she said clearly. “He also said that the cold war between small groups would affect the class atmosphere and thus affect the overall class score. He has promised to talk to Akihiko Miyake and Haruka Hasebe privately and explain the whole story.”

"As for..." Matsushita Chiaki looked up towards the classroom, "I'll go and explain things to Hui later. After all, we're classmates, and we can't keep things awkward like this."

As Shimizu Akira listened to her methodical arrangements, he couldn't help but nod repeatedly.

Not only is Chiaki Matsushita a man of great ability, but he is also remarkably adept at handling interpersonal relationships.

The other party saved me some trouble.

"Shimizu-kun, this is the second time already."

Matsushita Chiaki suddenly blurted out a sentence, then turned and left.

Akira Shimizu was stunned for a moment, not realizing what she was referring to.

The second time? The second time what?

Chapter 159: 156 Shiina Hiyori: Sakayanagi Arisu is currently the most suspected

When Akira Shimizu returned to the classroom, the situation was exactly as Chiaki Matsushita had described—Teruhiko Yukimura was standing next to Haruka Hasebe, explaining something in a low voice. Seeing that their expressions had softened, it seemed that the matter was probably resolved.

His gaze fell on Matsushita Chiaki, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind: This guy's abilities must be at least 0.3 times that of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, right?

Last Saturday's experience made him fully realize how formidable Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was.

That extraordinary investigative ability is something that ordinary students don't seem to possess.

(Could Kiyotaka Ayanokoji be a special forces soldier who just returned from Afghanistan?)

The other party was just like the characters in the online novels I read in my past life—a special forces soldier who blended into the city, seemingly omnipotent, with any skill at his fingertips.

Unbeknownst to him, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji had become his implicit benchmark for measuring the abilities of his classmates.

Just like now, watching Matsushita Chiaki calmly quell the class dispute, and considering the "guaranteed top 20 in the grade" mentioned in the daily news, this assessment of "0.3 Ayanokouji" doesn't seem so exaggerated after all.

......

Time flew by and it was noon. As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class, Akira Shimizu suddenly slapped his forehead—he had almost forgotten his promise to Hiyori Shiina.

He hasn't sent the other party the information about investigating the purchase of surveillance equipment yet.

A few days ago, Hiyori Shiina had already prepared the forms for Class C of the first grade and sent them over.

When he opened the document, he took a special look at it. The data in the table was arranged neatly, and even the notes were written clearly, which was indeed in line with her usual meticulous style.

So last night after he got home, he specially compiled the relevant data of Class B and Class D in the first grade into a table and saved it on his phone.

This came in handy at the moment; he opened the chat window and sent the file directly.

Hiyori Shiina: Received. The table compiled by Shimizu is very clear.

Hiyori Shiina: In that case, I don't think I need to trouble you any further.

Hiyori Shiina: Thank you for your help these past few days, Shimizu-kun.

As soon as he finished reading the message, a system notification popped up—Shiina Hiyori had transferred 50,000 points to him.

Shimizu Akira was slightly taken aback.

The agreed-upon amount was 30,000 points, but the other party unexpectedly gave 20,000 more.

He stared at the string of numbers, suddenly recalling the seemingly calm yet earnest eyes of Shiina Hiyori when she handed him the request. Perhaps for this girl from Class C, accurate information and efficient assistance were enough to warrant such a reward.

But if we've agreed on something, we have to do it the way we agreed.

After accepting 50,000 points, Shimizu Akira immediately transferred 20,000 back.

He put away his phone, got up, and walked towards the cafeteria.

The noise in the corridor washed over me like a tide, but I felt a strange sense of relief. The argument with Karuizawa Kei had finally subsided, and the request to rent surveillance footage was finally over. I had resolved two things in one morning, and now I could finally calm down and focus on my afternoon classes.

......

In the classroom of Class C, Grade 1, Shiina Hiyori held her phone and carefully checked the form sent by Shimizu Akira one last time.

The table format was clearly filled out according to the one she had sent before, and even some details were optimized—for example, notes were added next to the data in light-colored font, and the category columns were clearer than her version.

"Shimizu-san is really thoughtful." She nodded unconsciously, her fingertips lightly sliding across the screen.

Neither the accuracy of the intelligence nor the standardization of the forms could be found to be flawless.

She couldn't help but wonder if the other party had already made countless similar forms before.

"Probably not..."

After all, he was just a 16-year-old student, just like me.

Shiina Hiyori suppressed her doubts and refocused her attention on the intelligence itself.

Let's look at the records of Class D: A student bought a computer because he was obsessed with games and anime. In the remarks column, there were also details that Shimizu Akira had specially noted down - he had deliberately asked a lot of questions about anime and programming, and the other student could answer them fluently, which was obviously true.

Turning to Class B: Ichinose Honami's reason for buying a computer is self-evident.

As the class monitor of Class B, based on the chat logs from that day, it's logically sound that she rented surveillance equipment from the "mysterious person" and bought a computer to verify the effectiveness of the equipment.

She read through the list line by line and found that each student's reason for purchasing a computer was clearly explained and logical, without a single instance of exaggeration. Whether it was for daily needs or class matters, it perfectly matched their individual circumstances.

Therefore, she could almost assert that the people in Class D and Class B could be completely ruled out as suspects.

Then, she thought of her own class, C.

From the very beginning, she subconsciously excluded Class C. The reason was simple—if they were classmates, there was no need to specifically ask Ryuen Sho through Ichinose Honami.

However, for the sake of logical rigor, she still asked the students in her class who had bought computers about their reasons for doing so.

Since they were her own students, Hiyori Shiina didn't feel there was any obstacle to communication.

The result was pretty much as she expected: the reasons and motives of these people were quite sufficient, and there was no flaw in their arguments.

Therefore, the only remaining suspects seem to be the students in Class 1A.

She picked up her phone and pulled up the list of students in Class A.

Although it was originally just a paper document, she had already borrowed Long Yuanxiang's computer to organize it into an electronic version and saved it on her phone.

There are three people in Class A involved.

She didn't recognize any of these three people.

However, Shiina Hiyori vaguely remembered the name Sakayanagi Arisu—Ryuen Sho had mentioned that she was the most likely person to rent the surveillance footage. He had also told her personally that Sakayanagi's father was the chairman of the school's board of directors, making her a true heiress.

Since the chairman is her father, her chances of renting surveillance footage are indeed much greater than those of ordinary people.

But this idea is clearly untenable—genuine analysis should not be led by such "presuppositions about identity." Just like a detective solving a case, one cannot prejudge a suspect simply because the other party has convenient access to information.

Moreover, these types of characters often appear to be the most suspicious and seem most like the murderer, but in reality, they are often used as smokescreens to mislead the detective—this is all too common in mystery stories.

But the real world is quite different. Often, those who are initially the prime suspects are actually the criminals.

The plot twists in books are for dramatic effect, but the logic in reality is often more straightforward.

Shiina Hiyori's thoughts were momentarily stuck in place.

But no matter what, she knew in her heart that she had to meet with Sakayanagi Arisu in person.

The fact that she handed over the investigations of Class B and Class D to Shimizu Akira last week, but kept Class A in her own hands, was not unintentional at all, but rather a deliberate act.

Chapter 160: 157 Sakayanagi Arisu: Interesting, it turns out to be Shimizu Akira (4k)

Hiyori Shiina simply didn't have the courage to go to Class 1-A alone to look for someone.

The feeling of being stared at by a group of strangers was an ordeal for her.

However, Long Yuanxiang did tell her that she could ask her classmates for help during the investigation.

But after thinking about it carefully, she realized that no one in Class C seemed to be good at socializing.

Kaneda Satoru is indeed quick-witted, especially skilled at devising strategies, but he plays more of a strategist role.

Needless to say, Ishizaki Daichi and Yamada Albert are even worse off. One is easily angered and explosive, and the other barely speaks Japanese. Expecting them to go to Class A to find someone will most likely result in running into a wall.

As for Ibuki Mio... Shiina Hiyori shook her head. With her fiery temper, she'd probably get into a fight with the Class A members before even seeing Sakayanagi Arisu.

After much thought, it seems the most direct solution is to seek help from Shimizu Akira.

But last time, she had confidently said that she could do it.

Going to them again now would seem too repetitive, and even give off an embarrassing feeling of admitting defeat.

(If you were a real detective, how would you break this deadlock?)

She had read so many mystery novels, and she clearly remembered that in many chapters, when the assistant was not around and the detective was facing a deadlock alone, he always had a unique solution.

How exactly did those detectives, who went out alone, manage to unravel the mystery?

As my thoughts raced, a figure suddenly popped into my mind.

(Ichinose Honami.)

Given the class monitor's interpersonal skills, finding someone to help shouldn't be a problem.

More importantly, the other party not only knew that he was investigating the rental of surveillance footage, but also never showed the slightest prejudice because she was a student in Class C, and his attitude was always open and gentle.

After parting ways with Shimizu Akira that day, Ichinose Honami even offered to exchange contact information, saying it would be convenient to stay in touch if needed in the future.

The tension in Shiina Hiyori's heart, which had been taut from asking for help, seemed to ease a little.

She picked up her phone and slowly typed a line of text on the screen:

Hiyori Shiina: Ichinose-kun, could you please arrange a meeting with Arisu Sakayanagi from Class 1-A? It's still about renting the security camera footage. As a thank you, I'll transfer 2000 points to you.

Shortly after the message was sent, the other party replied:

Honami Ichinose: I understand, please wait a moment.

Within minutes, Honami Ichinose sent an address:

Honami Ichinose: Just go to this coffee shop. I've already explained everything to Sakayanagi-san, so just ask when you get there.

Honami Ichinose: By the way, Shiina-kun probably hasn't met Arisu Sakayanagi, right? She has silver hair like you and always carries a cane, so she's easy to spot.