I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

With the phone call disconnected, Totsuka's last hope was shattered.

thump.

Totsuka knelt on the ground, completely losing the will to resist.

Kushida, standing to the side, stared palely at the cell phones he now held in both his left and right hands.

She didn't know how Ryuen would deal with her, but there was something even more terrifying: Ryuen and Sakayanagi had completely broken ties, which meant that she could no longer play both sides and use the strength of both classes to fight against Sato and the others.

Kushida knew better than anyone what fate awaited her, because she had already experienced a despair that nearly broke her completely.

Those who know her secret will never let her go. If she fails, she will have no way out but to drop out of school.

Compared to being denied or isolated, perhaps being beaten by Longyuan was a punishment within her acceptable range.

……

Looking at the phone that had already been hung up, Sakayanagi was almost bursting with rage. For the first time, she showed her anger in front of everyone, a side of her that she had always presented as calm.

"Who does Long Yuan think he is? How dare he play tricks on me! Unforgivable!"

Faced with Sakayanagi's anger, Hashimoto and the others lowered their heads, not daring to meet Sakayanagi's gaze, for fear that Sakayanagi would vent his anger on them.

Even Kamuro, who had a fairly good relationship with Sakayanagi, showed a look of fear at this moment. Fortunately, Sakayanagi's anger came and went quickly, and he regained his composure in just a few breaths.

Even her face regained its composed smile, but this did not mean that Sakayanagi had a solution to the problem; she simply had to maintain a composed demeanor in front of her followers at all times.

Only in this way can they feel at ease.

Sakayanagi, feeling increasingly anxious, began to ponder a solution.

Sakayanagi is now almost driven to the point where he only has one option: to perish together with Ryuen. He is now reporting Ryuen for using violence to beat Totsuka.

With witnesses from Totsuka and Kushida, Ryuen will most likely face expulsion.

This option seems to be the simplest, most convenient, and most effective method, so why is it described as mutual destruction?

Because of the last thing Long Yuan said before hanging up the phone.

The purpose is clear: to shake Totsuka's belief. Imagine if Sakayanagi gathered the student council, disciplinary committee, teachers, and school administrators to go to the rooftop of Kanryuen to demand an explanation, but Totsuka insisted that he was not beaten. What would happen then?

Class A could accept the punishment of wasting public resources, but Totsuka's betrayal would serve as a benchmark, showing everyone that once Class A fell into Ryuen's hands, no one would come to their rescue.

The only way to minimize the impact was to ruthlessly remove Totsuka from the class, but this would damage her reputation...

Not to mention the retaliation that Longyuan will retaliate against. If you fail to kill the tiger and are instead injured by it, then troubles will keep coming.

Choosing this path would be like gambling with Ryuen, betting on whether Tozuka would defect.

Sakayanagi had absolutely no confidence in winning the gamble.

The remaining options are rather extreme. One is to abandon Totsuka and pretend that nothing happened. The advantage is that the matter can be immediately regarded as resolved, but the disadvantage is that the drawbacks of this option are almost the same as those of choosing to report Ryuen.

Another option is to take the best fighters to rescue Totsuka now, and make a big fuss about it, ideally to the point that everyone knows about it. Then, no matter what the outcome, Class A will have at least half the say and initiative. Even if the result is not satisfactory, Totsuka will have no way to complain. After all, Sakayanagi chose to save him. Who can guarantee that he can save him or not?

This choice seems to be a moderate one at the moment. The advantage is that it can minimize the negative impact, but the disadvantage is more obvious. There are not many people in Class A with good combat skills, and the only one under her command who can be immediately put into battle is Kito. If Ryuen sends Albert, he can make Class A suffer.

If I get injured now... it could have a huge impact on my special exams next semester.

Just as Sakayanagi was hesitating, he suddenly saw a familiar voice not far away.

Upon seeing this figure, Sakayanagi immediately had a solution.

"Karuizawa-san!"

Sakayanagi called out first, then waved to Karuizawa.

Karuizawa, who happened to be back to pick up her things, had seen Sakayanagi from afar. However, they had only met a few times and were not very familiar with each other, so Karuizawa did not intend to go up and say hello. But she did not expect that Sakayanagi would take the initiative to greet her.

If the distance were greater, Karuizawa could pretend not to hear, but with the two sides only three to five meters apart, it would be going too far to pretend not to hear.

Left with no other choice, Karuizawa had to bite the bullet and head towards Sakayanagi Arisu.

Chapter 79: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

"What are you doing standing here, Sakayanagi-san? Your Class A meeting should have ended a long time ago, right?"

Karuizawa cautiously stepped forward to greet him.

"We were waiting for someone here, which is why we were delayed a bit. We're just about to head back now. Karuizawa-kun, you should be back in your dorm by now, right? Is there anything you forgot?"

Sakayanagi glanced at Karuizawa's casual clothes and immediately deduced Karuizawa's general situation.

Karuizawa keenly noticed Sakayanagi's gaze and suddenly realized what was going on.

Sakayanagi is the vice president of the student council, and the school has a rule that you must wear a school uniform to enter the teaching building. She thought she wouldn't run into anyone else this time, so she was too lazy to wear a school uniform and just came over in casual clothes.

But unexpectedly, I ran into Sakayanagi. It would have been strange if he hadn't called me over.

"I forgot some things because I was careless, and I even took my school uniform to the dry cleaners, so..."

To be honest, Karuizawa's excuse was terrible. Just over half an hour ago, Karuizawa was wearing her school uniform and attending a class meeting and graduation ceremony. How long has it been since she said her clothes were already washed?

The teaching building is about a ten-minute walk from the dormitory, making it a twenty-minute round trip. The dormitory is about a five-minute walk from the dry cleaner, but the dry cleaner is in the opposite direction from the teaching building. If Karuizawa comes directly from the dry cleaner, it would be difficult to reach the teaching building at this time without twenty minutes.

This is a relatively fast pace. If you were to take a leisurely stroll back, it would take even longer. If you add the time spent waiting for the elevator, changing clothes, and queuing at the dry cleaner, it means that unless Karuizawa was running, it's impossible for her to go back to her dorm, change into casual clothes, take her school uniform to the dry cleaner, and then come here in just forty minutes.

It was obvious that Karuizawa was lying, but Sakayanagi had no intention of exposing her. Realizing that Karuizawa had mistaken her for checking school uniforms, Sakayanagi rolled her eyes and continued Karuizawa's words.

"I see. I knew Karuizawa-san wasn't the type to break school rules so easily. Anyway, there's no one else around, so I'll just pretend I didn't see anything."

Sakayanagi's smile reassured Karuizawa considerably.

"Thank you so much! I'll treat you to milk tea next time I have the chance."

Karuizawa clasped her hands together in a gesture of deep gratitude, making polite remarks such as offering to buy Sakayanagi milk tea.

Just when Karuizawa thought she could get away, Sakayanagi looked hesitant, as if he had something to say to her.

If it were anyone else, they would probably have ignored it and walked away. However, Karuizawa is very good at observing other people's expressions, so when he noticed that Sakayanagi seemed to have something to say, he couldn't help but ask why.

"Sakayanagi-san, is there something you want to tell me?"

The fish has taken the bait.

Sakayanagi first gave a mysterious sigh.

"Sigh, I do have something to say, but... I might have misread it, and I'm not the kind of person who likes to meddle in other people's business, but I feel it wouldn't be right if I didn't tell you or Tianyin about this matter that concerns you."

"Could you please tell me the specifics of the situation, Sakayanagi-san?"

Seeing that Karuizawa was so tactful in responding, Sakayanagi reached out and waved to Karuizawa to indicate that this was a private conversation.

Intrigued, Karuizawa quickly moved closer, eager to hear what Sakayanagi Arisu had seen that was causing her distress.

"When I went downstairs, I saw Ryuen leading a group of people up to the rooftop, seemingly to meet someone. Just as I got downstairs, Kushida-kun ran upstairs. I suspect..."

Sakayanagi deliberately didn't voice his conclusion, aiming to let Karuizawa fill in the answer in her own mind, thus making her believe Sakayanagi's words even more.

Upon hearing this news, Karuizawa immediately concluded that Ryuen was meeting with Kushida.

If we can catch them in the act or find out some information, it might be helpful to Tianyin.

Thinking about this made Karuizawa somewhat tempted, but she wasn't stupid.

Why tell Sakayanagi and Amane something that could be resolved with a single phone call, given their close relationship?

"I'm afraid I can't get involved in this kind of thing. Why don't you contact Amane directly, Sakayanagi-san?"

Karuizawa's probing made Sakayanagi raise an eyebrow.

I didn't expect Karuizawa to be so capable.

However, everything she said was true. Ryuen met with someone on the rooftop, and Kushida also went to the rooftop. She didn't lie at all, so even though she knew Karuizawa was testing her, Sakayanagi wasn't afraid at all.

"Tianyin and I have a good relationship, but business is business and personal is personal. Some things are internal matters for you, and if I were to say anything... I don't want this kind of thing to affect my friendship with Tianyin."

The reason that Sakayanagi made up on the spot sounded much more reasonable than Karuizawa's lie.

Karuizawa pondered for a moment, and after finding nothing wrong with what the other person said, he was about to go upstairs when he suddenly turned back to look at Sakayanagi.

"Sakayanagi-san, is it alright for me to call Amane now?"

"Of course, no problem."

Sakayanagi readily agreed, and Karuizawa wasn't just talking; he immediately dialed Amane's number and told her about his 'discovery'.

After listening, Amane immediately sensed that something was wrong and instructed Karuizawa not to act rashly.

Karuizawa immediately agreed, and Amane hung up the phone with relief.

After hanging up the phone, Karuizawa shrugged at Sakayanagi.

"Thank you for your kindness, Sakayanagi-san, but I'm very sorry, Amane told me not to act on my own, so..."

"It's alright, this is your internal matter. How you handle it is your business, and I won't interfere. I only told you about this out of personal friendship, Karuizawa-san. I have no other intentions. Masumi-san, let's go back."

Sakayanagi smiled and spoke to Kamuro beside him, then looked at Karuizawa.

"Then we'll head back first. Karuizawa-san, you should also head back as soon as you're done. During the holidays, students aren't allowed to freely enter or leave the school."

"Thanks for reminding me, I'll head back after I get my things."

Sakayanagi nodded and walked towards the dormitory building with Kamuro and the others.

After seeing that Sakayanagi had really left, Karuizawa looked up at the rooftop, hesitated for a moment, and then walked into the teaching building.

Sakayanagi, who had just reached the main road, seemed to sense something, turned around and smiled as he watched Karuizawa's hurried departure.

"The show's about to begin, Masumi-san, could I use your phone for a moment?"

Sakayanagi skillfully dialed the string of numbers she had long since memorized.

"Hello? Is this Amane? I just saw Karuizawa-san..."

Chapter 80: What the hell did you grab?

Unexpected events often test a person's willpower and resilience.

However, even someone as determined as Ryuen couldn't help but show a surprised expression when he saw the girl in front of him.

You shouldn't be here!

Long Yuan began pacing back and forth on the rooftop in a somewhat flustered manner.

Ishizaki and Ibuki exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes. In their memory, even when Ryuen had suffered various failures, he had never shown such helplessness in front of them as he did now.

It all started with the bewildered girl in front of him—Karuizawa Megumi.

Despite being persuaded by Amane, Karuizawa Megumi, who believed the rumors spread by Sakayanagi Kodo, still wanted to find out what happened on the rooftop.

She is now caught in a vortex of public opinion. Amane promised to protect her safety, but did not promise to solve her reputation problem. If she wants to reduce the influence of those rumors, she must make people completely distrust the rumors spread by Kushida. In this way, no matter what kind of rumors they are, they will lose their authenticity, and her problem will be solved. As for Manabe's testimony, it can be completely ignored.

If she obtains evidence that Kushida provided information to Ryuen, she can prove that Kushida is a spy within the class. At that time, Manabe's 'testimony' will become evidence that Class C deliberately and maliciously attacked her.

After this incident, even if the fact that she was bullied is brought up again someday, no one will believe it.

So even though it might be risky, Karuizawa is willing to take the gamble.

She had also been to the rooftop of the teaching building. The rooftop space was not large, and in order to prevent any accidents from happening to students on the rooftop, the school had installed cameras, which could basically capture the entire rooftop area clearly without any blind spots.

Even if Ryuen and Kushida found out about her, they probably wouldn't dare to do anything too outrageous to her. The worst outcome... would be asking Amane for help. For the sake of her reputation, Karuizawa decided it was worth taking the gamble.

However, reality was much crueler than she had imagined. She bumped into Albert as soon as she reached the stairs to the rooftop. Seeing that her eavesdropping had been exposed before she even started, Karuizawa Kei had no choice but to lie and say that she was going to the rooftop for some fresh air, but Albert refused.

Left with no other choice, Karuizawa Kei resorted to the tantrums and shamelessness she had developed while mingling in the entertainment industry. Albert had no choice but to report the matter to Ryuen, leaving Ryuen in a dilemma as she faced the uninvited guest.

His actions, though seemingly reckless, were meticulously planned. He used Totsuka to lure out Sakayanagi, then deliberately made outrageous demands that Sakayanagi couldn't refuse, thus sabotaging the peace talks and driving Totsuka to despair. This way, he could use Totsuka's hatred to turn against Sakayanagi in his subsequent actions.

In order to prevent Totsuka from betraying them, Sakayanagi had no other choice but to meet with Ryuen in person. The best outcome would be to notify the teachers and other school administrators in advance.

But even if things escalate, so what? As long as Totsuka stands by his side, he will be safe and sound, and he can even use Totsuka to spread rumors in Class A that Sakayanagi abandoned his comrades, thus undermining the unity of Class A.

If Sakayanagi is sensible and chooses to bow down to him, he might consider extorting a large sum of points to let the matter drop.

Ryuen's plan was perfect from any angle. Sakayanagi, who was not at a disadvantage in terms of violence, would be completely passive whether he saved Totsuka or not. This was precisely the brilliance of Ryuen's methods.

But he didn't include Amane in the calculation, because this matter had absolutely nothing to do with Amane. Would Amane get involved for Totsuka? You might get a second thought if Ryuen had captured a cute girl, but to capture Totsuka? Hmph.

Knowing Tenon's temperament well, Ryuen was certain that Tenon wouldn't get involved in this matter because of Totsuka, which is why he was so presumptuous. But he never expected that Albert would give him such a big gift when things were coming to an end!

Karuizawa Kei, a woman who shouldn't be here, is now standing in front of him. Ryuen knows that Karuizawa Kei has greater value; he only needs to use violence to make her submit, and he can completely destroy Class B. But all of this is on the premise that Class C must be able to withstand Amane's revenge.

Using violence to resist Tianyin? Longyuan is not afraid of conflict with Tianyin, but he does not want a meaningless conflict. He discovered from a very young age that he seemed to have no concept of "fear", and therefore he was able to stand tall and face all difficulties without fear. Even Albert was defeated by him, which is proof of this.

However, Longyuan did not want to rashly clash with Tianyin. Tianyin's fighting style was no longer a question of whether or not one could feel fear, but whether or not one could survive until Tianyin had vented her anger.

Ryuen was originally quite confident in his fighting skills, but after the Sports Festival... he no longer wanted to experience just how painful it was to have a punch that could keep Albert in bed for a week.