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

"It's not really worth crying over something like this."

"Heavenly Sound..."

Ichinose stared at Amane, whose vision was gradually blurring, for a long time before realizing that it wasn't the glare of the sunlight that was causing her vision to blur, but rather her tears that were blurring her eyes.

Ichinose vaguely saw Amane giving her a gentle smile.

then……

Amane looked at Kanzaki with a dark expression.

"You made Fanbo cry, apologize to me right now!"

"Huh? What does Ichinose crying have to do with me? I didn't do anything..."

"I don't care! Apologize to Honami right now!!"

"hiss……"

Kanzaki realized for the first time just how unreasonable and domineering Amane could be.

Before they could even exchange two words, the other person had already rolled up his sleeves. Even though Kanzaki knew that Amane would never dare to hit him in front of everyone, when he saw Amane about to punch him, he recalled the scene on the deserted island where he had been beaten to his knees.

She... is probably an opponent I can never defeat?

"I'm sorry, Ichinose-san, what I just said might have been a bit..."

“It’s okay… I think you’re right, I should face reality.”

Although tears were still streaming down Ichinose's face, she gave the impression of having undergone a complete transformation.

This scene reminded Kanzaki of that day when Ichinose stood by the window on the second floor of the hotel, watching Amane and Sakayanagi walk away, and told them that she would lead everyone to graduate from Class A.

Back then, Ichinose also gave off an extremely dangerous feeling, just like he does now. As the two figures gradually overlapped in Kanzaki's eyes, he suddenly thought of a very absurd idea.

if.

He meant "if".

Was all of this part of Ichinose's plan?

Before leaving the class, Ichinose took all her class points with her, totaling several million points. Although there was still a long way to go to reach 20 million points, it shouldn't be considered difficult to accumulate in Class B, especially since Class B had begun to become hostile to Class A...

While Kanzaki was still lost in thought, Ichinose suddenly threw herself into Amane's arms in front of everyone.

The heartbroken girl nestled in her friend's arms for comfort, and no one could say a word.

However, Sakayanagi seemed to be trembling all over.

"Sakayanagi-san, calm down! Calm down!!"

Kamuro stood in front of Amane and kept trying to persuade Sakayanagi. After a long time, Sakayanagi's emotions finally stabilized.

She used to look at Tianyin as if she were looking at her own silly lover, but now she just couldn't stand looking at him.

"Hurry up and take your sails back to the team. It's time for the Discipline Department to handle this."

"Huh? But you haven't been affectionate with me yet..."

"Ok?"

"You can be cute later, I'm off now~"

When Amane saw Sakayanagi and gave him his signature smile, she quickly picked up Ichinose and ran back to the group.

He no longer gave Kanzaki Sakayanagi a friendly look.

"Even if your class all agrees to take class points, the selection of those to drop out shouldn't be based solely on grades. In my opinion, it's fairest to decide by lottery. What do you think, Kanzaki-san?"

Kanzaki's expression turned as if he had swallowed a fly. He finally understood what Sakayanagi wanted to do. Sakayanagi didn't want to persuade him to give up his class points to save the three students in Class D at all.

Sakayanagi felt that expelling these three good-for-nothings wouldn't punish Class D, so he wanted to find three more valuable targets instead.

The reason why Sakayanagi was chosen for Class D is quite simple: Kanzaki is also a member of the Disciplinary Committee, and nothing is more effective in making an example of someone than punishing a member of the Disciplinary Committee for their misconduct.

Just like Nagumo and Kiriyama back then, Sakayanagi had to establish his prestige before becoming the student council president.

Only in this way can we gain the trust of students in higher grades and those in the same grade.

Unfortunately, Kanzaki himself ran into trouble at this crucial juncture.

Realizing that there was no way to stop Sakayanagi from interfering, Kanzaki ultimately chose to give up.

"Then do as you please."

……

evening.

After enjoying a delicious dinner, Amane invited Horikita to go for a walk on the playground together.

Faced with Amane's sudden invitation, Horikita hesitated for a moment but then agreed.

"It feels like it's been a long time since I've had such a carefree walk like this."

Seemingly to break the ice, Tianyin took the initiative to speak and express her feelings.

However, it seems that such words are not suitable for her to say.

"That's because Tianyin, once you're full, you go into your little nest and never come out for a walk, so it feels like a long time has passed."

"Ugh, don't expose me at a time like this."

Tianyin pouted in dissatisfaction.

Good evening, Tianyin!

Good evening, Xiaomei~

……

Looking at the somewhat familiar scenes, Horikita seemed to remember something.

I remember when school started, Tianyin seemed to be trying very hard to integrate into the group and communicate with everyone. However, because her relationship with her warmed up quickly, Tianyin also became a lone wolf like her.

If Amane hadn't met her... she might have become an even more popular girl than Kushida and Ichinose back then.

After all, no one would refuse to be friends with a cute girl, right?

"Lingyin! Look~ This is a sachet that Xiaomei gave me~ It smells so good, what's it called again..."

Seeing Tenon happily rummaging through the sachet, Horikita couldn't help but join in. She was slightly surprised to see Tenon pull out a few white petals.

"I thought it was spices, but I didn't expect Wang Meiyu to make a sachet out of flower petals? That's amazing... But the pattern on it looks like it was sewn on with needle and thread using a technique called embroidery. How is she so skillful?"

Horikita never expected that Wang Meiyu, who seemed to have no hobbies, would actually have such a skill in embroidery.

Tianyin quickly shook her head.

"I just heard from Xiaomei that she and Inokashira made this together!"

Wellhead...

In Horikita's memory, she was a girl who was good at sewing. If it were embroidery, it should be easy for her to learn. Horikita took a few petals from Amane's hand and gently smelled them under her nose. Even though the color of the petals showed that they had been stored for quite a long time, she could still smell the fragrance from them. It was truly an amazing skill.

"This must be a type of Sasa lily, right?"

Horikita didn't have professional botanical knowledge, but she did know some of the famous lily varieties. However, shouldn't lilies bloom from June to July? It's only March now, so it seems they really put in a lot of effort to get lilies.

"No, Xiaomei said that the lilies in her hometown are a little different from the ones here, but they are both very beautiful."

As she spoke, Tenon put the flower petals back into the small sachet and tied it to Horikita's wrist.

"Heavenly Sound..."

"The clothes I'm wearing don't have pockets, so I'll have to trouble you to hold them for me, Suzune~"

Amane hugged Horikita's arm tightly and rubbed against him affectionately.

If it weren't for the stark difference in their hair color and appearance, they might easily be mistaken for the younger sister who's being affectionate with her older sister.

Horikita's calm demeanor gives off a mature and intellectual vibe, which is one of the reasons why Amane is so captivated by her.

"I just can't do anything with you."

Horikita lightly scratched the tip of Amane's pen, then casually reached out to put the sachet from her wrist into her pocket, only to find that Amane had tied a very difficult four-knot knot for her.

No wonder Tianyin clung to her arm and acted coquettishly; she was deliberately trying to tease her!

Just as Horikita was about to teach Amane a lesson, he heard Amane suddenly speak.

"Rin, you're only one step away from realizing your dream! Aren't you happy?"

When this topic was mentioned, Horikita's smile seemed to freeze, then vanished without a trace with the evening breeze that blew past her ears.

"Feel sorry……"

"I said, Suzune doesn't need to apologize. You did win against Arisu, and you fulfilled your promise to me and everyone else, didn't you?"

"but I……"

"Even I didn't expect Hashimoto to pass the challenge, so Suzune, you have even less reason to blame yourself."

Horikita looked at Amane silently.

Amane had shut her down completely. Horikita knew Amane was trying to comfort her, but... in Horikita's eyes, this special exam was a failure.

She didn't believe that Hashimoto was really that lucky to guess so easily, so Horikita even began to doubt whether she had really defeated Sakayanagi.

Moreover, the most direct consequence of Horikita's defeat this time was that it almost caused all of Amane's victories to go to waste.

No, Horikita's defeat can be said to have completely wasted Amane's victory; they only barely managed to break even by paying a high challenge fee.

"Even if you comfort me like this, I'm afraid people won't see it that way, right? There should be many people who think like Sato and Koenji."

Horikita knew very well that the reason Amane could accept her failure was simply because Amane had no interest in advancing to Class A. The reason she stepped forward from behind the scenes this time was to make up for the losses Horikita had caused in supporting Amane when they were at the Forest School.

But for those who desperately wanted to become a member of Class A, Horikita's failure is an unforgivable mistake.

On the boys' side, there are people like Yukimura and Katsuragi who need to prove themselves, and on the girls' side, there are people like Matsushita, Wang Meiyu, and Ichinose.

Everyone needs a big victory to get what they want. For example, Matsushita followed Amane simply because he believed that Amane was the most likely to lead the class to A class, thus proving her worth.

If Amane really remains stagnant, Matsushita might have other ideas. Even Amane's confidants have this attitude, let alone the ordinary students.

Then there are top students like Wang Meiyu. Although they comfort themselves by saying there will be another chance, they still harbor some resentment about this failure. The most direct evidence is that she just saw Wang Meiyu handing out sachets to everyone she knew along the way, but she didn't ask Tianyin to bring one for her as well.

Distancing oneself from someone you are close to is more painful than distancing oneself from someone you are openly distant from.

Am I really suited for this place?

Chapter 179: The Chase (6K)

"Tianyin, do you think I... am actually not suited for this kind of place?"

"Ah."

Amane's answer was very straightforward, but it was enough to surprise others. Horikita, who was walking, suddenly stopped and looked at Amane.

"Rin, what is your dream?"

dream.

The moment this word, which felt both incredibly familiar and incredibly familiar to Horikita appeared, it plunged her into thought.

Despite having an answer that could have been given immediately, Horikita Suzune took a full three minutes to speak.

"My dream is to gain my brother's approval."

Horikita's tone was very firm, but her gaze seemed less confident than usual; she had discovered a serious problem.

That is……

She made it her dream to catch up with and surpass Horikita Gaku.

However, very few people in this world realize their dreams, especially since Horikita Manabu is someone who is even more outstanding than her and is still striving for progress.

If his life hadn't been put on pause, there's no doubt that Horikita Suzune, who was running hard behind him, would never have been able to catch up with him.

What kind of approval do you envision from him?

"Huh?"

Horikita Suzune was somewhat at a loss for how to respond to Amane's rather strange question.

"Rin, you haven't thought about this, have you? Since you want Horikita-senpai to acknowledge you, what would constitute acknowledgment? It's the same as when you said you wanted to surpass him, but even if you move up to Class A, you'll still be the same as him. Haven't you thought about the specific details of being the same? For example, at what point would it be considered acknowledgment, and at what point would it be considered surpassing him?"

Tianyin's voice is light and airy, giving people a sense of emptiness.