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

He couldn't protect all the students with his abilities, so all he could do was spread his arms as wide as possible to shield more people from the wind and rain.

As for moving forward...

We can only ask Amane and Horikita for help.

"If everyone agrees, then students with an academic level of C+ or above can start matching online on their own. Hirata, Ichinose, Yukimura, Wang Meiyu, Matsushita, and Katsuragi, you guys wait a bit before matching."

The core strength of Class A is very strong now, especially with more than a dozen students whose academic ability ranges from C+ to B-.

However, relatively speaking, there are fewer students with strong academic abilities. These students, including Horikita himself, are already almost the top-tier pool of students in Class A in terms of academic ability.

Among them, Yukimura has the highest academic ability. Since he lost to Amane in academic ability, he has worked hard and his current academic ability is already among the top three in the entire grade.

With academic ability at A+, next up are Ichinose Honami and Katsuragi Kohei, both with A grades. Wang Meiyu and Horikita have inconsistent A- grades, often being rated A and sometimes hovering around A-. Finally, there are Hirata and Matsushita with B+ grades. This lineup, along with Koenji's A and Amane's S grade, is the strongest academic combination in the entire Class A.

Chapter 143: How I Deal with Tianyin?

However, Horikita also knew that sometimes you can't just look at academic ability assessments. For example, if Hirata hadn't deliberately lowered his grades to prevent students with poor grades from failing the exams, his academic ability would at least be around an A. Matsushita, needless to say, is still hiding her true strength, and conservatively speaking, she is also at an A level. Horikita herself was also affected by the usual grading. Who told Amane to always get a perfect score? This forced the other students with good grades to maintain scores around 80 to lower the average score. Otherwise, how could she have fallen to an A-?

It's all Tianyin's fault!

So when she comes back, we must punish her properly.

Horikita gathered these people together in the hope that they would have the opportunity to participate in 'targeting' the top students in other classes.

She had just discovered that if two people pressed matchmaking at the same time, the probability of them being matched together would be much higher. Therefore, Horikita hoped that they could keep an eye on those students from other classes who had good grades, who, although they did not pose a threat to them, were a great threat to the ordinary students in Class A. As soon as they started matchmaking, they could immediately match with them. If they were lucky, they might be able to intercept them all and give those ordinary students more opportunities.

Hirata and the others had no objections and quickly dispersed after each choosing a person.

After looking around, Horikita set her sights on Shiina Hiyori. Shiina Hiyori's academic level in OAA was A, but only slightly higher than her A-. If Shiina Hiyori wasn't hiding any strength, then the two of them should be very close in terms of academic ability. If she could be matched with Shiina Hiyori, it would already eliminate a huge hidden danger for Class A.

An average girl probably wouldn't notice Horikita walking with her head down in the crowd. Unlike girls who dye their hair strange colors, Horikita has always kept her hair black and dressed like an ordinary girl. If you don't look at Horikita's face specifically, it's almost impossible to spot her in the crowd immediately.

However, because Shiina Hiyori had a particular fondness for mystery novels since childhood, she became very sensitive to the things around her. From the first glance Horikita gave her, Shiina Hiyori noticed that someone was watching her.

Shiina Hiyori didn't take it seriously at first. After all, her strength was among the top in Class C, and being observed as a potential rival was nothing new to her.

So Shiina didn't even glance in Horikita's direction, and continued chatting enthusiastically with the two girls in front of her about a popular online romance anime that she didn't really understand.

However, as time went on and everyone started forming teams, Shiina discovered the problem.

Horikita Suzune stood not far from her with her arms crossed, looking at her quietly without any attempt to hide her presence. Her gaze showed neither warmth nor any intention to greet her.

It can only be said that they came with ill intentions.

"Hiyori, haven't you started matchmaking yet?"

Upon hearing that all-too-familiar voice, Shiina's stiff back immediately relaxed.

"I'm about to be matched, Ryuuen, have you found a suitable opponent yet?"

"It's quite suitable, but it's a bit tricky... Hey, Hiyori, have you ever messed with that troublesome woman?"

Ryuen naturally noticed Horikita, and from Horikita's serious demeanor, he could tell that Horikita had come with ill intentions. However, Ryuen couldn't understand whether Horikita intended to cause trouble for Shiina or...

"I don't know either, but it seems like Horikita-kun has been standing there staring at me for a long time."

"how long?"

"Hmm... about half an hour?"

Did we match that day?

"I was just about to get matched... Huh? Ryuen, you mean... Horikita-kun has a way to match me with him?"

Aside from this possibility, Shiina had no idea why Horikita was watching her so intently, but this kind of thing gave people a somewhat unbelievable feeling.

Because the matching is random, many people in Class C have tried to use this matching mechanism to do something, but they have all failed without a doubt. So what makes Horikita Suzune so confident?

“I don’t know, but I know how to prove whether your and my judgments are accurate. Hiyori, open the OAA and show it to her.”

Long Yuan let out a provocative sneer.

Shiina Hiyori tilted her head, seemingly reluctant to carry out such an obviously offensive order, but after much deliberation, she finally opened OAA and showed it to Horikita Suzune.

After seeing Shiina Hiyori's actions, Horikita Suzune glanced at Ryuen beside her. She knew that it was definitely Ryuen who instigated Shiina, but it didn't matter. If people guessed it, so be it. It wasn't a secret that was too important anyway.

However, she learned an important piece of information about Ryuen: Ryuen was matched with Koenji Rokusuke.

Despite Ryuen's seemingly low academic ability, which might lead one to suspect he's deliberately trying to lower his profile, his strength is genuine. Even Horikita Suzune isn't certain of defeating him.

But he just happened to run into Koenji. Now it depends on whether Koenji is willing to seriously play this game with Ryuen. If Koenji is to get serious, according to Amane's judgment, Koenji's strength should only be slightly weaker than hers, and about the same as Ayanokouji when he uses his full strength.

If it were truly as terrifying as Tenon judged, then the battle between Koenji and Ryuen would have been a complete one-sided massacre.

Of course, this is on the premise that... Koenji Rokusuke won't suddenly give up again.

Just as Horikita was still having a headache over Koenji's fluctuating emotions, Shiina Hiyori quickly tapped her fingers a few times.

Seeing that Hiyori Shiina had already started matchmaking, Suzune Horikita quickly followed suit and started matchmaking as well.

"Clicking 'Start Matching' at the same time does increase the probability of matching together, but that's all. Horikita seems to think that it's a sure thing that they'll match together."

Ryuen's gaze shifted from Horikita in front of him to Shiina Hiyori's OAA, and then his pupils dilated instantly.

"What a joke? She's not... Damn it, have we been tricked? No, she has no reason to target our Class C, but if it's a coincidence, it doesn't seem right that Horikita is standing right across from us watching... Damn it! Why did this happen?"

What enraged Ryuen was that the girl Shiina Hiyori was matched with was not Horikita Suzune.

Instead, it was a name he never expected: Miyako Tenon.

When Horikita Suzune saw the name that popped up, she couldn't help but sigh.

"Why her? What a terrible outcome."

Horikita Suzune shook her head with a wry smile.

The person she drew was Sakura Airi.

This is also what puzzles her the most. As a top student, Sakura Airi should have started matchmaking much earlier according to the rules. Why is it taking so long to start matchmaking now?

Not only were her plans disrupted, but she also faced an extremely awkward situation: one of them had to be eliminated no matter what.

Given Sakura Airi's current academic ability, she should be able to easily eliminate any ordinary student if she's lucky. Even if she can't be matched with Shiina Hiyori, she could be matched with anyone from other classes without any problem. At least in Sakayanagi's absence, Horikita doesn't think there are many who can surpass her in terms of pure academic ability.

Now things are really messed up. What could have been a situation where both students eliminated one of them, contributing two spots to the class's fight for first place, has now turned into a situation where the losses are maximized.

She had to find Airi and get to the bottom of it.

Airi, at the other end of the playground, hurriedly picked up her phone without even wiping her hands with a towel. When she saw that her partner was Horikita Suzune, for a moment Airi even considered giving up.

After Ms. Chabashira finished reading the competition rules, Sakura went to the restroom and missed Horikita's meeting. She was completely unaware of Horikita's arrangements. If Airi were more active in class, perhaps someone would remember her, but she was usually too low-key, so even Hirata didn't immediately realize she wasn't there.

It was when she saw Hasebe and Karuizawa Megumi start matching that she casually asked out of curiosity, and that's how she learned about Horikita's meeting. For a moment, not knowing which group she belonged to, Ai was like a headless fly, looking for Horikita everywhere. Then, her stomach suddenly felt uncomfortable again, so she had to go to the bathroom again.

Airi felt lost when she realized that Amane, the only person she could ask for help, wasn't by her side. Fortunately, she remembered that Ichinose had told her that she could ask her for help if she needed anything. After talking with Ichinose, she confirmed that she had been assigned to the group of honor students and only needed to be matched with any student.

In other words, it's all about luck, so Sakura clicked the match button as soon as she came out of the bathroom.

To her surprise, the match she got by clicking so casually was Horikita Suzune.

Although Horikita Suzune had apologized to her before, their relationship hadn't improved much. This led her to avoid Horikita as much as possible. Originally, this was fine until graduation, but she never expected that the two of them would become partners one day.

"I'm afraid Horikita-san will dislike me, right? I'm so scared... Waaah!"

Compared to the luck of Horikita Suzune and Airi, there are combinations that are even more stomach-churning.

Hirata never dreamed that he would be matched with a girl, especially Sato Maya, who had been causing him a lot of trouble lately.

Isn't this going to kill him? A girl that even Tianyin finds troublesome has now become his partner. What a twist of fate...

However, the fact that the two of them were matched together also illustrates one thing.

That means there shouldn't be any same-sex partners available for him to match with. In other words, they are the last pair. In a sense, this is good news for Hirata, indicating that everyone has found their own partner.

But the bad news is, how is he going to complete this physical fitness test?

Or rather, how should the physical fitness test be completed? It wouldn't be too difficult for him to eliminate Sato, but for Hirata Yosuke, wouldn't it be a bit too cruel to let a girl who has just broken up with her boyfriend be severely beaten by a boy in the competition?

Moreover, this competition is likely to be related to the future special exam. If he loses, and his performance in the subsequent tests is poor, he may not be able to get a spot in the special exam. Although this should be a low-probability event for him, Hirata does not want to take any risks in the face of the mountain of the special exam. In particular, Hirata feels that even if Amane leads Class A, Class A will still need his strength in this kind of special exam with many participants. He absolutely cannot lose in such a small test.

So, the current situation has become a dilemma: on one hand, there's the special exam spot for the future, and on the other hand, there's the classmate who just broke up with his girlfriend. Whether he lets her off the hook and might lose the spot, or he attacks Sato and might make Sato lose the special exam spot after her breakup, making things even worse for her, Hirata is finding it hard to make a choice.

Hirata's current desire to secure a spot in the competition without harming Sato is like being lost at a crossroads, caught in a dilemma.

"I hope... Sato-san won't blame me... Sigh, and Horikita-san will probably be very disappointed if she finds out I drew someone from her own class... For the first time, I feel like things have become complicated."

On the other side of the playground, a blond boy was striding toward a bald boy with a fake smile on his face.

"Hi~ Katsuragi-kun, it's been a long time. I really didn't expect to draw you by randomly clicking. It really gave me a surprise."

"It's not so much that you didn't expect it, but rather that you've been observing me for a long time, haven't you?"

Katsuragi snorted coldly. He had noticed that Hashimoto was following him long ago. Since Hashimoto did not try to hide or conceal himself, Katsuragi knew almost instantly what Hashimoto was planning to do.

However, sometimes fate is just that coincidental. The reason he was wandering around here alone was to find a student with good academic performance to relieve some of the pressure of physical fitness tests for the ordinary students in Class A.

There were quite a few people who met these criteria, and Katsuragi was worried about who to choose to effectively help his classmates reduce their stress, when Hashimoto presented himself with a big smile.

This is no coincidence. Since there's no one else to choose from, I'll just pick you.

With Hashimoto Masayoshi possessing B-level academic ability and currently serving as the acting manager of Class B, he could suppress his opponent's academic ability, making victory easier and causing Class B to lose a leader. Katsuragi barely managed to suppress the gloating smile that was about to appear on his lips.

"I bet you're pretty happy, Katsuragi, right? You think you've got me figured out easily this time, hehe, is that really the case?"

Chapter 144: It's just that I asked a few more times.

"Sigh, I never expected to encounter the worst-case scenario."

Horikita Suzune sighed heavily, holding the piece of paper in her hand.

In her hand were three identical slips of paper with the word 'Answer' written on them. Although Horikita Suzune realized something was wrong when she drew the second slip, she still couldn't believe her hand after drawing all three.

The combination of three pieces of paper with the word 'answer' written on them is quite defensive, but this also means that you have no chance to attack at all. Moreover, you cannot use two 'answer' pieces to avoid the opponent's forced question with two 'question' pieces, so it is not an absolute defense at all.

Most importantly, holding the 'Answer' slip of paper puts her in a completely passive strategic position. The only ways to gain points are either asking questions that the other person cannot answer or successfully answering the other person's questions.

To achieve both of these conditions simultaneously, both partners must have a balanced offensive and defensive hand. For an extreme card combination like Horikita's, it's impossible to get any points for asking questions. In other words, even if the opponent asks three questions, she can only get a maximum of three points. Once she gets one wrong, victory is basically out of her reach.

According to the competition rules, answering incorrectly will result in a deduction of points. So, at first glance, the three 'answer' slips of paper may not seem like an offensive strategy, but they certainly don't pose a problem for defense. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this is simply a stereotype that the school deliberately instills in each participant.

This caused Horikita Suzune's mood to plummet, but the only thing that made her feel somewhat fortunate was that her opponent was Sakura Airi.

If we want to win... there shouldn't be any problems?

"Hori, Horikita-san."

Just as Horikita Suzune's unease began to take hold, a familiar voice from behind interrupted her thoughts.

As Horikita Suzune turned around, she unsurprisingly saw her partner for this special exam.

Airi Sakura.

Airi was holding a brand new tent, looking a little uneasy.

Is she afraid of herself?

Horikita Suzune didn't understand why Airi was afraid of her, but as a partner and competitor, the other party's poor condition might be the key to victory.

But... if possible, Horikita would prefer to end the test by discussing it directly, that is, to confront Airi and persuade her to go easy on her, or to deliberately use up all the paper scraps early to end the question-and-answer game as soon as possible.

This might sound like she's abusing her power or being shameless, but from any perspective, her victory and the resulting increase in her chances of qualifying for the special exam is the best option for the class.

Although Airi might not necessarily think this suggestion is the best option, or be willing to accept it and cooperate with her, Horikita still intends to give it a try. Of course, the premise is that she absolutely cannot hurt Sakura Airi again this time.

He saw Horikita walking towards him.

Airi's heart leaped into her throat, and she began to feel nervous. No matter how outstanding she became, after that incident, she was always the most marginalized person in the class. Her presence was not even as noticeable as Kushida, whose reputation had long been ruined.

If one day the class has to abandon some people no matter what, the first one might be Kikyo Kushida, who once exposed everyone's secrets without permission, and the second one would probably be Airi, who has excellent grades but doesn't fit in.

As for why, despite being a lone wolf in the class, Rokusuke Koenji is also unsociable and even disobedient to class arrangements, no one would want to expel him, the reason is naturally that his strength is enough to cover up his unsociable flaws.

Despite her hard work and growth, Airi is already in the upper-middle level of her class academically, but she is still at the bottom of the class in terms of physical fitness. In addition, she has no social life, a past scandal of betraying her classmates, and some dirty rumors about her that have existed since she entered school. All of these things could become the last straw that breaks Airi's back at any time.

To be honest, she didn't want to be expelled, especially not in a way that made her feel abandoned by everyone. But... if it really came to the point where she had to leave, all she had to do was ask Tianyin for a favor...

She was also ready to face that moment.

Even though she was prepared to leave the school at any time, she still couldn't get along with Horikita Suzune.

Airi's current situation is inseparable from Horikita's actions back then. Logically speaking, it would be normal for her to hate Horikita Suzune, but Airi just can't muster any feelings of 'hatred' because Horikita Suzune took the initiative to confess what happened to her on the luxury cruise ship and chose to apologize.

Airi was so angry and in pain at that time that she said she would never forgive Horikita Suzune, but in fact she had already accepted the fact that Horikita had apologized. In other words, when Airi said she would never forgive, she actually meant that she would never be friends with Horikita Suzune again and that their relationship would not improve.

At that time, Horikita was just one of the slightly better candidates for class leader. He hadn't even officially announced his relationship with Amane, so it didn't matter if he didn't become friends with her.

Horikita has now grown to the point where she has to look up to her. Amane's exaggerated strength has made her the most powerful person in the eyes of all students at the high school, including the third-year students, and she is someone who is unattainable.