Ever since the last student council meeting, Kanda Shuichi's life had returned to normal. Days passed by quickly.
In just a few days, Class D had gone through quite a few changes. The biggest change was in Sudou. Ever since the sports festival ended, he had suddenly become more disciplined. The usual scenes of him dozing off in class or ignoring the rules had noticeably decreased.
There were also other changes—his once small circle of friends had expanded, and the class's small cliques had started merging into larger groups. Bit by bit, the class was beginning to feel like a united group.
Of course, some people had left their groups—or rather, had been pushed out.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, for example. Ever since he showed his unbelievable speed during the sports festival, Ike and Yamauchi had been avoiding him.
If before, they would often invite him to lunch, now Ayanokouji was basically on his own.
"You're alone again."
After school at noon, Kanda Shuichi looked at the solitary Ayanokouji. "Want to eat with me and Miyake?"
"Uh… I don't think they hate me, right?" Ayanokouji watched as Ike, Yamauchi, and their group walked away.
"Who knows? From their perspective, everyone was kind of useless at first. But then you suddenly became useful. It's hard for them not to feel a little bitter about that."
Kanda Shuichi smirked and teased,
"You don't have to make it sound so real, you know."
"Isn't that because you're actually experiencing it yourself?"
Ayanokouji couldn't argue with Kanda Shuichi's words—because they were true.
"I don't mind if you guys want to chat, but can we at least walk while we talk? I'm seriously starving here."
Miyake cut in, stopping their pointless back-and-forth. With that, the three of them headed to the cafeteria.
"Hey, Ayanokouji, are you guys going to eat?"
Their plan was interrupted again by a gyaru-style classmate—Sato. Full name, Sato Mako. Not Sato Ken.
Kanda Shuichi and the others weren't very familiar with her. She seemed like the type who liked hanging around guys and had greeted Kanda Shuichi before.
As far as he knew, she was pretty close with Karuizawa, probably friends.
Instinctively, Kanda Shuichi glanced over at Karuizawa, but she had already left with Hirata. It didn't seem like she had set this up.
Still, a girl he barely knew suddenly calling out to Ayanokouji—it wasn't hard to guess what was coming next.
"Yeah, we were just about to go eat."
That was a really stiff response.
Kanda Shuichi and Miyake Akito both thought the same thing at the same time.
"Oh, so you already have plans. Well, we'll get going then."
Abandoning a teammate—no, creating an opportunity for a teammate, Kanda Shuichi was a pro at this!
"Is Ayanokouji actually getting popular? Even after the sports festival, Class A's Sakayanagi called him over for something."
Hearing Miyake mention it, Kanda Shuichi suddenly remembered—he had meant to ask Ayanokouji about his relationship with Sakayanagi but had completely forgotten.
"Ayanokouji's looks aren't really any worse than Hirata's. But since he used to hang around guys like Yamauchi and Ike, plus he's so quiet, no one really talked about him in class. Now that he stood out at the sports festival and distanced himself from them, it makes sense that people are starting to notice him."
Kanda Shuichi's words left Miyake stunned. He had thought Ayanokouji was just lucky with girls lately, but it turned out it was all because of the changes he had made himself?
Unconsciously, Miyake glanced at Kanda Shuichi again. As expected of Shuichi! His observation and analysis were top-notch!
That afternoon, classes were canceled, and all the students were gathered in the gym for the student council transition ceremony.
It was a large-scale event involving the entire school. But for most first-year students, it was just a waste of time.
Still, some found it strange.
"Hey, isn't that Kanda from Class D up there?"
"Yeah, and he's not standing with Class D's group."
"Why is he up there? Isn't that spot just for student council members?"
"Look, look! He's standing right next to the student council president."
It wasn't just the first-years—some second-years also found it odd. They knew who Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi were, as well as their positions.
If Kanda Shuichi was standing alongside them, that meant he was on the same level. Could he be the new vice president?
The moment Kanda Shuichi made his first appearance at a major event as a student council member, he became the center of discussion.
But soon, as the ceremony officially began, the murmuring in the crowd died down.
The students looked bored out of their minds, but they all held their breath, afraid of drawing attention from the teachers—especially sensei—or the upperclassmen.
"Now, we will hear the final remarks from Student Council President Horikita Manabu."
As the announcer spoke, Horikita Manabu, who was standing at the front, stepped forward from beside Kanda Shuichi and walked up to the microphone.
"I'm proud to have led the student council for nearly two years, and I'm also very grateful. Thank you."
Such a short and simple speech, Kanda Shuichi thought to himself. But honestly, he welcomed it—he hoped everyone else would keep it just as brief.
However, things didn't go as he wished. After finishing his extremely concise greeting, Horikita Manabu quietly stepped back and returned to his original position.
"Horikita Manabu-senpai, thank you for all your hard work as student council president. Now, let's welcome the newly appointed student council president from Class 2-A, Nagumo Miyabi, to say a few words."
At that moment, another student beside Kanda Shuichi stepped out from the student council lineup in response to the announcer's cue.
"I'm Nagumo from Class 2-A. Horikita Manabu-senpai, I truly appreciate your strict yet kind guidance over the years. It has been an honor to work alongside one of the most capable student council presidents in this school's history, and I want to express my respect."
After saying this, Nagumo bowed deeply toward Horikita Manabu, then straightened up and turned to face the students below.
"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Nagumo Miyabi. As of today, I will serve as the student council president of ANHS. I look forward to working with you all."
Nagumo carried himself with grace and confidence, making the first-year students feel like he might actually be a pretty good student council president.
But the third and second-year students didn't seem to think so. Their expressions remained serious, as if Nagumo was someone to be feared.
"I'll get straight to the point. First, I promise to change the student council's term limits, appointment process, and general election system..."
Nagumo laid out his vision for student council reforms, including some proposals that Kanda Shuichi had previously suggested.
"I originally wanted to implement my new system right away, but unfortunately, I can't do that just yet. A newly appointed student council president faces all kinds of restrictions, after all."
As he spoke, Nagumo glanced sideways at former student council president Horikita before turning back to the students.
"I promise to bring about a major revolution soon. The strong will rise, and the weak will fall to the bottom. I will turn this school into a place that truly values strength. I look forward to your cooperation."
The gymnasium fell into complete silence after this declaration.
But then, almost all the second-year students erupted in cheers and excitement.
Was this Nagumo's way of reassuring the top students from the other second-year classes?
Kanda Shuichi, however, thought they were celebrating a little too soon.
Nagumo had made it very clear—only the strong would rise. The strong.
And who decides who qualifies as strong? Nagumo, of course.
Even if taken at face value, there were only a handful of students who could truly be considered strong. So why was everyone so happy?
Did they really believe they could stand out among the hundred-plus students outside of Class A?
Some people really had no sense of reality.
How pathetic...
The second-year "cake" had already been sliced up and devoured by Nagumo and a few other top students from different classes. The rest of them wouldn't even get the leftovers, let alone a proper share.
For those with enough ability, this system might provide a chance to climb up to Class A. But for most, success would still depend on teamwork.
Not that any of this mattered to Kanda Shuichi. Nagumo's system wouldn't affect the first-year students for now.
Only when a class lost its competitive edge, and its top students felt unwilling to stay held back, would they consider going solo.
But in the future? That was another story.
Chaos was bound to happen sooner or later. Hopefully, when that time came, the school would be able to handle it.
If even class competition disappeared from this school, then it would become a complete joke.
And if, by then, the school's graduates could no longer meet the expectations of outside companies, there would be no reason for this school to exist at all.
After the ceremony ended, all the students were dismissed.
As soon as Kanda Shuichi stepped down from the stage, he was immediately surrounded by students from Class D.
No, it wasn't just the first-years—students from other classes were also looking in his direction.
"Why was Kanda standing up there?"
"Wait, is Kanda part of the student council?"
"And he's standing with both the former and current student council presidents—does that mean he's the vice president?"
...
Kanda Shuichi never thought he'd be in a situation like this. He had no idea how to respond to all these questions.
"That's right! Kanda was personally invited by Horikita-senpai to join the student council as the vice president."
Ichinose, who had walked off the stage with Kanda a little later, noticed his discomfort and quickly stepped in to help him out.
Ichinose, you're such a lifesaver!
When your birthday comes around, I'll definitely get you a hairpin you actually care about to thank you!
And don't think it's just some cheap hairpin—it's the same model as one worn by a celebrity, and even after a year of popularity, its price is still sky-high, costing over ten thousand points!
With Ichinose's help, Kanda finally managed to get through the mess of questions from these clueless people.
"Thanks, Ichinose."
"No problem. I didn't expect you to be this bad at handling situations like that, though."
"I guess I'm not great at it. They were all talking at once, and I didn't even know which question to answer. If it had gone on any longer, I might've snapped at them."
Even though most people had backed off, a few were still standing around, staring at Kanda.
"When did you join the student council? And how did you end up as the vice president?" Horikita Suzune looked at Kanda, her eyes filled with envy.
She had already known Kanda was part of the student council, but she never had the chance to ask for details. She had assumed he had a minor role, not something as big as vice president.
"There were a lot of reasons. Why don't you just ask your brother?"
With that one sentence, Kanda shut down Horikita Suzune's questions. Easy.
"Shuichi joined the student council during summer break, but it was supposed to be kept a secret at the time, so it wasn't made public."
Kushida answered in Kanda's place, feeling like she had just scored another win over Horikita. That put her in a great mood.
Back in his dorm room, Kanda pulled out his phone and found Kanzaki Ryuji's contact info. He was about to message him to ask about Ichinose's birthday.
But just before sending the message, he hesitated. It felt… inappropriate.
So instead, he called Kushida.
"Hello? Shuichi? What's up?"
"I wanted to ask if you know Ichinose's birthday."
Silence.
The other end of the call went completely silent.
"Why do you want to know her birthday?"
"She helped me out with the student council situation earlier."
"I see… then let me ask you a question first. If you can answer it, I'll tell you."
Kanda immediately felt that something was off about Kushida's tone.
Yup, I probably shouldn't have asked a girl about another girl's birthday…
"Do you know when my birthday is, Shuichi?"
"Your birthday? It's January 23rd, isn't it?"
Kanda had already memorized this info long ago. Not just Kushida's birthday on January 23rd—he also knew Kamuro's was February 20th, and Karuizawa's was March 8th.
Wait… March 8th? Isn't that Women's Day?
Now that he thought about it, his own birthday was February 1st. Kind of funny how close they all were.
Yeah, must be fate!
"Hmph, at least you have some conscience. But if you're thinking of giving Ichinose a birthday gift to thank her, you're a bit late. Ichinose's birthday was on July 20th—it's already passed."
On the other end of the phone, Kushida Kikyo laughed mercilessly.
July 20th... yeah, it's already over.
Well, if I can't give her a birthday present, I'll just find some other excuse.
Hmm, how about after the next special exam? If Class A wins, it'll be a congratulatory gift. If we lose, then it'll be a consolation gift!
I'm a genius!
Speaking of birthdays, Sakura's birthday should be around this time too. I did take advantage of her before, so I guess I should make it up to her with a birthday gift.
Sakura Airi's birthday... October 15th.
Wait, that's today?!
Looking outside at the darkened sky, Kanda Shuichi felt speechless. What now?
Well… I guess I'll just send her a message.
Kanda Shuichi took out his phone and opened the chat with Sakura.
[Happy birthday, Sakura. I've been busy with student council stuff these past few days, so I forgot. Sorry about that.]
The message felt insincere even to himself after sending it. Honestly, it was kind of embarrassing.
But alone in her room, Sakura Airi's face instantly turned bright red when she saw Kanda Shuichi's message. She rolled around on her bed in excitement.
Then—thud!
"Oww... that hurt..."
Looking at that short message, Sakura felt incredibly happy.
Kanda remembered my birthday.
She didn't care at all that he hadn't given her a gift.
I-I need to reply quickly!
She started typing a long message, then hesitated, deleting and rewriting it multiple times.
After nearly half an hour of struggle, Sakura Airi finally sent her response.
[Thank you, Kanda.]
Seeing that short reply, Kanda Shuichi lowered his head in thought.
I knew it. Not giving a gift and just sending a half-hearted message on her birthday… she must be disappointed in me.
---
————— ----
You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu