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Horikita slightly narrowed her foxy eyes, coldly sweeping her gaze over the other party.
"Are you questioning my abilities?"
Akira's expression remained unchanged. "Your academic performance is indeed excellent, but you're still far from good in other aspects. The simplest example—you don't even know basic rhetoric. How can you expect people to be convinced?"
After a brief silence, Horikita said, "That's precisely why I need your help. I'll formulate the plans, and you'll execute them—we'll each play to our strengths. How about that?"
She mused to herself that this was exactly how her brother led the Student Council.
Just like the secretary who assisted her brother, clear division of labor was the most efficient approach.
Akira sighed, casually twirling his pen. "As your deskmate, I'll humor you and listen to your class representative platform for now."
"I'll organize study sessions every day after school. We'll gradually raise the academic level of the others, fundamentally improving the overall quality of the class."
"Only focusing on grades? Class points are the key, aren't they? Speaking of which, how are your foreign policies coming along?"
"Foreign policies?" Horikita was clearly not expecting that question.
"I'm talking about the strategic deployment against the other three classes." Akira leaned forward, enunciating each word clearly. "Are you just burying your head in the sand, developing Class D? Are you forming alliances or confronting the other classes? How are you gathering information? How are you going to reduce the opponents' class points... I've told you before, this school isn't just about academic performance..."
Mid-sentence, Akira suddenly stopped.
Because Horikita had once again shown a hint of confusion.
'Am I thinking too deeply, or is she seeing things too shallowly?'
"Let's be direct," Akira straightened up, tapping his fingertips on the desk. "I can help, but eighty thousand points are far from enough." His gaze shifted to Kushida at the podium. "Besides, why wouldn't I choose to cooperate with the current class representative? Her popularity and influence are far greater than yours."
Akira watched Horikita's tensed body and slowly delivered the fatal blow. "Given your current ability and bargaining chips... I'm afraid, I refuse."
Horikita abruptly turned and glared at Akira, squeezing out a sentence through gritted teeth. "...How dare you compare me to her!"
At the same time, Kushida at the podium began her class representative's address with her signature sweet smile.
She rested her hands lightly on the edge of the podium.
"Classmates," her voice was clear and pleasant, yet carried a hint of regret, "I regret to inform everyone that due to nearly half of our classmates violating daily conduct rules last week and this week, our class points have been significantly deducted."
A flurry of whispers immediately erupted in the classroom.
Kushida paused at the opportune moment, waiting for the murmurs to subside before continuing. "Although I really want to encourage everyone to start taking classes seriously and trying hard from now on... it seems it might already be a bit too late. And... I actually really dislike forcing everyone to do anything."
"However, I've carefully studied the deduction rules and discovered an interesting fact—" She held up her index finger, winking playfully. "—the vast majority of reasons for our class's deductions come from those two surveillance cameras in the classroom!"
Kushida lowered her voice, as if sharing a secret. "So... if we could get ahead of it and delete all the surveillance footage from these two cameras in the class... we could save at least nine hundred class points this month!"
The last sentence was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly sparking discussion among the other classmates in the classroom.
"Real or fake!"
"Our class actually has a chance to get nine hundred points!"
"Doesn't that mean we could become Class A next month all at once!"
"Hahaha... Interesting! But! It shouldn't be that simple! Tell us your 'but'!" Koenji suddenly burst into a loud laugh, a hint of playfulness in his voice, which instantly cooled the previously enthusiastic atmosphere.
"Of course, there are conditions." Kushida gently blinked her eyes, which had noticeable dark circles, a gentle smile on her lips.
She paused, allowing everyone to focus. "We need to pay three million private points to rent the two surveillance cameras for the class. However..." Her gaze swept over everyone present. "Considering that our class points have already been deducted a lot over the past two weeks, exchanging three million private points for four hundred to five hundred class points should be a fairly good deal."
To prepare for this, her first speech as class representative, Kushida had stayed up until almost three in the morning.
She meticulously refined every detail, especially the sensitive topic of surveillance, which had to be handled carefully.
She decided to adopt a gradual strategy.
First, she'd present the most attractive benefits, then gradually delve deeper.
The wording of every sentence, the timing of every pause, had all been meticulously designed.
'Kushida's doing well today.'
Akira secretly admired her.
He'd originally thought Kushida was only good at interpersonal communication, but the eloquence she displayed at this moment was truly surprising to him.
Emotional intelligence is actually no less important than IQ, and the order in which you speak is also very important.
If you'd put the surveillance part first, the effect might not have been as good.
Speaking of which? Could it be? Kushida is also quite suitable to be class representative?
Class D has too many talented people.
'If she continues to reform the other members of Class D and change their mindsets, it might actually be possible for things to improve.'
'It feels like, except for Yamauchi and a few other classmates, everyone seems to have something they're clearly good at!'
Don't look at Ike always hanging out with the other person, but he once said he had camping experience.
The other person doesn't boast like Yamauchi, so it's highly likely to be true.
'How does Class D give me a feeling no less than Class A!'
'Although there are many troublemakers, each and every one of them is indeed capable!'
Akira had to admit that, as things stood, Class D indeed had the strength to contend for Class A.
Because yesterday he'd probably looked at all four classes.
Class C was undoubtedly the weakest, while the other three classes gave him a feeling of being evenly matched.
"So... do you think I'm wrong? You're simply not as good as Kushida right now. Her role as class representative is more significant than yours. If it were you, could you speak with such high emotional intelligence as her?" Akira thought for a moment, then looked at Horikita, stating the objective truth.
"..." Horikita looked at the female classmate on the stage, whose smile she perceived as fake, and for the first time, a feeling arose within her—perhaps, the other person wasn't so annoying after all.