After Natsukawa's 'CPU' session, Kushida looked up, the hostility in her eyes largely dissipated, replaced by a look of scrutiny and hesitation. She stared at Natsukawa for a long time, seemingly evaluating the credibility of his words.
Suddenly, she made an unexpected move.
She abruptly reached out and grabbed Natsukawa's right wrist. Her grip was strong, and her fingertips were cold. Before Natsukawa could react, she pulled his hand and pressed it firmly against the left side of her chest—on her school uniform shirt.
Natsukawa's palm could clearly feel the soft touch of the girl's 'bunnies' and her slightly hurried heartbeat. Well, the heartbeat was Natsukawa's own; after all, her 'front armor' was too thick to feel anything else.
"Uh..." Kushida's cheeks flushed with an unnatural redness, whether from anger, shame, or something else, but her eyes were exceptionally firm, even carrying a hint of desperate ruthlessness. "Verbal promises aren't enough... This is the guarantee. If you dare to speak about this, I'll accuse you of rape. I won't wash this shirt; I'll keep the... fingerprints on it. I hope Natsukawa-kun... will keep his word."
Natsukawa was stunned. He had indeed anticipated Kushida trying something like this, but he didn't expect her to initiate it with zero frames, making it impossible to defend. However, he quickly regained his composure, looked at Kushida's slightly provocative and flustered eyes, and suddenly smiled. Instead of pulling his hand back, he slightly tightened his fingers and began to gently caress.
"Mm!" Kushida trembled as if struck by electricity, her cheeks instantly turning crimson. She abruptly pushed Natsukawa away, retreating several steps, instinctively shielding her chest with her hands, her eyes filled with shock and indignation.
"You...!"
"Since you want to keep evidence, then let's see it through. I'll actively help you increase its credibility." His tone was calm, as if nothing had just happened. "To show my sincerity, although I don't know why you're so fixated on Horikita, I can help you establish a connection with her."
Kushida's eyes lit up, but then filled with suspicion again: "How will you help?"
"You'll know that later." Natsukawa kept her in suspense, turning to go downstairs. "Just maintain your usual demeanor. Of course—you don't need to maintain it in front of me."
As he walked down a few steps, Kushida's voice came from behind him, already back to her usual cheerful and sweet tone, as if the hysterical demon from moments ago had never existed:
"Then it's settled, Natsukawa-kun~! Please continue to guide me in the future!"
Natsukawa didn't look back, merely waved his hand casually... At this moment, only Kushida Kikyo remained in the empty stairwell. She leaned against the cold wall, slowly sliding to the ground, gasping for breath. The flush of shame and indignation on her face gradually receded, replaced by extreme fatigue and bewilderment. She looked down at the faint wrinkles on her school uniform over her chest, then recalled Natsukawa's affirmation of her efforts, her eyes complex and hard to read.
After a long while, she slowly stood up, carefully patted and straightened her school uniform skirt, combed her slightly messy hair with her fingers, and then took out a small mirror from her backpack, meticulously adjusting her facial expression in the mirror.
A few seconds later, that familiar, energetic smile reappeared on Kushida's face. She took a deep breath and walked down the stairs with light steps, as if the previous scene had been an illusion... When Natsukawa returned to the Library, Sakura Airi still maintained her previous posture, like a quiet porcelain doll, with only the faint rustle of turning pages proving her concentration. The sunlight shifted slightly on her red hair, outlining the contours of her profile more softly.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Natsukawa sat opposite her and placed the chemistry textbook he brought on the table.
Sakura gently shook her head, indicating it was fine, but her gaze curiously fell on the brand new chemistry book.
Natsukawa opened the textbook and began to go over basic concepts with Sakura. His explanations were still profound yet easy to understand, attempting to express complex chemical reactions in a more vivid way. Sakura listened intently, nodding occasionally, and sometimes asking one or two small questions. Although her voice was still very soft, it was a world of difference compared to her initial state where she barely dared to speak.
When discussing a certain deduction about the periodic law of elements, Natsukawa was drawing a diagram on scratch paper with his pen, but Sakura suddenly spoke softly: "Um... Classmate Natsukawa, this knowledge point... the teacher seemed to mention it in class, but it's not within the scope of this midterm exam..."
Natsukawa's pen tip paused. He remembered now; Chabashira had deliberately misidentified the scope of this midterm exam. He hadn't paid attention to the scope Chabashira set these past two days because he had been focused on the system tasks. This little Sae Chabashira had too many tricks, even coming up with such a crazy idea to ensure students would pass the midterm exam.
"Hmm, I might have mixed it up." Natsukawa replied without changing his expression, already having a plan in mind. "But even if it's not on this exam, you should still remember it. It's the foundation for many extensions later."
Night, High-Rise Dormitory.
Ichinose Honami had just finished her evening self-study and was sitting at her desk, organizing today's class affairs. Under the soft light of the desk lamp, her pink-gold long hair flowed like honey. Her personal terminal emitted a special notification sound. She picked it up and saw it was from Natsukawa Sosuke.
"Ichinose-san, good evening. Sorry to bother you so late. Regarding class competition, I have some new ideas. Are you available?"
Seeing the name, her lips unconsciously curved into a slight smile, and her fingertips quickly unlocked the screen.
"Natsukawa-kun? No problem, I'm still up! (^▽^) Please tell me, I've been looking forward to communicating more with you!"
"Our previous focus might have been too concentrated on 'competition' between classes. But have you ever considered that in this school, there might also be special exams that require 'cooperation'?"
"Cooperation?" Ichinose's face showed a hint of surprise.
"Exactly. In the adult world, it's not just a zero-sum game where one must die for the other to live. More often, it's cooperation under competition, or rather, a 'coopetition' relationship. The school's purpose is to cultivate talent that can adapt to society, so challenges that test cooperative abilities must exist."
The message continued after a brief pause, as if waiting for Ichinose to digest the concept.
"Therefore, I believe that instead of waiting until cooperation is needed to hastily find allies, it's better to consciously cultivate and maintain potential cooperative relationships starting now. Classes with similar goals can completely establish a certain tacit understanding and trust in advance."
"Natsukawa-kun means... our Class B and... Class D?" Ichinose's reply carried a hint of cautious probing.
"Precisely. We have a common goal—to rise to Class A. At the same time, we face common potential threats—such as Class C. Establishing connections in advance can both spur each other on and serve as mutual support when necessary."
"How exactly should we do it?" Ichinose's question was filled with strong interest and a hint of eagerness.
When she saw Natsukawa's proposed concept of "class cooperation," a flicker of surprise crossed her blue eyes, and then she fell into serious thought.
Keywords swirled and combined in her mind. She hadn't been oblivious to other forms of inter-class interaction, but Natsukawa's perspective was clearly more advanced and systematic. Yes, the school's ultimate goal was to cultivate talent adaptable to society, so pure confrontation couldn't possibly be the only main theme. Cooperating with Class D could both counterbalance the unpredictable Class C and provide an extra layer of security in uncertain future exams. More importantly, Natsukawa was in Class D... Thinking of this, Ichinose felt her cheeks flush slightly. She instinctively touched her face with cool fingertips, took a deep breath, and tried to pull her thoughts back to the main topic. She picked up her terminal again, her slender fingers rapidly tapping on the virtual keyboard, her tone polite but with an undeniable hint of admiration and excitement:
"Natsukawa-kun's ideas are always so refreshing! (^▽^) I also vaguely felt that relying solely on individual class struggle might not be able to handle all types of challenges, but I couldn't articulate the concept of 'coopetition' as clearly as Natsukawa-kun."
She then shifted her tone, with cautious consideration, "However, how can we initiate this contact so that it appears natural and not abrupt, avoiding excessive vigilance from other classes, especially Class A and Class C?"
"The midterm exam is an excellent opportunity. Hirata Yosuke from our class is organizing a study group. You can use this as an excuse to send a few Class B students to make contact under the guise of exchanging study experiences and sharing review materials. Hirata is also a universally recognized good guy. This approach is based on academics, with pure motives, and is not easily suspicious."
Seeing Natsukawa's reply, Ichinose nodded thoughtfully. She imagined the scenario and felt that this suggestion was indeed clever and feasible. She could even think of who would be suitable to send—Kanzaki-kun was steady enough, and Shibata-kun was more approachable... "Using the study group as an entry point, Natsukawa-kun has considered everything so thoroughly. This way, it can both substantively help students who need assistance and naturally initiate dialogue between the two classes. I will contact Hirata tomorrow, and I will carefully consider the specific candidates and methods."
She put down her terminal, feeling inexplicably joyful, not just because she had found a potential strategic direction, but also seemingly because she had found someone with whom she could have such a conversation. Under the lamplight, her slightly flushed cheeks and eyes shimmering with soft light revealed the girl's inner joy and restlessness.