Chapter 175: Horikita Suzune Evolves Faster Than a Pokémon
The lunch break bell had just finished ringing when the classroom gradually became noisy.
Shimizu Akira suddenly remembered the matter of taking a photo and hurriedly called out to Sakura Airi, who was just about to take out her bento next to him.
"Sakura-san, could I trouble you to help me take a photo? I'll give you some points as a thank-you gift, what do you think?"
"O-okay! You can leave it to me, no problem at all!"
Shimizu Akira had originally thought that, given Sakura's habitually shy nature, she would most likely blush and hesitate for a moment. He didn't expect that as soon as he finished speaking, she would agree almost without a pause.
"Shimizu-kun... may I ask, what is the photo for? Is it for a selfie to keep, or is there another use?" Sakura Airi asked, clutching her camera strap.
Shimizu Akira recalled the President's instructions—he only said to make it look spirited and handsome, but mentioned no other requirements.
Since it was for printing on flyers, it didn't need to be touched up like a beauty shot.
So he replied, "Just a normal shot is fine. If possible, I'd prefer no background, just a white one."
"No background?" Sakura's eyes suddenly lit up, as if some inspiration had suddenly been ignited. She quickly looked up and added: "Um... I know how to use Photoshop! If you don't mind, Shimizu-kun, I can edit it to a white background after taking it, and I can also make the photo look a bit 'fresher.' I definitely won't mess it up!"
As she said this, there was a hint of uncontainable excitement in her voice, as if she had finally caught an opportunity to do something more for him. Even her previous shyness had faded significantly.
These words made Shimizu Akira pause slightly, feeling a bit puzzled.
'Fresher?'
Does that mean... this classmate thinks the current him isn't fresh enough? Or did she think he was fresh before?
He blinked, suppressed that bit of confusion, and replied, "Then I'll leave it to you."
"Mhm! Please come with me, Shimizu-kun, I know several places that are great for taking photos!" Sakura nodded vigorously.
No sooner had she spoken than she grabbed her phone, stuffed it into her pocket, and walked ahead with light steps, holding her camera.
Looking at her back, Shimizu Akira suddenly realized—when discussing cameras and photography, Sakura Airi seemed much more lively.
Perhaps everyone unconsciously becomes more talkative when discussing a topic they are interested in.
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Sakura took him to the rooftop.
"There just happen to be dark clouds blocking the sun today, so it's not blinding. It's perfect for taking photos," she explained while taking out her camera, her fingertips skillfully fiddling with the buttons.
She had Shimizu Akira stand at the edge of the rooftop, stepped back a few paces, and slightly bent her knees to adjust the angle.
"A little more to the left... please relax your shoulders a bit..."
Sakura Airi's voice was much steadier than usual; her previous shyness seemed to be covered by a sense of professionalism. The shutter sound rang out a dozen or so times intermittently.
"Um... Shimizu-kun, that's enough!
These are the photos that were taken, have a look!" She pulled up the images and handed the camera to Shimizu Akira.
Shimizu Akira looked down at the camera screen and studied it seriously for a moment before looking up and saying, "They're very good, thank you."
In truth, he had never studied photography, but at a glance, the photos on the screen looked comfortable—his body proportions were balanced and natural, and the dark clouds in the background spread out just right, neither stealing the spotlight from the subject nor failing to make him stand out clearly.
What surprised him most were his eyes.
In his previous life, he always messed up when taking photos, often blinking the moment the shutter was pressed, leaving behind a pile of useless shots with his eyes closed.
They were either ridiculous or stiff and could never be used.
But in these few photos Sakura took, his eyes were wide and bright, and even his expression appeared more spirited than usual.
"They really are well-taken," he added with sincere appreciation, taking another couple of looks.
"Really?! That's great." Sakura seemed to suddenly let the weight off her shoulders and exhaled softly. She immediately took the camera into her hands. "Um... please wait a moment, I'll send the edited photo to you right away!"
Before she even finished speaking, she had already turned around and was walking quickly toward the stairs.
Shimizu Akira was just about to say something, but her figure had already disappeared behind the rooftop door.
He stared at the empty stairwell. Forget a return gift; he hadn't even had the chance to finish a proper "thank you."
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By the time Shimizu Akira finished eating and returned to the classroom, Sakura Airi's seat was still empty.
She was probably back in her dorm using her phone to edit the photo.
He looked at the empty chair, tapped his fingertips on his phone screen, and composed a message to send over: Thank you, Sakura-san. I've already sent the 5,000 points I promised as a thank-you gift.
After the message was sent successfully, no new notification popped up on the screen.
Shimizu Akira placed his phone on the desk.
She was likely still concentrating on fiddling with the photo.
He scanned the surroundings.
He noticed Onodera Kayano from the class leaning over Horikita Suzune's desk, talking.
"Horikita-san, have you finished watching all the surveillance? I feel like you've been doing a lot for Class D behind the scenes!"
Seeing Horikita look up slightly, she added enthusiastically: "Your results in swimming class the other day were also quite good! I remember you haven't joined a club, right? Do you want to try out for the swimming club?"
"Onodera-san." Horikita Suzune's voice still carried a bit of distance, but it was slightly softer than usual. "I have no plans to join a club at the moment."
Pausing, she seemed to suddenly remember something and added: "However, speaking of swimming results, I'm actually not as good as you. That day was just a stroke of luck where I performed beyond my normal level."
"Eh? So modest!" Onodera Kayano laughed heartily. "As expected, I only realized after talking to you—although your personality is a bit cold, Horikita-san, you're actually a very nice person! While it's a bit of a pity I couldn't invite you to the club, I respect your decision!"
With that, she waved her hand, turned, and skipped back to her own seat.
Seeing Horikita Suzune able to have a relatively normal conversation with her classmates now, Shimizu Akira was long past being surprised.
Ever since she admitted those shortcomings in front of her brother last month, she had indeed shown a visible change.
In a sense, Horikita Suzune was probably the fastest-evolving person in this school—even a Pokémon didn't change as fast as she did.
At this moment, when Horikita Suzune turned her head, she happened to meet the eyes of Shimizu Akira, who was already in his seat.
After what happened last night, she remained very composed now.
It was just holding hands once.
Her reaction that night could, at most, be considered a basic human instinct.
After all, it was her first time having such close contact with a boy.
However, having had this experience once, she would likely be more composed in the future.
She thought about it: she was probably the type who could maintain composure no matter what happened.
Even if the sky fell, she might not lose her footing—at least from the outside, she wouldn't let a single flaw slip through.
Something as minor as holding hands was far from enough to make her panic.
Subsequently, she unconsciously began to consider how to handle Sudo Ken's fighting incident.
Reflecting carefully, Sudo Ken had been causing trouble for the class since enrollment: he lost a lot of class points in the first month; in the second month, although he barely passed every subject, he was only hovering at the passing line. If it hadn't been for Akira keeping an eye on him, Horikita Suzune even doubted he would have studied seriously at all. Now in the third month, he had directly caused this fighting scandal.
No matter how one looked at it, he seemed like an existence that was constantly dragging the class down.
And her goal was always clear—to lead the class to Class A and gain her brother's recognition.
From this perspective, Sudo Ken was undoubtedly a harmful burden to the class.
Among Class D's "dead weight," Yamauchi Haruki was one, Sudo Ken was one, and Ike Kanji was another.
However, Ike Kanji was better than the first two; at least his attitude was correct, and he would take the initiative to admit his mistakes.
As for Sudo Ken, although he was a constant source of trouble, at least his athletic results were impressive.
Only Yamauchi Haruki had neither a proper attitude nor a shred of ability, and just now he had betrayed his friend in front of the whole class—this person's character simply couldn't withstand scrutiny.
Since it was a school, there would definitely be a sports festival.
With this school's "merit-based" philosophy, the sports festival would likely be tied to a special exam.
In that case, Sudo Ken's physical fitness might come in handy.
But in reality, Horikita Suzune didn't take his physical ability too seriously.
The reason was simple: this class had Shimizu Akira.
That guy who wouldn't even get a stomach ache after eating an old bento would probably win any sports competition in a landslide.
But the tricky part was that if this matter wasn't handled properly, class points would definitely be deducted.
What was even more troublesome was that the Student Council would handle this.
Publicly, this concerned the interests of the entire class; privately, she always wanted to prove her growth to her brother, and perhaps this was the perfect opportunity.
For a moment, she was somewhat undecided, and her gaze involuntarily drifted toward Shimizu Akira.
"...What do you think of this matter with Sudo?"
"There isn't much to say." Shimizu Akira looked up at her and replied, "I think he was most likely set up on purpose, but then again, the key to this matter doesn't lie in whether Sudo-kun was at fault or not—his current attitude is clearly problematic."
In Shimizu Akira's view, the incident Sudo Ken caused wasn't particularly critical in itself. What was truly troublesome was his "I'm not wrong" attitude toward his classmates after causing such a huge mess.
No matter how you look at it, he did use violence and admitted to hitting people.
Class D was going to lose class points because of him, and even the points that should have arrived normally were delayed—not only did he not apologize, but he had to be stubborn, acting as if he was entirely in the right.
One can only say that the old saying is always true: the way you usually treat others is the way others might repay you.
Just like this morning, the reason Yamauchi Haruki would accuse him in front of everyone was likely due to this.
Shimizu Akira glanced at Sudo Ken, who was sitting at his desk not far away with a face full of frustration.
However, the other party finally seemed to vaguely realize that what he did to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka yesterday was indeed wrong.
That is to say, the guy still possessed a modicum of self-awareness.
"...I believe there is a high probability that Sakura Airi saw Sudo fighting," Horikita Suzune mused for a moment and offered her judgment.
"Hmm? How do you know about that?" Shimizu Akira was truly quite surprised—he really hadn't expected her to say that.
"When the teacher asked for witnesses just now, most students either stared at her or looked indifferent. She was the only one with her head down, looking very suspicious," Horikita Suzune explained logically.
"Eh? This..." Shimizu Akira was stunned for a moment. "How did you suddenly start paying attention to the classmates' reactions?"
He wasn't exaggerating; Horikita Suzune's "evolution" speed was truly startling.
How long has it been, and she's already learned to analyze suspicious points by observing others' subtle movements and expressions?
He even suspected she was using a cheat! Did she have an information system like him or something?
"...I just happened to see it naturally," Horikita Suzune said, giving him a side-eye.
Actually, she also felt it was sudden—it was as if she had suddenly had an epiphany at a certain moment, prompted by some mysterious force to pay attention to the other students' reactions, and unexpectedly, she actually caught a lead.
"Then what do you plan to do? Announce this information to the whole class?" Shimizu Akira followed up.
"There's no rush." Horikita Suzune thought for a moment, her tone remaining sharp. "I have to confirm from Sakura Airi first if she really was a witness, and then see if the evidence in her
hands is sufficient—after all, there's a possibility I'm mistaken. Furthermore, I'm not yet certain if keeping Sudo Ken is beneficial for Class D."
"I see." Shimizu Akira nodded, thinking to himself that she was considering things quite thoroughly.
"So you plan to go and ask her yourself?"
"...I'm not good at prying for information." Horikita Suzune paused.
"However, I saw you go out with Sakura just now." Horikita Suzune glanced at him and added, "Although I'm not sure what you talked about, I can see you're on good terms. Logically speaking, you are the most suitable candidate to gather information."
"So that's how it is. Are you planning to have me ask her?" Shimizu Akira asked in return.
"It's not that you'll ask... I'll have Hirata-kun ask about this," she added after a brief thought.
If she let Shimizu Akira do it this time, who knows what condition he would propose for his next step.
After all, the two of them just held hands yesterday.
She wanted to wait a few more days.
That feeling of her heart skipping a beat was something she really didn't want to experience a second time in such a short period.
As a core figure of Class D, Hirata Yosuke should be able to communicate smoothly with everyone. Leaving the matter to him was indeed a safe choice.
"Oh, so that's how it is." Shimizu Akira nodded thoughtfully.
He roughly guessed her thoughts—she was simply afraid that bothering him would require paying another price.
But in fact, he was willing to help with such a small favor. After all, that brief hand-holding last night felt quite good.
It was just that she didn't realize it herself and had unconsciously excluded Kushida Kikyo again.
If he remembered correctly, Kushida had been looking for Horikita quite frequently these past few weeks. If she found out that Horikita would rather tell Hirata about this than find her, she'd probably explode with anger again.
After all, Kushida had recently lost the election for class representative and had been holding a grudge for several days. Horikita's action was, at best, distancing, and at worst, it was practically rubbing salt in her wounds.
He really didn't know how much longer that rooftop door, which had been kicked by her for over a month, could hold out.
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