I just hope to live a leisurely life in the world of anime.

Well, although the hope in Hirata's eyes made me a little soft-hearted, I decided to refuse in order to avoid causing myself any trouble.

"I'm sorry..."

"It will only take a little bit of your time, there are two things."

Perhaps sensing my impending refusal, Hirata grabbed my hand and pulled me outside before I could finish speaking.

And it seems there really is something they want to tell me.

Actually, Hirata's grip wasn't very strong, so it wouldn't have been too difficult to shake him off. However, once I did shake him off, I reckon those girls would really start looking at me with displeasure, since I wouldn't be giving Hirata any face...

On one hand, they complain that I'm in their way, but on the other hand, they won't let me refuse Hirata. It's really a headache...

……

"Is there something you need?" I asked with a sigh after being led to the corner of the stairs by Hirata.

"Well, I'm so sorry, Ayanokouji-san, you've finally escaped unscathed..." Hirata was slightly out of breath, and added at the end, "They were just too enthusiastic..."

"Isn't that great?"

Yes, perfect. You controlled your tone without a hint of sourness or envy.

"Haha, probably." Hirata scratched the back of his head and laughed heartily, but after the laughter subsided, he became serious.

"Ayanokouji-san, there are two things I need to discuss with you."

“and me”

"Yes...you saw what happened in the classroom just now."

"The three of them, Sudo and his companions"

Just now, the class held a strategy meeting. After the morning when Mr. Chabashira left, Hirata spontaneously organized a class monitor election, which went as expected. He successfully became the class monitor and, of course, the spokesperson who chaired the meeting.

Hirata had just planned to organize a study session to improve the students' grades, but the three students with the worst grades—Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudo—refused to accept Hirata's offer without hesitation. Sudo almost got into an argument with a girl who defended Hirata, and the session ended badly, with all three leaving early.

"Yes, as you can see, the grades of Sudo and the other two are really...worrying, especially since they will be expelled if they fail the midterm exams..." He spread out one hand, sighed, and spoke very tactfully.

I was slightly surprised by his attitude: "Hirata-kun, you don't need to care about this at all. It's not your fault; they gave up on their own. You even tried to persuade them, and they almost got into an argument with you. Even if they get expelled, it has nothing to do with you, Hirata-kun."

Hirata shook his head, disagreeing with my statement: "No, you can't say that. They are also part of our class. It would be such a pity if they were expelled!"

"Really? So, Hirata-kun, what do you want me to do?"

"I noticed that Ayanokouji seems to be quite close to them. Could you please try to persuade them? Although my grades aren't particularly good, I'm somewhat confident in my ability to tutor them."

Was I being modest? If my total score is guaranteed to be in the top five of the class, will my grades be bad?

"Well... actually, I'm not particularly close to them either. I'll try my best to persuade them." I couldn't guarantee anything, because I was certain that the three of them wouldn't listen to me.

"Furthermore, why doesn't Hirata-san go and discuss it with the vice class president, Kushida-san? The gentle Kushida-san might be more reliable than me trying to persuade her."

Furthermore, both Ike and Yamauchi have expressed their liking for Kushida on multiple occasions. If Kushida were to invite them to the study group, they would definitely accept!

Of course, I didn't say the last sentence, since neither Ike nor Yamauchi said it in front of everyone in the class, and I didn't want to gossip about it behind their backs.

"To be honest, I've already asked you for help..."

"I see..."

Double insurance.

"Okay, I understand. I'll do my best."

"Thank you so much, Ayanokouji-san!"

"It's nothing, but Hirata-kun said there's one more thing. What is it?"

"This... is about Horikita-kun..."

###Chapter 384 Conformity###

(' "Hori Kita"

"Yes, Horikita-san... Ayanokouji-san knows about his situation in the class, right?"

"know."

"Because of Horikita's attitude, I'm almost unable to suppress the girls' opinions..."

"……Opinion"

"Because Horikita is always cold and aloof to everyone, and doesn't show any kindness to anyone, the girls have a lot of complaints about her. If this continues, I'm afraid Horikita will become a target of bullying..."

Indeed, Hirata's concerns were not unfounded.

Humans are social animals, a fact that dictates that our lives are situated in a tense and conflicting relationship between personal values ​​and societal demands.

This brings us to the word: conformity.

Let's start with an experiment: the Asch conformity experiment.

The experiment involved university students as subjects, with seven people in each group sitting in a row. Six of them were the experimenter's assistants, and only one was the actual subject. The subject was unaware of the identities of the other six people.

After the experiment began, the experimenter showed everyone a standard straight line X, and also presented three other straight lines A, B, and C for comparison, one of which was the same length as the standard line X. Then everyone (including 6 assistants and 1 actual subject) was asked to name the straight line with the same length as X.

The experimenter deliberately placed the real subject last, while the six subjects in front of him, who were disguised as subjects by the experimenter's assistants, all gave the same wrong answer as instructed beforehand. Finally, the real subject judged which line had the same length as X.

The results showed that 37% of the participants' responses were incorrect, reflecting the opinions of others. Approximately three-quarters of the participants conformed at least once, while about one-quarter remained independent and did not conform at all.

As the experimental data ultimately revealed, people generally exhibit a herd mentality. Furthermore, a large portion of people's social circles are also constituted by this herd mentality.

For example, in a university dormitory, there are four people, A, B, C, and D. They didn't know each other at first, but three of them, A, B, and C, played the same game. So they quickly became friends because they shared the same interests.

D arrives at the dormitory relatively late and never plays any games, so he is excluded by the others.

D then faced two choices: either join their game or remain stagnant.

Statistically speaking, option D has the highest probability of being the first choice, but we won't discuss probability, but rather the consequences.

Choosing the first option greatly increases the chances of integrating into their circle, because D will have the same common topics as them, leading to more frequent conversations, and over time, they will become good friends with them.

But what if we choose the second option?

I was probably neglected for the next four years of my dorm life. Even though I was able to get along with them in the end, I could never joke around with them as freely as the others.

Of course, there are many other theories involved. For example, three strangers will quickly get along after they share the same interests; or D chose the second option and was able to get along with them because he was the last to join their social circle and was instinctively excluded. These all involve other psychological theories, but today's focus is not on that, but on conformity.

Conformity is a natural reaction that makes us more adaptable to society.

And let me give you another example from my own life, Kushida.

Is she really capable of making so many friends, one by one?

impossible.

If we were to actually count the number of friends she actively sought out, it would probably only be one-third of what she has now.

I believe that the remaining two-thirds of the relationships I had with her were due to peer pressure.

For example, someone heard from their good friend that Kushida was a nice person, and seeing that she had many friends, they decided to get to know her. After getting to know her, they found that Kushida was indeed a nice person, and thus their friendship was established.

Once Kushida becomes familiar with a certain number of friends, strangers will think, "Wow, Kushida has so many friends! Most of the people I know are her friends. I'd like to get to know her too!"

Most of Kushida's friends came about this way.

Admittedly, after saying so much, it seems I haven't yet addressed the consequences and seriousness of not conforming. Actually, there's no need to elaborate, because most people won't encounter that situation. Even the worst person has some friends they can talk to, so there's no need to worry.

There was only one exception!

Horikita, who refuses to befriend everyone.

Even though she chats with me for a couple of minutes every day, most of it is actually sarcastic or hurtful remarks.

I can't really call myself her friend, and I'm pretty sure of that.

She should be glad it was me; if it had been Sudo, the two of them would definitely have fought!

I can't guarantee that Sudo, who looks like a delinquent, won't lay a hand on a girl.

Horikita's rejection of everyone's kindness will naturally lead to her being ostracized. It is foreseeable that if she does not make any changes in the future, she will find it difficult to get along in the class for the next three years.

Getting back to the main point, I think Hirata is worrying unnecessarily. It's not that he's being unreasonable, but rather that it has nothing to do with him.

"So, I think Ayanokouji is the only one who can talk to her, so I'm asking you to help persuade her..."

"I'll do my best in that too. You know Horikita, I can't guarantee anything either, I can only say I'll do my best."

I nodded. Could I refuse? Of course not... because the person who asked me to do this was Hirata.

Conformity is terrifying. For example, rumors are ultimately supported by "conformity." This is how the power of public opinion can destroy even the most powerful people.

Just like I don't want to mess with Kushida-kun, because their influence is too great. Although I don't care that much, there will always be trouble.

"Thank you so much! Ayanokouji-san, what do you want to eat for lunch? It's on me! Let's go!"

Seeing that I agreed, Hirata, without caring whether it was true or not, hooked his arm around my shoulder and waved his big hand.

I really have to admit that Hirata is a very good person, at least as the class monitor.

Compared to me, who is in a high position, he didn't order me around like a boss. Instead, he asked for my help. Although he didn't say anything about repaying me, he generously offered to treat me to a meal and put his arm around my shoulder to get closer to me. You should know that I am currently one of the people with the lowest status in the class because I don't seem to have much of a presence.

If my identity were reversed with Hirata's, I really can't say whether I would end up like Hirata.

I was about to agree when I saw the genuine joy and gratitude in Hirata's eyes. If he wasn't such a good actor, he really was going to treat me to a meal. I went along with it and agreed. This would help me get closer to the center of the class and at least leave a little impression on my classmates so that they wouldn't forget me after graduation.

But unfortunately, the weather turned bad, and the loudspeaker in our classroom went off.

Because our classroom was right next to the stairs, I could easily hear everything from my corner of the stairs.

"Ayanokouji, Class 1-D, your homeroom teacher, Chabashira, needs to speak with you. Please come to the teacher's office."

###Chapter 385 Ichinose-chan's Cameo Appearance###

"Teacher Hoshinomiya, stop admiring yourself! How long have you been looking in the mirror?"

After taking the two girls home and giving them a bath, An Shu returned to her office.

The time spent doing those strange things upstairs was no more than a little over an hour.

An Shu felt it was a bit of a pity, after all, it was a rare opportunity.

Does the pleasure really intensify when doing strange things in a confined, small space?