I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

"Oh, really?"

Yuko glanced at Kasaki, who seemed a little guilty.

"Speaking of which," Nakagawa, who had been sitting quietly in the chair, suddenly showed his phone screen to the group, "Did you see this message?"

"What news?"

Yuko and Kasaki both stepped forward at the same time.

That was the forum of Zongwu High School, and on the forum's homepage, there was a topic thread highlighted in red. Every time you refreshed the page, you could see the number of replies increasing.

"Breaking news!! The newly elected student council president actually rose to power through such dirty tricks?! We strongly oppose this!"

P.S.: I haven't had any time to write these past few days. I have to work on weekends, and I have to be on duty first thing next Monday. I'm exhausted. I originally planned not to update at all before the exams, but... I'll still write a little bit here and there... Thank you for your understanding.

Chapter 25, Section 364: Reversing Right and Wrong

"This is absolutely blatant distortion of the truth! Ugh, it's infuriating!"

You could almost see the actual white smoke rising from Yuihama's head as her fingers rapidly swiped across the phone screen, reading a large amount of text faster than ever before.

"...

The questioner learned this information from a friend in the student union.

Hikigaya read aloud the text under the enlarged headline in a very cold voice:

"...Yukinoshita did not register for the election at the beginning. Moreover, as everyone knows, Yukinoshita was the president of the Service Club. To be honest, I laugh every time I see the name of this club (laughs). At that time, only one first-year student registered for the election, but that first-year student did not have much confidence, so he went to the Service Club for help."

It's said that the commission was progressing steadily, and the Service Club had even provided a lot of advice to that first-year student. But who knew that Yukino would suddenly back out halfway through, and even enter the election directly when the registration was about to close, and then threaten that first-year student! That poor first-year student not only failed to enter the student council, but was also threatened into joining the Service Club, which should have been abolished. It's truly despicable!

By the way, those who think elections can't be rigged are being incredibly naive. The previous student council president was a junior to Yukinoshita-neechan, and they were very close.

The replies below were also particularly witty, fully demonstrating the stupidity of netizens who didn't have enough homework and weren't very bright.

"Yukinoshita is such a person! How disgusting! Ugh, I almost threw up my dinner from yesterday!"

"That first-year student is so pitiful, this is simply humiliating."

"Why did Yukino suddenly change her mind? Am I the only one wondering?"

"I know, I know! That first-year student is Iroha Isshiki from Class J. She was originally the manager of the soccer club. It's said that she joined because she liked Hayama. And then, Yukinoshita and Hayama... you know."

"Ugh, I can't stand it! To be in the same school as someone like this, it makes the air feel awful!"

"It makes me very uneasy to be in the same school as an idiot like you."

Qinglai, with a cold expression, wrote this sentence under that comment using his newly registered account.

Of course, there were also comments that remained neutral, or rather, completely disbelieving:

"I don't believe Yukinoshita is that kind of person. Please don't slander someone without any basis."

"Let's wait and see. Although I don't know Yukinoshita, I don't think she's that kind of person."

Even such a mild statement can be attacked by some unscrupulous people, not to mention those with more explicit attitudes:

After reading what the questioner wrote, I just want to ask:

What's going on in the questioner's head? Is it just filled with cotton wool?

Let's put aside the issues of reneging on requests or threatening juniors. Just Yukino Yukinoshita's reputation alone is enough to completely defeat that relatively unknown first-year student, right? Her abilities are common knowledge; she doesn't need any underhanded methods to secure the student council president position. What's even more ridiculous is the so-called 'first-year student's request,' which is the root of all this. Anyone familiar with this student council president election would immediately know that the first-year student and Yukino were the only two who signed up. And as the questioner mentioned, Yukino registered shortly before the deadline; before that, only the first-year student had registered. In other words:

Forget about elections; even if that first-year student does nothing, she will be directly elected as the next student council president.

If that's the case, then why bother seeking help from the Service Department? If you're going to make up a story, at least make one that's logically consistent. Posting something like this will only make people think you're intellectually deficient.

My sincere advice to the questioner: If you're a freshman, find a fulfilling club to enrich your boring and meaningless life while there's still time; if you're a sophomore, start studying hard immediately, although it may already be too late; if you're a junior… well, maybe you should look for a construction site, since you can't be expected to do mental work, and as for college entrance exams, you should probably give up on that early.

The comment was met with a barrage of insults, but each one was deftly countered, and those who were mindlessly arguing were thoroughly humiliated with well-reasoned arguments.

This way of speaking feels strangely familiar...

The Service Department was quiet at this moment, with everyone silently scrolling through their phones. However, the atmosphere was far from calm; rather, it was turbulent beneath the surface.

"Nonsense! That's utterly absurd!"

Yuihama, whose vocabulary was not extensive, blushed and paced back and forth in the classroom, making everyone dizzy.

"I'm sorry, everyone..." Isshiki said with a frown and some hesitation, "I will clarify this matter."

"Ah—I didn't mean it was Aya's fault..." Yuihama was still angry, but she maintained her usual gentleness. "It's clearly the fault of the person who wrote it wrong!"

“However, it’s best for Isshiki to step forward and clarify things now,” Hachiman said calmly, but judging from his grip on the teacup until his nails turned white, he wasn’t as calm as he appeared. “If Yuki were to clarify things, she would inevitably be labeled as ‘sophistry’ and ‘lying,’ especially since the other side is clearly deliberately trying to cause trouble—”

Yuihama glared angrily at Hikigaya, then changed the subject again, "But Isshiki's request is 'not to lose too badly' and 'not to reveal that he was forced to sign up,' so if Yuihama clarifies this, it would be equivalent to our request failing."

Then the cost of this commission is too high.

“Moreover,” Kiyoyori, who had been silent, tossed his buzzing phone aside, “just like Hikigaya-senpai said, the other party obviously posted such a message to deliberately cause trouble. I think even if Isshiki tries to clarify, it will be interpreted as ‘being threatened by Yukinoshita-senpai again’ or something like that. After all, we are already very clear about the other party’s ability to distort the truth.”

For those who know the inside story, the entire post is nothing but fabrication and nonsense; perhaps only the part about Isshiki being "threatened" to join the Service Club is true.

Moreover, the person who "threatened" her was not Yukinoshita.

"Then how can we help Xiaoxue?!"

"These baseless comments will only be popular for a short time, providing temporary interest for those brainless and idle people. They'll probably disappear quickly, so even if we ignore them, it won't be a big problem," Kiyotaka tapped his index finger rhythmically on the table. "Although I'd like to say that, but—"

“Although this is Soubu High School’s forum, it doesn’t mean that only Soubu High School students will browse it,” Hikigaya continued Kiyoyori’s words. “There are already quite a few comments from students outside our school in this thread, so it’s not surprising that this matter has spread to other schools.”

Chiyorai and Hikigaya sang together:

"One of the most important tasks of the student council president is to collaborate with off-campus groups and activities at other schools."

"Regardless of what Yukinoshita thinks about this matter, if it is not resolved, the entire student council led by Yukinoshita will definitely encounter considerable trouble in the future."

P.S.: I'm so sorry everyone, I have my first exam in about ten days and I'm just too busy. A new person joined my team these past few days and isn't very familiar with the work yet, so I'm especially tired lately. There probably won't be any updates for the next ten days or so. I hope I can update you all happily after my first exam, and I hope I can pass the exam successfully!

Chapter 26 Offense is the best defense

"So, you called me here just for this?"

Sitting on the guest chair, Yukinoshita was no different from usual, but the change in perspective still made everyone in the Service Club pause for a moment.

"Although I am very happy that everyone cares about me, it is not a big deal."

Having just received a hurried call from Yuihama, she immediately dropped what she was doing and rushed over. Only after Yuihama's incoherent explanation did Yukino learn about the farce that had taken place online.

No wonder that when she was in the student council room that afternoon, many student council members looked at her with strange eyes. Fortunately, there were no people in the student council who blindly believed the rumors.

“Although it’s not appropriate to say it like this, I’ve encountered many things like this since I was a child, not only from classmates but also from teachers,” Yukinoshita was obviously not concerned about this matter and even used to it. “It’s already quite mild to spread rumors like this. Besides, for most people, rumors are just a passing fad and will disappear after a while.”

"but--!"

“Unlike being subjected to actual bullying, these kinds of rumors are very difficult to resolve. No matter how you try to clarify, there will always be people who will deliberately distort the truth, and sometimes things will only get worse.”

It's not impossible that in such a situation, most of those who are incited are mindless, blindly believing things, and the truth or falsehood is determined solely by someone else's words.

“So I think the best solution is to let it cool down,” she said. Unlike the others who were worried about Yukinoshita, she didn’t seem to care much. “Besides, we had a prior request with Isshiki. If we clarify it, it means we haven’t fulfilled Isshiki’s request.”

"Yukino-senpai... I'm sorry, I..."

Although Isshiki was portrayed as a victim in that thread, she still felt guilty for damaging the reputation of her senior who had helped out of kindness. What bothered her even more was her true feelings, which she didn't want to clarify.

She didn't know what she was apologizing for.

"Isshiki-kun, there's no need to apologize. This is a risk we were supposed to take after accepting the commission."

Although this risk was clearly not taken into consideration.

"So we're just going to do nothing? Just let others frame Xiaoxue?!"

Yukino sighed and reassured them in a gentle voice, "It's just a matter of not pursuing it for now. I think the most appropriate approach right now is to let it cool down. Those who spread these lies are just trying to attract attention. The more we pay attention to them at this time, the more they will jump around."

"While that's not wrong, but..."

Yuihama looked helplessly at Kiyoyori and Hikigaya, who had remained silent, as if hoping that the two of them would say something.

“Yukinoshita, what you said makes sense, but won’t such rumors affect the image of the Soubu High School Student Council?” Hikigaya said cautiously. “Although you yourself may not care much, when it comes to cooperation with outside the school, those people don’t know you as well as… Yui Hama does.”

He swallowed the word he was about to say and instead chose a safer wording.

Yukinoshita lowered her head slightly, seemingly deep in thought. "I'll think about that, but I believe that letting strength speak for itself is the most direct approach."

Perhaps only Yukino Yukinoshita would have the courage to say those words.

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back now. I still have some matters to attend to at the student council."

She rushed over, leaving her work behind. There were still many things to hand over to Cheng Hui, and the retiring members also had a lot to report. So the student council didn't have much free time to pay attention to this matter.

Yukinoshita wasn't worried about rumors circulating within the student council that she was unworthy of her position, because they would soon find out just how excellent a leader she would be.

At least that much she could assure the people in the Service Department.

Otherwise, there would be no point in leaving the Service Department.

Kiyoyori didn't say a word until Yukinoshita walked out of the Service Club's activity room, and didn't even exchange glances with her.

"Is that really enough...?" Yui Hama was clearly still worried. "That's true, Yuki is so outstanding, she doesn't need us to worry about her at all..."

Hikigaya glanced at Yuihama, then at Kiyoyori.

When their eyes met in the air, they realized that their thoughts were exactly the same.

This is the uncomfortable feeling of two people who clearly dislike each other, yet inexplicably share a tacit understanding.

“It’s not that just because Yukino doesn’t want to do something, we have to do nothing,” Hikigaya casually flipped through the paperback he carried with him. Although he pretended to be reading, he didn’t actually turn a single page. “Anyway, Yukino is no longer the president of the Service Club.”

Previously, all actions of the Service Department required Yukinoshita's approval because she was the department head and held the reins of the entire Service Department. Hikigaya, Yuihama, and Kiyoyori were essentially just employees, which is why they would subconsciously ask for her opinion and follow her instructions.

However, Yukino is no longer the president of the Service Club, nor even a member. In other words, Yukino cannot interfere with what the Service Club does now, unless the other party uses the title of student council president to pressure them, but Yukino is not that kind of person.

"That's right...!"

Yuihama suddenly realized.

Even if it's not from the perspective of the Service Club, but simply from the perspective of caring for Yukino's friend, what's wrong with standing up for a friend who has been slandered?

"But how do we do it?"