In practice, I can issue tasks to my master.

"Since we want to express our gratitude to Nangong, we can't just go out without makeup, wouldn't that be quite impolite?"

Horikita Suzune still had her brows furrowed.

There was nothing wrong with what she said, but she had a feeling that tonight's party wasn't as simple as she had imagined.

However, for now, we can only wait for Nangong Cheng to arrive.

About ten minutes later.

Apart from Sakura Airi and Hasebe Haruka, all the girls were present.

"Horikita-kun, would you like everyone to reintroduce themselves?" Kikyo Kushida put herself in the role of the temporary host.

Horikita Suzune nodded.

There's nothing to be embarrassed about.

On the first day, unaware of the situation, she didn't listen to their self-introductions at all because she didn't intend to interact with them; she simply recognized their faces.

"Then I'll go first."

Kikyo Kushida repeated her self-introduction from the first day of school, and then the other girls stood up one by one to repeat it.

Just as the last girl finished speaking, there was a knock on the door of the private room, and then someone walked in.

It was Nangong Cheng.

"Looks like I've arrived just in time."

He casually glanced around at the girls in the private room and could tell that they had put a lot of effort into their makeup and dressing up after going back.

It's not exactly a riot of colors, but it's certainly pleasing to the eye.

"Nangong, you're here!"

"Please feel free to sit anywhere~"

Kikyo Kushida's voice sounded a bit more strained than usual, which was really hard for Makoto Nangong to bear.

But now is not the time to undermine them.

So he walked towards Horikita Suzune's location.

In fact, he only had a few choices—Karuizawa Megumi, Kushida Kikyo, or Wang Meiyu.

But since the nominal protagonist of this gathering is Horikita Suzune, he naturally has to support the girl and, incidentally, thwart Kushida Kikyo's little schemes.

"We just got to know Horikita-kun again, and Nangong-kun's arrival is very timely!"

"Now we'll move on to the next segment—karaoke!

Kikyo Kushida is indeed quite energetic.

After all, such opportunities are rare.

"But before that, we want to formally thank Nangong for standing up for us and letting us stop worrying about being verbally harassed in class~"

"Slap slap slap~"

The girls below all applauded at the same time.

It has to be said that this scene was indeed quite corrupting to one's mind and will, but at least Nangong Cheng was no ordinary man.

"No need to be polite, we're all classmates."

"We really need to ask Kushida and Karuizawa to put in a lot of effort for the girls. We'll need everyone's help in the upcoming exams!"

Anyone can say a few polite words; the only difference is the level of their ability.

However, Makoto Nangong did not forget Suzune Horikita.

"Horikita, you say a few words too."

"..."

Horikita Suzune stood up, glanced around the private room, and said, "Although I have no experience tutoring others, I will try my best."

"If you have any questions outside of tutoring sessions, feel free to contact me anytime. I will reply as soon as it's not too late."

Please give me your guidance.

"Slap slap slap~"

This time, it was Nangong Cheng who led the applause.

Everyone else was very respectful. After all, putting aside other issues, Horikita Suzune was the person chosen by Nangong Cheng, and she was someone who could whisper sweet nothings in someone's ear, so they couldn't afford to offend her.

Moreover, Horikita Suzune's attitude this time was indeed different from before, so there was even less reason to target her.

"Hi~ That concludes the thank-you segment~"

Seeing that Nangong Cheng was so deliberately praising Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo felt even more gloomy and heavy emotions, but her face still had that perfect smile.

"Let's move on to the karaoke session now! Who wants to go first? Anyone volunteer?"

The girls below were looking at each other.

Including Karuizawa Kei, she really wanted to take advantage of the fact that most of the girls were around to create some ambiguity with Nangong Cheng.

But she couldn't figure out what Nangong Cheng was thinking. After all, wouldn't it be very awkward if she was rejected?

So she didn't want to be the one to stick her neck out.

Seeing that none of the girls seemed likely to volunteer to be the first, Nangong Cheng took action directly.

[Target: Kikyo Kushida]

[Task issued: Invite Horikita Suzune to the stage to sing a love song together]

[Task Reward: 200 points]

[Punishment for mission failure: He had to reveal his embarrassing past from junior high school on the spot]

Kikyo Kushida's expression froze.

Looking at the task details displayed on the panel in her field of vision, she only felt a deep sense of malice.

Should we have her sing a love song with Horikita Suzune?

You might as well kill her!

But the words came back again.

Compared to singing a love song with Horikita Suzune, revealing her dark past was an outcome she couldn't accept, so...

"Everyone seems a bit embarrassed, so I'll go first."

"But as the main character of today's gathering, I wonder if you, Horikita-kun, would be interested in singing a duet with me?"

Horikita Suzune was stunned for a moment.

She subconsciously glanced at Nangong Cheng, who simply nodded encouragingly.

"...I'm actually not very good at this."

"It's alright, Horikita-kun, you must have heard a few songs, right? Let's choose the one you can sing."

Kikyo Kushida smiled even more brightly.

I'm not good at it.

That's exactly what they want you to be bad at, otherwise how can they make you embarrass yourself?

Horikita Suzune had no choice but to follow Kushida Kikyo onto the stage in front of everyone and choose a song that left the deepest impression on her.

Unsurprisingly, her performance was terrible.

But Nangong Cheng couldn't help but sigh—

What a tragic couple!

Volume 1: Chapter 53, Kushida Kikyo: I have Tama-tama Syndrome

But how to say it?

Aside from those who are extremely jealous, most normal people will actually feel more favorably toward someone who is more outstanding than themselves, upon discovering that even they have weaknesses.

It is precisely because of its imperfections that it appears real.

So, Nangong Cheng's task wasn't entirely for the sake of creating a good show; he went to great lengths to help Horikita Suzune integrate into the girls' group.

But Kikyo Kushida was unhappy.

Is this what she came to see?

Despite feeling disgusted, he sang a love song with Horikita Suzune, which in turn helped her integrate into the group.

But it's not over yet.

She watched as Karuizawa Megumi walked towards Nangong Cheng.

"Nangong, if you don't mind, would you like to sing a duet with me later?"

After Kikyo Kushida and Suzune Horikita kicked things off, other girls also formed groups of two or three to sing.

The reason she was left alone was because her small group had taken care of everyone else internally, just so that she could be with Nangong Cheng.

"sure."

Nangong Cheng was actually quite puzzled as to why no one had invited him. After all, he saw that the girls were dressed so exquisitely, so surely it couldn't be that they were just trying to please themselves?

It turned out that this was where he was waiting.

"But I'm not good at singing either."

"Huh? Her voice is so nice?"

"A strong person is not necessarily good at fighting; there is no direct correlation between the two."

"Oh, it's okay, Nangong, just choose what you're best at. I'm fine with anything."

Karuizawa Kei didn't care about such trivial matters.

The chorus was just a pretext; the real purpose was to create a subtle flirtation and pave the way for her to become his girlfriend later.

It was their turn next.

The two discussed it briefly.

The melody soon began.

offstage.

Sitting on the sofa, Kikyo Kushida still had that sweet and lovely smile on her face, and she joined the others in clapping to liven up the atmosphere.

But she was even more upset.

Thinking to myself that Karuizawa Megumi was indeed unreliable, her eagerness to give herself to Nangong Cheng was really a mess.

"Kushida, want to talk?"

"Huh? Horikita-kun... what do you want to talk about? If it's about tutoring, didn't we say we could talk about it tomorrow?"

Kikyo Kushida wasn't in the mood to chat with Suzune Horikita; if she could, she'd rather kick the railing right now.

Horikita Suzune shook her head: "It's not about tutoring... I just wanted to get to know you."

"what?"

"What does Horikita-kun mean by this?"

Kikyo Kushida's heart skipped a beat, thinking that her embarrassing past had been discovered.

No, Horikita Suzune had previously publicly suspected her of having a secret, so now she wants to confirm it.

"The literal meaning."

Horikita Suzune smoothed her hair and then explained, "Didn't Kushida-san say at the beginning of the semester that she wanted to be friends with everyone?"

"Since we're friends, we can't be completely ignorant about each other's likes and dislikes, right?"

Haha... So we're friends after all?

How come I didn't know about this?

Nangong Cheng, you dog of a man, look what you've done to Horikita Suzune! Is this something she should say?