COTE : Backed By Black Technology System-Chapter 185 - : Sudou Is Actually a Kid Who Lacks Love

When Kanda Shuichi arrived at the dorm lobby, Sudou was sitting on the couch, shaking his legs nervously. He was still in his sportswear, looking restless and uneasy.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

As soon as Kanda Shuichi entered, he greeted Sudou.

"Kanda! Why would you do this for someone like me...? Why spend 20 million points on me? That's a lot for you too, right?"

The moment he heard Kanda Shuichi's voice, Sudou rushed over, stopping right in front of him before lowering his head.

"Have you calmed down a little?"

Kanda Shuichi's calm tone made Sudou freeze for a moment, then he nodded.

"I get it now. That bastard Ryuen was deliberately provoking me so I'd punch him. Otherwise, there's no way he wouldn't have dodged it."

As he said this, Sudou clenched his fists again, gritting his teeth.

"That's right, this is Ryuen's way of provoking you. And he's clearly targeting you because you're known for having a short temper in our grade."

Sudou froze for a moment, then lowered his head.

"Can you tell me why you came to this school?"

Kanda Shuichi suddenly changed the subject, asking something completely unrelated to the competition.

The sudden shift caught Sudou off guard, but he nodded and started explaining. He talked about how he was invited by a top basketball school, how he lost that opportunity because of a violent incident, and how he chose this school with hopes of becoming a professional basketball player in the future.

After hearing all that, Kanda Shuichi finally understood. No wonder Sudou looked so crushed back then—it was like history repeating itself.

"I was born to worthless parents, so that makes me worthless too. I never wanted to be like them, but somehow, I keep turning into them..."

As he spoke, Sudou slowly lowered his head and fell silent.

"A child of worthless parents is also worthless? That's not true at all," Kanda Shuichi said softly. "By that logic, since you're great at basketball, does that mean your parents were talented at basketball too?"

"Well..."

Sudou was at a loss for words.

"So, you see? That idea doesn't make any sense. Sure, your parents might have influenced you, but the way you turned out is mostly because of your own choices."

Kanda Shuichi didn't sugarcoat his words.

"And since the problem comes from you, not someone else, that makes it easier to fix."

"Easier?"

"Yeah. You can't force other people to change, but you have the power to change yourself. You still have two and a half years at this school. I believe you can turn things around."

Sudou was silent for a long time. When he finally spoke again, his voice was filled with doubt.

"Can I really do it?"

"Of course. Do you not believe me, or do you not believe in yourself?"

"But I lost control and hit Ryuen... I even made you lose twenty million points. If this keeps up, who knows what I'll do next?"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Sudou sat down on the couch, holding his head in frustration.

He knew fighting was wrong, but he just couldn't stop himself.

"It's okay. Next time you feel like hitting someone, just remember what happened this time. And if that's not enough, I'll find someone to keep an eye on you."

"...That..."

"Besides, just realizing this already shows you're not the same as before, right?"

After another long silence, Sudou looked up. His eyes were filled with determination—he had made up his mind.

"Thanks, Kanda. For taking the time to say all this, and for listening to me too."

"Looks like you've figured things out."

Kanda Shuichi smiled.

"Yeah!"

"In that case, you wouldn't want to throw away this hard-earned chance, would you?"

Kanda Shuichi chuckled. Kids like Sudou weren't uncommon in Japan. Many children of hostesses ended up living difficult lives. Sudou was just one of them.

He was actually very similar to Karuizawa. The difference was that he had the strength to protect himself, but because he never learned to control it, people saw him as a troublemaker.

"Of course not!" Sudou said excitedly, but then his energy quickly faded. "But I still hit Ryuen, I missed several events, I caused trouble for the whole class, and I made you lose twenty million points..."

"Don't worry. As long as you apologize properly, I think our classmates will forgive you."

Kanda Shuichi patted Sudou on the shoulder.

"As for the twenty million points, you don't need to think about it. Just consider it an investment from me."

Sudou was simple—if someone was good to him, he would be good to them in return. But if someone wronged him, he would pay them back double, or even tenfold, which often led to trouble.

To put it simply, he was just a kid who lacked love. As long as someone showed him a little kindness, he would listen.

Looking at Kanda Shuichi's smiling face, Sudou felt, for the first time, that he wasn't beyond saving.

There were people in this world who believed in him.

People who were willing to help him.

To respond to this trust, I, Sudou Ken, have to give it my all.

"Kanda, thank you so much! And... I'm really sorry!"

Sudou took two steps back and bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle to Kanda Shuichi.

Seeing this, Kanda Shuichi smiled. This guy was much easier to handle than he had expected.

The reason Hirata couldn't deal with him was that he wasn't using the right approach. Being too soft with someone like Sudou just wouldn't work.

You have to make him realize what you've done for him, make him feel guilty, and make him feel the warmth of a father figure!

And since he has a strong sense of pride, you absolutely can't do this in front of others. He might take it as humiliation. After all, he's not the brightest.

That's why saying all this in an empty dorm lobby was the perfect choice. It preserved his dignity while also giving him confidence.

At first, Kanda Shuichi thought he would have to spend time convincing him with reason and emotion, but in the end, Sudou gave in just like that.

That just showed how much he loved basketball and how much he didn't want to lose this chance.

"You won't make it to the morning match, but don't be late for the afternoon one."

"Got it!"

"Oh, and there's one more thing I want you to understand." Kanda Shuichi's tone became a little more serious. "Not everyone is as good at sports as you are. If you push them too hard, it could backfire. If you don't get it, think about the people who force you to study."

After saying that, Kanda Shuichi left the dorm, leaving behind Sudou, who seemed to be deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Ryuen had also dealt with Horikita. As long as she kneeled and apologized after the sports festival, this matter would be settled.

Ryuen was in a good mood since he had just gotten 20 million points from Kanda Shuichi. Otherwise, he would've forced Horikita to kneel right then and there.

To crush that arrogant girl, Ryuen even skipped the last few mandatory events.

But since he had already gotten the 20 million, he didn't care anymore. Class points? Who cares about those?

After what Ryuen did, Horikita couldn't just sit in the infirmary anymore.

Once her foot felt a little better, she limped back toward the field.

And outside the field, she ran into Kanda Shuichi again.

"Why aren't you resting properly?"

"Sorry, but I just can't lie in the infirmary and do nothing," Horikita said. Her expression had changed—at least a little compared to before.

"Is that so? So, have you come to a conclusion?"

"This all happened because I was careless. I was only thinking about myself and took on the sports festival without considering the bigger picture.

I didn't predict that Ryuen would get the participant list, and I didn't expect him to use others to make me fall, let alone set me up.

Because I wasn't mentally prepared, I wavered when things happened, and that led to everything turning out like this."

Seeing Horikita looking so down, Kanda Shuichi was speechless. Everything she said was true, but wasn't she forgetting the most important thing?

"In the end, it's because you didn't take Ryuen seriously enough. You thought I could deal with him easily, so you underestimated him too much. On the other hand, you had too much confidence in yourself."

Kanda Shuichi was practically one step away from pointing at her face and saying, "You think too highly of yourself."

If this had been before, Horikita would have stubbornly argued back, saying something like, "It's not my fault there was a traitor in the class."

But now, she felt that failing to notice the traitor was her responsibility, too. If it had been Kanda Shuichi, he definitely would have figured out that there was a traitor and even found out who it was.

Of course, Kanda Shuichi had noticed the traitor—because he was the one who planted them. How could he not know?

"What do you plan to do now?"

"I'm going to find Sudou."

Kanda Shuichi felt that Horikita was acting a bit strange.

"Why are you looking for Sudou? He attacked Ryuen in front of everyone and got disqualified."

"Even so, I have to bring him back. Part of the reason for his temper is my fault." Horikita's eyes were filled with determination. "Even if he can't compete in the end, just having him here will give Class D some confidence. Plus, he can give useful advice on the events."

What the heck? Is this really Horikita Suzune?

Playing the Ryuen card had this much of an effect?

For a moment, Kanda Shuichi even felt like spending that 20 million was worth it.

Ryuen, you're such a great teacher!

Are you the real-life version of Kaido or something?

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Horikita Suzune felt uncomfortable under Kanda Shuichi's approving gaze.

"No, I just feel like you've matured a little."

"Don't say something so old-fashioned." Horikita frowned.

"Haha, but don't worry about Sudou. I already told him to come in the afternoon for the competition."

"You told him to come in the afternoon? But he—"

"It's fine. As long as Ryuen explains to the teacher that it was just a misunderstanding, there won't be a problem." Kanda Shuichi said casually.

"No way, why would Ryuen go and tell the teacher it was a misunderstanding?" Horikita didn't believe Kanda Shuichi at all. But then she quickly realized something. "Did you make some kind of deal with Ryuen?"

Is her brain finally working? That was a fast deduction.

"That's right. I paid 20 million points in exchange for him dropping the accusation against Sudou."

Kanda Shuichi's indifferent tone left Horikita stunned.

"You spent 20 million points? Just to let Sudou compete? You do realize that even if he comes back, it doesn't guarantee a win, right?"

I just praised you, and now you're back to your usual self?

"You think I brought him back to win? If winning was my goal, I wouldn't have let Ryuen act recklessly in the first place."

Seeing the mocking smile on Kanda Shuichi's face, Horikita felt annoyed. If it's not that, then tell me the real reason!

But that wasn't going to happen.

"Figure it out yourself. Stop expecting me to give you all the answers."

After saying that, Kanda Shuichi headed back to the field to eat.

Since today was the sports festival, he had prepared his lunch in advance.

Now, what's the most common thing to eat in the summer?

That's right—cold noodles!

It's one of the best foods to have in hot weather!

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