Last Year's Past Papers

Midterm Exam.

Expulsion.

These two words hung like a sword over the heads of all underperforming students.

Using this rule to force an expulsion from Class D, thereby crippling another class from the very start—this thought flashed through Kazehara Tetsu's mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

The feasibility was too low.

Reaching the passing score was indeed a massive challenge for a group of students labeled "flawed products" due to various issues.

But it wasn't insurmountable.

The content of the first midterm exam was the same every year. As long as they got their hands on last year's past papers and memorized them thoroughly, passing the exam was entirely possible.

What's more, they could use points to buy exam scores, a safety net against unexpected mishaps.

In other words, relying on the midterm exam to get other students expelled was nearly an impossible task.

The exam's difficulty was relatively low, and students had multiple ways to ensure they passed.

Since he couldn't easily "eliminate" his rivals, he'd switch tactics.

From this upcoming midterm exam—a matter of life and death for all new students—he would squeeze out the maximum benefit for himself.

He pulled out his phone from his pocket and deftly scrolled to a contact he'd saved for a long time.

Ichinose Honami.

He sent a message.

"Honami, got a minute? I have a proposal about the midterm exam that could make things a little easier for everyone. Interested in meeting up to talk about it?"

The message showed as read almost instantly.

After a moment, a reply came.

"Sure! Where should we meet?"

"How about the school canteen? See you in half an hour."

Ending the call, Kazehara Tetsu turned and walked toward the canteen.

Half an hour later, Kazehara Tetsu sat in a relatively quiet corner of the canteen and saw Ichinose Honami arrive right on time.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kagihara-kun." She pulled out a chair and sat down, a apologetic smile on her face.

"Not at all. A beautiful lady always has the privilege of being late."

Kazehara Tetsu slid a glass of lemonade toward her. "Though it seems you've perfectly waived that privilege."

"There you go again with that kind of talk..."

Ichinose Honami shot him a helpless glare, but she still took the glass. "So, what's this 'proposal' you mentioned? Is it about the midterm exam?"

"Honami-san, who do you think we should go to for the most accurate and effective exam information in this school?"

"Who... the teachers, of course." Ichinose Honami answered without hesitation.

"Teachers only tell us the rules, not the answers."

Kazehara Tetsu shook his head. "The answers lie with those who've played this game before us."

"Senior students...?" Ichinose Honami's eyes lit up.

"Mm. The exam format and difficulty in this school can't undergo a complete overhaul every year. So wouldn't last year's exam questions hold extremely high reference value for us?"

"You mean... buying last year's test papers?"

Ichinose Honami caught on immediately. "That's... cheating, isn't it?"

"Honami-san, using points to purchase information is permitted by this school's rules. That's not cheating; it's called 'making reasonable use of the rules.'"

Kazehara Tetsu corrected her. "The issue isn't whether to buy or not, but how to get the most valuable thing at the smallest cost."

"That's where I need your help." He looked at Ichinose Honami.

"My help?"

Though she still had some doubts, after a brief moment of thought, Ichinose Honami nodded firmly. "Alright! I'll help you! What do I need to do?"

Over the next ten minutes, Kazehara Tetsu laid out his complete plan in detail to Ichinose Honami.

After searching for quite a while, the two of them finally found a third-year senior who had last year's papers in hand.

The senior was short, wore glasses, and looked quite shrewd.

"Oh... I do have last year's past papers, but why do you want them?" The senior pushed up his glasses, his gaze sweeping over Kazehara Tetsu and Ichinose.

"We're... students from Class D. As you probably know, our class... our points have already hit zero. If we don't pass this midterm exam, our class might be finished."

Kazehara Tetsu delivered this speech with great emotion, perfectly portraying the despair and helplessness of a cornered underachiever.

Beside him, Ichinose Honami watched his Oscar-worthy performance, barely holding back her laughter. She lowered her head, playing the role of another equally worried Class D girl.

"Class D, huh..."

The senpai's face showed a trace of contempt upon hearing that. "I see. But rules are rules. One full subject midterm paper from last year, plus the pop quiz bonus questions and answers—package price, thirty thousand points. Not a single point less."

"Thirty thousand..."

Kazehara Tetsu's face took on a look of "distress." "Senpai, you see, we're really at the end of our rope... Could you make it a little cheaper? Fifteen thousand... We only have fifteen thousand points left! This is our last savings!"

As he spoke, he nudged Ichinose beside him with his elbow.

Ichinose Honami immediately caught on. She looked up, fixing the senpai with a pitiful gaze, and clasped her hands together. "Senpai, please! Just think of it as helping us out!"

A pure, cute underclassman making a request with that kind of look and tone—the impact was enormous.

The senpai was clearly wavering. He pondered for a moment.

Class D really had no more oil to squeeze. Skimming fifteen thousand points off them was still a decent bit of unexpected profit.

In the end, he relented. "For the sake of being fellow students, fifteen thousand it is."

"Thank you, senpai! We're so grateful!"

Kazehara Tetsu immediately put on a grateful expression and swiftly transferred fifteen thousand points via his mobile terminal.

The senpai scrolled through his phone for a while—it seemed to take some time to find, probably because it was buried deep.

Once found, he didn't hand it to Kazehara Tetsu but to Ichinose Honami.

No need to guess why—it was to leave himself a way to contact Ichinose Honami later, to try reaching out.

The two found a secluded spot with no one around.

Ichinose Honami opened the file the senpai had sent on her phone.

The file contained all subjects from last year's midterm exam, along with... a separate document for the pop quiz bonus questions.

Ichinose opened the pop quiz bonus document first.

When those familiar questions appeared on the screen, her breath caught sharply.