Thoughts

Akasaka felt a prickle of unease under Ayanokoji's stare, unsure of how to proceed...

Kato Megumi noticed his predicament. She picked up a book, stood up, and blocked Ayanokoji, extricating him from the situation. She then asked, "I don't know how to do this problem, Akasaka-kun, can you teach me?"

Akasaka of course understood that Kato was helping him out. He gave her a grateful glance and took the book.

"No problem, leave it to me. This problem should be solved like this..."

However, before he could finish speaking, he faltered. Because he didn't know how to solve it either...

He had forgotten he was a slacker.

Kato sighed in resignation. She should have known this guy wouldn't be able to solve it. She smoothly took the book back and approached Horikita. She genuinely didn't know how to solve the problem and needed someone to help her.

"Horikita-san, could you help me solve this problem? I really don't know how..."

The usually indifferent Horikita Suzune surprisingly didn't refuse. She took the book and patiently explained it to Kato Megumi.

"This problem should be solved like this..."

Kato Megumi sat down beside her, listening patiently. She secretly thought, [Horikita-san isn't as difficult to get along with as I imagined. She's just a bit cold.]

Now it was Ayanokoji and Akasaka's turn. They exchanged glances and simultaneously thought, [This Horikita might actually be salvageable...]

Horikita seemed to sense a hint of malice. She looked up, puzzled, and frowned, her beautiful brows knitting together.

"Are you two talking badly about me in your heads?"

Ayanokoji and I froze.

Ayanokoji played it off better, remaining calm and expressionless.

But Akasaka was in trouble. His face clearly showed his surprise, [How did you know?] which Horikita saw clearly.

Horikita picked up her ballpoint pen and viciously jabbed it towards Akasaka's arm.

Akasaka looked at the red mark poked onto his arm, feeling somewhat speechless.

"Why are you only poking me and not him?"

I pointed at Ayanokoji, who was leisurely drinking water nearby.

Ayanokoji feigned ignorance, tilting his head as if he had no idea what was going on.

This immediately angered Akasaka. He slammed his hand on the table and pointed furiously at Ayanokoji.

"Don't play dumb with me! You were definitely thinking the same thing as me. Don't think I don't know."

Ayanokoji feigned ignorance. "I don't know what you're talking about? Akasaka, please don't slander me. I'm a law-abiding citizen."

Akasaka almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

If he was a law-abiding citizen, he'd dare believe Chiang Kai-shek was still alive.

Horikita lit up her ballpoint pen again, pressing the button on top and revealing the sharp tip once more.

"Do you have any more explanations? I'll allow you to say your last words first."

Akasaka stood up, preparing to run. "I just remembered I didn't turn off the rice cooker at home. The rice is going to burn. I need to go back."

Kato Megumi mercilessly exposed him. "Akasaka, rice cookers have automatic shut-off features, so they don't burn."

Akasaka glared at Kato Megumi with displeasure.

Which side are you on? Aren't you my accomplice?

Faced with the meaning in Akasaka's gaze, Kato Megumi felt a flutter of excitement in her heart, as if teasing Akasaka brought her joy.

Kato Megumi's Little Devil nature was completely revealed to Akasaka, and only to him.

After his excuse was exposed by his teammate, Akasaka quickly thought of another way. Suddenly, he thought of something and said to Horikita:

"I have a way for the whole class to pass the exam. Do you believe me?"

Horikita put down her ballpoint pen and crossed her arms.

"Tell me."

Akasaka pouted, but seeing that the topic had been successfully diverted, he continued to explain his idea, which was also what he did in the original story.

"We can use Personal Points to buy first-year exam papers from the upperclassmen as a reference."

"I observed this in the Student Council."

"The exam questions for the first three months of the first year are all the same. This is clearly intentional by the school."

"It's for students to cheat, depending on whether you guys think of it."

After hearing Akasaka's explanation, Horikita subconsciously wanted to refuse.

Because she believed that studying should be done honestly and without cheating.

As a model student, she had never considered cheating.

Just as Horikita was about to refuse, Ayanokoji stopped her with a hand.

Horikita glared at him with displeasure. "What do you want?! Do you want us to win points by cheating?"

"What's the point of doing this? If your own level doesn't improve, you still won't pass future exams."

"But it can solve the immediate crisis, Horikita," Ayanokoji said with some helplessness, pointing to the other 36 students behind him.

"You might not need it, but they do. Have you considered the consequences of failing an exam? It will drag down the entire class."

"So what if it drags down the entire class? It's because they aren't working hard enough," Horikita Suzune still stood proudly, not feeling like she had done anything wrong.

Horikita wasn't actually wrong. In reality, cheating shouldn't be done. But this wasn't a simple school; it was Advanced Nurturing, a school that deeply simulated the real workplace environment.

If it were in the workplace, the choices would be different. They wouldn't honestly strive step by step because that would be too slow.

It would be more cost-effective to steal others' achievements. This was why Advanced Nurturing had identical exams for the first three months after enrollment – it was for you to cheat.

After three months, you'd have to study honestly.

To put it bluntly, it was a buffer period, a special measure prepared so that problem-ridden classes like Class C or Class D could pass the exams smoothly.

This also fully proved that in a workplace environment, it wasn't whoever had good grades who would soar to the top.

It depended on who was better at reading the room and pleasing the boss to get a chance to climb.

Those who didn't know how to bow their heads would be suppressed their entire lives, only becoming unfortunate wage slaves.

They might even have their achievements unethically plundered and claimed by others.

Of course, this method is not advisable, so please don't do it.

Horikita, after hearing Ayanokoji's lengthy explanation, understood the general idea and compromised, agreeing to the matter. She also stated that if points were needed, the class could crowdfund them.

Ayanokoji and Akasaka exchanged glances again, thinking to themselves: [This kid is too naive, expecting crowdfunding.]

They subconsciously looked at the 36 students who didn't study properly and shook their heads.

[It's going to be hard to gather this money...]