The Countermeasure

The noisy wind brushed past his ears, and the sun had long since sunk below the horizon.

Watching Zhuge Linghao bask in the spotlight from afar, Kushida Kikyo bit her sensual lip. She struggled to keep her increasingly twisted expression in check, and the dark aura around her seemed almost tangible.

But a few seconds later, she used her most reliable skill once again—Expression Control. In an instant, she transformed, radiating the energy of a cheerful girl once more.

"Congratulations, Zhuge-kun! We won the match~"

With a clear handprint on his face, Zhuge Linghao followed the voice to its source and looked at the youthful, pretty Kushida Kikyo. Beaming with sunshine, he said, "Of course. Winning was a piece of cake!"

[Heh heh. I steal everyone's attention every time. I wonder how that feels, little angel?]

Horikita Suzune and Karuizawa Kei looked more than a little incredulous, but could only chalk it up to luck and accept the facts with resignation.

Seeing their reactions, Zhuge Linghao deliberately tried to cover himself. "I'm light, so pull-ups naturally aren't as hard for me!"

Then Katsuragi Kohei, the bald man with a villainous face, walked over with a smile and silently held out his right hand.

Zhuge Linghao paused, then grabbed his hand and grinned. "You put up a good fight. Don't do it again next time! Keep working for eight lifetimes and you might beat me!"

The bald man: "..."

In the end, Ayanokoji and Yukimura Teruhiko helped Zhuge Linghao along. Reluctant to leave, he kept turning back every few steps to look at those D- or E-cup breasts as he and the others returned to the karaoke room they'd worked so hard to win.

"So you fought to get this room just to hold a strategy meeting for the Midterm Exam?"

"But is it really okay for a dead last like me to be here?"

"My advice wouldn't make a difference to the class's progress, would it?"

Zhuge Linghao looked at the six people sitting around him and leisurely ate a slice of watermelon.

"?"

Karuizawa Kei twirled her hair and said helplessly, "You're the one who barged in here!"

Horikita Suzune crossed her arms and said coldly, "You weren't on the invitation list!"

"Uh, really?" Zhuge Linghao casually popped a few green grapes into his mouth.

"Look, beneath their smooth, round, green skins is a crystal-clear essence full of juice. They really do leave a lovely taste on your lips and teeth."

Horikita said coldly, "Having another episode?"

"What I'm saying is, this fruit looks delicious. Are you sure you don't want some?"

"Ah... if you're not eating any, I'll have it..."

The gal Karuizawa Kei ignored Zhuge Linghao's manner and words completely, and snapped, "Forget that idiot! Let's get the meeting started."

Hirata Yosuke, who was leading the meeting, nodded and got straight to the point. "Everyone, listen up. There are less than three weeks until the next Midterm Exam."

Then, under everyone's astonished gazes, Hirata Yosuke revealed his ambitious goal in one breath. "My idea is for us to earn all 100 Class Points in the next exam!"

Zhuge Linghao picked up a skewer of kiwis and put it in his mouth, thinking, [Here we go again, A-Tian! Don't take on a job you're not equipped for. If you fail, you'll not only lose heart, you'll lose popularity too!]

At that moment, the usually rational Ayanokoji spoke at length. "But it won't be that easy. Leaving aside the possibility of someone being expelled and costing the class points, we don't even know the scoring criteria for this exam. Is it based on the average score? The percentage of top scorers? Or something else?"

Horikita Suzune stared directly at Hirata Yosuke, her tone icy. "How do you plan to do it, Hirata?"

Hirata Yosuke hesitated. "I... just want to unite the whole class so we can overcome the challenges together, study together, and improve together!"

Karuizawa Kei chimed in, "Sounds good. I think that's a great idea."

Kushida Kikyo, who'd been sitting quietly, couldn't hold back any longer. She raised her hand and said sweetly, "Unite the whole class? We don't have a problem with that, but what about people like Ken Sudō and Koenji, who won't listen? I'm worried they won't cooperate."

Hearing this, Horikita Suzune narrowed her eyes. "We should prepare ourselves for those uncontrollable factors from the start. In other words, we should predict that they'll hold us back and cost us points, and treat that prediction as fact. That would bring us closer to reality."

Time passed slowly. They spent two and a half hours discussing the two key issues of Class Points and the Midterm Exam.

Yawning, Zhuge Linghao took the last piece of orange from the plate.

[Phew. I've finally replenished all the fluids I lost after that intense exercise.]

Seeing that they still weren't getting anywhere, Zhuge Linghao stood up and clapped his hands. "Stop arguing, everyone. We won't reach any definite conclusions if we keep discussing it like this."

"I have a strategy. I'm not sure if I should say it, though!"

Karuizawa Kei said impatiently, "Say it!"

Hirata Yosuke encouraged him too. "Go ahead!"

The others looked at him as if to say, "I don't mind. Keep going."

"Ahem. As everyone knows, foreigners like me can't read Japanese or understand the questions, so it's easy for us to fail!"

Horikita Suzune shot him an icy look. "Isn't it because you're an idiot? Stop wasting time. What are you trying to say?"

"Um, no. What I mean is, people who often fail exams, the academic failures like me, all share the same dream!"

"What dream?"

"World peace!"

Karuizawa Kei didn't understand. "What does that mean?"

"It means that if everyone could understand the questions and know the answers, exams wouldn't be exams anymore. They'd be a chance for everyone to show off their high scores!"

The model student Yukimura Teruhiko was the first to object. "Nani? You want to lead everyone in cheating? I absolutely refuse!"

Kushida Kikyo, the attention-seeking student, jumped in again, speaking in a saccharine voice. "You mustn't, Zhuge-kun. Absolutely! Absolutely no cheating!"

"Cheating? No way. Chabashira-sensei already said that anyone who cheats will be expelled immediately."

Horikita Suzune furrowed her brow. "Then explain exactly how you plan to do it."

Ayanokoji, Hirata Yosuke, and the others looked just as confused, all ears.

"It's simple. I just upgraded Hirata-kun's proposal!"

"I'm going to gather the strength of the whole year. First, we go rat-a-tat... then, bam-bam... after that, ding-a-ling... and finally, crunch, snap... all done!"

"(⊙o⊙)? Would that really work?" Everyone looked doubtful.

"Whether it works doesn't depend on you or me. Go negotiate with the leaders of the other classes first."

"If you can reach an agreement, the plan will probably succeed!"

After everyone left, Zhuge Linghao strolled along the cobblestone path beside the artificial river, looking perfectly at ease.

Suddenly, a dark figure up ahead made a series of "thump, thump, thump" sounds.

Zhuge Linghao hurriedly crept behind a large tree and crouched down. His grin stretched from ear to ear as he swiftly pulled out his phone and started recording...

Because the person up ahead was...