Ayanokoji Makes a Move

3 days before the Midterm Exam.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and dew slid off the tips of the grass, shimmering with the faint light of dawn.

Early in the morning, Kushida Kikyo and Hirata Yosuke were pacing anxiously at the classroom entrance.

"This is a disaster!"

Finally waiting for Zhuge Linghao to arrive, Kushida spoke up first: "Zhuge-kun, last night we met with Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei from Class A, Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryuji from Class B, and Ryuen Kakeru and Ibuki Mio from Class C to discuss strategies for this Midterm Exam."

Hirata's expression was also grim as he said heavily: "We then informed them of the strategy you proposed in the karaoke room, but to our surprise, they all refused to cooperate with us!"

Zhuge Linghao's face turned deathly pale, and he wailed: "How is that possible? The perfect plan that I, a genius, racked my brains to come up with actually failed? This is impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Beside him, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka sighed at Zhuge Linghao's loss of composure; he decided it was time to step in!

Inside the classroom, Horikita watched the scene outside, feeling disappointed in Zhuge Linghao: In the end, is he just an ordinary person seeking attention?

After school at noon, while Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was leading a dejected Zhuge Linghao toward the cafeteria, they suddenly encountered the red-haired boy and Ryuen's group arguing at an inconspicuous corner of a school building.

"Come at me, all of you!" Sudo Ken roared.

A short-haired boy with green hair from Class 1-C stood with one hand in his pocket and mocked: "You look so stupid, just like a hoodlum from the last century!"

Ryuen also opened the Gate of Opening to ridicule him: "What a pathetic and ugly creature."

Enraged, Sudo Ken reached out his right hand, ready to fight, but the two lackeys behind Ryuen were faster; they stepped forward and firmly pinned Sudo Ken down.

Sudo Ken struggled while cursing: "Let go of me, what are you doing!"

Ryuen walked over with an arrogant gait, pointed high above at Sudo Ken's eyes, and said: "I'm looking forward to seeing how many of you will be expelled after the Midterm Exam. The first one will be..."

Sudo Ken instinctively closed his eyes and shouted in uncontrollable anger: "Are you ready to get beaten up?"

Then, he suddenly surged forward, broke free from the two men's restraint, and clenched his fists, ready to strike.

"Both sides, that's enough!"

Ichinose Honami stood gracefully not far away, her arms crossed: "As a student of this school, I cannot tolerate any acts of violence! If you insist on fighting, I will have no choice but to call security!"

Ryuen narrowed his eyes and said with a swagger: "There's no violence here. We're just playing with him."

Ichinose Honami displayed the presence she had once held as a student council president in middle school: "Is that so? From my perspective, you were the ones who started this, Ryuen. If you insist on fighting, I will report this to the school."

Ryuen sneered and retreated with his two lackeys.

As he left, Ryuen cast a haughty look and left a harsh parting shot: "Hey, red-haired monkey, perhaps you could become a very interesting toy."

Sudo Ken was still shouting angrily: "Bastard, stop! Are you trying to run away with your tail between your legs?"

Just as he was about to rush out, Sudo Ken felt a hand press down on his shoulder.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said calmly: "Sudo, don't fall for their trap."

Ichinose Honami also walked over and kindly advised: "Listen, you should be careful too. Don't let yourselves be easily provoked by Ryuen and his group! Of course, I hope you won't cause trouble for everyone else either. That is all!"

Afterward, Ichinose Honami gently reminded the people nearby that there was no longer any danger and that they could resume their activities!

On the other side, Zhuge Linghao, who had fallen behind, had vacant eyes and a sluggish gait. A few steps behind, he happened to run into Ryuen's group.

Ryuen said dismissively: "Zhuge Linghao, I heard that the shitty strategy from yesterday was proposed by you? How truly stupid!"

"I'll give you a heads-up: after the Midterm Exam, I'm going to target Class D. You lot should just struggle in despair."

Zhuge Linghao, already in a poor mental state, was struck with terror upon hearing this!

Damn it, why do these shitty things keep happening one after another!

Ayanokoji and the other had barely sat down in the cafeteria when a third person joined them.

Kushida Kikyo said cutely: "Ayanokoji-kun, this is the first time you've asked me to eat with you, I'm so happy! What did you want to see me for?"

Ayanokoji said: "You two, can you guarantee that you won't tell anyone about this?"

Kushida Kikyo gave her solemn assurance.

Zhuge Linghao, listless, chewed his food as if resigning himself to his fate: "No problem, I won't say anything either."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood up and said: "Follow me."

"Excuse me, are you a senior?"

"I'm from Class 1-D, my name is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. You're likely from Class D as well, right?"

"This wild vegetable set meal, although it's free, it doesn't taste very good, does it?"

Just like that, the three of them sat around a senior student.

The senior asked: "What do you mean by this?"

"Actually, I'd like to ask, do you still have the exam papers from the Midterm Exam of the first semester from the year before last? I hope you can let me have them, and I will reward you with enough points, senior."

The upperclassman looked grim as he said, "Why did you come to me?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka replied with a calm expression, "It's simple. I figured that approaching a senior with few points would result in a higher success rate."

The upperclassman pondered for a moment before whispering, "How many points can you pay?"

Zhuge Linghao cut in, "10,000 points, and not a point more!"

The upperclassman retorted, "I'm taking on a huge risk here, 30,000 points!"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said, "That's asking for too much."

The upperclassman snorted, "Then there's nothing to talk about."

At this moment, Kushida Kikyo stood up abruptly, slammed her hands onto the dining table, and leaned forward, saying, "Please wait, senior! My classmates might get expelled, I'm begging you!"

Sure enough, unable to resist the temptation of her massive breasts, the upperclassman squeezed his eyes shut and said, "15,000!"

"Understood, it's a deal. But you must also include the pop quiz papers from the first semester, senior!"

Inside the beverage shop, the three of them each ordered a milk tea.

Zhuge Linghao seemed to have turned into a stone statue, still lost in self-doubt over his failure.

Kushida Kikyo spoke up with concern, "Is this really okay? Using past papers feels like cheating!"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said, "I don't think so. This is also one of the rules of this school."

"Did you see the senior's reaction just now? He wasn't surprised at all that we were buying test papers."

"This confirmed one thing for me: buying and selling test papers among students is a very common occurrence."

Kushida Kikyo remained uneasy, "But, don't past test papers have no direct connection to this year's exams?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at Kushida Kikyo and said calmly, "I checked just now; the pop quiz papers the senior sent are exactly the same as this year's. Don't worry, this is the final insurance to prevent Sudo and the others from being expelled."

"That's great! Does that mean the past Midterm Exam papers are the same as this year's too? If so, we can share them not just with Sudo and the others, but with the entire class!"

"You can, but it's best to give them to them the day before the exam to prevent leaks."

"Also, can I ask you for a favor?"

"When others ask, just say that you were the one who obtained these papers, is that alright?"

Kushida Kikyo couldn't have asked for more and said, "Of course!"

Kushida Kikyo thought happily: [I can harvest another wave of popularity.]

One day before the exam.

Kushida Kikyo used the time after school to distribute the printed test papers to the entire class.

"Sorry everyone, before you leave, I have something for you~"

Karuizawa Kei took a copy, flipped through a few pages, and asked, "Exam questions? Did you compile these, Kushida?"

Kushida Kikyo was thoroughly enjoying this moment and said gently, "Actually, these are past papers I asked a third-year senior for. I discovered that the exam papers from the year before last and last year were almost identical, so I thought they might come in handy for exam preparation!"

Afterward, many students crowded around Kushida Kikyo, showering her with praise!

The entire class was immersed in a festive atmosphere, and the image of Kushida as a little angel became even more deeply rooted in their hearts.

Horikita, who was outside the crowd, wanted to step forward to ask something, but she couldn't squeeze in at all and had to give up.

However, there were still two students who refused Kushida's kindness.

One of them, Meili-ge, slung his bag over his right shoulder and said with a proud look, "Sorry, I don't need this kind of thing! I have a date later, so I'll be taking my leave~"

And the other one was Zhuge Linghao...

As for the reason he refused, it was because...