Shadow: Monthly Exam? Anyone with hands can do it!

After playing games with Ayanokoji yesterday, Ying was surprised to discover that the system's recall had been revoked.

Could it be? From now on, as long as there is a recall, do I just need to have contact with Ayanokoji? Although I don't know the principle behind it, at least I don't have to act anymore! Ying cheered in his heart.

Based on the information Ying asked Ayanokoji about Class D yesterday, most of the students in Class D were acting as usual, but Ying still couldn't let it go. Consequently, he went to observe the situation at Class D almost every noon, even though he couldn't observe anything of note and didn't actually do anything...

Finally, the end of the month arrived, and Hoshinomiya walked in, swaying while clutching a stack of test papers. "Um, everyone, uh! Since it's the end of the month, the school has prepared a surprise quiz. Don't feel too much pressure, just do your best. It's even simpler than the entrance exam. Uh!" Hoshinomiya distributed the papers to the students in the front row of each group and told them to pass them back; it looked like she had been drinking again yesterday.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, will this quiz have any impact on the change in class points?" Ichinose stood up and asked Hoshinomiya.

"Oh my, the teacher doesn't know about that, but perhaps someone else might know." Hoshinomiya said, glancing twice in Ying's direction.

Ying: ?? I don't know either!?

Most of the students in the class were complaining about why the exam was so sudden, though a small number of high-achieving students were eager to try.

"Are you confident about this quiz?" Kanzaki turned around and asked about Ying's situation.

Ying simply crossed his arms over his chest, smiled slightly, and said, "A monthly test? I could do it with my eyes closed."

Watching Ying like this, Kanzaki suddenly had a bad premonition, but he still said, "Although I'd like to say I'll wait and see, please be careful."

Then Kanzaki turned back around, waiting for the exam to begin.

Ying: Little Kanzaki, daring to question the strength of a White Room student like me. Once my report card is handed out, watch me scare you to death with my perfect scores in every subject.

After the exam ended, Kanzaki turned around and asked, "How was it?"

"It's in the bag. How about you?"

"It was alright."

Afterward, Ying and the others headed to the school cafeteria together.

"Should I say it's because it's the end of the month? There are actually so many students eating the vegetable set meal." Hamaguchi said, looking at the long line at the vegetable set meal window.

"Indeed, although we already know that class points determine personal points, even if personal points aren't high, life should at least be manageable, right?" Shibata chimed in from the side.

"Hey, look, there are even first-years over there." Hamaguchi suddenly pointed at a student in the queue, shocked.

"Eh? Really? Could that person have a special fondness for the vegetable set meal, which is why they're eating it?" Beppu also looked at the student in surprise.

"Let's work hard so we don't end up in that situation." Ying said, then walked toward the luxurious student set meal window, which stood in stark contrast to the other windows, with almost no one there.

Class B group: ...

"It's so nice to be rich! Damn it!" Hamaguchi complained while eating his regular student set meal.

"As long as we don't have to eat the vegetable set meal, frugality is also a virtue." Kanzaki said calmly, giving Ying a sarcastic glance.

Ying: I'm just rich and willful, so what? Australian lobster +3

"However, having said that, have we still not figured out the school's grading criteria after a whole month?" Kanzaki changed the subject.

"Yeah, the information Hoshinomiya-sensei gave us, while useful, still isn't enough." Hamaguchi said, lying on the table in frustration.

"Ying, do you have any clues?" Shibata asked Ying.

"Hm? Yimin bu jidao!? (You guys don't know!?)" Ying said, looking at everyone in shock with a large chicken leg stuffed in his mouth.

"You know!?" everyone asked in unison, shocked.

"Cough..." Ying swallowed the chicken leg in a few gulps, nearly choking, and hurriedly drank some water while patting his back.

After recovering, he hurriedly asked, "Wait, you guys don't know?"

"No, we should be the ones asking! You actually knew and didn't tell us! You deserve a beating!" Hamaguchi said excitedly, shaking Ying back and forth. It made Ying almost spit out the chicken leg he had just eaten.

Ying gave Hamaguchi a resentful look and then said, "It was my oversight; I thought I had already told you guys. Actually, the grading criteria for the first month were based on..." Then, Ying explained the point deduction criteria for the first month in detail, leaving everyone first shocked and then suddenly enlightened.

"So that's how it is! But everyone in Class B listens to lectures quite seriously, so we shouldn't have to worry, right?" Hamaguchi said.

Everyone nodded. Ever since Class B learned about the class assignment rules, they had all begun to focus on their studies, working desperately and listening carefully in class.

After all, in normal thinking, the competition between classes in school should surely come down to grades.

Upon discovering that they actually didn't know the deduction rules at all, Ying couldn't help but think: So they didn't know what the deduction rules were at all. Does that mean Class D didn't know either? So I've been busy for nothing this whole week.

Ying is holding his head and crying...

Shibata looked at Ying like this and comforted him, "Ying, you don't have to blame yourself. None of us meant to blame you."

Ying: ?

The bell signaling the first class of May rang. Ying sat in his seat with his arms crossed, feeling that he must look very profound today. Knowing the plot, he decided that today, whenever anyone greeted him, he would say, "Something big is going to happen today."

Although most people thought Ying was just acting crazy again, a small number of people thought he might have food poisoning.

Suddenly, Ying's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "It's here!"

He saw Hoshinomiya walk in through the classroom door, holding a poster tube. Her expression was happier than on any other day. Seeing Hoshinomiya's appearance today, the whole class was shocked: Did the teacher not drink yesterday!?

"Everyone, we are about to start the morning assembly. Please keep quiet~."

After the classroom quieted down, Hoshinomiya continued, "I wonder if everyone has noticed anything? Would anyone like to say something?"

At this moment, Ichinose raised her hand to signal.

"Alright, Ichinose~."

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, the points deposited this month dropped from 100,000 to 90,000. Did the class points change? Why did the points decrease?" Ichinose stood up and asked, her brow slightly furrowed.

"As expected of Ichinose~. I believe everyone has already received this month's point deposit, and just as Ichinose anticipated, the class points have indeed decreased. I will explain this in detail to you all later, but for now, let's announce the results of last month's exam."

Following that, Hoshinomiya-sensei posted a sheet of paper on the blackboard; it was the report card for last month's exam.

"First of all, I want to congratulate everyone in Class B. Aside from one student, everyone achieved passing grades. Furthermore, there are actually 10 people who scored an average of over 90 points in every subject."

Kanzaki was shocked when he saw Ying's results.

"Byakuya, what exactly is going on with your grades?"

Ying simply crossed his arms, feeling the shocked gazes directed at him from those around him.

"How about it, Kanzaki? Surprised, aren't you?" Ying grinned.

"I am indeed surprised. Why are all your subjects zero? Did you hand in a blank paper?"

"What are you... talking about?" Ying slowly raised his head to look at the blackboard, then froze. His name was at the very bottom of the score sheet for all subjects, and the scores were all zeros across the board.

"Why...?" Ying was deeply confused. He had clearly solved every single problem and transferred them all onto the answer sheet, so why did he get a zero?

"Oh right, that student who failed did so because they didn't attach their barcode. I just took a look at his answer sheet, and he actually passed. Everyone in Class B is truly amazing!" Hoshinomiya-sensei noticed the class's confusion regarding Ying's score and proceeded to explain.

Ying: We had to attach a barcode for this exam too!?

Then, he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a barcode bag, which still contained his own barcode.

Ying:...