Midterm Exams

"You can't even solve an equation system this basic. You really are hopeless." Horikita Suzune looked at Sudo as if he were a piece of trash.

"Huh!? Horikita, what are you talking about? I already solved it!" Sudo smacked the desk and said angrily.

"But... the equation system Sudo came up with is wrong..." Kushida awkwardly pointed out.

"What!? It's wrong...? Ying, come teach me." Sudo picked up the problem and moved over beside Ying.

"Uh... this problem is easier to solve with a system of three equations." Ying said.

"What's a system of three equations?" the three idiots asked in unison.

Ying: Why do I have to teach these three idiots?!

A few days earlier... At the Byakuya Study Group, Ying stretched and began packing up. "I think you'll all be able to get excellent grades on the midterm without any trouble. Let's call it here for today. That's it!"

The others in the group stretched their limbs and started gathering their things.

"Byakuya, could I talk to you for a moment?" After Ying left, Shiroba from the study group caught up with him.

"Shiroba, is there anything else you're having trouble with?" Ying asked.

"No, no! You're a great teacher, Byakuya. I don't have any questions anymore. But there's something I wanted to ask you... Are you dating Honami?" Shiroba lowered her head, her cheeks flushing as her voice grew quieter.

Hmm? Was she going to confess to me if I wasn't dating Ichinose!? Sure enough, being charming could be a burden.

"No, I'm not dating Ichinose. I'm still single." As he spoke, Ying ran a hand through his hair.

"I... I see. That's great..." Shiroba murmured.

"Byakuya! Oh? Chihiro's here too!" Ichinose called as she walked over.

"Oh, Ichinose." Damn, I almost got my first confession in one... no, two lifetimes! Ying thought, while greeting Ichinose as if everything were normal.

"Honami, I have something to do, so I'll get going!" As soon as Shiroba saw Ichinose arrive, she blushed and hurried away.

"Chihiro seems in a hurry. Oh, right, Byakuya, there's actually something I'd like to ask you to do. It's about cooperation between our classes," Ichinose said.

"Uh... what is it? If it's something I can handle, I'll help," Ying replied.

"Class B and Class D have agreed to work together, but Class D's grades aren't very good, and a lot of students are failing. They asked Class B for help, so we're sending some of our stronger students over to tutor them. I heard from your study group that you're good at teaching. Could you go help Class D?" Ichinose asked earnestly.

Ying: How could I possibly agree to something this troublesome?

"Sure! Consider it done!"

Cute + a request + looking up at me = lethal.

Ying had planned to join Hirata's study group, but Hirata was more worried about Sudo and the other two, so Ying ended up joining the group with the three idiots...

"Ugh, what a pain!" During the break, Ying was sorting the materials he'd need for tutoring them after school and couldn't help complaining.

"If you take responsibility for something, you have to see it through," Kanzaki said, sorting his own study materials.

"You're in Hirata's group. You've got it way easier than I do!"

"Those who can do more are given more to do. Besides, this school doesn't have many study guides you can use."

"Damn... If only I had a set of ready-made questions." Ying slumped over his desk and grumbled.

Wait... ready-made questions?

Ying suddenly remembered that the midterm in the original story was exactly the same as the original exam papers. If he could get someone to hand over a copy, then tweak the questions a little, they'd become his own.

At the Student Council.

"Boss! Onegaishimasu! You must have the first-year first-semester midterm exam papers, right?" Ying said as he massaged Horikita Manabu's shoulders. Tachibana watched him with the same look she'd give a piece of trash.

"Heh. You noticed, did you? I do have them. Do you want to buy them?" Horikita Manabu pushed up his glasses and smiled.

"No, no, I don't want to buy them. You see..." Ying had no intention of wasting that much money on those three idiots. He just wanted to get them for free.

"Your tea's gone cold. I'll make you a fresh cup." After making Horikita Manabu another cup of tea, he continued ingratiatingly, "Could you make an exception? I don't need every subject. Just math and physics will do!"

Horikita Manabu looked briefly surprised, then smiled again. "Interesting. It might be a little difficult, but I'll do my best."

"Great! I'll wait for the good news back in my class!" Then Ying ran out of the Student Council.

"Hmph! He's trying to get them for free! How can the president agree to that?" Tachibana said angrily.

Horikita Manabu tipped his head back slightly, gazed up at the ceiling, and took a sip of tea. "Tachibana, it's not what you think. Byakuya wants me to replace the math and physics papers for the midterm with different ones."

Tachibana: !!!

A few days later, Ying still hadn't received the exam papers from Horikita Manabu, so he had to write questions based on the past exam problems he remembered from his previous life. He couldn't help marveling at how many questions he'd practiced back then.

"Do you know the name of the person who came up with the inductive method?" Horikita asked.

"I remember! It was Francis Bacon!" Ike answered.

"Correct!"

"Awesome!"

"Uh, but I don't think this is on the midterm," Ying said helplessly.

Everyone: !?

Seeing their stunned expressions, Ying remembered that Class D hadn't been told yet. So he reminded them to check with their homeroom teacher.

After getting the same answer as in the original story, everyone in Class D was furious. That made the three idiots unexpectedly fired up about studying, which in turn sent Ying's workload through the roof.

The day before the exam, Ayanokoji managed to get a copy of the original exam papers and gave one to Ying. Ying could only mutter as he cried, "It's too late. It's no use anymore..."

Kushida comforted him. "No, no. Thanks to your teaching, Sudo and the others have learned the material for real. Even though this copy came late, if they study it all night, they'll have a much better chance on the exam tomorrow!" Ayanokoji nodded beside her.

Ying: Do you even realize how completely drained I am after these past few days!? Every day, all I've done is write questions, solve questions, then teach them how to solve questions. Then write questions, solve questions, and teach them...

Thinking of it made Ying even more miserable. At last, the midterm had arrived. In two lifetimes, he'd never looked forward to an exam so much.

The moment Chabashira-sensei entered the Class D classroom, an unusual atmosphere filled the room. Everyone was waiting for the results of an exam that might see someone expelled.

"Don't be nervous. I'll announce the results now."

Chabashira-sensei pinned a grade sheet to the blackboard.

"Honestly, I'm impressed. Aside from math and physics, you managed to score so well in the other subjects. Your Japanese and social studies scores tied for first place, and more than ten of you got perfect scores."

Sudo and the other two checked their results. Thanks to Ying's teaching and the original exam papers, they'd scored poorly in math and physics, but still got over thirty points in both. They'd scored over fifty in every other subject.

"Awesome!"

The three idiots jumped to their feet in excitement.

"But—" Chabashira-sensei picked up a red pen.

She drew a passing line on the math score sheet:

Ken Sudō: 37

Kanji Ike: 36

Yamauchi Haruki: 35

"Since the passing score in math is 38, three students in Class D will be expelled."