Midterm Exam

"You can't even write down such a basic system of equations? You really are hopeless." Horikita Suzune looked at Sudo with eyes that suggested she was looking at trash.

"Ha!? What are you saying, Horikita! Didn't I just solve it right now!" Sudo slammed the table, looking somewhat indignant.

"But... the system of equations that Sudo-kun wrote down is wrong..." Kushida pointed out, looking a bit awkward.

"Nani! It's wrong? ...Ying, come teach me." Sudo took the problem and leaned toward Ying.

"Uh... you need to set up a system of three variables to solve this problem," Ying said.

"What's a system of three variables?" the Idiot Trio asked in unison.

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

Time returned to a few days ago... Inside the Byakuya study group, Ying stretched and said while packing his things: "I think you guys should be able to secure excellent grades on this midterm exam. Let's call it a day here. Dismissed!"

Following that, the others in the group stretched their limbs and began to pack up as well.

"Byakuya-kun, could I bother you for a moment?" After Ying left, Shiroba approached him.

"Oh, Shiroba. Is there any problem you still don't understand?" Ying asked.

"No, that's not it! Byakuya-kun taught me very well, and I don't have any questions left. But there is one thing I wanted to ask you. Please tell me... is Byakuya-kun currently dating Honami?" Shiroba lowered her head, her cheeks flushed, her voice growing quieter as she spoke.

Hmm? Could it be... if I weren't dating Ichinose, would she be confessing to me right now!? As expected, being charming is also a source of trouble.

"No, I'm not dating Ichinose. I'm still single at the moment." As he said this, Ying even brushed his hair back with his hand.

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

"Byakuya-kun! Eh? Chihiro is here too!" Ichinose walked over while greeting them.

"Oh, Ichinose." Damn it, I was almost on the receiving end of my first confession in this life... or maybe my second! Ying thought to himself, while outwardly greeting Ichinose in a perfectly normal manner.

"Honami, I have something to do, so I'll be going now!" As soon as Shiroba saw Ichinose arrive, she ran off with a blushing face.

"Is Chihiro in such a rush? By the way, Byakuya-kun, I actually have a favor to ask of you. It's about class cooperation," Ichinose said.

"Uh... what is it? If it's something within my power, I can help," Ying replied.

"Actually, Class B and Class D have reached a cooperative relationship, but Class D's grades aren't very good, and there are many students who are failing. So, they requested assistance from Class B, asking us to send some students with better grades to tutor them. I heard from your group that you're good at teaching, so could I ask you to go help Class D?" Ichinose asked sincerely.

Ying: How could I possibly agree to such a troublesome thing?

"Sure, I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

Cute + Request + Looking up with those eyes = Fatal.

Afterward, Ying had intended to go to Hirata's study group, but Hirata was quite worried about Sudo and the others, so Ying ended up joining the group where the Idiot Trio was located...

"Ah, what a pain!" During the break, Ying was organizing the materials he would use to tutor them after school, and couldn't help but complain.

"If you took on the responsibility yourself, you should see it through properly," Kanzaki said while also organizing his study materials.

"You're in Hirata's group, you have it way easier than me, don't you!"

"The capable do more work, after all. There aren't many study guides in this school that you can use."

"Damn it... if only there were ready-made problems." Ying slumped over the table, complaining.

Hmm? Ready-made problems?

Ying suddenly remembered that in the original story, this midterm exam was exactly the same as the one from the previous year. If he could get someone to "borrow" the original exam papers and then slightly change the problem settings, wouldn't they become his own problems?

Inside the Student Council room.

"BOSS! Onegai! (Please!) You must have the midterm exam papers for the first semester of the first year, right?" Ying said while massaging Horikita Manabu's shoulders, while Tachibana looked at him with eyes that suggested he was trash.

"Heh, you noticed? I do indeed have them here. Do you want to buy them?" Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses and said with a smile.

"No, no, I don't want to buy them. Look..." Ying didn't want to spend so much money for those three idiots; he just wanted to get them for free.

"Your tea has gone cold. Let me get you a fresh cup." After brewing a new cup of tea for Horikita Manabu, he said fawningly, "Look... could you make an exception? It doesn't have to be all subjects, just math and physics will do!"

Horikita Manabu's expression showed a slight flicker of surprise, then he smiled again: "Interesting. This might be a bit difficult, but I will try my best."

"Alright! Then I'll wait for the BOSS's good news in class!" Ying then ran out of the Student Council room.

"Hmph! This guy actually wants to get them for free! How could the President agree to this?" Tachibana said, looking quite angry.

Horikita Manabu tilted his head back slightly, looking up at the ceiling, took a sip of black tea, and said: "Tachibana, it's not what you think. Byakuya wants me to swap out the math and physics papers for the midterm exam."

Tachibana: !!!

A few days later, because Ying still hadn't received the exam papers from Horikita Manabu, he had to rely on the practice problems from his past life to create his own. Ying couldn't help but sigh at how many problems he had drilled back in those years.

"May I ask, what is the name of the person who came up with the inductive method?" Horikita asked.

"I remember! It's Francis Bacon!" Ike answered.

"Correct."

"Yay!"

"Uh, but I don't think this is going to be on the midterm exam," Ying said, speechless.

Everyone: !?

Seeing the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, Ying suddenly remembered that Class D hadn't been notified yet, so he reminded them to go verify it with their homeroom teacher.

After receiving the same answer as in the original story, the students of Class D were exceptionally furious, which caused the Three Idiots to inexplicably ignite a passion for studying, which in turn indirectly caused Ying's workload to skyrocket.

The day before the exam, Ayanokoji obtained a copy of the past papers and gave one to Ying as well, but Ying just wept silently, saying, "It's already too late, it's useless..."

Kushida comforted him, "No, no, because of Byakuya's teaching, Sudo and the others have actually learned real skills. Even though these past papers came late, if you look at them for one night, you'll have a better chance of winning on the exam tomorrow!" Ayanokoji nodded from the side as well.

Ying: Do you guys really know that I've been almost drained dry these past few days!? Every day, besides creating practice problems, I have to solve them, and then teach them how to solve them. Then I go back to creating problems, solving them, and teaching them how to solve them...

Thinking of this, Ying felt even sadder, finally enduring until the midterm exams. Having lived two lives, this was the first time he had ever looked forward to an exam so much.

In the Class D classroom, the moment Chabashira entered, an unusual atmosphere permeated the room; everyone was waiting for the results of this exam, which might result in students being expelled.

"There's no need to be nervous, I will announce them now."

Chabashira posted a transcript on the blackboard.

"Honestly, I am impressed. Aside from Mathematics and Physics, you managed to score so high in the other subjects. You tied for first place in Japanese and Social Studies, with over 10 people scoring a perfect grade."

Sudo and the others began to check their scores. Because of Ying's tutoring and the past papers, even though their Mathematics and Physics scores were on the lower side, they were still above thirty points, and they had scored over fifty in all other subjects.

"Yes!"

The Three Idiots all stood up in excitement.

"However—" Chabashira picked up a red pen.

She drew a passing line on the Mathematics transcript:

Sudo Ken: 37

Ike Kanji: 36

Yamauchi Haruki: 35

"Because the passing grade for Mathematics is 38 points, three students from Class D will be expelled."