The Exam Begins

"Rabbit Group, six o'clock, Room 204..." Ying glanced at the email on his terminal and unconsciously blurted out the important information.

"I'm in Rabbit Group too," Hamaguchi said. Beppu raised his terminal as well, and it also said Rabbit Group.

"Huh? You're all in Rabbit Group? I'm in Dragon Group. And our meeting time and place are different from yours." Shibata looked at the information on his terminal and said this.

"They probably assigned us randomly. But we're having another exam after only three days? I haven't had enough fun yet! Do you think we'll have to go swimming in the ocean or something this time? Nooo~!" Hamaguchi complained.

"It's three in the afternoon, and the exam's about to start. Let's hurry and get something to eat," Ying said.

"Yeah, let's go... Ying, why are you just standing there? Come on." Hamaguchi noticed Ying standing still and asked in confusion.

"You guys go ahead. I'm going to eat with Sakura. Heh heh heh..." Ying started daydreaming again.

Hamaguchi and the others left speechless, and started betting on whether Ying would manage to get a girlfriend.

Shibata: No chance. I bet 500.

Beppu: No chance. I bet 1,000.

Hamaguchi: No chance. I bet 2,500.

"Sakura, if there's anything you need, just say so. I'll definitely agree to help." Ying sat with Sakura in a café aboard the cruise ship. They looked over the menu and started chatting.

"There's nothing I need your help with. It's just that, ever since I stopped avoiding my classmates, I've made friends with some of them. But I still want to contribute to the class, and Ayanokoji suggested I try exchanging some information with Class B," Sakura said earnestly.

"Sure. We can talk about some of the information Class B can make public." After Ying said this, Sakura nodded, and the two fell silent.

"Um, Sakura. Which group are you in this time? I'm in Rabbit Group. We're meeting at six." Ying noticed the conversation had stalled and tried to find something to talk about.

"I-I'm in Ox Group. We're meeting at seven," Sakura replied.

"Sakura, is there anything else you wanted to say?" Ying asked.

"No, and it's already five-thirty, so I won't keep you any longer, Byakuya." Sakura checked the time and stood up, looking a little embarrassed.

Ying stood up too and braced both hands on the table, asking anxiously, "Really, is there nothing else?"

"Mm. Thank you, Byakuya." Sakura tilted her head, then bowed to thank him.

Ying froze for a moment, then staggered away with the shuffling steps of a zombie.

Today's winner and loser: Ying lost.

"Byakuya, what a coincidence." As Ying was about to head back to his dorm to get ready, Hirata happened to pass by and greeted him.

"Yeah, what a coincidence..." Ying looked at how popular Hirata seemed, then looked at himself. His body sank slowly like a sponge.

"Um, are you all right?" Hirata asked worriedly.

"I'm fine! Which group are you in for the exam?" Ying suddenly perked up. He'd come to terms with it—Sakura was just shy.

"I'm in Dragon Group. What about you?"

"Rabbit Group."

"Is that so? Karuizawa's in Rabbit Group too. Could you look after her?" Hirata asked.

Ying was confused. Why was he asking him to look after her? Still, he decided to agree first. "Sure, but how is she doing now?"

Ever since he'd told Hirata the right way to handle things a few months ago, he hadn't checked on how Karuizawa was doing.

"Sigh... I feel like she still hasn't overcome her trauma. Now she clings to me, saying she likes me and wants to pursue me. Since I'm trying to help her become more independent, I've been spending a lot of time with her. Everyone in class thinks we might start dating soon, and the other girls admire her for having the courage to pursue love. Most of them respect her.

"That's also made her very popular in Class D, so for now she isn't letting her inferiority complex get the better of her. But I understand that she only acts so cheerful and strong in front of everyone in Class D because she relies on me. I think it'll be difficult for me to change her by myself, so I've been thinking about finding someone to help.

"But I'm not in your class, either," Ying said. After hearing Hirata out, he could see that the situation was tricky, but help from afar wouldn't be much use.

"Of course. I'm planning to find someone I can trust in Class D. I haven't found anyone yet, though, so for now, I can only ask you to look after Karuizawa during this exam."

Ying also thought that compared with how their relationship had been confirmed in the original story, Karuizawa might now be even more dependent on Hirata. Since this exam was a group test, it was hard to be sure Karuizawa wouldn't have trouble because of her past once she was away from Hirata's protection.

"Habibi Mambo~..." Ying jumped and hurriedly turned off the alarm he'd set.

"Crap! There are only ten minutes left! I've gotta go. I'll keep an eye on her!" After saying this, Ying dashed up to the second floor.

"Sorry, I'm late." Ying opened the door to Room 204 and made it just in time. The three students from Class A, including Katsuragi, were sitting in chairs, listening to Sakagami explain the exam rules.

"Sorry, I've got the wrong room." Ying walked back out and checked the room number.

"Wait, this is Room 204, isn't it?" Ying was confused and went back in.

"Ahem. You're Byakuya from Class B, right? There are signs for A, B, C, and D beside the room numbers. They indicate which class the room belongs to. This is Class A's room," Sakagami explained.

"Oh, right. Sorry to bother you." Ying closed the door and looked around. He realized that several of the nearby rooms were all numbered 204, and Class B's room was across from Class A's.

"Ying, you're late!" As soon as he opened the door, Hamaguchi scolded him.

"Something happened on the way. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been late." If he'd gone into the right room just now, he would've made it on time, Ying thought.

"Now that everyone's here, I'll begin explaining this Special Exam. It's the VIP Exam, which mainly tests your thinking skills..." Chabashira-sensei wasted no time and immediately began her detailed explanation of the exam rules.

To summarize the exam rules: students from the four classes were divided into twelve groups, corresponding to the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Each group had one "VIP." The group members had to discuss and figure out who the VIP was. The VIP's identity would be sent to their Student Terminal by email at eight o'clock on the first day of the exam. After discussions ended on the fourth day, they would have half an hour to submit their answers. Anyone who submitted an answer before the designated time would be considered a traitor.

The exam had four possible outcomes:

1. If every group member except the VIP and the VIP's classmates answered correctly within the allotted time, all group members would receive 500,000 Personal Points, and the VIP would receive an additional 500,000 points.

2. If no one answered early, but someone answered incorrectly or failed to answer, only the VIP would receive 500,000 Personal Points.

3. If someone answered early and correctly, that person would receive 500,000 points, and their class would gain 50 Class Points. The VIP's class would lose 50 points.

4. If someone answered early and incorrectly, their class would lose 50 points. The VIP would receive 500,000 points, and their class would gain 50 points.

Ying had only just remembered the rules for assigning the VIPs in this exam. The members of each group were arranged according to the gojūon order of the first character of their surnames. If the order of the twelve zodiac animals within a group matched the order of the members' names, then the first person in that order was the VIP.

For Ying, this exam was practically over before it had even begun. He could even have all the Class B students answer early for every VIP from the other classes, then rack up 450 Class Points and secure their place in Class A.

But would that really be a good idea? People might think Ying was amazing, but he'd actually be cheating. Besides, others wanted to reach Class A for the guaranteed employment and college placement, but Ying didn't need that.

He'd already signed a contract of indentured servitude. No matter where he graduated from, he'd be going back to be a slave.

He felt that breaking the rules like this would be unfair to the students from the other classes.

"Ribbit, ribbit." (Message notification sound)

Ichinose: "Byakuya, are you free? Would you like to talk about this exam tonight at the Blue Sea Cafe on the first floor?"

Ying: "Will anyone else be there?"

Ichinose: "You can invite anyone you'd like, Byakuya, but I was hoping to talk with you alone."

Ying: "Then I'll tell you the secret of this exam later. Looking cool (animated sticker)"