Classroom of the Elite, Starting with a Zero, I'm Just Going to Lay Flat Since I Know the Plot

First-year Class A: 836 points

First-year Class B: 710 points

First-year Class C: 503 points

First-year Class D: 0 points

The scores for Class A and Class C were easy to understand, and it was normal for Class D to have 0 points, but the score for Class B felt off. In the original work, it was 650 points, yet the current Class B had 710. It seemed like a mere 60-point difference, and it could have been a butterfly effect caused by his transmigration, but Nakano Yuu couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

It was as if Class B had been buffed.

How strange.

Indeed.

While feeling puzzled, the next morning, when he opened his door, he saw a cute girl with short golden hair standing at the entrance of his dormitory. Nakano Yuu's mood... suddenly became quite peculiar.

Because.

"Good morning, Nakano-kun." A cute girl with short golden hair and an extremely high level of attractiveness was waving at him gently, looking just like a little angel. Her voice was also quite pleasant, making one feel as if they were bathed in a gentle breeze.

And this person was the most popular girl in Class D, Kushida Kikyou.

Kushida Kikyou, this "white lotus" maiden, had suddenly appeared before him. And she was acting quite friendly, too.

"Kushida-san? Why are you at my dormitory door?" Nakano Yuu seemed somewhat surprised.

But this surprise was only natural.

After all, they barely spoke to each other in the classroom.

Usually, if someone suddenly showed up at your door, you'd assume they were there to borrow money or needed help with something.

That was what Kushida was thinking, but just as she opened her mouth, she heard Nakano's voice.

"Could it be that you've finally reached me in your friend-making schedule?" Nakano Yuu said. "I see you playing your friend-collecting game with other classmates all the time, clearing them one by one. Even though we're in the same class, I've had zero progress, and I thought I had been skipped over."

"..." Kushida.

Kushida felt as if her heart had skipped a beat, but a cute smile remained on her face.

"Oh my, come to think of it, I've been wanting to become good friends with you too, Nakano-kun. Although we haven't interacted before, it's just like eating—it's perfectly normal to save the best for last, you know."

When Kushida enrolled, she introduced herself by saying she wanted to be friends with everyone, so Nakano Yuu treating her actions as a "friend-collecting game"... was at least a plausible interpretation.

Kushida-san had a very generous heart.

"So, you're saying Kushida-san actually values me quite a bit?" Nakano Yuu seemed pleasantly surprised.

"Well, that... you could say... eh?" However, Kushida-san's words didn't continue, because she noticed Nakano-kun had taken out his phone and directly opened the voice recorder function.

Recording.

Recording.

??

What was the meaning of this, Nakano-kun? Was he planning to record her saying "I value you"?

If it were an ordinary boy, one might interpret this as a form of self-comfort, something to be played back and listened to many times.

But Nakano Yuu, whether judging by his looks or his usual behavior, was the type of person who was a "real-life winner." The reason she thought this was because she had noticed that even though he had only just started interacting with Horikita Suzune, they were already able to go shopping together, and during class, Sakura-san often looked his way.

These were all signs of being popular.

So, as a popular guy, why would he do something that only unpopular boys would do?

"Kushida-san has many friends, so I suppose I can take that to mean the people you became friends with earlier aren't actually that important now."

"I think they would be very sad to hear that," Nakano Yuu said.

?

"..." Kushida.

Kushida felt like giving Nakano Yuu a mental "6."

What was wrong with this guy?

If she had only been worried at first that Horikita Suzune had already told Nakano Yuu about her dark past—forcing her to try and get on good terms with him just like she was doing with Horikita, in order to protect her peaceful school life from being destroyed, and to confirm how much information he had—then she had succeeded in getting his attention.

That was why she had come here early this morning.

But just after making contact, she felt like she was about to lose it.

Because she wanted to be friends with many people, she wasn't very strict about her selection; even for unpopular trash like Ike, she would still show a gentle expression.

Logically, Nakano-kun wasn't that kind of bottom-tier boy, yet he had almost caused her composure to collapse.

"Well, I'm just joking," Nakano-kun, who had been watching Kushida-san the whole time, said quickly. "But since Kushida-san wishes to be friends with me, let's exchange phone numbers and add each other."

Nakano Yuu suggested.

"I-is that okay?" Kushida-san seemed somewhat surprised, likely not expecting Nakano Yuu to be "cleared" so easily.

After all, if he hadn't decided to get on good terms with her, he wouldn't have exchanged phone numbers so directly.

Thinking this to himself.

Kushida chose to exchange phone numbers with Nakano Yuu, and they both tapped to add each other as friends.

Kushida also noticed that in Nakano's contact list... there were only two people. One was labeled as "Brother," and the other was Chabashira.

Horikita Suzune was not there.

In other words, she had actually misunderstood; Nakano Yuu's relationship with Horikita Suzune wasn't that close yet?

Does this mean she might have been worried for nothing, and Horikita Suzune hadn't actually told Nakano Yuu about her dark past?

Watching Kushida's expression, Nakano maintained a smile.

Because.

Kushida was likely looking for a roundabout way to save her situation after failing to win over Horikita, or she was worried that Horikita had told him about her secrets and came to test the truth.

But Kushida, adding him as a friend isn't exactly a good thing for you.

It's just that once you've added each other, he can GPS track your location.

No matter what you do, he can check where you are at any time.

And so, the two of them, each harboring their own hidden agendas, walked to the classroom together.

Horikita Suzune was already in the classroom early.

Seeing Nakano Yuu walk in, her brows seemed to furrow. However.

"You came with Kushida today?" she said.

"Because she was at my dorm door first thing in the morning," Nakano Yuu said.

"She did that to you, too?" Horikita frowned slightly.

Too.

Does that mean Kushida usually treats you like that as well?

Nakano had actually received Horikita Suzune's exclusive treatment.

Only.

"Kushida suddenly came to my dorm door to wait for me today. It seems she wanted to walk to school with me. Then she exchanged phone numbers with me so quickly."

Nakano paused.

He also noticed that Kushida had already entered the classroom, and although she was chatting with her close friend named Wang Meiyu, her gaze seemed to be directed toward their side.

And when she met Nakano's gaze, she even seemed to smile.

"I suspect Kushida likes me," Nakano Yuu said honestly. "That's why she's so impatient."

Then he met the gaze of Kushida, who was talking to her friend; she seemed to be looking straight at him.

"I, on the other hand, think you're about to drive her crazy," Horikita Suzune remarked.

With that, Nakano began obediently taking out his textbook to prepare for class.

And throughout the day, ever since being rebuffed by Nakano Yuu, Kushida Kikyou had been distracted several times.

Having been defended by Nakano previously, Sakura often paid attention to him and happened to notice that Kushida, sitting in the front row, turned around to sneak glances at Nakano several times.

You're really popular, Nakano.

Sakura Airi thought to herself.

Chapter 016 I think Kushida likes me!

Although he had encountered Kushida Kikyou blocking his door in the morning, other than being added to Nakano's GPS tracking, there was nothing unusual about Kushida.

However, there was some activity in school life today.

That was when school was about to end in the afternoon, Hirata asked everyone to wait a moment.

He stood by the podium.

"Everyone, regarding this month's special exam, the midterm exam, does anyone have any thoughts?"

This was Hirata Yousuke, the surface leader of Class D from the original story.

Because he hadn't extended a helping hand when his friend was being bullied in middle school, his friend, driven to a mental breakdown, had attempted to jump off a building. Although he didn't die, Hirata was deeply affected by it.

He deeply regretted not noticing his friend's suicidal intent and regretted not helping him.

Consequently, he sought redemption and came to Ikusei High School, changing his past demeanor to become someone who pays attention to everyone, especially the marginalized students, wanting to help them.

It was a form of atonement.

You could call him a hypocrite, but he was indeed doing these things; you could call him normal, but he didn't turn anyone away, even people like Yamauchi or Ike.

He was truly a bit obsessed.

Still, the usual Hirata was quite reliable.

And Nakano discovered through his memories that because he was often alone, he had actually been called over by Hirata for a talk.

He had said he could help him find friends.

However, Hirata-kun, sometimes being alone doesn't necessarily mean being lonely.

It could also be a sign of being aloof and proud.

At the very least, if one were to choose friends among the boys, there are very few in Class D worth opening up to.

Yet, the persona Hirata-kun is currently projecting is one of kindness, almost like a saint.

"I will go and ask Chabashira-sensei about the exam syllabus."

"But I hope that everyone will be able to pass."

Failing the exam leads to expulsion, so Hirata actually wants to calculate the grades of the students in the class, identify the top students and the struggling ones, and then set up one-on-one or one-on-two study sessions.

Ikusei High School operates on a three-semester system per year, so a semester's worth of exams covers three months.

Since it is currently the second month after enrollment, it wouldn't be wrong to consider this a midterm exam.

According to what Chabashira-sensei said, the midterm exam consists of a written test, so it naturally assesses everyone's academic ability.

Therefore, this request from Hirata is quite normal.

Most of the students agree, but there are also some who do not quite approve.

"Our own time is also precious."

"If we have to go and teach those who aren't good at studying..." The one speaking is a boy wearing glasses named Yukimura Teruhiko; he is a top student in the original story, so his saying this is actually understandable.

"Let's talk about it later, it's only the beginning of the month!" However, some of the struggling students clamored, "There's no need to be so anxious."

"I'm going to participate in club activities."

The person who said this is a student sitting in the same row as Nakano Yuu, Horikita Suzune, and Sakura.