A Special Exam for the Entire Grade / Forest School, Rules for the Mixed Training Camp!

"What I want to ask is, was what Classmate Hashiba said before—that he wanted to stay with me as a companion—sincere?"

"Of course, Horikita and I have known each other for a long time. Do you think I would lie to you?"

"That..."

It was clear that the girl was very nervous. Gazing at the boy's smiling face, she hesitated to express herself. Her inner reserve and shyness prevented Horikita Suzune from speaking for a moment, and she could only clench her small fists.

"Would Horikita have found it easier to say it if I weren't here?"

Hashiba Hikaru continued to smile and encourage him.

"Hmm..."

After pausing again, Horikita Suzune took a deep breath, a determined glint in her eyes, and spoke earnestly as she parted her red lips.

"What I want to ask is, does Classmate Hashiba know what kind of relationship is beyond comrades?"

"..."

Hashiba Hikaru was silent for a moment before speaking, "Horikita... have you really thought this through?"

"Hmm... If this is what I want to do, then I won't back down."

"Very good."

He nodded, his tone becoming even gentler.

"The time and place aren't quite right today. I'll talk to you properly later."

A smile appeared on Hashiba Hikaru's lips. "I'll give you my answer in time. Can you wait a little longer?"

"Yes, I understand."

Horikita Suzune nodded slightly, and after expressing her hidden thoughts, the black-haired girl finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She was really looking forward to the final result.

473

Chapter 473 Special Exam for the Entire Grade.

After Chie Hoshinomiya announced the new event schedule, the three days of preparation time flew by. The students were busy preparing for their departure, including packing changes of clothes and other items they might need.

On Wednesday evening, Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami were making final preparations in their dormitory. Since no specific time had been announced yet, bringing two or three sets of clothes should be enough. As for other items, the boy felt it wouldn't be a problem.

But his girlfriend clearly didn't think so. She felt that some essential items should still be brought along. The impression left by the Uninhabited Island was too deep, so Ichinose Honami bought a series of skincare products such as face cream and hand cream. She bought two of everything, preparing some for Hashiba Hikaru as well.

"Do guys really need to use this?"

Holding a fragrant face cream in her hand, Hashiba Hikaru's lips twitched. "The hand cream is fine, but I'll pass on the face cream."

"That won't do. Even though he's a boy, he can still apply face cream, right? After all, the weather is cold now. He can use it after washing his face to protect it."

Ichinose Honami's attitude was firm, and she packed all the items into Hashiba Hikaru's backpack in an unquestionable tone. Watching his girlfriend bustling around, the boy just opened his mouth but didn't say anything more.

"There might be second and third graders at this event, so we should be extra careful."

Hashiba Hikaru shared her findings from the past few days with Ichinose Honami. If it were just a competition among first-year students, it would be simpler, but with the addition of second and third-year seniors, the problem becomes much more complicated.

Is the activity being conducted together for all three grades?

After Ichinose Honami finished packing her luggage, she also fell into thought, "Will it be like the Sports Festival, with large group divisions again?"

"In any case, if there are really second or third-year seniors, winning won't be so easy."

"Wondering all you do is worry?"

A smile of great interest appeared on the pink-haired girl's face.

"Of course not. No matter what the rules are, as long as we can unite everyone, we will definitely achieve final victory."

Hashiba Hikaru stroked her chin. She figured she'd deal with whatever came her way; she'd just have to wait for the rules to be announced tomorrow.

"Yes, I think so too. Let's continue leading everyone forward."

Ichinose Honami leaned close to her boyfriend coquettishly, wrapped her arms around his neck, and asked in a slightly intoxicated tone, "Now that everything's packed, is there anything else to do, Hikaru?"

"No."

Hashiba Hikaru couldn't understand, but his hands were already on her slender waist.

"Hmph, now it's my turn for today's portion~"

"OK."

Their figures began to slowly draw closer under the light, and their burning passion and love gradually blossomed within the room.

It's Thursday, eight o'clock in the morning.

The students gathered in the classroom with their luggage, and after the teacher counted the number of students, they marched in a large group towards the playground below.

Hashiba Hikaru, carrying her backpack, stood with Ichinose Honami as they headed towards the playground. The boy glanced to the side, where familiar faces were gathered.

Because the transportation is by bus, all first-grade students must first stand in their assigned positions according to their class, which is still based on class ranking. Class A is on the far left, and Class D is on the far right.

Looking at those familiar girls, Hashiba Hikaru thought of the new item [Ring of Vows] that had appeared in the [Trading Shop], because it could prevent the stock price of a stock character from falling, making it a very powerful item.

However, there isn't a suitable opportunity for him to give it to another person right now. This group activity might create an opportunity, but everything is uncertain.

"Hikari, it's time to get on the bus."

Ichinose Honami's voice reached his ears, and the boy's expression hardened. He picked up his things and followed the group.

After finding his seat, Hashiba Hikaru discovered that the bus seats were arranged in alphabetical order by name, and the person next to him wasn't his familiar girlfriend, but another classmate.

After greeting everyone, Hashiba Hikaru gazed through the glass at the long line of buses behind him, a slight sigh escaping his lips.

This was a group activity that brought together students from all three grades, and apart from the initial instructions to prepare sportswear and close-fitting clothes, the students were unaware of the rules for this exam.

As the buses roared to life, the convoy of more than ten vehicles slowly drove out of the school. Feeling the unique atmosphere inside the vehicles, the students developed new expectations for the upcoming exams.

The destination of this bus trip is quite far; the teacher said the journey would take about three hours.

The atmosphere gradually shifted from initial boredom to a more relaxed chatter, with some people even distributing snacks. Laughter and cheerful voices filled the bus belonging to Class A of the First Year.

About two hours after the vehicle started traveling, Chie Hoshinomiya suddenly stood up from the front seat, which naturally attracted everyone's attention.

"Um, everyone, could you please be quiet for a moment? I have something to tell you."

Upon hearing this, almost without further explanation, the bus fell silent instantly; everyone knew that the rules were about to be announced.

"Everyone responded very cooperatively, and the teacher is very happy."

After sensing the atmosphere quiet down at the speed of light, Chie Hoshinomiya slowly spoke.

"Now I'm going to announce the most important thing to you. The destination of this bus trip is the new Special Exam site. I need to explain the important details of this exam first."

"It's about an hour's drive to our destination. The exam will start immediately upon arrival, so this time will be a buffer period for everyone to think about their strategies."

"What?"

"They'll start right away when we get there?"

"About an hour of buffer time..."

After listening to Chie Hoshinomiya's explanation, Hashiba Hikaru understood the school's purpose in making this arrangement. The hour was probably for getting familiar with the rules, and since all the students were on the bus, the faster they understood the rules, the sooner they could discuss strategies with their classmates.

"Then please begin explaining the rules."

Hashiba Hikaru took the initiative to speak, and as a key figure in the class, everyone's expression became serious after he spoke.

"Sure, then please listen carefully Classmate Hashiba."

Chie Hoshinomiya glanced at the boy she had placed high hopes on. His handsome face revealed a serious aura, a sign of his earnestness, which pleased the young female teacher greatly.

This time, please continue to shine brightly, Classmate Hashiba.

474

Chapter 474 The Rules of the Forest School and Mixed Training Camp!

As the bus cruised steadily along the wide highway, Chie Hoshinomiya began explaining the exam arrangements to the Class A of the First Year.

"This Forest School, organized by the school, is a very special opportunity to give everyone more opportunities to interact with older students, as it accommodates students from all three grades; you can think of it as a [Mixed Training Camp]."

"The event will last for eight days and seven nights, during which time students from all three grades will be working together."

As the young female teacher finished speaking, she picked up a thick stack of documents from her seat. "These are the details of this activity. After all, if the teacher only explains it verbally, everyone might misunderstand. Let's look at the text to make a deeper impression."

After taking out the materials, she began distributing them to each student according to their seats, and Hashiba Hikaru quickly received the detailed information.

The document was quite thick, about twenty pages long. As he unfolded it, the boy's eyes locked onto the information and he began to read through it page by page.

The materials weren't just text; they included various pictures, making them look like a tourist brochure for a dormitory. They detailed the rooms the students would be staying in, the large public bathhouse, classrooms, and the Student Cafeteria, among other things.

Without the rules announced earlier, one might easily mistake this booklet for an ordinary Forest School training camp. However, with the core prerequisites explained, browsing the information naturally becomes a more challenging experience for everyone.

"While you are reviewing the materials, there are a few things I need to emphasize, so please pay attention."

Seeing everyone engrossed in reviewing the documents, Chie Hoshinomiya began to talk about something else, "Because this document will be collected when we get off the bus, you only have so much time to memorize it, so make sure you remember it well."

"What?"

"Only such a short time?"

Just as everyone was starting to panic, the young female teacher's next words sent a chill down everyone's spine. "Besides the materials, I'm going to talk about the precautions for Mixed Training Camp accommodation, which you all need to know. Please listen carefully."

"..."

After understanding Chie Hoshinomiya's explanation, everyone quickly made a decision. Apart from keeping the documents spread out on their laps, everyone began to listen attentively to her explanation of the rules.

"First of all, the theme of this Special Exam is to help students achieve [spiritual growth]. In this exam, everyone needs to make new connections with people they don't usually interact with and successfully build relationships."

Upon hearing this, the students in Class A of the First Year immediately understood the implication. After all, it had been mentioned earlier that second and third grade students would be involved, so was it possible that they would be teamed up with older students?

However, that's not necessarily true. Although the previous Sports Festival was nominally a red-and-white competition between the three grades, in reality, everyone's opponents were basically students of the same grade. After that event, Hashiba Hikaru didn't have much contact with the older students.

"Upon arrival at the destination, the school will separate you by gender, and all students in the grade will have separate discussions before freely dividing into six groups."

"There are upper and lower limits on the number of people in a group. The manual has detailed rules, so please check it as soon as possible. It's on page five at the top."

The students immediately began flipping to the corresponding sections of the manual, while Hashiba Hikaru, who had already carefully browsed through it, reinforced his memory once again after flipping back to the designated section.

[To form a group, there are unique upper and lower limits on the number of people. The number of people is calculated based on the total number of boys and girls in each grade. Assuming there are more than 60 boys in the same grade, then the minimum number of people in the six groups is eight, and the maximum number is thirteen. If the total number of people is more than 70, then it is nine to fourteen; if it is more than 80, then it is ten to fifteen.]

[If the number of participants is less than sixty, other methods will be used to limit the number of participants.]

Although that's what they say, Hashiba Hikaru discovered when school started that the school had actually taken special considerations when dividing students into classes. Each of the four first-year classes had forty students, and the ratio of boys to girls was exactly five to five.

According to this rule, the total number of boys is eighty, and there have been no dropouts so far. If the groups are formed according to the rule of ten to fifteen people, the fluctuation will depend on the specific grouping process.

"Now that you understand the grouping rules, I think everyone should understand the meaning of this restriction."

Chie Hoshinomiya's gaze swept over everyone on the bus. "Because boys and girls will be divided into different large groups, and the number of people in each large group is the entire grade, it will be inevitable that they will form groups with students from other classes."

"During the Forest School period, everyone must work in groups to complete this Special Exam. We must work together to achieve final victory."

Although many people understood the deeper meaning of this rule, quite a few students still found it difficult to accept after Chie Hoshinomiya emphasized this point.

"Does that mean we have to form a team with students from other classes and live together?"

"It's fine if it's someone you know, but if it's a stranger, who knows if they might do something bad? It's really hard to build trust with them."

"But since you're talking about ten to fifteen people, wouldn't the problem be solved if both groups consisted of classmates?"

Someone thought of this, since if everyone in the same group is a classmate, people will trust them more.

"That won't do."

After seeing that someone had already raised the question, Hashiba Hikaru immediately felt the gaze from Chie Hoshinomiya, and he understood what she meant—he had to explain it himself.

This woman is a complete hands-off manager.

"Why?"

After seeing Hashiba Hikaru stand up, although everyone trusted him, they still wanted to know the specific reason.

"Please turn to the corner of the next page; the detailed grouping rules are there."

Hashiba Hikaru's gaze swept over everyone on the bus. "A group cannot consist of students from only one class. There must be at least two classes, and the group's composition must be decided through collective discussion. If even one person disagrees, the group will not be formed."

"Isn't this just... forced cooperation?"