Full of Schemes / Their Respective Moves

The cooperation between Class B and Aoyama was temporarily maintained.

"Shiranami, Kushida... Karuizawa, these five have nothing in common, from grades to personality. Besides, no matter how outstanding the class leaders are, it's impossible for them to have a comprehensive understanding of the subtle differences among the students in each class."

"Schools aren't monsters; they wouldn't use private information like birthdays as a pattern. After all, they create patterns to make people guess. Therefore, the pattern must be related to the names of those VIP. The more names you know, the closer you are to the answer."

"No matter how it changes, the essence of this test is to find out the names of those VIP."

Gazing at the large screen, Aoyama spoke, steering everyone's thoughts back to the main topic and reversing the situation to calm the still oppressive atmosphere.

Even though Amikura used harsh words, he wasn't angry at all because of the rationality of her actions; in fact, he liked her a little more.

They're not inherently bad, so how could they possibly dislike someone who worries about their friends?

"Like the Rabbit Group, which ranks fourth in the twelve Earthly Branches," Aoyama continued, offering further ideas. "You could think about how to arrange the names to place Karuizawa in fourth place."

"If you get it right, you can check if the other groups match in the same order. If you can get them all right, then the pattern is correct."

"If the surname doesn't work, we can try the given name. We can also try Chinese characters. We'll get it right slowly, and we'll definitely be faster than other classes."

Finding a seat, Aoyama began to write and draw with the paper and pen he had prepared.

Because of its unique nature, Japanese has hiragana and katakana, with one pronunciation and two spellings. He believes that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the pattern arises from these two sorting methods.

"Wow, that's amazing, Aoyama- kun." Ichinose looked at Aoyama with some surprise. Although she knew that Aoyama seemed to have a very good mind, it was a bit too amazing that he could determine the direction of the reasoning so quickly.

Yesterday, when we were discussing the plan, we only learned about the exam rules not long ago, and yet we came up with a plan that could make us a lot of money.

If only Aoyama were a student in Class B, would he Twenty Million Personal Points?

Unrealistically, Ichinose wanted to sit next to Aoyama, but before she could do anything, Kamuro and Yamamura each took one side of Aoyama, sandwiching him between them.

The expression on Yamamura's face when he looked at Aoyama's profile was one that showed he had completely devoted himself to Aoyama.

In just a moment, Ichinose realized that this person definitely liked Aoyama more than she did.

Chapter 136 A Belly Full of Mischief

The meeting room door was locked.

For a moment, the only sound was the scratching of pencils on white paper as all six people were intently trying to fit the test into their own patterns.

"Buzzing"

Suddenly, a cell phone vibrated. Looking towards the source of the sound, Aoyama discovered that it was Ichinose, who was taking out her phone with an apologetic smile.

After stopping the phone from vibrating, Ichinose didn't put it back in her pocket, but instead examined it carefully.

As Aoyama wondered what message Ichinose had received, his phone rang. First, there was a text message from Kushida, followed by a call from Karuizawa.

Following Ichinose, he hung up the phone first, then opened Kushida's text message as he walked towards the door. The message wasn't long; it was a reminder from her to check the School Forum.

School Forum?

Putting aside the idea of calling Karuizawa back for the time being, Aoyama leaned against the door after leaving the house and logged into his School Forum account.

The first post on the forum was clearly pushed to the top by spending personal points; the poster Sakayanagi Arisu.

[Acquiring the names of those VIP in the Paper Shuffle Special Exam; limited to three slots. The first slot costs 3 million personal points, the second 2 million, and the third 1 million. A contract can be signed, and loan disbursement can be delayed.]

As expected of Sakayanagi Arisu.

Aoyama chuckled silently and called Karuizawa back. As expected, it was also related to Sakayanagi's post.

"Do you think Satsuki and Maya might sell me out?"

After indicating that she already knew, Karuizawa's slightly worried voice came through the microphone. As the leader of the group, she naturally wouldn't do anything to hide her VIP status.

If this were to become known later, it would absolutely cause Shinohara and Sato to drift apart and create a rift in their relationship.

It boils down to this: if you don't trust me, why should I trust you?

"Well, it's still possible," Aoyama replied, not without seriousness.

Three million personal points is extremely tempting for students in any class, especially since Sakayanagi has set up a psychological trap that only the first person to receive three million points.

Fearing they might only receive one million, those VIP can't calmly consider their options and rush into a decision. Often, the more hasty the decision, the more likely it is to be wrong.

"What should we do?" Karuizawa's voice sounded anxious.

A plan quietly took shape in his mind, Aoyama smiled unconsciously, "Then you just need to be faster than them."

"What do you mean, Aoyama?"

"They pulled Shinohara and Sato together, and in full view of everyone, used Matsushita Chiaki's account to send a private message to Sakayanagi saying they wanted to sell the names of those VIP."

While pondering the feasibility of supplementing the plan, Aoyama passed on his little trick to Karuizawa.

"The first thing I ask is if it's three million personal points. If not, I read the message and don't reply. I don't care what she sends after that, unless she pays out three million."

From Sakayanagi's perspective, Aoyama believes that when the first person comes to sell, he will tell them that someone has already sold it and that he is the second.

This saves money and increases the chances of a successful transaction.

If they don't sell now, they'll only have one million left. This is definitely the first thought that comes to mind for students willing to sell their VIP status for money.

"If Sakayanagi offers three million, then let Matsushita Chiaki negotiate with her. The key point in the contract is that it can't specify what class of VIP are being sold; as for the reasons, let Matsushita figure them out herself."

"If the deal goes through, I'll give you a specific name of the VIP, but it definitely won't be someone from Class D."

"You just need to provide a general direction, and leave the rest to Matsushita. He's a decent guy, though not as smart as Sakayanagi."

In the novel, Matsushita was able to get along well with Karuizawa and the others entirely because she hid her own excellence and was willing to play a supporting role in the team. After all, what she wanted was a youthful campus life.

Aoyama opened the door and Ichinose. "Whether it succeeds or not doesn't matter; this is just a small test for me."

"If we succeed, I'll share half; if we fail, forget it, it's entirely up to you."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Karuizawa, Aoyama hung up the phone and looked at Ichinose.

Ichinose smiled apologetically. "Aoyama -kun should know what Classmate Sakayanagi did, right? Should we do something? It would be troublesome if Sakayanagi found out a few more names and preemptively deduced the pattern."

"Get the students in Class B involved. If they have time, create anonymous accounts and message Sakayanagi one by one, saying you want to sell yourself. Just to annoy her."

Full of wicked ideas, Aoyama casually came up with some disgusting schemes for Sakayanagi.

He could certainly eradicate Sakayanagi's evil intentions, but it wouldn't be worth it, as it might cost him personal points.

No one will sell to Sakayanagi if he offers a higher price than Sakayanagi.

"The students in Class B are unaware of their identities and cannot be sold. Karuizawa and Kushida from Class D, I can guarantee they won't cause any problems. So the focus is on the VIP in Class C."

Aoyama skillfully entered a number into his phone. "I'll have someone check right now to see if there's anything wrong with Class C."

After catching Shiina at the library once, he's been going there occasionally these past few days, but unfortunately, he's returned empty-handed each time, which makes him miss the lovely Shiina even more.

"Are you looking for Shiina?" Ichinose's expression was slightly unusual.

"Okay, I'll step aside for now and leave the derivation to you."

Aoyama wanted to Shiina, have some tea and cake together, chat for about half an hour, and then part ways.

"Then, Aoyama -kun, please come back as soon as possible."

"... Okay, I understand."

Nodding, Aoyama dialed Shiina as he left Ichinose's side, who seemed somewhat displeased.

She's just not participating in the deduction for a while. Given Ichinose's personality, she shouldn't show that kind of expression. Could it be that Ichinose and Shiina have a grudge? Probably not, I haven't heard of it.

Ichinose and Shiina's personalities, they shouldn't have any conflicts, even regarding matters of the class.

While waiting for Shiina to answer the phone, Aoyama was a little confused, while Ichinose behind him had her cute little mouth pouting.

I want to go too.

Ichinose yesterday, she said that they wouldn't reveal their cooperative relationship yet. It didn't seem like she should be able to go to Aoyama's meeting with Shiina.

Will Aoyama wear that same smile when he comes to see me?

Thinking of Aoyama's handsome face, which seemed full of expectation, Ichinose felt a surge of jealousy.

But soon, she destroyed and erased this dark emotion.

Chapter 137 Their Own Actions

"What should we do, Boss Ryuen?" Ishizaki, somewhat flustered.

After discovering the post on the School Forum, he immediately went to Ryuen, who was with Albert. As Ryuen's confidant, he knew that there was a pattern to the selection of those VIP.

That's three million personal points, and the guys in Class D will definitely be tempted.

Where did Class A get so many personal points?

Ignoring the panicked Ishizaki, Ryuen's first thought was that after the battle on the Uninhabited Island, Class A's class savings should have been wiped out. Even if the students of Class A donated their savings selflessly, it wouldn't amount to six million.

Get something for nothing?

After a moment's thought, Ryuen logged into his forum account and openly questioned Sakayanagi's post, asking if Class A couldn't possibly come up with six million individual points and if they were trying to get something for nothing.

When the transaction takes place, we can seize leverage over the student and achieve great results with minimal investment.

"Get a few people to anonymously message Sakayanagi, expressing their concern about not getting the money." Ryuen looked at Ishizaki. "As for the VIP in the class, don't make any special arrangements."

He worried that by specifically assigning people to keep an eye on those VIP, he might fall into Sakayanagi's trap and expose their status as VIP.

"You and Nishino are on good terms, right? Get her to act out a scene where she scolds you for always secretly following her."

"Why is that?" Ishizaki asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

"Just go and do it. If you don't understand, ask Shiina."

Not wanting to explain further, Ryuen left the question to Shiina, then led Albert away from the other students and to the usually deserted stern of the ship.

[Class A VIP, one million personal points.]

[Class D VIP, one million personal points.]

After sending text messages to different people, Ryuen then directly dialed Ichinose's number.

In this Special Exam, Sakayanagi, the newly appointed leader of Class A, has her own demands, and Horikita Suzune of Class D is also thinking about climbing the ranks. To cooperate with these two, you have to give up enough benefits.

Therefore, for Class C, Class B is the most suitable partner among the three classes.

If he can't get the names of the VIP from Class A and Class C, then he'll have to cooperate with Class B. He can start by communicating with Ichinose to prepare for possible future cooperation.

A dessert shop with a trendy name.

Aoyama pushed the cake he had ordered in advance in front of Shiina, saying, "The cakes here are pretty good, try them."

Several days later, he saw Shiina.

During the Special Exam, the school notified all students to wear that jacket, which was decent in style but too hot, and now very few Student Council are outdoors without air conditioning.

"I just had breakfast not long ago, I don't think I can eat this much." Shiina's smile was somewhat helpless. Last night, Ibuki's snoring made it difficult for her to fall asleep.

She didn't even know what time she fell asleep; she only knew that she lay in bed for a long time.

"Isn't it said that girls have a separate stomach for desserts?" Aoyama chuckled teasingly. "But it's okay, I'll finish the rest. I can eat two more."

"Let's split it in half."

Smiling, Shiina used a knife to cut the triangular cake in half, then presented the larger piece to Aoyama.

She cut herself another small piece, gently put it in her mouth, and then her smile deepened, making her look incredibly cute.

"This is way too much for me, Shiina. You're so good to me, I'm starting to fall for you."

Shiina stiffened for a moment. "Aoyama, you don't need to worry about the Class C VIP issue. Currently, the only people who know about the VIP are Ryuen and me. Ryuen's intimidation effect is quite effective."

"The new leader of Class A Classmate Sakayanagi, must have also noticed the pattern in the selection of those VIP. She's a bit more astute than Katsuragi. By the way, why does Aoyama dislike Classmate Sakayanagi?"

Mentioning Sakayanagi, Aoyama gave a mocking laugh, "Because she's far more lawless than Ryuen, and she does everything according to her own whims; she's an annoying troublemaker."

"You're even more lawless than Aoyama?" Shiina seemed to have found a point of retaliation, and a handsome smile appeared on his face.

"How am I lawless? Who is slandering me? I'm going to get angry!"

With a sly laugh, Aoyama slowly reached out towards Shiina's small face, startling her so much that she sat back down in a panic before finally sitting back down.

"Want to study together this afternoon? There was Special Exam yesterday, so our usual Saturday afternoon study session couldn't be held. Yamamura also said he wanted to see you, Shiina."

"I also miss my friend Yamamura a bit, but Ryuen gave me a task."

Suppressing her panic, Shiina smiled apologetically. With the task of deducing the pattern at her disposal, she had no time to waste on leisure.