Sakayanagi Arisu's Long-Cherished Wish

"Yes, although it seems like a lot of people are participating, the vote count is not visible, and even the comments are anonymous."

"But there's also the possibility that boys could sneak in to vote."

In other words, rankings with such unclear content are actually not very credible.

"But the list still has some credibility. For example, Kitagawa Hirata, who are quite famous for their looks in the grade, are ranked first and second."

Having found a good opportunity to enter, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka feigned confusion and asked:

"I remember last time at karaoke, you mentioned that you knew Kushida Kikyo back in middle school, right?"

"Yes, we were in the same junior high school and the same club back then."

Kushida answered with a smile, seemingly unconcerned about the topic, and even added:

"And I heard that Kitagawa also founded Drama Club at this school. To be honest, I still don't understand why the school put him in Class D. After all, in my opinion, Kitagawa should be at the level of Class A."

"Perhaps the school has its own considerations."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka answered casually, then immediately asked:

"But speaking of which, it's been over a month since we enrolled, and I haven't seen Kitagawa much at school."

Deliberately feigning a slight jealousy over her ranking on the leaderboard, Kushida Kikyo smiled and comforted her:

"Kitagawa doesn't really go to places like the library. He usually just goes to the classroom or club room, and he spends most of his time in his room. He was like that in middle school; he likes to be alone."

The set meal they ordered arrived at this time, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka took the opportunity to change the subject:

"Speaking of the Midterm Exam, Class A should be able to pass easily, right?"

"Yes, even the students with weaker foundations have no problem with their learning attitude and are making rapid progress."

"But I always feel that just passing the test won't be enough for Class A to differentiate itself from the other classes."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka displayed just the right amount of anxiety. He had spent his last year in the White Room receiving specialized training in emotional matters, and now it was time to see the results.

"But doesn't Katsuragi think...?"

"Kushida Kikyo."

Setting down his cutlery, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said very seriously:

"Actually, the reason I accepted your invitation today is to confirm something with you. Although it's just a hypothetical situation for now, if I were to have a conflict with Katsuragi someday, which side would you choose?"

As soon as the question was asked, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka immediately began to observe the changes in Kushida Kikyo's expression.

"I still hope that everyone in the class can get along well."

Kushida Kikyo skillfully avoided answering.

"I don't think the world is so simple that you can easily remain neutral. If you could help out if there's a conflict in the class someday, Kushida Kikyo, that would be so reassuring."

"After all, everyone in Class A trusts and has high expectations for you."

"I'm looking forward to it... but I think if I want to ask for help, I should first explain the situation."

Kushida Kikyo maintained a polite smile throughout, as if she had no intention of leaving any room for criticism.

"Um."

"But then again, the food at this restaurant is really good."

Although Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't get what he wanted, he still gained something. He changed the subject and picked up a long plate of spaghetti, praising it.

"I'd be so glad you like it, Ayanokoji."

Kushida Kikyo seemed to have completely forgotten their conversation. She smiled gently and handed her a napkin.

"You have meat sauce on your lips."

"Thanks."

Taking the napkin to wipe his mouth, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka focused on the food in front of him.

If Ninomiya's package had really been sent, there should have been some activity by now.

But a week has passed, and there are only about two weeks left until the Midterm Exam, and there has been no feedback yet.

It seems Kitagawa Ryo has noticed and dealt with it.

For Midterm Exam...

After finishing lunch, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka subconsciously took out his phone to pay his points, but then suddenly realized that he and Kitagawa Ryo had signed a contract to hand over all the Private Points issued by the school on the first of each month, and his account had an embarrassingly zero balance.

"I'll pay."

Kushida Kikyo noticed Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's embarrassment and stepped forward to pay for their meal.

Because of this little incident, most of the people in the coffee shop turned their attention to this place.

However, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka showed absolutely no embarrassment; he silently lowered his head.

Points.

Indeed, the key to the Midterm Exam was the score.

He seemed to have already guessed Kitagawa Ryo's plan.

However, there are currently no countermeasures.

Chapter 65: Sakayanagi Arisu Wish

"These are key points that will definitely be on the exam. Surely no one would refuse free points?"

With less than two weeks left until the Midterm Exam, this was the third time Mashima Tomonari this Hondo. His teaching style was just as rigorous and meticulous as people's first impression of him. However, all the students in Class 1-D could also see that as the Midterm Exam date approached, Mashima Tomonari seemed to be getting a little anxious.

But it wasn't anxiety about impending failure; rather, it was an eagerness that everyone could feel—a desire to cram all the knowledge into the students' brains at once.

"If everyone listens attentively in class and reviews diligently, aiming to pass the exam, every student can achieve this."

Picking up his teacup, Mashima Tomonari took a sip of tea and placed his hands on the podium as he spoke earnestly.

Although he still hasn't fully recovered from the dismal situation of being transferred to Class 1-D, Mashima Tomonari is slowly beginning to accept the fact that the thirty or so people sitting in front of him are his students.

After adjusting his mindset, Mashima Tomonari gradually changed his teaching style from when he was in Class A. After realizing that he was teaching a group of problem students with poor foundations, he began to become more basic and meticulous, patiently teaching from the very bottom up in a way that he himself felt was too straightforward.

As for the exam scope, he tried his best to narrow it down to the minimum for the students in Class 1-D. To be honest, as long as they honestly memorized all the scope he had marked, it was not a difficult thing to pass.

It must be said that Mashima Tomonari's efforts as the class advisor did indeed inspire some of the students. Under the influence of these students, even the lazier students in Class D, in order to conform to the class atmosphere, began to study with great difficulty.

However, this is also thanks to the fact that Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike are currently suspended from school.

Kitagawa Ryo deftly twirled the mechanical pencil between his fingers while observing the atmosphere in the classroom.

Although Class 1-D is a class full of flawed individuals, it doesn't mean that everyone in it is completely inferior. Extreme individuals like Yamauchi Haruki and Ichinose Honami are rare, just as the vast majority of people in society are ordinary.

Of the forty students in Class 1-D, more than half were ordinary students.

I don't want to give up, but I don't want to work hard either; I don't want to move up a grade, but I don't want to drop out.

When the atmosphere in the class shifts in one direction, they'll gravitate towards that direction like a weather vane.

Unlike Karuizawa Kei's Class 1-D in the mock exam, Kushida Kikyo went to Class A, but Ichinose Honami perfectly took her place and even did a better job. Horikita Suzune was a transformed version of herself. Koenji Rokusuke, Yamauchi Haruki, and Kanji Ike, the three students who had a devastating impact on the class atmosphere, either dropped out or suspended their studies.

Furthermore, the homeroom teacher has been changed from Chabashira Sae Mashima Tomonari. Just thinking about the time when Chabashira Sae told the students in the class about the wrong scope of the exam makes Kitagawa Ryo feel a pang of sympathy. However, it is unlikely that Chabashira Sae will cause such a scene in Class A this time.

Kitagawa Ryo reached out and touched a document in his desk drawer—the answer key to the Midterm Exam, which he had obtained after making a deal with an upperclassman.

In the last simulation, he used this answer key to severely damage Class 1-D.

The most direct approach at present seems to be to release the answer key the day before the exam, which would both maintain the Class 1-D's enthusiasm for learning during this period and maximize the chances of all students passing the Final Exam.

A more advanced approach would be to exploit this information gap by deliberately letting the students in Class 1-D collectively slack off and show no signs of preparing for the Midterm Exam. This would lure Class A or Class C into a trap, creating conflict and then establishing a betting agreement between the two classes regarding their Midterm Exam results. Ultimately, the goal would be to defeat the other class by using their answers to the other's questions.

Regardless of the method used, the answer will ultimately need to be made public.

Kitagawa Ryo propped his head up and looked at Mashima teacher, who was diligently teaching basic English grammar on the podium. The girl in the front row was listening attentively with her head up. Kitagawa Ryo remembered that she was an exchange student from China named Wang Xiaomei. It seemed that because of the emphasis on basic education in her childhood, her English level was quite good.

Next to her seat, a boy with a bob haircut named Okitani Kyosuke was absentmindedly doodling. From his casual hand movements over the past two minutes, Kitagawa Ryo could tell that he was probably trying hard to resist the urge to take out his phone.

Kitagawa Ryo wasn't familiar with every student in his class, nor was he interested in getting to know each of them. Therefore, for the students, the fairest thing was always the exam and their attitude towards it.

Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike were two people he knew well, who had planned to drop out of school from the very beginning.

As for the rest...

Kitagawa Ryo snapped the cap back onto his mechanical pencil; the bell had already rung, signaling the end of class.

Let's leave it to the Midterm Exam.

"So, Ryo isn't planning to release the Midterm Exam answers?"

"Yes, let everyone take the exam based on their true abilities."

During lunch break, Kitagawa Ryo, sitting on a bench in the courtyard eating his own bento, casually answered Ichinose Honami's question, while Horikita Suzune sat quietly eating her meal on the other side. All three of them belonged to their own cooking factions, Sakura Airi had put all her culinary skill points into desserts, so she could only have lunch with Sakayanagi Arisu at the Student Cafeteria.

"But in that case, some students with very weak foundations, but who have tried their best, might not pass..."

"Does Honami think that once I reveal the answers, this percentage will exceed that of the students in Class D who have very poor foundations and are unwilling to work hard, but who passed the Midterm Exam by relying on the answers?"

"And if there really is a student like Honami described, I will also take action."

After thinking for a moment, Ichinose Honami understood what Kitagawa Ryo meant:

"It's your score from the last quiz, right?"

"Well, in the last quiz, including Yamauchi and Ike, there were a total of seven students in Class D who scored below the failing mark. Besides, Honami should know them better than I do; he should be able to tell who's working hard and who isn't."

Kitagawa Ryo turned his head away and smiled softly. Ever since he and Ichinose Honami opened their hearts to each other last time, he had unconsciously begun to rely on and trust each other more actively.

"We'll have Honami verify it then; there won't be any problems."

"Yes, no problem."

Ichinose Honami could naturally sense the emotions in Kitagawa Ryo's words. She was still kind, but she would no longer be like she used to be, almost pathologically considering herself the protector of her classmates, as if anyone dropping out of school meant the end of their life, and she would stop it even if it meant betrayal.

Thinking back to herself at that time, Ichinose Honami's cheeks flushed with embarrassment and annoyance.

If I could meet Ichinose Honami, the girl who agreed to date someone to protect her classmates from expulsion and for four million points, I would have a lot to say to her right now.

Ichinose Honami secretly glanced at Kitagawa Ryo's lips.

For example, kissing someone you like is actually a very happy thing.

It's different from the morbid self-pity that comes from seeing others' smiling faces.

It was a feeling both hazy and real, a slight dizziness that felt like being unable to breathe, yet met with an even tighter embrace, a sense of security where the breaths and warmth of the two lingered and blended together.

Horikita Suzune closed the lid of the bento box, propped her head up with her right hand, and looked at Ichinose Honami, who was staring at Kitagawa Ryo. A look of certainty flashed in her purplish-red eyes.

It seems something must have happened while they were away competing.

"Liang, how's your Midterm Exam preparation going? Our Class B is aiming to surpass Class A this time!"

Karuizawa Kei had run excitedly from the other side to the courtyard, was triumphantly announcing Class A's defeat.

"I'm already ready to latch onto Hui's coattails!"

"..."

When she came to her senses, she realized that Sakayanagi Arisu had somehow gotten behind her, Horikita Suzune moved aside to take a seat.

"Have you finished eating?"

"Yeah, I didn't have much of an appetite, so I came back early."

Sakayanagi Arisu, leaning on her cane, slowly sat down next to Horikita Suzune.

"It seems you agree with Liang's plan."

"If you mean not disclosing the answer?"

Horikita Suzune always felt that Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze was somewhat unfocused, even though the other party had been quite active in the first month of school, to the point that even Kitagawa Ryo was beginning to suspect that she was going to compete with Ichinose Honami for the position of the nominal Leader of Class D.

But it seems that ever since the beginning of this month, Sakayanagi Arisu has always looked listless and uninterested in anything.

However, Horikita Suzune was aware of Sakayanagi Arisu's health issues, and with a familiar, almost sisterly concern, Horikita Suzune leaned closer and asked:

Have you been feeling unwell lately?

"..."

Feeling that Horikita Suzune's tone was too strange, Sakayanagi Arisu remained silent for a while before replying: