A Major Shake-Up in Class D

"Horikita."

Four days before the Midterm Exam, Chabashira Sae called Horikita Suzune to her office. Staring at the current undisputed leader of Class D, she asked:

Have you found a way to pass the Midterm Exam?

Just as Kitagawa Ryo suspected, Chabashira Sae didn't tell the Class D students the correct exam scope because she wanted to test them. If they found out too late, she would subtly reveal information that there were other ways to pass the exam.

With less than four days until the Midterm Exam, Chabashira Sae hasn't received any feedback on the exam scope. Despite her unwavering determination to slack off, Chabashira Sae is starting to get restless and decides to directly ask Horikita Suzune.

"Um."

When asked by the homeroom teacher, Horikita Suzune nodded without hesitation, exuding an aura of confidence and arrogance.

"I have the correct answer."

"Really? That's very well done."

Chabashira Sae was delighted to hear this. She hadn't expected Horikita Suzune to have found the solution to the Midterm Exam by herself, which was "buying the answers." Her opinion of Suzune rose even higher.

Taking advantage of this subtle information gap, Horikita Suzune returned to the classroom with full confidence.

She had no doubt about the answer in her hand; after all, it was an answer that Kitagawa Ryo had hidden and that she had secretly stolen. This thrilling origin undoubtedly added another layer of credibility to its authenticity.

Everything went smoothly. The day before the Midterm Exam, Horikita Suzune distributed the printed answer sheets to the other students in the class. Amidst the grateful thanks from Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike, and the joyful cheers from the other students, Horikita Suzune returned to her seat. If nothing unexpected happened, she should be able to become the leader of Class 1-D after this Midterm Exam, and her control over the entire class would also become stronger.

"Eh? Um, Horikita."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was sitting next to her, suddenly spoke up. He was an inconspicuous figure in Class 1-D. Apart from his deskmate Horikita Suzune, he had only interacted with her a little. He basically ate, went to class, and went back to the dormitory alone. He had become Horikita Suzune's follower because she had paid 10,000 points for him.

"Is there something you need, Ayanokoji?"

Horikita Suzune gave Ayanokoji Kiyotaka a strange look. Her impression of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was that he was an ordinary high school boy who was taciturn and not good at communicating with others, but he was quite efficient in his work. His plan to lure Kitagawa Ryo last time was also executed very well. After all, not every student in Class D can lie calmly in front of Kitagawa Ryo.

"That's the answer."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shook the answer key he had just received, and stammered as if he were very confused:

Something doesn't feel right.

"It's exactly the same as the key points and questions you highlighted and guessed beforehand, Horikita. I'm not trying to question your abilities, Horikita, but it's just too coincidental, and there's a strange sense of incongruity about it."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was also somewhat helpless. More than a month into the semester, Class D was dealing with one mess after another. He had only wanted to experience the life of a normal high school student, but now he had no friends, and the only person he could even talk to was Horikita Suzune. However, given the current situation in Class D, it was inevitable that some students would drop out sooner or later. Although if a vote were to be held now to kick someone out, Sudo Yamauchi and Ike would be in a higher position than him.

However, if the situation in Class D continues to deteriorate like this, he himself will also be affected.

I need to stay here safely for at least three years.

With this in mind, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka began to make the bare minimum effort.

"Yeah?"

Reminded by Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Horikita Suzune quickly reviewed the answers again. This time, following Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's line of thought, she didn't dwell on the scope or the correctness of the answers, but instead focused intently on studying all the questions. She couldn't help but notice the problem Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had mentioned: the entire exam seemed to be based on the key points that Horikita Suzune had compiled herself. Although Horikita Suzune was quite confident in her academic abilities, she didn't think she could guess so many questions correctly.

Sensing something was wrong, Horikita Suzune quickly ran into the teacher's office with the answers. Fortunately, Chabashira Sae hadn't left.

"Teacher, I have something important to ask you."

Horikita Suzune pointed to a printed question about induction and Bacon and asked:

Is this test point outside the scope of our exam?

"Um?"

Originally, it was thought that Horikita Suzune had found a way to clear the game, but Chabashira Sae didn't expect this development. She frowned and replied:

"This question is indeed not within the scope of the exam. The exam scope I outlined for you was revised last Friday, but I assumed you already had the answer key, so I didn't notify you."

Almost vomiting blood from Chabashira Sae's words, Horikita Suzune swayed. Kitagawa Ryo's mocking gaze flashed before her for a moment. At this moment, she didn't even have the strength to rebuke Chabashira Sae for her completely irresponsible behavior. She was just quickly thinking of a way to break the deadlock.

[Etc...]

"Could you please provide me with the correct exam syllabus?"

As if she had just thought of something, Horikita Suzune took the note written by Chabashira Sae and hurriedly ran back. Chabashira Sae was also a little confused. Could someone really prepare the answers for the Midterm Exam in advance? This was something that had never happened in previous years.

However, Chabashira Sae quickly figured out what was going on. It was indeed difficult to fake the answers to the Midterm Exam, but that would only be possible if the exam scope given by the teacher was correct. Someone must have gathered information in advance that Class D was studying within the wrong exam scope, and then used that information gap to create a set of answers.

"..."

Chabashira Sae finally understood why Sakagami Kazuma had smiled so warmly at her before leaving work.

[Think carefully about the logic behind Kitagawa Ryo's behavior.]

[He'd rather see me frustrated and unwilling to accept defeat than defeat me outright.]

In the month or so that Horikita Suzune had spent with Kitagawa Ryo, she believed that she had figured out Kitagawa Ryo's personality. Unlike the terrifying image of Kitagawa Ryo who dominated Class C with violence that circulated among other students, Kitagawa Ryo's attitude towards Horikita Suzune was more like that of a little girl who would deliberately grab the braids of the girl in front of her when they were young. For example, she was willing to spend 10,000 Private Points to get her to cook a meal for her.

[Therefore, Kitagawa Ryo probably gave me the correct option from the very beginning, and then induced me to actively abandon the correct answer while feeling smug about the wrong one.]

[Because that would make me feel even more frustrated.]

Horikita Suzune calmly considered Kitagawa Ryo's actions all along. She was somewhat relieved that she hadn't lost the answer Kitagawa Ryo had initially given her. The other students in the class were still excited about the arrival of the answer, and some were even reciting it to themselves.

"This... range is correct."

While looking at the actual exam scope drawn up by Chabashira Sae, and comparing it with the answer key that Kitagawa Ryo had given her the first time, Horikita Suzune was pleasantly surprised to find that all the questions matched perfectly. Moreover, in terms of the question-setting logic, the school's exam questions were full of loopholes when compared with the exam questions with the wrong answers, after all, they were imitations by Kaneda Satoru and Shiina Hiyori.

"Wait a minute, everyone!"

Horikita Suzune didn't have time to think much. She had to admit that Kitagawa Ryo's design was quite ingenious. He used the information gap to switch the real and fake answers with her help, even convincing her for a time. However, this also made him arrogant enough to give her the real answer on the first try. Did he think she would definitely fall for it so he could mock her?

Seeing that all the students in Class D were looking in her direction, Horikita Suzune took a deep breath and said loudly:

"The answers we just distributed were fake answers designed by Class C. Don't memorize them yet. The ones I have here are the correct ones. I'll go print them out right away."

She recounted the events with a touch of pride, and the students in Class D, hearing that Horikita Suzune had seen through Class C's scheme, also felt a sense of triumph.

"Are those guys in Class C really that bad?"

"All they do is play petty tricks."

"The scam was so simplistic; I probably wouldn't have fallen for it."

"Actually, I can easily get full marks even without the correct answer, but since Horikita found the correct answer, please send me a copy quickly."

Hirata Yosuke also planned to take this opportunity to boost morale:

"So Class D is actually no worse than the other classes. As long as everyone works together, we will definitely have a chance to surpass Class C."

These words were met with cheers again; this was the first time since May that Class D had shown such vigorous energy.

Horikita Suzune nodded in satisfaction. She had already anticipated that with the Midterm Exam over, she would lead a brand new Class D to challenge Class C.

"Kitagawa Ryo."

She lowered her eyes and whispered the other person's name.

Even Horikita Suzune herself didn't notice that, without realizing it, the person she was chasing and trying to surpass had slowly shifted in another direction.

Chapter 20: The Great Reshuffle of Class D

In late May, when the air was already beginning to feel like summer, the Midterm Exam at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School officially began.

For all First Year students, this was an extremely harsh exam, unlike any other they had ever taken before. Failure would result in expulsion. Apart from the most outstanding students, everyone would feel nervous to some extent, except for those who had memorized the answers.

"It's just a Midterm Exam. When I was in elementary school, I won first prize in an international competition, and I even received invitations from foreign universities to study there."

As always, Yamauchi Haruki was spouting nonsense. Presumably, the answers he received yesterday gave him confidence, and he started shouting again that he wanted to compete with Kanji Ike to see who could get a higher score.

However, since everyone in Class D was in a pretty good mood today, they didn't pay much attention to the two of them. Some were cramming for a couple of questions before the exam, while others were confidently discussing where to have dinner after the exam. Although Class D' s points were pitifully low, everyone still believed that points would increase after the Midterm Exam. No matter how many points they received, having some was always good.

The Midterm Exam at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School consist of five subjects in one day, with short breaks between each exam, making the schedule quite tight. Chabashira Sae arrived at Class D's classroom a little earlier than usual.

"No one is absent. It seems the whole class is present."

Although she had a bad feeling, at this point, Chabashira Sae could only put on a fearless smile and open the file bag containing the exam papers.

"For you bottom-of-the-barrel students, this is the first hurdle. Do you have any questions?"

At this point, even Chabashira Sae herself felt a little guilty. If there really was a problem with Class D' s midterm Midterm Exam, she would definitely be held responsible. Fortunately, Class D was still immersed in the joy of having the answers in their hands and didn't think about questioning Chabashira Sae about the exam scope.

"We've all been studying very hard these past few weeks. I don't think any student in this class will fail!"

Hirata Yosuke made the speech to boost morale, was quite confident. Apart from the answers Horikita Suzune had obtained, the students in Class D had indeed worked hard for the Midterm Exam. After all, even Sudo Yamauchi and Ike had diligently participated in the study sessions.

"Hirata, you're really confident."

Chabashira Sae around the classroom. The other students all seemed confident, and this confidence indirectly influenced her. She scribbled the exam papers neatly on the desk.

The first subject was social studies, which is arguably the easier one. Since it was the first subject, the answers were the ones everyone had memorized the most thoroughly. After all, a good start is beneficial for the rest of the exams.

If we get frustrated here, frankly, the remaining subjects will be an even tougher battle.

"If no one fails this exam or the final exam in July, I'll take everyone on vacation this summer."

Chabashira Sae's sudden words drew the attention of the entire class; both boys and girls were quickly captivated by a particular word.

"Vacation?"

"Yes, if everyone passes, the ocean and the resort island await. Let's work hard for that dream life in the future."

It has to be said that for the energetic boys in Class D, even a swimming class in class could excite them for a whole night, let alone a beach vacation. In their minds, the beach in summer was almost synonymous with girls' swimsuits and figures. Thinking about this, the Midterm Exam that were about to take place didn't seem so scary anymore.

After the exam papers were handed out, the person who replaced Chabashira Sae to proctor the exam was Mashima Tomoya, the homeroom teacher of Class A. This teacher, who looked very strong, actually taught English. The Midterm Exam at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School adopted a mixed proctoring model, with each class's homeroom teacher proctoring the exams together. Class A was responsible for Class D.

The moment Horikita Suzune received the exam paper, she noticed something was wrong with the questions. The answers she got from Kitagawa Ryo were indeed very similar to the exam questions, but many details of the questions were completely different. For example, the year in the fourth question was 1921, but Kitagawa Ryo's answer said 1920. Just by changing such details, the final result was completely different.

Although not every answer was corrected, and about 60% of the answers were correct, this actually confused many average students. They were initially confident in their answers, but in the end, they couldn't help but copy down the answers they had memorized. The preconceived notion led many people astray. High-achieving students like Horikita Suzune were able to spot the problem based on their basic knowledge, but most of the Class D students only slightly sensed that something was wrong and pondered whether to accept or reject the answers in their minds.

Even worse, Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike seemed completely oblivious to the problem with the questions, frantically copying down the answers from their minds onto the exam paper without even glancing at them. Horikita Suzune was just about to offer a hint...

"Answer..."

Unfortunately, the person standing on the Class D's podium at that moment was none other than the notoriously strict homeroom teacher of Class 1-A, who didn't care about the fate of Class D and reprimanded Horikita Suzune for her little antics without any politeness:

"Please be quiet, student! If you violate the exam rules again, I have the right to disqualify you from the exam."

Seeing Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike, who were still frantically answering questions without even realizing it, Horikita Suzune felt a dizzying sensation that almost made her faint. She gritted her teeth and continued answering the questions with the determination to break her pen.

"North, Sichuan, Liang."

She wondered if she owed this person something in her past life, because whenever she met him, Horikita Suzune always seemed to suffer losses. This feeling of being schemed against and yet being self-righteous instantly shattered all of Horikita Suzune's usual pride.

At this moment, Horikita Suzune finally realized a fundamental problem: her deal with Kitagawa Ryo was only verbal and no written contract had ever been signed. In other words, the other party never intended to give her the real answer in the first place.

Perhaps Kitagawa Ryo initially just casually threw out this fake answer, since Class D was no longer a threat to Class C, and there was no need to go to great lengths to target them. If he had been more decisive and simply rejected the answer, focusing instead on helping Class D with their revision...

Unfortunately, Horikita Suzune's greed and preconceived notions, stemming from her eagerness for quick success, pushed Class D one step closer to collapse.

"The answer... do not copy it verbatim."

"It's fake."

Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike, who had already started leisurely playing on their phones after the first exam, were struck by this devastating news.

"What?"

"Didn't Horikita confidently say yesterday that her answer was absolutely correct?"

"Actually, I noticed it just now; many of the answers don't match the questions."

"Oh, I thought I just didn't understand the question, so I just plugged in the answer without thinking."

"I just felt the answer was wrong. Maybe if Horikita hadn't given me the answer, I could have scored even higher."

Class D descended into chaos almost instantly. Horikita Suzune even overheard several people pre-arranged to shift the blame, but given the situation, she could only force herself to speak:

"There's still a chance to turn things around; the school's failing grade is based on the average score of each class."

"If those of you who are good at studying can manage your scores appropriately and lower the class average a little."

"Everyone has been studying hard... so we should be able to get Yamauchi and Ike through by the skin of their teeth."

"It's my responsibility... I'm sorry."

It's understandable that Horikita Suzune came up with this desperate solution. In fact, she had already deliberately left several major questions blank during the social studies exam, but most of the students in Class D barely passed the exam, so it wasn't realistic to expect them to control their scores. At this point, she could only hope that the top students in the class would lower their scores, because the answer key and the exam scope would have the least impact on them.

"I will do my best to control the score and won't let Chi and the others get expelled."

Hirata Yosuke was the first to respond, Kushida Kikyo also sensed the crisis in the situation. She quickly stepped forward and said that she would also deliberately leave a few questions blank. In the past, after the most popular boys and girls in Class D stood up, they would have received a more enthusiastic response. However, Class D seemed to have fallen into a dead silence, making Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo feel a little embarrassed.

"I refuse."

Yukimura, who was already Yukimura about being in Class D, adjusted his glasses: