The Uninhabited Island Special Exam Begins

However, Kitagawa Ryo never considered contacting her. He always had a vague feeling that this girl seemed to harbor a deep Malice towards Horikita Suzune, which made him instinctively reject her.

"I went shopping with Kushida the other day, and we ran into Horikita on the way. Her attitude seemed a bit strange."

Karuizawa Kei seemed to have noticed this as well. At first, she simply felt that Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo were incompatible, but recently she discovered that the two seemed to have some kind of grudge between them. However, it seemed to be one-sided on Kushida Kikyo's part, as Horikita Suzune didn't seem to care much about the other party.

"But these are minor issues; it's normal for girls to have a little annoyance with each other."

A little worried that the conversation might veer towards Horikita Suzune, Karuizawa Kei quickly stopped it and instead took out some small items from her bag:

"Ta-da!"

"Perfume!"

Kitagawa Ryo looked at the delicate little bottle placed in the other person's palm:

How many points?

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Just don't ask such jarring questions again in the future."

Karuizawa Kei flipped her palm over and brought the perfume to Kitagawa Ryo's nose:

"How is it? Does it smell good?"

The sweet scent of roses instantly filled my nostrils; it wasn't particularly strong, but the aftertaste was lingering, gently tugging at my heartstrings.

"Why are there roses again?"

"Um?"

Karuizawa Kei heard Kitagawa Ryo's quiet mutter, but she didn't pay it any mind and explained naturally:

"Because every girl who loves perfume is searching for her own rose."

"White Rose represent purity, Red Rose represent passionate love, and what happens after that is no longer the rose's concern."

Kitagawa Ryo watched as the girl gently inhaled the fragrance of the perfume, and Karuizawa Kei exuded a pure beauty. With her eyes closed and the perfume placed against her chest, this prayer-like posture momentarily captivated Kitagawa Ryo.

"Oh, right, this one."

Karuizawa Kei seemed to suddenly remember something, hurriedly stuffing the perfume back into her bag, and then taking out another bottle with a wooden packaging:

"This is for you."

She didn't say anything about it being a free gift when she bought it or something she bought on a whim. Karuizawa Kei earnestly handed the perfume to Kitagawa Ryo:

"I spent a long time choosing..."

"I think it would be perfect for cooling down."

Kitagawa Ryo took the small bottle of perfume and sniffed it lightly. He knew a lot about the various scents of flowers, herbs and trees, and almost instantly he could distinguish the top notes of basil leaves, wormwood and mint, with a hint of citrus in the middle, and lavender as the main note. However, Kitagawa Ryo could also smell the faint scent of rose mixed in, and finally the fragrance of incense.

This is a standard men's fragrance. Looking at the girl's expectant yet hesitant eyes, Kitagawa Ryo ultimately couldn't bring himself to refuse it.

"I've accepted it."

Seeing that Kitagawa Ryo had accepted her gift, Karuizawa Kei breathed a small sigh of relief. Smelling the fresh scent of herbs emanating from Kitagawa Ryo, she even had a dazed feeling that she was imprinting her own scent onto the boy in front of her.

However, Karuizawa Kei didn't dislike this hazy feeling. On the contrary, she was enjoying the mingling of their scents, which gave her the vague illusion that the two of them were holding hands. She quickly took a few steps forward, only to see Kitagawa Ryo suddenly turn around and pin her against a tree.

"There is someone."

Karuizawa Kei snapped back to reality the moment she saw Kitagawa Ryo mouth the words to her. Although the two had deliberately chosen a secluded spot outside the surveillance range to exchange information, there was still a risk of being seen by passing students. Other grades would be fine, but if First Year saw Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Kei —the leaders of Class 1-C and Class D —communicating privately, it would definitely escalate into a serious situation, and their relationship might even be exposed.

This consequence sent a chill down Karuizawa Kei's spine, but she didn't lose her ability to think and reacted quickly:

"You called me here for something so trivial?"

Karuizawa Kei forcefully pushed away Kitagawa Ryo's arm, leaned against the tree with her arms crossed, and impatiently tapped the ground with her right foot as she asked in return.

"I'm just a little interested because I heard that Karuizawa obtained a huge number of points from Class B that were enough to offset her debts."

Kitagawa Ryo wasn't annoyed. With his back to the person behind him, his tone remained completely normal.

"Your points have already been paid this month, and I really don't want to see you. I suggest sending someone else next month when you pay your points."

Karuizawa Kei showed none of the girlishness she had displayed moments before, and spoke with a strong, assertive tone:

"Are you still holding a grudge about Class B, Kitagawa?"

"Tsk."

Seemingly having his sore spot touched by Karuizawa Kei, Kitagawa Ryo clicked his tongue in exasperation:

"If it weren't for your Class D interfering without permission, Class B would be Class C by now."

"That's also because Ryuen from Class C was careless and left himself vulnerable."

Karuizawa Kei raised an eyebrow and smiled:

"To be honest, I'm also quite curious about what price you paid to achieve reconciliation between Class B and Class C."

"That's not your concern."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head with a gloomy expression:

Even if Class D benefits from this, it's just a drop in the ocean. With four students dropping out, Class D has essentially lost its competitive edge in future class competitions.

"That's none of your concern, Kitagawa."

Karuizawa Kei responded bluntly with her own words, directly confronting Kitagawa Ryo:

"It seems that not being able to crush Class D with debt is making you a little upset. Well, such tricks only work once and won't work again. Whether it's you or Ryuen, in the end, you're all just using underhanded methods. Class D will surpass Class C sooner or later."

"Then I'll really have to wait and see."

Kitagawa Ryo sneered:

"But Class D should just pray they pass the Final Exam. If four students drop out like they did in the Midterm Exam, tsk tsk."

After saying that, Kitagawa Ryo walked out of the woods without looking back, and Karuizawa Kei also walked out from the other side with a pout.

It wasn't until quite some time after the two left that a robust man emerged from behind the tree, holding a digital camera in his hand.

"Boss, Task Completed."

The man spoke softly to his collar.

"Complete my foot! And you're even trying to sound sophisticated in English."

Kitagawa Ryo walked silently behind Ishizaki Daichi and gave him a slap without any hesitation.

"Addicted to playing a secret agent, huh? There's practically nothing on your collar except for your drool from last night."

"Hehe... I'm getting into character, I'm getting into character."

Ishizaki Daichi chuckled sheepishly, scratching his head. Ever since Kitagawa Ryo asked him to film on the first day of school, the kid had been on a one-way street of secretly filming. Originally, the plan was to have Ryuen Kakeru come today, but Ishizaki Daichi firmly took on the job:

"But boss, what did you mean by lying just now?"

"Let's test Hui's ability to react on the spot."

Kitagawa Ryo, flipping through the video Ishizaki Daichi had just recorded, casually replied:

"And who knows, it might come in handy later."

That evening, just as Karuizawa Kei Kitagawa Ryo confidently knocking on Kitagawa Ryo's door, intending to boast about her quick wit and resourcefulness during the day, she saw the following scene playing repeatedly on the television in the living room:

"You called me here for something so trivial?"

"You called me here for something so trivial?"

"You called me here for something so trivial?"

In the scene, he is pushing away Kitagawa Ryo's hand with a look of disgust, but with repeated shots, he exudes a kind of tsundere charm the more you look at him.

"Oh, that was a good performance."

Kitagawa Ryo commented while eating potato chips, noting the faint scent of lavender perfume emanating from him.

"Cold."

"Um?"

Karuizawa Kei appeared beside Kitagawa Ryo at some point, and spoke with a radiant smile:

Give me your hand.

Kitagawa Ryo stretched out his right hand with a puzzled look, only to have Karuizawa Kei grab it and gently bite it, with about the same force as Hotaru, leaving only a shallow tooth mark on the back of Kitagawa Ryo's right hand.

"You lied to me!"

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Uninhabited Island Special Exam

In early August, the Final Exam at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School finally ended, marking the end of the first semester for first-year First Year. First Year month-long summer vacation awaited them, and no Student Council could possibly dislike summer vacation, especially since the school had already announced that it would take all First Year Luxury Cruise Ship to Uninhabited Island. This shocking news not only made people marvel at the school's wealth but also added to their anticipation for the summer vacation.

I've heard that the first thing you see when you open a door determines your fortune for the day.

Kitagawa Ryo stroked his chin, looking out the door at Ishizaki Daichi, already dressed in brightly colored beach clothes and wearing large sunglasses, and Ishizaki Daichi Yamada Albert, dressed similarly and wearing a beach hat.

"Have the girls in our class become so few that I need the two of you to wake me up?"

"Sir."

Ishizaki Daichi adjusted his sunglasses, and Yamada Albert took out a small notebook from his pocket:

"FBI, open the door."

Kitagawa Ryo ignored the antics of Ishizaki Daichi, took the small notebook from Yamada's hand, flipped through it, and put it in his pocket:

Is everyone in the class here?

"Everyone's here! Brother Ryuen is organizing things downstairs; we'll be catching the bus soon."

"Five o'clock in the morning, that's quite rare."

Kitagawa Ryo glanced at the clock on the wall and yawned:

"If only you were this proactive when you were studying."

Although there were no answers for the first First Year Final Exam, all the students in Class C passed with the help of Shiina Hiyori and Kaneda Satoru. In fact, they were able to stay there until the end of the first semester. Even the students in Class D had made considerable progress since the beginning of the semester. Therefore, no students failed or dropped out during the entire First Year.

"Hehe, although the boss said this was probably Special Exam arranged by the school, it's still Luxury Cruise Ship, such a huge cruise ship!"

Ishizaki Daichi stretched out his arms excitedly, clearly looking forward to the cruise vacation. However, for these sixteen or seventeen-year-old high school students, the combination of the words "Luxury Cruise Ship vacation" was indeed enough to keep them awake at night. It seemed that their mindset would be hard to change until the real Special Exam officially began.

"Alright, let's go."

Kitagawa Ryo didn't need to take anything, since the school had taken care of everything. He just made sure he had his phone and student ID. Kitagawa Ryo then walked down from the dormitory building with Ishizaki Daichi and Yamada.

Just as Ishizaki Daichi had said, almost all the students in Class C had arrived. Both boys and girls wore bright smiles similar to Ishizaki Daichi's, discussing their upcoming two-week vacation with great anticipation.

Class teacher Sakagami Kazuma, as always, had a calm expression. Unlike the students who were laughing and joking in their casual clothes, he was still dressed in a formal suit, like a teacher taking elementary school students on a spring outing. After seeing Kitagawa Ryo yawning as he walked downstairs, he announced that all the students in Class C had arrived and led them onto the bus that was already parked nearby.

The seats on the bus were arranged in pairs, and no one in the class had been rumored to be dating this semester (except for the rumored relationship between Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori), so everyone tacitly agreed to have the girls sit in the back and the boys sit in the front.

Although a certain lady tried to sit next to Kitagawa Ryo, before she could even speak, the next second, another long-haired woman... no, it was Ryuen Kakeru unceremoniously sat down in that seat:

"Why do you seem just as relaxed and careless as them?"

Ryuen Kakeru was just about to discuss the Special Exam with Kitagawa Ryo when he saw Kitagawa Ryo lying by the window like a primary school student, whistling and looking at the scenery, with a leisurely expression as if he were really going on vacation.

"Didn't you say you were going to take this opportunity to reverse the deficit between Classes B and C, and also close the gap with Class A in one fell swoop?"

"Um..."

Kitagawa Ryo turned his head and thought about it seriously:

Did I say that?

"... Okay, that was just my personal opinion. I think Kitagawa probably thinks the same way I do."

"Before we set off, I did share the same thoughts as you, and I had already made some small preparations."

Kitagawa Ryo leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, his face filled with grief.

"But it was only when I was actually leaving that I noticed a very serious problem."

"Um?"

Hearing the seriousness in Kitagawa Ryo's tone, Ryuen Kakeru was also somewhat moved, and leaned closer to ask in a low voice:

"Your relationship with Karuizawa Kei has been discovered?"

"Almost."