A Bonanza

"Excuse me! What do you think is this school's defining feature, senpai?"

Chang Shui struck up a conversation with an upperclassman who was free at the moment.

"The S System," said Senior A.

"Putting the swimming pool aside, the S System," said Senior B.

"The S System. After all, everything at this school is bought with points through the S System," said Senior C.

"The S System and the Special Exams. What's up, underclassman? Want to know more? Today's special price," said Senior D.

Chang Shui sat in class, mulling over what the upperclassmen had told him.

He now understood just how important points were. On the other hand, The Three Idiots were completely absorbed in swimming class.

"Haha—today's class is simply wonderful! I was looking forward to it so much I couldn't sleep all night."

The swimming class The Three Idiots had been looking forward to most was coming up.

(It's because it's swimming class, right? You get to see Class D's big assets. What a bunch of horny monkeys. They even made a ranking of the girls' assets. With your pathetic level of secrecy, the girls already know about it. Whenever I pass by, those huge, brazen Chinese characters are impossible to miss.)

(Sigh, with Kushida's connections, there's no way she doesn't know, right? It's strange that she looks so unbothered. Has she gotten too used to being a good person? What a poor girl.)

Chang Shui was a little puzzled by Kushida's attitude.

"Hahaha, this school is amazing! I never expected swimming classes to start this early in the year. When you think of swimming class, you think of girls! And when you think of girls, you think of school swimsuits!"

Ike made no effort to hide his lecherous thoughts and shouted them out loud.

"Hey, hey, keep it down. Are you worried no one can hear how creepy you sound?"

Chang Shui bluntly called them out for being perverts.

The swimming lessons were co-ed. In other words, he would get to see Horikita, Kushida, and plenty of other girls in their school swimsuits...and see their bare skin. But Ike and Yamauchi were making such a fuss that they had already annoyed some of the girls.

The Three Idiots were about to protest, but the collective look of disgust on the girls' faces made them promptly swallow their words.

At that point, Ayanokoji actually walked over and joined the conversation, making Chang Shui wonder if he was a horny monkey too.

(Doesn't seem like it. He's got that emotionless vibe.) Chang Shui thought.

"Doctor, you'll make sure to record all the data, right?" The Three Idiots asked Sotomura to take his notes seriously.

"Leave it to me." Sotomura patted his chest to show how serious he was..

The students in swimming class were doing warm-up exercises before getting in the water.

Ike kept sneaking peeks at the girls, looking incredibly lecherous. When he dipped underwater to take a look, he didn't care at all about his image. Even though he couldn't swim, he was willing to sink all the way to the bottom of the pool for a chance to ogle them.

The Two Loners were chatting, while most of the girls were diligently practicing.

"Why aren't you two getting in?"

It was none other than Chang Shui Jing, one of the few people in the class who spoke to The Two Loners.

"Oh! Chang Shui, you're really muscular. Especially your forearms—they're surprisingly big. I wouldn't have guessed you and Ayanokoji both worked out," Horikita remarked.

"With a build like that, do you box?" Ayanokoji asked.

"Ayanokoji, you seem to know your stuff. Are there any sports you're good at?" Chang Shui asked curiously.

"No. I was in the Going-Home Club in middle school. I was born this way," Ayanokoji replied.

Attention, everyone. First place in swimming gets five thousand points, the swimming teacher announced loudly.

"What a beautiful body," Beautiful Guy remarked, unexpectedly joining the conversation.

"What about you? Do you do bodybuilding, Beautiful Guy?"

"Hmph, I don't mind your nickname for me. How about it? Want to see who comes in first?"

"Gladly!"

[Teacher, Koenji and I would like to compete in a diving race.]

All right, no problem. Get ready...go! The teacher blew the whistle.

Koenji's form was impeccable, like a professional athlete who had trained countless times.

"Go, Chang Shui!" Kushida cheered, and the girls around her joined in. "You can do it!"

(Thank you, Kushida-chan.)

Koenji: 25.50

Chang Shui: 27.00

"Wow, you're both promising swimmers. How about joining the swimming club?"

"Sorry, teacher. I've already joined the Sanda Club," Chang Shui replied.

"What a shame, what a shame. I thought Sudo was fast at thirty seconds, but it turns out we've got two more prodigies," the teacher said with a sigh.

"I'm beautiful, but you're not bad yourself, managing to keep up with me," Beautiful Guy said, unusually praising someone else.

After getting out of the pool, Chang Shui sensed the atmosphere around him had shifted a little. The boys smelled of jealousy, while the girls smelled of admiration.

(Not bad. I like this feeling. Of course, I'm not going to show off about it.)

"Chang Shui, you're so cool!"

Kushida said.

"Can you teach me how to swim that fast?"

"God gave Kushida her looks and took away her athletic ability," Chang Shui replied perfectly.

"Hey, Chang Shui, that's so unfair. You're complimenting me at a time like this."

Kushida seemed delighted, which made Yamauchi and Ike grit their teeth with envy.

"Damn it, that Chang Shui. He's got to be a heartless womanizer. Sooner or later, I'll expose his true colors to Kushida. Then she'll come around and choose me."

"Kikyo, don't get taken in by a handsome face. Keep calm. I heard he knows Ichinose from Class B, too. He even goes out of his way to greet her when they pass each other."

"Wow, he's definitely a womanizer. Starting tomorrow, I'm tailing him to find proof he's cheating."

Yamauchi and Ike whispered behind his back.

"By the way, Kushida, why are you going out of your way to be friends with Horikita? I've noticed you've been really persistent."

Chang Shui was a little puzzled by Kushida's determination.

"Well, I just want to be good friends with everyone."

Kushida answered with a picture-perfect cute expression.

"That sounds exhausting. Don't push yourself too hard and wear yourself out."

"Not at all! I'm happy, and I'm always full of energy." Kushida waved both hands to show she wouldn't give up.

"Kana, I have to go. See you." Chang Shui waved goodbye.

Unlike the relaxed atmosphere of swimming class, the classroom was a different story.

"I'm sorry, Kushida. Could you lend me just a few points? I'm running short," Sato pleaded, holding her hands together above her head.

"Sorry, I borrowed my points from an upperclassman too," Kushida said, indicating she couldn't help.

The area around Class D was filled with groans from students who were short on points. This was the bitter fruit of what they'd sown at the start of the school year.

"Sigh. Poor things."

Chang Shui sighed as he read the detective novel Journey Under the Midnight Sun in the library. He'd originally planned to look for something like a school history book and search for clues, but he couldn't resist flipping through a novel.

"Does the environment turn people into monsters, or were they monsters to begin with?"

He'd just finished chatting with a beautiful girl, all so he could get to the end of this book sooner.

"There are two things in this world you must never look at directly: the human heart and the sun."

"Human nature can't withstand a test. What happens to people when they run out of points?"

Chang Shui thought it over. Probably, they'd each look out for themselves. If people borrowed points from me, why should I have to pay them back? They borrowed them through their own ability.

"Even good people can't be good to everyone, all the time."

Someone suddenly spoke to Chang Shui.

She had silver hair and purple eyes, and an airy, soft aura that made her seem adorable.

She wore a cool-toned outfit with gray knee-high socks.

[From Letter.]

She held up her book, indicating that the quote she'd just recited came from it.

"It's you. I've seen you around here a lot, fellow book lover."

Chang Shui recognized regulars at the library.

"Likewise. Shiina Hiyori."

"Chang Shui Jing. I didn't expect to find such a cute girl in Class C. Have you been hurt in class?" Chang Shui introduced himself, then expressed concern about the situation faced by the students in Class C, since there were a lot of delinquents.

"No, no, I'm not that cute," Shiina replied.

"Is being cute the important part? Do you read Keigo Higashino too, Shiina?"

"I'm a fan of detective novels, so yes."

"Haha, fellow book lover—what's your favorite novel?"

"The next one."

"Wow, that was unexpectedly heartless," Chang Shui said, complimenting Shiina's answer.

"No, I'm just a nobody, Chang Shui." Shiina picked up another book, The Golden Slumber, and explained when she noticed him staring at it.

"I haven't finished it, so..."

"Don't worry. As a fellow book lover, you can come to me if anything happens. I'm surprisingly good at handling Class C's problems."

Chang Shui showed off his forty-centimeter forearms, startling Shiina into letting out a little "doki."

"I used to be a boxer, so my forearms are pretty strong. It's lunchtime already. Sorry, I should get going."

Chang Shui threw a few light punches into the air, making a whooshing sound.

"Take care," Shiina said, watching Chang Shui's retreating figure.