Bus storm! Qiu Shan Shen's initial judgment and deep thinking?!

April.

The morning breeze over Tokyo Bay still carried a hint of chill, yet it could not hold back the encroaching warmth of spring.

A bus was traveling steadily across the Cross-Sea Bridge that connected the mainland to that legendary institution.

Outside the window.

Pink cherry blossom petals were swept up by the wind.

They drifted across the deep blue sea like sprites.

The bus's destination was the renowned Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

This state-mandated key school was famous for its core philosophy of absolute Meritocracy, which had achieved an astonishing 100% rate of advancement to higher education and employment.

Whether a student wished to enter a top-tier university or head straight into an ideal career, it seemed that everything could be easily realized here.

Furthermore, the school's regulations were extremely lenient; there were no restrictions on hair color, makeup, or personal clothing, requiring only that students wear their uniforms during school hours.

However, in contrast to this, the school enforced a near-total lockdown policy. For three years, unless there were special circumstances, students were strictly forbidden from leaving this Artificial Island.

But as compensation, the school not only waived all tuition, room, and board fees for every student, but its internal facilities were also staggeringly luxurious.

On this Artificial Island spanning over six hundred thousand square meters, there were, of course, school buildings, dormitories, and libraries.

There were also large shopping malls, retail centers, karaoke bars, cafes, various restaurants, gyms, and even a hospital equipped with comprehensive medical facilities.

Every need for daily life and entertainment could be met without ever leaving the island; its scale and level of completeness far exceeded that of an ordinary university, making it a veritable paradise in the eyes of students.

Inside the bus.

Most of the passengers were freshmen of the Advanced Nurturing High School.

Their uniform attire highlighted their status.

The boys wore crisp, wine-red suit jackets over clean white shirts with dark blue ties, paired with dark green trousers and polished black leather shoes.

The girls wore the same wine-red suits and white shirts, but with blue ribbons at their collars, paired with pure white pleated skirts and dainty black shoes, radiating the vitality of youth.

In the middle section of the bus, in a single seat by the window, a black-haired boy was quietly gazing at the seascape flashing by outside.

His elbow rested on the window frame, his chin propped in his palm in a lazy posture, though his eyes—partially obscured by wisps of black hair—were filled with doubt and contemplation.

His name was Akiyama Shin, one of the freshmen for this year.

Standing at one hundred and eighty-three centimeters, he was tall and slender, yet beneath his well-fitted uniform, one could faintly discern the well-defined muscle lines of someone who exercised.

He was the typical "lean in clothes, muscular out of them" type.

His handsome face, combined with his messy black hair and the dark red pupils—reminiscent of settled blood—that occasionally peeked through his bangs, gave him an aura that kept others at a distance.

At this moment, Akiyama Shin was repeatedly scrutinizing the promotional slogans of this "paradise" academy in his mind.

He had not been specially recruited for his excellence; on the contrary, it was because his family's financial situation could not cover the costs of a regular high school that he had come to this tuition-free school upon the strong recommendation of his middle school teacher.

Precisely because of this, he understood better than anyone that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

A one-hundred-percent rate of advancement and employment?

The cost of tuition, food, and lodging for every student over three years alone was an astronomical sum.

Add to that the salaries of the faculty and staff, as well as the operating costs for those over-spec facilities...

Where did this massive amount of funding come from?

And how could they guarantee such perfect results?

To Akiyama Shin, this sounded like a fairy tale.

Unless.

There was some unknown wordplay hidden within it.

He calmly analyzed the possibilities. The first was that certain conditions had to be met.

Since the school explicitly promoted Meritocracy, the manifestation of this "merit" must be tied to some form of assessment or standard; if one failed to meet the standard, one would be unable to enjoy that one-hundred-percent promise.

The second possibility was simpler and more direct.

And far more cruel.

They simply needed to "dispose" of the students who lacked ability before graduation.

For instance, by using methods like expulsion to ensure that the students who finally graduated were all elites.

If that were the case, achieving a one-hundred-percent rate of advancement and employment would be easy to manipulate in the statistics.

In Akiyama Shin's view, these two possibilities were the most likely.

Furthermore, the school provided so many entertainment and consumption venues, regardless of one's hairstyle or clothing, which effectively constituted a closed-off mini-society.

Since money from the outside world was rendered useless, there must be an alternative currency circulating within this mini-society; it was highly likely that this currency was distributed in the form of electronic points, special vouchers, or some other medium.

This design deliberately downplayed the concept of traditional money while acting as its equivalent, much like gold coins or premium currency in an online game.

"If such points truly exist..."

Akiyama Shin mused to himself.

"In that case, the competition within this school will likely be more intense than anyone could imagine."

How are points acquired?

What are points used for?

How do points relate to evaluations, or even one's continued enrollment?

All of these could become the fuse for conflict.

Competition could break out between classmates, between different classes, or even between different grade levels.

Just as Akiyama Shin's thoughts were deepening, a crisp, pleasant voice filled with genuine kindness and a hint of pleading interrupted his train of thought.

"Um... excuse me..."

"Would you mind giving up your seat for this elderly lady?"

Akiyama Shin turned his head toward the aisle.

The person speaking was a very cute girl with soft, golden-brown short hair and a slender figure, though her chest was far more developed than most girls her age.

Her light purple eyes were clear and captivating, though at this moment, they were filled with a touch of distress as she looked toward a seat not far in front of Akiyama Shin.

Beside her stood an elderly woman with gray hair, leaning on a cane with a hunched posture, appearing to have difficulty walking.

The person the girl was asking was a boy sitting in the Priority Seat.

He had long, golden hair and was currently, as if no one else existed, playing with a small mirror and admiring his own reflection.

Hearing the request, the golden-haired boy put away his mirror unhurriedly, turned his head, and spoke slowly.

"Oh~"

"That is truly an unbeautiful request~"

His narrow eyes swept over Kushida Kikyo, and the corners of his mouth curled into a mocking smirk.

"However, if it were anyone else, perhaps they would be unable to refuse, given that they are sitting in a Priority Seat and receiving a request from such a cute girl—but!"

He paused.

His tone carried a sense of pride, like a proclamation.

"The thing I, Koenji Rokusuke, love most is saying NO to a girl like you who thinks so highly of herself!"

The smile on Kushida Kikyo's face froze instantly; that look of distress and kindness seemed to have been locked in place.

Her light purple pupils contracted slightly, as if she had never expected such a response.

She opened her mouth instinctively, as if wanting to say something but not knowing how to retort, and a flush of embarrassment and the grievance of being misunderstood quickly rose to her face.

Looking pitiful, she lowered her head slightly, her voice trembling with a hint of a sob.

"I... I'm sorry... I just thought that the elderly lady..."

However, deep within her lowered eyes, in a world of her own that no one could see, the scene was entirely different.

That narcissistic idiot!

Golden-haired ape!

Is there nothing in that bastard's brain other than his own face?!

I asked so sincerely, and I even brought up the elderly lady, yet he actually dared to refuse?!

Sitting in a Priority Seat and refusing to give it up, and he thinks he's in the right?!

Damn it! Now I'm just a fool who meddled in other people's business and got a cold shoulder, aren't I?

What will the people in this carriage think of me?

I couldn't even handle such a small thing...

Damn you, Koenji! Go to hell!

Her heart was roaring!

But on the surface, her shoulders only trembled slightly, as if she were struggling to suppress the sadness of being treated so rudely.

This sudden refusal caused the previously noisy carriage to fall quiet in an instant.

Many gazes focused on them, filled with surprise, confusion, and even a hint of condemnation.

"Hey, no way... he actually refused?"

"Even if the girl was a bit sudden, the other person is an elderly woman, and he's sitting in a Priority Seat..."

"That Koen-something guy has been acting weird since he got on the train..."

"That's just too lacking in manners..."

"Even if he didn't want to give it up, he didn't have to say it like that..."

"How pitiful, she was only trying to be kind..."

Whispers erupted throughout the carriage.

Most people felt dissatisfied with Koenji Rokusuke's reaction. In Japanese society, where there is a pervasive norm of not inconveniencing others and respecting the elderly, Kushida Kikyo's actions were a virtuous deed that met social expectations. Koenji's blunt, mocking refusal undoubtedly shattered this unspoken agreement, making him the target of public criticism.

Akiyama Shin observed the scene with a calm gaze.

His eyes shifted from the indifferent expression on Koenji Rokusuke's face to the teary-eyed look of Kushida Kikyo, then swept across the whispering classmates nearby.

Akiyama Shin immediately formed a preliminary judgment of Koenji Rokusuke: an extreme individualist who was entirely self-centered, followed his own whims as his sole code of conduct, and felt no fear whatsoever about becoming the center of attention.

To Akiyama Shin, the "unbeautiful request" and "self-righteousness" Koenji spoke of did not sound like mere excuses.

Instead, they pointed, to a certain extent, to a sense of coercion inherent in Kushida Kikyo's actions.

She was leveraging the moral pressure of the Priority Seat and her identity as a cute girl to attempt to force the other party to submit to her "kindness."

Yet, Koenji had keenly sensed this and had unceremoniously pierced through it.

Logically speaking, Koenji's viewpoint was not entirely without merit; in Japan, where Priority Seats lacked mandatory legal enforcement, they were more of a moral appeal, and he truly had no obligation to yield his seat.

However, Akiyama Shin's attention was focused more on the girl with the golden-brown bob.

The target she had chosen was precise: Koenji, the person in the entire carriage who, from a moral standpoint, was most expected to give up his seat.

Her expression and tone were impeccable, perfectly fitting the image of a compassionate, beautiful girl.

But it was precisely this perfection that made Akiyama Shin feel a sense of discord; the grievance and embarrassment she displayed after being so bluntly rejected were very natural.

Yet, Akiyama Shin vaguely caught a trace of annoyance and anger beneath the surface, as if her plans had been disrupted.

A desire for attention...?

Or perhaps... a tendency to accumulate social capital and the approval of others through acts of kindness?

Akiyama Shin speculated silently in his heart.

Regardless of her true inner thoughts, her actions had effectively molded her into the image of a kind, helpful victim who had been treated rudely in return.

At the same time, she had placed Koenji Rokusuke in an unfavorable position; if this was acting, her performance was quite exquisite, and if it was instinct, then her social patterns were worthy of deep vigilance.

He silently took note of this girl, as well as the headstrong Koenji Rokusuke.

He cast his gaze back out the window, where the Cross-Sea Bridge was already nearing its end.

That artificial island, surrounded by cherry blossoms and filled with facilities like a metropolis—the Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School!