Hard to Imagine This Is the Same Person

"Don't be so hasty. I'm not finished yet." Already losing patience? What came next would be even harder to accept.

Chabashira Sae smiled faintly, seeming unbothered.

"Only Class A can graduate from this school. The treatment you ultimately desire can only be obtained by Class A."

She laid out the cruel reality.

"How could this be..." Yamauchi Haruki's last shred of hope shattered. He lost all strength and slumped limply into his chair.

Chabashira Sae paid no attention to that pathetic reaction.

Instead, she focused on the few students who might still be worth expecting something from.

The situation was as expected.

They were full of fighting spirit.

The corner of Chabashira Sae's mouth curved upward slightly.

"The matter of living expenses is actually easy to resolve. You'll have an opportunity soon enough."

Chabashira Sae mentioned the midterm exams that would be coming before long.

Upon hearing that they could soon receive living expenses,

some of the people with lifeless eyes perked up again.

Pathetic fools. Don't they have any greater ambitions?

Chabashira Sae cursed inwardly.

"Not only that, if your class points surpass those of any other class, you can take its place."

Chabashira Sae spoke softly, like a demon whispering temptation.

Shi Cheng remained indifferent, not excited in the slightest.

He had thought the lack of living expenses would continue like this forever.

It turned out they had merely been trying to scare them.

How boring.

He had even been planning how to use this to secure more convenient benefits for himself.

But now, there was no need for that.

"We'll definitely replace Class A!" Yamauchi Haruki boldly declared, not taking the two classes in between seriously at all.

At least he had some spirit.

But remembering the spineless side he had shown just moments ago,

it was truly hard to imagine they were the same person.

Chabashira Sae was briefly surprised as well.

But that was all.

She had no expectations for Yamauchi Haruki whatsoever.

"The idea is beautiful, but reality is cruel." Chabashira Sae spoke without mercy, then posted another sheet on the blackboard.

Unlike the plain one from before, this one was densely packed with information.

"With grades this worthless, you think you can surpass Class A? Don't make me laugh."

Chabashira Sae had lost her smile by now, returning to her usual cold expression.

It was no wonder she was angry.

The questions on this test could be called extremely easy.

Yet they had still managed to get grades laughable enough to make people burst out laughing.

It was simply incomprehensible.

Chabashira Sae continued revealing the cruel facts.

"From now on, anyone who fails the midterms or final exams will be expelled."

Chabashira Sae coldly drew a red dividing line.

Shi Cheng looked over.

To his surprise, there were only seven people below it.

What kind of calculation was that? Shi Cheng blinked in confusion.

Shouldn't the passing line be sixty points?

After thinking it over, Shi Cheng decided not to ask.

It had nothing to do with him anyway.

Scratch, scratch, scratch!

Unlike the unconcerned Shi Cheng,

Horikita Suzune diligently took notes.

Shi Cheng turned to look at her.

He thought she was wasting her energy.

If even the most basic classroom rules required time to deal with, what hope was there?

"Any more questions?" Chabashira Sae quickly swept her gaze over the silent crowd, then shook her head in disappointment. "Class dismissed."

The moment she left, Horikita Suzune followed after her.

She clearly wanted to speak with her alone.

With her outstanding grades, Horikita Suzune naturally could not accept Chabashira Sae's insult or the school's unfair class assignments.

Ignoring Horikita Suzune's childish behavior, Shi Cheng turned to look behind him.

Now that she finally had a legitimate chance to speak to him again, Kato Megumi naturally would not let it pass.

"Is something wrong, Kato?"

Seeing that Shi Cheng did not seem upset at all, Kato Megumi sharply remarked, "Shi Cheng doesn't seem unwilling to accept this."

Kato Megumi felt a little uncomfortable, but after a brief inner struggle, she still accepted it calmly.

The reason was simple.

She knew herself well enough to know that there was nothing particularly outstanding about her.

Acknowledging it was one thing.

Actually making herself accept it wholeheartedly,

that was impossible.

Everyone had a rebellious streak.

She simply lacked the drive to act on it, so she wanted to hear Shi Cheng's opinion.

After all, he was the first person who had not ignored her.

Shi Cheng was special to her.

Shi Cheng shrugged calmly, utterly unconcerned.

"The school might not be completely right in arranging things this way, but it's probably right nine times out of ten. We should just accept it calmly."

"Shi Cheng is really straightforward." There was a faint hint of surprise in Kato Megumi's words. Wasn't he just like her?

Shi Cheng smiled. "Besides, if we can slap the school in the face under these circumstances, don't you think that would get your blood pumping, Kato?"

Kato Megumi's calm eyes trembled slightly as she followed his words and imagined it.

Her emotions immediately stirred again, though she quickly suppressed them.

Shi Cheng spread his hands and smiled. "It doesn't matter even if we fail."

"After all, no one would care. If we win, though, the rewards would be enormous."

Shi Cheng's voice trembled. "Just thinking about it is exciting."

"What are you talking about?" Horikita Suzune had just returned after hitting a wall.

With nowhere to vent the anger filling her chest, she wanted to hear some other voices.

She did not want to see Chabashira Sae for a while.

That damned old woman. She actually belittled me as though I were worthless.

The immensely prideful Horikita Suzune felt deeply wronged.

Other than her brother, no one could speak to her like that.

No one!

If not for the fact that Chabashira Sae was her teacher,

Horikita Suzune truly wanted to show her why flowers were so red.

Kato Megumi, whose life had been peaceful until now, had rarely felt so fired up. She immediately revealed their previous topic.

"Shi Cheng is preparing to rise up in rebellion."

"Oh!" Horikita Suzune, who considered herself above others and disdained starting from the same line as this class, became interested.

"What are you planning to do?"

Shi Cheng yawned. Naturally, he would take things one step at a time. What else could he do?

Of course, he could not say that.

He still had an objective he had not achieved with Horikita Suzune.

He could not say anything that would lower her impression of him.

Though it was not as if she had much of a good impression of him to begin with.

"I'll work as hard as I possibly can." Shi Cheng gave a thoroughly unserious answer with no actual direction for action.

The corner of Horikita Suzune's beautiful eye twitched, and she immediately covered her face.

She really had been naive enough to expect something.

Why had she thought Shi Cheng might have a good solution?

She had always relied on herself.

"Ridiculous." Horikita Suzune's voice was cold and calm, yet filled with deep mockery.

What kind of plan was that? It was simply laughable!

Shi Cheng did not hold back either. When it came to mocking people, he held an absolute advantage.

"Indeed." Shi Cheng nodded repeatedly in agreement, his expression calm.

"Like Horikita, running to the teacher to cry and complain is the correct approach."

Shi Cheng smiled faintly, saying more than a thousand words could. "Ordinary people could never think of that."

"You!" Horikita Suzune's mind went blank. She shakily pointed at Shi Cheng, too furious to speak.

Because she realized it.

She really had done exactly as Shi Cheng said.

She had chosen the most spineless approach possible.

Horikita Suzune bit her lip tightly, but in the end, she could not bring herself to bite down hard.

Flushed with embarrassment and anger, she said, "I'd like to see just how far you can get!"