Class Gathering

After listening, An Xiao didn't refuse. After all, he'd planned to get some more rules out of the upperclassmen later, so getting them directly from Hoshinomiya-sensei now was even better.

He took his phone out of his pocket, opened the recording he'd made yesterday, and played the entire thing for Hoshinomiya-sensei.

As she listened, Chie Hoshinomiya couldn't help clicking her tongue in admiration.

"I didn't think you were as honest as you looked, kid. You really had that Class D student wrapped around your finger."

Hearing one piece of information after another that An Xiao had managed to draw out of the recording's speaker, Chie Hoshinomiya asked curiously,

"You got pretty lucky this time. You ran into a third-year. If you'd met a second-year..."

"Then we probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere from the start." An Xiao rolled his eyes. "At the very least, getting this information would've cost me something."

"Like buying it from them with points."

"Not bad, not bad. You're pretty clever." Chie Hoshinomiya nodded with satisfaction at An Xiao's answer.

Just then, the recording came to an end. After learning what information An Xiao had gathered, Chie Hoshinomiya couldn't help feeling impressed.

It was remarkable that the kid in front of her had managed to get so much out of him. If it had been someone from another class—even Class C—they'd probably have realized something was off after talking about so many things from the past.

But that person in the recording...

All she could say was, no wonder he was a Class D student!

"I've got the general idea. Although the student's explanation was a bit jumbled, the rules he mentioned are more or less correct."

"That makes it easier for me to fill in the gaps."

Chie Hoshinomiya tapped her fingers on the desk a few times, thought for a moment, then said, "There aren't really any other rules, but there are two points that need special emphasis."

As she spoke, Chie Hoshinomiya held up two fingers and waved them in front of An Xiao.

"First, you may want to think more carefully about how the school views each class. That'll be a big help to you early on."

"Second, this school really does take points above all else, in the literal sense. Points can do anything here. It just depends on whether you know how to use them."

"Besides transferring classes and avoiding expulsion, which I mentioned earlier, they can accomplish a lot of things. They can even help you 'cheat' to a certain extent."

"You'll have to figure out how for yourself."

As Chie Hoshinomiya spoke, her tone grew rather suggestive.

"Come to think of it, I'm pretty curious how you'll use all those points in the future."

"Points can do anything, huh..."

An Xiao muttered to himself. Then, as if he'd thought of something, he suddenly looked up and stared intently at Chie Hoshinomiya.

"Then can I skip class?"

"...You've got quite the imagination, but obviously that's impossible." Chie Hoshinomiya replied with a wry look. "At the end of the day, this is still a school, and you're still a student. The school obviously can't let you do that, at least not officially."

"Tsk."

"All right, all right. That's enough for today. It's getting late."

After explaining everything, Chie Hoshinomiya was ready to send him on his way. But just before An Xiao left, she asked curiously, "By the way, An Xiao, do you have some other things in your pocket? They feel like little blocks, and you've got quite a lot of them."

"Oh, these..." An Xiao casually reached into his left pocket, then handed Hoshinomiya-sensei a small piece wrapped in candy paper.

"I made these candies myself. I sometimes get a little low on blood sugar, so I always keep some in my pocket."

"They come in all sorts of flavors. Would you like to try one, teacher?"

"Then I'll take one." Chie Hoshinomiya accepted the candy with a grin and watched An Xiao leave.

After An Xiao was gone, Chie Hoshinomiya carefully examined the candy he'd just given her, rolling it between her fingers.

"I never thought he could make candy, too. He's got quite a few talents."

Chie Hoshinomiya muttered to herself, then casually peeled off the wrapper and popped the candy into her mouth. The next moment, her whole face scrunched up.

"Ugh, so sour."

"So the one I gave teacher was concentrated lemon flavor. What a shame. It really wakes you up."

Meanwhile, in the hallway, An Xiao sorted through his remaining candies as he looked over the two messages he'd just received.

One was the transfer notification for the twenty thousand points he already knew about.

And the other was...

An Xiao opened Line and saw a new message pop up in his chat with Honami Ichinose.

[Honami Ichinose: An Xiao, I thought again about what you told me earlier, and I think you were right.]

[Honami Ichinose: If we want to achieve that goal, the whole class working together is the best way.]

[Honami Ichinose: So I'm thinking of organizing a get-together tonight to bring everyone together and tell them about all this. Do you think that's okay?]

Seeing the string of messages, An Xiao raised his eyebrows in surprise. He agreed without much hesitation.

The sooner everyone found out, the better. That way, they wouldn't lose too many Class Points over the next month because of this or that.

Those were points, after all!!

Not long after An Xiao replied, Ichinose sent another message.

It contained an address—Birch Shopping Center, xxx KTV—and a time: five in the afternoon.

Had she already decided on the time and place for the gathering?

An Xiao scrolled up and down on his phone screen. Less than ten minutes had passed between his message to Ichinose and this one.

That was... absurdly fast!