Time flew by, and before they knew it, a month had passed.
After taking yet another quiz, An Xiao and the others safely made it into the next month.
May 1.
The day another round of points was handed out.
"An Xiao, An Xiao, do you think our class will manage to move up this time?"
"Or maybe we'll be just a tiny bit short again."
As soon as he took his seat, Honami Ichinose, sitting in front of An Xiao, turned around nervously, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists.
"It'll be pretty difficult," An Xiao answered honestly.
If it were that easy for Class B to move up to Class A, then the school's initial class placements would have been rather ridiculous.
Besides...
An Xiao explained helplessly, "Even if they didn't know the rules at all during the first month, given their abilities, they wouldn't have lost many points over the course of a month."
"They probably won't be far behind our class."
"I see... Then we'll just have to keep working hard."
Watching Honami Ichinose look a little disappointed when she heard the news, then immediately pump her fist to encourage herself, An Xiao felt a strange itch in his heart.
He spoke without thinking. "Ichinose, has anyone ever told you that you're really cute when you do that?"
But as soon as the words were out, he regretted them a little.
"Mm!?"
After letting out an adorable squeak, a blush crept across Ichinose's fair cheeks, and she grew embarrassed. She murmured something in a voice as faint as a mosquito's, then lowered her head.
Just as the atmosphere between them was turning a little awkward, Chie Hoshinomiya walked into the classroom with a smile, her steps light and cheerful.
She practically seemed to be flying.
As soon as she entered, she noticed that something was off between An Xiao and Honami Ichinose. Her eyes immediately curved into an amused smile.
"My, my. It looks like our An Xiao and Ichinose are getting along quite well. That's a relief."
At her words, the entire class turned to look at Ichinose and An Xiao in their corner.
Feeling everyone's eyes on her, Honami Ichinose lowered her head even further. Her hanging hand unconsciously settled on An Xiao's outstretched thigh, then gave it a twist.
Ouch~
An Xiao's face tensed. Gritting his teeth, he glared at Chie Hoshinomiya, who was watching the scene with keen interest from beside the podium.
Noticing An Xiao's gaze, Chie Hoshinomiya realized she should stop while she was ahead. She smiled, said nothing, and turned to write on the blackboard behind her.
Thump, thump, thump!
Hoshinomiya tossed the chalk she had finished using onto the desk, rolled up the lesson plan she had brought, and rapped the blackboard several times.
"Everyone's looking forward to the results, right? I won't keep you waiting. I've written every class's points on the board, so take a look!"
Class Points: Class A: 960 points Class B: 920 points Class C: 490 points Class D: 120 points
"So we really were just a little short..."
Since the points had been handed out that morning, An Xiao wasn't surprised by his class's score.
The people in Class B, however, fell silent for a moment when they saw the scores, then burst into an uproar.
"We were still a little short..."
"Damn it, I worked so hard this month."
"What a shame!"
They were disappointed, but most of them were already planning to work twice as hard this month, encouraging one another as they did.
"Just like you said, An Xiao." Ichinose lifted her head too, though she still didn't quite dare look at him. She spoke to him while keeping her eyes on the blackboard.
"Let's keep working hard this month," An Xiao said with a relieved smile.
"Of course. And it'd be even better if you could let go of my thigh."
"You're not squeezing very hard anymore, but it still feels a little strange."
"S-sorry."
At An Xiao's words, the faint blush that had already faded from Ichinose's face flared up again. She quickly pulled her hand away from his thigh and stammered an apology.
"All right, all right. Let's quiet down for a moment. Your teacher still has something to tell you."
Seeing the class gradually settle down, Chie Hoshinomiya clapped her hands to draw everyone's attention, then spoke.
"Next, you're about to..."
At the same time, in Class D.
Unlike the lively atmosphere in Class B, the mood here was the complete opposite.
The whole class was utterly lifeless.
Looking at the students below, who sat there like frightened quails without daring to say a word, Chabashira Sae sneered from the podium.
"Congratulations, you worthless bunch. Even with the rules in advance, you still managed to come in last."
Her voice rose noticeably as she reached the end.
Who could say what she had felt when she learned her own class's Class Points?
Maybe she had been so angry she'd laughed.
Of the four first-year classes, only Class C hadn't learned the school's rules during the first month.
And even so, Class D still hadn't managed to surpass Class C. They had even fallen a considerable distance behind.
Especially since that woman, Chie Hoshinomiya, had been going on and on about her class's results beside her ear that morning...
In short, Chabashira Sae was absolutely furious.
Could a class like this really make it to Class A?
Chabashira Sae's gaze lingered on one student as she wondered.
Down below, the students had no idea what Chabashira Sae was thinking. After seeing their class's points and hearing her words, they couldn't sit still any longer.
"What! That's impossible! Why does our class have so few points?"
"Could the rules Horikita told us have been incomplete?"
"I knew she wouldn't be that nice!"
"Cut it out, Yamauchi. Even the parts Horikita told us about—you break those rules all the time."
"Exactly! You boys even made some disgusting ranking of the girls by breast size. That must be why our class lost so many points."
"Huh? You're one to talk. You girls made all kinds of ridiculous rankings about us boys too!"
The boys and girls began blaming each other, and no matter how much Hirata and Kushida tried to persuade them, they wouldn't stop.
Horikita Suzune, sitting in the back row, watched the scene coldly.
These people... really were a bunch of hopeless scum.
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