The Biggest Problem Child in Class D

"Yo-ho, are you here to ask for leave?"

"I noticed you weren't looking so great during class this morning."

Inside the teachers' office, Chie Hoshinomiya looked at An Xiao, who was walking toward her while stifling constant yawns, and asked with a hint of curiosity. "Ha~ I'm fine. A quick nap during lunch break will do the trick. I mainly came here because I need to ask you for a favor, sensei." As An Xiao spoke, he lifted the bag he was carrying.

"...What's this?" Chie Hoshinomiya leaned forward and took the bag from An Xiao's hand, but her expression turned visibly disappointed when she saw it only contained pineapples.

"I was expecting those sweets made with alcohol that you promised me a while ago. I've been looking forward to them for a long time," she said, her eyes narrowing as she spoke in a suspicious tone.

"An Xiao, you didn't use the alcohol I gave you for something inappropriate, did you? Unhealthy relationships between men and women are strictly prohibited!"

"..." An Xiao.

"That pause of yours is quite suspicious," Chie Hoshinomiya noted.

"Sensei, sometimes I can't help but wonder if your brain is completely filled with alcohol and all sorts of nonsense."

An Xiao retorted, lightly tapping Chie Hoshinomiya's head with a book he had on hand.

After more than a month of interacting, An Xiao could be considered quite familiar with this teacher.

Though, to be honest, there were times when An Xiao didn't really want to be this familiar.

"Ouch! Honestly, An Xiao, I am your teacher, you know. You should at least show some respect for your elders," Chie Hoshinomiya said, rubbing the spot where she had been tapped, looking quite dissatisfied.

"Yes, yes, yes," An Xiao replied perfunctorily, then stated the main purpose of his visit.

"Actually, I came here mainly to ask you something."

"Do you happen to have any old exam papers from the first-year tests from the past few years?"

Upon hearing An Xiao's request, Chie Hoshinomiya raised an eyebrow, looking at him with interest.

"Why would you think to ask me for these things?"

"I am a teacher, aren't I?" An Xiao asked, looking puzzled.

"Should you be asking a teacher?" Chie Hoshinomiya looked back at An Xiao, equally confused.

The two stared at each other in a silent standoff for a good while.

"Fine, I guess this is a case of cultural differences."

Realizing that An Xiao wasn't joking, Chie Hoshinomiya said with a helpless sigh.

"So, how many points are you planning to pay?"

Getting down to business, Chie Hoshinomiya composed her expression and looked at An Xiao.

"Wait, you're going to charge me for this, too? As study materials, shouldn't you be giving them to me for free?" An Xiao said, speechless.

"Nope. Everything in this school must be purchased with points, and that includes past practice exams."

"Fine, whatever. Ichinose will probably reimburse me anyway," An Xiao muttered, scratching his head, deciding not to dwell on it.

He then spent 20,000 points to purchase the midterm exam papers and quizzes from the past few years from Hoshinomiya-sensei.

After briefly flipping through the papers she handed him, An Xiao's gaze stopped on a quiz from last year. His brows furrowed slightly, and after flipping through the pages a few more times, he looked at Chie Hoshinomiya in disbelief.

"Isn't the school supposed to be quite wealthy... surely it doesn't have to be like this?"

"How about I return the papers to you, and you refund my points?"

Setting aside the quizzes, the midterm exam papers from the past few years were, if not identical, at least largely the same.

In the sciences alone, many questions simply had the numbers changed, and some weren't even modified at all.

At this point... this was really no different from cheating.

All in all, An Xiao was starting to panic.

"Sensei doesn't know what you're talking about!" Chie Hoshinomiya just sat there, smiling at An Xiao with her eyes squinted into slits.

"The school has been like this for the past few years."

Seeing that Chie Hoshinomiya remained smiling, An Xiao let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed there was no problem after all.

It wasn't as if his own homeroom teacher would try to sabotage him over something like this.

You'd have to be pretty brain-dead to do something like that.

"Then I'll be going now..." An Xiao organized the papers in his hand and was about to say goodbye, but memories of the past few days surfaced in his mind, and he decided to take the opportunity to voice his doubts.

"By the way, Hoshinomiya-sensei, you previously told me to target Class D as much as possible, but it seems... there's no need for that, right?"

Knowing the news half a month in advance yet having class points far lower than Class C, which knew nothing; the lecherous boy who made crude jokes; the red-haired boy with anger issues; the girls with 'unique' personalities An Xiao knew...

An Xiao felt that it was a miracle this class could survive until graduation at all; there was no need to go out of his way to target them.

"It seems you really do have a certain understanding of Class D, An Xiao..." Hoshinomiya said, but then her tone shifted.

"But there is still much you don't know. At the very least, from what I know, there is someone in Class D who has the potential to lead them to Class A."

Seriously, what kind of genius could pull something like this off?

How could Class D possibly have someone like that?

Before An Xiao could ask for more specific details, Chie Hoshinomiya spread her hands and said, "As for who this person is, I don't know either. You'll have to figure that out for yourself."

"..." An Xiao.

"Oh, right. There was a school meeting this morning, and the scope for the midterm exam has been changed."

"What. Did. You. Say?" An Xiao turned his head stiffly, shook the test papers in his hand, and gritted his teeth as he said, "Are you kidding me?"

Chie Hoshinomiya watched the teeth-gritting An Xiao before her with great interest. She watched for quite a while, and only when An Xiao turned back to step toward her did she take a pre-prepared slip of paper from her drawer and slap it onto the pile of papers in his arms.

"Relax, even though the scope has changed, it doesn't really make a difference for you."

"Teacher, has anyone ever told you that you have a nasty personality?" Understanding what she meant, An Xiao forced a smile and said.

"Not at all. In fact, people often tell me how cute I am."

"Then you must be single right now."

"An Xiao, sometimes boys who talk too much aren't very popular with girls." Chie Hoshinomiya flashed a dangerous smile.

"Um, I'll be going now."

Determined that the matter was basically settled, An Xiao planned to make a run for it.

But upon reaching the door, he remembered how Kushida and the others had acted after eating, and after a moment of hesitation, he spoke up.

"Teacher... your alcohol tolerance should be pretty good, right? The pineapple had the rum you gave me added to it, and it has quite a kick."

"Really!"

Seeing her eyes light up significantly, An Xiao realized his words had been a waste of breath, so he closed the door and left the office.

And just one week later, An Xiao encountered the kind of idiot he had been talking about.

Although he still didn't know who the hidden potential powerhouse in Class D was, he had discovered who the biggest problem child in Class D was.