Discussion

Ignoring Soh Shibata, who was still lost in thought beside him, An Xiao turned his attention to the pink-haired girl in front of him, who was clearly much sharper, and spoke after carefully weighing his words.

"Let's take the questions I just asked as an example. Regarding the issues, I raised two points: one concerning class points, and the other concerning class rankings."

"But based on Hoshinomiya-sensei's performance just now, there is definitely something problematic about these two points."

"Huh? Is that so?"

"That is indeed the case."

"Regarding An Xiao's questions, Hoshinomiya-sensei only gave a very vague answer."

Before An Xiao could offer an explanation, a steady male voice came from behind him, preemptively confirming his assessment.

Immediately after, a boy with light purple hair walked up to the group and began to explain.

"My name is Ryuji Kanzaki. Would you mind if I joined your conversation?"

"Oh? Sure, go ahead."

Although An Xiao was still a bit bewildered as to why another person had gathered around, he figured that explaining to three people was no different than explaining to two, so he let Kanzaki join the circle.

"Just as Kanzaki-kun said, regarding my questions, Hoshinomiya-sensei only provided a very vague response, and even skipped my first question entirely."

Thinking back to the way Hoshinomiya-sensei had smiled and asked if he was satisfied, An Xiao couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

If you're going to be a riddle-monger, at least have the guts to own it!

Though he thought this to himself, An Xiao didn't stop speaking.

"So I suspect that Hoshinomiya-sensei knows about some of the more important rules of the school that aren't written in the student handbook, but due to certain restrictions, she cannot explain them to us clearly."

"Especially regarding class rankings."

"What does this have to do with class rankings?" Soh Shibata, sitting beside An Xiao, scratched his head in frustration. He felt his intelligence couldn't quite keep up with An Xiao's logic. When he looked up, he found An Xiao looking at him with a very strange expression.

It was as if he were looking at him with... compassion or perhaps pity???

Withdrawing his gaze, An Xiao sighed helplessly, looked around at the three people beside him, and explained: "Do you remember the school's public promotional claims?"

"You mean... that thing about the 100% advancement and employment rate, right?" Honami Ichinose, sitting across from An Xiao, thought for a moment before answering.

"Exactly!" An Xiao said, snapping his fingers. "I have serious doubts about that. No matter how capable this school is, it's impossible for them to guarantee admission for 100 people into top-tier schools like Tokyo University every single year."

"Furthermore, assuming that were actually true, then our class assignments and the class hierarchy generated by class points would be completely meaningless."

"An Xiao-kun, are you saying that not everyone can enjoy the treatment the school claims?" Honami Ichinose asked.

"Indeed, if that's the case, then the 'meritocracy' answer Hoshinomiya-sensei gave earlier makes perfect sense," Ryuji Kanzaki chimed in.

"Yes, following that logic, the school likely uses inter-class competition with class points as the evaluation criteria to facilitate movement between class rankings. However, based on the estimated number of students per grade, it's probably only one or two classes..." At this point, An Xiao suddenly recalled the Class A points he had seen far in the lead in the second-year grade, and finally added with some hesitation, "Only one class can enjoy the treatment the school talks about."

As An Xiao finished speaking, the people around him fell into a long silence.

Watching the group with their heads bowed in thought, An Xiao felt a bit helpless. Just as he was about to offer some comfort, Honami Ichinose in the front row cheered everyone up with a vibrant voice: "Everyone, there's no need to be too anxious. Since we've already noticed this, let's leave the rest to time. After all, we've just enrolled, and we still have three years ahead of us."

"That's true."

"I will also continue to explore the school's rules. If I discover anything, I'll let everyone know."

That charisma and ability to unite people is truly impressive!

An Xiao watched this scene, feeling quite moved.

If he had said the exact same words himself, they definitely wouldn't have had the same effect that Honami Ichinose had just demonstrated.

"It's getting late today, let's add each other on Line. If there are any new discoveries, we can contact each other through Line," Honami Ichinose said, taking out her phone. No one refused.

After adding everyone on Line, An Xiao was the first to leave. He arrived downstairs at the dormitory building, collected his room key from the dorm manager, and took the elevator to his floor.

Room 317.

The room was quite spacious. In addition to a private bedroom and bathroom, it also included a small living room and a kitchen. It was less of a single dorm room and more of a studio apartment.

An Xiao looked around and found that every part of the dormitory was very clean, with no need for a deep clean, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Overall, this dormitory could be described as very simple yet very comfortable.

"This school finally has something that makes me feel at ease."

An Xiao tossed his bag onto the floor and collapsed straight onto the bed, burying his face into the mattress.

"What a hassle~" a muffled voice came from the bed, followed by a bit of squirming.

Switching from lying on his stomach to his back, An Xiao stared at the slightly dim ceiling with vacant eyes for a long time, saying nothing.