I Didn't Want to Work Hard, but Somehow Got Busy

I didn't know how much time had passed. At some point, An Xiao had sat up from where he'd been lying on the bed, muttering to himself.

"Forget it. I should go out for a walk. I can't just stay cooped up in my room. I'll check out the cafeteria first and pick up a few daily necessities while I'm at it."

An Xiao climbed out of bed and made his way to the bathroom one step at a time.

The cool water spread quickly across his face, and An Xiao's listless mood improved quite a bit. His gaze drifted to the reflection in the mirror.

The figure in the mirror was slender, probably around five foot nine. That made him stand out among the generally short Japanese people. His bangs were long, hanging in scattered strands across his eyes.

He gently brushed his bangs aside, revealing a particularly handsome face. But his lifeless eyes looked completely out of place with it.

"I'm still young, so why do I look so worn-out and weary?" An Xiao sighed. Ever since he'd come to this school, he felt like he'd been sighing a lot more.

Was this some kind of unusual culture shock?

Thinking as he wiped the remaining water from his face, An Xiao tidied himself up and headed out.

School cafeteria.

An Xiao had checked it out once before the opening ceremony, but it had been too early then, and none of the food had been set out at the counters.

But...

An Xiao strode toward one of the counters, passing several students hurrying over. Looking a little bewildered, he picked up one of the "green meal sets" offered there.

It was certainly green. Other than the white, everything was green.

But that wasn't the important part!

An Xiao stared at the glaring word "Free" on the counter offering the Mountain Vegetable Set Meal. Several question marks seemed to pop up above his head.

Why was there free food here!?

Before he could think it over, someone darted out from behind him and reached for the meal set in his hands.

"Hey, what are you doing? I got here first."

An Xiao sidestepped the grab and looked warily at the male student stumbling beside him.

The student, who'd missed his grab, stood there awkwardly. He glanced at the meal set in An Xiao's hands and forced a smile. "Um, even though we're in different years, we're both in Class D, and we're all short on points. I'm even worse off, so could you let your senior have that meal set?"

Class D? Short on points? Senior and junior?

Thinking back to the hundred thousand points he'd just received, An Xiao raised an eyebrow beneath his bangs. Keeping his expression neutral, he played along. "You can't put it like that, senpai. You're poor, and so am I. I didn't get many points this month either."

"Still, you must have more than me. I only got around twenty thousand points this month." The student glanced at the now-empty counter beside them, then at An Xiao, who was holding the Mountain Vegetable Set Meal in one hand. His voice turned a little bitter.

If he had enough points, why would he come here to eat this stuff? Even instant noodles would be better.

Listening to the student complain, An Xiao thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone with his other hand and took a look. Seeing the glaring hundred thousand points displayed in the student app, he nodded with satisfaction, then handed him the meal set.

"I didn't get that many points this month either, but I got a little more than you. You can have this meal set, senpai."

An Xiao paused, then suddenly smiled at the student across from him.

"You don't mind if I sit with you, do you, senpai?"

Friendship between men was simple and strange. After just a few complaints about the school, An Xiao had grown closer to the student across from him. They chatted away... or rather, the other student did most of the talking, while An Xiao made sure the conversation never fell flat.

An Xiao knew nothing about the upper years, but there were always a few tried-and-true responses, weren't there?

Like "Mm." "Right." "Really?" "You're right." "Exactly."

Meanwhile, by bringing up "the days when we first enrolled and got a hundred thousand points," An Xiao easily drew all sorts of information out of the student, especially about the school's rules.

The more he heard, the more An Xiao's mouth twitched.

The assessment they faced in their first month.

The class competition he'd already suspected, and the privileges only Class A enjoyed.

The relationship between individual points and Class Points each month.

The constant threat of expulsion, and the twenty million points that could be used to avert expulsion or change classes.

"I still remember thinking this place was paradise when I first arrived." The student had finished his meal and was scraping the leftovers around his plate with a spoon, his voice full of bitterness.

"Who knew? Because of all the noise in class, skipping lessons, and disrupting class, our Class Points got docked by several hundred when the rules were officially announced in the second month. Now we've only got a little over two hundred." He sighed helplessly.

An Xiao felt that, in a way, the student had brought it on himself, but he still offered a few words of comfort.

"Thanks for the Mountain Vegetable Set Meal."

Seeing the student about to leave, An Xiao quickly spoke up and asked his last question.

"Senpai, how did you know I was also a Class D student?"

"Who else but a Class D student would come for a free meal on the first day of the month?" The student first looked taken aback by the question, then rolled his eyes at An Xiao. Seeing that An Xiao had nothing else to ask, he picked up his plate and left, leaving An Xiao alone at the table.

"Class D... There's quite a big difference between it and the other classes." An Xiao muttered, closing his eyes. He waited until he'd gone over everything the senior had said in his head, then opened them again.

He picked up his phone from the table. The recording screen was still open, and after a few swipes, he switched to his contacts.

There were only three names in his contacts. After hesitating for a while, he sent the audio to Honami Ichinose, the one who seemed the most sociable.

Once he'd finished, An Xiao sighed helplessly.

sigh

This is a bit of a hassle!

Can't you just let me get through these three years normally?