Chapter 19

One was already outrageous enough, but to think that Class D could hit rock bottom under the same circumstances is truly terrifying. This school really must have gathered the 40 worst high school students in the country. The only silver lining is that Class D can at least afford to pay their debts. But if that's the case... looking at Hoshinomiya, who wore a smile that seemed slightly different from usual, Yuan Yuyuan knew his plan had gone awry. He had calculated everything, but he hadn't accounted for the fact that Class D would fail to surpass Class C in one fell swoop. With things this way, although Hoshinomiya didn't look particularly happy, the situation was still within a controllable range, meaning he couldn't get this homeroom teacher—who had no intention of rising to Class A—to lend him a hand. Fortunately, the gap between Class C and Class D wasn't large, and Hoshinomiya was still somewhat affected, so he would just have to wait and see before giving Class D a boost. When everyone saw that there was only a 20-class-point difference between Class B and Class A, some were annoyed and some were ashamed, but no one brought the problem to the table to solve it. At this moment, Hoshinomiya spoke again: "Everyone's performance this month has been very good. Yuan Yuyuan has already told you all about the points and the class divisions, so I won't repeat them." "These are the results from the last test. I am very pleased; everyone's grades are quite good." Yuan Yuyuan took a rough look. He had a perfect score, Ichinose had 92, Kanzaki had 85, and most others were distributed between 70 and 80. Overall, it was quite decent. Before anyone could even be surprised that Yuan Yuyuan had actually solved the final three problems, Hoshinomiya poured a bucket of cold water on them. "It is worth mentioning that in the official exams, failing even a single subject will result in expulsion." This gave everyone quite a scare. Although Class B had strong academic ability, in this school that prided itself on meritocracy, it would be dangerous if they started some sort of survival of the fittest. Shibata Sou, the athletic star but academic idiot, was the most worried. He asked with a concerned face: "Expulsion for failing one subject? Why have we never heard of that?" "Don't worry, don't worry. Since the passing grade is 37, everyone is safe. But you still need to be careful; it would be terrible if you underperformed." "There are three weeks left until the midterm exams. I believe everyone will be able to come up with a way to ensure everyone passes." After saying this, Hoshinomiya glanced at Yuan Yuyuan's seat. Yuan Yuyuan felt that this statement and Hoshinomiya's look were too pointed. Whenever this happened, Hoshinomiya would drop a piece of information that others wouldn't pay much attention to, but which was actually very important. This school really had a twisted sense of humor. However, this statement was too strange for Class B, whose average academic ability was second only to Class A. At the very least, she should have used different rhetoric for Class AB and Class CD! After Hoshinomiya left, Yuan Yuyuan didn't want to stay in the classroom any longer. Although Class D had failed to deliver, he couldn't afford to slack off; he still had to go and provoke Hoshinomiya's emotions. Just then, a notification without any emotional fluctuation came over the intercom. [Class 1-D student Ayanokoji, your homeroom teacher Chabashira has something to discuss with you. Please come to the faculty office.] Ayanokoji? If nothing went wrong, this should be the fake genius Arisu had mentioned. It just so happened that Yuan Yuyuan also needed to go to the faculty office, so he could take the opportunity to see this masterpiece of the White Room. When he arrived at the office, a boy with dead fish eyes and hair almost covering his eyes was standing at the door. Yuan Yuyuan recognized him as the gloomy guy who had interacted with Horikita Suzune during the club orientation. At this moment, he was talking to Hoshinomiya inside the office. "Um... excuse me, is Chabashira-sensei here?" "Sae-chan? She was just here, but it seems she stepped out for a moment. Would you like to come in and wait?" "No, I'll just wait in the hallway." Hoshinomiya walked out, looking thoughtful, and just as she was about to say something, she noticed Yuan Yuyuan walking toward them. "Yuyuan is here too? Is something the matter?" "It's fine, Teacher. Please go ahead with your business; I'm not in a hurry." Hoshinomiya had originally intended to brush Yuan Yuyuan off, but she hadn't expected him to be so understanding. She was very satisfied with him. "Alright, then I'll just talk to this..." Ayanokoji had hoped that the two of them had business to discuss, which would allow him to wait for Chabashira alone in the hallway, but there was no helping it now. "My name is Ayanokoji." "So, for what reason did Sae-chan call you out? Eh? Why?" "I have absolutely no idea." "Is that so? She called you out without even telling you the reason?" Hoshinomiya frowned, looking Ayanokoji up and down as if he were a criminal. "Hoshinomiya, what are you doing?" At this moment, Chabashira appeared from out of nowhere and struck Hoshinomiya's head hard with the clipboard in her hand. Hoshinomiya crouched down, clutching her head, looking like it really hurt. "Ouch! What are you doing?!" "It's because you're pestering my student." "Because he said he was here to see Sae-chan, I was just keeping him company while you were away. Right, Yuyuan?" Yuan Yuyuan, who had been deep in thought, was suddenly put on the spot, though what Hoshinomiya said didn't seem wrong. "Hm? From a macro perspective, that is correct." "See? Sae-chan called someone over but wasn't here, so I was just being kind. You really don't appreciate a good heart." "You should just ignore her. Ayanokoji, sorry to keep you waiting. It's not convenient here; come with me to the counseling room." "No, I think it's fine here. More importantly, you mentioned a counseling room... did I do something? Even looking like this, I think I've been careful enough not to attract too much attention during my school life." "Don't talk back. Come with me." Ayanokoji had no choice but to follow Chabashira, and Hoshinomiya followed behind them with a smile. Chabashira noticed this immediately and turned around with the expression of a demon. "Don't follow me." "Don't be so cold. It won't kill me to listen in, will it? Besides, Sae-chan isn't the type to conduct individual guidance, right? Yet you suddenly called the new student, Ayanokoji, to the counseling room... I'm wondering if Sae-chan has some ulterior motive." "Could it be that Sae-chan is thinking of committing treason?" "Don't say such stupid things. That's obviously impossible." "Hehe, Sae-chan certainly couldn't pull that off, could she?" Hoshinomiya muttered with a suggestive tone, her feet not stopping as she continued to follow them. "Don't you have a visitor? Go on." Chabashira hit Hoshinomiya on the backside with her clipboard with a thud. "Geez, Sae-chan gets so angry when I joke around. See you next time, Ayanokoji-kun. Well then, Yuyuan, let's go to the faculty office." Seeing that Chabashira was determined not to let her listen, Hoshinomiya had no choice but to pull Yuan Yuyuan back to the office. "Sorry about that, Yuyuan. It's just that I'm afraid Sae-chan might be deceived by some bad man." "Don't take it to heart. You and I both know exactly what Chabashira-sensei is trying to do." Hoshinomiya's eyes flickered, but she still blinked innocently at Yuan Yuyuan. "What strange things are you saying, Yuyuan? I don't understand at all." "You really don't? But what if I told you that Ayanokoji is a genius hiding his true strength?" "What did you say?" Yuan Yuyuan pretended not to see Hoshinomiya's darkened expression and continued to introduce him to her. "You heard me right. He is from the White Room, the..."