"Impossible!" Horikita's voice came from the crowd, trembling ever so slightly—a rare thing for her.
Tang Yu walked over to the bulletin board and saw his name at the top of the results:
Tang Yu: Math 95, Physics 93, Chemistry 94, English 90, Modern Chinese 88, History 89
Horikita Suzune: Math 94, Physics 92, Chemistry 93, English 89, Modern Chinese 87, History 88
In every subject, Tang Yu had scored exactly one point higher than Horikita. Not a point more, not a point less.
[Horikita Suzune's shock +300] [Class's surprise +200] [Current Emotion Points: 20000/30000]
Horikita stood frozen, her notebook nearly crushed in her grip. Tang Yu activated Emotion Perception and saw the Emotion Cloud above her churning violently. Deep red anger,
purple frustration, and black self-doubt intertwined, forming a miniature emotional storm.
"Just a coincidence," Tang Yu said casually. "It might be different next time."
His words were like a fuse. Horikita whipped around, her eyes burning with a fury he had never seen before. "Stop pretending to be so humble!" Her voice wasn't loud, but each word was ice-cold. "Next time, I'll show you what real ability looks like."
[Horikita Suzune's anger +200] [Current Emotion Points: 20200/30000]
Tang Yu remained silent, watching Horikita walk away. The first step of his plan had gone perfectly, and this was only the beginning.
Over the following month, Tang Yu took his "One-Point Suppression" strategy to the extreme. Pop quizzes, the Midterm Exam, even the physical education theory test—every time, he controlled his score precisely, finishing exactly one point ahead of Horikita.
After the fifth instance of "One-Point Suppression," Horikita finally broke down.
Tang Yu found her in a corner of the library. Her usually immaculate black hair hung loose and disheveled, and a torn-up test paper lay in front of her. Ink stains marked her hands.
Her breathing was ragged, her shoulders trembling slightly. She was nothing like the composed honor student she usually was.
"Horikita?" Tang Yu called softly.
Horikita raised her head. The turmoil in her eyes sent a jolt through Tang Yu. She parted her lips as if to say something, but in the end, her shoulders simply slumped. "Why... Why is it always one point...?"
[Horikita Suzune's breakdown +500] [Emotion Points have exceeded 25000!] [Unlocked "Group Emotion Influence" (Beginner)]
The unexpected reward left Tang Yu both delighted and a little guilty. He had only meant to keep up the pressure and collect Emotion Points; he hadn't expected to push Horikita this far.
"Sometimes..." Tang Yu sat down across from her. "Being too fixated on something can become an obstacle."
"You don't understand," Horikita whispered. "I have to... prove myself..."
Tang Yu activated Emotional Link, sensing Horikita's inner world on a deeper level. In an instant, countless fragments of memory flooded into him—the childhood comparisons with her older brother,
studying alone until late at night in an empty house, and a teacher's remark when she started school: "Oh, you're Horikita Manabu's little sister."
When the link ended, Tang Yu fell silent for a moment. "You want to prove you can succeed without relying on your brother's name."
Horikita looked up sharply, her eyes full of shock. "How did you...?"
"Observation." Tang Yu pointed to his eyes. "Your microexpressions when you mention your brother, and your complicated feelings about the surname 'Horikita'... It wasn't hard to figure out."
Horikita's defenses seemed to crumble completely. She lowered her head, her voice choking with emotion. "No matter how hard I try... I'll always live in his shadow. And now... now even you..."
At that moment, Tang Yu suddenly realized how cruel his plan had been. To collect Emotion Points, he had exploited Horikita's most vulnerable side. The system's notifications kept ringing, but all the joy of victory had vanished.
"On the next test," Tang Yu said softly, "I won't beat you by one point anymore."
Horikita raised her head, her red-rimmed eyes clouded with confusion.
"It's not charity," Tang Yu continued. "It's a challenge—defeat me at my best with your own ability."
A glimmer of light returned to Horikita's eyes. She slowly straightened up and fixed her disheveled hair. "I won't go easy on you."
"Of course." Tang Yu smiled. "That's the Horikita Suzune I know."
As he left the library, Tang Yu ran into Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, leaning against the hallway wall. The other boy's grayish-white eyes seemed especially deep in the light.
"Playing with fire," Ayanokoji remarked blandly.
Tang Yu raised an eyebrow. "Worried about me?"
"Just observing." Ayanokoji straightened up. "You knew she was on the verge of a breakdown, but you kept putting on the pressure. Why?"
Tang Yu couldn't tell him the truth, so he answered with a half-truth. "Pressure makes diamonds."
"Or shatters them completely." Ayanokoji's rebuttal hit the mark. "People have limits, even someone as strong as her."
They looked at each other for a moment. Tang Yu suddenly realized that Ayanokoji's words carried a deeper meaning. This wasn't just about Horikita; it was also a warning to him.
"You're more compassionate than you look," Tang Yu ventured.
A faint smile tugged at Ayanokoji's lips. "You're colder than you look. An interesting contrast."
[Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's interest +300] [Current Emotion Points: 25500/30000]
Back in his dorm, Tang Yu examined his newly unlocked Group Emotion Influence ability. Unlike the single-target Emotion Manipulation, this ability could mildly influence several people within a small area. Its effects were weaker, but its strategic value was enormous.
[Group Emotion Influence (Beginner)] [Range: 5 meters] [Duration: 1 minute] [Simple emotions that can be implanted: calm / mild excitement / basic alertness]
Tang Yu planned to try out the ability at the next class meeting. As the system continued to level up, his advantage at this meritocratic school would only grow.
But his conversation with Horikita that day had made him realize that relying too much on the system's abilities might cost him something more important—genuine relationships and his own moral restraint.
Outside, moonlight spilled across the quiet campus. Tang Yu stood by the window, thinking about what he should do next.
Horikita Suzune was no longer merely a "source of Emotion Points." She had become a genuine opponent, and perhaps an ally. That change might be worth more than any system reward.
[Special Notice: Change in interpersonal relationship detected] [Horikita Suzune's Affection: 60/100 (Respect)] [Ayanokoji Kiyotaka Attention: 90%] [Honami Ichinose's Affection: 70/100 (Trust)]
The system notifications flickered in the moonlight. Tang Yu knew that the game at this school was entering a new stage. And he was ready.
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