Perfect Conclusion

The final week before summer vacation was filled with a restless atmosphere. The cherry blossoms had long since withered, replaced by lush green leaves rustling in the summer breeze. Tang Yu stood on the rooftop of the teaching building, overlooking the students playing on the playground as the System Interface unfolded before his eyes:

[Current Emotion Points: 28750/30000]

[Only 1250 points away from unlocking the next ability]

For the past month, Tang Yu had been consistently executing his "One-Point Suppression" strategy. With every exam and every assignment, he precisely controlled his score, ensuring he was exactly one point higher than Horikita Suzune.

This near-cruel psychological tactic brought in a bountiful harvest of Emotion Points, but it also left Horikita's state of mind increasingly strained.

"Tomorrow is the final exam," Tang Yu whispered to himself. "The final harvest opportunity."

A faint sound of footsteps came from behind. Tang Yu didn't need to turn around to know who it was—that near-silent gait belonged to only one person in the entire school.

"Are you having fun playing these psychological games?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's voice was so calm that no emotion could be detected.

Tang Yu turned to see Ayanokoji leaning against the railing, his greyish-white eyes appearing exceptionally indifferent under the sunlight. He wore the standard school uniform, with even the top button fastened meticulously, making him look like a statue devoid of warmth.

"I don't understand what you mean," Tang Yu feigned confusion.

"Six consecutive exams, every subject exactly one point higher than Horikita," Ayanokoji stared into Tang Yu's eyes. "Statistically, the probability of this is less than one in ten million."

Tang Yu activated Emotion Perception, only to find that Ayanokoji's Emotion Cloud presented a strange, eerie calm—no anger, no accusation, not even curiosity, only pure observation and analysis.

"Just a coincidence," Tang Yu shrugged. "Perhaps our study methods are similar."

"An interesting theory," the corners of Ayanokoji's mouth lifted slightly. "However, I am more inclined to believe this is some kind of psychological experiment. You are testing Horikita's breaking point."

This sentence was like a small blade, precisely piercing Tang Yu's disguise. He forced himself to remain calm: "Why do you say that?"

"Observation," Ayanokoji pointed to his own eyes. "Every time the results are announced, the first thing you look at is Horikita's reaction, not your own score. What are you collecting? Her pain? Her frustration?"

Tang Yu's heart rate accelerated slightly. Ayanokoji's insight far exceeded his expectations and was already bordering on the truth. He had to tread carefully.

"Horikita is an interesting opponent," Tang Yu chose to be partially honest. "I admire her fighting spirit."

"Until you destroy it," Ayanokoji said softly. "Be careful not to play with fire and get burned, Tang Yu. A person's mental collapse often happens in an instant."

After delivering this warning, Ayanokoji turned and left, leaving Tang Yu alone on the rooftop with fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.

[Warning from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka +300]

[Current Emotion Points: 29050/30000]

Ayanokoji was right; Tang Yu was indeed playing with fire. But the fire was already lit, and now he could only wait for the final eruption.

On the day of the final exam, the classroom was so quiet that the hum of the air conditioner could be heard. Tang Yu sat at his desk, his fingers tapping lightly on the surface, his gaze occasionally sweeping toward Horikita Suzune, who sat diagonally in front of him.

A month of high pressure had left its mark on her—her once lustrous black hair had become dull, there were visible dark circles under her eyes, and even her signature upright posture looked slightly stiff. Yet, her gaze remained sharp, and the fingers holding her pen were firm and steady.

"The exam begins," the proctor announced while distributing the papers. "You have two hours."

Tang Yu quickly scanned the test paper—the difficulty was extremely high, almost reaching the level of a competition. This was exactly what he had hoped for; high difficulty meant Horikita was more prone to mistakes, allowing him to control the score gap more precisely.

During the test, Tang Yu occasionally used his peripheral vision to observe Horikita. Her pace in solving problems was slower than usual, and when she encountered a difficult question, she would unconsciously bite her lower lip—a small habit he had never seen before.

Tang Yu deliberately adjusted his own answering rhythm to ensure he could react according to Horikita's progress.

When Horikita got stuck on the third major problem, he intentionally spent two extra minutes on the same question; when she finally broke through the bottleneck and moved on, he immediately accelerated his own speed.

This invisible psychological synchronization would create an illusion for Horikita—that they were constantly in a stalemate, with victory or defeat hanging by a thread.

The last question was an advanced topology problem outside the curriculum. Tang Yu saw Horikita's pen tip stop there for a full five minutes. He quickly evaluated the point value of the question and then intentionally left a subtle flaw in his own solution—enough for Horikita to discover during her review, but not enough to cause him to lose too many points.

When the bell rang for the end of the exam, Horikita's movements as she handed in her paper were somewhat sluggish, her fingertips trembling slightly. Tang Yu, on the other hand, stretched and revealed a relaxed smile.

"How did it go?" he walked over to Horikita and asked deliberately.

Horikita paused while packing her stationery: "Normal performance." Her voice was lower than usual.

"That's good," Tang Yu responded meaningfully. "Looking forward to the results."

Three days later, the final exam results were posted on the bulletin board. Tang Yu stood on the periphery of the crowd, knowing the outcome without needing to squeeze in—he had precisely calculated the score of every question.

A sudden exclamation erupted in front of the bulletin board. Tang Yu saw Horikita push through the crowd and rush out, her face as pale as paper, her lips pressed into a thin line.

In her eyes flickered an emotion Tang Yu had never seen before—it wasn't anger, but a kind of near-desperate confusion.

Tang Yu approached the bulletin board and saw his name on the score sheet, clearly marked:

Tang Yu: Math 100, Physics 100, Chemistry 100, English 100, Modern Literature 100, History 100

Horikita Suzune: Math 99, Physics 99, Chemistry 99, English 99, Modern Literature 99, History 99

Perfect scores in all subjects, while simultaneously maintaining the "One-Point Suppression."

[Collapse from Horikita Suzune +600]

[Shock from the entire class +400]

[Emotion Points exceeded 30000!]

[Unlocked "Group Emotion Suggestion" ability]

The system's notification sounds flooded in like a tide, but Tang Yu's attention was entirely on the fleeing Horikita. Her reaction this time was more intense than any previous instance; his plan had succeeded, but the taste of victory was somewhat bitter.

In a corner of the library, Tang Yu found Horikita. The scene before him made his heart jolt—the usually meticulous Horikita Suzune was currently frantically tearing up her own test papers, the fragments scattered all over the floor.

Her breathing was rapid, her shoulders heaving violently; she looked nothing like the calm and self-possessed honor student of the past.

"Horikita-san?" Tang Yu called out softly.

Horikita looked up, the confusion in her eyes making Tang Yu's heart tremble. Her voice was hoarse: "Why... why is it always one point short... every subject... every single subject is..."

[Despair from Horikita Suzune +400]

[Current Emotion Points: 30450/40000]

Tang Yu crouched down and slowly picked up the fragments of the test paper from the floor: "You are too obsessed with winning and losing."

"You don't understand!" Horikita suddenly raised her voice, drawing the gazes of nearby students, "I must... I must prove..."

"Prove what?" Tang Yu looked straight into her eyes, "Prove that you can succeed without relying on your brother's name?"

Horikita was struck as if by lightning, freezing in place: "You... how did you..."

"Observation." Tang Yu pointed to his own eyes, "The micro-expressions you make every time you hear the name Horikita Manabu, your disgust for the title of 'genius little sister'... it's not hard to deduce."

Tang Yu activated Emotional Link, feeling the depths of Horikita's inner world more profoundly. In an instant, countless memory fragments flooded in—childhood spent doing homework late into the night in a vast, empty mansion; teachers praising her brother at parent-teacher conferences; classmates whispering "She's Horikita Manabu's sister" upon her enrollment.

After the link disconnected, Tang Yu remained silent for a moment. He had originally viewed Horikita merely as a source of Emotion Points, but he had inadvertently touched upon her most vulnerable part.

After talking with Horikita Suzune for a long time, I left the library.

Just as Tang Yu was planning how to utilize this new ability, a knock sounded at the door. Standing outside was Chabashira Sae, holding a folder in her hand.

"The School Board is very interested in you, Tang Yu-kun." Chabashira got straight to the point, "Precisely suppressing the same student for seven consecutive exams, and finally getting full marks in all subjects... this kind of performance is hard to explain as a coincidence."

Tang Yu remained calm: "It is just the result of hard work."

Chabashira gave him a meaningful look: "There is a special mission during the summer vacation, and the School Administration has designated you to participate. The detailed information is here." She handed over the folder, "Prepare well, next semester will be even... more interesting."

After seeing Chabashira off, Tang Yu opened the folder, which contained information about the Summer Special Training Class—the location was a remote mountain villa, participants included top students from various classes, and the person in charge was none other than Student Council President Horikita Manabu.

"Interesting..." Tang Yu's lips curled upward. This was both a challenge and an opportunity. One summer vacation was enough time for him to test his new abilities and further approach the core of the school's power.

Outside the window, the summer sunset dyed the entire campus gold. Tang Yu stood before the window, thinking about his next plan. The Special Summer Class, a direct encounter with Horikita Manabu, continuing to tap into the system's potential... all of this made him look forward to it immensely.

The system notification sounded again:

[Special Reminder: Increased activity detected from multiple factions]

[Student Council Attention: 50%]

[School Board Attention: 60%]

[Ayanokoji Kiyotaka Attention: 95%]

The numbers flickered before his eyes, and Tang Yu knew that the game next semester would be even more complex. But for now, he just wanted to enjoy the sense of accomplishment brought by this perfect conclusion—both academically and on the system level.

On the last night before summer vacation, Tang Yu had a strange dream. In the dream, he stood before a giant chessboard, with an opponent whose face he couldn't see sitting across from him.

The pieces on the chessboard were not ordinary shapes, but familiar faces—Horikita, Ayanokoji, Ichinose, Ryuen... When he reached out to move a piece, he discovered that his own hand had also become part of a piece.

When he woke up, the morning sun had already risen. Tang Yu packed his luggage and took one last look at the dormitory where he had lived for a semester. No matter what challenges lay ahead, he was ready.

In this school where strength is supreme, a new game of chess was about to begin. And he would no longer be just a pawn.