Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School's cherry blossoms fell in April, their pale pink and white petals carpeting the tree-lined path to the Main Teaching Building. Tang Yu stood at the school gate and took a deep breath. The air was filled with the delicate fragrance of cherry blossoms and the chill of early spring.
"This is my new beginning?" He lowered his head to look at the admission notice in his hands. The gold-embossed school crest gleamed in the sunlight.
Three days ago, he had been an ordinary high school student in Huaxia. After a car accident, he had unexpectedly transmigrated into this familiar anime world. Even more incredible, a mysterious power called the "Emotion Collection System" had awakened inside him.
[Beep! The host has entered a key scene. System activation increased to 30%.]
A translucent System Interface unfolded before Tang Yu. On the left, numbers kept ticking upward-current Emotion Points: 150/1000. On the right were his basic attributes:
Strength: 6 (ordinary human level)
Agility: 7 (slightly above average)
Intelligence: 9 (genius level)
Charm: 8 (eye-catching)
"Student Tang Yu, please come with me." A female teacher interrupted Tang Yu's thoughts. "I'm Chabashira Sae, homeroom teacher of Class D. I'll take you to the Entrance Exam."
Chabashira-sensei walked quickly, her black high heels tapping crisply against the marble floor.
Tang Yu followed behind her, discreetly observing this legendary school: spacious, bright corridors, advanced teaching equipment, and an atmosphere of elite education everywhere.
"I heard you were specially recommended from Huaxia as a transfer student?" Chabashira suddenly asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.
"Yes, teacher." Tang Yu answered in fluent Japanese, one of the perks he had gained after transmigrating: the ability to master languages automatically.
Chabashira gave him a meaningful look. "I hope you can adapt to the way things are taught here."
The Entrance Exam took place in an empty classroom. When Tang Yu received the test paper, his eyebrows lifted slightly. The questions were far beyond the level of an ordinary high school, even touching on university material.
[Challenging situation detected. System assistance mode activated.]
In an instant, Tang Yu felt as if a cool energy had been injected into his brain. Every question became crystal clear to him. His pen barely paused as he completed the entire test at astonishing speed.
"You finished with half the time still left?" The proctor checked his paper in disbelief.
Tang Yu smiled faintly. "The questions were interesting."
In reality, he noticed the Emotion Points on the System Panel surging. The proctor's astonishment had earned him +50 points. The discovery made his heart race. So it was that easy to collect other people's emotions.
Three days later, the class assignments were announced. Despite his nearly perfect test results, Tang Yu was placed in the worst class, Class D.
"Interesting." He stood before the class assignment notice, the corner of his mouth curling up. The system showed that he had accumulated 600 Emotion Points, enough for a minor upgrade.
[Intelligence increased to 10 (human limit)]
A warm current flowed into his brain. Tang Yu felt his thoughts sharpen, while the knowledge in his memory seemed to have been reorganized into a clearer, more orderly form.
"You're the new transfer student?" A cool female voice came from behind him.
Tang Yu turned around and saw a girl with long black hair studying him with a scrutinizing gaze. She stood straight, her eyes sharp, and exuded an aura that warned people to keep their distance.
"Horikita Suzune?" Tang Yu called her by name. She was one of the characters who had left a deep impression on him in the original anime.
A trace of surprise flashed through the girl's eyes. "You know me?"
"You're famous in Class D. I've heard a little about you." Tang Yu replied casually, while noting the system prompt-[Confusion from Horikita Suzune +20].
Suzune furrowed her brow slightly. "We've never met. But it doesn't matter. Since you were assigned to Class D, you're nothing special either." She turned to leave, then paused. "I hope you don't drag the class down."
Watching Suzune walk away, Tang Yu chuckled. That level of provocation did nothing to him. Instead, it provided valuable Emotion Points.
What interested him even more was the seemingly ordinary boy not far away-Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was silently watching everything.
"Is the protagonist keeping an eye on me? Interesting." Tang Yu made a mental note of it and headed for the Class D classroom.
On the first day of school, the atmosphere in Class D was far from harmonious. The students gathered in groups of two or three, clearly forming several cliques. Tang Yu chose a seat by the window and discreetly observed the class.
"Quiet." Chabashira-sensei walked into the classroom, and the noisy chatter immediately stopped. "We have a transfer student in our class today, Tang Yu, from Huaxia. I hope you'll all get along."
After the brief introductions, Tang Yu felt dozens of gazes fall on him at once-curious, scrutinizing, disdainful... The system prompts rang out one after another, and his Emotion Points soon exceeded 800.
"Our first class is math." Chabashira-sensei opened the electronic whiteboard. "Since our new classmate might have trouble keeping up, let's start with a small test."
A complicated calculus problem appeared on the screen, and a wave of groans immediately rose from the class.
"Even a first-year university student might not be able to solve that, right?" complained an orange-haired boy-Yamauchi Haruki.
Tang Yu glanced at the problem. With the system's help, the solution immediately became clear to him. But he didn't start writing right away. Instead, he waited for the best moment.
"Anyone willing to give it a try?" Chabashira-sensei surveyed the classroom, her gaze moving between Horikita Suzune and Tang Yu.
Suzune raised her hand and went up to the board. Her solution was rigorous, but she worked somewhat slowly, taking nearly ten minutes to finish.
"Correct answer." Chabashira nodded. "Anyone else want to try a different method?"
The classroom fell silent. Just as Chabashira was about to continue the lesson, Tang Yu stood up. "I can give it a try."
He walked up to the board, picked up the electronic pen, and wrote out the solution with almost no hesitation. Unlike Suzune, he used a simpler, more ingenious approach and arrived at the answer in just three minutes.
"This..." Chabashira-sensei wore a rare look of surprise. "That's a method used in advanced mathematics competitions."
[Shock from Chabashira Sae +50] [Astonishment from Horikita Suzune +40] [Disbelief from the whole class +200]
The system prompts surged in like a tide, and Tang Yu's Emotion Points instantly maxed out. He held back a smile and calmly returned to his seat.
"Student Tang, have you studied Advanced Mathematics before?" Chabashira-sensei asked.
"I've studied a little on my own." Tang Yu answered modestly, while noticing that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was looking at him with a peculiar expression. It wasn't simple surprise, but the wariness of someone who had found another of his kind.
The bell rang, and the classroom immediately grew noisy. Several classmates gathered around Tang Yu, firing questions at him one after another.
"You're amazing! I couldn't even understand that problem!" Kushida Kikyo was the first to speak, her face wearing a sweet smile.
[False enthusiasm from Kushida Kikyo +30]
The system prompt made Tang Yu wary. He remembered Kushida's dual personality in the original story and decided to keep an appropriate distance.
"I was just lucky to get a familiar type of problem." Tang Yu responded gently.
"Hmph, you only solved one problem." Horikita Suzune stood at the edge of the crowd and spoke coldly. "Your real ability will be judged by your performance over time."
Tang Yu turned to her. "You're right, Horikita. How about we make a bet? At the next Monthly Exam, whoever gets the lower score has to grant the other person one request."
A combative glint flashed in Suzune's eyes. "Are you sure you want to challenge me?"
"Scared?" Tang Yu deliberately provoked her.
[Anger from Horikita Suzune +50] [Interest from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka +30]
"Fine, I accept." Suzune said firmly, then turned and left.
The watching students cried out in surprise, while Tang Yu was secretly pleased. The bet would not only let him keep gaining Emotion Points, but also give him a legitimate reason to get closer to the proud girl.
At lunchtime, Tang Yu sat alone on the rooftop, enjoying his packed lunch. The system informed him that he had enough Emotion Points for a major upgrade.
[System upgraded to Level 2] [New feature unlocked: Emotion Perception] [Can sense emotional fluctuations in others within a 10-meter radius in real time]
This ability made Tang Yu's eyes light up. It meant he could not only collect Emotion Points, but also directly "read" other people's emotional states, which would be a great help with socializing and planning strategies.
"May I sit here?" A calm male voice sounded.
Tang Yu looked up and saw Ayanokoji Kiyotaka standing before him with a packed lunch. He nodded. "Go ahead."
After Ayanokoji sat down, the two ate in silence for a while. Using his newly acquired ability, Tang Yu sensed that beneath the boy's calm appearance, he was actually filled with wariness and curiosity.
"Your method of solving that problem was unusual." Ayanokoji suddenly spoke. "It wasn't something you'd learn through ordinary self-study."
Tang Yu smiled. "Likewise. The way you look at me isn't something you'd expect from an ordinary high school student, either."
Their eyes met, and invisible sparks seemed to fly between them. Tang Yu felt the system's readings fluctuate sharply-[Intense interest from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka +100].
"Class D is more interesting than I expected." Ayanokoji finally said, his tone still flat.
"Yeah, especially when you meet interesting people." Tang Yu replied pointedly.
During afternoon PE, Tang Yu deliberately performed only so-so in the sprints, neither too poorly nor too impressively. He noticed the PE Teacher, Sakagami Kazuma, looking his way several times, as if evaluating something.
"System, show me my current overall abilities." Tang Yu thought to himself.
[Current attributes: Strength: 6 (can spend 200 points to increase to 7) Agility: 7 (can spend 200 points to increase to 8) Intelligence: 10 (current maximum reached) Charm: 8 (can spend 300 points to increase to 9)]
Considering the upcoming PE test and his daily needs, Tang Yu decided to raise his Agility first. As 200 Emotion Points were spent, he felt his body grow much lighter, and his muscle coordination noticeably improved.
After school, Chabashira-sensei called Tang Yu to the staff room.
"Your Entrance Exam score was among the top three in the whole school, yet you were assigned to Class D. Do you know why?" Chabashira asked bluntly.
Tang Yu pretended to think for a moment. "The school had its own reasons?"
"Because you lack teamwork skills and showed an extreme individualistic streak during the test."
Chabashira pushed up her glasses. "This school values not only individual ability, but also contributions to the group."
Tang Yu nodded to show that he understood, while sensing that Chabashira-sensei's words had an ulterior purpose. She seemed to be testing something.
"However," Chabashira continued, "if you can lead Class D to improve its ranking, your Private Points will increase considerably. Give it some thought."
Leaving the staff room, Tang Yu fell into thought. In the original story, Class D's rise depended mainly on Ayanokoji's covert actions. With him as an added variable, the situation would become even more complicated. But that also meant more opportunities to gain Emotion Points.
"System, what's the ultimate goal?" Tang Yu suddenly asked.
[Ultimate mission: Collect one million Emotion Points to unlock the Complete System] [Current progress: 1250/1000000]
One million... Tang Yu narrowed his eyes. That meant he had to keep creating "incidents" and make more people experience emotional fluctuations because of him. And Advanced Nurturing High School, this closed little society, was the ideal stage.
Back in his dorm, Tang Yu listed several key figures in his notebook: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, Hirata Yosuke... Each one was a potential source of Emotion Points.
Especially Ayanokoji, this elusive product of the "White Room." If he could provoke an emotional response from him, the rewards would surely be astonishing.
"Starting tomorrow, the game officially begins." Tang Yu closed his notebook. Outside the window, Tokyo's night sky was dotted with stars.