In the final week before summer vacation, a restless mood filled the campus. The cherry blossoms had long since fallen, replaced by lush green leaves rustling in the summer breeze. Tang Yu stood on the roof of the school building, looking down at the students playing on the field as the System Interface unfolded before him:
[Current Emotion Points: 28750/30000] [Only 1250 points until the next ability unlocks]
For a month, Tang Yu had kept up his "One-Point Suppression" strategy. In every exam and on every assignment, he controlled his scores precisely, making sure he was exactly one point ahead of Horikita Suzune.
This almost cruel psychological tactic had brought him a rich return in Emotion Points, but it had also left Horikita increasingly strained.
"Final exams are tomorrow." Tang Yu murmured to himself. "One last chance to reap the rewards."
Soft footsteps sounded behind him. Tang Yu knew who it was without turning around. There was only one person in the entire school who walked so quietly.
"Enjoying your psychological games?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's voice was so calm that it revealed no emotion at all.
Tang Yu turned and saw Ayanokoji leaning against the railing, his grayish-white eyes especially indifferent in the sunlight. He wore the standard school uniform, every button fastened neatly, even the top one. He was like a statue without a trace of warmth.
"I don't know what you mean." Tang Yu pretended to be confused.
"Six exams in a row, and you scored exactly one point higher than Horikita in every subject." Ayanokoji looked Tang Yu straight in the eye. "Statistically, the odds of that are less than one in ten million."
Tang Yu activated Emotion Perception, but Ayanokoji's Emotion Cloud showed an uncanny calm. There was no anger, no reproach, not even curiosity-only pure observation and analysis.
"Just a coincidence." Tang Yu shrugged. "Maybe Horikita and I have similar study methods."
"An interesting theory." Ayanokoji's lips curved slightly. "But I'm more inclined to think this is some kind of psychological experiment. You're testing Horikita's limits."
The words pierced Tang Yu's disguise like a small knife, striking with precision. He forced himself to stay calm. "Why do you say that?"
"Observation." Ayanokoji pointed to his own eyes. "After every set of results is announced, the first thing you look at is Horikita's reaction, not your own scores. What are you gathering? Her pain? Her frustration?"
Tang Yu's heart beat a little faster. Ayanokoji's insight had exceeded his expectations and was already close to the truth. He had to be careful.
"Horikita is an interesting opponent." Tang Yu chose to be partly honest. "I admire her fighting spirit."
"Until you destroy it." Ayanokoji spoke softly. "Be careful you don't get burned, Tang Yu. A person's mental collapse often happens in an instant."
After delivering that warning, Ayanokoji turned and left, leaving Tang Yu alone on the rooftop, a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead.
[Warning from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka +300] [Current Emotion Points: 29050/30000]
Ayanokoji was right. Tang Yu was playing with fire. But the fire had already been lit. Now all he could do was wait for the final eruption.
On the day of the final exams, the classroom was so quiet that the hum of the air conditioner could be heard. Tang Yu sat at his desk, lightly tapping his fingers on the tabletop as his gaze occasionally drifted toward Horikita Suzune, seated diagonally in front of him.
A month of pressure had left its mark on her. Her once-glossy black hair had turned dull, dark circles were clearly visible beneath her eyes, and even her trademark upright posture seemed a little stiff. But her gaze remained sharp, and her fingers gripped her pen with steady strength.
"The exam is starting." The proctor handed out the papers. "You have two hours."
Tang Yu quickly skimmed the test. It was extremely difficult, almost at competition level. That was exactly what he had hoped for. The harder the exam, the more likely Horikita was to make a mistake, allowing him to control the score gap more precisely.
As he answered the questions, Tang Yu occasionally watched Horikita from the corner of his eye. She was solving them more slowly than usual. When she ran into a difficult question, she would unconsciously bite her lower lip-a small habit she had never shown before.
Tang Yu deliberately adjusted his pace, making sure he could react to Horikita's progress.
When Horikita got stuck on the third major question, he deliberately spent two extra minutes on the same problem. When she finally got past the obstacle and moved on, he immediately sped up as well.
This invisible psychological synchronization would give Horikita the illusion that they were always locked in a close contest, with victory hanging by a thread.
The last question was an advanced topology problem. Tang Yu saw Horikita's pen stop over it for a full five minutes. He quickly estimated the question's value, then deliberately left a tiny flaw in his own solution-enough for Horikita to notice when she checked her work, but not enough to cost him too many points.
The bell rang to end the exam. Horikita was a little slow to hand in her paper, and her fingertips trembled slightly. Tang Yu stretched and smiled casually.
"How did it go?" He walked over to Horikita and asked deliberately.
Horikita paused while packing up her stationery. "About as well as usual." Her voice was lower than normal.
"That's good." Tang Yu replied meaningfully. "I'm looking forward to the results."
Three days later, the final exam results were posted on the bulletin board. Tang Yu stood outside the crowd. He didn't need to push his way in to know the result; he had calculated the score for every question precisely.
A sudden burst of exclamations came from the crowd around the board. Tang Yu saw Horikita push through and rush out, her face as pale as paper and her lips pressed into a tight line.
Her eyes shone with an emotion Tang Yu had never seen in her before. It wasn't anger, but a bewilderment bordering on despair.
Tang Yu walked up to the bulletin board and saw these scores prominently listed beside his name:
Tang Yu: Math 100, Physics 100, Chemistry 100, English 100, Modern Japanese 100, History 100
Horikita Suzune: Math 99, Physics 99, Chemistry 99, English 99, Modern Japanese 99, History 99
Perfect Score in All Subjects, while maintaining "One-Point Suppression."
[Horikita Suzune's breakdown +600] [Shock from the whole class +400] [Emotion Points exceeded 30000!] [Unlocked "Group Emotion Suggestion" ability]
The system's notifications flooded in like a tide, but Tang Yu's attention was entirely on Horikita as she fled. Her reaction was stronger than ever before. His plan had worked, but the taste of victory was a little bitter.
In a corner of the library, Tang Yu found Horikita. The sight made his heart jolt. Horikita Suzune, who was always meticulous, was now frantically tearing up her test paper, the scraps scattered across the floor.
Her breathing was rapid, her shoulders heaving violently. She was nothing like the cool and composed top student she usually was.
"Horikita?" Tang Yu called softly.
Horikita looked up, and the confusion in her eyes made Tang Yu's heart flutter. Her voice was hoarse. "Why... why is it always one point... every subject... all of them..."
[Horikita Suzune's despair +400] [Current Emotion Points: 30450/40000]
Tang Yu crouched down and slowly picked up the scraps of paper. "You're too fixated on winning and losing."
"You don't understand!" Horikita suddenly raised her voice, drawing the attention of nearby students. "I have to... I have to prove..."
"Prove what?" Tang Yu looked straight into her eyes. "That you can succeed without relying on your brother's name?"
Horikita froze as if struck by lightning. "You... how did you..."
"Observation." Tang Yu pointed to his eyes. "Your microexpressions whenever you hear the name Horikita Manabu, the way you hate being called a 'genius's little sister'... It wasn't hard to figure out."
Tang Yu activated Emotional Link, sensing Horikita's inner world on a deeper level. In an instant, countless fragments of memory surged into him: doing homework alone until late at night in an empty mansion as a child; teachers praising her brother at parent-teacher meetings; classmates whispering, "That's Horikita Manabu's little sister," when she enrolled.
After the link was severed, Tang Yu fell silent for a moment. He had only regarded Horikita as a source of Emotion Points, but he had inadvertently touched the most vulnerable part of her.
After talking with Horikita Suzune for a long time, I left the library.
Just as Tang Yu was planning how to use this new ability, a knock sounded at the door. Chabashira Sae stood outside, holding a folder.
"The School Board is very interested in you, Tang Yu." Chabashira got straight to the point. "Seven exams in a row, precisely keeping one student under you, and then a perfect score in every subject... It's hard to explain that as a coincidence."
Tang Yu stayed calm. "It's just the result of studying hard."
Chabashira gave him a meaningful look. "There's a special task over the summer, and the School Administration has assigned you to take part. The details are in here." She handed him the folder. "Prepare well. Next semester will be even more... interesting."
After seeing Chabashira out, Tang Yu opened the folder. Inside was information about the Summer Special Training Class. It would be held at a remote mountain lodge, and its participants would include top students from each class. The person in charge was none other than Student Council President Horikita Manabu.
"Interesting..." Tang Yu's lips curved slightly. This was both a challenge and an opportunity. A whole summer would be enough time for him to test his new ability and draw closer to the school's center of power.
Outside the window, the summer sunset bathed the entire campus in gold. Tang Yu stood by the window, thinking about his plans. The Special Summer Class, a face-to-face encounter with Horikita Manabu, and further exploration of the system's potential... He looked forward to all of it.
The system's notification sounded again:
[Special Reminder: Increased activity detected among multiple factions] [Student Council Attention: 50%] [School Board Attention: 60%] [Ayanokoji Kiyotaka Attention: 95%]
The numbers flickered before his eyes. Tang Yu knew that next semester's game would be more complicated. But for now, he only wanted to enjoy the sense of accomplishment from this perfect ending-both academically and in terms of the system.
On the last night before summer vacation, Tang Yu had a strange dream. He stood before a gigantic chessboard, with an opponent whose face he couldn't make out seated across from him.
The chess pieces weren't ordinary shapes; they were the familiar faces of people-Horikita, Ayanokoji, Ichinose, Ryuen... When he reached out to move a piece, he discovered that his own hand had become part of the board too.
When he woke, the sun had already risen. Tang Yu packed his luggage and took one last look at the dormitory where he had lived for a semester. Whatever challenges lay ahead, he was ready for them.
At this school where strength reigned supreme, a new game was about to begin. And he would no longer be just a chess piece.