"Lastly, unfortunately, I have one more piece of bad news for you. These are the results of your last quiz! Take a look for yourselves!"
With that, Teacher Chazhu put the poster up on the blackboard.
Mu Tianchen took a quick look. The top students in the class seemed to have done quite well. Horikita, Takagahara, and Yukimura had scored over 90 in every subject.
That proved they had solved one, or even several, of the final questions.
Mu Tianchen admired them for getting those questions right despite never having studied the material. Beauty Bro looked like he was slacking off, yet he ranked second. Not bad at all. He really was strong.
Aside from them, though, most people had scored around 60. Mu Tianchen himself had scored in the 80s, just behind Hirata. That put him somewhere in the upper-middle range.
The rest had scored in the 40s, 20s, or even the teens. But when Mu Tianchen saw Ayanokouji's results, he was astonished: exactly 50 in every subject.
Could anyone really get so lucky?
He didn't believe it. Someone who had come from that place couldn't possibly be that mediocre.
So Ayanokouji must have deliberately aimed for an average score.
Still, 50 in every subject? Wasn't that a little too conspicuous?
"That's wonderful! If this had been the Midterm Exam, seven students in our class would have been expelled right from the start!"
With that, she picked up a red pen and drew a long dividing line across the poster.
"What? E-expelled? What do you mean?"
"Teacher, you can't be serious!"
"You've never mentioned this before! And it's not in the handbook either!"
At the mention of expulsion, the students grew restless again, especially Ike, Sudo, and Yamauchi, who had fallen below the dividing line.
It was understandable. Their grades had always been poor, and they might not pass even next time. Of course they'd rather believe there was something wrong with the rules.
"Oh? Did I never mention it before? Well, I'm telling you now! Listen up!"
"At this school, if you fail to reach the passing score in even one subject on a major exam like the Midterm or Final Exam, you'll be expelled! For this exam, that means anyone who scored below 36 will be expelled!"
As she spoke, she glanced over at the students who had just asked questions.
"You really are foolish!"
"..."
Come to think of it, Mu Tianchen was puzzled by the passing score of 36. Back in his home country, the passing score for a 100-point test was usually 60. Even if you halved that, it would be 30.
After examining the score sheet again, he figured it out—
The passing score was half the class average. It wasn't hard to guess. He was sure the others had noticed, too.
Mu Tianchen looked around the class and, sure enough, saw Horikita Suzune beside Ayanokouji, scribbling calculations in her notebook.
"All right, that's all for today. If you understand the situation you're in, I don't need to say anything more. It's not too late to start working hard. If you want to enjoy the benefits this school offers, then work your way up."
Leaving them with those words, Teacher Chazhu walked straight out of the classroom, bringing the class meeting to an end.
The students were furious at Teacher Chazhu's relentless mockery, but there was no denying the truth.
The points hadn't been transferred. Only Class A could enjoy the school's benefits. They could face expulsion after the final exams...
The contrast with their lives just a month ago was so stark that, for a while, nobody in the class could find anything to say. The room fell completely silent.
"Ahhh, why didn't I realize it sooner? There's no way a school like this would be so generous! Damn it!" A voice filled with regret broke the silence.
Like a spark setting off a fuse, one discussion after another erupted around the room.
"What are we going to do next month? I've spent all my points."
"Me too. We can't keep going like this until graduation..."
The students were already worrying about how they'd get by, even if they weren't going to starve.
"Points don't matter! The class is what matters! Why was I put in Class D... This is ridiculous!"
The one who said this was Yukimura. He spoke angrily, his voice rough, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
Mu Tianchen remembered that Yukimura had ranked near the top on the quiz. His grades were pretty good, which might have been why he felt so indignant.
But based on what Mu Tianchen had observed so far, he didn't think class placement was based on grades alone.
"Everyone, listen. I understand how you feel, but shouldn't we come up with a plan as soon as possible?"
At that moment, Hirata walked up to the lectern, drawing the students' attention.
"What can we do? Even if we behave better in class, our points won't increase!" someone retorted.
"But if we keep going like this, we'll have even less chance of earning points. We might even end up with a negative balance."
"Tch. So attending class seriously doesn't earn us any points."
"Maybe the school thinks that's simply what students are supposed to do."
Seeing Sudo complain, Kushida took the initiative to explain.
"Discuss it among yourselves. I'm not going to waste my time on something pointless."
Leaving them with that, Sudo walked straight out of the classroom.
Mu Tianchen didn't think the discussion would produce any useful results. He glanced at Beauty Bro, who was already sleeping with his head on the desk. Maybe he felt the same way.
The discussion went on for quite a while. It wasn't until the class bell rang that they finally stopped.
Just as he'd expected, they hadn't come up with any good ideas.
Still, after learning that breaking classroom rules would cost the class points, the students behaved noticeably better in the following classes.
"Um, I spent my points too recklessly. Could you lend me some? Just two thousand points is enough. Please?"
After school, Karuizawa Kei didn't leave. She stayed in the classroom and asked one of her friends to lend her some points. For someone with a wide circle of friends and a certain standing in the class, this was a good way to manage.
"I... I don't have much left either."
"I see. What about Kushida?"
"Sure."
Kushida agreed without hesitation when Karuizawa asked to borrow points.
Mu Tianchen thought she really had it tough. Not only did she have to pretend to be popular, she also had to maintain that image at all times.
Even when she didn't want to, she still had to look happy...
"Arigato."
After borrowing from Kushida, she went off to find her next target.
The others were trying to get points, too. Yamauchi, for example, was trying to sell the game console he'd bought the previous month. But he'd asked several people, and none of them seemed interested.
He even tried asking Ayanokouji. In a situation like this, most people would prioritize their own quality of life. Who'd buy it? And unlike Karuizawa, Yamauchi didn't have a wide circle of friends or much standing in the class.
Just as Mu Tianchen was still thinking things over and observing the class, the PA suddenly crackled to life.
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