The Deal Is Struck

"Lead Class D? That's impossible."

Mu Tianchen rejected her without a second thought. Although he could help Class D temporarily in exchange for points, he didn't want to lead a class again.

"Oh? So there's a special reason behind it, after all," Teacher Chazhu teased.

"Stay out of my business."

"You've got quite a temper. Fine, how about this: you just need to raise your Class Points."

"That I can do."

Raising Class Points would benefit Mu Tianchen, too. After all, personal points were tied to Class Points, so his personal points would increase along with the class's.

It might not be much for him, but some was better than none.

"Then I'll make an exception and tell you this once. Your next chance to raise your Class Points will be the Midterm Exam in two weeks. I imagine you've figured that out already, right?"

"Yeah."

Mu Tianchen knew as much. If there were expulsion penalties, there had to be corresponding rewards.

Besides, the school couldn't keep the first-years' Class Points in their current state forever. Otherwise, there'd be no point in competing.

"How about I reward you at a rate of 1:10,000?"

That meant Mu Tianchen would receive 10,000 personal points for every point his class gained.

It was undeniably a good deal.

"That's a pretty good offer. But do you have that many points?"

Mu Tianchen wanted to use the question to probe where the teachers' points came from. The fact that a teacher could offer such a large reward showed just how much authority they had.

"Don't worry about that. If I've offered, I can definitely pay that much."

As expected, Teacher Chazhu wasn't easy to probe.

"Fine. But aren't you worried I'll do nothing and take the points anyway? Horikita and Ryoji may already have started taking action. I could just sit back and reap the rewards."

"Hahaha, you're certainly straightforward. I asked to speak with you alone because I believe there are some things you'd be better suited to handle."

"As for Horikita, I don't believe she'll be able to help her classmates much during the Midterm Exam in two weeks. That's just the kind of person she is..."

"And when it comes to Ayanokouji, there are too many unpredictable factors..."

"Ryoji is unpredictable? I guess she doesn't know he came from that room. But does that mean I'm predictable?!"

Mu Tianchen suddenly felt at a loss for words. Still, they were just using each other, so there was no need to dwell on it.

"I understand. I'll help. Just remember your promise."

"Of course."

"Also, I don't want you telling anyone about me, including how many points I have."

"Don't worry. The school has rules against disclosing students' private information to others without permission."

Mu Tianchen: "..."

The school had rules against disclosing students' private information? But she'd done it before... Never mind. It wasn't as if he was the only one whose information she'd disclosed.

Teacher Chazhu glanced at the clock on the wall. "All right, that's enough for today. I have to hurry to a faculty meeting."

"Then I'll head back."

With that, Mu Tianchen left the Counseling Room.

When he returned to the classroom, he immediately felt several gazes land on him.

They were probably curious about why Teacher Chazhu had called him and Ayanokouji in together.

After school, Mu Tianchen went to the library as usual.

There was something he wanted to ask Hiyori Shiina today.

Sure enough, after he'd picked up a book he liked and read for a while, Shiina arrived.

"Um, Shiina, let's talk about studying and our classes today instead of books, okay?"

After Shiina sat down, Mu Tianchen began asking questions.

"Sure, but..." Shiina seemed hesitant.

It was probably because the Class Points for each class had been announced today. His Class D had received zero points, and talking about it might put him in a bad mood.

She really was a considerate girl.

"Don't worry about Class D getting zero Class Points. I'm fine."

"Besides, this might actually be a good thing for our class. Getting zero points could motivate them to study and help them improve their bad habits."

Mu Tianchen put her concerns to rest.

"I understand."

Seeing Shiina nod, Mu Tianchen asked, "How difficult did you find the last few questions on the quiz?"

Shiina shook her head. "Very difficult. They didn't seem like questions first-years could answer. Afterward, I asked a few other girls in my class who are good at their studies, and they couldn't solve them either."

It seemed the school really was hinting at something. If it had only happened in Class D, he could have suspected Teacher Chazhu of meddling.

But the same thing had happened in Class C, which meant the school was behind it.

"What's wrong?" Shiina asked when Mu Tianchen fell silent.

"Nothing. I think the school might have done it on purpose. Our class had the same experience."

"Really? But what would the school gain from that?"

"In my opinion, part of the reason is to identify a few exceptionally talented students. As for the other reason, I think they're probably hinting at something about the Midterm Exam."

"That makes a lot of sense. But... is it all right to tell me this? We're in different classes, after all." Shiina spoke hesitantly.

She was quite smart, too. She'd already realized how important information was to the competition between classes.

"If I'm right, you care more about this class than the competition between classes, don't you?"

"Eh?" Shiina looked slightly surprised. "That's true. More than getting into Class A, I care about seeing my classmates grow."

"But if my class needs me, I'll do my best to help."

Shiina expressed her decision plainly.

"By the way, since your class got zero points, that means you won't receive any points this month. Will you have trouble getting by? If you don't have enough, I can lend you some."

She was the second person to offer to lend him points, after Shibata. What could he say? He disliked the school, but the students here seemed pretty decent.

"No, thank you. I'm frugal, and I still have quite a bit left from last month."

That wasn't really a lie. Even excluding what he'd earned recently, he still had quite a bit left.

"I understand. If you need anything in the future, just come to me for help."

"Okay."

After their conversation, they each picked up their favorite books and read until the closing bell rang...

After saying goodbye to Shiina, Mu Tianchen went straight back to his dorm.

He sorted through the information he'd gathered that day. Just as he'd told Shiina, the quiz had to be hinting at the Midterm Exam. Perhaps he could make use of that...