Trading with Class C

Two days remained until the Midterm Exam. That day at lunch break, Kushida arrived early at the entrance to Class C's classroom.

One of the methods Mu Tianchen had her employ was to trade with Class C.

Watching the stream of people filing out of Class C, she finally spotted the key figure—Ryuen Sho.

"Ryuen, wait a moment." Kushida called out to Ryuen, who was about to leave, his usual entourage of "bodyguards" flanking him.

"If I remember right, you're Kushida from Class D. What are you doing here? Don't tell me you've come to scout our class for intel!"

Shiqi Dadi, recognizing Kushida, shot her a hostile glare.

Ibuki and Albert nearby also watched her warily, ready to detain her at a moment's notice.

Kushida, however, put on a look of feigned grievance.

Ryuen Sho casually waved his hand, signaling them to back off. "Spit it out. What do you want from me?"

Ryuen's voice was calm, but his eyes were deep and piercing, as if he had already seen through her purpose here.

"Let's talk alone."

Though Ryuen's lackeys had withdrawn, they still watched from a short distance, and with people milling about nearby, this place was hardly suitable for conversation.

Seeing this, Ryuen turned straight back into the classroom, chased out the remaining students, and called over Albert and the others who were nearby.

"Stand guard around here. If anyone dares to barge in and interrupt, I won't let you off easy!"

"Got it." The group nodded, retreated to the classroom door, and closed it behind them.

"Satisfied now?" Ryuen said with a sly grin. He had a hunch that whatever Kushida had come to discuss was important.

Kushida couldn't deny her surprise at Ryuen's series of actions. In Class D, she gained a voice by currying favor with others, but here in Class C, it seemed to be rule by violence...

And yet, he could still make so many people submit to him.

"I want to make a deal with your Class C." Kushida spoke slowly.

"A deal? Let's hear it. What's in it for me?"

Ryuen's expression showed little surprise at the word "deal." He casually propped his legs up on the desk, his gaze fixed intently on Kushida.

"Then I'll be direct. This Midterm Exam can earn a huge amount of class points. Your Class C wouldn't want to miss this opportunity, would you?"

"Class points, huh? Interesting." Ryuen was indeed aware that this Midterm Exam could yield many points, but he knew Class C's situation well.

Only a handful of people were actually good at studying, and raising the grades of the dummies in a short time was no easy feat. He had tried having the top students lead study sessions to guide them, but the results were far from impressive.

And for Kushida to come to him about this, she must have something in mind.

"I'm here to help your class score high on this exam—for a price, of course." Kushida continued, watching Ryuen's thoughtful expression.

"The price is points, right?" Ryuen wasn't stupid; he caught on immediately.

Kushida nodded. "I need one million points."

"One million? That's quite the demand. But why should I trust you?"

One million was steep for Ryuen, but if it could really boost class points significantly, it wasn't out of the question.

After all, most of the class's points were under his control, and in the long run, class points were far more valuable than personal ones.

"I bought the answer key for this Midterm Exam from the school for two million points."

This was obviously a lie—a script Mu Tianchen had told her to use beforehand.

He had her say this because, based on his understanding of Ryuen, the guy would never know that Past Exam Papers were a thing.

Ryuen was bad at studying and always ruled autocratically. Even if someone in Class C discovered it, they wouldn't easily tell him.

Moreover, he tended to look at things from a long-term perspective; the surface truth of a matter often mattered less to him.

Sure enough, Ryuen fell silent at these words, deep in thought.

He was mulling it over. Buying answers from the school—setting aside whether it was true or false—given that this school could sell anything with points, it was indeed feasible. And the fact that someone had thought of it meant they had already grasped the rules well.

Coming to resell those answers was clearly just to earn points.

As for the answer key, it probably really existed; otherwise, they wouldn't have come specifically to negotiate with him.

Ryuen had also considered buying it directly from the school himself. He didn't think the school would charge as high as two million.

But there was no need for that. Alerting the school would only put him under more scrutiny, and some of his plans might become harder to execute.

Whoever this was had cleverly seized on that point to pocket the difference.

Ryuen could sense that the Kushida standing before him was likely just a messenger.

The one proposing this deal was still hiding in the shadows. At that thought, a flicker of unease suddenly crossed Ryuen's mind.

Maybe the person behind Kushida was the same one who had screwed him over before...

"I agree to this deal. But can you tell me who's behind you?"

Ryuen stared straight into Kushida's eyes, as if trying to read the answer from them.

But Kushida wasn't about to sell him out so easily—after all, she still had leverage over him, and she had already taken his points.

"There's no one else. I did this of my own free will." Kushida replied in a firm tone.

"You think I'd believe you're that smart? Forget it. Sooner or later, he'll slip up on his own."

Kushida was still quite angry inside at Ryuen's words, but since she had to maintain her image as a little angel, she could only keep it hidden.

"Then sign this agreement." Kushida blinked her eyes cutely, pulling two sheets of paper from her pocket.

Ryuen took them and looked them over. The content was about a voluntary exchange, with the exchange date set for the day before the exam.

The first party listed on the agreement was Kushida, but whose transfer account it was remained unknown.

As long as both parties voluntarily signed, such an agreement could take effect even without a witness.

So she really had prepared this in advance.

"I only have 500,000 points right now. Can I transfer the remaining 500,000 on the first of next month?"

Ryuen of course had more than 500,000 points on hand. He was doing this to keep his guard up.

After all, you never know—there might be an emergency this month requiring a sudden use of points.

"Fine." Kushida hesitated slightly, then agreed.

After both parties signed the agreement, they quickly got up and left the classroom.

There were still two days until the midterm exam. She had to start getting busy with Class D's affairs...