I Really Dislike You

"You guessed it right. Today I really did get asked by Ayanokouji-kun about the old exam papers."

"He gave me the credit for it."

Mu Tianchen received a message from Kushida that same evening.

Giving Kushida the credit was a well-thought-out move on Ayanokouji's part. After all, it both pleased Kushida and kept himself hidden.

Whether or not Ayanokouji had realized that Mu Tianchen had already tipped Kushida off beforehand no longer mattered. As long as their starting points aligned, that was enough.

Besides, he didn't believe Teacher Chazhu would withhold his due reward because of this.

"Got it."

After briefly replying to Kushida's message, Mu Tianchen slowly set down his phone and waited for the next day to arrive...

Today was Thursday, the day before the midterm exams.

After Teacher Chazhu finished explaining the precautions for tomorrow's midterms, Kushida walked up to the podium carrying a stack of what looked like exam papers.

"Everyone, could I have a moment of your time? Please~" Kushida set the stack down on the podium and clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.

Sure enough, even someone as unrestrained as Beauty Bro was willing to stay in the classroom. Guess that's just her charm, huh?

Someone with a personality like Horikita's probably couldn't pull that off.

This was likely why Ayanokouji chose her over Horikita.

Mu Tianchen thought this as his gaze, like everyone else's, turned toward Kushida.

Out of the corner of his eye, Beauty Bro from the next seat seemed to shoot him a contemptuous glance.

Takagahara had probably seen through it all. And his contempt likely came from thinking that saving this group with such methods was meaningless.

After all, this was a school that valued ability above all else. They could cut corners this time, but if they weren't willing to improve themselves later, they'd still be eliminated.

Kushida swept her gaze across the entire class. Seeing that no one had left, she broke into a happy smile and continued, "To help everyone out, I've prepared some exam materials for you to review."

"I'll hand them out now, so make sure you take a good look, okay?" With that, Kushida began distributing the papers. Seeing this, the kind-hearted Hirata stepped up to help.

"What's the point of handing these out now? The exam's tomorrow, y'know."

Sudo grumbled in dissatisfaction. Unlike Ike and Yamauchi, he hadn't been able to study properly because of his earlier conflict with Horikita. He didn't think such a short time would be enough to avoid failing.

"Sudo-kun, I suggest you take a look at the papers first before you say that. These aren't like ordinary review materials."

A student in the front row kindly pointed it out. Having received the paper first, he seemed to have noticed something different about it.

"Why does it say 'Midterm Exam Paper' on here, with answers attached? That's weird."

"Could it be a mock test Kushida-san made?"

"This style feels more like... the real thing...?"

As more and more people received the papers, murmurs of discussion arose.

"Yukimura-kun, you're right. These really are last year's actual exam papers. I got them from some upperclassmen." Kushida confirmed Yukimura Teruhiko's guess.

Yukimura Teruhiko—true to his reputation as a top-tier student—had managed to hit the mark with just a guess.

"Huh? Real exam papers? So... does that mean they're actually useful?" Karuizawa Kei, who was nearby, voiced her doubt upon hearing they were real.

"Exactly. And I also heard from the seniors that the midterm questions from previous years are basically the same. So I think as long as you study these, they'll be a huge help for tomorrow's exam."

"In other words, if we memorize the answers on these papers, we can get high scores tomorrow."

Kushida didn't answer, but her reaction was as good as a confirmation.

"Yeah! Awesome! I was worried I'd fail and get expelled."

"Thanks, little Kushida! You're an angel!"

"If I'd known about this, I wouldn't have studied so hard before."

Hearing this, everyone got excited. Ike was almost moved to tears, clutching the exam paper tightly to his chest.

Someone even stood up in excitement and pounded the desk.

Others grumbled about why she hadn't brought out these old papers sooner. It seemed Ayanokouji had made the right call by releasing them the day before the exam.

After all, if they'd been told earlier, many would have chosen to cut corners instead of working to improve themselves.

Next time they ran into a similar situation without old papers to rely on, they'd still get expelled.

He really thought it through...

"Sudo-kun, make sure you take a good look at this paper when you get back, okay?" Given Sudo's earlier complaints, Kushida naturally felt uneasy about him and made a point to remind him.

"I will. Thanks, you really saved me."

Sudo also broke into a happy smile. If he really got expelled, it would be hard to chase his basketball dream anymore. Even though he often put on a carefree front.

Truth be told, even without these old exam papers, he'd planned to study hard tonight. Whether he'd pass or not was another matter.

"Kushida-san, I'm very grateful to you this time." Horikita walked up and gave Kushida a rare compliment.

"It's nothing... This is for everyone... It's only right." Caught off guard by Horikita's sudden praise, Kushida rubbed her head awkwardly.

"It's not just because you got your hands on that archaeology exam paper that I'm praising you. I'm also satisfied with your decision to bring it out the day before the test."

"Is that so... Haha."

"By doing this, you've ensured that Hirata's and my efforts weren't wasted. If you'd brought it out any earlier, no one would have been willing to attend our study sessions."

"It would've been hard for them to develop good study habits, even if this period has been quite tough."

"Indeed it has." Kushida awkwardly echoed Horikita's words. "But I really did just get this archaeology paper. Bringing it out sooner might have helped everyone score even higher."

"Mm."

"Sorry, Horikita. It's getting late, I should head back." Kushida's words were, of course, an excuse to leave. She still had to visit Class C today.

Half of the archaeology papers she'd give to Class C were still in her bag.

"I don't mind you leaving, but could you wait a moment? I have a few questions for you."

"What questions?" Kushida replied while tidying her bag at her desk.

"Who's the person behind you? And you actually hate me, don't you?" Horikita's expression had returned to its earlier coldness, her eyes fixed straight on Kushida.

"Why would you think that?" Kushida looked at Horikita with some caution.

"Because I can sense it. But if you don't want to say, that's fine. I'll ignore it as long as it doesn't affect the class. As for the person behind you, I'm not that interested for now."

Then why did you ask? Kushida wanted to say that, but swallowed the words back down, turning a beaming smile toward Horikita.

"Yes, I really do hate you."

Leaving those words behind, Kushida picked up her bag and walked out of the classroom...