Midterm Exam

"Sudo, come out with me for a moment." Horikita walked straight up to Sudo and said.

"Huh? What is it, Horikita? Can't you see I'm studying?" Sudo sounded a bit irritated, flipping through the exam paper in his hands.

"Horikita, you'd better not bother him." Kushida chimed in, trying to persuade her.

"Sudo, I'll say it again. Come out with me. It's about the next English exam. I have a way to keep you from failing."

"What are you talking about, Horikita? The answers are all right here. What other method could there be?" Ike cut in first, clearly skeptical.

"That's right. Better to let Sudo spend this time memorizing the multiple-choice answers." Yamauchi also sounded unconvinced.

Hearing Horikita mention the next English exam, Sudo paused slightly in his movements. "You really have a way to keep me from failing?"

"Come out with me." Horikita ignored Ike and Yamauchi's comments and walked out of the classroom.

Sudo hesitated for a few seconds, then put down what he was holding and followed closely behind.

"Sudo, do you really believe she has a way to keep you from failing?" Kushida also seemed doubtful, calling out to his retreating back.

"I'll give it a try. Either way, with this little time, I might not be able to memorize the answers anyway." Sudo replied to Kushida and left the classroom.

Once outside the classroom, Horikita was standing at the corner of the hallway. Sudo walked up to her. "Alright, Horikita, let's hear it."

Horikita glanced around. Although this spot was a blind spot for the hallway surveillance cameras, there was no ruling out other special circumstances.

After confirming the surroundings were safe, Horikita spoke. "Go cheat."

"What kind of joke is that? I actually thought you had a good idea. I shouldn't have wasted this time!"

Hearing Horikita's words, Sudo slammed his fist hard against the nearby wall and turned to leave.

"Sudo, wait. Even if you rush back now to memorize the answers, it's already too late."

"So you did this on purpose? What benefit is there for you if I get expelled?" Sudo turned back, his anger flaring even more.

"What are you talking about? I'm helping you. Listen, the school might not take this exam as seriously as you think. This Past Exam Papers is a perfect example."

"If they took it seriously, they wouldn't have left the question order unchanged."

It was true, as Horikita said. Sudo had noticed it in the previous exam subjects too, but given the exam rules Teacher Chazhu had explained before, he still wasn't convinced he could cheat during the test. Sure, he had cheated plenty of times in middle school and was quite skilled at it, but this place was different. The rules stated that getting caught meant expulsion. He didn't want to take that risk.

"Even if what you say is true, getting caught cheating still means expulsion. The rules make that very clear."

"Rules?" Horikita smiled. "You know your situation well enough. No matter what you do, you'll be expelled. You might as well go all out."

"This is all because of you!" Sudo's anger flared again at that, but it was true, as Horikita said—he had no choice left.

Sudo was silent for a moment, as if he had made up his mind. "Fine. Tell me what to do."

"Let me ask you. Is your eyesight good?"

"Do you even need to ask? I'm on the basketball team, and I'm about to be promoted to a regular player."

"I didn't ask you that." Horikita was a bit exasperated. "If your eyesight is good, then copy the answers from the classmates around you. Remember, absolutely no using notes or anything like that—it leaves evidence."

"Of course I know that. I've done it before. But isn't there a camera in the classroom?"

It seemed Sudo had noticed the camera in the classroom too. But if he had noticed, why had he always been pulling little stunts in there before...

"Don't worry about that. The school won't check that carefully for this exam."

"And what about Teacher Chazhu? I can tell her invigilation is stricter than any teacher I've had before. I don't think I can cheat right under her nose."

Sudo's thinking was correct. Teacher Chazhu's invigilation was very strict. Her strictness was a big part of why he had done so poorly on the last quiz. Her gaze seemed to see right through people. If you met her eyes, you basically wouldn't dare to pull any tricks.

"Don't worry about Teacher Chazhu. Even if she catches you, it'll be fine. I'll handle it."

"Is that true, Horikita? Thank you so much." Sudo's biggest worry was Teacher Chazhu. Hearing Horikita's words, he could finally relax about cheating.

"It's true." Horikita gave a firm answer. Though she hadn't interacted with him much, she inexplicably felt very reassured by that man.

"It's getting late. Let's head back, Sudo. Remember, never mention this to anyone."

"Of course I won't." Sudo patted his chest.

"One last thing. Cheating isn't a reflection of your true ability. You avoided expulsion this time, but you might not next time. You still need to study seriously." Horikita said very seriously.

"I understand. If I can avoid expulsion this time, I'll definitely work hard and study seriously. And thank you for doing so much for me, Horikita."

Watching Horikita's retreating figure, Sudo's heart inexplicably started racing. Just moments ago, he had been furious at her. Could he be... falling for her?!!

As the bell for the last English exam rang, Sudo returned to his seat.

Looking at the English test paper handed out, he still couldn't understand a thing, but he had to put on a show. As time passed, he began his plan.

Sudo's eyesight was excellent. By raising his head a bit, he could clearly see the answers on the desk in front of him, and he copied them without issue. But the moment he lifted his head, Teacher Chazhu's gaze also landed on him. However, she only glanced at him before immediately looking elsewhere.

Sure enough, these little tricks couldn't escape Teacher Chazhu's eyes. She still caught them.

But since she didn't call it out, that meant it was allowed—or did Horikita do something about it...

Still, Sudo couldn't be too blatant. Relying on his past experience with cheating, he finished copying all the answers and welcomed the end of the exam...

"Sudo-kun, you didn't have any problems with that test just now, did you?"

"Yeah, you didn't come back for a long time before the exam started. I was really worried."

After the English test ended, Kushida and Ike immediately gathered around and came to Sudo's seat.

"It's fine. I did pretty well. I really have Horikita to thank for that."

"Horikita-san? Did she call you out and do something?" Kushida asked, a little curious.

"No... nothing." Sudo said that, but his face was slightly red...