The End

"Sudo told me Teacher Chazhu probably found out." After school, Horikita went over to where Mu Tianchen was sitting.

"Yeah, I know. I'll go talk to her." With that, Mu Tianchen stood up and left the classroom.

Since this wasn't his first time visiting Teacher Chazhu's office, it didn't take him long to find it.

Mu Tianchen gently knocked on the staff room door.

"Come in." Teacher Chazhu's voice came from inside. The teachers should have gone home by now, so was she deliberately waiting for him...?

When he entered, he saw Teacher Chazhu sitting with her legs crossed, holding a half-smoked cigarette. Teacher Hoshinomiya's seat from Class B was empty, so it seemed she'd left not long after school.

"I'll get straight to the point. You came up with the idea of having Sudo cheat, didn't you?" Teacher Chazhu stubbed out her cigarette, her eyes instantly turning sharp.

"I did. Are you planning to report me to the school?"

Mu Tianchen didn't believe she would report him. If she'd wanted to do that, she would have called him out during the exam. There was no need to wait until now.

"Report you? I wouldn't get anything out of that."

"But as a teacher, I can't just let something like this happen. It's against the rules." After saying that, she looked at Mu Tianchen thoughtfully.

"Name your price."

"Hahaha, it's a pleasure talking to a clever person. I want 200,000 points as hush money."

"No problem. But don't forget our previous agreement." Mu Tianchen took out his phone and transferred 200,000 points to Teacher Chazhu.

"Of course."

"That agreement will remain in effect, as long as you're willing to work for the class."

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going." Mu Tianchen ignored Teacher Chazhu and turned to leave.

"Fine, but I still have to remind you: there's no room for luck at this school. What happened this time was an exception." Teacher Chazhu's tone suddenly turned serious.

"I understand."

The next day was when the exam results would officially be announced. As soon as Teacher Chazhu stepped into the classroom, she could feel the students' unusual excitement.

"Teacher Kozaki, I heard you're announcing the results today. I can't wait to see my score. Hehe."

"I want to know, too. This might be the best I've ever done."

"Hahaha, I can hardly wait."

The classroom immediately filled with a chorus of voices.

Teacher Chazhu took it all in and calmly posted the Midterm Exam results on the blackboard.

"Honestly, I'm impressed that you managed to get such good results. And congratulations to all of you for passing the exam."

The students looked at the scores arranged on the blackboard, each of them breaking into a happy smile.

"All right!" Sudo shouted when he saw his score. He had ranked in the upper-middle range, and had scored an astonishing 65 in English.

Looks like the student in front of him had memorized the answers really well during the exam...

"Teacher, did you see that? I told you I just hadn't done well last time, hahaha." Ike looked smug when he saw his score.

"That does seem to be the case. I'll give you credit for your efforts."

"Then, Teacher, does that mean we'll get points again next month?"

Since Class D had received zero Class Points last month, the students had been relying on the school's free supplies to get by.

They hadn't been in any danger of going hungry, but their quality of life had been miserable compared to the first month. Getting points meant they could return to their previous comfortable lives, at least a little—but not by much...

"Of course." After answering, Teacher Chazhu took another sheet of poster paper from the lectern and put it on the blackboard.

Class A: 1,000 points

Class B: 700 points

Class C: 580 points

Class D: 100 points

"That's a full 100-point increase!"

"So that means we'll get 10,000 points next month."

"We're still at the bottom, but it's not bad."

The students discussed the announcement of the Class Points nonstop.

If he remembered correctly, the points last month had been as follows. Mu Tianchen found his old notes and looked them over.

Class A: 940 points

Class B: 650 points

Class C: 490 points

Class D: 0 points

That meant Class A had gained 60 points, Class B 50, Class C 90, and Class D 100.

Looks like there was no penalty system for this exam...

Thanks to the Past Exam Papers, Class D had achieved the best results this time and received the highest number of points: 100.

Class B, which was currently falling behind, had also gained 50 points.

Based on Mu Tianchen's calculations, since the school followed a meritocratic principle, the top two classes should have been rewarded with points, while the bottom two should have lost points.

Was it because of some kind of protection mechanism at the beginning...? Or was the school doing this on purpose?

They probably wouldn't get such a good opportunity next time...

"Horikita, Horikita, thanks for what you did this time."

After class, Sudo went over to Horikita's desk and bowed slightly to thank her.

"It's fine. It was the right thing to do."

"What do you mean, the right thing to do?" Sudo scratched his head.

"I want to lead our class to Class A. I'll do everything I can to help you reach that goal."

"I see. Still, thank you. Of course, next time I'll do my best to improve my abilities."

"Yeah. Actually, I should apologize to you, too." Horikita changed the subject. "I shouldn't have mocked your efforts or your dream."

"Becoming a professional basketball player really is difficult, but I still shouldn't have disrespected you. If you can change and work hard from now on, you can still make it."

Horikita's expression barely changed, but she bowed slightly.

"All right, that's all I wanted to say." After apologizing, Horikita left the classroom.

Sudo watched her go, then slowly returned to his seat.

"Hey, hey, did you see that? Horikita actually apologized." After witnessing what had just happened, Ike asked Yamauchi.

"Of course I saw. Maybe Horikita isn't as bad as we thought."

"Why don't we invite her to a celebration party today and ask Ayanokoji, too?" Ike suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea."

"You mysterious boy, you did well this time." Takagahara glanced at the classmate sitting beside him with an amused smile.

"Even if I hadn't stepped in, everyone else would have done their part."

There was no point pretending with Takagahara. He might have already seen through everything.

"Hahaha, let's say that's what happened."

"I'm going out for a bit." Mu Tianchen didn't respond to Takagahara. He turned and left the classroom.