The crisp ring of the school bell echoed through the brand-new school building, heralding the official start of the new students' high school careers at Ying Tai Advanced Nurturing High School.
The Class 1-A classroom was bright and spotless, its desks and chairs neatly arranged. The students sat upright in their seats, their expressions a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
At the front of the classroom, homeroom teacher Majima Tomoya stood in a sharp suit, his expression serious and professional, and began the first lesson of the school year.
"We'll start with history today."
Majima-sensei opened the digital presentation, projecting ancient maps and portraits onto the screen.
"I'm sure you're all familiar with this material from middle school, but in high school, we'll analyze and discuss it in greater depth. First, let's quickly review the key events."
His voice was clear and resonant.
"In the year 4925 of the Yellow Emperor Calendar, Emperor Chengzu Liu Shan personally led an expedition north, coordinating with his chancellor, Zhuge Kongming. During the pivotal Battle of Jieting, His Majesty led an elite cavalry charge himself and cut down the Wei general Zhang He amid the enemy ranks. He successfully carried out the strategic maneuver known as 'Sever the Ridge,' completely blocking the Wei reinforcements' route and buying Zhuge Kongming's main force a crucial window of time."
He changed slides, showing how the borders shifted after the battle.
"After this battle, Ji Han swiftly recovered Liang Province, Bing Province, and the Sili Region, fulfilling its long-held wish to 'return to the old capital.' More importantly, the battle laid the solid foundations for Ji Han's eventual unification of the realm. It also marked the first, most decisive step in the journey of the Shenzhou Empire, which would endure for a thousand years to come..."
Majima-sensei spoke at length, weaving together historical sources and scholarly perspectives.
For the Chongying students, who had studied their nation's glorious history since childhood, the material was indeed familiar.
Mazumi Mami sat by the window, seemingly focused on the lesson as he discreetly observed the entire class from the corner of his eye.
As expected of Class A students.
He mused to himself.
Faced with basic material they've known by heart for years, not one of them is slacking off or daydreaming. Everyone's listening attentively, taking notes at their own pace. Their discipline and focus are both impressive.
This eased his concerns a little about how difficult it would be to manage the class later on.
The lesson passed steadily amid the teacher's lecture and the soft scratching of pens.
"...We'll take a closer look next class at the economic policy changes in the later stages of the Northern Expedition and their impact on the empire's bureaucracy."
Majima Tomoya glanced at the time and closed the electronic pointer in his hand. "That leaves about ten minutes until the end of class. If you have any questions about what we just covered, you can ask now."
The classroom fell quiet for a moment as most students absorbed the material or organized their notes.
Just then, Mazumi Mami raised his hand.
"Go ahead, Mazumi."
Majima-sensei looked toward him.
"Teacher, may I ask a question related to something outside the curriculum?"
Mazumi Mami's voice was calm and clear.
Majima Tomoya considered this briefly before answering. "If it's a reasonable question related to the learning environment, in principle, yes. However, if it's a personal or complicated matter, I recommend discussing it with me after class so we don't take up everyone else's time."
"Understood. Thank you, teacher."
Mazumi Mami nodded politely and lowered his hand.
However, his unexpected gesture and question had already quietly drawn the attention of the entire class.
Many students looked up from their books and glanced curiously at the transfer student who had attracted attention on the very first day.
After all, it was unusual to be in such a hurry to ask an "extracurricular question" on the first day of school.
Sakayanagi Arisu sat near the front of the classroom, off to one side. She turned her head slightly and glanced at Mazumi Mami from the corner of her eye. A thoughtful look flashed in her violet eyes. What does he want to ask? At a time like this...
The classroom grew quiet again, with only the faint whistle of a PE class on the field outside reaching them.
But a subtle, expectant curiosity hung in the air.
At last, the crisp bell signaling the end of class rang out.
"Class dismissed,"
Majima-sensei announced.
Almost before the bell had finished ringing, Mazumi Mami stood up again. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the classroom could hear him clearly.
"Teacher, my question is this: based on my observations and deductions, it's very likely that we, the students of Class A—or, in fact, all first-years—won't receive our regular monthly allowance of 100,000 points next month. Is that true?"
The classroom erupted—
Like a stone thrown into a still lake, his words sent ripples through the room.
Every student, whether packing up their books or getting ready to leave their seat, froze. Astonished gazes converged on Mazumi Mami.
"What? We won't get any points next month?"
"How is that possible? Aren't we supposed to get them every month?"
"What does he mean? Is the school taking our points back?"
"Hey, don't joke around. I just used my points yesterday to order a new game console..."
"Does he know something we don't?"
Whispers quickly broke out. Surprise, confusion, and unease spread through the classroom.
After yesterday's first taste of spending their points, most students had gained a firsthand sense of how important they were.
One hundred thousand points meant a relatively comfortable, even luxurious, school life. The possibility that this "steady income" might disappear touched a nerve with everyone.
At the front of the classroom, Majima Tomoya's eyes sharpened behind his glasses.
He neither confirmed nor denied the claim right away. Instead, he looked intently at Mazumi Mami and asked, "What's your basis for this, Mazumi? Before making a conjecture that could cause alarm, you need to have solid reasons to support it."
"I've made a few discoveries, and I'd like to use the classroom equipment to show everyone what I've found. May I, teacher?"
Mazumi Mami was composed.
Majima Tomoya was silent for two seconds, then nodded. "You may. Come up to the front."
Under the unwavering gaze of the entire class, Mazumi Mami calmly walked to the front of the room, took out his phone, and connected it to the Smart Whiteboard with a cable.
After a few taps, clear images and concise text and charts appeared on the board.
"Everyone,"
he said, turning to face the class, his voice steady and strong.
"Yesterday, I said I hoped we could become partners who trust one another and move forward together. That's exactly why I don't want our class to be caught off guard—or suffer unnecessary losses—because of unequal access to information or a lack of preparation."
He paused and operated the whiteboard, displaying the first set of images: photos he had taken yesterday of the Class Points rankings posted in the second- and third-year corridors. The point totals for Classes A through D varied dramatically, and the differences were stark.
"Yesterday, my companions and I did some preliminary research around the school. We found that there's a central evaluation system here called 'Class Points.'"
He pointed to the figures. "The upper-year classes are ranked according to their point totals, with the highest-ranked class designated Class A, followed by the others. The number of 'Personal Points' each student in each class receives every month is directly tied to their class's Class Points."
He switched images, displaying several photos taken at the cafeteria's free food counter, the convenience store's free shelves, and the public laundry room. Quite a few upper-year students appeared in the pictures.
"At the same time, we noticed that the school has many stations offering basic necessities and services for free. At first, we thought this was simply the school looking after its students. But when we considered the huge disparity in Class Points among the upper-year classes, along with how often upper-year students used these free services, we reached a conclusion—"
Mazumi Mami's gaze swept over every face in the room, whether stunned, thoughtful, or bewildered, before he slowly voiced the harsh truth.
"Perhaps it isn't that the upper-year students are bad at managing their points. Perhaps the points they 'receive' are meager to begin with. If a class has very few Class Points—or even... none at all—then none of its students will receive any Personal Points next month. These free services may be the only thing keeping them afloat in their daily lives at school."
The classroom was utterly silent, with only his clear voice echoing through it.
Finally, he brought up a simple chart of calculations.
"Let's do the math. There are four first-year classes, with a total of 160 students. Assuming there are roughly the same number of second- and third-year students, the school has about 480 students in all. At 100,000 points per person each month, the school would have to issue 48 million points monthly, equivalent to about 4.8 million Shenzhou Currency. Over the course of a year, that would add up to an enormous expense of more than 57 million."
He lightly tapped the whiteboard with his finger. The soft knocking sound echoed through the room.
"Everyone, think about it. Does it make sense for a high school to spend such an astronomical sum every year on 'points' that amount to students' pocket money, without expecting any direct return? By any normal educational standard, that would be nearly impossible."
He looked at Majima Tomoya, his gaze calm yet searching, leaving no room to dodge the question.
"So, teacher, how many Class Points do we currently have? Have we already lost points for some unknown reason? And, most importantly—are we at risk of receiving no 100,000 points next month, or even having our points reduced to zero?"
Mazumi Mami finished speaking.
He stood at the front of the classroom, quietly waiting for Majima-sensei to respond, having also put this weighty question to every classmate caught between shock and contemplation.
The entire Class A classroom sank into an almost frozen silence.
The commotion from other classes outside the window only made the stillness in this room feel even more stifling.
A faint, almost imperceptible change passed over Majima Tomoya's usually stern expression.
He pushed up his glasses but didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at the students below, whose expressions varied from one to the next.
Sakayanagi Arisu lowered her eyes slightly, her long silver lashes veiling the complicated, unreadable light in them.
Mazumi Mami... You really did make your move. And you chose to do it here, in public, in this way...
She mused to herself, gaining a deeper understanding of how decisive he was and how carefully he chose his moment.
In this way, on the very first day of school, Mazumi Mami had boldly drawn back a corner of the curtain hiding the truth.
From that moment on, life at school for everyone in Class A might take a path entirely different from yesterday's—one filled with competition and uncertainty.