The Differential Below the Passing Line

The day after the exam ended, the entire student body was summoned to their respective classrooms to await the final results and passing scores. The air was heavier than on exam day, as if even the sunlight was veiled, unable to penetrate with any warmth. The ironclad rules of Advanced Nurturing High School were never ambiguous—half of the class average for each subject was the passing line; a single point difference meant expulsion.

In Class D's classroom, everyone was on edge, their breathing shallow. Having received their scores, they waited for Sae Chabashira, their homeroom teacher, to speak. Yosuke Hirata stood by the podium, maintaining his usual gentle smile as he tried to soothe the restless atmosphere, but the panic in his eyes was undeniable. Kikyo Kushida sat at her desk, her expression as perfectly harmless as ever, yet her eyes subtly swept across the class, finally resting on Ken Sudo's tense profile. Kiyotaka Ayanokoji was tucked away in the most inconspicuous corner of the room, like a transparent sheet of paper. Suzune Horikita leaned against the window alone, her profile cold and unyielding, silent, but the clenched tips of her fingers betrayed her concern.

Sae Chabashira entered the classroom, her expression impassive, and projected the score sheets and passing line above the blackboard. The system quickly calculated, and cold numbers appeared line by line:

Class D Subject Averages ÷ 2 = Passing Line, 79.6 / 2 = 39.8, rounded up, Math Passing Line: 40 points.

All eyes in the class snapped to Ken Sudo's desk.

Ken Sudo's Math Score—39 points.

The difference, one point.

Just one point away from expulsion.

After a moment of dead silence, the classroom erupted.

"Sudo-kun..."

"How could this happen? I studied the past papers..."

Yosuke Hirata immediately stepped forward, attempting to plead with Sae Chabashira, his tone earnest: "Teacher, please, it's only one point. Can you give him another chance?"

Sae Chabashira looked up coldly: "Rules are rules. If you don't pass, you're expelled. Come to the office after school to complete the procedures."

She left without any room for negotiation, her demeanor utterly ruthless. Ken Sudo's face turned ashen, his body trembling. He wanted to speak but couldn't form words. The usually hot-headed student was reduced to despair by the absolute fear of expulsion.

Yosuke Hirata refused to give up. In the classroom, he did his best to maintain order, urging everyone to calm down and trying to find a solution. But everyone knew that scores announced by the school couldn't be arbitrarily changed. The debate ended in powerless silence. Hirata looked at the dejected students, his heart heavy, yet he forced himself to comfort them, the weariness of his good-natured persona evident at that moment.

Just as everyone believed Sudo's expulsion was a foregone conclusion, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji silently stood up and left the classroom, following Sae Chabashira.

The wind was strong on the rooftop, lifting the hem of Sae Chabashira's skirt. She leaned against the railing, a cigarette between her fingers, which she lit and took a slow drag from, the smoke dissipating in the wind. She wasn't surprised to see Ayanokoji arrive, her tone casual and direct: "You came faster than I expected."

"Teacher, your words earlier left room for maneuver," Ayanokoji said, standing a short distance away, his voice calm and unwavering. "In this school, there's nothing that can't be bought with points."

Sae Chabashira let out a scoff and exhaled smoke: "As expected of you. That's right, it can be bought. However, the one point Sudo is short, I'm offering a discounted price of 100,000 private points. I doubt you have that much."

One hundred thousand points.

For Class D, which had just experienced their points reset and was struggling financially, it was impossible for any individual to come up with that amount. Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's personal account didn't have enough.

As he remained silent, calculating, a clear, cool female voice echoed from the rooftop entrance.

"I'll cover the rest."

Suzune Horikita appeared from somewhere, her expression still cold, but her eyes were unusually determined. "I will not allow Class D to have an expelled student in the very first exam."

She directly took out her phone and checked her point balance. Ayanokoji glanced at her.

Keeping Ken Sudo is more beneficial than detrimental. Suzune Horikita stated her reasoning.

The 100,000 points were gathered.

Sae Chabashira extinguished her cigarette. "Since this school was established, no Class D student has ever been promoted. Even so, are you going to struggle like this? How can you climb up when even the school has given up on you flawed individuals?" Her tone was laced with a natural mockery.

"Putting him aside, I am definitely aiming for the upper classes. If I may be blunt, flawed individuals can become qualified ones with a little change, at least that's what I believe," Suzune Horikita said emotionlessly, delivering a statement that would score highly.

"Then I will look forward to it. As your homeroom teacher, I will eagerly watch over you," Sae Chabashira said, turning to leave.

"You two can tell Sudo Ken that he doesn't have to be expelled." Sudo Ken's expulsion was quietly rescinded.

The chaos of Class D, where everyone was on the verge of self-preservation, was thus resolved.

When the news reached the classroom, Yosuke Hirata breathed a long sigh of relief, Kikyo Kushida showed a perfectly measured surprise and joy, and Ken Sudo himself stood stunned, unable to speak for a long time. No one knew exactly what had happened, only that Sudo was temporarily safe. Only Ayanokoji and Horikita knew that behind this one point lay a loophole in the rules paved with points, the truest face of Advanced Nurturing High School.

At the same time, Class C welcomed not despair, but the establishment of their dominance.

Three days prior, on the afternoon before the exam, after homeroom teacher Kazuma Sakagami's class ended, Kakeru Ryuen sat on a desk, his legs dangling casually, his eyes fierce but filled with the confidence of absolute control. On the blackboard was an old exam paper of the same type as the one leaked to Class D—he had used both brute force and intelligence to obtain the past exam papers.

At this moment, Class C was not united. Mio Ibuki stood in a corner, arms crossed, her expression displeased and resistant; Albert Yamada remained silent, exuding an aura that kept people at a distance, the most disobedient person to Ryuen in the class. In the days prior, Mio Ibuki had openly and covertly opposed Ryuen, and Albert Yamada did not approve of his violent leadership.

But this time, Ryuen did not, as usual, seek out "prey" to berate.

He slammed the photocopied exam papers and answer key onto the desk, his tone arrogant and domineering: "Memorize all of this. Not a single question can be wrong. Whoever drags the class down will face consequences." With that, he bolted, leaving the members of Class C bewildered.

"It seems Ryuen-san isn't quite used to doing things this way," Hiyori Shiina said, holding a stack of photocopied papers and explaining the pattern of the old exam questions to the class. Ryuen had likely found her beforehand to "clean up."

His words were fierce, but his actions were straightforward—giving away the questions and answers for free, even forcing everyone to memorize them.

Mio Ibuki frowned and grumbled, "What a hassle," but she still picked up the exam paper; Albert remained silent, but the resistance in his eyes lessened slightly, and he also picked up the paper.

Ryuen was absent for the latter half of the period. Class C, which had been loosely divided and opposed, was, for the first time, truly united under the common goal of "everyone passing and avoiding expulsion." Some feared his violence, some were grateful for him providing the questions, and some chose to obey under the pressure of life and death. Class C, originally filled with contradictions and cliques, had undergone a process of consolidation and integration after this exam.

When the results were announced, all of Class C passed, with no one expelled.

The moment cheers erupted, Kakeru Ryuen's leadership position in Class C was firmly established.

No one dared to openly resist anymore. Fear, admiration, and dependence intertwined, forming the most solid obedience. The students silently acknowledged—submitting to strong leadership in this school where strength reigned supreme, perhaps for the "weak," it was truly a way to survive.

Kakeru Ryuen listened to the cheers of relief from his classmates, a wild grin spreading across his lips.

In the first exam, he not only won, but he also won the dominance of the entire class.