After leaving the cafeteria, Chihaya Rei didn't hurry off.
He picked a spot to stand and watched the cafeteria entrance, seemingly plotting something.
"Are you not leaving yet?"
Kamuro Masumi couldn't help asking.
"Kamuro, wait here for a few minutes."
Chihaya Rei's eyes suddenly lit up. He said it rapidly, then strode forward, leaving Kamuro Masumi with his back turned.
Kamuro Masumi looked puzzled at first.
Then she saw Chihaya Rei intercept a tall, black-haired upperclasswoman who was leaving the cafeteria alone.
They chatted and laughed for a few moments, then both took out their phones.
Kamuro Masumi's eyebrows twitched as she watched. She clenched her fist, nearly turning around and leaving in a huff.
So when Chihaya Rei walked back over, Kamuro Masumi said sourly:
"So you asked me to wait while you went to hit on an upperclasswoman?"
"Why would you think that?"
Chihaya Rei raised an eyebrow, openly amused. He waved his phone and said casually:
"That's a very shallow interpretation, Kamuro."
As he spoke, he tapped his phone a few times and sent Kamuro Masumi a document.
It contained the questions and answers for the upcoming midterm exams, along with the questions and answers for the test at the end of April.
"Check your phone."
Kamuro Masumi looked confused, realizing that things might not be what she'd thought.
She took her phone from her skirt and saw the document Chihaya Rei had sent after unlocking the screen.
When she opened it and saw the title, Kamuro Masumi's eyes widened slightly. She read aloud without thinking:
"Advanced Nurturing High School, first-year midterm exam questions and answer explanations?"
"That's right. I bought it from the upperclasswoman just now," Chihaya Rei added with a smile.
He had used his good looks to charm the upperclasswoman and bought it for 8,000 points.
But if he resold it with a different sales pitch, he could soon make twice that amount from some unlucky sucker.
"Will this actually be useful?"
Kamuro Masumi frowned and asked skeptically, "There's no guarantee they'll use the same questions this year, right?"
"Of course it'll be useful." Chihaya Rei explained confidently. "Our test at the end of April is the same as in previous years. The school is basically giving us a hint."
"The upperclasswoman confirmed that, too. Besides, think about it. They've even organized the whole document. They're obviously ready to sell it to us first-years."
After hearing Chihaya Rei's explanation, Kamuro Masumi looked through the test questions from the end of April again. After skimming a few, she saw that he was right.
That meant the answers were probably quite reliable.
"This school really is ridiculous."
She twitched her lips and couldn't help complaining.
But soon Kamuro's expression turned strange, and she gave Chihaya Rei a curious look.
"Why did you send it to me?"
After all, the classes were in competition with one another.
With these answers, her entire class could pass the midterm exams without trouble.
Kamuro Masumi understood the value of the answers, as well as the significance of what Chihaya Rei had just told her. He shouldn't have shared it with her so casually, either.
Yet Chihaya Rei had sent her the answers without a word.
Was he worried he wouldn't pass the midterms and would be expelled?
If so, Kamuro Masumi thought, there was no need to worry.
She didn't like studying much, but she could still manage the requirement of scoring at least half the class average.
Still, Chihaya Rei's actions stirred some strange thoughts in Kamuro Masumi's mind.
When Sakayanagi had threatened her, Chihaya Rei had stepped in to help. Now he'd given her the answers.
And not long ago, he'd even called her a good girl...
No matter how she looked at it, Kamuro Masumi couldn't stop the thought from appearing in her mind.
Does he like me?
The thought made Kamuro Masumi's heart beat a little faster, though she managed to keep her expression calm.
But Chihaya Rei's next words quickly sank the romantic fantasy that had begun to bloom in Kamuro Masumi's heart.
"It was no trouble."
Chihaya Rei said it so casually, as if he'd done something trivial.
"Also, I want you to help me by passing these answers along to Katsuragi in your class."
"Tell him you happened to find out someone was trading them with upperclassmen, so you bought a copy, too."
Chihaya Rei had even come up with an excuse for Kamuro Masumi.
"..."
Kamuro Masumi froze for a moment.
So Chihaya Rei had another motive.
The excitement she'd felt a moment ago was doused like a bucket of cold water.
Her face turned awkward, and she even felt ashamed that she'd had such a mortifying thought.
"Kamuro, your face is a little red. Don't tell me you got the wrong idea?"
Chihaya Rei noticed Kamuro Masumi's odd expression. He couldn't help stepping closer, giving her a knowing look as he sized her up.
He thought to himself:
Kamuro Masumi had worried he didn't have enough points to spend and had brought him some. Then she'd come along to eat with him.
She'd looked jealous just now, too.
She'd also cheerfully walked back to the dorm with him, though that was on the way.
But with her tsundere personality, wouldn't it have made more sense for her to leave on her own after treating him? Instead, she'd stayed by his side.
Besides, Kamuro Masumi had seemed more sweet than prickly around him today.
And he wasn't exactly bad-looking.
Could Kamuro Masumi have improper feelings for him?
Chihaya Rei thought it was quite possible.
"No!"
Kamuro Masumi denied it sternly, her expression blank. She took a deep breath and pushed aside her strange thoughts, calming herself before asking:
"Why give the answers to Katsuragi?"
Seeing Kamuro Masumi stubbornly deny it, Chihaya Rei's lips curved into a smile. He didn't press her further.
As for her question...
Chihaya Rei thought a detailed explanation would be too much trouble, so he simply said:
"Just know that this will make Sakayanagi unhappy."
The midterm answers were optional for Class A, in fact.
Whether or not they had the answers, the students in Class A would study hard and prepare for the exams. With their solid foundations, they could pass either way.
Yet Chihaya Rei had chosen to give the answers to Katsuragi.
It might seem like a pointless gesture, but it wasn't.
If Katsuragi presented the answers to Class A, he would be providing the class with an extra safeguard.
That would raise Katsuragi's standing in Class A and win over more of its neutral students.
It was a way to support Katsuragi and weaken Sakayanagi.
Besides, after Chihaya Rei had provoked Sakayanagi that morning, she would probably make a move to seize leadership of Class A. He was giving her a little setback in advance.
And Sakayanagi had challenged him. How could he just sit back and take a beating? He had to strike first!
"Okay, I understand."
Kamuro Masumi nodded. A smile slipped onto her cool face, only for Chihaya Rei to tease her about it again.
She wasn't stupid. It didn't take much thought to understand Chihaya Rei's intentions.
After all, she knew that Katsuragi and Sakayanagi were vying for leadership of Class A.
Kamuro Masumi was more than happy to do anything that would annoy that self-important Sakayanagi.
Besides, Sakayanagi had already tried to recruit her.
But she would never become Sakayanagi Arisu's lapdog!
Afterward, they returned to the dorm together. Chihaya Rei said goodbye when they reached the fourth floor and went inside.
Back in his room, Chihaya Rei turned on the free air conditioner and sat down to think about what he needed to do next.
As a seasoned information broker, Chihaya Rei knew his greatest advantage was using his information edge to exploit gaps in knowledge during each class competition and earn a large number of personal points.
But for this midterm exam, his only customer was Ryuen Kakeru.
Students in Class A and Class B weren't at risk of failing.
Given the personalities of Ichinose Honami and Katsuragi Kohei, they were both confident their classes could pass the exam just by reviewing on their own.
So selling them a way to pass the exam wouldn't work.
That was why he had no qualms about asking Kamuro to give Katsuragi the answers instead of selling them.
But Class C was a different story.
Only a handful of Class C students had decent grades. The remaining thirty-odd students were poor at studying, and many of them were at risk of failing.
In a sense, Class C was the weakest of the four classes.
Thinking about it, Ryuen really had it rough, dragging more than thirty people along.
After briefly feeling sorry for Ryuen Kakeru, Chihaya Rei smiled.
Class C's Class Points had been pretty high in the first month thanks to buying his information. They must have plenty of points to spare right now.
This was the perfect time to fleece them.
Before you continue