Midterm Exam (Seeking Everything)

The glass revolving door closed behind Watanabe Hayabara, and the cool air, heavy with the bitter scent of printer ink, rushed to meet him. The dome's chandelier cast diamond-shaped shadows across the marble floor, where students sat in twos and threes, heads buried in bookshelves; the sound of turning pages was like silkworms gnawing on mulberry leaves. He habitually touched the mechanical lock model in his uniform pocket, the cold metallic texture making his fingertips tingle.

Shiina Hiyori's figure appeared at the end of the third row of social science shelves. A black pleated skirt peeked out from beneath her beige knit cardigan, and the daisy hairpin tucked into her hair swayed gently with her movements. Watanabe Hayabara noticed that the copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude spread across her knees held a ginkgo leaf bookmark, its golden hue striking against the dark pages.

"Kept you waiting." Watanabe Hayabara deliberately drew out the end of his sentence as he sat down, the wooden chair legs scraping against the floor with a faint sound. His gaze swept over the Starbucks cup on the table; beads of condensation were slowly sliding down the mermaid logo, leaving dark trails on the wood grain.

"Is Classmate Shiina here to share your reading insights with me?"

Shiina Hiyori smiled slightly, shook her head, and replied, "Not really. Actually, I'm just here on behalf of Ryuen Kakeru to discuss a collaboration with you."

Watanabe Hayabara showed a hint of surprise at these words. He looked at Shiina Hiyori with suspicion and said, "Classmate Shiina, you don't look like the type of person who would voluntarily help Ryuen Kakeru."

The corners of Shiina Hiyori's mouth curled up as she explained, "I just don't want Ryuen Kakeru to keep interrupting my private time, which is why I came to talk to you about this."

Watanabe Hayabara feigned a look of deep grievance and sighed, "Ah, so Classmate Shiina didn't actually want to meet me herself. That really breaks my heart."

Shiina Hiyori smiled and said, "Alright, stop joking. I do have a book I want to share with Classmate Watanabe, but that will have to wait until our collaboration is finished."

"Then let's get straight to the point. What does Ryuen Kakeru want to collaborate on? Though, I do owe him a favor right now." His tone carried a lingering, thoughtful cadence, like the beads of an abacus being clicked in the dark.

Shiina Hiyori placed her phone face down on the table, the rose-gold casing reflecting the curve of her eyes. "Ryuen Kakeru said he won't use up Classmate Watanabe's promise this time. What a pity."

Watanabe Hayabara leaned back, the creases of his uniform glinting in the sunlight. "He really is far-sighted, isn't he? Deciding based on projected returns? Not stupid at all."

"I've never quite understood—" Shiina Hiyori suddenly leaned forward, her hair brushing against the water bottle on the corner of the table with a soft rustle. "How could a student as capable as Classmate Watanabe be assigned to Class D?" Her eyelashes fluttered as she stared at Watanabe Hayabara's face.

"Is this also something Ryuen Kakeru asked you to ask on his behalf?"

"Or are you more interested in me?" He deliberately lowered his voice to a husky rasp, catching a glimpse of a faint red flush creeping up the tips of her ears.

Shiina Hiyori suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled, revealing teeth like seashells. "I'm just curious myself." She pulled a notebook from her canvas bag, a The Little Prince bookmark stuck to the inside cover. "After all, someone rumored to be able to dismantle mechanical locks with their bare hands shouldn't be buried in the bottom-tier class, right?"

Watanabe Hayabara raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over her slender wrists. "If Classmate Shiina becomes my girlfriend, I'll tell you." He reached for the notebook at her side, his fingertips brushing against hers—a fleeting, momentary warmth.

"Classmate Watanabe, you're looking at the pot while eating from the bowl—you're a bad egg." Shiina Hiyori quickly pulled her hand back, her earlobes turning a deeper shade of red. "But more importantly—" She suddenly leaned in close, the citrus scent of her shampoo mixing with a faint, lingering smell of gunpowder. "I won't tease you anymore. Actually, Ryuen Kakeru wants to talk to you about the midterm exams." She opened the notebook, the pages densely packed with subject notes. Tucked inside was a sticky note with Ryuen Kakeru's wild, sweeping handwriting: "Drag the entire grade down with us."

"Actually, it would be better to talk to Ryuen Kakeru in person, don't you think, Classmate Shiina?" Watanabe Hayabara looked at her. "After all, it's not good to talk inside the library."

"I think so too, which is why I refused Classmate Ryuen at first."

"What do you think, Ryuen Kakeru? Don't hide behind your phone like a coward."

"Meet me behind the special building, Watanabe Hayabara!" a cold, sharp male voice came from the phone.

At dusk, the special building looked like a dormant beast, the wind wailing as it passed through the fire escape. When Watanabe Hayabara arrived, Ryuen Kakeru was leaning against the wall, smoking; the flickering light illuminated the upward curve of his mouth.

"Watanabe Hayabara, I heard your grades are all question marks? Now, let me test whether you have the qualifications to collaborate." Ryuen Kakeru cracked his knuckles, looking eager for a fight.

"How contradictory, Ryuen Kakeru." Watanabe Hayabara gave a playful smile.

Shiina Hiyori stood silently to the side, reading a book; this was a space she could not enter.

"Classmate Shiina, please hold my glasses."

"Mm, okay." Shiina Hiyori took the glasses Watanabe Hayabara handed her and trotted to the side, clearing space for the two of them.

Ryuen Kakeru's whip kick tore through the air with a whistling sound. Watanabe Hayabara dropped his shoulder and turned, his Jeet Kune Do "sticky hands" technique catching the other's lower leg. The moment their limbs made contact, Ryuen Kakeru changed his move, his elbow striking toward Watanabe's face like an iron spike—a classic "simultaneous attack and defense" from Sanda.

"Well done!" Watanabe Hayabara didn't retreat but advanced, lowering his stance and throwing a short-bridge punch that grazed Ryuen Kakeru's elbow, striking directly at his exposed ribs. Ryuen Kakeru hurriedly pulled in his stomach to dissipate the force, only to be locked in a grapple by the other. The signature Jeet Kune Do neck-clinch and knee strike were swift and vicious, the knee nearly grazing Ryuen's jawbone.

Ryuen Kakeru fell backward, using the momentum to sweep his leg. Watanabe Hayabara jumped on one foot, twisting his waist in mid-air; the "biu jee" strike from Jeet Kune Do transformed into a cold glint at his fingertips, striking toward Ryuen Kakeru's throat like a viper's tongue. Ryuen Kakeru rolled on the ground to dodge the lethal blow, springing up into a Sanda defensive stance, his fists and palms guarding his vitals, though his eyes remained locked on his opponent's openings.

"A flaw!" Ryuen Kakeru seized the momentary opening, sliding forward with a heavy punch. Watanabe Hayabara didn't retreat but met him head-on, using "inch power" to land a "Sun-character punch" on Ryuen Kakeru's fist. Amidst the muffled sound of colliding forces, Ryuen Kakeru stumbled back. Watanabe Hayabara followed up, his chain punches falling like a torrential rain, forcing Ryuen Kakeru to retreat step by step.

Ryuen Kakeru suddenly switched from defense to offense, a side kick aimed at Watanabe Hayabara's knee. Watanabe Hayabara crouched and dropped his elbow, smashing it hard against the other's shin. As Ryuen Kakeru pulled back in pain, Watanabe Hayabara stuck to him like a shadow, wrapping his left arm around the other's neck and bracing his right arm against his lower back, throwing him to the ground with a clean shoulder throw.

Ryuen Kakeru struggled to get up, only to find Watanabe Hayabara's knee pressed against his chest, his fingertips hovering three inches from his throat. "Still want to continue?" Watanabe Hayabara's breathing was steady, a playful smile creeping back onto his lips.

Watanabe Hayabara withdrew his fingers and knee, allowing Ryuen Kakeru to catch his breath. Though Ryuen Kakeru was panting heavily, he looked incredibly excited.

"Hahaha, is this the true strength behind the question-mark evaluation? Interesting!!!"

"Ryuen Kakeru, don't think that just because you made a name for yourself in middle school, you're anything more than a small-time boss. Don't be a frog in a well."

Ryuen Kakeru felt a surge of anger. "Watanabe Hayabara, although I lost this time, I, Ryuen Kakeru, will definitely crush you. No matter when it is, I will defeat you eventually!!"

"I look forward to your challenge. Now, can we talk about your plan?"

Ryuen Kakeru slowly stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. "Do you know where the midterm exam papers come from, Watanabe Hayabara?"

"It's just a small midterm exam; I don't think I need to know," Watanabe Hayabara chuckled lightly.

"For years, the midterm exam questions haven't changed, so this is an opportunity."

"If you're looking to sell the answers to the midterm exam, then we have nothing to talk about." Watanabe Hayabara made a move to leave.

"How about 500,000 private points?" Ryuen Kakeru threw out the points as a reward.

"Tell me about it, though I suppose I'm the one losing out here." Watanabe Hayabara stopped.

"We will replace the midterm exam papers with new ones provided by Classmate Sakayanagi, and you will provide the answers to the new papers for Class C."

"So you really did team up with Sakayanagi. I was wondering why Masumi has been so busy lately. What is Sakayanagi's cut?"

"500,000."

"Fine, there's a loophole in this."

"Although the students in Class A have strong learning abilities and can solve most of the questions, I think they still can't compare to Classmate Watanabe. Surely Classmate Watanabe isn't lacking confidence in his own abilities?" Ryuen Kakeru said with a strange expression.

"I didn't expect Ryuen Kakeru to be such a sarcastic person, but that trick won't work on me."

"The overall grades of Class C have gone up, but that doesn't affect the expulsion system, does it?"

"Then wouldn't it be fine if we just kept them all at the same score?"

"Do you think the school wouldn't know?"

"In this school, ability is everything, isn't it? What's wrong with me earning points through my own ability? Watanabe Hayabara, you are still too narrow-minded!" Ryuen Kakeru would never pass up an opportunity to mock Watanabe Hayabara.

"The tyrant is truly majestic, being able to control the scores of his entire class... I agree to this proposal."

"Then let's sign the contract." Having said that, Ryuen Kakeru glanced at Shiina Hiyori. Seeing this, Shiina Hiyori walked over and pulled a piece of paper tucked inside a book.

-------Contract-------

Party A shall pay 500,000 points each to Party B and Party C. Party B shall provide clues for the new midterm exam questions to Party C, and Party C shall provide the answers to the exam questions to Party A, ensuring that Party A obtains the most class points after the midterm exam, and that the class point gain for this exam maintains a gap of at least 25 class points between the other classes and Party A's class.

Signature of Party A: Ryuen Kakeru

Signature of Party B: Sakayanagi Arisu

Signature of Party C: _______

Signature of Witness: Itagaki Kazuma

"It seems Teacher Kazuma thinks highly of you," Watanabe Hayabara teased while signing his name under Party C. However, Ryuen Kakeru did not respond to Watanabe Hayabara's mockery.

"Has Ryuen Kakeru considered the issue of passing on the clues? If things go as expected, it will be very difficult to see Sakayanagi again after we submit the application to exchange exam questions."

"That will have to rely on Watanabe. Isn't Watanabe's girlfriend often by Sakayanagi's side now?"

Watanabe Hayabara looked back at Shiina Hiyori to see her reaction to the words "your girlfriend," but unfortunately, he only saw a calm, elegant, and beautiful face with her head lowered, reading a book intently.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Ryuen Kakeru. Don't bother me unless there's something important. Don't be too persistent; stepping over an ant without killing it is a difficult power to master!"

"I will definitely crush you, Watanabe Hayabara. Just you wait!"

"Don't bluff. That only makes your weakness more apparent."

"See you next time, Hiyori-chan!" Watanabe Hayabara's tone shifted instantly from sarcastic to gentle.

"Mm, see you next time, Hayabara-kun."