Class Points

In the classroom, the chalk scratched against the blackboard with a crisp "tap-tap" sound. As the final class points were listed one by one, the entire class focused their gazes on those few numbers:

Class A: 890

Class B: 885

Class C: 490

Class D: 0

Ichinose Honami looked at the glaring ranking on the board, especially the zero points for Class D, which had come as no surprise, and felt a complex mix of emotions.

To be honest, although she had known that Class D would likely end up with zero points if Wu Qiao didn't intervene, she always felt that the boy must have had other plans and layouts, and would never simply give up.

She tilted her head slightly to look at Hoshinomiya Chie, who was beaming on the podium. Ichinose Honami knew very well that their homeroom teacher, who usually appeared carefree and even a bit unreliable, probably still thought this disastrous score for Class D was orchestrated by Wu Qiao.

After all, the two of them did have a private deal regarding "Class D's zero points."

But... only a very few people knew that Wu Qiao had merely exploited Hoshinomiya Chie's desire to keep Class D at the bottom, using a clever information gap to naturally trick the teacher.

Watching Hoshinomiya Chie act as if she saw through everything while actually being kept in the dark, Ichinose Honami sighed softly to herself.

The hidden side of their homeroom teacher was somewhat helpless and left one not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

However, Wu Qiao's method of calculating a teacher into his plans without a sound was truly unfathomable.

At noon, Ichinose Honami carried her tray and found Wu Qiao in the bustling crowd. She sat down opposite him and brought up the current predicament of Class D.

"You've seen the situation with Class D; the points are zero, and everyone must be panicking," Ichinose Honami said, looking at him with concern. "What do you plan to do? You can't just watch everyone go hungry, can you?"

Wu Qiao ate his meal leisurely and spoke nonchalantly, "Don't worry, I won't let them starve. I intend to take the personal compensation I received from Class A last time and use it as a relief fund for the class."

Ichinose Honami's eyes lit up, and just as she was about to praise him, she heard him continue, "However, this money isn't free. I will require all the underachievers in the class to attend the mandatory tutoring sessions I organize without exception. As long as they show up for class, I'll cover their needs."

"Mandatory tutoring?" Ichinose Honami was slightly stunned, then realized this was very much in line with Wu Qiao's style.

"Of course, the money won't be handed directly to them; it's too easy to squander that way," Wu Qiao added, taking a sip of water. "I'm just providing basic meal money for those who are truly short on points."

Listening to his arrangements, Ichinose Honami couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Although Wu Qiao spoke lightly, this was essentially forcing the students of Class D to improve their academic skills.

Simple charity would only raise a group of useless people, but Wu Qiao's method of "giving a meal but requiring labor in return" both protected their bottom line and gave them the pressure to move upward.

"You..." Ichinose Honami smiled helplessly and placed a piece of meat into his tray. "You're doing a good deed, yet you insist on acting like a black-hearted capitalist. Still, this will definitely give them more motivation."

Wu Qiao shrugged without refuting her. To him, this was simply the optimal solution to keep Class D's overall combat power from collapsing at the lowest possible cost.

While Wu Qiao was leisurely arranging the "relief fund" in the cafeteria, Kushida Kikyo was already panting, running back and forth between the upperclassmen's floors. In one hand, she was tightly dragging a bewildered Karuizawa Kei.

According to the "future Ayanokoji Kiyoha" in her mind, Karuizawa Kei was a natural-born "intelligence master." Although she had no self-awareness of this and often failed to distinguish the importance of information, even missing some critical details, most of the intelligence she provided could be utilized with a different perspective.

Thus, Kushida Kikyo acted like a ruthless supervisor, dragging Karuizawa Kei around every corner of the campus like a spinning top.

From idle chatter in the cafeteria to chance encounters in the library and strolls through the shopping mall, Karuizawa Kei complained incessantly, but under Kushida Kikyo's half-coaxing and half-threatening, she was forced to act as an intelligence machine.

By Thursday evening, Kushida Kikyo returned to her dormitory, exhausted. Looking at the dense records on her personal terminal—bits and pieces of gossip gathered from Karuizawa Kei—she finally couldn't take it anymore and questioned in her mind, "What exactly do you want me to do with all this messy information? Just accompanying her everywhere is killing me!"

Ayanokoji Kiyoha, the instigator, seemed indifferent, her tone carrying a lazy sense of watching a show. "What's the rush? You just need to organize these and find an opportunity to hand them over to Wu Qiao."

"Hand them to Wu Qiao?" Kushida Kikyo frowned, full of confusion and resistance. "Why give them to him? Didn't I go through all this trouble just to avoid that bastard?"

"It's precisely because you want to avoid him that you must give them to him." The voice in her mind carried a faint, mischievous chuckle. "Think about it: if Wu Qiao holds enough trivial information, won't he be busy analyzing the situation and dealing with the trouble? A Wu Qiao who is overwhelmed with work won't have time to plot against you, right? This is called drowning potential danger in work. Understand?"

Kushida Kikyo was left speechless by this twisted logic. Although she felt something was off, upon closer inspection, it... actually made some sense? As long as Wu Qiao was busy dealing with intelligence and had no time to provoke her, wouldn't her goal be achieved?

"Fine." Kushida Kikyo gritted her teeth and finally compromised. "But if he dares to use the excuse of intelligence to cause me trouble, I will never forgive him!"

"Don't worry," Ayanokoji Kiyoha hummed softly. "He will only thank you for your thoughtfulness; after all, free intelligence labor isn't easy to find."

Having said that, the voice in her mind, which loved to stir up trouble, seemed to suddenly recall a key detail and added slowly, "Oh, right, there's one more important thing you must not mess up. When you have Kei hand over the information, make sure she doesn't reveal that it was your doing. Just hide behind the scenes like a selfless benefactor."

Kushida Kikyo curled her lip; she didn't need to be reminded of that. She wanted to stay as far away from Wu Qiao as possible; why would she ever jump out to claim credit?

"Also," Ayanokoji Kiyoha changed the subject, her tone carrying a subtle hint of inducement, "remember to persuade Karuizawa Kei to be open and honest with Wu Qiao. Although, based on my understanding of him, Wu Qiao has likely already figured out Karuizawa Kei's background completely... but being proactive and confessing to him has a miraculous effect."

"Miraculous effect?" Kushida Kikyo couldn't help but ask in her mind.

"Yes, a miraculous effect." Ayanokoji Kiyoha chuckled, as if savoring an interesting chemical reaction. "That guy may look casual, but he actually values sincerity. Facing someone who holds nothing back from him and proactively reveals their weaknesses, he will instead develop an inexplicable sense of protectiveness and responsibility. Of course, if you want to try this strategy of retreating to advance yourself, I wouldn't mind at all."

Kushida Kikyo felt a chill and subconsciously hugged her arms. Let her be open and honest with that bastard? Are you kidding! Just imagining the scene made her feel uncomfortable all over.

However, letting Karuizawa Kei be the "guinea pig" was a good idea. If confession could really distract Wu Qiao and shift his attention to Karuizawa Kei, it would be nothing but beneficial to her.

"Fine, I'll try to trick... I mean, persuade Karuizawa to confess." Kushida Kikyo calculated her wording in her mind, a calculating smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Since such a devious idea had been offered, she might as well use it. As long as she could stay away from that dangerous summer cruise, what did it matter if she sacrificed one of Karuizawa Kei's secrets?

Ayanokoji Kiyoha in her mind seemed to hear the implication in her words and chuckled without exposing her. "Suit yourself. But the game has only just begun; don't push yourself too hard, two-faced girl."