Nangong Cheng

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Nangong Cheng (南宫诚)
Alias(es)	Ayanokoji — false name used while selling information to Class C 34
Gender	Male
Nationality	Chinese 13
Affiliation	Advanced Nurturing High School, Class 1-D 23
Occupation/Role	Student; Reversal System host; Horikita Suzune’s mentor 1 25
Background	Transmigrator into the world of Classroom of the Elite; states that he grew up in an orphanage 1 33
First Appearance	Chapter 1 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Master’s Task — Level 1	1 2	Acquires the Reversal System. Can issue three tasks per day; his initial eligible recipients are Horikita Suzune and Kikyo Kushida.
Gene Enhancement — first dose	10	Purchases and drinks a Gene-Enhancement Potion. Gains strength without difficulty controlling it.
Master’s Task — Level 2	11	Daily task capacity increases to five. Seven girls are eligible recipients.
Beginner Acting	16	Purchases acting knowledge and experience to control his expressions and conceal his intentions.
Gene Enhancement — Stage Two	27	Confirmed on his status panel; the purchase and consumption are not shown in the supplied passages.
Master’s Task — Level 3	27	Daily capacity increases to seven. Unlocks recurring Daily Tasks, which reserve a task slot until canceled.
Kato Taka’s Hand	29	Purchases a specialized hand-related ability during his confrontation with Kushida.
Intermediate Acting Mastery	38	Confirmed on his status panel, replacing Beginner Acting; the acquisition scene is not provided.
Master’s Task — Level 4	38	Daily capacity increases to nine; no additional task type is unlocked.
Master’s Task — Level 6	47 48	Reaches Level 6 after fourteen days of recurring and low-risk tasks. Capacity rises to thirteen, and Bond Tasks become available.

Background / History

Nangong Cheng arrives in the world of Classroom of the Elite with knowledge of its characters and future events. Initially worried about competing with the White Room’s exceptional students, he gains the Reversal System while riding a bus to school. His first task involves Kushida persuading someone to offer an elderly passenger a seat; Cheng completes the situation himself by standing up 1.

He joins Class 1-D and initially sits to Suzune’s right, with Ayanokoji on her other side. Although he wants to enjoy his new life and pursue the girls he knows from the original story, he also prioritizes obtaining enough power to protect himself 2 3.

Cheng states that he grew up in an orphanage when explaining his unconventional “mother-and-son” arrangement with Ichinose Honami. He presents that relationship as a chosen source of family-like care rather than a blood connection 33.

Appearance

• Handsome and conspicuous: Kei notices his good looks and striking presence during their first shopping outing 5.
• Understated clothing preference: Asks Kei and her friends to choose clothes that are not too flashy 5.
• Expressive smile: Can appear sunny and approachable even while intimidating someone; Yamauchi experiences that contrast during their confrontation 39.
• Attractive voice: Classmates praise his voice alongside his appearance after the karaoke gathering 45.

Personality

Cheng is pragmatic, calculating, and strongly motivated by personal freedom, security, and romantic ambition. He treats information, school rules, Private Points, and system rewards as resources to be combined rather than separate concerns. He initially rejects the idea of “babysitting” Class D and prefers advancing at his own pace 8 12.

His social behavior mixes teasing, deliberate provocation, and carefully managed kindness. He recognizes Kushida’s false sweetness, exploits Sakura’s longing for companionship, and designs tasks around each recipient’s desires. He acknowledges acting like a “scumbag,” but also rationalizes pursuing several girls as giving them a warm home 11 14 15.

His concern for others can be genuine without being free of coercion. He encourages Ichinose to care for herself, helps Suzune confront her dependence on her brother’s identity, and urges Kei to become capable of self-defense. Conversely, he crosses Sakura’s boundaries, threatens Kushida’s reputation, and secretly monitors Kei 19 27 28 37 44 45.

As his influence grows, Cheng becomes openly authoritarian. He uses violence against Yamauchi, criticizes Hirata’s inability to stop harassment, and makes his support for classmates conditional. He is willing to strengthen Class D while also seeking the expulsion of a student he considers unworthy of protection 39 40.

Abilities & Skills

Reversal System and Master’s Task

Cheng’s core ability distributes subsystems to eligible girls and directs their behavior through rewarded tasks 1.

• Recipient systems: The girls receive a Perfect Life System, offering task rewards and an exchange shop 1 5 11.
• Double rewards: Cheng earns twice a completed task’s base point reward 1 15 24.
• Task restrictions: Tasks must fit the circumstances and cannot directly harm their targets 1.
• Coercive penalties: Failed tasks can override a recipient’s actions, as demonstrated when Suzune is forced to embrace him 2.
• Host protection: Subsystem holders cannot harm the main system’s host 2.
• Concealed ownership: Recipients are told that Cheng is not connected to their systems, even when tasks revolve around him as their “fated counterpart” 5 12.
• Daily reset: Task capacity refreshes at midnight; unfinished tasks do not count toward the stated issuance limit 27 48.
• Reward planning: Cheng concludes that rewards depend on how difficult recipients perceive their tasks to be, encouraging him to tailor the timing and circumstances 16.

By Level 6, his seven eligible recipients remain Suzune, Kushida, Kei, Sakura, Shiina Hiyori, Ichinose, and Sakayanagi Arisu 48.

Daily Tasks

Unlocked at Level 3, Daily Tasks create objectives that can be completed repeatedly 27.

• Multiple Daily Tasks can operate simultaneously and do not require face-to-face issuance 28.
• Each reserves a task slot until canceled 27.
• Documented assignments include Ichinose preparing three meals daily and Sakura studying independently or receiving Suzune’s tutoring for at least two hours daily 28 47.
• Cheng uses recurring tasks both to accumulate rewards and to establish sustained involvement in the girls’ lives 28 32 48.

Bond Tasks

Unlocked at Level 6, Bond Tasks attach progression benefits to recognized relationships 48.

• Award Bond Points and deepen recognized bonds 48.
• Higher bond levels may improve rewards, reduce penalties, and unlock shop benefits 48.
• His only recognized Bond Task partner at introduction is Ichinose, through their agreed mother-and-son role-play 48.
• Kushida’s supposed “accomplice” relationship does not qualify because she rejects that bond 48.

Gene Enhancement

Cheng uses a three-dose enhancement series intended to improve strength, speed, stamina, and other physical attributes without side effects 8.

• The listed dose costs are 500, 5,000, and 50,000 system points 8.
• All three doses would raise his physical attributes to human limits; only Stage Two is confirmed in the supplied chapters 8 48.
• His first dose feels naturally integrated into his body rather than difficult to control 10.
• Enhancement increases his appetite and allows effortless physical work 15 32.
• At Stage Two, he lifts Yamauchi by the neck and controls his strength during the assault 39.

Acting

Purchased acting skills help Cheng conceal his emotions, protect his system identity, and present calculated behavior as spontaneous 16 24.

• Beginner Acting: Integrates acquired knowledge and experience into his instincts 16.
• Intermediate Acting Mastery: Confirmed by his Level 4 status panel 38.
• His performances support feigned reluctance, reassuring explanations, and supposedly accidental encounters 24 27 28.
• Acting does not guarantee belief: Ichinose recognizes the exaggeration in his explanation after the Nagumo confrontation 24.

Kato Taka’s Hand

A shop-purchased ability that claims no woman can resist his hands. Cheng uses it under the guise of a traditional massage during his rooftop struggle with Kushida 29.

• Costs 5,000 system points 29.
• Remains listed among his additional abilities at Level 6 48.

Information Strategy and Leadership

Cheng combines prior story knowledge with school investigations to create leverage 8 12 40.

• Sells information about the school to Classes A, B, and C for a combined six million Private Points 16 31.
• Uses surveillance footage and threatened exposure to extract five million Private Points from Nagumo 21 23.
• Identifies Ayanokoji’s deliberate fifty-point scores as evidence of concealed ability 47.
• Organizes tutoring by delegating responsibilities to Hirata, Yukimura, Ayanokoji, Suzune, Kushida, and Kei 39 47.
• Speaks fluent Chinese and uses Romanized Chinese for a private warning to Wang Meiyu 13 14.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• People-Finding Cane — Locates people; used to find the implicated second-years and later Kushida. Cheng disguises it as a family trick 21 28.
• Mosquito-Fly Camera ×1 — Listed in his inventory. His secret surveillance device allows him to share a bound user’s senses and is used in connection with Kei 45 47 48.
• Student terminal and phone — Used for Private Point transfers, photographs, contacts, and distributing surveillance evidence 14 16 22.
• Compromising photographs and recordings — Taken during the Kushida encounter and retained as leverage; Kushida recognizes that the evidence can implicate both of them 30.

Relationships

• Horikita Suzune — Deskmate, temporary collaborator, and eventual pupil. Their initially hostile relationship develops into structured mentorship; he assigns observation reports and pushes her to establish an identity separate from Manabu 2 12 19 25 33.
• Ichinose Honami — Political collaborator, pretend girlfriend, and role-play “mother.” He helps her obtain a Student Council seat, establishes recurring meal tasks, and later recognizes her as his first Bond Task partner 21 23 28 48.
• Sakura Airi — His friendship and praise strongly affect her. He plans an “Idol Songstress Project” around her, provides meals and academic support, but also exploits her shyness and leaves their relationship undefined 11 12 27 47.
• Karuizawa Kei — Task recipient and romantic admirer. She confides her bullying history and asks him to become her boyfriend; he promises protection but refuses exclusivity because he wants several partners 5 44 45.
• Kikyo Kushida — Adversarial task recipient whose hidden persona he understands. Their rooftop confrontation produces mutual compromising evidence, but she rejects his claim that they share an accomplice bond 1 28 30 48.
• Sakayanagi Arisu — Negotiating counterpart who suspects his involvement with the systems. She investigates his background and pursues discussions about a Student Council position 15 35.
• Horikita Manabu — Student Council contact and Suzune’s older brother. Cheng encourages the siblings to reconcile and works with him on school-rule violations and a suspected harasser 19 25.
• Wang Meiyu — Fellow Chinese student. Their shared language creates an immediate connection, and he privately warns her about Kushida 13 14.
• Shiina Hiyori — Eligible recipient whom he introduces to Suzune through their shared interest in books 34 35.
• Kiyotaka Ayanokoji — Initially a source of anxiety and rivalry. Cheng later exposes his controlled scores and recruits him as a tutor in exchange for a future favor 1 3 47.
• Yosuke Hirata — Class mediator and delegated organizer. Cheng relies on his cooperation but criticizes his excessive desire to please everyone 17 39 47.
• Haruka Hasebe — Recruited to support Sakura socially. She refuses payment because she already intends to befriend Sakura, and Cheng respects that distinction 39.
• Amikura Mako — Initially confronts him to defend Ichinose, then begins visiting daily to help with household work. She later admits an unrequited crush on him 46 47 48.
• Kakeru Ryuuen — Information buyer turned antagonist. After paying two million points, he publicly denounces Cheng for subsequently exposing the information and threatens retaliation 11 22.
• Miyabi Nagumo — Political target. Cheng extracts five million points from him and intends to prevent him from becoming Student Council president 23 35.
• Haruki Yamauchi — Classmate whom Cheng assaults over harassment and intends to have expelled 38 39 40.
• Sae Chabashira — Homeroom teacher who challenges his methods and priorities. Their conflict centers on whether Class D should protect every student 40 41.
• Chie Hoshinomiya — Ichinose’s teacher, who hopes to use their closeness to draw Cheng toward Class B 24 41.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Establishing the Task Network

• Activates Kushida’s subsystem on the bus and tests compulsory penalties through Suzune 1 2.
• Recruits Kei through a clothing-shopping favor and Sakura through exchanging contact information 5 11.
• Learns that recipients perceive him as sharing their circumstances rather than controlling their systems 5.

Selling and Publicizing School Secrets

• Uses Suzune’s information to negotiate with the other first-year classes 8.
• Earns six million Private Points, then helps make the information public through an anonymous online post 15 16 31.
• Demands 50,000 points from each Class D student when they challenge his profits. He later refunds Sakura, Kei, Wang, and Suzune, while retaining Kushida’s payment as potential leverage 16 17.

Student Council Maneuvering

• Prompts Manabu and Suzune to address their strained relationship 19.
• Secures Ichinose’s mother-and-son arrangement in exchange for helping her obtain a Council seat 20 21.
• Purchases surveillance footage for 100,000 points and uses it to pressure Nagumo into a five-million-point settlement 21 23.
• Pursues further Council negotiations while planning to block Nagumo’s succession 35.

Expanding Personal Influence

• Uses Sakura’s Shizuku identity as the starting point for his idol project 12 14.
• Unlocks Daily Tasks and assigns Ichinose recurring meal preparation 27 28.
• Engineers Kushida’s rooftop exposure, counters her attempted framing, and declares them accomplices 28 29 30.
• Encourages Kei to strengthen herself while refusing to become an exclusive boyfriend 44 45.

Class D Discipline and Academic Preparation

• Assaults Yamauchi after arranging for classroom cameras to be covered 38 39.
• Establishes remedial lessons and helps Sakura gain companionship through Hasebe 39.
• Explains that his point reserve can support Class D in future Special Exams, including situations involving expulsion, while refusing unconditional protection for every classmate 40.
• Recruits Ayanokoji into tutoring and gives Sakura a daily study requirement 47.

Bond System Unlock

• Advances through recurring assignments and safe, guaranteed-reward tasks over fourteen days 48.
• Unlocks Bond Tasks at Level 6, with Ichinose as his sole recognized partner at that point 48.

Notable Quotes

“Tomorrow, I'll show you what it really means to make the most of an information advantage.” 8

“Don't let misunderstandings become regrets.” 19

“Why do I have to choose?”
“Can't I have both? You're not seeing the bigger picture, Chabashira-sensei.” 40