Gold among the Grains of Sand

It was only then that Ayanokoji and Suzune Horikita realized they were not the only smart people who had paid attention to the "private points."

"Rather than wasting time on something so pointless, aren't you curious about the private points this school gives us?

"Today is the last day of the month. According to what Chabashira-sensei said before, this should be the day we receive our private points, shouldn't it?"

Hearing Yang Cheng and Ayanokoji discussing the pointless subject of how to be popular, Suzune Horikita set down her bag and asked quietly without even turning her head.

The other students in the classroom were also eagerly awaiting their private points, discussing what they would buy once the new points arrived.

"Giving each student private points worth a hundred thousand yen every month would cost at least three hundred million yen a year."

As understated as ever, Ayanokoji neither shared his suspicions nor answered Suzune's question directly, instead presenting the numbers objectively.

"We won't be getting any new private points this month. Never mind the others for now, but you two should still have plenty left, right?"

Suzune looked astonished at Yang Cheng's answer. Although she had also noticed the importance of private points, she would not have dared declare that none would be issued today.

"As Ayanokoji said earlier, the school isn't a charity. Even the government would struggle to shoulder an annual expense of three hundred million yen.

"And have you forgotten what Chabashira-sensei said? At this school, you can buy anything as long as you have private points.

"Of course, that includes information!"

As Yang Cheng finished speaking, Suzune abruptly rose to her feet in surprise. Clearly, this use for private points had never occurred to her.

"I see. You used private points to buy information from the upperclassmen?"

Compared with the aloof beauty with long, straight black hair, Ayanokoji was clearly more perceptive. He immediately realized whom Yang Cheng had bought his information from.

"Haven't you noticed? The upperclassmen in Class A live much more comfortably than those in Class D.

"If everyone receives a hundred thousand private points each month, why would there be such a difference?

"And whether it's the second or third year, Class A receives the best treatment of the four classes, while Class D struggles the most. Is that really just a coincidence?

"I don't work at the school café just to earn private points.

"It's a place where people chat and relax, so you can often hear plenty of useful information there."

Yang Cheng's words clearly piqued Suzune's interest. She had enrolled at this school to catch up with the older brother she admired.

Yet everything Yang Cheng had just implied seemed to suggest that their Class D was the worst class.

Just as Suzune was about to question him further, Class D's homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira, entered the classroom.

She was a beautiful woman dressed in a business suit, with her hair tied in a long ponytail and an exceptionally stunning figure.

The moment Sae Chabashira entered the classroom, several students impatiently asked why their private points for the month had not arrived yet.

Faced with Class D's questions, Sae Chabashira gave a mocking sneer. "You really are fools.

"This month, you were late or absent ninety-eight times and used your phones during class three hundred and ninety-one times. Your behavior directly affects your evaluation.

"This is a high school that cultivates society's elite, not a rehabilitation center for trash and parasites. Your evaluation this month was zero, so naturally, your private points are also zero."

Some of Class D's students lost their composure at Sae Chabashira's merciless ridicule. They demanded to know why, as their homeroom teacher, she had not clearly explained something so important from the start.

"That's precisely why I said you're hopelessly stupid. I told you from the beginning, didn't I? This is a school where merit reigns supreme.

"The teachers of the other first-year classes didn't give them detailed explanations at the start either. But those students thought for themselves.

"This is a school. If you need someone to force you to improve yourselves, you might as well pack your things and go home now.

"Do you know why you were placed in Class D? Because your overall qualities fall short of the other classes. You were judged to be a collection of defective products.

"And the results speak for themselves, don't they? As expected, you received the lowest evaluation."

Their homeroom teacher's merciless words infuriated Class D's students.

Yet Sae Chabashira paid no attention to their anger and continued, "Rather than raging helplessly and wallowing in regret, shouldn't you be thinking about how you'll survive at this school from now on?

"I told you before, didn't I? Every expense at this school requires private points.

"The cafeteria does offer free meals, but even those paltry meals are barely enough to fill your stomachs.

"As your homeroom teacher, I'll give you another piece of information. Besides the regular private points issued by the school, you can also earn points through other channels.

"In fact, some of you noticed that long ago and have already acted on it."

After leaving them with those words, Sae Chabashira glanced at Yang Cheng in the back row, then turned and left the classroom, leaving the students in an uproar.

Sae Chabashira had observed everything Class D had done during this time.

Initially, she had thought the Class D she was teaching this time would once again be a bunch of hopeless cases.

But as she observed them, a few particularly unusual students caught her attention.

As Class D's homeroom teacher, she had already received everyone's individual records when Yang Cheng and the others enrolled.

Suzune Horikita and Rokusuke Koenji both possessed considerable academic and athletic ability.

They had been assigned to Class D primarily because of flaws in their personalities. One stubbornly held to her own ways, while the other was extremely narcissistic and did whatever he pleased.

Yet over this month of observation, Sae Chabashira discovered two other especially interesting students in the class besides those two.

Nanju Yang Cheng and Kiyotaka Ayanokoji-their entrance exam

scores were nothing outstanding, and neither had displayed any particularly exceptional physical abilities.

Their performance this time, however, had far exceeded her expectations.

Leaving Kiyotaka Ayanokoji aside for now, Nanju Yang Cheng had not only keenly recognized the importance of private points, but had even learned to put his points to effective use shortly after enrolling.

That made Sae Chabashira feel that there might be some genuine gold mixed in among Class D's grains of sand.

(We've advanced to the second round of recommendations! It's all thanks to you bros keeping up with the updates and sending in your monthly votes.

But the competition in the second round will be even fiercer, so I hope you'll help me out again. Remember to keep reading the latest updates, and if you have monthly votes, helping push us up the rankings would be even better. I can't thank you enough! (￣∇￣)