The start of school

"Here is your order. Please enjoy." The boy in a waiter's uniform politely set down the tray in his hands.

"You look a little unfamiliar, young man... Are you new here?" Across from the boy sat a woman in flashy clothes.

"Beep, beep, beep... Brain shutting down. I'm fainting..." After muttering a few words, the boy toppled straight backward.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. There's something wrong with my colleague's head. I'll take him back to rest." A waitress with azure hair caught the "fainting" boy just in time.

"So he has something wrong with his brain. What a waste of those looks..." A flash of disdain crossed the woman's eyes.

After she helped the boy back to the break room, the two exchanged smiles.

"Good thing you were there, or I would've been in trouble." Lezheng lightly patted Kawasaki's shoulder to signal that she could let go.

"No big deal. You've helped me before, too." Kawasaki waved a hand.

"There's something I wanted to tell you. School starts for me tomorrow."

"Really... Which school accepted you?"

"I think it's called... Advanced Nurturing."

"I'm going to Sobu High School."

"We're at your place. I need to head back and pack, too."

With that, Lezheng slowly walked toward his home.

Early the next morning, Lezheng stood in his uniform at a roadside bus stop, waiting for the bus to Advanced Nurturing.

Since the Student Handbook had explicitly forbidden students from bringing personal belongings, Lezheng had no luggage weighing him down as he waited. Before long, a bus approached from nearby.

Perhaps because it was so early, only a few students wearing the same uniform as Lezheng sat scattered throughout the bus.

Seeing someone board, the students all looked up toward the door. Perhaps after realizing he was not someone they knew, they turned their gazes elsewhere.

Lezheng then chose a seat toward the back and looked over the students currently on the bus.

But... because he had gone to bed too late the night before, Lezheng fell asleep against his seat as he looked around.

"Excuse me... Excuse me... Could you please let me through?"

"Mm..."

Hearing someone speaking beside him, apparently to him, Lezheng instinctively stood up.

"Thank you." Seeing him rise, the girl passed Lezheng and sat in the seat beside his, turning her gaze out the window.

As his brain slowly booted up, Lezheng also caught on. He glanced around before sitting down.

The bus was crowded now. Perhaps because Lezheng had been asleep, the seat beside him had remained empty, and it was only after this person boarded that he gained a "companion."

After looking the person beside him over a few times, Lezheng leaned back in his seat and continued resting with his eyes closed.

About five minutes later, the girl swallowed nervously.

Almost... Almost.

Smack! Lezheng caught a groping hand reaching toward him and slowly turned to look at the purple-haired girl beside him.

"You..." Just as Lezheng was about to say something, the sound of the bus stopping interrupted him.

The purple-haired girl took advantage of that moment of distraction to quickly pull her hand free, step past Lezheng in the aisle seat, and run off the bus.

"Nimble little thief..." Muttering under his breath, Lezheng followed the crowd off the bus.

Standing at the gates of Advanced Nurturing, Lezheng could not help exclaiming, "How grand!"

Students came and went everywhere on campus, and an atmosphere of excitement and curiosity filled the surroundings.

Although the school was large, there were fortunately arrows marking the way, keeping people from getting lost.

"Class 1-A... This is it." After making sure, Lezheng entered the classroom.

Each desk in the classroom had a corresponding name attached to it.

His eyes swept across the desks one by one until he finally found the desk bearing his name in the last row. There was a wall to its right, and the classroom's rear door was diagonally behind it.

"We meet again... Miss Thief." Lezheng quietly greeted his deskmate.

"You... What are you talking about? I don't understand. Watch it, or I'll sue you for slander!" Kamuro's gaze wavered.

"Really? My memory has always been good. Of course... I do make mistakes sometimes."

"You've got the wrong person." Kamuro's tone grew firm.

Ignoring Kamuro's excuses, Lezheng sat in his seat and propped his chin on one hand, though his eyes occasionally flicked elsewhere.

As the bell rang, a middle-aged man in a suit entered the classroom. His expression was stern as he slowly walked up to the lectern with a briefcase.

"Welcome to Advanced Nurturing. I am Mashima Tomoya, the homeroom teacher for Class 1-A. Unless something unexpected happens, I will be your homeroom teacher for the next three years."

"The entrance ceremony will be held in the Gymnasium in one hour, and everyone must attend. Next, I will hand out your student IDs and some information about the school."

The so-called student ID... was actually a phone.

Taking the materials passed back by the student in front of him, Lezheng immediately began leafing through them.

Because this was a closed-campus school, its facilities were also comprehensive. Places such as karaoke venues, a movie theater, cafés, clothing stores, and shopping centers could all be found within the school.

"The currency used at this school is something called 'private points.' Private points will be automatically deposited on the first of each month. Everyone should now have received an equal allotment of 100,000 private points on their student IDs. One private point is equivalent to one yen."

"That concludes my remarks. We will now move on to questions. If you have any, please feel free to ask." Mashima smiled at the students below the lectern.

"Mr. Mashima, the number of private points we receive each month isn't fixed, is it?" A tall, bald boy stood to ask.

"What is your name?" Mashima looked at the bald boy with a smile.

"My name is Katsuragi Kohei," Katsuragi answered solemnly.

"Katsuragi... Can you guarantee that you will get the same score on every exam?"

"I understand." Katsuragi nodded thoughtfully and sat down.

Some students were bewildered by the way the two spoke without directly answering each other, but the clever ones were still in the majority.

"So the number of private points deposited each month will change?"

"I knew the school couldn't be that generous."

Students continued voicing their opinions.

"Sir, you just said that the currency used at this school is 'private points,' correct?" A boy with flowing blond hair stood up.

"Yes," Mashima said, nodding to the student.

"Then can 'private points' buy anything?"

"What do you think of the purchasing power of the currency currently circulating in society?"

"Thank you for your answer, sir."

More students continued asking questions afterward, and Mr. Mashima answered them with a smile throughout, until one student asked a particular question.

"Sir, what can affect 'private points'?" A petite, white-haired girl using a cane raised her hand.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot answer that question."

"I see..."

Despite receiving such an answer, the white-haired girl did not look disappointed. Instead, she smiled and nodded.

After waiting a few minutes and seeing that no one else had any questions, Mashima picked up his briefcase and slowly left the classroom. Before leaving, he urged everyone to head to the Gymnasium for the entrance ceremony.