Chapter Summaries

Lezheng began his first day at Advanced Nurturing, where he reunited with the purple-haired student who had tried to pickpocket him on the bus. The homeroom teacher introduced the school’s private-point system and left the students to attend the entrance ceremony.

• Lezheng told Kawasaki that school would start for him the next day, then left to pack.
• On the bus to Advanced Nurturing, Lezheng caught a purple-haired girl trying to grope him, but she slipped away when the bus stopped.
• Lezheng found his seat in Class 1-A and recognized his deskmate, Kamuro, as the thief from the bus, though she denied it.
• Mashima Tomoya introduced himself as Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher and explained that each student had received 100,000 private points on their student IDs.
• Katsuragi Kohei and other students questioned Mashima about private points, and Mashima refused to explain what affected their monthly allotments.
• Mashima told the class to go to the Gymnasium for the entrance ceremony and left the classroom.

Lezheng Youyan began life at the school by noticing oddities in its point system, blackmailing Kamuro after catching her stealing, and meeting Sakayanagi Arisu. On the second day, he watched tensions rise in Class A and observed the other first-year classes.

• Lezheng went to the convenience store, noticed the free-supplies section, and recorded Kamuro stealing before forcing her to follow him.
• Sakayanagi introduced herself to Lezheng and persuaded Kamuro to leave with her after whispering something in her ear.
• Lezheng settled into his dorm room, cleaned, and cooked dinner before the first night passed quietly.
• Katsuragi proposed self-introductions in Class A, but Sakayanagi dismissed the idea as childish; the class voted to proceed, and Lezheng introduced himself last.
• Lezheng observed Classes B, C, and D during a break, and two students in Class D noticed him watching from their doorway.

Lezheng skipped the club recruitment event and spent the afternoon gathering information around the school before helping Yamamura Miki retrieve her hair ribbon. After walking back to the dormitory with his classmate, he listened to the recordings he had made.

• Sakayanagi invited Lezheng to accompany her to the club information session, but he declined and left.
• At the recruitment event, Yamauchi claimed he had won a national piano competition, but someone in the crowd challenged his story.
• Lezheng explored public places around the school and secretly recorded upperclassmen's conversations to gather information.
• Lezheng used a stick to knock Yamamura Miki's hair ribbon out of a tree and learned that she was his classmate in Class 1-A.
• Lezheng and Yamamura walked back to the dormitory together, and he played back his recordings in his room.

Lezheng avoided taking sides in the conflict between Sakayanagi and Katsuragi, showed his ability in math class, and was invited by Manabu Horikita to join the Student Council. He accepted while refusing to participate in factional disputes, and Horikita revealed that Lezheng had been placed in Class A for observation because of his exceptional assessments and suspected psychological issues.

• Lezheng declined to get involved in Sakayanagi's war with Katsuragi and later walked to class with Yamamura.
• In math class, Katsuragi, Sakayanagi, and Lezheng each solved Mr. Mashima's difficult problem, with Sakayanagi writing two solutions.
• Tachibana summoned Lezheng to meet Student Council President Manabu Horikita, who invited him to join the Student Council.
• Lezheng accepted the invitation but said he would not take part in factional disputes, and Horikita asked him to submit an application before the afternoon break.
• After Lezheng left, Horikita showed Tachibana his file, which rated him highly across most abilities and noted he had been assigned to Class A for observation.

Lezheng avoided telling Kamuro why the Student Council had questioned him, then raced her during PE and saw through Sakayanagi’s attempt to test him. After school, he went to the library, where he met Shiina Hiyori while reading The Shining.

• Lezheng told Kamuro that the Student Council had asked him about someone, concealing the real reason for their meeting.
• Lezheng raced Kamuro three times, narrowly winning each time, and Kamuro bought him a cola after he lost.
• Sakayanagi admitted that she had arranged the race to assess Lezheng, and Lezheng thwarted Kamuro’s attempt to prank him with the cola.
• Lezheng visited the library and met Shiina Hiyori after she noticed him trembling while he read The Shining.
• Lezheng and Shiina discussed the horror novel and supernatural forces, then sat apart on the same bench to read.

Lezheng befriended Shiina, learned he had topped the first-year popularity poll, and noticed Ryuen Kakeru leading a battered group from Class 1-C. A month later, Mr. Mashima announced the classes’ first Special Exam results and explained how Class Points affected class rankings and Private Points, leaving Lezheng to watch his classmates gather around their emerging leaders.

• Lezheng and Shiina returned to the dormitories and agreed to meet in the library the next day.
• Lezheng discovered he had placed first in the first-year popularity poll, voted for Kamuro, and traded notes with her during class.
• Lezheng and Yamamura saw Ryuen Kakeru leading several injured students toward the cafeteria, and Lezheng heard that Ryuen bullied his classmates.
• Mr. Mashima announced the Special Exam results: Class A had 920 points, Class B had 640, Class C had 490, and Class D had zero.
• Mr. Mashima explained that Class Points converted to Private Points at a ratio of one to one hundred and that falling behind another class could change a class’s rank.
• Lezheng watched classmates turn to Katsuragi and Sakayanagi for leadership while some others appeared to want to speak with him.

Lezheng reassured Satonaka and Sawada about the Special Exams, attended the Student Council’s first meeting, and competed in a swimming test that earned Kamuro the girls’ prize. After collecting his points, he returned to the library and quietly greeted the girl he had met there before.

• Lezheng told Satonaka and Sawada not to worry about future Special Exams, then left for the Student Council meeting.
• Horikita opened the meeting, where Nagumo teased Tachibana and greeted Lezheng; the council then discussed club issues.
• During swimming class, Lezheng bantered with Kamuro and Sakayanagi before the Swimming Test began.
• Kamuro won the girls’ prize, while Hashimoto placed second among the boys ahead of Katsuragi and Kito.
• Lezheng collected 5,000 Private Points and returned to the library, where he greeted the girl he had encountered before.

Lezheng avoided getting involved in Horikita Manabu’s conflict with Miyabi Nagumo, then helped his group discuss how to handle the midterm Special Exam. The chapter ended with the first-years studying for the exams as Lezheng wondered how Ryuen Kakeru controlled the girls in Class C.

• Lezheng watched Miyabi Nagumo surrounded by six girls, then told Horikita Manabu that he wanted no part in their struggle over the Student Council.
• Mashima announced that the midterms were a Special Exam and that students who failed would be expelled.
• Lezheng’s group discussed studying for the exams, and Lezheng went to a meeting with Katsuragi and Sakayanagi about whether to lower their scores.
• Katsuragi and Sakayanagi disagreed over whether to protect weaker students, and their talks ended without agreement.
• Lezheng told Katsuragi that it was too early to eliminate classmates and argued that Class A’s students seemed to take studying seriously.
• The number of first-years studying in the library increased, and Lezheng wondered how Ryuen Kakeru managed the girls in Class C.

Lezheng sold Class D a way to pass the midterm without expulsions by providing questions copied from a past exam, in exchange for 100,000 Private Points. After the exam, he dismissed Sakayanagi’s attempt to compare their scores, leaving her annoyed.

• Lezheng offered Hirata and Kushida a guaranteed way to help Class D pass the Special Exam for 100,000 Private Points, and they signed an agreement with their teacher as guarantor.
• Lezheng showed Hirata and Kushida that the midterm questions matched a past exam and told them how to use the papers while keeping scores controlled.
• Kushida returned to her dorm and cursed the classmates she resented having to help.
• Lezheng learned that Class C already knew about the repeated exam questions, while Ichinose had refused his offer to cheat.
• Lezheng finished the midterm easily, then taunted Sakayanagi after she announced that she had earned full marks in every subject.

Lezheng joined the Student Council and was assigned to a hearing over a dispute between Class D and Class C, while he anticipated the upcoming special exams. He spent the weekend at the swimming facility with classmates as Class D searched for witnesses to help Sudo.

• After midterms, Hirata thanked Lezheng for helping Class D, and Sakayanagi challenged him to compete in a future special exam while asking him to defeat Katsuragi in the next one.
• Tachibana brought Lezheng to the Student Council room, where Horikita Manabu assigned him to join a hearing about a dispute between Class D and Class C.
• Mashima announced the midterm class points, and Horikita Manabu later told Lezheng that Sudo Jian's hearing would take place the following Tuesday and that he would act impartially.
• Kushida told Lezheng that Class D students were searching for eyewitnesses to support Sudo, who had fought three people without being injured.
• Lezheng joined Sawada and the others at the swimming facility, where they played water volleyball and Kojima's team won.

Lezheng served as a recorder at the hearing over the fight between Sudo and three Class C students, suspecting Ryuen had targeted Sudo and that Ayanokoji was guiding Class D. At the final hearing, the proposed compromise left Sudo facing a two-week suspension while the Class C students would receive one week.

• Lezheng spent the morning reading with Shiina, then learned the hearing procedures from Horikita Manabu and suspected Ryuen had provoked Sudo to weaken Class D.
• At the first hearing, Horikita Suzune argued for Class D while both sides blamed each other, and Lezheng noticed someone had helped her at a crucial moment.
• Lezheng urged Ishizaki to bring Ryuen to the next hearing, then called Ryuen and warned him that Class D’s leader had made a move.
• At the final hearing, Sakagami proposed suspending Sudo for two weeks and the three Class C students for one week, and Sudo angrily demanded that Horikita and Ayanokoji defend him.
• Horikita stayed silent and Ayanokoji did not respond as Sudo’s defeat became certain.

At the second hearing, Ryuen accused Ayanokoji and Ichinose of using an illegal surveillance camera to pressure Class C students, but the evidence and purchase records proved inconclusive. The Student Council postponed its decision until the next day, while Lezheng reflected on the teachers’ behavior and the still-missing key evidence.

• Outside the hearing room, Sudo confronted Chasuke, then Ryuen arrived and accused Horikita Suzune and Class D of disappointing him.
• Ryuen reported Ayanokoji, Ichinose, and Horikita Suzune to Horikita Manabu for allegedly installing a surveillance camera and played a recording of their conversation with Ishizaki.
• Lezheng summoned everyone involved, and the Student Council examined the recording and checked Ayanokoji’s and Ichinose’s purchase histories.
• Ayanokoji argued that the recording only made them suspects and asked whether Sudo would be spared punishment; Horikita Manabu scheduled another hearing on Sudo’s case for that night.
• The Student Council postponed its decision on the camera allegation until the next day, and Lezheng told Horikita Manabu that Ryuen had drawn Class B into the dispute.
• Lezheng met Ryuen on the way back to the dorms, then returned to his room and considered Ichinose’s behavior and her teacher’s attention to Class D.

After the hearing’s verdict cut Class A’s points and suspended several students, Lezheng refereed the Chess Club final, where Sakayanagi won the championship before losing two games to him. On their walk back, they discussed his chess ambitions, his reasons for attending the school, and the possibility of future exams being harder.

• The hearing suspended Ichinose, Ishizaki, Xiaoshi, Jinteng, Ayanokoji, and Sudo, and left Class A with 1020 points, Class B with 690, Class C with 520, and Class D with 37.
• Lezheng told Kamuro about the hearing, while Sakayanagi said she had prepared a countermeasure after Ryuen’s maneuver made Lezheng more prominent in Class A.
• Lezheng attended the Chess Club final as the Student Council referee, and Sakayanagi defeated Miyamura by capturing his pieces until only his king remained.
• Sakayanagi won the chess tournament’s prizes, including 50,000 Private Points, a chessboard, and 50 Class Points.
• Lezheng beat Sakayanagi in two of their three games, and they discussed his former dream of becoming a professional player and his reasons for attending the school.

Lezheng spent the summer playing chess with Sakayanagi before President Horikita assigned him to count first-year students for an upcoming relocation. He collected rosters from the homeroom teachers, though his meeting with Chasuke began tensely because of the conflict between Classes C and D.

• Lezheng invited Sakayanagi into his messy room, where they played chess after Kamuro delivered a Chinese chess set and searched unsuccessfully for evidence to use against him.
• Lezheng and Sakayanagi tied their chess games five to five, agreed to continue the next day, and Sakayanagi said he was the only person at school who could challenge her.
• President Horikita assigned Lezheng to collect first-year student rosters for the school's relocation while the other Student Council members handled equipment.
• Lezheng collected Class A's roster from Mashima, Class B's from Hoshinomiya, and Class C's from Sakagami.
• Chasuke hesitated to give Lezheng Class D's roster until Hoshinomiya reminded him that the earlier incident had mainly been caused by Class D students.

Lezheng boarded a luxurious cruise ship for a Special Exam, shared a room with Katsuragi, Hashimoto, and Takimura, and spent the day socializing and exploring. He had dinner with Yamamura, where he witnessed Manabe Shiho confront Karuizawa Kei, then returned to his room for the night.

• Lezheng gave Horikita Manabu copies of the class lists and noted that Sakayanagi had requested leave.
• Lezheng boarded the cruise ship and shared a room with Katsuragi, Hashimoto, and Takimura, who each represented a different Class A faction.
• Lezheng told Katsuragi, Takimura, and Hashimoto that he knew the trip involved a Special Exam but did not know its destination, then went to karaoke with Hashimoto.
• Lezheng met Yamamura for cake, listened as she explained the flavors, and ordered several cakes she recommended.
• Manabe Shiho confronted Karuizawa Kei after Karuizawa knocked Rika down, and Karuizawa left the cake shop.
• Lezheng walked Yamamura downstairs, returned to his room, and went to bed without further incident.

Lezheng spent time with Shiina aboard the cruise ship before the students began a week-long deserted-island exam. After Class A found a claimable site, Lezheng urged Katsuragi to pursue more sites while he stayed behind to watch the camp.

• Lezheng invited Shiina to explore the ship, and they played a virtual mystery game together.
• Mashima announced the deserted-island exam rules after the ship circled the island and stopped at its beach.
• The four classes collected supplies and entered the jungle from separate directions.
• Lezheng agreed to cooperate with Katsuragi, who had also secured Takimura's support, and advised him to watch Hashimoto and organize students in groups.
• Class A found a site in a cave, where Yahiko used the Leader Card to claim it, and Katsuragi proposed holding only that site.
• Lezheng grabbed Yahiko by the throat after Yahiko mocked him, then urged Katsuragi to claim other sites while he returned to watch the camp.

Lezheng helped Katsuragi and Yahiko decide to abandon a conservative strategy after spotting Ayanokoji and Sakura nearby, then gathered information and negotiated cooperation with Ryuuen. The chapter ended with Class A and Ryuuen’s group agreeing to share information while targeting Class B.

• Lezheng met Ayanokoji and Sakura near the cave, then told Katsuragi their presence meant the trio could be exposed, and Katsuragi agreed to follow Lezheng’s strategy.
• Katsuragi spoke privately with Mashima, while Lezheng reminded Class A to return before dark and took Kamuro and Yamamura to investigate the other classes.
• Yamamura led Lezheng and Kamuro to Class B’s camp, where Lezheng visited Ichinose and admitted he had helped Class C; Kanzaki questioned whether that would hurt Class A.
• Katsuragi told Lezheng that Ryuuen had proposed an alliance, and Lezheng went with him to meet Ryuuen in the woods.
• Ryuuen offered supplies and information in exchange for monthly Private Points, but Lezheng countered with an information-sharing pact, and the two sides agreed to work together against Class B.

Lezheng led Class A in finding and repeatedly claiming additional spots, while investigating the other classes’ plans and leaders. After five days, he watched Class D’s camp and considered how leadership changes could decide the final results.

• Ryuuen mocked Ibuki for assuming the agreement meant Class C could score only 100 points, then ordered Ishizaki to have Hashimoto watch Lezheng’s group.
• Lezheng and Katsuragi discussed whether the island’s layout revealed more claiming spots, and Lezheng led Totsuka’s group to find one.
• Lezheng’s group raised their daily claims from five spots to nine, while Ryuuen learned that Lezheng was scouting with five students.
• Katsuragi identified a Class C student named Kanda among Class A, and Lezheng suspected Kanda was working with Class B or playing both sides.
• After five days, Lezheng asked Yamamura to monitor Class B and went to observe Class D, where he saw a conflict between the boys and girls and noticed Horikita seemed unwell.
• Lezheng suspected Horikita was Class D’s leader and reasoned that the other classes might change leaders on the final day to secure victory.

As the deserted island exam neared its end, Lezheng and his allies used shifting leaders and staged illness to outmaneuver the other classes. Class A won the exam by a wide margin, and Lezheng warned Hashimoto to be careful in his dealings with the other classes.

• Hashimoto gave Kanda a camera, while Ryuuen planned to avoid guessing Class A's leader and Kanzaki decided not to trust Ryuuen's information.
• Ibuki stole Class D's Leader Card during a fire, but her attack on the feverish Horikita gave Class D grounds to change its leader and reduced the point penalty.
• Yamamura told Lezheng that Shibata Hayato was Class B's leader, and Kamuro confirmed she had disposed of the stolen manual.
• Lezheng gave Totsuka plant shoots that made him ill, allowing Hashimoto to take over as Class A's leader and submit only Class B's leader for the final guesses.
• Mashima announced that Class A placed first with 217 points, followed by Class C with 100, Class D with 86, and Class B with 26.
• Lezheng told Hashimoto that he understood his effort to keep options open and urged him to judge how far to go with the other classes.

Ichinose struggled with whether she deserved to lead Class B, while Ayanokoji agreed to help Chasuke keep his father from expelling him. On the cruise ship, Lezheng stopped Manabe’s group from bullying Karuizawa, recorded their accounts, and prepared to confront Manabe personally.

• Hashimoto praised Lezheng’s exam performance as Class B’s classmates reviewed their mistakes and Ichinose left, doubting whether she deserved to lead them.
• Ichinose met Lezheng and Shiina on the deck, briefly shared that she was troubled, and thanked them before walking away.
• Chasuke told Ayanokoji that his father could get him expelled and offered to help if Ayanokoji led Class D to Class A; Ayanokoji agreed.
• Manabe’s group tricked Hirata into leaving Karuizawa alone, then restrained her and pressured Morofushi to slap her.
• Lezheng intervened, recorded the group’s explanations, and identified Manabe as the planner, Yamashita and Sukai as accomplices, and Karuizawa and Morofushi as both victims and perpetrators.
• Manabe challenged Lezheng’s fairness, and he stopped the recording and announced that they would discuss personal matters.