The students of Class C were not pretentious; upon vaguely discovering something they might have been expecting, they immediately closed the doors.
Then.
Sato and Sudo, who had gone to close the doors, also returned to their seats.
Then their eyes looked over with some anticipation.
Among them, Sudo, that hot-headed guy, Hachiman was already familiar with; although his academic ability was poor, his physical ability was max.
And from this written exam, it seems that most of the school's assessments are not formal assessments, but rather assess or guide students from aspects such as thinking ability or other areas.
However, Sudo's athletic talent, which can rival or even surpass Class A's qualifications, might come in handy in special exams similar to sports festivals.
In contrast, Sato probably only had the advantage of being cute.
She usually hung out with Karuizawa.
And Horikita Suzune had said more than once that Karuizawa and her friends were bad at studying, but perhaps having common ground was also the reason they could hang out and be friends.
However, Hachiman felt that he could still think about these things now, which was pretty impressive.
And now.
"Kushida, are these test papers?"
Hirata Yo-suke, with green short hair, also stood up, looking at Kushida with some anticipation.
Clearly, this sunny young man had not been told everything.
"Yes, they are."
And Kushida showed a sweet smile, "This is our Class's pass-through treasure."
"Before, Hikigaya said he would give everyone the old questions three days before the exam."
"But because of Ryuen Class's matter, then..."
Kushida's words stopped abruptly.
But everyone understood, or rather, if it wasn't for the stupid things Ryuen Class did, they wouldn't have been implicated.
Rather, everyone had been attending remedial classes as agreed these past few days, but they still hadn't reached the level to pass the exam.
The reason was... there was definitely a solution to pass.
So, remedial classes were also for themselves, so they would learn a little. But they didn't put in all their effort, and they might not even be able to keep up with the progress.
But everyone had taken a reassurance pill.
As a result, the reassurance pill was gone.
The school was going to test with another test paper.
So, during tutoring, those who felt they could just muddle through and those whose basics were too poor to understand anything, or those who understood how to approach the questions, suddenly felt immense pressure.
"Then..."
"How did you get this test paper now, which is Test B that the school is going to test?"
Wang Meiyu, sitting in the front row, said.
She and Kushida became instant friends after coming to this school, and their relationship became very good, and Wang Meiyu felt that her relationship with Kushida should be that of best friends.
A best friend, then isn't that a better relationship than ordinary friends?
But.
She had no idea that Kushida had gotten her hands on the school's Test B.
So.
Wang Meiyu, who was petite and not so strong-willed, was pondering the sincerity of her friendship with Kushida.
However, Kushida looked in one direction.
Completely unaware of being questioned by her best friend for leaving, Kushida smiled sweetly, her big eyes curving into crescent moons.
"This time, it's not because of me or Hikigaya, it's because of Karuizawa. If Karuizawa hadn't worked hard, I wouldn't have gotten the exam paper. Everyone should really thank Karuizawa."
"Karuizawa?"
"Megumi? What did you do?"
"So it was you, Megumi, who did it?"
They didn't know until it was said, and when it was, the students in the Class were instantly surprised.
"No, not really."
Karuizawa had been sitting in her seat, and now she seemed a little unaccustomed to the gazes directed at her, her face slightly flushed as she whispered, "Actually...actually, it's like this. Didn't I join the Student Council before?"
Karuizawa joining the Student Council.
Although it was announced on the bulletin board.
Some students in the Class didn't know about this, but her small group of gal friends did.
"And then..."
"I felt that if we took the exam like this...then many people would definitely be in danger. Although I'm not familiar with many people yet, I don't want anyone in this Class to drop out," Karuizawa said.
Eh!
As Karuizawa said this, the students in the Class looked at her in surprise.
Because...
You don't usually say that. You usually dislike some boys. So you don't want them to drop out either?
This surprised Ike and the others, who were usually scolded.
And the girls on this side also breathed a sigh of relief.
Before, they didn't understand why it would be related to Karuizawa, but now it was much clearer.
This must have been Karuizawa using her position to steal it from the Student Council!
Hey, hey, hey, could it be... an exam paper taken by secret photography?
And such a thing, in the eyes of ordinary people, is a violation.
It might even... lead to punishment.
But.
"Karuizawa, I'm so touched."
Satō Maya jumped up, hugging Karuizawa tightly, practically moved to tears.
Her grades weren't very good, at most hovering around the passing line.
But Karuizawa's actions undoubtedly gave her more confidence in passing.
"Karuizawa, this is truly wonderful, thank you."
Hirata also breathed a sigh of relief, nodding solemnly to Karuizawa, also looking grateful.
With Karuizawa's identity as a 'Student Council member' as a foundation, and the exam paper being stolen by her from the Student Council, there was no doubt that this almost confirmed the authenticity of the exam paper.
This way, they could confidently memorize the exam paper!
In other words, the students in the Class were very realistic. Upon discovering that the exam paper was stolen by Karuizawa, what everyone cared about first was... that they were saved.
After all.
If they failed, they would be directly expelled.
Now they could aim for Class A again. If they got lucky and made it to Class A, then it would be a successful comeback.
And even if it wasn't successful.
They still had living expenses every month. Which other School outside could provide such facilities?
"In any case, everyone, please keep this a complete secret this time."
Kushida watched as the exam papers were distributed, also breathing a sigh of relief, but still clasping her hands together and whispering, "If it's exposed again, not only might everyone fail. Even Karuizawa will be expelled from the Student Council."
"Don't worry, Kushida, Karuizawa, this time it's all thanks to you two. If anyone dares to betray you, I'll smash their heads in."
It was Sudo Ken who spoke, the violent man now clenching his fists, his face showing a hint of ferocity.
Fully displaying the demeanor of a hot-headed older brother.
His athletic talent was high, but his academic ability was a major weakness now.
At the same time, having experienced great joy, sorrow, and then great joy again, he felt that he really should study seriously.
He just didn't know if Kanzaki from Class B would still be willing to tutor him after this exam.
Thus.
Exam Paper B was distributed.
And everyone also discovered that this exam paper was indeed secretly photographed because it was a photo version, but it came with a set of answers.
In other words, it was definitely not a past paper obtained from an upperclassman, but rather Karuizawa perhaps discovered the exam paper while passing through the Student Council and then secretly photographed it opportunistically.
Therefore, the authenticity of this exam paper was extremely high.
Only.
When Hachiman returned to his seat, he found the black-haired girl next to him staring with sharp, fox-like eyes.
"Is something wrong?" Hachiman asked.
Then he looked at the paper Horikita held in her hand. "If you don't want it..."
"No, I want it." But Horikita took the paper. "I mean, is it really okay to directly publicize this kind of thing in a place like the Class?"
Yes.
You stole the exam paper! Are you really announcing it directly in the Class?
You should know there's a camera in the classroom.
"About that," Hachiman said. "I'm waiting."
"Waiting?"
"It's already been ten or twenty minutes since Exam Paper B was released. So if the School was dissatisfied with this action, someone should have come by now," Hachiman said. "But no one has."
He took out his phone and checked.
And Horikita also noticed that his phone screen displayed a timer.
22 minutes had already passed.
"You mean..." Horikita Suzune looked over.
"I was just testing the School's tolerance," Hachiman said. "And concluded that this School has its own bottom line, but it will also significantly loosen up in some areas."
"Because what the School wants isn't students who look academically and morally excellent."
"Rather, once you enter society, there are actually very few positions or projects that truly assess your learning ability or athletic ability."
"So what needs to be assessed more is your method of handling troublesome situations, your way of thinking, and other things."
"Ugh..."
However, halfway through his explanation, Hachiman noticed that Horikita's expression seemed off.
"It's like you're completely denying me," Horikita Suzune said.
Is that so?
Because her academic ability was good, and her physical fitness was also decent.
In other words, her hardware was standard.
But now he was saying these weren't important.
Then she couldn't find her own advantages.
"I didn't say that," Hachiman said. "All these abilities of yours are the result of your daily efforts."
"And good academic ability is always more advantageous than bad academic ability."
"Because I think, though rarely, the School might also assess students' basic abilities."
"..." Horikita.
Horikita Suzune felt that he was comforting her.
But if she excluded academic ability and athletic ability, then she really had no advantages.
Thinking of this, she sighed a little.
Perhaps her brother saw this point, which was why he wanted her to drop out.
And she knew nothing.
Meanwhile.
Because they had obtained the exam paper and were also worried about problems, many students chose to take advantage of the break to run back to their dorms with the paper and put it away.
This was the psychological trauma from Ryuen Class's Student Council inspection and the mention of stealing exam papers.
No one wanted their hard-won pass-through item to fail.
So, the Class suddenly became very empty.
But there were still a few students in the classroom.
"..." Megumi.
"..." Sato.
? Megumi, what are you looking at?
Satō also got the exam paper. For her, who wasn't good academically, Karuizawa's statement of "not wanting students in the Class to drop out" felt like it was for her.
Because her relationship with Karuizawa was good, and she also struggled with studies. And yesterday, she had complained to Megumi about what she would do if she failed.
Then today, the incident of Karuizawa secretly photographing the exam paper happened.
Therefore, Satō was a little moved.
So, her address for Karuizawa naturally changed from Karuizawa to Megumi.
"Nothing." Karuizawa retracted her gaze.
She felt that Hikigaya and Horikita had a very good relationship.
Speaking of which.
When her secret was leaked before, she had also borrowed Horikita's room.
And it would certainly be strange for a girl to lend her room to a boy; they would at least have to be especially close, right?
So.
Is it possible that these two are actually dating?
But she couldn't imagine them dating.
Rather, she couldn't imagine Horikita falling in love at all.
Ah.
"This is just too strange!"
Karuizawa thought.
It was all Hikigaya's fault. His defending her and giving her credit made her think he had a good impression of her.
The facts proved she was mistaken.
But even if she was mistaken, she would subconsciously care about him.
She stayed up late last night, so she was probably sick.
Karuizawa quickly cleared her head.
Thus.
Because they obtained the exam papers, Class C acted swiftly.
After School in the afternoon, they immediately rushed back to the dorms.
As for Sudo, he naturally took the day off from club activities.
After all, how could playing Basketball be as important as memorizing exam papers?
Meanwhile, on the other side.
"Exam papers, huh—"
Katsuragi's brow furrowed.
Since the exam papers were created by a student from his own Class.
Sakayanagi Arisu shared the exam papers with the students of Class A, and as members of the Katsuragi Faction, they also received them.
However, Totsuka Yahiko felt a bit wronged by this.
Because the leakage of the papers, and Sakayanagi's subsequent remedy, prevented a situation where a large number of students might have been expelled, which means she did a favor for the School. If Katsuragi had done this, he might have been able to join the Student Council.
But what the Katsuragi Faction thought was not something Sakayanagi cared about.
She sat aside, waiting for news.
However.
"I regret to inform you, the negotiation failed."
Kamuro brought back bad news.
"Ryuen and his group rejected the proposal of 2 million point + 40 votes," Kamuro said. "He said he wants to clear the exam his own way."
"Then that's truly something," Sakayanagi Arisu said. "Dragon Boy."
"Dragon Boy?"
"That's Ryuen's nickname," Sakayanagi Arisu said. "If Kamuro wishes, I can also give you the title of Little Dog Kamuro."
"No thank you!" Kamuro immediately rejected.
Not only was the title Little Dog Kamuro not pleasant to hear, but although everyone saw her as Sakayanagi's dog, and she obeyed the other party for her living point, so the "little dog" identity was real, but the reputation was bad, and she didn't want it.
"However, Class D needs some attention," Sakayanagi said.
?
Kamuro looked over, puzzled.
"Why do you think Dragon Boy refused?" Sakayanagi said. "The current votes are meaningless to their Class because they can't participate in the election. And I also wanted 2 million point. If they get the point and receive the reward of 100 Class evaluation points, they'll recover the cost in a few months."
"So."
"I'm afraid."
"Ryuen has already inquired about the next special exam and decided to implement the 0-point strategy."
"Go collect information on next month's special exam," Sakayanagi Arisu said.
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That chapter ended on a bit of a cliff, didn't it? 😅 Don't worry, the next one's already on Patreon! [If you'd like to support my work, check out my: patreon.com/DaoistRoeoNQ]