Chapter 256: Midterm Exams, Persuading Through Fists
In late October, there was a midterm exam.
This time, the school unexpectedly didn't pull any fancy tricks; it was a pure, standard written examination. As long as students listened carefully in class and did their homework after school, they could basically pass smoothly.
However, even something this basic remained a highly challenging task for Class D.
Following his usual routine, Hirata Yousuke organized a study group after school. Most of Class D consisted of lazy, academic underachievers, so they naturally weren't interested in a study group. They felt that with two weeks left until the midterms, there was no need to review so early. They figured they could just cram at the last minute two days before the exam and somehow fudge their way through...
If this had been the previous version of Hirata Yousuke, he likely would have only tried to persuade them one by one with earnest, painstaking words. But the updated version of Hirata Yousuke had already installed the "Analects of Fists" app.
The specific operation was simple: He swung his fists to persuade the others to study.
In short: Persuasion through Fists!
Under the "heavy-handed" crafting of Hirata Yousuke, Class D managed to produce a relatively decent learning atmosphere for once.
Hikigaya was happy to see this happen, even feeling a sense of approval for Hirata's current state. Had he been like this from the start, how would Class D have ended up in its current predicament?
Finally, the midterms arrived. The midterms ended.
There wasn't much to say about the exam process itself. It was a normal written test; the only difference was that, per the rewards for the top three placements in the sports festival, certain students received bonus points on their exam scores. For students like Sudo Ken, who constantly hovered on the edge of the passing line, these bonus points acted as an extra layer of insurance.
But for Hikigaya, the bonus points were completely useless—they weren't even worth calling "the icing on the cake." Since conquering the mountain that was Mathematics, his grades had already reached an absolutely safe score.
"Quiet, everyone get back to your seats...
Eh? Everyone is quite well-behaved today."
Chabashira Sae, holding a stack of report cards, walked into a Class D classroom that was much quieter than usual. She saw the students of Class D all sitting properly, looking tense and upright with anxiety.
"It seems that even you in Class D have grown somewhat."
Recalling how during the first semester, these "gods" didn't take exams seriously at all, seeing them finally look like proper students gave Chabashira Sae a slight sense of relief.
"Relax, I know what you're worried about." Chabashira Sae rarely refrained from keeping them in suspense, directly announcing the result: "I wish to congratulate you all; every single person successfully passed this midterm exam!"
"Yeah—!" The room erupted in enthusiastic cheers. Even Hirata Yousuke, who had maintained a stiff face throughout, finally relaxed his brow and let out a sigh of relief in his heart. He didn't want to see a fourth person expelled from Class D.
"As a reward for everyone passing, the school will grant each class an additional 50 points." Chabashira Sae turned to the blackboard and wrote down the current scores for each class.
"Why is it only 50 points..."
"Be satisfied! The class that got first place in the sports festival only got 50 points; this is pretty good!"
"That's an extra 5,000 Private Points per person per month. I can finally buy snacks next month!"
By now, the members of Class D finally had a profound understanding of how precious class points were. Thinking back to when they enrolled and had an initial score of 1,000 points—only to squander it all in a single month—it was a devastating loss!!
"Wait! Chabashira-sensei, you calculated wrong, didn't you?"
Class D's previous score was 40, and with the 50 points added for passing the midterms, it should be 90, yet now it was only 80. Hikigaya looked thoughtfully in Hirata Yousuke's direction.
One could only say that while force can solve many problems, it's impossible for it to have no side effects.
"The calculation is not wrong."
Chabashira Sae turned her gaze toward Hirata Yousuke, her expression carrying a hint of scrutiny: "The intention of persuading others to study is good, but you must pay attention to the boundaries of your actions. Do you understand, Hirata-kun?"
Hirata Yousuke's eyes froze for a moment, and he quickly understood what she was referring to. During the study sessions, it was impossible for everyone to be well-behaved; someone would always cause trouble.
Hirata Yousuke had decisively used his "Analects of Fists"!
Perhaps it was captured by the school's surveillance, or perhaps someone from another class saw it and reported it to the school. Fortunately, Hirata had only used the threat of force—his iron fists hadn't actually connected—otherwise, he wouldn't have escaped without disciplinary action.
In the end, the punishment was simply a deduction of 10 points from Class D as a warning!
"Sigh! We finally got 50 points with great difficulty, only for Hirata to lose 10 of them." Someone in Class D complained in a low voice.
Hikigaya felt a wave of disgust hearing that! Is that something a human being should say?
To protect the "class collective," Hirata Yousuke could be said to have poured out his heart and soul. If it weren't for the sake of making this group of brain-dead people study, why would Hirata have raised his fists?
Rather than being upset over the 10 lost points, the people of Class D were likely more dissatisfied with Hirata Yousuke's use of force.
Most people missed the "old version" of Hirata Yousuke, who treated everyone with gentleness... For these kinds of people, Hikigaya could only describe them as having a "cheap character."
When someone is good to you, you push your luck; when someone is firm with you, you start whining.
While Hikigaya couldn't agree with Hirata Yousuke's methods, he expressed respect and understanding. Hirata Yousuke didn't care at all. In his view, as long as he could protect the class, it didn't matter even if he was hated by everyone!
If it were anyone else, they would likely be isolated, rejected, or even bullied by the class. But Hirata Yousuke had one advantage: he had the face of a handsome guy.
He was naturally favored by most of the opposite sex.
"Don't say things like that. Didn't Hirata-kun do this for everyone's sake?
Besides, haven't you guys among the boys lost enough points before?
What is a mere 10 points anyway?"
Led by Shinohara Satsuki, the girls stood up one after another to speak for Hirata Yousuke. Seeing this, Hikigaya discarded his plan to use his self-sacrificing intervention tactic.
"Hachiman, were you about to speak up for Hirata just now?" Horikita Suzune, sitting in the adjacent seat, keenly noticed this.
"No, I just find these people an eyesore." Hikigaya narrowed his dead-fish eyes.
"It seems my intuition was correct; you wanted to do something that would make people hate you again." Horikita Suzune sighed helplessly.
"I say, I just praised you for a moment, and now you're starting class infighting again?" Chabashira Sae said coldly: "Since you all have so much energy, I announce that starting tomorrow, we will begin early mini-quizzes based on the final exams!"
"Ehhh?!"
"Again!"
"How can you do this!"
The midterms had just ended, and they were immediately hit with another test.
This caused the members of Class D to look like they had put on "masks of pain"!
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