May 1st.
Class B’s students arrived early at the classroom, but unlike usual, everyone was holding their phones with serious expressions, discussing the results of the first month’s evaluation.
Shiraishi entered the classroom a little later.
The moment he stepped through the door, a student in the front row immediately called out to him.
“Shiraishi-kun, look at these points…” The boy held up his phone, the implication clear.
Today was the day the first month’s exam results would be announced.
Though the official results hadn’t been posted yet, the monthly Private Points had already been deposited into everyone’s accounts.
The amount credited was 98,000 points.
From this, they could deduce that Class B had retained 980 Class Points for the month.
Though it was unclear whether the deducted 20 points came from the first two days of school or from small mistakes made by students later on, the number 980 was already remarkable enough.
“Don’t worry about it.
Even if Class A performed perfectly, the gap between us is only 20 points.” Shiraishi offered reassurance.
In the original timeline, Class A had been exceptionally strong, losing only 60 points in the first month—a truly monstrous performance.
Shiraishi couldn’t be sure whether Class B’s unusual behavior during this period had already alerted Class A and caused them to prepare in advance.
But as he’d just said, compared to the hundreds of points that separated upperclassmen classes, even if Class A had lost zero points, they’d only be ahead by 20.
A single Special Exam victory would be enough to overtake them.
Shiraishi returned to his seat, and before long, class time arrived.
As the bell rang, their homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, walked into the classroom carrying a poster tube, her steps a bit unsteady.
Shiraishi immediately noticed the unusual flush on her cheeks.
“Hoshinomiya-sensei’s been drinking again, hasn’t she?” Hamaguchi’s muttered complaint came from behind.
After a month of classes, the students had already figured out Hoshinomiya’s habits.
Since she was the school nurse and didn’t have to teach regular classes, she often drank heavily the night before and showed up reeking of alcohol the next day—there had even been a few close calls where she almost lost her composure in front of the students.
“Mm-hmm, is everyone here?” Hoshinomiya stood at the podium, her gaze still somewhat unfocused as if she wasn’t fully sober, but her eyes eventually landed steadily on Shiraishi.
“Since Makoto-kun already explained the school’s ‘hidden rules’ to everyone, I won’t bore you with the details~” Her tone was light and airy.
“The school’s first-month evaluation was a comprehensive assessment—basically, it was about whether you followed the rules.” With that, Hoshinomiya casually picked up a piece of chalk and wrote four striking numbers on the blackboard: 980, 950, 490, 0 “These four numbers are the first-month Class Points for Classes A, B, C, and D.” “Eh, Sensei, isn’t our class at 980 points?
We already received our Private Points.” A student who hadn’t caught on yet raised their hand in confusion.
“That’s right, that’s right—our class really did get 980 points~” Hoshinomiya wobbled her head, then suddenly raised her voice: “So—congratulations, everyone!
You’ve successfully overtaken them in the first month and advanced to Class A!” “Big round of applause!!” With that, she started clapping enthusiastically all by herself.
The classroom fell silent for a moment, then students collectively let out sighs of relief, exchanging glances with those beside them—barely concealed joy flickering in their eyes.
“Eh~ Why isn’t anyone reacting?
This is an unprecedented achievement, you know!” Seeing no cheers or excitement, Hoshinomiya pouted in displeasure.
“Sensei, of course we’re happy—it’s just…
a little hard to believe right now.” Ichinose spoke up softly in explanation.
Knowing that the original Class A students were generally more capable, the students of Class B had carried a considerable amount of pressure throughout the month.
Looking at the results, the gap between them and the original Class A was only 30 points.
The joy was real—but the sense of urgency in Ichinose’s heart hadn’t diminished at all.
“Then let’s get excited together with your teacher—woohoo!” With Hoshinomiya’s encouragement, the classroom atmosphere gradually grew lively.
Seated in the back, Shiraishi stared at the original Class A’s data and paused for a moment.
He remembered clearly: in the first month, the original Class A’s points were supposed to be 940—but now they were showing 950.
There was no doubt about it—Class B’s unusual performance had affected Class A.
“Okay, aside from the comprehensive assessment, your quiz results are also here~” Hoshinomiya opened the poster tube on her desk and pasted a ranking sheet on the blackboard.
At the top, Ichinose Honami led with a score of 93, followed by a group of top students in the 80s, then a large group in the 70s, a few in the 60s, and no one below 60.
Shiraishi’s score was 78—not particularly outstanding in the class.
“And then~ anyone below this line is considered failing.” Hoshinomiya took her chalk and drew a red line at the bottom of the rankings, then announced cheerfully: “Which means—nobody failed!
Congratulations, everyone!” “Sensei, how is the passing line determined?” Kanzaki raised his hand and asked.
“The passing line is the class average, divided by two~” Hoshinomiya suddenly let out a small hiccup, her words growing a bit slurred, but she continued: “This time, the class average was 79, so scoring above 38.5 is passing—looks like everyone’s perfectly safe.” Her tone shifted to something more serious: “But be careful—if you fail the midterms or finals, you’ll be expelled immediately.” Hearing the passing standard, many sharp-minded students quickly thought of potential strategies, and a few glanced back at Shiraishi.
They weren’t sure about his academic level, but given how impressive his overall performance had been—and the fact that his 78 was so close to the average of 79—they couldn’t help but wonder if he had deliberately controlled his score.
The students who were weaker in their studies collectively let out long sighs of relief.
Even the worst performer among them was still more than ten points above the 36-point passing line.
As long as they maintained their current level, there was no risk of expulsion.
“And that’s all—Sensei…” Mid-sentence, Hoshinomiya’s expression suddenly changed, and she bolted out of the classroom.
Everyone knew exactly where she was going.
They had long grown accustomed to their unreliable homeroom teacher.
As she left, quiet conversations broke out.
“Looks like Hoshinomiya-sensei is really happy too—that’s why she drank so much.” A student whispered.
Hearing that, Shiraishi shook his head lightly.
Rather than Class B doing exceptionally well, he was more inclined to believe that Class D had spectacularly bombed—and that was what had made Hoshinomiya so pleased.