The exam begins...
The exam ends...
"I, I finished all the questions!"Sakura Airi said with excitement. The accuracy of her answers was uncertain, but being able to finish every question meant her final score wouldn't be that bad.
"Thanks to the reading comprehension and essay writing techniques you taught me, I feel like this exam will be a sure thing!"
"Come on, let's have a friendship hug~~"Hasebe Haruka, beaming with joy, spread her arms wide and gave Hachiman a quick, awkward hug.
Though there was still a certain distance between them, she clearly underestimated her own strength. The peak of her head gently brushed against Hachiman's chest.
"Uhh..."Hachiman stiffened.At this moment, what kind of expression should he make?
"Ahahah~~"Hasebe Haruka awkwardly laughed, though she still tried to maintain composure.
Sakura Airi, who was watching this, hesitated for a moment before deciding to join in.
However, she was still a bit too shy.
She could only grab Hachiman's arm and didn't dare to move any further.
No! I can't be the only one feeling awkward!
Hasebe Haruka's eyes flickered mischievously as she stealthily moved behind Airi and gave her a firm push.
"Airi, you should thank Hachiman too~~"
"ah!" Sakura Airi stumbled forward, her head landing squarely into Hachiman's chest.
A perfect head-to-chest collision!
"..."
Hachiman felt like his soul was being sent flying from his body, his brain short-circuiting for a moment.
"Ugh~"
Sakura Airi blushed furiously, lowering her head, her hands pressed against Hachiman's chest, but she made no attempt to pull away.
The boys from Class D, witnessing this, all looked like they were ready to gnash their teeth!
"Damn! I want to be knocked over by a cute girl like that too!!"
"And twice at that!!"
"No justice in this world!!"
They all screamed in frustration.Even the usually studious Yukimura Teruhiko couldn't help but mutter to himself, "But my grades are better than his… why don't girls like me?"
The unspoken last part was left unsaid.The word "envy" was practically stamped across his forehead!
"Is this what normal male desires look like?"
Ayanokoji murmured, his expression blank. "Looks like I also need to study this kind of emotion."
"A pointless farce." Horikita Suzune, as always, was holding a foreign classic in her hands, but even the most engaging literature couldn't capture her attention right now, and a strange irritation stirred in her heart.
***
The remaining subjects were finished.
"This time, you really helped us out, Kikyo!"
"Yeah, if it weren't for Chitose bringing us the real exam papers in advance, we'd be in trouble." Class D surrounded Kushida Kikyo, all expressing their gratitude.
"No, I didn't do anything special."
"I just spent some personal points and bought the papers from a senior..." Kushida, with a calm demeanor, made sure to subtly boast about her contribution.
"Really?"
"You spent your personal points to buy the papers? That's so noble of you!"
"Kushuda is an angel!!"
As expected, Kushida's performance earned her the admiration of most of Class D.
Only Hachiman, ever keen, noticed that Chitose Kikyo's gaze kept unintentionally drifting towards Ayanokoji.
As expected!
The mastermind behind this was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. This guy really didn't seem like the type to act selflessly for the sake of the group.
What exactly was he up to?
Hachiman couldn't figure it out, nor did he care to. As long as it didn't affect him, he couldn't care less about what the guy was scheming.
"It's over, it's over, it's over...."In the midst of the cheerful atmosphere, one person was holding his head in his hands, his face filled with regret and panic.
"Sudo, what's going on with you?" Yamanouchi and the others noticed their friend's abnormal state.
"Hey, you didn't mess up the exam, did you?" Ike Hiroshi widened his eyes and scolded,
"Kushida went through all the trouble of getting us the real exam papers. You didn't even memorize the answers, did you?"
"I... I didn't want this to happen..."
"Yesterday, during basketball club practice, Komiya and Kondo kept praising my shooting skills and insisted I teach them how to shoot three-pointers."
"Before I knew it, it was already seven o'clock, and I was too tired to do anything. I just crashed straight into bed... heh!"
Sudo Ken scratched his head, a proud grin still on his face as he talked about basketball.
"No one cares about your basketball stuff!"
"You didn't memorize the answers to the test, you're done for!" Yamanouchi Haruki's words were blunt but true.
"Should be fine... I did memorize some of it this morning." Sudo Ken said this with weak confidence.
"Wait, Sudo..." Ayanokoji, who rarely spoke, suddenly spoke up, "Which class are Komiya and Kondo from?"
"They're from Class C, also members of the basketball club. They're good friends of mine!"
Sudo Ken pounded his chest proudly. This fool...He doesn't even realize he's been set up. Hachiman instantly figured it out!
"...."
Ayanokoji's usual blank expression didn't change, but his eyes darkened for a brief moment.
Clearly, he also realized something was off. However, the exam was already over. There was no time to do anything about it.
A moment later.Chabashira Saeko walked into the classroom, holding a stack of exam papers in her hand, her high heels clicking on the floor.
"Quiet down. It's time to announce the results."
She projected the grades onto the screen. The first thing that caught their eyes were the high scores. Though, aside from Hirata, Horikita, and Yukimura—who truly deserved their high marks—others with high scores had clearly benefited from memorizing the answers.
Hachiman, who hadn't memorized anything, scored above 90 in Japanese and Social Studies and over 70 in English, which was considered a normal performance. Nothing special.
But his scores in Math (63) and Science (65)...Honestly, these were scores he had never gotten before!
"Looks like my tutoring really paid off."Horikita Suzune allowed a rare, small smile to appear on her face.
"Thank you, Horikita." Hachiman sincerely thanked her.
In just one month, she had helped him go from an 11 to a 63. Horikita had done a great job!
"By the way, the one who tutored your science?" Horikita Suzune narrowed her eyes.
Especially when she saw that Hachiman's science score was higher than his math score, she had a strange sense of defeat.
"Uh, my science foundation was just a bit better than math..." Hachiman explained, trying to downplay it.
"Mm!" Horikita Suzune nodded in satisfaction, pleased that her tutoring had "won."
Hachiman couldn't help but laugh.Was she that competitive?
***
Come back tomorrow for more!