I have a life simulator.

"I heard that top students will be rewarded in this exam. Why should I give up the points I should have earned for the sake of these useless people?"

Since May, there have been rumors among the first-year students that the school would reward the winners of the midterm exams with personal points and even class points. To be honest, many students in Class D who were doing quite well academically had been looking forward to this reward for a long time. After all, with zero class points, many of them were still burdened with debts to Class C. If they didn't have other ways to earn points, they might be expelled.

Therefore, even after Horikita Suzune proposed this solution and Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo responded, it was still difficult to persuade these top students who had prepared so carefully for so long to give up their high scores so easily.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that Yukimura's thoughts reflect the true thoughts of most students in Class D.

"To be honest, it's been like this since the beginning of the semester. I haven't done anything wrong, yet I'm stuck in this class..."

A soft murmur came from somewhere.

"You bastard! You want me to drop out of school? Well, you'd better not get away with it either!"

Haruki Yamauchi, who already had a grudge against Yukimura, wanted to rush up and punch him, but was stopped by the other boys, and the entire Class D was thrown into chaos again.

Horikita Suzune and Hirata Yosuke seemed to want to offer some more advice, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. As the bell rang for the next exam, the students in Class D had no choice but to obediently return to their seats. After all, everyone has a bit of wishful thinking, and no one wanted to drop out of school before the actual verdict was handed down.

In this atmosphere of despair and suffocation, the midterm exams for Class D, Grade 1 came to an end.

In class the next day, Horikita Suzune stared intently at the report card on the blackboard. She didn't care at all about her dismal scores of only fifty-something points in every subject; she was only focused on the red line that Chabashira Sae had drawn in red pen, representing death.

"The average score for this midterm exam was already very low, with the passing score being only 30.5, but there were still five people who failed."

Chabazusa sighed and said:

"Ken Sudo, one point short."

"The trees in the mountains are eight points short."

"Chi Kuanzhi, ten points worse."

"The center of the well is five points off."

"Ryotaro Hondo, four points short."

"Go back and pack your bags now, and I will take you to complete the withdrawal procedures."

Chabashira Sakae spoke coldly and ruthlessly:

"You have been expelled from school."

The five people pointed out by Chabashira Sae also happened to be the last ones to pass the first quiz at the start of the school year. Originally, Sato Maya and Sakura Airi were also members of the danger group, but with the help of Karuizawa Megumi, the two of them successfully passed.

Although the students in Class D felt a pang of anxiety when Chabashira called out their names, they all breathed a sigh of relief when they didn't hear their own names called. Apart from a few students who were usually not serious and often procrastinated on their studies, most of the students in Class D had actually been cramming for more than half a month in the face of the pressure of dropping out of school.

Not all of Kitagawa Ryo's answers were modified. If you have good judgment and don't blindly believe the answers, you should be able to pass with a low score.

Upon hearing his name called, Chi Kanji lost all his usual liveliness, collapsing as if he had been thrown to the ground. He staggered to his feet to confirm:

"No, no way, Sae, there's no, no make-up exam or anything like that?"

On the other side, Haruki Yamauchi was also clutching his head in despair. Just a day ago, he had been spouting nonsense as if no one else was around.

"How is that possible? How could I fail? Why should I be expelled for failing?"

Inokashira and Hondo Ryotaro also looked incredulous, only hoping to hear Chabashira Sae say that there was room for a turnaround.

"Teacher, is there really no other way?"

Hirata Yosuke was also unwilling to see the fact of dropping out of school happen before his eyes. He struggled to ask, "I have done everything I can. I pushed myself to the limit in every subject. Even in the last subject, English, I only scored three points above the passing grade."

In other words, without the grade-suppressing actions of Hirata Yosuke, Horikita Suzune, and others, the passing score for Class D would have been at least higher, and the number of students dropping out would have even risen to double digits.

"Since it was Horikita who caused this mess, then you'd better clean it up!"

Haruki Yamauchi suddenly erupted, shifting all the blame onto Suzune Horikita. He seemed to be losing his mind, shouting incessantly:

"If you hadn't been tricked by Class C, why would I have bothered to copy that fake answer key? Without that fake answer key, I would have passed long ago!"

"It's all your fault!"

His words seemed to give the other three dropouts an outlet for their emotions. In an instant, Horikita Suzune became the target of everyone's criticism. Even Hirata Yosuke cast a disappointed look at her with a complicated expression. Hirata Yosuke was very clear about his own position. He was just a deputy. If there was someone in the class who could lead Class D forward, he would definitely support him. But now it seemed that Horikita Suzune did not have that ability.

"Personal points can buy everything in this school."

Kitagawa Ryo's words echoed in Horikita Suzune's mind in an instant, and she quickly asked Chabashira Sae:

"Teacher, can I use my personal points to buy the points they need?"

"When school started, the teacher said that personal points could be used to buy everything in the school, so exam scores should be included as well."

As she said these words, Horikita Suzune had the illusion that she had stepped into a trap again, as if all her actions since the midterm exams had been planned by someone, and she was being controlled like a puppet.

As expected, after Horikita Suzune finished speaking, the entire Class D did not become excited. Most of the students simply lowered their heads and remained silent. Even Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo were unusually quiet. Chabashira Sae slowly spoke:

"You can definitely buy points, but one point costs 100,000."

"Can you afford it?"

"I have 30,000 points left!"

Horikita Suzune hadn't noticed the unusual atmosphere in the class yet; she simply announced her remaining personal points, seemingly still wanting to make up for it.

"Hey, why don't we just let them drop out of school?"

"There's no point in counting anymore."

What's the point of saving these people?

First it was one person, and then more students from Class D began to vent their dissatisfaction. They were tired of this bottomless pit of investment. Even if they had plenty of points, let alone be desperately poor now, they would not be willing to lend a hand again.

For the first time, Horikita Suzune felt powerless. She finally realized that she had never thought about the current situation of Class D. In her mind, Class D should be a group that would follow her. Thinking about it carefully, in the past half month, she had considered herself the leader of Class D, but she had not understood each student in Class D at all, let alone their personal thoughts.

Just as the situation reached a dead end, and the five who had dropped out of school began to accept this cruel reality, Karuizawa Megumi, hunched over, was about to follow Chabashira Sae to the office when she raised her hand:

If a student drops out, save only Takeru Sudo; he will become your weapon to control Class D.

"I remember a few days ago, the class advisor of Chazhu said that the school would give positive evaluations to club activities. As long as the club performs well, members will be given personal points, or even class points."

"Sudo-kun, it seems you're going to be selected as a regular player for the basketball club, right?"

"...That is true, but it's no use talking about it now."

Unlike the other four who dropped out, Sudo Ken had become much more composed after experiencing ups and downs over the past month. He originally wanted to proudly announce his efforts to the class after he actually received the award. He had been holding his breath, wanting to prove his worth to Class D. He had put in enough effort for the midterm exam, but unfortunately, his foundation was too weak, and he still missed one point.

"A few days ago, I provided some clues about a fight to Class B, so I received 100,000 personal points from Class B as a reward."

Karuizawa Megumi faced the physically imposing Sudo Ken. She glanced around at the students and casually revealed that she had negotiated with Class B and had achieved something:

"Sudo-kun is only one point short, and he might even bring points to the class next month."

“I think he has the potential to be saved.”

Karuizawa Megumi stepped onto the podium, speaking to the entire class for the first time. Even though she had prepared herself mentally, the immense pressure still made her voice tremble slightly. She took a step back and placed her palm against the cold wall; this action seemed to suddenly give her courage.

"At the same time, Class B will also pay Class D 400,000 personal points every month. In other words, Class C's debt has now been transferred to Class B, so everyone doesn't need to worry about this issue anymore."

Karuizawa Kei spoke more and more smoothly. She didn't have any leader's demeanor, but the students of Class D felt a long-lost sense of cohesion. Even Koenji Rokusuke, who had always been uninterested in the class's drama and was taking a nap with his eyes closed, looked up at Karuizawa Kei.

"It's only been two months since the start of the school year."

"Class D will definitely be able to stand up again in the competition. It is precisely because it is zero that there is no way back, and therefore there is more room for improvement."

Karuizawa Kei was really bad at public speaking; she just stiffly recited the words Kitagawa Ryo had written for her.

However, the shocking news of acquiring 400,000 personal points from Class B in a month had lifted the students of Class D from the abyss to the clouds. They were already somewhat dazed, and what Karuizawa Megumi said was no longer important. At this moment, the students of Class D could only obtain a few simple pieces of information:

Horikita Suzune leading Class D... seems less capable than Karuizawa Megumi?

Some people remembered the confrontation between Karuizawa Kei and Kitagawa Ryo in the corridor a couple of days ago, and members of Karuizawa Kei's group also took the opportunity to start building momentum.

Horikita Suzune pursed her lips and looked at Karuizawa Kei on the podium. This was the first time she had noticed this girl in her class. Before, her impression of Karuizawa Kei was just that of a gyaru-style girl who was somewhat popular among the girls. But now she realized that the girl had a straight back and a resolute expression, and was completely different from when she first entered the school.

He negotiated with Class B to obtain points to resolve Class C's debts, confronted Class C's leader Kitagawa Ryo head-on without being at a disadvantage, and even in handling interpersonal relationships, the other party seemed to be more at ease.

It seems that Horikita Suzune has never achieved any of these points.

"I will make Class D better."

Karuizawa Kei made her declaration to Hirata Yosuke in a generous and open manner. Her smile was infectious, making her speech all the more powerful.

Communicating with people you dislike makes you want to vomit.

But whenever she felt frustrated or couldn't persevere, Karuizawa Megumi would think of him. Just recalling the time she spent with him seemed to give her the strength to try again.

"I believe everyone will not let me down."

After all, I still need you guys to earn that 20 million for me...

Chapter 21: A Day in Sakayanagi Arisu's Life

One day in June, Kitagawa Ryo was holding Hotaru in his room watching TV. He had just given the kitten a bath and dried her with a hairdryer, but Hotaru still seemed unhappy with the tufts of curly fur on her body and insisted that Kitagawa Ryo straighten it before she would feel at ease.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was enjoying this rare moment of leisure during his vacation, his phone suddenly rang. Kitagawa Ryo put Hotaru on the sofa, took out his phone, and saw Sakayanagi Arisu's name appear on the screen:

"Hey, Arisu?"

"The call was answered quite quickly; it seems he's alone in his room."

"are you sick?"

Kitagawa Ryo frowned. Although Sakayanagi Arisu still spoke in her usual teasing tone, her voice was noticeably weak and her breathing was different from usual. Considering that the girl's health was not good to begin with, Kitagawa Ryo naturally asked her this question.

"Oh, I'm alright. I had a bit of a cold a few days ago."

Sakayanagi Arisu yawned softly on the other end of the phone, seemingly unconcerned and appearing to be in fairly good spirits.

I probably won't participate in this summer's special exam.

"Really? As expected, the school won't let us off easily. They must be referring to the 'deserted island vacation' the teachers mentioned, right?"

"Well, that's it."

Although Kitagawa Ryo had some guesses about the summer school's arrangements, if Sakayanagi Arisu had confirmed it, the general content of the exams would become clear.

The location is an uninhabited island, and the physically frail Sakayanagi Arisu will not participate, which naturally outlines the nature of this exam.

"The special exam... it should be a major exam that can close the gap between classes in one fell swoop, or even turn the tide, right?"

"right."

Seemingly sensing the ambition hidden in Kitagawa Ryo's words, Sakayanagi Arisu responded with a light laugh:

"Class D and Class B no longer have the strength to compete with Class C. I suppose Class A will be their next target."

"I do have that idea, but it wouldn't be very interesting if you, Arisu, didn't come."

"If the other students in Class A heard this, they would feel looked down upon. There is still a gap between Class A and Class C, isn't there?"

"It's only a few hundred points."

Kitagawa Ryo responded without fear.

In June, following the midterm exams, the class points were updated again:

Class A remains in first place with 1004 points, followed closely by Class B with 683 points, Class C with 656 points, and Class D with a dismal 87 points.

Tokyo Advanced Educational High School did indeed award each class an extra 100 class points as a reward for passing the midterm exams, but only if no one in the class dropped out due to the midterms. If it weren't for Takeru Sudo being the only first-year student selected as a full-fledged player for the basketball club to participate in the upcoming summer tournament and receiving an extra 100 points as a reward, Class D's class points would probably still be zero.

It was precisely with these 100 class points that Karuizawa Kei successfully secured her place in Class D with Sudo's help. After all, if Karuizawa Kei hadn't funded Sudo Ken's expulsion after the midterm exams, the situation in Class D would have been even worse.

After all, this is the first time they have increased their class points since the start of the semester.

After eliminating Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi, Class D is now under immense pressure and even seems to be rebounding somewhat, but Ryo Kitagawa really doesn't take them seriously.

"Actually, Arisu probably hopes that I'll go a little harder on Class A this time."

Kitagawa Ryosuke didn't believe that Sakayanagi Arisu would tell him about the special summer exams for no reason. He never let his guard down around Sakayanagi Arisu, even though she looked weak and listless.

Sakayanagi Arisu's control over Class A was slower than he had imagined. Katsuragi Kohei had indeed amassed a group of supporters. If Sakayanagi Arisu was unable to take the exam this time, Class A would definitely be led by Katsuragi Kohei. In other words, the greater the blow Kitagawa Ryo dealt to Class A, the easier it would be for Sakayanagi Arisu to unify Class A after the summer vacation.

"Oh, don't always imagine me to be so calculating?"

Sakayanagi Arisu appeared to be lying in bed covered with a blanket. Kitagawa Ryo could hear the sound of her clothes rubbing against the blanket as she turned over, accompanied by two soft coughs.

"...Are you really alright?"

Although reason told Kitagawa Ryo that Sakayanagi Arisu was definitely not the kind of girl who would take the initiative to show weakness, he still couldn't help but ask with concern:

You seem to be feeling very uncomfortable.

"Now you know how to care about me?"

Sakayanagi Arisu's words silenced Kitagawa Ryo once again. In fact, throughout the entire semester, apart from meeting Sakayanagi Arisu once at the beginning of the semester and once when he was scheming against Class B, he had basically been intentionally avoiding the girl. Although this was in line with the overall strategy of taking down Class D and Class B first and then launching an attack on Class A, perhaps Kitagawa Ryo really didn't want to get involved with her any more.

Compared to Honami Ichinose, Megumi Karuizawa, Hiyori Shiina, and even Suzune Horikita, Arisu Sakayanagi is the only girl Kitagawa Ryo can't see through. Contrary to her delicate appearance, he knows very well that she is no less scheming than he is. Dealing with two such cunning people is a troublesome thing.