People bring their own maids to the training camp

"First, first, first!" the students below the stage chanted.

"Class B ranks second out of the four classes," Ms. Hoshinomiya announced.

"Damn it, we lost to Class A again!" Shibata pounded his chest in frustration, utterly disappointed.

"Second place is fine too." Although Fanbo was a little disappointed, she also breathed a sigh of relief. She would have panicked if she had gotten third or fourth place.

"Congratulations everyone, your class has gained 75 points. Now, let's announce the rankings of the other classes: Class C is in first place—"

This result shocked the entire Class B.

"Teacher, didn't you say you weren't joking?"

"Yeah, teacher, aren't you going against the grain and become the last in Class C?!"

"Yeah! Isn't Class A the number one team?"

Class B students started discussing it amongst themselves.

"Let me reiterate, the top scorer in this midterm exam is Class C, the second is Class B, the third is Class A, and the last is Class D." Teacher Hoshinomiya stated the complete ranking order of the four classes, A, B, C, and D.

"Unbelievable, what's going on with Class A and Class C? Class D, on the other hand, is performing quite consistently."

"I don't know, Class C's academic ability shouldn't be that high, right?"

For the students in Class B who were completely unaware of the situation, it was naturally difficult to understand why Class C was able to take first place.

"Next are the results of the average scores for each subject: Class B has the highest average score in math among the four classes, Class A has the highest average score in chemistry, and Class C has the highest average score in English, social studies, and Chinese," said Ms. Hoshinomiya.

"Teacher, could you please tell us the total scores for each class?" Fanbo asked, raising his hand.

“Of course.” Hoshinomiya-sensei nodded and turned her back to write on the blackboard.

After watching, Class B realized that the gap between them and Class C was quite obvious, while their lead over Class A was neither much nor little. Class A was only 0.5 points ahead of Class D, which was quite dangerous.

As a result, Class C received 160 class points for passing the midterm exam, while Class B received 95 class points.

Despite defeating Class A, Class C caught up, making it less than perfect a victory for Class B. However, overall, it met Class B's pre-exam expectations; the only variable was the different first-place finisher.

"In short, that concludes the announcement of the midterm exam results. Anyone with questions about their grades or who discovered any misjudgments has the entire day to review them," Ms. Hoshinomiya continued. "If everything is correct, the class points will be updated tomorrow, and no further reviews will be accepted at that time. Understand?"

"understood."

“Very good.” Teacher Hoshinomiya nodded in satisfaction. “Then the individual points for the top three in each subject will be credited to your accounts at midnight tomorrow.”

"That's quite a haul for Princess Hime-kun," Shibata joked. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Shibata-kun, but I won't be treating you to something to celebrate, okay?" Chihaya accepted the offer readily and made a small joke.

"Oops, I've been found out. Looks like I'll have to buy it myself." Shibata scratched his head.

"Alright, now it's your turn to check your papers to see if there are any mistakes in the marking. If you have any questions, come to the office to find the teacher." After saying that, Ms. Hoshinomiya left the classroom.

The students in Class B also began distributing and checking the test papers as instructed.

However, even if each student in Class B scored one more point than Class C, they still couldn't catch up, so what was nominally an inspection was actually just chatting.

Honami also turned around and started talking to Chihaya.

"We've increased by 95 points, which is pretty much what we expected," Honami said. "Chihaya has really worked hard these past few days, setting questions, attending study sessions, and taking care of the club at the same time."

"It's nothing. I've had a very fulfilling time, and it feels great to work hard together with everyone!"

"Then I'll be asking Chihaya to help me with my studies for the final exams, okay?"

"Haha, that's natural."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"Let's go to the Keyaki Shopping Center for dinner tonight. We can finally relax a bit and treat ourselves to something nice," Honami suggested. "Let's invite Hayasaka and Amakura too."

"Alright, but you're not after the 25000 points I just got, are you?" Chihaya said with a smile.

"How could that be? Didn't I also earn 5000 points? We'll both be targeted!" Fanbo's 5000 points were earned from three subjects combined, and as the second-highest scorer in the class, her performance was quite outstanding.

“That makes sense. Otherwise, the two of us can go. It’s very safe.”

“That’s a great suggestion. Chihaya, you have to treat me to milk tea,” Honami said.

"Fanbo, you still say you weren't after my points! Now you've been exposed, okay? And drinking milk tea will make you fat, you know?"

"No, neither milk nor tea will make you fat, and neither will combining them. They're very healthy!"

"Oh no, I've gone crazy from the exam."

"Not at all!"

......

Unlike the cheerful atmosphere in Class B, Class D was somewhat lifeless.

Despite everyone avoiding failing, the students in Class D found it very difficult to accept that their score difference with Class A was only 0.5 points – it would have been fine if the difference was 5 or 10 points, but it was precisely 0.5 points.

So after Teacher Chazhu left, the entire Class D frantically checked their exam papers, hoping to find a mistake so they could overtake the others.

Even Sudo Yamauchi and others honestly asked Suzune to help them check their exam papers.

In an instant, a group of people gathered around Lingyin, Hirata, Yukimura, and Wang Meiyu, waiting for the top students to check their test papers.

Everyone held onto hope, but the way the top students reached for a test paper silently told everyone the outcome.

"..."

Time passed by, but no good news came from the other side.

Suzune fell silent. She had witnessed the efforts of everyone in Class D, even Sudo and Yamauchi. They had all "repented" and pushed themselves to the limit, and the fact that no one dropped out this time was the best proof of that. It's worth noting that Sudo only scored in the teens on the quiz, and Yamauchi only in the twenties.

"No, there are no problems with any of the papers in the class." Hirata slammed his fist on the table.

0.5 points, just 0.5 points, may seem insignificant, but it has become an insurmountable chasm between Class A and Class D.

25 points and 50 points may not seem like much, but Class D, which is slow to realize this, desperately needs points now, especially since the 0.5 difference doesn't seem irreversible.

The whole class fell silent, since everyone's test papers had been checked, and they had no way to check Class A's test papers.

"If we ask Class A..."

“Class A is probably checking their exam papers right now, right? To prevent us from coming to question them, they might even let us check them.” Hirata sighed. “But we have to try. I’ll go and negotiate with Class A. If they don’t want us to see their papers, there’s nothing we can do.”

“I’ll go with you; if we’re allowed, the checkup will be faster.” Yukimura adjusted his glasses and stood up.

"Thank you, Yukimura-kun."

Since Suzune didn't speak, Hirata didn't take the initiative to invite her and immediately went to Class A.

"What a pity, we were only 0.5 points short," Ayanokouji said.

Lingyin glanced at him, and only spoke after making sure no one was paying attention.

"If you had scored just one more point, the result wouldn't have been like this."

"Don't force me to do things against my will. This is the score I'm capable of."

“You clearly have…” Rinne wanted to say that Ayanokouji had the answer, but she didn’t say it out loud.

At the same time, Rin remembered what Chika had said to her in the first chapter.

"If you need anything later, Lingyin can come to me, okay? Maybe I can help you turn things around."

Recalling those words, Lingyin decided to take a gamble. She gripped her phone, resolutely stood up, and walked straight out of the classroom.

Ayanokouji simply stared at Suzune's retreating figure, his fingers rhythmically tapping the table as if he were deep in thought.

......

After leaving the classroom, Rin took out her phone and sent an email to Chihaya.

However, just a few seconds later, Chihaya called.

"Honey, ringtone." Chihaya's pleasant voice came from the phone.

Hello, Chihaya.

"Since you sent me an email, it means that Rinne needs me right now, right?"

"...Chihaya, you said you could help me turn the tide, right?"

"Of course, only for the midterm exams, I'll help you."

"Class D's total score is 0.5 points lower than Class A's. Even so, can you reverse this situation?"

"If the difference is too big, I definitely can't do it, but if it's only 0.5 points, that's just right, okay?"

"So, what's the price?" Rin asked. Although Chihaya had said she could ask for help, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Free things are the most expensive, so she was sure she would have to give something in exchange for Chihaya's help.

"Hmm, how about Suzune owes me a favor?" Chihaya seemed to be pondering with some trouble in her heart. "This favor won't involve class competition, how about that? Of course, I won't ask you to do anything that's impossible!"

"..." Lingyin was silent for a few seconds, her brain working rapidly to weigh the pros and cons. "I accept."

“Okay, then let’s head to the student council room now, Suzune? We’ll meet there,” Chihaya said. “Friendly reminder, the student council president will also be there, so you can be prepared.”

"Understood, I'll be there soon."

Lingyin hung up the phone and prepared to move towards the student council room.

This is her only chance.

Suzune was now slightly regretful. If she had followed Ayanokouji's suggestion and made the trade with Class B, even just one subject from Class D would have been enough to overtake Class A. Although she didn't know what had happened to Class A, the gap between Class D and Class B wouldn't be closed simply by exchanging exam papers.

Soon, Lingyin arrived at the student council room.

The girl took a deep breath and then reached out to knock on the door.

"Please come in," his elder brother's indifferent voice rang out.

"Excuse me." Lingyin pushed open the door and entered.

Only Horikita Manabu and Chihaya were in the office.

Chihaya even had a teacup in front of her, indicating that she had arrived long ago.

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Only Horikita Manabu and Chihaya were in the office.

Chihaya even had a teacup in front of her, indicating that she had arrived long ago.