"Senpaku, I am Sakamoto. What brings you here?"

"It's not an overreaction,"

Sakamoto gently corrected,

"A 'gift' worth examining. Thank you for passing it on, Shiina-kun."

The conversation quietly came to an end.

The two once again immersed themselves in their respective reading worlds.

The brief exchange about framing and conspiracy that just happened was merely a trivial interlude during a break from reading.

However, this tranquility did not extend to the entire library.

In the communal study area, separated by several book sections,

The atmosphere was completely different.

Horikita Suzune sat upright, her textbook and notes spread out in front of her.

Across from her,

Then there are Haruki Yamauchi, Kanji Ike, and Ken Sudo, whose faces are full of reluctance—the famous "idiot trio".

Kikyo Kushida sat to the side, her face adorned with her flawless, sweet smile, trying to break the almost frozen atmosphere.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji sat in a corner a little further away.

He seemed to be spacing out.

In reality, his gaze occasionally swept over the learning session that was destined to be difficult.

More attention, however, was focused on inner reflection about something else.

Horikita took the initiative to organize this study session, and she even unusually asked Kushida for assistance.

The cold confrontation with her brother that night, and his undisguised praise of Sakamoto, had a huge impact on her.

She began to reflect that blindly imitating her brother's harsh and lonely path might not be the only answer.

Even someone like his older brother could look at the unconventional yet exceptionally talented Sakamoto with special regard.

This shows that there is more than one form of power.

She may need to find her own perspective and approach.

But reality soon dealt her a heavy blow.

No matter how patiently she tried to explain, or how much she tried to develop her own problem-solving methods,

Kanji Ike's casualness, Ken Sudo's impatience, and Haruki Yamauchi's noticeably shifty gaze all acted like a wall.

Her efforts were ruthlessly thwarted.

"Horikita! These things make me want to sleep!"

Kanji Ike couldn't help but complain.

"Exactly, you should use this time to practice!"

Takeru Sudo crossed his arms.

He didn't even glance at the textbook.

Haruki Yamauchi's gaze wandered.

She would steal glances at Kushida every now and then as he gently tried to persuade her.

Horikita Suzune gripped her pen tightly.

She forcefully suppressed the rising frustration and helplessness.

Tell yourself to stay calm and to look for different approaches.

Instead, he actively sought Kushida's help, using her influence to reconcile and ease tensions with the trio of idiots.

This was a new step she was trying to take—although deep down she still felt a little uncomfortable with Kushida's excessive friendliness.

In the corner, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's thoughts had already drifted far away.

He had absolutely no interest in this inefficient learning session.

What really caught his attention was the exam paper that was supposedly from Sakamoto.

After investigating, Horikita confidently told him:

“I saw it with my own eyes; Sakamoto was holding the same exam paper.”

She firmly believed that this was evidence of Sakamoto's "aid" to them.

Perhaps it also carries a sense of humiliation from being looked down upon.

But Ayanokouji didn't completely believe it.

What you see with your own eyes may not be the whole truth.

He thought about it calmly.

The way that exam paper appeared was too suspicious.

He needs to get to the bottom of this matter more directly, to touch upon the core mysteries of the situation.

First Year Midterm Exam: Chapter 062: Sakamoto Gets Perfect Scores in All Subjects

The brief and fragile alliance on the rooftop

It did not immediately translate into swift and decisive action.

The seeds of doubt had been sown long ago.

The foundation for cooperation is as thin as a cicada's wing.

Masayoshi Hashimoto returned to Class A.

The nonchalant smile still lingered on his face beneath his blond hair.

For him, the so-called "alliance" was more of a stopgap measure to go with the flow.

He was the only one who could truly observe Sakamoto up close and actively probe him.

After all, he was the only one in Sakamoto's class.

How to interpret the final "investigation results" is naturally in his hands.

He wasn't in a hurry to act; instead, he carried a sense of anticipation.

He wanted to see how Sakamoto would respond to this quietly approaching frame-up.

He even maliciously considered not reminding Sakamoto for the time being.

Perhaps we'll see more interesting reactions.

Meanwhile, Sakamoto continued his usual routine of attending classes, reading, and occasionally practicing his perplexing "secret technique."

As if completely unaware that they had become the target of some conspiracy—

At least that's how Hashimoto sees it.

Ryuji Kanzaki of Class C maintained his usual caution.

He remained reserved about Hashimoto's goodwill.

However, the level of vigilance towards Long Yuanxiang has been raised to the highest level.

More than the vague conspiracy of the second-year students, he was worried that Dragon Garden would use this opportunity to stir up trouble.

They shifted the blame to Class C.

His primary task remains to stabilize Class C and prepare for the upcoming academic challenges.

Joint investigation?

Yes, but only if your own safety is guaranteed.

Long Yuanxiang is perhaps the most "serious" of the three.

He set at least two clear goals for himself.

First, verify the authenticity of the exam paper in your hand.

If it is indeed a past exam question and the school does have a habit of reusing questions,

That "poisoned bait" might actually be turned into something valuable.

Of course, this is on the premise that it can bring unique advantages.

Instead of the current situation where almost everyone has one.

The reason is to find out the mastermind behind it all.

This was not to help Sakamoto out of a difficult situation.

Rather, it stemmed from an extremely unpleasant feeling—

Someone actually dared to cut in front of him.

Using such underhanded methods to deal with his perceived adversaries?

Sakamoto can only be defeated by Ryuen Sho himself.

We will not tolerate any overstepping of our authority or interference.

however,

All the clandestine plans were temporarily postponed due to a more pressing matter—

Each class is about to have an important quiz.

The test results

To be announced at a later date.

Class A's performance remained stable and outstanding, with their overall score far ahead of the competition.

Sakamoto unsurprisingly achieved perfect scores in all subjects once again.

Its very existence is like an insurmountable peak.

He silently inspired the other students in his class.

Hashimoto stared at Sakamoto's glaring perfect score on the report card.

I glanced again at the person involved, who seemed completely unconcerned and calm.

It seems he is completely unaware of the conspiracy targeting him.

Class B's performance showed a significant overall improvement.

Although top scores can't compare to the monsters in Class A.

However, the average score and median both increased significantly.

The failure rate dropped significantly.

This is undoubtedly the initial result of Longyuan's forceful implementation of study groups and its supervision.

Looking at the report card, Long Yuan snorted coldly.

A hint of satisfaction finally appeared on his face, proving that he was on the right track.

Authoritarian rule combined with incentives can indeed effectively motivate this group of incompetent people.

Even Class D has made some minor progress.

Especially the "idiot trio" of Yamauchi, Ike, and Sudo, whose scores were still hovering around the passing mark,

But compared to the previous dismal results...

This can already be considered a "leap forward".

"Great! Attending the study session was definitely useful!"

Looking at his grades, Ike Kanji showed a rare expression of excitement, even though his score was still not high.

"It's all thanks to Kushida! Her explanations are much easier to understand than Horikita's!"

Ike's gaze drifted to Kikyo Kushida, who was chatting and laughing with other girls not far away.