Chapter 110: A Photography Outing with Sakura Airi

After waiting in the cafeteria for about ten minutes, Hikaru and Ichinose finally saw the upperclassman return. He looked like he had sprinted all the way back, with sweat beading on his forehead.

"I've got them. You can transfer the points now."

The upperclassman held a stack of exam papers—five subjects from the midterms: Japanese, Math, Chemistry, English, and Social Studies. On top of that, there were additional quizzes, making for a sizable collection.

Glancing over the documents, Hikaru smiled. "Got it, senpai. Don't worry, we won't cheat you. After all, honesty is the most important virtue."

He took out his phone and opened the friend request interface. Since the deal amounted to 15,000 Private Points, he decided not to have Ichinose split the cost. Given that Class 1-A members only received half of their designated monthly points, their finances were still tight.

On the other hand, Hikaru had a surplus of points—this was the perfect chance to put them to use.

"Here, let's add each other. I'll send the transfer right away."

"Alright."

The upperclassman quickly completed the process, and moments later, his phone displayed a new notification.

"Done. Senpai, you can hand over the exams now."

Hikaru pocketed his phone and extended his right hand.

"Here."

The upperclassman, delighted to see his balance increase by 15,000 points, finally felt relieved—he wouldn't have to endure another meal of bland vegetable sets.

"The top five are midterm exams, and the ones underneath are quizzes. Since you didn't specify which quiz, I picked the first one we took after entering school."

"The answers are all included. You can verify them yourselves."

"Great."

Hikaru passed the stack of papers to the pink-haired girl beside him, then nodded to the upperclassman.

"That concludes our deal. We'll take our leave now—see you around, senpai."

"Yeah, see you."

With the transaction completed, the two wasted no time and immediately headed back to Hikaru's dorm.

As they walked, Ichinose kept her gaze fixed on the stack of papers in her hands. The more she read, the deeper her frown became, as if she were processing something.

"You're getting way too absorbed, Ichinose. We still have several days before the midterms—there's no need to rush."

Noticing her intense focus, Hikaru casually reached out and blocked her view.

"Eh? Hikaru-kun?"

"No more reading while walking—it's bad for your eyes."

He swiftly plucked the test papers from her hands, his tone carrying a hint of firmness.

"Oh… okay. Sorry about that, Hikaru-kun."

Realizing she had gotten a bit carried away, Ichinose's cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment.

"I was just… too excited after getting my hands on these exams."

"Let's get back first."

Hikaru held onto the papers, his voice gentle.

"After dinner, you can study them as much as you want."

"Mm."

Once they reached the dormitory, Hikaru unlocked the door, and Ichinose stepped in first. As per their earlier agreement, she would be making dinner, while Hikaru placed his bag and the newly obtained test papers in his room.

Helping her tie on an apron, he caught a familiar, pleasant scent, making his voice unconsciously softer.

"After we eat, we'll go over these exams together. No need to rush, Ichinose. They're not going anywhere."

"I know."

Rolling up her sleeves, Ichinose felt her heart warm at his words.

That comforting feeling—she could never get enough of it.

"Good. Apron's tied—I'll help you with dinner prep so we can eat sooner."

"Mm-hmm."

By six o'clock, after finishing dinner, the two sat side by side at the table, meticulously examining the test papers.

Just as the information suggested, the quiz questions provided by the upperclassman were identical to those they had previously taken—down to the exact order of the problems. If one memorized the answers, they could practically write them down without even reading the questions.

"As expected… it's completely identical."

Holding a math test in his hands, Hikaru confirmed the credibility of the information.

"Yeah… which means there's a high chance our upcoming midterm will also have the same questions. Now that we have the answers…" Ichinose murmured as she studied the correct responses on the paper.

"But let's not rush to share this with the class just yet."

Hikaru carefully stacked the five test papers and straightened them in his hands.

"Why not?"

"If we give them out now, everyone will just start blindly memorizing answers. That would render all their previous studying pointless."

"More importantly, while the quiz questions were identical, we can't be 100% sure the midterms will be as well. If the test format remains but the questions change, we'd be in trouble."

"Let's see…"

He pulled up the calendar on his phone. The midterms were set for Friday, which was six days away, and in two days, it would be June.

"Since the exams are on Friday, let's distribute the test papers on Wednesday," Hikaru explained, looking directly at Ichinose.

"That way, everyone continues their studies as planned. Then, two days before the test, they receive this material, giving them a full day to prepare with the actual questions."

"This way, we have dual-layer protection—ensuring high scores across the board."

Hearing his well-thought-out plan, Ichinose's eyes gleamed as she smiled softly.

"As expected of Hikaru-kun. You came up with such a solid plan in an instant."

"It just came to me," Hikaru said with a light chuckle, handing her the neatly arranged test papers.

"I'll leave these with you, Ichinose. On Wednesday, we'll distribute them at a study group session."

"Mm, I'll keep them safe."

Tucking the exams into her bag, Ichinose lingered in his room for a while longer before finally heading back.

Now alone in his dorm, Hikaru lay on his bed, replaying the day's events in his mind.

The repeated use of midterm exams, the school's apparent leniency toward test-paper trading… his understanding of Advanced Nurturing High School had once again shifted.

Nearly two months had passed since the school year began, and their grade had yet to experience a Special Exam.

What kind of trial would it be?

The school's Special Exams likely involved complex rules, possibly with deliberate loopholes for students to exploit—testing their ability to think critically from different angles.

It was intriguing.

What exactly was this school trying to teach them?

—

By Sunday, Hikaru found himself with an unexpectedly free schedule.

With the study group session already completed the previous day, and his personal review mostly done, he was confident about his midterm scores—even without memorizing the test answers.

So, he decided to sleep in.

But his rest didn't last long.

The rhythmic pattering of raindrops against his balcony soon pulled him out of sleep.

"…?"

Pushing open his window, he saw heavy rain pouring down in thick sheets, accompanied by strong gusts of wind.

"Well, it is summer. Sudden showers aren't that surprising."

Shutting the window, Hikaru decided to spend the day relaxing indoors.

Rainy days made for perfect nap weather, after all.

Two hours later, just before noon, the rain stopped.

And then—his phone buzzed.

Sakura Airi: Hikaru-kun, are you free today?

"Huh? Sakura?"

Surprised, he quickly typed a reply. Given that he had invested heavily in her Stock, he needed to engage with her whenever possible.

Meanwhile, on the other end, a red-haired girl sat anxiously on her bed, gripping her phone tightly.

She really wanted to go out with Hikaru today.

Now that the rain had stopped, a faint rainbow had appeared in the sky. Using photography as an excuse, she had mustered the courage to send him an invitation.

Hashima Hikaru: I'm free. What's up?

Sakura Airi: I was wondering if you'd like to go out for some photography. The rain just stopped, and there's a rainbow outside.

Hashima Hikaru: Sure. When do we leave?

Her heart skipped a beat.

She quickly typed back.

Sakura Airi: Let's go after lunch! I'll meet you at your dorm.

Hashima Hikaru: Sounds good.

As soon as she got his confirmation, Sakura set her phone down and eagerly opened her closet.

If she was going out with Hikaru…

She had to pick the perfect outfit.

/TL - Tnx for reminding✌️🙃

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