COTE: Popularity System

After the VIP Exam ended, the class points were as follows.

Class A: 1170

Class B: 1124

Class C: 400

Class D: 220

Thanks to Class A having a high class point total of 1170, Takada Hikaru was able to receive a lot of private points every month. Starting next month, his monthly income will be as follows.

Points from the school: 117,000

Points from Class C: 400,000

Points from Class D: 324,000

Third Year points safekeeping fee: 50,000

Total: 891,000

Among these, the points from Class D will change.

"Hikaru-san, sorry to keep you waiting." A cheerful voice drifted over.

Kushida Kikyo waved her hand and walked over with a bright smile. Accompanying her were Class D's good guy, Hirata Yosuke, and the subtly controversial Horikita Suzune.

"Takada-san, good morning."

Hirata Yosuke smiled. "This should be our first meeting since the Deserted Island Exam, right?"

Takada Hikaru nodded and chuckled. "Yosuke-san looks much better than he did back then."

Hirata Yosuke was stunned for a moment, then said, "Perhaps I wasn't quite used to being on the uninhabited island at the time."

Kushida Kikyo said with a smile, "I don't think so. At that time, the classmates often quarreled over the special exam-specific points. Hirata-kun spent a lot of effort to mediate everyone's conflicts, which is why he looked unwell."

"It seems that was the case."

Hearing what she said, Hirata gave a helpless wry smile.

During the Deserted Island Exam, after the students of Class D learned that the remaining special exam points would be converted into class points, they had different opinions on how to use the special exam points and split into three factions.

The 'Absolutely No Points Use' faction, the 'Small Amount of Points Use' faction, and the 'Normal Use of Points' faction.

The three factions quarreled fiercely, and it took Hirata Yosuke a lot of effort just to unify their opinions.

However, every time points were used thereafter, the students in the class would loudly argue about whether or not to use points, and he had to mediate every time.

Even others who were just listeners felt it was troublesome, let alone Hirata Yosuke who actively helped mediate. No wonder Takada Hikaru thought he looked bad.

Seeing everyone chatting, Horikita Suzune frowned, crossed her arms, and said, "Takada-san, you called us here because you have something to discuss, right?"

She had originally planned to read in her room today, but she received a message from Kushida Kikyo on her phone, so she came here.

"Alright, let's get down to business." Takada Hikaru smiled and gestured for them to sit.

After the three apparent strongest members of Class D sat down, he stated his idea, "I want the 2.5 million points Class D earned in the VIP Exam. In return, I will reduce the monthly points Class D gives me from 324,000 to 200,000."

Hearing what he said, Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo were stunned, while Horikita Suzune frowned slightly.

The first to ask was Hirata Yosuke, "Takada-san, I don't mean anything else, I'm just curious, why do you suddenly have this idea?"

Takada Hikaru smiled. "It's just a bit of OCD."

"OCD?"

"I earned 37.5 million personal points in the VIP Exam. I thought if I earned another 2.5 million, it would just make it 40 million, so I wanted to trade with you."

Upon hearing this, Kushida Kikyo couldn't help but laugh. "Hikaru-san is an interesting person."

Horikita Suzune, however, furrowed her brows and said somewhat warily, "I heard from people around that you seemed to have cooperated with Kōenji during the exam. You provided the list of VIPs, and Kōenji was responsible for persuading all groups to achieve Outcome One, and then you would split the earned points equally. It seems this wasn't just a rumor, but actually happened."

After the VIP Exam, the news of Takada Hikaru and Kōenji Rokusuke cooperating to earn 75 million personal points spread throughout the entire first year, and it was believed that it would soon spread throughout the entire school.

Earning enough private points to transfer classes in just one exam...

Even Horikita Manabu, who was hailed as the most outstanding Student Council President, and Nagumo Miyabi, who dominated the entire Second Year, had not achieved this.

These two were said to be the most outstanding students in Advanced Nurturing High School for decades, arguably the strongest in history.

And now, the most outstanding students were about to change, becoming Takada Hikaru and Kōenji Rokusuke.

"It seems everyone is very well-informed." Takada Hikaru smiled.

Neither he nor Kōenji had any intention of hiding their cooperation. He even specifically told the Class A students that it didn't matter if the news spread, all to raise his profile.

Earning 40 million in one exam.

Are you scared?

"Suzune-san, the truth is, I have you to thank for this idea." Takada Hikaru smiled as he looked at her.

Hearing this, Kushida Kikyo and Hirata Yosuke turned their heads, looking at Horikita Suzune with puzzled expressions.

Feeling the puzzled gazes around her, Horikita Suzune explained, "The night after the Deserted Island Exam, I had a discussion with Takada-san about a trade. He hoped to use 5 million points to reduce the monthly points Class D gives him from 324,000 to 200,000."

"5 million?" Kushida and Hirata's expressions turned strange.

No matter how they calculated it, this deal was a huge loss.

Takada Hikaru said with a smile, "At that time, Suzune-san said that if her contribution exceeded the points Class D gave me, she would ask me to lower Class D's fee. So, I made this request."

"Ah, this..."

The two popular students from Class D were stunned again.

Although they knew Takada Hikaru was joking, they were really afraid that Horikita Suzune would agree.

As if sensing their thoughts, Horikita Suzune immediately replied, "I didn't agree."

Kushida Kikyo's eyelashes drooped slightly, and she said worriedly, "Horikita-san, if you have any thoughts, you can tell us beforehand. If we don't communicate well, misunderstandings like the one on the uninhabited island might happen again, and that's not good."

Horikita Suzune's attitude was firm. "This is just my personal decision, and it has nothing to do with the class."

Kushida Kikyo: ...

You bitch! Are you taking advantage of me?

If there weren't no railings nearby, Kushida would definitely secretly kick her a few times.

To ease the awkwardness between the girls, Hirata quickly said, "Takada-san, we think your suggestion is very good, but we need to discuss it with our classmates first. Can you wait a moment?"

The points to be given monthly would decrease from 324,000 to 200,000, which is a reduction of 124,000. They would pay Takada Hikaru for 31 months. In total, they would save 3.844 million personal points. The cost would be to immediately give over the 2.5 million points they just received.

Quite a good deal.

Takada Hikaru smiled. "No problem, I have plenty of time right now."

With Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo, the two most popular people in Class D, it wasn't difficult to contact the students of Class D.

While the two were busy communicating with their classmates, Takada Hikaru asked the idle black-haired girl, "Suzune-san, you don't seem to have told Kiyotaka-san about Kōenji's plan."

He hadn't seen any related scenes when watching the anime.

Horikita Suzune frowned, her face slightly angry. "Why should I tell him? He and I are just acquaintances, there's no need to tell him everything."

Recalling how she had been manipulated like a puppet by Ayanokoji Kiyotaka during this time, her proud personality made her angry.

To prove that she wouldn't be treated as a puppet, she simply chose not to share what she knew.

However...

Horikita Suzune only avoided Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's persuasion, but she didn't escape Kōenji Rokusuke's persuasion.

When she learned that Kōenji Rokusuke had all the VIPs' names, her first reaction was to use these lists to achieve Outcome Three or Outcome Four for all members, allowing Class D to get 600 points in this exam.

But in the end, she was persuaded by Kōenji Rokusuke and, along with the students of Class D, agreed to all groups achieving Result One.

"Is that so?" Takada Hikaru smiled mysteriously, "It seems Suzune-san still hasn't recognized the truth."