On the morning of June 1st, the biological clock formed through consistent exercise successfully woke Hashima Hikaru at precisely 6:30. Looking at the time, he still had about two hours before class started—plenty of time to sleep in a bit more.
Last night, he had spent 20,000 system funds to purchase a "70% Off Coupon." The young man still had 90,600 funds remaining. This month he hadn't refreshed any stamina points, so he didn't need them at the moment, but he still needed to make the purchase since the opportunity would disappear next month.
As for other items and skills, Hashima Hikaru felt there wasn't anything particularly necessary. The items refreshed in this month's "Trading Store" were mostly ordinary, with only this unique discount coupon making him decide to buy without hesitation.
After the effects of the "Sports Enhancement Agent" ended, the young man planned to rest for a few days and see. After all, he needed to manage his time better. The previous restrictions had been too strict, requiring non-stop exercise day and night.
Now that he didn't need to exercise, it meant he had more free time for his operations.
Whether it was Sakura Airi, Kushida Kikyo, or the library regular Shiina Hiyori, he could spend more time with all of them. As for Ichinose Nanami, as a classmate, he had already selected a more important task for her.
He'd discuss it when they got to the classroom.
Hashima Hikaru closed his eyes again. The long-overdue luxury of sleeping in felt truly wonderful.
About an hour later, the young man finally sat up from bed, then washed up, changed his clothes, and headed out. Today, being the first day of June, the new class rankings would be announced, and new class points would be distributed.
Following last month's routine, Ichinose Nanami would conduct a second round of point collection. The private points in her possession had already surpassed the 5 million mark. If she collected another round today, she would gain over 2 million more points, bringing her ever closer to reaching the 20 million goal.
After stepping through the classroom door, Hashima Hikaru scanned the room and found that most of his classmates had already arrived. After all, today was the 1st, an important day for everyone.
"Morning, Hashima!"
"Good morning, Hashima."
"Morning, everyone!"
After completing a simple round of greetings, Hashima Hikaru returned to his seat. The pink-haired girl was smiling at him, her tone extremely gentle.
"Good morning, Hashima. Today's finally June, isn't it?"
"Good morning, Ichinose." After setting down his backpack, Hashima immediately detected a pleasant fragrance emanating from the girl. It was different from her usual scent, which surprised him a bit.
"Hashima, did you notice anything different about me today?" Ichinose grinned as she tugged at his sleeve, the fragrance becoming more noticeable to him.
"Oh? Let me guess then."
Hashima Hikaru tilted his head and began to carefully examine Ichinose Nanami's appearance today.
Since she was coming to class, she naturally wore the wine-red school uniform top and white skirt. Her face still maintained its natural, unadorned state, showing no obvious differences from her usual appearance.
However, the young man actually understood what she meant. If there was something different, he had already sensed it—the new fragrance continuously emanating from Ichinose. Perhaps she had changed her perfume.
"Did Ichinose change her perfume? It seems different from before."
Hashima Hikaru smiled as he gave his answer. When a girl undergoes a change and actively asks you about it, she's hoping you'll notice immediately, especially when the answer is so obvious.
"Correct answer!"
Ichinose Nanami's blue eyes sparkled with delight. She was satisfied with Hashima's response. After all, as desk mates who spent considerable time together every day, he should immediately notice when she made a change.
"I bought it yesterday while shopping with Ando and the others. It wasn't expensive. I wanted to make a small change."
The pink-haired girl smiled as she explained, then extended her soft, fair hands to Hashima Hikaru and said, "Would you like to smell again and see if you can guess what fragrance it is?"
"Well, I'm not very knowledgeable about perfumes..."
The young man was about to refuse but stopped after seeing Ichinose's expression.
"..."
"Alright, I can try, but I can't guarantee I'll guess correctly."
With an internal sigh, Hashima Hikaru gently cupped Ichinose's hands in his own, lowered his head, and sniffed to determine what scent it was.
Across from him, Ichinose Nanami was shy but felt sweet inside. She had already made up her mind and was beginning to take the initiative.
Liking someone wasn't something to be embarrassed about—the girl wanted to strive for her own happiness.
As for the other students in Class A, they showed no obvious reaction upon seeing such an intimate moment between the two. They had grown accustomed to it, all tacitly assuming the pair was dating, so they paid no attention.
After a few minutes, Hashima Hikaru still couldn't identify the fragrance. He smiled wryly and said, "Ichinose, I can't figure it out. Can you reveal the answer now?"
"Hehehe, since Hashima can't guess, let's keep it as a secret. I'll tell you next time." Ichinose Nanami grabbed Hashima Hikaru's hand, a sweeter smile appearing on her pretty face as she gazed intently at the young man.
"Alright then, I'll wait for Ichinose to reveal the answer."
Hashima Hikaru nodded and inconspicuously withdrew his hand from Ichinose Nanami's small hands. He pretended to glance at the clock on the podium and said softly, "It seems class is about to start. Today they should announce the new class evaluation scores. I'm really looking forward to it."
"Yes, I wonder if our score has increased."
"We'll know when we see the rankings. Let's wait for the results together."
When the bell rang, Class A's homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, entered the classroom with a beaming smile, immediately capturing everyone's attention.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Good morning, Teacher Hoshinomiya!"
"Teacher, has our class evaluation score increased?"
"Yes, this is really important! Don't keep us in suspense, teacher. Tell us now!"
After two months together, the students of Class A had developed a close relationship with Hoshinomiya Chie, so they spoke in a familiar tone.
"I wasn't planning to keep you in suspense. You're all so impatient. Fine, I'll announce it right now."
Hoshinomiya Chie's smile didn't fade as she pretended to sigh, then took a piece of chalk and began writing the refreshed evaluation scores for all four classes on the podium.
Class A: 1105
Class B: 1080
Class C: 362
Class D: 275
When the rankings were revealed, all the students in the classroom brightened. After a month, they had maintained their first-place position, and their class evaluation score had increased significantly.
"Great! We're still number one!"
"And our overall score has increased! This month we'll get more than 110,000 personal points. That's fantastic!"
"Yeah, is it because of our midterm exam results?" someone inquired.
"Probably. After all, our class's overall performance was excellent. But it seems Class B's score has also increased quite a bit, right?"
Although everyone was happy, the students of Class A were well aware that their current rival was the surging Class B.
The gap between the two classes hadn't widened. Recalling last month's class evaluation scores, the gap had actually narrowed by 5 points.
"Um, everyone, please check if your private points have been deposited. If there are any issues, please communicate with me promptly."
Hoshinomiya Chie, hearing the students' discussion, was quite satisfied. At the very least, they weren't becoming complacent about maintaining first place but immediately shifted their focus to their competitive target, Class B.
"110,500 has been deposited! Our monthly points keep increasing. Amazing!" Shibata exclaimed, rubbing his head with a bright smile.
"Yes, under Hashima and Ichinose's leadership, our class points will definitely continue to grow."
After two successful demonstrations, everyone became more convinced of the point collection strategy the pair had initially established.
Although half of the points were taken away each time, the overall private points had been increasing over these two months. This proved that the plan they had established was correct. As long as they successfully gathered 20 million points, everyone would have a certificate exempting them from expulsion—a common hope for all.
Sitting at his desk, Hashima Hikaru looked at the more than 110,000 points that had just been deposited and smiled at Ichinose Nanami beside him, saying, "We'll have to trouble Ichinose again shortly."
"Mmhmm."
"If we can maintain this momentum, we should be able to successfully collect 20 million points. By then, with that money, we can achieve our original goal."
"I think so too. None of our classmates can be left behind—this is everyone's shared wish." The pink-haired girl's eyes flashed with determination as she nodded firmly.
On the first day of June, everyone in Class A was in high spirits.
During the free time at noon, everyone eagerly transferred half of their points to Ichinose Nanami. Although the points they had just received were halved, they still had more than 50,000 left, which was much better than the two classes below them.
Everyone had already become accustomed to this model last month, so they didn't feel any dissatisfaction. Instead, they had more trust in Hashima Hikaru and Ichinose Nanami, as everyone had acknowledged the 20 million point collection plan.
Before school ended, Hashima Hikaru proactively called out to his study group members, including Ichinose Nanami, Shirahama Chihiro, Himeno Yuki, and Shibata, as well as Kanzaki Ryuji and Ando Sayo, whom he had previously dined with.
Although everyone was a bit puzzled, they cooperated and gathered around.
"Let's hold a small internal meeting afterward. I have something very important to tell everyone. I've only called you all because it concerns the future of our class. I hope you can all participate."
Seeing the young man's serious expression, everyone exchanged glances and nodded in response.
"Then follow me. Let's go to a quiet place."