Chapter 76: Hidden Methods for Passing Exams?

  The next morning.

  As Hikigaya was waiting for the elevator to go downstairs at the dorm, he happened to run into Hiyori and Sakura, who were also heading to school. Huh? When did they start going to school together?

  Before Hikigaya had a chance to think about it, Hiyori, who was already in the elevator, greeted him with a smile.

  "Good morning, Hikigaya-kun."

  "Morning, Hiyori."

  Hikigaya instinctively waved and greeted her, surprised at how naturally he said "Hiyori" in response.

  By the way, this was probably the first time Hikigaya had encountered Hiyori in the dorm elevator. Usually, he went to school alone.

  Simirly, this was also the first time Hikigaya had run into Sakura in the elevator. Was this like triggering some Galgame storyline? Suddenly, out of nowhere, the previously uneventful school morning had unlocked a "new character."

  Sakura was dressed as usual, with bangs covering half of her face and thick gsses, always giving off an impression of being weak, insecure, and easy to bully, which made her seem like a socially anxious person. As though she sensed Hikigaya's gaze, Sakura instinctively lowered her head, clutching the corner of her clothes, and her body unconsciously inched closer to Hiyori.

  Why did it feel like a little rabbit encountering a big bad wolf?

  Remembering what had happened the night before, Hikigaya thought for a moment and decided to greet Sakura and show some goodwill.

  "Good morning, Sakura."

  To his surprise, there was no response, and the elevator suddenly fell into silence.

  "..."

  Hikigaya froze in pce. The hand he had just raised was awkwardly redirected to pretend he was scratching his nose, and his gaze became even more evasive. What was worse, Hiyori, who appeared to ignore the situation, was already giving him away with the smile at the corner of her eyes!

  Hiyori, why are you just standing there watching? Hurry up and say something to ease the tension!

  Wow! This is so embarrassing! I just want to roll back to the dorm and hide under the bnkets, never to see anyone again!

  But at this moment, the elevator doors slowly closed, and the small, enclosed space was filled with the silence of the three of them.

  The air was thick with this... damn awkward atmosphere.

  As long as I'm not embarrassed, it's the others who are embarrassed!

  Hikigaya kept silently reciting the "Lone Ranger's Law" in his mind, suppressing the breaking of his composure.

  "Good, good morning, Hikigaya-kun."

  Suddenly, Sakura's deyed greeting echoed through the quiet elevator.

  Hikigaya's face stiffened, and he awkwardly nodded while forcing a smile that was both awkward and dignified.

  Bck history +1.

  Social death +1.

  ...

  By now, two-thirds of May had passed, and there were fewer than 10 days left for students to review before the exams. For students with good or average grades, there were no problems. For those teetering on the borderline of passing, there was still plenty of room to improve. But for the students below the passing mark, it was all about "luck."

  In Css D, Hikigaya was thinking about how to properly inform everyone about the correct scope for the mid-term exam. But compared to that, Hikigaya was more curious about Chabashira-sensei’s real intentions.

  In this school, most of what teachers say contains some hidden meaning. Looking back carefully, one could find that every word Chabashira-sensei had said at the start of the school year had some hint embedded in it.

  If that’s the case... could the words Chabashira-sensei spoke on the first day of May, when the truth about the school was revealed, also contain some kind of hint?

  Regarding the midterm exam...

  "A method to avoid failing?"

  Hikigaya muttered to himself. On the surface, this phrase seemed fine, but if you thought carefully, it felt off.

  Normally, one would understand that if you study hard and improve your grades, you could avoid failing. But from Chabashira-sensei’s words, it seemed like there were other methods to avoid failure, beyond just studying.

  "Could it be that method?"

  Hikigaya’s eyes narrowed. If that’s true, then his thoughts were actually in line with Chabashira-sensei’s.

  The midterm exam wasn’t just a simple test, as it appeared on the surface. If you thought carefully, you could spot the "hidden rules" within it, rules that would allow everyone to "pass smoothly."

  Did Chabashira-sensei intentionally give the wrong exam scope to indirectly remind the students of these hidden rules?

  "Such crafty thoughts."

  Hikigaya shook his head in resignation, thinking not only about the teacher but also about the school itself. But on another level, this could be a way to test the students' ability to think and observe.

  Hikigaya gnced around at his cssmates, wondering if anyone had already noticed these "hidden rules."

  The warm-hearted "central air-conditioning" guy? The ice-cold girl? The masked little angel? The muscur blonde guy?

  These were the people Hikigaya had in mind. Oh, and also that shadowy powerhouse, Ayanokouji!

  Well, let them worry about this; after all, Hikigaya himself had no interest in graduating from Css A, and now that he was a "civil servant," it didn’t seem suitable for him to get involved in such matters. He felt a little guilty about it.

  A day passed by in the blink of an eye. After school, most of the students in the cssroom had already left, with a rge number of them being part of the failing group attending study sessions. It was rather ironic—st month, at the same time, with the same students, who would have imagined they would end up like this today?

  Hikigaya yawned and slowly began packing up to leave.

  "Sakura."

  In the empty hallway, Hikigaya saw Sakura, who was alone. She seemed to have heard the sound of his voice and froze in pce, shaking uncontrolbly!

  Uh... Am I really that scary?!

  Hikigaya felt a bit sad. Why does Sakura always act like Little Red Riding Hood encountering the Big Bad Wolf whenever she sees him? It’s so awkward!

  "Is... is there something you need?"

  Sakura still looked weak and socially anxious, completely unchanged even after they became "friends."

  Sakura’s heart was filled with anxiety and deep shame. Thinking about how she had cried in front of a boy st night, she suddenly felt like she just wanted to skip school forever. Her head was still dizzy from today, and now that Hikigaya had called out to her, a wave of shame rushed to her face, turning her red like a ripe apple.

  "Why are you blushing again?"

  Hikigaya muttered quietly, wondering if Sakura had some rare genetic disease that caused her to blush like that.

  Although Hikigaya’s voice was quiet, Sakura, who was very sensitive to her surroundings, still heard him.

  Hearing Hikigaya’s mutter, Sakura’s face turned even redder, and she couldn’t help but feel the urge to run away.

  "By the way, Sakura, you seem to know a lot about digital cameras. Could you teach me a bit about that?"

  Hikigaya suddenly remembered what Sakura had said st night. She seemed to know quite a bit about digital cameras and photography, so he thought he’d ask her for some advice. But for some reason, as soon as she heard the words "digital camera" and "photography," her body shook even more, and then... she ran away!

  She... actually ran away?!

  "……"

  Hikigaya felt like he heard something breaking inside him. His eyes lost their light, and he lowered his head, opening his mouth to say something, but it got stuck in his throat, unable to come out.

  Bckghosts