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Akira had actually been quite diligent these past two weeks.
Ever since he started receiving one-on-one tutoring from Horikita, he'd consistently completed an hour and a half of basic boxing training every day after school, then immediately dedicated himself to Japanese Language studies.
This intense schedule allowed his Japanese score to improve from single digits to twenty-nine points—while the score might not seem high, it was equivalent to raising his Japanese Language proficiency from a middle school level to a high school level in just two weeks.
However, what troubled him most were the classical language and kanji sections.
Although China and Japan share kanji, the meanings of words often differ greatly.
For example, the word "daijōbu" in Japanese means "it's alright" or "no problem," but in a Chinese context, it refers to "a man of ambition and responsibility."
These subtle differences often left him scratching his head, and sometimes misunderstanding would lead to embarrassing situations.
After Akira returned to his seat, he'd intended to take the opportunity to ask Horikita about some difficult questions he encountered during the end-of-month exam, but he found her intently staring at the report card on the blackboard, her pen rapidly calculating something in her notebook.
Seeing that it wasn't a good time to disturb her, Akira turned his gaze to his deskmate—Sakura.
He'd actually noticed Sakura's scores earlier, and to describe them as "appalling" would be putting it mildly.
Although she barely avoided failing, all her subjects hovered between thirty and forty, and the only one stronger than his was probably Japanese Language.
From her daily classroom performance, her grades clearly had no exaggeration—whenever it was Mathematics or English class, he could clearly see her eyes unfocused, her mind wandering, looking so distracted it was as if her soul had left her body.
Akira also noticed an interesting phenomenon: although Sakura always seemed to be daydreaming during class, whenever the teacher asked them to take notes, she would suddenly perk up, even using colorful highlighters to meticulously mark important points.
Those neat notes stood in stark contrast to her inattentive behavior in class.
'It seems that notebook with the beautiful handwriting was really just a beautiful misunderstanding...'
"Shimizu-san..." Sakura suddenly spoke softly, her voice barely a whisper. "Aside from Japanese Language... you did very well in all your other subjects... It seems my notes didn't help much."
Since the incident with borrowing notes last time, the two could finally communicate normally, though she maintained that almost bowing posture every time they spoke.
In fact, she was right—those meticulously organized notes hadn't been of much use.
His twenty-nine points were entirely thanks to Horikita's intensive training.
Akira pondered for a moment, then said earnestly. "Actually, my Japanese Language score has improved too. But I see you seem to be having some difficulty with math. Instead of just memorizing problems, it's better to focus on mastering formulas. After the teacher explains a problem, you might want to spend more time organizing the problem-solving logic. Review the problem-solving process in your mind before bed, and then again after waking up the next morning. If you keep this up, your logical thinking skills will gradually increase, and your problem-solving speed will get faster and faster."
He'd personally verified this study method—those math problems that once stumped him were gradually conquered through such repeated refinement.
It was the same when he wrote code—after typing it out a few times, setting more breakpoints, and understanding the logic, everything would go smoothly.
"...Mm! I understand!" Sakura suddenly looked up, her eyes firm, and nodded vigorously. "I will definitely stick with it."
"Then let's both do our best." After Akira finished speaking, he turned his head back.
'Even though she agreed readily, can she really stick with it?'
'Usually at times like this, most people just give a casual answer.'
'However... with her personality, she doesn't seem like someone who would just go through the motions.'
Akira let out a soft breath.
Regardless, he'd given all the advice he could—the rest was up to her choice.
On the other side, Horikita gently put down her pen, tapping her fingertips twice on the desk. "Shimizu-kun, when you looked at the report card just now, did you notice anything unusual?"
"Unusual?" Akira turned his head slightly, his gaze questioning.
"So, you didn't notice?" Horikita unconsciously raised the corner of her mouth. "The thirty-two-point passing score that Chabashira-sensei mentioned, I calculated that it's exactly half of the class average."
Akira nodded thoughtfully. "I see... You're planning to help other students by controlling scores during the midterm exam?"
Horikita froze, her pen almost slipping from her hand.
She'd only intended to show off her observational skills, but she hadn't expected him to jump directly to the tactical level.
"I... hadn't thought that far yet." She admitted somewhat stiffly, then added thoughtfully. "However... that is indeed a plan worth considering."
'He can actually think at this level...'
'This line of thinking... is indeed unexpected...'
She subtly took a deep breath, silently noting the strategy in her mind.
Horikita's gaze sharpened. "Looking at it another way, this midterm exam is actually a good opportunity to filter out class members. Failing even one subject will result in expulsion—this system, in a sense, helps Class D clear out dead weight."
"After all... there's no point in keeping people who can't even score thirty-five points in Class D." As she said this, she suddenly seemed to realize something and added somewhat awkwardly. "Of course, that doesn't include you."
She secretly glanced at Akira's profile.
Although his Japanese Language score was concerning, he was quite excellent in his other subjects.
After a month of tutoring, he shouldn't fall to the point of failing... probably.
This one month... was the last bit of mercy.
She drew a clear line in her mind.
Those who couldn't even reach the passing score simply weren't worthy of occupying a spot in Class D.
Instead of letting the entire class be dragged down, it was better to use this opportunity to completely eliminate these useless individuals.
"That's a good idea, Horikita, but you have a rival now. Kushida probably won't sit idly by." Akira responded in kind.
On the other side, Kushida's voice finally grew louder. "Next, why don't we all work hard together? We can definitely do it!"
She continued. "Let's start holding study sessions right now! Students who aren't doing so well can all come for extra lessons! This month, we absolutely must ensure—that no one gets expelled for failing! As long as we work together, there's nothing we can't accomplish!"