COTE: Starting With Love Stock Market System

The moment Suzune uttered the word "solution," the previously chaotic atmosphere in Class 1-C fell into a stunned silence.

Every student turned to look at her in shock, eager to hear what kind of answer this typically cold and indifferent girl would provide.

"Horikita-san, do you have an idea on how we can prevent Sudō from being expelled?"

Hirata was the first to react, dashing over from his seat. His handsome face was filled with urgency—he absolutely refused to accept that one of their classmates was about to be expelled.

Kushida, after quickly assessing the situation, also walked over to Horikita's desk. Whether it was genuine concern or just part of her act, she had to play the role of a deeply worried classmate.

"If you have any ideas, Horikita-san, please share them now. None of us want Sudō to be expelled," Kushida said, blinking her large, beautiful eyes as she fixed her gaze on the black-haired girl with a serious expression.

"It's actually quite simple."

Suzune paused for a moment, then lifted her gaze to the front of the room, where Chabashira stood with her arms crossed.

"I recall that the S-System grants powerful privileges within this school, correct?"

"That's right," Chabashira replied calmly. "So, what are you suggesting?"

"If I said..." Suzune's sharp eyes moved toward the score rankings posted on the blackboard. Then, in a slow and deliberate tone, she stated:

"I want to purchase the one point Sudō is missing, Chabashira-sensei."

As soon as those words left her mouth, the entire class erupted into a frenzy of discussion.

"Huh?"

"Buying points? We can do that?!"

"If we can buy scores, doesn't that mean we never have to worry about exams again?"

Although the class had previously learned about the school's hidden rules, most of their attention had been focused on class rankings and whether they could successfully graduate.

When Hikaru had originally explained the system, he had emphasized two key points:

1. A student with 20 million private points could freely transfer between classes.

2. Private points could be used to prevent a student's expulsion.

However, this rule had never been taken seriously by Class 1-C—after all, no one actually believed they could ever amass that much money.

---

"Oh?"

Standing at the front of the room, Chabashira raised an eyebrow in mild amusement. Her lips curled slightly as she spoke in a leisurely tone.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I believe this is a reasonable request, Chabashira-sensei."

Suzune locked eyes with the teacher, fully aware that this method was viable.

This was something she had learned from Hikaru.

Ever since discovering that he had purchased the school's hidden rules directly from a teacher, she had kept that fact in mind.

"Indeed, your request does align with the school's regulations," Chabashira admitted.

She glanced around the classroom, assessing the reactions of the other students before finally continuing:

"But the real question is... can you afford it?"

---

"Chabashira-sensei, please just tell us—how much would it cost to buy that one missing point?"

Hirata felt a surge of hope now that Suzune's plan had been confirmed as viable. His expression brightened, and he quickly added, "We can pool our money together as a class."

"Is that so?"

Chabashira didn't bother dragging out the suspense. Instead, she answered immediately:

"Very well. I can sell you this one point. However…"

"The price is 100,000 private points."

The classroom fell into stunned silence.

"What?!"

"That expensive?!"

"Are you serious, sensei?! It's the end of the month—who still has that much left?!"

One of the most notoriously broke students, Yamauchi Haruki, couldn't help but complain. Even though he didn't want Sudō to be expelled—they were friends, after all—this was way too much money.

"Yeah, sensei, can't you lower the price?"

Hirata's face paled at the amount.

Class 1-C's evaluation points last month were 390, meaning each student only received 39,000 private points on the first of this month.

And since many of them had spent a significant amount buying the hidden rules in April, hardly anyone had much left.

Personally, Hirata only had a few thousand left, and was just waiting for the next deposit in June.

"Please, sensei, could you lower the price just a little?" Kushida asked in a sweet voice, putting on a concerned and pleading expression.

Despite her hidden contempt for the situation, she had to maintain her kind and helpful facade.

---

Suzune, meanwhile, remained silent as she processed the teacher's response.

Even though she was frugal, she had spent a significant amount on purchasing the hidden rules last month.

Even after adding in her newly issued private points, she only had about 10,000 to 20,000 left.

"Chabashira-sensei, isn't this price a bit excessive?"

Suzune kept her gaze locked on the teacher.

"How much time do we have to come up with the money?"

"Heh… you're quite sharp, Horikita."

Chabashira's cold demeanor remained unchanged as she swept her gaze across the class before answering.

"This price is set by the school. I'm just the messenger. Whether or not you buy it is up to you."

"You have until 3:30 PM today to gather the required points."

"If you fail to collect 100,000 points, Sudō will be expelled immediately after school."

"There will be no exceptions. If you can't do it, then use this time to say your goodbyes."

The air in the classroom grew heavy.

Hirata and Kushida exchanged worried glances, realizing just how steep the cost was.

---

"Does anyone know students from other classes?" Hirata asked, trying to keep a positive outlook.

"If we can, let's try borrowing points from them during lunch."

"Yeah! We can't let Sudō get expelled!" Kushida added, her eyes shimmering with concern.

"I still have some left. If we all pitch in, we might be able to make it!"

"But…"

"Come on, Kushida-chan, it's the end of the month. Other students are probably broke too."

Yamauchi glanced at Sudō, who was sitting at his desk with his fists clenched, his face tense and unreadable.

As an official member of the basketball team, Sudō had no desire to be expelled.

"Still… if we don't try, how will we know?" Kushida urged, trying to rally everyone.

"Let's at least check how much we can gather. Everyone, take a look at your current balance."

"This is…"

"I only have 3,000 left. If I hand it over, I'll be stuck eating the free vegetable set meals for the rest of the month!"

"Kushida-chan, I owe people from other classes already. I have nothing left!"

The classroom fell into another wave of hopeless silence.

Kushida's inner contempt grew.

Pathetic.

But as she turned, she noticed something unusual.

Suzune wasn't looking at anyone.

Instead—

She was quietly typing on her phone.

Who is she messaging?

For a brief second, Kushida's expression stiffened.

---

Indeed, Suzune was reaching out to someone.

Hashima Hikaru.

She recalled the last time he paid for a meal, she had glanced at his phone screen.

At the time, he had roughly 200,000 private points.

Given his spending habits, he should still have plenty left.

Suzune had no intention of letting Sudō get expelled.

Because she refused to let their class evaluation drop.

Thus, she sent the message.

And on the other end, sitting in Class 1-A, Hikaru's phone vibrated.

Checking the screen, his eyes widened slightly.

"Horikita's messaging me? Now that's rare."

~~~

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