Chaos in Classroom of the Elite: Class 1-C

The special exam continued, and all the classes were working diligently, desperately trying to earn points and aiming to secure the top spot in this task.

At Takahashi Yukata Shop, Horikita Manabu was overseeing different operations, keeping an eye on the progress of the autumn yukata design competition online.

When the competition first started, Takahashi Yukata was leading with outstanding designs and Horikita Manabu and others' efforts in online promotion, gaining a significant number of votes and securing a top position.

Just when Horikita Manabu thought everything was moving in a positive direction, he suddenly noticed a very suspicious comment: "Takahashi Yukata Shop? The one with those disgusting yukatas? Who's even voting for them? Must be all bought votes, right?"

Horikita Manabu did not ignore this minor negative comment. He clicked on the user's profile and discovered that the person was active in the yukata design field, often posting legitimate reviews and suggestions. The only negative comment was directed at Takahashi Yukata.

This made Horikita Manabu highly alert. Could it be that their little tricks had been discovered?

As the mysterious negative review suggested, some votes were indeed bought. Horikita Manabu, though a person of integrity, was not rigid in his actions.

In such online voting competitions, spending a bit of money for promotion was essential for securing a top position. It wasn't something to be openly discussed, but Horikita Manabu didn't hesitate to buy votes.

Now, seeing this comment, Horikita Manabu was already considering whether he should have his classmates log into their accounts and post some positive comments to counteract it.

However, soon after, another comment appeared: "Haha! This is hilarious! Takahashi Yukata Shop, such a shameless and despicable workshop, dares to enter the competition? Aren't they afraid of becoming a laughingstock?"

Something was definitely wrong. This development far exceeded Horikita Manabu's expectations and was not part of his carefully crafted plan.

Takahashi Yukata should have been steadily progressing to the top three, with its fame increasing and revenue subsequently soaring, thereby directly completing the core task.

However, the reality seemed to be the opposite. While Takahashi Yukata was indeed ranking high and gaining fame, the fame it was gaining appeared to be infamy.

"Tachibana, please go get Mr. Takahashi." Horikita Manabu was still browsing the competition webpage, not daring to take it lightly anymore. There must be some details he was unaware of, and he needed to find out.

Tachibana quickly brought Mr. Takahashi over.

Mr. Takahashi was initially cheerful, feeling incredibly fortunate.

First, there was the surge of orders brought in by Yukio's promotion, and now there was Horikita Manabu, the student council president from Advanced Nurturing High School, personally handling the competition promotion. He could already envision the happy scene of buying a new car next month.

But upon entering and seeing Horikita Manabu's serious expression, Mr. Takahashi immediately sensed something was wrong. Normally, Horikita Manabu's expression was just calm, not this serious.

His cheerful demeanor faded a bit, and he nervously approached: "Ho-Horikita-kun, is there something wrong with the yukata competition?"

"Yes, Mr. Takahashi, please take a look at these comments." While waiting for Mr. Takahashi, Horikita Manabu had refreshed the page several times, seeing numerous negative reviews!

He could already foresee the severity of the situation.

Mr. Takahashi looked as suggested, seeing several comments that were extremely disdainful: "Takahashi Yukata? You mean that shameless workshop? How dare such a workshop even enter the competition?"

"Haha, what do you know? Maybe all their designers are minors!"

"Ha, maybe all Takahashi Workshop's yukatas have micro cameras installed. Wearing them might lead to big trouble!"

These were the consequences of the seeds Yukio had ordered his class members to plant at different workshops.

Now, these negative reviews were just the backlash of those consequences.

Mr. Takahashi, completely in the dark, read these comments, his face turning pale, and his finger pointing at the screen trembling slightly: "Wh-What is going on? What is this!"

"Calm down, Mr. Takahashi." Despite the sudden surge of negative reviews and Takahashi's angry voice, none of it changed Horikita Manabu's cold demeanor.

He casually raised his hand, gently adjusting his glasses with the second knuckle of his index finger, and then looked at Takahashi: "I can't give you a specific answer at the moment about what exactly is going on."

"However, when I checked the profiles of these commenters, they are either enthusiasts or related professionals, clearly indicating that these reviewers are all from the yukata industry."

"For the entire community to collectively speak ill of you, I actually want to ask you, Mr. Takahashi, how did you manage that?"

"Huh? How would I know!" Takahashi was completely bewildered. He was just doing business as usual. How could he know why so many peers were suddenly attacking him?

"?" Horikita Manabu had been closely observing Takahashi's expression. He initially thought that Takahashi might have done something shady in business, leading to his bad reputation and the subsequent attack from peers.

But Takahashi's expression had no flaws—it was purely confused and clueless about why this was happening.

This somewhat dispelled Horikita Manabu's suspicions. If Takahashi himself wasn't the problem, what else could it be?

Horikita Manabu thought it over, but couldn't come up with a reason. Since Takahashi wasn't the issue and all the workshop's processes had no quality problems, why were they being attacked by their peers? It made no sense.

After ruling out all other possibilities, Horikita Manabu could only suspect Yukio's side, as there seemed to be no other source of trouble.

Of course, Horikita wasn't skilled in devious schemes, so he couldn't fathom the maliciousness of Yukio's methods. It was just a preconceived misunderstanding: "Mr. Takahashi, I think I understand now."

"It should be because of Yukio's side. The market for yukatas is only so big. Yukio's team has been promoting for a few days and obtained so many orders, which has disrupted the interests of other yukata workshops, making Takahashi's workshop a target."

This was a very reasonable analysis. The market share was limited, and everyone originally had their piece of the pie, living in harmony.

Takahashi's sudden move to take a portion of everyone's market share naturally made him a target of resentment.

However, if Yukio were present, he might not be able to hold back his laughter. Horikita Manabu's serious analysis was entirely wrong in reasoning and process, yet somehow the conclusion matched reality perfectly, which was just too amusing.

Hearing Horikita Manabu's analysis, Takahashi immediately came to a realization: "So that's it! Damn it! They can't compete head-on, so they resort to such petty tricks, huh?!"

If the yukata shop owners who were tricked by Yukio heard this, they might not be able to resist taking up their knives to go after Takahashi.