Hidden Points

"This guidebook has so many rules, I'm on page sixty-five and it's not even half of the guidebook, Xi Lian muttering.

Walking while reading with a suitcase in hand, she soon reached her dorm. After unlocking the door with her finger print that was earlier scanned in the auditorium, she pulled her suitcase in and realized there was only one bed. That's right, on page thirty-two of the guidebook, it said that each student had their own room and sharing with a friend was of your choice. Page sixty-seven...Huh? Well this was certainly interesting -- rooms in building A were for red ranks, rooms in building B were for blue ranks, and so forth. This school really insists on this method to nurture their students then, no doubt about it.

Page seventy-one -- Xi Lian frowned. If she hadn't read up to this part then she would have never known that this rule existed. When those of a lower rank defeat a higher rank in more than three subject areas then a fourth of the higher rank's points will go to the lower rank person. Points were what determined your accomplishments and merits, as your points increased you had the chance to become a new rank. However if you have a lot of points but those points stay stagnant then someone who's points catches up to yours will replace your rank. This was because the ranks higher than red and blue had limited amount of spots. For blue, all you needed was 50 points to breakthrough. On the other hand, the purple, gold and silver ranks required you to obtain a point higher than the person's in front of your spot. For example if the lowest purple rank had 140 points, all you would need to become a purple rank from a blue rank is 141 points. But if the lowest gold rank had 235 points, you would need 236 points to become a gold rank.

Being able to obtain a fourth of the higher rank person's points would be a large boost to your points, even if it were a fourth, it was still a large amount. Page ninety-six, earning points was in fact not easy. Earning awards for the school, being listed in the top ten of test grades, and finishing missions at the mission center of the school were all the ways for earning points. They may seem easy, but here, tens of hundreds of geniuses competed against each other. Because of this, monthly events would be held for points to be earned at a fast pace. After all, you wouldn't want to be a red rank throughout your four years of high school.

Page one-hundred-two -- If you are a freshman and still haven't received a badge, please check the upper right hand-side drawer of your desk. This badge updates every few seconds the amount of points you have and the color of the badge represents your rank. Under no circumstances are you allowed to take the badge off. Even in the shower or a swimming pool, the badge must be kept on. If you become a new rank, the badge will automatically change colors for you. If you want to reach a destination, check the amount of points you have, see your grades, or look at the rules of the guidebook, your badge will be able to show you. The technological functions are waterproof, please don't lose your badge or points will be deducted.

Reaching over to the drawer, she felt a necklace attached to a tag about a fist size. The entire necklace was red and the buttons at the bottom offered assistance to various commands. When she checked for her points, the screen of the tag showed up a large number 0.

"How advanced, the tag is just like a tiny I-Pad that can be carried around as a necklace. It's only a fist size and it's light-weight."

Xi Lian reached the last page of the guidebook and the paper folded out into a map. She was dumbfounded, "Is this really a school? Why does it seem like a place to have fun instead? There are swimming areas, physical training facilities, internet cafes, a few shopping malls...is that a zoo? Really...different from common sense...just what I'd expect from grandpa."

Suddenly, she heard a cute voice, "Knock Knock! Is anyone there?"

Xi Lian peered through the peep hole of the door before opening. Is this what they call a Lolita? The cute girl was a head shorter than she was, and dressed in a puffy, dark purple dress.

Xi Lian tried to keep her hands from squeezing the young girl's cheeks, "Little girl, are you lost? This is a high school."

The Lolita giggled, "No, silly! My other neighbor said that too! You're the second neighbor that I've visited and you said the same thing, am I really that cute? Lucky me, I was born this cute!"

"Hah?! You...you're in high school?" Watching the little girl nod, she realized .. the people here were all eccentrics. "I am Xi Lian, what's your name?"

"I'm Cha Bao but don't call me a tea bag! You can just call me Bao Bao, a cute baby! Xi Lian, you're really pretty! You have to tell me which products you use later!"

Xi Lian nodded, "Bao Bao, are you my neighbor then?"

"Yes, I'm your neighbor on the right side. Since today's the first day of school, there's no classes and I wanted to invite you to lunch. Tong Min is my other neighbor but she said she was busy." Bao Bao's lips pouted.

"Okay, I'll go with you right now."

As they started walking together and got on the elevator, Bao Bao started talking again, "Xi Lian, can I call you Lian?"

"Ah, yes."

"Lian, do you know anyone else here?"

Xi Lian smiled, "I dont, this is my first time at a school."

"Wow! Really? I skipped two grades which is why I'm still so short. But don't worry, my cuteness has nothing to do with how young I am! I'll be cute even when I'm older! I actually don't know anyone else either. I guess that means we'll have to depend on each other!"

The elevator door opened and revealed groups of tables set up across the area. A sign showed the words : Restaurant Area 2. Bao Bao and Xi Lian went to the seafood buffet and got the foods of their choice before sitting in a corner area.

Bao Bao exclaimed, "No wonder the school is so rich! The food is so expensive here."

Xi Lian looked up startled, "Really?"

"You must come from a rich family, Lian. You pay for this meal then!"

Xi Lian chuckled, "Alright."

Then Bao Bao lightly kicked the foot of Xi Lian, whispering "Lian, lean your head in. I'll tell you a secret."

Warily but complying, Xi Lian leaned forward and Bao Bao whispered into her ears discreetly, "Lian, seeing you're so nice and are one of my first friends here, I'll tell you a secret in exchange for your alliance."

Xi Lian finally understood what the girl wanted. She needed allies to back her up in the future because she was afraid of upper ranks? But what could she possible tell her? No matter, she would hear her out first, "What is it?"

"Actually, this school has hidden points. If by chance you get lucky and do something that doesn't contribute anything to the school but the hidden points were set up in the school's framework, you can obtain hidden points. Earlier, I went to the zoo first and I got one point for being the first to get there. You know how much one point is right? Only by being the tenth place in the grade boards could you earn one point."

Eyes widening, she whispered back "Why are you telling me this?"

"Haha! Because you're paying for this meal, remember?"

Xi Lian rolled her eyes. What a dumb reason. This wouldn't be her actual reason of course, but her reason didn't matter. According to what she said, then if she were the first to go to a few places then wouldn't she get a few points? Why didn't she spend her time going to find hidden points but eat here instead?

Both of leaned back, and Xi Lian asked in a low voice, "Why aren't you trying to look for hidden points then? Why waste time here?"

This time, Bao Bao rolled her eyes, "Duh. It's hard to find hidden points, you can only get lucky and obtain them. Actually I don't have just one point. I have two points. My second point was when I tried on a mask."

"Huh? Trying on the mask gave you another hidden point? So being the first to try on a specific object also counts then."

"No, I got the point because when I tried on the mask, I was the first to sit down in the corner changing room."

"... Is that why you wanted to sit here in the corner and eat..? You wanted to see if there was another hidden point.."

Bao Bao beamed, "That's right! You're so smart Lian!"