After completing their examination on the deserted island, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and the other members of Class 1-D are enjoying their summer holiday on a luxury cruise ship. However, their holiday is short-lived as they face a new special exam. Ayanokoji is summoned to the same room as Kei Karuizawa and the others and receives an explanation. This time, the exam goes beyond the boundaries of class

The first day of the ""Thinking"" exam is over. In order to break the stalemate situation, Ayanokoji is having a discussion with Hirata and the others. At that time, they receive an email from an anonymous source. Horikita is frustrated by the content of the message. Ayanokoji, on the other hand, feels uncomfortable with Karuizawa's action and asks Horikita for information about her...

Karuizawa is distraught when she is confronted by Manabe and her gang from Class C. Ayanokoji tries to calmly observe the situation, but Yukimura, who can no longer stand it, jumps out in front of Karuizawa and the others. Ayanokoji sees Karuizawa, who is unusually frightened, and seems to have come up with something...

With the start of the second semester, the preparation period for the sports festival begins. The students cannot hide their excitement, as the results of the competition, good or bad, will affect their next written examination. The students are also under a lot of pressure from the unique division of teams and the selection of participants, which is left to the students...

Ayanokoji is suspicious of Kushida. He brings Horikita and Kushida together under the guise of reconnaissance for other classes. There, Horikita shows unexpected behaviour. On the day of the sports festival, the red team gets off to a good start thanks to the efforts of Horikita and Sudo, but Ayanokoji is rather cold toward the results. 绫小路对栉田产生疑虑。他以侦查别班为名目，把栉田约出来跟堀北见面。此时堀北采取了出乎意料的行动。运动会当天，由于堀北和须藤大显身手，红队在序盘就取得优势，但绫小路却只是冷眼看待一切。

Sudo clashes with the students of Class D and leaves the sports festival in anger. Horikita then goes after Sudo and stops him in for a discussion. Despite the backlash from Sudo, she patiently tries to confront him. 须藤与D班同学起冲突，就这么愤而离去。追上他的人，是堀北。堀北叫住须藤，试图与他沟通。尽管受到须藤强烈反弹，还是很有耐心地面对他。

After the handover ceremony of the student council president, Ayanokoji receives a sudden call from Sato. Meanwhile, the results of the mid-term exam are announced, and Class D achieves zero dropouts. However, according to Ms. Chabashira, the real test lies in the special exam to be held as the year-end exam, known as the "Paper Shuffle". 学生会长交接仪式结束后，绫小路被佐藤叫过去。此时期中考的结果公布，D班成功达成无人退学的目标。但茶柱却说重头戏是被视为期末考的特别考试，通称「Paper shuffle」。

A study group is held to prepare for the Paper Shuffle, and Ayanokoji has decided to join the study group with Yukimura as the center. The Hasebe and Miyake pair in the group has exactly the same strengths and weaknesses in the same subjects, and depending on the questions, they could easily fall together. However, Ayanokoji says there is a way to find out the tendency of the examination questions...

Behind the scene of the Paper Shuffle, a wager match between Horikita and Kushida for expulsion from the school commences. On the other hand, Ryuen appears in front of Ayanokoji, who is participating in a study group. He is asked about an email sent by him... 在Paper shuffle的台面下，展开了栉田和堀北以退学为赌注的竞赛。另一方面，龙园出现在正参加着读书会的绫小路面前，询问自己传送出的邮件，但…...

The students are excited about Christmas, and Karuizawa is one of them, enjoying the Christmas atmosphere in town. However, while spending time after school with Sato, she realizes that she is being followed by a student from Class C. Furthermore, Ayanokoji is also being watched by someone during a study group session... 圣诞节即将到来，学生们显得较为浮躁。轻井泽也是其中一人，享受着街上的圣诞节气氛。但当她放学后和佐藤一起走时，却发现有C班的人在跟踪她。而且绫小路在读书会时，也受到别人监视…

Karuizawa, whose cooperative relationship with Ayanokoji has been abruptly terminated, cannot hide her confusion at the fact that she is about to completely lose contact with him. While Class D students are discussing their future plans, Ryuen and the other Class C students barge in Class D in a coercive manner. 轻井泽和绫小路的关系突然解除，完全失去和他的交集后，轻井泽的心慌表露无遗。此时，正当D班讨论著往后的方针，龙园他们C班的人狂妄地现身。

Karuizawa is detained and cornered by Ryuen, who is trying to uncover the identity of the mastermind. He flashes back her memories of being bullied. To add insult to the injury, Karuizawa is confronted with the fact that the mastermind has been using Karuizawa. But Karuizawa still tries to conceal the fact that Ayanokoji is the mastermind. 龙园为了揪出幕后主使的真面目，囚禁轻井泽，对她施压。被霸凌的记忆重回轻井泽的脑海——为了将轻井泽逼至绝境，龙园更挑明了幕后主使根本是在利用她。即使如此，轻井泽还是继续隐瞒幕后主使的真实身分其实是绫小路。

After the earlier incident, Karuizawa has begun to realize that there has been a major change in her feelings. Then, Sato asks Karuizawa about a date with Ayanokoji for Christmas. Karuizawa has mixed feelings about it, but tries to respond seriously to Sato's advice... 经过这次事件，轻井泽开始察觉自己内心有了巨大变化。此时，佐藤来找她商量圣诞节和绫小路约会的细节。轻井泽抱着复杂的心思，努力认真回应佐藤，但……