7th Chapter: Germophobia, Venomous Tongue, Chuunibyou

After the score rankings were released, Ma Ran truly became the representative figure of "playing the pig to eat the tiger" within Qingquan First High School, becoming a topic of conversation among many students.

His fame, starting from Qingquan First High School, quickly spread.

The next day, at ten in the morning.

Ma Ran was pondering over the text of the youwen at home when his door was suddenly knocked.

Many people had arrived, men and women, all dressed formally with serious expressions.

Among them were familiar faces like Teacher Zhu, his homeroom teacher, and Principal Zhao, as well as about a dozen strangers.

"Hello, I am the person in charge of admissions for Tsinghua University this year. Here is my work ID."

Then came Peking University, Wuhan University, Jiaotong University...

"Distinguished guests!"

Father Ma began distributing cigarettes one by one, while Mother Ma went to make tea.

Ma Ran sat on the sofa like a puppet, his expression blank, holding a small notebook and constantly writing and drawing, seemingly calculating something.

"Let's get straight to the point."

After some pleasantries, an elder with silver hair and reading glasses explained the purpose of their visit: "We are here to formally extend an invitation to student Ma Ran, hoping he will join the 'Caolu Academy' and become one of us!"

The words "Caolu Academy" were somewhat new to Ma Ran's parents.

They initially thought it was some kind of extracurricular club, but when they heard it was a group managed under a twenty-four-hour military-style system, they became a little reluctant.

In their opinion, their son was already very capable. What if his ingenuity was dulled under such closed management? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?

"We understand your feelings, but please listen to the conditions we can offer before making a decision!"

The silver-haired elder spoke with full vigor, his voice loud and persuasive.

He presented several conditions that Ma Ran's parents couldn't refuse—

No need to participate in the college entrance examination or special recruitment tests; any prestigious university in the country could be chosen freely.

No need to complete the required credits; graduation certificates were guaranteed.

After graduation, there was a guaranteed job with official backing.

And so on.

A series of benefits and guarantees so generous they made one's scalp tingle, even including a notary and a formal contract.

The official websites and hotlines of various universities, when dialed, all verified the validity of the elder's promises.

This series of self-proving methods strengthened their persuasive power.

"Student Ma Ran, someone will come to pick you up tomorrow morning at nine."

The elder pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and gave Ma Ran a meaningful look: "See you then."

Everyone left in an orderly fashion.

Ma Ran's parents, who had been somewhat reserved, watched the group leave. After closing the door, their true natures were immediately revealed.

"I know! That 'Caolu Academy' must be a disguised genius concentration camp! They want to cultivate a batch of top-tier scientists!"

"Like the Mensa Club? Doesn't feel quite right. It should be a higher-level, mysterious organization that normal people can't access, controlling finance, politics, military affairs, and ideology, secretly manipulating the course of society!"

"Hahaha! My son Ma Ran has the might of an emperor... Cough, I shouldn't say that! Slap my mouth, slap my mouth! Ptooey!"

"Son! Study hard when you get there, don't fight with people... We don't pick fights, but we're not afraid of them! If anyone bullies you, tell the teacher. Also, eat well, look how thin you've gotten! Oh, and send a message every week to let your mom know you're safe, okay?"

Ma Ran's eye twitched slightly: "Don't worry."

After all, he had once been the captain of the Shusi Squad. If he encountered some unlucky punk who didn't know his place, he'd simply make them disappear.

Why would he fight?

It was too undignified!

The next day, on the high-speed rail line, a bullet train was quietly speeding along.

Dong Huaiming had a bit of hyperactivity.

He wandered from one carriage to another, unable to sit still for long. He felt like ants were crawling all over him and had to stand up and run around.

"I heard that everyone on this bullet train is a super top student from various campuses, and there are even a few individuals on the level of 'study gods'."

Dong Huaiming looked around, scanning left and right, and smacked his lips: "They don't seem particularly extraordinary. So boring..."

Wandering aimlessly on the train, Dong Huaiming's attention suddenly focused on a somewhat handsome young man.

His looks were only slightly above average, but the added bonus of his demeanor made Dong Huaiming unable to look away.

After observing the young man for a while, Dong Huaiming noticed something unusual.

This young man was excessively clean.

From the tips of his hair to the gaps under his fingernails, not a speck of dirt or dust could be found.

His clothes weren't from any famous brands, but they were paired and maintained exceptionally well, showing no signs of wrinkles, giving off a pleasing and immaculate impression.

"My body is like glazed glass, my heart is like a bright mirror, my will is like bodhi..."

Casually muttering some chuunibyo lines that others wouldn't understand, Dong Huaiming silently labeled the other person in his mind: germaphobe, concerned with personal image.

Sitting in the empty seat next to the person, Dong Huaiming familiarly said, "Hey bro, you're so cool, you seem really aloof. Wanna exchange WeChat?"

The act of "praise" can quickly bridge the gap between strangers.

Moreover, Dong Huaiming genuinely felt the other person was cool, so he wasn't lying.

Before the young man could answer, the girl sitting opposite him suddenly interjected, "You call this cool? I've seen it all."

Dong Huaiming's gaze fell on the girl's face. He paused, then turned his attention back to the young man's face, and couldn't help but shiver.

This girl was incredibly beautiful. Compared to her, Dong Huaiming felt that the so-called campus beauties at his school were just common trash, not worth mentioning.

But such a girl was overshadowed by that germaphobe young man, making him completely overlook her!

"My name is Su Qiangwei, and he is Ma Ran."

The beautiful girl, who was full of youthful energy but spoke with a hint of sarcasm, pouted and introduced them. "If you don't want to be discouraged, I don't recommend you talk to this guy."

"As a normal human, I don't think you'll have any common topics with him either."

"Cool, aloof... hehe."

Although Su Qiangwei found Ma Ran very annoying, she had to admit that he had many advantages in terms of appearance and demeanor.

If his appearance was unappealing and his demeanor was sleazy, it wouldn't be aloofness, but rather insecurity, hidden perversion, and isolation.

Dong Huaiming scratched his head, chuckled awkwardly, and continued to search for a topic, as if completely unaffected by the awkwardness.

With his persistent efforts, Ma Ran finally spoke.

"What are your thoughts on 'Caolu Academy'?"

Su Qiangwei leaned against the window and snorted, "The conditions they offer hold no appeal to me. If it weren't to defeat you, I wouldn't have casually joined this secretive and mysterious club."

Ma Ran gave her a deep look and said calmly, "A lie."

Su Qiangwei's face turned red. "No way! I... I'm not lying! I really think that!"

"However..."

"My parents say this is an important opportunity for our family's business to take off. I guess even if I don't want to, they'll force me to join..."

Dong Huaiming, sitting next to Ma Ran, clearly lacked the emotional intelligence to comfort a peer in distress.

He looked intently at Ma Ran and stated with conviction, "Caolu Academy is a gathering place for extraordinary individuals!"

"It's the true face hidden beneath civilized society!"

"It's the ticket for us to step into the realm of the extraordinary!"

As his words fell, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.

Su Qiangwei was no longer embarrassed. She narrowed her eyes at Dong Huaiming and said, "Chuunibyo?"

Hahaha, update finished, happy!

I'm going to continue organizing the outline for the first volume~

My brothers and sisters!

See you tomorrow!