Little Turtle

"You... what are you doing!"

Lan Mengqin was currently trapped in the earth, completely unable to move. As she watched Chen Ming suddenly run behind her, many inappropriate images flashed through her mind.

For instance, wall-pinning, biting, and the like. Her cheeks instantly flushed a deep red, and she began to struggle violently once more.

"What am I doing? Why, I'm doing the 'hehehe' thing, of course!"

Hearing this, Chen Ming let out a wicked laugh. The malicious tone that reached her ears left Lan Mengqin feeling incredibly panicked.

Soon, the earthen wall dissipated, and the figures of Chen Ming and Lan Mengqin came into view. However, the eyesight of a Soul Master is always excellent.

They keenly spotted a piece of paper stuck to Lan Mengqin's back, on which a small turtle was drawn, along with a few large characters:

"I am the eternal runner-up, Lan Mengqin."

This humiliation made Lan Mengqin's face turn bright red with rage. After shooting a fierce glare at Chen Ming, she tore the paper off her back and crumpled it into pieces.

"You just wait! One day I will surpass you, and then I will humiliate you severely!"

Lan Mengqin was determined to humiliate Chen Ming just as harshly. Once she was the first to break through to become a Soul Grand Master, she would definitely knock him down, take off her shoes, and stomp on his face.

"Oh, really? Then I'll look forward to when you can surpass me, eternal runner-up."

Chen Ming spread his hands, completely unbothered by Lan Mengqin's desire to surpass him. After all, he was a cheater, and a cheater truly didn't fear a pay-to-win player like Lan Mengqin.

As it happened, Chen Ming, Lan Mengqin, and Dong Qianqiu each represented three different factions.

Chen Ming represented the cheating big brother faction, Lan Mengqin represented the pay-to-win player faction, and Dong Qianqiu represented the commoner god-of-war faction.

After both sides stepped off the stage and entered the waiting area, Lan Mengqin immediately threw herself into Dong Qianqiu's arms and said indignantly:

"Qianqiu, that guy actually stuck a little turtle on my back. It's too much!"

"Yeah, yeah, it's way too much."

Dong Qianqiu echoed her sentiments, though the smile at the corner of her mouth betrayed her amusement at the spectacle. These two rivals were truly hilarious.

Whenever Lan Mengqin thought about getting revenge on Chen Ming, she felt a headache coming on. The other party's strength was too great, and she didn't know if she could win after working hard over the winter break to break through to become a Soul Grand Master.

"Qianqiu, you'll help me, right? When the time comes, we'll go together, beat up this bad guy, and humiliate him together! Don't forget the sisterly bond between us!"

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Lan Mengqin's little head. Since she couldn't beat him alone, she would just call her sister to join in.

Surely they couldn't lose a two-on-one fight? Once they defeated Chen Ming, she and Dong Qianqiu would both go at him—one person stomping on the left side of his face, the other on the right. Double the humiliation!

Chen Ming: It seems I really will have to lose for once.

"I will help you, Sister Mengqin."

Dong Qianqiu naturally chose to stand on Lan Mengqin's side; the two were best friends, after all.

Seeing this, Lan Mengqin looked triumphantly at Chen Ming, as if she could already see the scene of her victory where she made Chen Ming lick her feet.

"Childish. When the time comes, I'll call Di Qiu'er over for a two-on-two, and you'll be well-behaved."

Chen Ming chuckled, completely unbothered by Lan Mengqin's antics. Upon hearing that Di Qiu'er was coming, Lan Mengqin immediately retorted:

"Aren't you afraid that Qiu'er will be turned to my side? Then it'll be three-on-one!"

Thinking this, Lan Mengqin realized that Chen Ming's face might not be enough to stomp on. Where else could she stomp?

"If you can turn her, then I'll consider you impressive, alright?"

Chen Ming spread his hands. If Lan Mengqin could turn Di Qiu'er, that was her own ability, and he had nothing to say about it.

Just like that, the rest time passed amidst the group's bickering. Dong Qianqiu soon went on stage for the loser's bracket match to compete for third place.

Dong Qianqiu won without any surprises. The results were announced the next day, with the top one hundred entering Class One. The first place was none other than Chen Ming, while second and third were Lan Mengqin and Dong Qianqiu.

After achieving such top-tier results, the academy also distributed scholarships. Chen Ming, in first place, received about 200,000 Federal Credits, Lan Mengqin 100,000, and Dong Qianqiu 50,000.

"Holy crap! I also made it into Class One!"

Huo Tian's joyful voice rang out. Hearing this, Lei Yuan and Feng Rulang both crowded over to look at the information on his phone.

"No way! You're actually ninety-first!"

"Old Huo, that's not very loyal of you, leaving us behind to run off to Class One."

Lei Yuan had been assigned to Class Two, while Feng Rulang was in Class Three. The two of them were a bit unluckier, as the opponents they encountered were relatively strong.

"Hehehe! I told you I still had the skills! Goodbye, Old Lei, Old Feng, I'll miss you guys."

Huo Tian said, laughing as he expressed that he would miss them before starting to pack his things. The others also began to pack up, preparing to head home.

"Goodbye, see you next semester."

They bid each other farewell and then walked out of the campus one after another. Chen Ming stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against a wall with his eyes closed, waiting.

Over the course of an hour, many students finished packing and walked out of the school gate. The first semester had ended, the winter break had arrived, and everyone chose to go home.

In the distance, four female figures also walked over. Two of them were the most conspicuous, and their auras were the strongest—they were none other than Lan Mengqin, Dong Qianqiu, and their two roommates.

"Hey, it's the heartthrob of Class Nine, Chen Ming!"

The black-haired girl beside Lan Mengqin looked in surprise at Chen Ming, who was leaning against the wall at the school gate with his eyes closed, looking like a beautiful piece of scenery.

Lan Mengqin, Dong Qianqiu, and the last girl also looked over. They noticed him as well and were immediately taken aback.

"It's true! Say... could the heartthrob be waiting for you and Qianqiu, Mengqin? After all, he's only ever interacted with you two."

The last girl looked at Chen Ming, who was clearly waiting for someone, and instinctively turned to Lan Mengqin and Dong Qianqiu as she spoke.

After all, the only girls Chen Ming had ever interacted with were Lan Mengqin and Dong Qianqiu. As for the others, because Chen Ming lived such a rigid, repetitive life and frequently disappeared, he rarely had any contact with anyone else.

"Let's ignore him, come on, let him keep waiting there."

An image of Chen Ming sticking a small turtle on her back flashed through Lan Mengqin's mind, and she immediately pulled Dong Qianqiu and the other girl away from Chen Ming, heading away from the school gate with a pout.

The two girls' eyes seemed glued to Chen Ming, and they were dragged away by Lan Mengqin with great reluctance; after all, girls are naturally drawn to the strong.

A boy like Chen Ming, who ranked first in both looks and strength among all the freshmen, truly inspired a sense of admiration in others.

Watching these two girls stare at Chen Ming, a nameless fire rose in Lan Mengqin's heart, and she felt extremely annoyed.

"Goodbye."

"See you next semester."

After the four girls said their goodbyes, Lan Mengqin and Dong Qianqiu watched the other two girls leave.

Afterward, the two of them returned to the school gate and stood in front of Chen Ming:

"Hey! Stop pretending, wake up."

Lan Mengqin walked over and called out to him, feeling very displeased. She stared at Chen Ming's handsome face and was momentarily dazed; this guy actually... did have a certain charm, but why was he so popular with girls? It was so annoying...

ps: The second update for February 28th, totaling 4,000 words.