Neon Chuunibyou Powerhouse

The afternoon sun filtered through the high windows of the gymnasium, carving bright patches of light onto the floor.

The hall was currently teeming with people; over a hundred and twenty students in brand-new uniforms were scattered about in small groups, the noisy chatter filling every corner like a rising tide.

Judging by the white stripes on the cuffs of their burgundy uniforms, nine out of ten people in the crowd were first-year freshmen.

Clearly, this club recruitment orientation had attracted almost every student who had just enrolled.

As soon as Shangguan Che walked through the entrance, he was drawn to a long table covered with a sky-blue tablecloth.

Promotional materials for various clubs were neatly stacked on the table, the colorful brochures standing out vividly under the lights. He casually pulled out two, handed one to Sakura Airi beside him, and opened the other himself.

"Sakura, help me keep an eye out for the photography club or the newspaper club; the newspaper club should be hiring photographers," he said softly while quickly flipping through the pages.

"Understood." Sakura's voice was gentle and clear.

The content in the brochures was incredibly appealing. In the introduction pages for each club, the members were either holding golden trophies or wearing shiny medals, and their professional gear made them look even more spirited.

When Shangguan Che flipped to the soccer club page, his gaze instantly locked onto it.

The figures sprinting across the green field and the tension of the moment a goal was scored made his heart heat up: "Youth should be this passionate! I'm definitely joining the soccer club!"

Just as he was imagining future training sessions, a timid voice interrupted his thoughts: "Um, Shangguan-san, it seems there isn't a photography-related club."

Shangguan Che came back to his senses, looked at the brochure Sakura had almost finished flipping through, and chuckled: "Ah, is that so? It's fine, I can just teach myself online. Sorry for making you look with me for so long and wasting your time."

"Not at all, Shangguan-san, I don't feel like it was a waste at all." Sakura waved her hands quickly, her cheeks turning slightly red.

"That's good. Let's listen to the orientation together."

"Mm!"

Just then, a crisp tapping sound came from the podium in the center of the gymnasium.

A girl with her hair in purple buns walked up to the microphone, her smile bright: "Hello everyone! To all the first-year students, thank you for waiting! Next, the representatives of each club will give their recruitment presentations. I am Tachibana Akane, the secretary of the student council, and I will be your host for this orientation. Please treat me well!"

As her voice faded, over a dozen club representatives walked out from backstage and lined up neatly on the stage.

The group included both tall, imposing upperclassmen and beautiful, gentle upperclasswomen, instantly capturing the attention of the entire room.

Shangguan Che suddenly became curious about what was happening backstage, so he activated his superpower, Non-Yellow Clairvoyance.

But backstage was far more ordinary than he had imagined—there were only club members waiting for their turn and neatly stacked promotional props; there were no "human-shaped mosaics during costume changes" as he had envisioned.

He was aimlessly conducting a "carpet search" when a sudden commotion reached his ears.

Shangguan Che quickly returned to the audience area and looked at the stage in confusion—a black-haired man wearing black-rimmed glasses was standing at the microphone, saying nothing, and the students below began to whisper to each other.

"Sakura-san, what happened just now? I was distracted," he asked in a low voice.

"It seems this club representative forgot his lines," Sakura said, pointing at the man on stage, her tone carrying a hint of worry.

"Forgot his lines? Then why didn't the host step in to save the situation?"

Shangguan Che looked around and soon found Tachibana Akane.

She was standing at the side of the stage, her eyes fixed intently on the stage, but she showed no intention of stepping forward.

Could it be that they have a grudge? he muttered to himself, then thought again, I don't have the standing to help anyway. Since he dared to get on stage, he has to be responsible for his own actions. Why am I worrying about it?

The moment Shangguan Che stopped thinking, the gymnasium suddenly went quiet.

Shangguan Che followed Sakura's gaze and saw the black-haired man on stage finally begin to speak, his eyes behind the lenses sharp and steady.

"I am the student council president of this school, Horikita Manabu."

The first sentence carried an unquestionable gravity, and Shangguan Che couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "Does the student council have to be this serious?"

In his impression, a Japanese student council should be relaxed and fun, like in Seitokai no Ichizon.

He quietly sized up the sides of the stage, a thought popping into his head: "The president is a man, the secretary is a woman—could it be a one-man, four-woman setup? But since there's already a guy, it wouldn't be anything special even if I joined."

As he thought about it, he was reminded of the student council at Private Hyakkaou Academy, which also seemed to have a male president with a similar image.

Horikita Manabu on stage continued: "As the upperclassmen graduate, we will be recruiting candidates for student council members from the first-year students. Candidates do not need to meet any special conditions, but if you wish to join, you must avoid joining any other clubs—in principle, we do not accept students who participate in both the student council and other clubs."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, his tone becoming even more solemn: "We do not want people with naive ideas to run for office. Such people will not only fail to be elected but may also leave a stain on the school. Our school's student council is entrusted by the administration with the power and mission to change regulations and is highly anticipated; we only welcome those who can understand this."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and walked off the podium, leaving the gymnasium directly, leaving the entire room of students deep in thought.

Naive? What is naive? Does being a chuunibyou count?

Shangguan Che began to ponder seriously, But there are strong people among naive people, like Senju Hashirama.

Besides, the most chuunibyou person here is clearly you, President Horikita! Pretending to forget your lines when you surely knew them by heart; deliberately causing a chaotic scene only to suppress the whole room with your aura—isn't this just 'playing the pig to eat the tiger'?

A truly mature leader wouldn't play these games on an occasion like this. Look at the leaders at national conferences; aren't they all kind and approachable?

"This student council president seems very impressive," Sakura's exclamation suddenly reached him.

Shangguan Che came back to his senses, looked at the admiration in the girl's eyes, and instantly understood something.

In Japanese anime, the most powerful people are often high school students, especially those with a bit of chuunibyou.

Shangguan Che smiled and agreed: "Yeah, this is practically the standard configuration for a high school powerhouse."