Su You

"Grand Nirvana," "Hong," "Thunder God," "Extreme Martial Arts Hall"...

"Swallowed Star!" Su You furrowed his brow slightly, his thoughts gradually drifting.

It was now May 2053. This was still Earth, but not the one he knew. He had arrived on the Earth of the novel Swallowed Star.

One night five years ago, Su You had been reading a novel under his pink comforter when he'd drifted off to sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, the whole world had changed. He had become a twelve-year-old boy who was also named Su You.

His parents weren't dead, he wasn't a martial arts failure, and he didn't have a fiancée showing up to break off their engagement.

He'd even forgotten most of the plot of Swallowed Star. He didn't seem like a protagonist at all.

The only thing unusual about him was that, perhaps because the souls from his two lives had merged, he could easily concentrate on two things at once. He was quite adept at drawing a square with one hand and a circle with the other. Maybe that counted as a cheat?

"Luo Feng seems to be in Jiangnan Base City. I don't even have a chance to cling to his coattails. What a tough start." Su You murmured.

After the Grand Nirvana, only five great powers remained in the world—Huaxia, India, America, the European Union, and Russia. Twenty-three human Base Cities had also formed in places such as South America and Africa.

Huaxia Country had six Base Cities, and Su You's home was in Tianjin City, one of the Eight Satellite Cities of Kyoto Base City.

In this era, trains were the main way to travel between Base Cities and their satellite cities. Tickets were extremely expensive, and an ordinary person might not be able to afford even one with a year's wages.

As for the trip from Kyoto Base City to Jiangnan Base City, the tickets were even more exorbitant—far beyond what an ordinary family could afford.

Su You's family wasn't poor, but they were nowhere near wealthy either.

His father, Su Yongyi, was the chief physician at Lubei District No. 2 People's Hospital, while his mother, Gong Yanrong, worked in the finance department of a company in Lubei District.

Their combined annual income exceeded three hundred thousand, but after the mortgage and essential household expenses, they had only a little over a hundred thousand Huaxia Currency left each year.

But martial arts training was a bottomless pit. Most of the savings Su You's family had built up over the years had gone toward his training.

It had taken a great deal of money and outstanding martial arts talent for Su You to reach the level of an Advanced Martial Arts Student at fifteen, becoming a student at the hall a year early.

According to the rules of the Two Great Dojos, students had to be at least sixteen to train at a dojo. Su You had only been allowed to enroll early because the head of the Lubei District Extreme Martial Arts Hall had approved it.

"Little Egg, come eat."

A voice suddenly came from outside. With a creak, the door to Su You's room opened, and a middle-aged woman who looked nearly forty stood at the doorway, peering inside.

"Mom, why didn't you knock again?" Su You said helplessly.

His mother, Gong Yanrong, pursed her lips and said without a trace of courtesy, "You finished your martial arts practice first thing in the morning, then shut the door without even airing out the room. No wonder it always smells funny in here."

Su You rolled his eyes at the ceiling, giving up on trying to reason with his mother. With the power of blood relations on her side, there was no way he could win an argument.

He endured his mother's nagging through breakfast, then quickly left home.

As soon as he reached the entrance to the residential complex, he saw a graceful figure hurrying after him. By the time she reached him, she was already panting.

"Brother Su You, you—you didn't wait for me again!"

The girl who had chased after him was tall and slender, with naturally wavy black hair and a delicate face tinged with a faint blush.

Her name was Tang Yongqing, the daughter of Su You's neighbors. She was only fifteen, yet already in her final year of high school, making her his senior in a sense. Her grades were exceptional, and she had held the top spot in her year throughout high school.

Ever since Su You had helped teach the boy who'd been pestering her a lesson more than half a year ago, she'd become infatuated with him. She came over to the Su family's house every day and made herself completely at home. She and Su You's mother, Gong Yanrong, had grown closer than Su You was to his own mother.

Ah, another one after my body. A boy has to protect himself when he's out and about! Su You thought.

He didn't respond to Tang Yongqing's complaint, but smiled and asked, "Didn't Little Yuan come with you?"

Little Yuan was Tang Yongyuan, Tang Yongqing's twin brother. He was also in his final year of high school, ranked second in their year, just behind his sister.

Tang Yongqing froze, then glanced back and stuck out her tongue. A moment later, her heart leapt with joy. Her tagalong little brother hadn't caught up—this was a rare chance for the two of them to be alone together!

Tang Yongqing's eyes shifted. "Uh, Little Yuan had something to do today. Brother Su You, let's get going too. We'll be late."

Su You nodded, and the two of them walked side by side toward Lubei District No. 2 High School.

On the way, Tang Yongqing gazed at Su You. "Brother Su You, it's been so long since we went for a walk together like this."

"Don't we go to school together every day?" Su You replied instinctively.

Tang Yongqing pouted. "That's not what I mean. I mean, just the two of us."

Su You laughed it off and changed the subject.

He'd long since figured out how the girl felt. He'd even plainly told her he wasn't interested, but Tang Yongqing simply wouldn't believe him.

Of course, Su You didn't entirely believe it himself. As a gentleman, how could he not be interested in such a beautiful girl?

But first, she was too young, and their families were far too close. He didn't feel right making a move. Even a rabbit wouldn't eat the grass by its own burrow, let alone a tender young sprout.

Second, Tang Yongqing was a little too obsessive. In the terms he'd have used in his previous life, she was a bit of a yandere.

Su You didn't want to give up an entire forest for the sake of one tree. Once Earth entered the stars, he still wanted to mingle with beautiful women from all kinds of human races!

Lubei District No. 2 High School wasn't very far from the residential complex where Su You lived. It took them a little over ten minutes to reach the school gates.

Lubei District No. 2 High School had more than six thousand students across three grades, with each grade in a different school building. So they had to part ways at the gate.

"Xiao Qing, I'm going to the martial arts hall this afternoon. You and Little Yuan can head home after school!" After reminding her, Su You hurried toward the building for the eleventh-grade students.

Tang Yongqing stood where she was, watching Su You's retreating figure as she clenched her fists. "Hmph, you can't get away from me."

At three in the afternoon, the dismissal bell rang, and Su You left school, sprinting toward the Lubei District Extreme Martial Arts Hall at a steady twenty meters per second.

Twenty meters per second was seventy-two kilometers per hour. In his previous life, the police would have been handing him a speeding ticket by now, but here it was only the passing mark for the speed test for an Advanced Martial Arts Student. It barely even warmed Su You up.