A bus traveled at a steady pace.
In the back row, by the window,
sat a quiet boy.
He had delicate features, but his eyes lacked the innocence of his age. Instead, they seemed a little worldly.
"Ah."
Shi Cheng sighed softly and forced himself to perk up.
Since he had made his choice, he ought to embrace the future.
After all, pessimism wouldn't change anything.
Besides, he wasn't helpless.
As he thought this, Shi Cheng quietly raised a finger.
A faint current danced at his fingertip, then vanished without a trace.
Having confirmed that he still had this power,
Shi Cheng perked up again, filled with anticipation for the future.
Although this world was dangerous,
Shi Cheng was confident.
Given enough time, he wouldn't fear any danger.
It was precisely because that was possible
that he had gained the power to control lightning.
Thinking about how he had obtained it,
Shi Cheng's youthful face flushed slightly.
He felt a little sorry for her.
To put an end to this torment, Shi Cheng resolutely chose to leave his starting point and head to his second sign-in location.
Watching the beautiful scenery rush past outside the window,
Shi Cheng's gaze gradually grew firm.
Here, he wouldn't have any more psychological burdens.
Screech!
Accompanied by a faint grinding sound,
they had arrived.
After waiting a while, Shi Cheng got off the bus behind the last student.
Outside, the sun was shining brightly, and a faint floral fragrance drifted through the air.
Shi Cheng looked closely.
Cherry blossom trees in full bloom lined the roads inside the school.
The beautiful surroundings captivated every student who came here.
Shi Cheng wasn't impressed.
Instead, he took out the brochure for Advanced Nurturing High School and read it again.
This was the right school.
And with rumors of a 100 percent university enrollment and employment rate, it was bound to attract plenty of elite students.
Still, one couldn't judge things by appearances alone.
Especially since this was a fully residential school.
Shi Cheng had no choice but to be cautious.
Unfortunately,
if he didn't enroll, how could he tell whether the claims were true?
Shi Cheng shook his head to himself. It seemed he'd have to put himself in the game.
He took a deep breath.
Shi Cheng set out down an unknown road.
Following the signs, he easily found his assigned class.
Class 1-D.
Hearing the lively chatter inside, Shi Cheng let down his guard.
He walked into the classroom.
Groups of two or three had gathered all around. Shi Cheng had planned to swallow his pride and join one.
But then he caught sight of a few loners in his peripheral vision.
That let Shi Cheng, who had been about to force himself to socialize, breathe a sigh of relief.
Keeping his expression natural, he continued farther into the room.
His gaze swept quickly across the classroom.
He soon found his seat by the nameplate on the desk.
It was an ordinary spot.
It was in the second-to-last row in the middle, two desks away from the window with a view of the scenery outside.
Shi Cheng felt a little dejected that he hadn't gotten another protagonist's seat.
After sitting down,
Shi Cheng glanced toward the protagonist's seat.
It was occupied by a classmate with an expressionless, deadpan face.
He looked like trouble.
And with the nameplates there to prevent unnecessary hassles,
Shi Cheng had no choice but to give up on switching seats.
"May I ask if there's something you need?"
Shi Cheng hadn't gone looking for trouble, but trouble had come to him.
Hearing the flat, emotionless voice, Shi Cheng became even more certain.
This person really was not to be trifled with.
His words were perfectly polite, but he spoke without a trace of feeling.
Was that normal?
Shi Cheng smiled and replied with something he was sure the other boy would like to hear. "Nothing. I just thought you were handsome."
"Thanks. You too."
The deadpan-faced boy nodded placidly, then looked away.
"Could you two stop being so boring?"
Between them, a beautiful girl who held a book and read quietly, seemingly apart from everyone else like an iceberg, suddenly spoke without changing her expression.
"May I ask who you are?"
Shi Cheng didn't find her strange, figuring that elite students tended to be unconventional.
Horikita Suzune marked her place in the book, gently closed it, and turned to him. "There's no need for you to know, is there?"
She had always been this way, so the words came naturally to her.
"True."
Shi Cheng nodded seriously. It was a little too soon to exchange names.
Returning to the previous topic, Shi Cheng stared earnestly at Horikita Suzune and said, thinking he understood, "From what I can tell, you're the prettiest person in this class."
Horikita Suzune, who often received comments like that, calmly accepted the compliment. Her gaze sharpened slightly. "Now that you've finished chatting, can you be quiet?"
Shi Cheng raised an eyebrow.
Was she looking for a fight?
Unwilling to keep putting up with it, Shi Cheng pointed toward the front of the classroom, thoroughly indignant.
"Don't tell me you think I'm an easy target because I'm outnumbered. Why don't you tell them to be quiet?"
Since she was a girl, Shi Cheng decided to reason with her first.
There was no nervousness in Horikita Suzune's eyes, as if she'd been caught deliberately causing trouble. She even calmly looked toward the front of the classroom.
As far as she was concerned, all of this was pointless socializing.
But if she had to choose between the two,
Shi Cheng was clearly the weaker option.
His conversation was awkward to begin with, and completely pointless.
It didn't matter who he was talking to.
Horikita Suzune looked down on him and said lightly, "Not really. I just thought you were better than them. I guess I was wrong."
Hearing the sarcastic remark, Shi Cheng's anger flared.
The corners of his mouth twitched. He couldn't take it anymore.
Just then,
a warm, humble voice rang out, like a little sun, easing the hostility in Shi Cheng's heart.
"Everyone, while we're waiting for the teacher, why don't we introduce ourselves? That way, we can get to know the class more quickly. What do you think?"
His good looks and gentle voice immediately won the approval of many girls.
Hirata Yosuke, who had earned the approval of most of the class, was the first to offer a textbook introduction.
"My name is Hirata Yosuke. You can call me Yosuke. I like sports, and I'm planning to join the school's soccer club. Nice to meet you."
Not only was he sunny, he loved sports too.
He had already drawn the attention of a large group of girls, and now their gazes lingered on him like strands of silk.
Since it was only the first day of school and everyone was still getting to know one another,
the shoe lockers probably wouldn't be full of confession letters for another few days.
With Hirata Yosuke setting the example, the others soon began to join in.
After all, everyone here was an elite student.
No one wanted to spend three years all alone.
At that thought, Shi Cheng stole a glance at Horikita Suzune.
Based on his impression of her so far, maybe she was the exception?
"Hm?" Horikita Suzune noticed his supposedly subtle move and gave an annoyed snort.
Shi Cheng made no attempt to explain and simply looked away.
Perhaps because someone was introducing himself, Horikita Suzune didn't press him.
"My name is Yamauchi Haruki. I was the ace pitcher on my middle school baseball team and competed in the national tournament. I'm currently recovering from an injury."
Hearing that exaggerated boast, Shi Cheng stared in confusion.
He looked at the surprised reactions around him.
Then Shi Cheng understood.
He just wanted his classmates to get to know him faster.
Shi Cheng nodded, acknowledging Yamauchi Haruki.
As the introductions continued,
Shi Cheng also got to know the other students in his class with ease.
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