The Shocking Star Palace

Although Yun Lan had lived two lives, and possessed a system that had fallen dormant after granting him the peak template of Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, it could not mask the fact that he was still just a little Chu Nan.

Under the teasing of Yukino Yukinoshita, Yun Lan felt his ears turn red involuntarily.

"Hehe, my fiancé is truly cute, isn't he? It's getting late, let's exchange contact information."

Yukinoshita wore a smile from beginning to end, as if it were a mask.

After exchanging contact information, Yukinoshita left the office, leaving Chie Hoshinomiya stunned in place as she finally came to her senses.

She wore a proper smile on her face, the curve of her lips as precise as if measured by a ruler, her eyes gazing calmly ahead. To anyone looking, she was merely an elegant, composed, and impeccable young woman. Only she knew that beneath her chest, her heart was slamming against her ribs with unprecedented force, each beat like a dull thunderclap exploding deep within her eardrums.

"The Yun Family?"

The surname rolled over her tongue, carrying the weight of a thousand jun. Was this not the behemoth rumored to have roots deep in the global crust, controlling nearly half of the world's economy? Its tentacles extended into energy, technology, finance, and even more secretive fields, like an invisible yet omnipresent web. How could the heir to such a family appear here, in an academy that, while top-tier, was not within the traditional sphere of influence of the Yun Family?

What shook her even more was the assignment result—Class B. This was by no means a coincidence. That old fox of a chairman hid deep meaning in every step. Given the power of the Yun Family and the aptitude of that heir, entering the pinnacle of Class A should have been a matter of course. Deliberately suppressing him to Class B... was it balance? Was it a cover? Or was it... placing the Class B she belonged to on a more complex chessboard?

"He should have been in Class A..."

This realization made her fingertips go slightly cold, only to be replaced by a more scorching emotion. In a chaotic game of chess, a piece that exceeded all expectations had suddenly fallen onto the board. It was the greatest variable, and perhaps... the key to reversing the outcome.

The raging waves gradually settled, turning into turbulent undercurrents beneath the deep sea. Chie Hoshinomiya clearly felt that some long-dormant instinct, belonging to both a hunter and a chess player, was awakening from the bottom of her heart.

Deep within her eyes behind her lenses, a flash of light passed, so fast that no one could capture it.

"It seems," she whispered in her heart, to herself and to the suddenly shifting situation, "he is my trump card. I can finally suppress Sae for another three years."

The moment this thought emerged, the smile on her lips did not change in the slightest; it even became more elegant, as if she had only thought of some trivial, interesting matter. Only her fingers, hanging by her side and hidden by her exquisite sleeves, curled imperceptibly before slowly relaxing, as if silently gripping some invisible power capable of overturning everything.

The office fell into a subtle silence. The air seemed to still hold the invisible ripples left by the previous visitor—that Yukino Yukinoshita who always stirred up trouble. Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, the neatly trimmed campus gardens appeared quiet and orderly in the afternoon light, forming a sharp contrast to the tension quietly condensing within the room.

Hearing this, Yun Lan stopped his movement to turn around. There were no ripples on his face, only a flash of evaluative intent passing through his calm eyes. Meeting someone in advance? In this academy, someone worth Sakayanagi introducing so specifically, and at this timing... Several names and possibilities flashed through his mind, but his expression remained unchanged. He simply nodded slightly, standing still with a composed posture, waiting for what would come next.

Chairman Sakayanagi's voice was unhurried, carrying his habitual composure of having everything under control. The moment his words fell, as if he had timed the rhythm perfectly, a rhythmic and restrained knock sounded at the door—"Knock, knock, knock."

"Please come in," Chairman Sakayanagi replied gently, though his gaze swept over Yun Lan intentionally or otherwise, as if observing his reaction.

The heavy solid wood door was pushed open steadily, the friction against the carpet making a faint rustling sound. The light spilling in from outside outlined a figure as upright as a pine. The visitor's pace was steady, his uniform impeccable, his tie knotted correctly, with every button in its proper place. His face was stern, his eyes as sharp as a precisely calibrated instrument, and his entire being radiated the pressure and rigor unique to the leader of the third-year Class A, and the highest authority of the student council in this academy. It was Manabu Horikita.

He walked in and bowed slightly to Chairman Sakayanagi behind the desk, his etiquette flawless: "Chairman, you summoned me."

"Yes, you're here, Manabu." Chairman Sakayanagi's smile deepened, a look of approval like seeing a proud work of art. He raised a hand to gesture toward Yun Lan, his tone natural yet carrying undeniable weight: "You've come at the right time. Let me introduce you; this is Yun Lan, he is my nephew, and he will be studying and living in the academy from now on. He is very outstanding, and I have high expectations for him. Manabu, you are the role model of the academy, and I hope you young people can communicate more and learn from each other."

The intimate yet vague term "nephew" was thrown out again. Placed here and now, facing someone like Manabu Horikita, its meaning became even more profound.

Manabu Horikita's gaze shifted to Yun Lan. It was not a scrutiny, but more like a high-speed, efficient scan and information process—calm, objective, without extra emotion, yet seemingly capable of piercing through appearances to reach the core. He saw a peer with a calm and slightly distant posture, but from the chairman's specific introduction and the meaningful "very outstanding" and "communicate more," he instantly received signals far beyond the surface information. This was not an ordinary introduction.

"Manabu Horikita, third-year Class A, current student council president." He stepped forward and extended his right hand, his voice steady and clear, just like his style of doing things—concise and direct, yet carrying a heavy weight. Without unnecessary small talk, he stated his identity and stance directly.

Yun Lan met that gaze without avoiding it. He clearly felt the elite aura refined by strict rules and top-tier competition emanating from the other party. It was completely different from the "rules" he was accustomed to on another level, yet it possessed the same sense of oppression. These were two people who had climbed to a certain height on different paths, looking at each other from afar on the same platform for the first time.

He also reached out and shook Manabu Horikita's hand. The palm was dry, the grip moderate, and in the brief contact, it felt as if some invisible current was being exchanged in the quiet air.

"First-year Class B, Yun Lan. Please take care of me, President Horikita." Yun Lan spoke, his voice not loud, but clear and steady. He did not add any titles or background, just a name, yet because of the chairman's foreshadowing and his unyielding attitude toward Manabu Horikita, it seemed particularly substantial.

The two hands touched and parted. Polite and restrained, the ritual of the first confrontation was completed.

The chairman sat behind the large office chair, watching this scene with satisfaction. Two equally outstanding but temperamentally different young men stood together—one representing the pinnacle of the academy's surface order and glory, the other a "variable" he had personally introduced into these deep waters, potentially capable of stirring up all established rules. Letting them meet in advance was by no means a simple expectation of "communication," but a chess piece played early. The undercurrents beneath the water seemed to begin a new surge with this handshake. The office was filled with bright sunlight, yet invisible lines seemed to be quietly weaving the fates of the two more closely into the unfathomable future landscape of this academy.