Then he pulled two homemade lemon tarts, carefully wrapped in plastic wrap, from the side pocket of his backpack.
He'd made them yesterday on a whim. They were light and refreshing, not too rich, and made perfect backup snacks.
He carefully placed them in the refrigerator compartment of the mini-fridge.
Once he was done, he locked the door and went downstairs.
Kikyo Kushida was already waiting beneath the trees. She had two unopened bottles of mineral water in her hands. As soon as she saw him, she jogged over and handed him one.
"The opening ceremony's about to start. Let's hurry to the auditorium so we won't be late!" Her voice was as lively as ever.
As she spoke, she reached out as naturally as could be and gently took Lin Mu by the wrist. Then the two of them set off toward the imposing auditorium in the distance, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Her hand was soft and slender, but her grip was light.
Lin Mu's muscles tensed instinctively, and he felt the urge to pull away. But then he reconsidered: dodging her would only make him seem awkward and might attract more unnecessary attention and questions.
What a pain. He decided to let her lead him, keeping his own pace unhurried. The lollipop in his mouth lightly tapped against his teeth.
A faint "crack" sounded, and the sweet-and-sour grape flavor spread through his mouth again, easing the last traces of his resistance.
(Pathetic Lin, raging helplessly)
The auditorium was already packed, filled with a constant hubbub.
The first-year students had been assigned separate areas by class. The four sections—A, B, C, and D—were clearly marked and divided by aisles, with prominent signs at the front of each.
The two of them followed the sign for "Class D" and took their places in the designated area.
Quite a few of their classmates had already gathered. Lin Mu habitually swept his gaze over them, and a faint sense of foreboding immediately stirred in his heart.
Compared to the students in Sections A, B, and C, who generally looked alert and stood relatively straight, chatting quietly with a certain degree of order, the atmosphere in Class D seemed noticeably... lax.
Most of the students looked merely nervous or curious, but a few boys were standing crookedly, yawning as if they hadn't gotten enough sleep;
Two or three others had gathered together, laughing a little too loudly and drawing sidelong glances from students in the nearby classes.
Overall, they gave off the impression that they were "not as uptight." But in some situations, being "not uptight" wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Lin Mu grumbled to himself: Had he really gotten "lucky" enough to be placed in the legendary "bottom-tier" class?
With his superpowers, even in the worst class, graduating and getting good grades would be a breeze.
He could use Psychokinesis to get a teacher to change a test, use X-ray vision to check the questions, or just use hypnotic suggestion to influence a teacher's grading preferences... He had plenty of options.
But when he imagined spending the next three years with a bunch of classmates who already seemed like they'd be "a handful" or "not take things seriously,"
he felt a little frustrated. His peaceful life of slacking off might be disrupted by all kinds of class drama.
The less trouble, the better.
Kikyo Kushida seemed to notice the subtle shift in his mood. She gently nudged his arm and asked in a quiet, concerned voice,
"Lin Mu, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? You look a little..."
Lin Mu came back to himself. The plastic stick of his lollipop shifted in his mouth as he mumbled an excuse. "It's nothing. I just got up too early, so I'm a little sleepy."
He couldn't exactly tell her, "I'm judging our classmates for looking unreliable and worrying they'll get in the way of me slacking off."
After all, that was just a guess based on his first impression. For all he knew, the class might be hiding a potential powerhouse like the legendary sweeper monk from martial arts novels.
As for using Telepathy right away to eavesdrop on the classmates' true thoughts and check his suspicions?
The idea crossed his mind, but he quickly abandoned it. Probing into other people's privacy on the first day of school would be crossing a line and incredibly rude.
More importantly, what if he heard something upsetting—some negative or stupid thoughts—and it ended up affecting his own mood?
It wasn't worth it. What he didn't see couldn't bother him, and what he didn't hear was even better.
Besides, to him, most of his classmates were just people sharing the same space with him for the next three years. It was best to keep a reasonable distance.
Just then, the lights on the auditorium stage abruptly dimmed, then quickly converged on the podium at the center.
The previously noisy auditorium fell quiet, and everyone turned to look toward the side of the stage.
The first person to step out was Akane Tachibana, the Student Council secretary.
She wore the girls' dark red uniform, immaculate in every detail, with the dark red armband of the Student Council over her sleeve. Her manner was gentle yet capable.
She walked to the microphone at the center of the podium and bowed slightly to the audience. Then she picked up the microphone and spoke in a clear, gentle voice that rang throughout the auditorium:
"Good morning, fellow first-year students. I'm Akane Tachibana, the Student Council secretary.
"First of all, on behalf of the Student Council of Advanced Nurturing High School and all the current students, I'd like to extend our most sincere welcome to you."
After a brief, polished opening, she turned toward the side of the stage and made an elegant gesture of invitation.
"Next, please welcome the Student Council President, upperclassman Manabu Horikita, to deliver a speech to our new students."
As she finished speaking, a tall, straight-backed boy walked calmly to the front of the stage.
He was also dressed in a crisp uniform and wore thin-framed glasses. His expression was stern, his lips pressed into a straight line.
Just standing there, he gave off an air of quiet, powerful authority, as if the very air had grown still around him.
The last traces of commotion in the auditorium vanished, leaving it utterly silent.
Manabu Horikita took the wireless microphone from Akane Tachibana but didn't speak right away.
His gaze slowly swept over the sea of first-year students below. Everyone it passed instinctively straightened their back.
A few seconds later, he raised the microphone to his lips. His voice was steady and powerful, carrying effortlessly through the auditorium. He spoke with little emotion, but every word was clear.
"I am the Student Council President, Manabu Horikita."
"On behalf of all the current students, I welcome everyone who has enrolled this year."
After a brief self-introduction, he paused before continuing. "Our school is committed to providing a comprehensive elite education.
"Our graduation and employment rate exceeds ninety-nine percent. You've likely already heard about that, as well as the outstanding achievements our graduates have made in various fields over the years."
Lin Mu continued to stand straight, but his posture was relaxed, in contrast to the many new students around him who had unconsciously stiffened up.
He listened absentmindedly. The grape-flavored lollipop in his mouth had melted down to a tiny piece, and its sweetness was fading.
Without drawing attention to himself, he pulled out a milk-flavored lollipop and quickly switched them.
Its rich, creamy sweetness spread over his tongue again, bringing a familiar sense of satisfaction.
His energy—or, more accurately, his psychological comfort—had been replenished.
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