Lin Mu could only lean back in his seat and rest with his eyes closed. The lollipop in his mouth was still melting slowly, its sweetness seeping out bit by bit and doing its best to soothe his nerves.
But the commotion in the classroom was like boiling water, growing louder by the second.
All around him, Class D students were chatting and making friends. Some discussed whether the dorms were comfortable enough; others complained that their suitcases were too heavy.
Some were curious about the shops on Academy Commercial Street, while others gathered in groups to imagine their future club activities and school festivals...
Their chattering blended into a noisy backdrop, like countless sparrows squawking right beside his ears.
Lin Mu had already been planning to doze off with his head down, but his brows furrowed slightly despite himself. The only clear thought left in his mind was: Annoying.
He subconsciously squeezed the candy left in his uniform pocket, its plastic wrapper making a faint rustling sound.
At the same time, he was secretly glad he had kept his telepathy firmly shut off ever since entering the classroom.
If he turned it on now, dozens of jumbled voices would probably explode in his ears all at once, a hundred times noisier and more chaotic than the ordinary din around him.
Just imagine: everyone he saw was talking, the sounds he heard were already a hubbub of voices, and on top of that, he'd have to "hear" all the unspoken thoughts in their minds—including their meaningless muttering...
It would be like cramming ten marketplaces into his head.
Just thinking about it made Lin Mu's temples throb.
Forget it~ Forget it~
He sighed soundlessly and nudged the nearly dissolved lollipop to one side of his mouth with his tongue. He might as well just enjoy his candy.
At least the sweetness could ease some of his physical irritation.
As long as he didn't get involved and treated himself like a fixture in the classroom, he could probably hold out until the homeroom teacher arrived to take charge.
Once class officially began, surely there'd be rules to quiet down this bunch of overenergetic students.
Just as the din in the classroom threatened to lift the roof...
A clear, hearty male voice suddenly rang out from the front, instantly drowning out most of the noise.
"Everyone!"
Lin Mu lazily cracked open an eyelid and peered through his fine white lashes.
A boy had stood up near the aisle in the front row.
He stood tall and straight, with a sunny smile that seemed to brighten the room. His clean-cut air gave him the unmistakable feel of a natural leader, someone good at taking charge.
He raised a hand, palm down, and made two gentle but unmistakable pressing-down gestures to quiet everyone. His tone was warm and enthusiastic, yet measured:
"Could I have everyone's attention for a moment? The teacher hasn't arrived yet, and carrying on like this won't do us any good. We might even leave a bad impression on the other classes."
He paused and looked around the room amiably. Once he saw that he had caught quite a few people's attention, he continued.
"Why don't we take this opportunity for everyone in Class D to give a brief self-introduction?
That way, we can get to know one another sooner and learn each other's names. It'll also help us build some camaraderie and give us a good start for the next three years. What do you think?"
It was a perfectly sensible suggestion, and coming from a boy who looked so reliable, it carried an air of authority.
The classroom grew considerably quieter. Many students who had been talking only to the people beside them looked up toward the front.
Lin Mu opened his eyes fully and glanced at the boy without much interest.
Self-introductions? They sounded like a pain. He wasn't interested at all.
But Kikyo Kushida, seated in another row, had her eyes light up almost as soon as the boy finished speaking. Her face broke into a smile of wholehearted agreement.
She immediately raised her hand and chimed in with her signature sweet, bubbly voice:
"I think that's an awesome idea! Self-introductions really can help everyone get to know one another faster. I'm all for it!"
With such a friendly girl leading the way, quite a few other girls nodded along, murmuring, "That sounds good," and "That could be fun," their faces bright with anticipation.
Clearly, they were happy to take this chance to make new friends and expand their social circles.
Some of the boys nodded as well, indicating that they had no objections.
When no one voiced any clear opposition, the smile in the boy's eyes deepened. He walked over beside the podium and made a concise "Nice to meet you" gesture before speaking in a cheerful voice:
"Great! I'll go first and get the ball rolling!"
He cleared his throat and looked brightly at the class. "My name is Hirata Yosuke! Just call me Yosuke. No need to be formal.
"I really like sports, especially soccer. I've been playing since elementary school, and now that I've enrolled here, I plan to join the school soccer club and keep training.
"I hope we can all become good classmates and friends over the next three years and work hard together! I look forward to getting to know you all!"
A wave of warm, sincere applause rose around the classroom.
Hirata Yosuke's introduction was sunny and friendly. He won over most of the class almost instantly.
Lin Mu sucked on his nearly melted lollipop, his tongue unconsciously pressing against the stick, when suddenly, something gave a little jolt in his mind.
Hirata Yosuke?
That name... Why did it sound so familiar?
His brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
Before he'd transmigrated, he'd watched plenty of anime and watched countless anime explainers on short-video platforms.
He seemed to remember a name like that... one associated with a particular anime setting.
He tried to dig through the hazy fragments of his past-life memories. The anime's name... It was something like...
Classroom of the Elite? Right, that was it.
He vaguely recalled watching a few related clips or explainers, though he hadn't finished the actual series.
Back then, he'd thought the name suggested some kind of school-competition anime, full of scheming and "mind games," or maybe an everyday series about striving to succeed?
Either way, it sounded mentally exhausting or overly passionate—not the sort of thing a viewer like him, who wanted something light and relaxing, would enjoy. So he'd swiped past it without giving it much thought.
Could this world... really be the setting of that anime?
A faint ripple stirred in Lin Mu's heart.
During the years he'd spent in an orphanage after transmigrating to this world, he'd done plenty of "practice" to get familiar with and control his supernatural abilities.
As his telepathic range expanded, he'd inevitably picked up countless people's surface thoughts and fragments of their memories.
He was absolutely certain he'd never "heard" or "seen" anything about "superpowers," "special battles," or "supernatural incidents."
Based on all the information he'd gathered, this world was just an ordinary, scientific modern world, much like the Blue Star of his previous life.
At most... the management system and competitive philosophy of this so-called Advanced Nurturing High School were a little unusual?
It sounded like an exaggerated version of elite education.
Lin Mu's mind stirred. For a moment, he even considered using his abilities.
He could briefly "look into" fragments of Hirata Yosuke's past memories, or use a moment of "precognition" to see whether he'd have any special "role" in the future.
But the moment the thought surfaced, he decisively snuffed it out.
Forget it~ Forget it, he told himself, shaking his head.
There was no need to waste the effort or energy.
Even if this really was the "Classroom of the Elite" from the anime, so what?
At the end of the day, wasn't this just ordinary school life?
It wasn't as if some monster would suddenly attack the school like in a hot-blooded battle anime, was it?
Or like in a sci-fi movie, the whole city would suddenly explode because of a gas leak?
(Some city's blowing up from gas leaks every day, and I don't see anything wrong with that...)
In the ten years since he'd transmigrated to this world, he'd never once come across an absurd supernatural incident like that in the news, on the radio, or while surfing the internet.
(Event period: May 1 to May 5)
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