Suppression from the School

Bai Mu deliberately slowed his pace to match Sakayanagi Arisu's inconvenient gait. The two walked side by side along a campus path woven with moonlight and streetlamps. They remained quietly silent all the way, yet it was not awkward. One could not be bothered to start a conversation, while the other secretly observed and tested him; each had their own thoughts.

After a long while, Sakayanagi Arisu broke the silence first. Her gentle voice was especially clear in the evening breeze. "Classmate Bai Mu, what do you think of Advanced Nurturing High School?"

It was practically a classic question among new students. Most people either praised the prestigious school's grandeur or lamented its harsh rules, each with a different mindset.

But Bai Mu's reply was blunt and sharp, completely outside the usual script.

"If this were in China, the school's admissions and class-placement system would've been torn apart online long ago."

Sakayanagi Arisu's steps paused slightly. She turned to look at him, her eyes full of confusion. Having studied Japan's educational system deeply since childhood and knowing its local rules inside out, she had never heard such an outrageous assessment.

Bai Mu explained flatly, with the clear-eyed tone of someone making a sarcastic complaint. "On the surface, it boasts guaranteed advancement and one hundred percent employment. In reality, it secretly divides people into ranks, filters students by tier, and treats them differently. The winners monopolize the best resources, while the students at the bottom become nothing but props to accompany the race. This kind of system, deliberately creating classes and filtering human nature, would be blatantly against the rules in any major country that cared about fairness."

In his eyes, Advanced Nurturing High School could only exist in Japan. If it could keep operating back home, he would genuinely be impressed.

Sakayanagi Arisu did not argue. She merely smiled faintly and calmly accepted his criticism.

"You are not wrong." She lifted her eyes toward the dark sea in the distance, her tone even. "The school has never cared about fairness on paper. Its core purpose has never been to educate everyone, but to mass-produce exceptional talents suited for the highest levels of society. Academic ability, physical fitness, temperament, emotional intelligence, strategic ability—it screens students in every aspect, leaving behind only the strong who can stand firm amid brutal competition."

"The four classes, A, B, C, and D, have never been simple divisions based on grades. They are precise ratings of a person's overall value."

Those words were calm yet cruel, perfectly fitting Sakayanagi Arisu's character. As the chairman's daughter, she had understood this school's underlying logic from a young age and had long grown accustomed to its law of the jungle.

Bai Mu raised a brow and teased her in turn. "By that all-around standard, Classmate Sakayanagi, you might be the most absurd exception in the entire school. Your intellectual talent is maxed out at the ceiling, while your physical ability is rock bottom. You've probably set the school's first-ever E-rank physical fitness record, haven't you? You forced your way into Class A on sheer overwhelming intelligence alone. Don't tell me your intellect is the legendary S-rank?"

His words were blunt and cutting, precisely hitting Sakayanagi's weak spot.

Sakayanagi Arisu's lips stiffened slightly as she looked at him with a smile that did not reach her eyes. "Physical ability has never been the sole standard for judging the strong. Someone with nothing but brute strength and an empty head is merely a foolhardy brute. True strength relies on thought and planning, not well-developed limbs."

Though she argued with composure, her heart was full of envy.

She quietly studied the upright young man beside her, his steps steady, genuine longing hidden in her eyes.

She knew Bai Mu's record well. Sweeping chess, Go, and other intellectual clubs in succession was one thing, but he had also crushed every hardcore combat martial arts club, including boxing, kendo, karate, and judo.

Being able to consistently overpower skilled upperclassmen in so many intense competitive events was enough to prove that Bai Mu's physical capabilities stood alone among this year's freshmen.

He possessed a healthy body capable of running freely and giving his all without restraint. His powerful physique could steadily support the full output of his exceptional mind. Neither his intellect nor his physical ability had any weakness; they complemented one another perfectly. He was a truly perfect powerhouse, body and mind in flawless harmony, favored by heaven to the utmost.

As for her, constrained by her congenitally weak heart, she would never possess such a body—one able to stretch freely and charge ahead with all its strength. Bound within her limited physique, she could only struggle to catch up through intellect alone. That inborn disparity made the regret and envy in her heart grow ever heavier.

"I have been extraordinarily intelligent since childhood, surpassing my peers many times over," Sakayanagi said softly, her voice carrying both inborn pride and regret. "If not for my congenital heart condition and the limitations of my body, my talent would never have stopped here."

But in the next instant, she set her mindset right, clarity returning to her eyes. "Still, I am already grateful. My mother gave me life, allowing me to stand here, witness the many facets of this world, and contend against opponents from all sides. That alone is great fortune."

Having said that, she abruptly changed the subject and looked directly at Bai Mu, raising the most important question of the night.

"Classmate Bai Mu, with strength and calculating ability as outstanding as yours, you were assigned to the thoroughly ordinary Class B. Do you not feel your talents have been wasted? Do you not feel wronged?"

That question was practically the doubt shared by everyone who knew the situation.

Given Bai Mu's strength in sweeping the clubs, his chess skill that crushed upperclassmen, and his understanding of the rules far beyond that of ordinary freshmen, he would have been more than qualified to sit securely at the top of Class A. Yet he had ultimately landed in the moderate, gentle Class B. It was truly baffling.

Bai Mu remained calm, his tone utterly detached. "There's no need to feel wronged. I know my own strength. I don't need a class label from the school to define me. If the school placed me in Class B, then I'll stay in Class B peacefully. No fighting, no scrambling—just live quietly."

His goal had never been to climb to the top of Class A and crush everyone else. He only wanted to avoid conflict, lie low, get through three years in peace, and freely take control of his own life.

Yet after hearing him out, Sakayanagi Arisu gently shook her head. A trace of apology and gravity passed through her eyes.

"If you had been assigned to Class B because you lacked ability, then that would simply mean you were not capable enough, and there would be nothing to say. But your placement was not fair."

She stopped walking and looked at Bai Mu seriously, every word clear. "On behalf of the school, I apologize to you."

Bai Mu was slightly taken aback.

"Your class placement was tainted by deliberate targeting unrelated to your ability," Sakayanagi slowly revealed the truth without hiding anything. "You are an exchange student from China. This country's wariness and prejudice toward the neighboring superpower have long been deeply rooted. The barriers accumulated over time and the grudges left behind by history have long permeated every industry. Some members of the school's upper management acted on their entrenched biases, deliberately suppressing talented students from other countries. They were unwilling to let outsiders shine at this school and seize the best resources. During the review of your comprehensive entrance evaluation, someone deliberately lowered your overall score and forcibly knocked you from the Class A tier into Class B."

That revelation was explosive.

If an ordinary freshman learned that the school had manipulated things behind the scenes and deliberately targeted them, they would most likely be angry, resentful, and indignant.

But Bai Mu merely raised a brow. There was not the slightest surprise or anger on his face. He was absurdly calm.

"I guessed as much."

He had anticipated it long ago. Japan's prejudice and wariness toward China had a long history, especially in an elite school that controlled top-tier talent resources. Deliberately suppressing gifted students from other countries to prevent their rise was perfectly normal.

From the moment he understood the class-placement rules upon entering the school, he had known that his seat in Class B was not the result of a placement matching his ability, but the conclusion of deliberate suppression.

Seeing him so calm, Sakayanagi found herself admiring him even more. He was neither rash nor resentful nor angry in the face of trouble. His composure far surpassed that of his peers. Such temperament was rarer than even top-tier strength.

"But you need not care about it." Sakayanagi changed her tone, fighting spirit lighting her eyes. "A mere class label born from human suppression cannot bind a true powerhouse. In the days to come, I will personally verify what height you truly deserve to reach."

She lifted her eyes toward the night sky, her tone carrying the stubbornness and confidence unique to a genius. "Among this school's freshmen, only you are qualified to be my opponent. The others are far too mediocre to be worth mentioning."

The declaration was domineering and high-profile, her adolescent chuunibyou energy completely off the charts.

Watching her serious, stubborn expression, Bai Mu silently complained to himself: A textbook case of chuunibyou.

Put simply, she had enjoyed smooth sailing since childhood and stood in a high position. She had never been beaten down by reality, so she always believed she could pry open the rules and uphold justice through her own strength.

A genius from an ordinary family would have had their sharp edges worn down by society long ago. They would understand how to go with the flow, conceal their edge, and keep a low profile.

But upon further thought, Bai Mu was instantly relieved. With Sakayanagi's top-tier family background as the chairman's daughter, let alone being beaten down by society, she would probably be the one using her status and resources to beat others down. Naive or not, she truly had the capital to be willful, stubborn, and consider herself fair.

Still, he could not be bothered to expose her. He simply nodded halfheartedly. "Fine. I'll wait and see."