Sunlight pierced the darkness.
Dawn swept across the horizon.
Echo Academy.
Early in the morning, girls crowded around the entrance to Class Eight's classroom, packed several rows deep.
They had all come to see Qiji.
Even though Qiji had not appeared at the academy for nearly a month.
All because of one thing Bai Lili had said-
"Compared to Yile, Qiji is more handsome."
The students of Class Eight had passed those words around, and every day, girls came after hearing about him, hoping to catch a glimpse of Qiji's real face.
Now, the girls stood on tiptoe, peering into the classroom through the windows and the gap in the door.
Their faces were full of excitement, curiosity, and anticipation as they chattered away:
"Qiji should come today, right?"
"Yeah, yeah! Suyo challenged him so publicly, after all!"
"I can't wait! I wonder what kind of fight it'll be!"
"Suyo's super strong too! A showdown between two masked super geniuses! It's so exciting!"
Those were the conversations Qiji heard when he arrived at Class Eight's door.
So-
What did they mean, Suyo had challenged him?
And the match was set for today?
When had that happened?
How come he didn't know?
"???"
Qiji was utterly baffled.
Chapter 56: Suyo vs. Qiji!
Puzzled, Qiji tapped the girl with twin ponytails in front of him on the shoulder and politely asked:
"Excuse me, you just said Suyo challenged Qiji. What was that about?"
The girl was too busy standing on tiptoe and peering inside. Without even looking back, she replied:
"No way, no way, no way! You don't know about something this big? Anyone who's been to the academy these past few days couldn't possibly have missed it, right?"
"Um... I haven't been to the academy in almost a month, so I really don't know. Please tell me."
The girl was warmhearted and quick with her words. Hearing that, she promptly spilled the whole story:
"Here's what happened. It started last week.
You know Suyo's fiancée, right?
That young lady in Class Eight named Bai Lili.
She made Suyo some pastries that day, but I don't know what happened between them. Suyo suddenly got really angry and knocked all the pastries onto the ground. Then he said this to Bai Lili in front of everyone-
'Please, could you stop liking me already?'
You should've seen what happened next...
Bai Lili was crying and apologizing as she crouched on the ground, scrambling to pick up the pastries.
I was right there, and even I couldn't help feeling sorry for her."
"Ah, well..."
Qiji had not expected something like that to have happened between Bai Lili and Suyo while he was away from the academy.
But what did that have to do with Suyo challenging him?
Qiji was puzzled, but fortunately, the girl in front of him soon continued.
The girl spoke with some excitement:
"Then, there were other students from Class Eight there too, right?
A few of them immediately jumped out to stand up for Bai Lili, saying things like, 'What's Suyo so proud of?' and 'Being that mean to a girl, are you even a man?'
Someone else couldn't stand it and compared him to Qiji, saying-
'You both wear masks, but Qiji is so much stronger than you, and you don't see him throwing a temper like yours!'"
At this point, the twin-tailed girl named Cao E even mimicked the tone of the student who had spoken, doing a remarkably lifelike impression.
"And then?"
Qiji had more or less guessed what came next, but seeing how engrossed she was in the story, he prompted her along.
Cao E grew even more enthusiastic:
"Then, as soon as Suyo heard someone comparing him to Qiji, his whole aura suddenly turned serious!
He stared at the student who'd spoken for a long time, then finally said coldly-
'I'll personally defeat Qiji in the joint practical combat class one week from now!'
Suyo even declared that he'd knock Qiji's mask right off his face!
He also said Qiji wearing a mask was just a poor imitation of him! Hahaha..."
Wait, why are you laughing so happily at that...
After Qiji grumbled inwardly, the girl delivered her final summation-
"So that's why everyone's looking forward to today!
Whether Qiji wins or loses and gets his mask knocked off, it'll be super interesting to watch!
After all, the face under Qiji's mask has practically become a legend!
Apparently, he's super handsome!!!
Who could resist scrambling to get a look at his real face?"
"So that's what happened." Qiji nodded, struggling to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up.
"Thank you for telling me."
As for Suyo challenging him, Qiji could understand it.
After all, he had been the one to take Suyo's "ecological niche" first.
In the original plot, Suyo should actually have been at the top of all the first-year students at this point.
He was the genius who drew the most attention, with no one who could compare to him.
And in his character setting, Suyo was an extremely proud and stubborn person.
He was a powerful character who never suffered setbacks.
But because Qiji had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, in this new timeline, Suyo was probably often compared to him...
And then-
He fell short in every way...
It was inevitable that he would feel as though he were living in Qiji's shadow.
After that, it was only natural for him to grow dissatisfied and want to thoroughly defeat Qiji.
Thinking about it, Qiji almost felt sorry for him.
But sympathy was one thing...
Sorry, Suyo. For the sake of my popularity, I'll have to make you suffer for now.
Let's just say I owe you one, bro to bro.
If I get the chance later, I'll see about repaying you.
But as for today's match, I still...
Have to beat the crap out of you first!
Who told you to make my big financial backer, Boss Bai, cry too?
Even though Qiji had already squandered the bag of money Bai Lili had given him, its lingering effects were still being felt.
Qiji was a man who had great respect for money.
The thoughts flashed through his mind. Then something occurred to him, and he asked another question:
"Who do you think will win when Qiji faces Suyo today?"
Cao E touched a finger to her lips, thought seriously for a moment, and answered:
"Hard to say! Everyone says Qiji is strong, but aside from Class Eight, not many people have actually seen him fight.
Suyo is in my class, though, and I've seen how strong he is with my own eyes.
He awakened his Echo before he even entered the academy, and he's also mastered a lot of techniques passed down through generations of the Thousand Faces Family.
I've never seen him lose in practical combat class.
Of course, I've heard plenty of rumors about Qiji too! A lot of them sound really exaggerated.
So if I had to say..."
The girl paused, then suddenly gave a somewhat playful smile.
"I hope Qiji loses!
Because then I'll get to see Suyo take off his mask! Hehehe~~"
Qiji: "..."
All right, so she's a little hater who wants to see my defeat CG.
Qiji shook his head, somewhat amused.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."
As Qiji's words fell, the girl in front of him seemed to realize something from the word "I"...
The girl spun around!
A pure white mask entered her sight.
"Huh? Huhhhh-?!"
The girl's startled cry shot up in volume, echoing through the corridor!
"Q-Q-Q-Qiji?!!!"
The crowd gathered outside Class Eight's door turned in unison at the sound.
When they saw the upright young man wearing his signature mask, the crowd instantly erupted!
"It's Qiji! Qiji is here!!"
"Oh my god! We've waited a month! He's finally shown up!!"
"Qiji! I love you!!!"
After politely turning down the love letters offered by several girls, Qiji gave a light cough and said, "Excuse me."
The crowd hurriedly parted to make a path.
Under the excited, curious, and admiring gazes of the crowd, Qiji entered the classroom.