【The 32nd National High School Kyudo Championship is about to begin…】
【This competition is organized by the national sports authority…】
【This year’s event will be held at the XX Gymnasium in Flame City, with a total of thirty-six high schools participating…】
【Countdown to the Opening Ceremony】
【4 days, 14 hours, 4 minutes, 13 seconds】
【Live Stream Reservation】【Champion Prediction】
"This Saturday, huh?"
On the rooftop, Su Cheng, munching on a sandwich while scrolling through his phone, looked up at the sky and sighed, "Including today, there are still five days left. I wonder if I can handle it."
After class this morning, he grabbed the sandwich and small pillow given to him by Li Guanqi and headed to the rooftop. He planned to eat and then head to the club for practice.
After finishing his meal, he tidied up and made his way to the dojo.
The dojo.
The atmosphere in the dojo was growing increasingly tense. The walls were plastered with countless flyers, countdown timers, and motivational slogans…
Even during the lunch break, the dojo was filled with members, all training with intense focus. Everyone’s expression was serious and determined.
Su Cheng glanced around, then headed to the changing room to suit up. Afterward, he walked straight to Ji Qingyi’s private practice room. Today, he wasn’t wearing his glasses or any makeup.
He was, however, carrying a pillow in his arms.
The issues with his eyes and lips had occurred over the weekend, so Ji Qingyi was unaware of them. There was no need to worry about her noticing anything unusual.
Arriving at the door, he knocked twice.
"Knock, knock."
"Come in."
A cool and detached voice sounded from inside.
Su Cheng pushed the door open and saw Ji Qingyi standing next to a potted plant, looking like a woman who had stepped out of a classical painting.
"President," Su Cheng greeted her.
Ji Qingyi turned her calm eyes toward Su Cheng at the door, then glanced at the small pillow in his arms before speaking slowly, "Taking a nap?"
"Uh…"
Su Cheng was momentarily stunned, then replied, "No, I’m here to practice."
Ji Qingyi looked at him, seemingly satisfied that he wasn’t lying, and nodded. "Alright."
"I’ll get started, then."
With her permission, Su Cheng quickly walked over, placed the pillow aside, and picked up his bow to begin practicing.
However, as soon as he left the pillow, he felt his emotions surge again, as if he wanted to shoot the sun out of the sky with his bow.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm within him.
Ji Qingyi stood quietly, watching Su Cheng intently, as if she could see right through him.
After a few seconds, she stepped closer, slowly approaching him.
"President."
Su Cheng turned around as a unique fragrance drifted past his nose, and he saw Ji Qingyi walking toward him.
She stopped about half a meter away, looked down at him, and said softly, "Your mind is restless. How can you practice properly in this state?"
Su Cheng looked up at her, and Ji Qingyi continued, "I don’t know why you become like this when you pick up a bow, but if you continue like this, no matter how many times you practice, nothing will change. I suggest you calm your mind first."
Her voice was cool but carried a soothing power that brought a sense of peace to the listener.
"Right."
Su Cheng took a deep breath, trying to suppress the restlessness in his heart.
But it was no use. The side effects of this skill were too strong. His body was constantly producing adrenaline, and he couldn’t control it.
It was like being hooked up to an IV in a hospital.
Except the IV was filled with stimulants.
And the IV was like a Klein bottle—it never ran out. In fact, his supply was even more infinite.
He hadn’t slept for a full day and night, but he didn’t feel the slightest bit tired.
"Find your proper state."
Ji Qingyi gave a slight nod, then turned and left, leaving Su Cheng alone.
After she was gone, Su Cheng took another deep breath and walked over to the pillow. As soon as he got close and smelled the faint, elegant fragrance lingering on it, he felt his restlessness ease slightly.
But only slightly.
After all, he couldn’t carry it around during practice or competitions.
He closed his eyes, taking advantage of the momentary calm, and began to think about how to solve this crisis.
The magical glasses?
Those only controlled his facial expressions.
They were useless.
Even if his face was as calm as still water, his mindset and behavior would still be the same.
"Wait."
Su Cheng suddenly thought of something and quickly pulled out his phone. He opened his chat with Li Guanqi and started typing.
Su Cheng: "What brand of shampoo and body wash do you use?"
Soon, Li Guanqi replied with two brand names. Su Cheng’s face lit up, and he immediately searched for them.
Su Cheng muttered the names of the products, typed them in, and looked at the search results. His expression froze…
Both brands were organic, all-natural, and fragrance-free.
"Guess her scent is natural body odor."
Su Cheng sighed, then looked down at his kyudo uniform and muttered, "Maybe I could lend her my other set of clothes for a few days?"
But he quickly dismissed that perverse and childish idea. In the end, he decided to stuff the pillow inside his uniform, against his chest.
"Hmm… this should help calm me down."
He took a few steps and found that it did work. Relieved, he picked up his bow and began practicing.
Though, from the side, it might look like a well-endowed girl was drawing the bowstring. In reality…
"Wait, this is affecting my draw!"
Su Cheng’s hand paused as he nocked the arrow, his brow furrowing in frustration.
"No wonder the president is a champion…"
Su Cheng seemed to understand the advantage of having a smaller chest and the saying, "A flat chest is the foundation of peace."
He set down his bow, about to remove the pillow from his chest, but when he turned around, he found Ji Qingyi standing there, having returned without him noticing. She first glanced at her tablet, then looked up, her entire body radiating a chilling coldness.
"…"
Su Cheng swallowed hard and took a few steps back. He pulled the pillow out from his chest and awkwardly looked at Ji Qingyi. "P-President? Is there something you need?"
Ji Qingyi’s expression was stern, her gaze piercing as if she could see into the depths of his soul. She stared at him for a long moment before speaking in a frosty tone, "Kindness from others is not an excuse for you to overstep."
"…"
Su Cheng opened his mouth, realizing she must have overheard his earlier comment. He tried to explain, "President, I misspoke in the heat of the moment."
Ji Qingyi’s expression remained icy as she retorted, "I didn’t realize you’ve mastered ventriloquism and sign language in just a few days, and even know how to misspeak with your hands!?"
"N-No. This pillow helps calm my mind, so I’ve become a bit attached to it."
Su Cheng didn’t immediately understand what she meant. He looked at his hand, then at the pillow, before quickly explaining.
Ji Qingyi, seeing that he wasn’t lying, stepped closer and bent down to examine the pillow in his hands. She reached out.
Su Cheng hesitated, then handed the pillow to her.
Ji Qingyi looked at it, frowned, and tossed it back to Su Cheng. She turned to him, her voice growing colder, "Are you planning to stuff this into your uniform during the competition too?"
Su Cheng flushed with embarrassment.
Ji Qingyi spoke sternly, "If you can’t calm your mind and find inner peace, the judges will disqualify you, no matter how hard you try."
"Understood."
Su Cheng pursed his lips and nodded quietly.
As a beginner, he knew that in this competition, etiquette was more important than skill. Even if you shot perfectly, you couldn’t win without the right mindset.
Though he wanted to argue that the point of archery was to hit the target, not to cultivate one’s character.
In this world, archery seems to be about archers grasping some nonsensical philosophy during practice and then treating it as the ultimate truth.
In short, the ultimate goal of kyudo is not to aim for precision in shooting but to achieve purposes beyond accuracy through the process of pursuit.
However, you still have to shoot accurately during competitions.
It’s all quite baffling.
"Are you risking your life just to earn the title of a loser?"
Su Cheng looked up at Ji Qingyi upon hearing this, then lowered his head again.
Ji Qingyi’s expression was indifferent: "I feel sorry for you. Your choice is wrong."
Su Cheng trembled slightly at these words, his head bowed, his eyes filled with helplessness.
Yes, helplessness.
The system had given him something that seemed necessary, but in reality, it was just robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Before, although his body couldn’t handle the intensity of training, at least he could calm his mind. Now, he couldn’t even do that.
"Looking at it this way, I also think my choice was wrong."
Su Cheng let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Ji Qingyi remained calm: "It’s still not too late to give up on the competition."
"I won’t give up. Even if it’s wrong, I’ll try to steer it in the right direction."
Su Cheng shook his head, his tone calm but resolute.
"It seems you possess a stubbornness that ordinary people can’t comprehend," Ji Qingyi said lightly. "In that case."
With that, Ji Qingyi walked to the shooting position and glanced up at the sky: "There will be a light rain this afternoon."
Su Cheng looked at Ji Qingyi with confusion. Outside, the sky was clear and cloudless—nothing suggested rain was coming.
Was this some kind of sorcery?
Could the club president predict the weather?
Or was he summoning rain?
Or maybe he had rheumatism?
Truly S-tier!
Ji Qingyi gazed at the sun on the horizon, his expression serene: "I’ll try to calm down that strange excitement in your heart."
"Thank you, President."
Su Cheng expressed his gratitude but couldn’t suppress his curiosity: "How did you know it would rain?"
"I do check the weather forecast."
………………………………………………
Afternoon
By now, a light drizzle had begun to fall.
Naturally, physical education class was canceled, so some students were on their phones, others were playing board games, while Su Cheng sat at his desk hugging a small pillow, staring out the window in a daze.
His classmates Gao Ye, Chai Hao, and Wang Guancong were playing a card game at the back of the classroom, but he had declined their invitation to join.
"Su Cheng has gone back to his old self again."
Xuan Ying tugged at Zhao Yan’s sleeve and whispered.
"Yeah."
Zhao Yan nodded, though she was on her phone, her gaze kept drifting toward Su Cheng by the window, her eyes filled with concern.
"By the way," Xuan Ying looked at Zhao Yan and blinked, lowering her voice, "should we go talk to Su Cheng? His birthday is coming up soon."
Zhao Yan shook her head: "No rush. He’s preparing for the kyudo competition, so he must be very busy. Let’s wait for a better time."
In the corner, Li Guanqi was engrossed in a book, though her eyes occasionally flicked toward Su Cheng, who was hugging the pillow. Her gaze was deep, as if lost in thought.
"Want to play a game?"
Suddenly, a girl appeared at Su Cheng’s desk, holding a Go board and smiling at him.
It was Xu Tianyi.
The second-place scorer in the last exam.
She placed the board on Su Cheng’s desk.
Su Cheng looked up at her and shook his head: "Sorry…"
Before he could finish, he noticed that his desk was now surrounded by people. Xuan Ying and Zhao Yan had walked over, watching them.
It seemed they wanted to watch the game.
Su Cheng shook his head again and explained: "I don’t know how to play Go."
"Oh, that’s a shame."
The girl sighed, picked up the board, and walked away.
But Xuan Ying and Zhao Yan stayed behind, refusing to leave.
Su Cheng looked at them, puzzled.
Zhao Yan smiled softly and said, "We’ll be at the competition to cheer you on!"
Beside her, Xuan Ying nodded and raised a small fist: "Go for it! We’re rooting for you!"
After saying this, Xuan Ying met Su Cheng’s gaze, but her body stiffened, and she quickly ran out of the classroom.
"Thank you."
Su Cheng watched Xuan Ying’s retreating figure and nodded at Zhao Yan with a smile. Zhao Yan also smiled brightly before heading out to find Xuan Ying.
It’s worth mentioning that Xuan Ying’s style had returned to her old self.
Her stockings had been replaced with white knee-high socks.
Her outfit resembled Cornelia’s, though she was slightly curvier, with a chubby face that made her look especially cute.
Su Cheng stood up, holding the pillow, and walked toward Li Guanqi’s seat, intending to return it to her.
After all, the pillow was hers, and though he was reluctant, he had to give it back.
Besides, the scent would fade over time.
The pillow, in a way, needed to be recharged.
You could say it was replenishing Guanqi energy!
He placed the pillow on Li Guanqi’s desk and thanked her.
"Thank you."
"Follow me."
Li Guanqi looked up at him, her expression calm. Ignoring the pillow on her desk, she stood up and walked out of the classroom.
Su Cheng was momentarily stunned, then quickly followed. The two walked in silence until they reached a row of student lockers.