Liu Qingyue heard the familiar voice and slowly turned her head in disbelief. Her stunningly beautiful face was filled with shock and astonishment. Her lips moved several times but no sound came out. However, her eyes revealed a complex mix of emotions.
Eventually, she lowered her head and smiled faintly.
Then, she looked up, her face beaming with an incredibly bright smile. With her black stockings and elegant legs, she walked over, placing her delicate hand on Su Cheng's arm and sitting on the back seat, slightly complaining, "You're a little late today, aren't you?"
"Though tardy, I made it in time," Su Cheng replied as he rode the bicycle, carrying Senior Liu, away from the bus stop.
The people in the bus, however, all stared in stunned silence as the two left.
"Isn't that…"
"It’s…"
"It’s Su Cheng!"
"The Su Cheng from today’s news?"
"Yes! Look at the Flame City Private Academy uniform; it’s definitely him!"
……………………
"Senior Ji."
Su Cheng suddenly spoke as he rode the bike.
Liu Qingyue was slightly startled but then smiled, "I still prefer you call me Senior Liu."
"Senior saved me."
Su Cheng bluntly stated.
"I guessed that."
Liu Qingyue nodded.
"So, what reward does Senior want?"
Su Cheng smiled.
Liu Qingyue pondered for a moment, then said, "Hmm… maybe have a meal at your place again someday."
"That’s it?"
"That’s it."
"How about tomorrow morning?"
Liu Qingyue shook her head and added, "Probably not for a while. I have no scenes to act in recently."
"Oh? What happened?"
Su Cheng asked in surprise, turning to look at Liu Qingyue.
"It’s all because of your matter. I’ll be heading to your hometown soon."
Liu Qingyue adorably counted on her fingers: "The orphanage needs renovations, roads in the town need to be fixed, as well as schools, hospitals, and other facilities. I need to oversee it; otherwise, I won’t feel at ease."
"This…"
Hearing this, Su Cheng felt an intense wave of gratitude. He stopped the bike, turned his head, and said sincerely, "Thank you."
"No need to say thanks. This was agreed upon by Young Mistress."
Liu Qingyue waved her hand with a harmless smile.
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and said, "Oh, right. If Young Mistress sees you alive, she’ll definitely be happy because she already considers you a friend."
Su Cheng blushed with embarrassment, then noticed Liu Qingyue’s expression seemed strange and asked, "What’s wrong?"
“I beg you, stop teaching her random, strange slang from the internet, such as…"
Liu Qingyue’s face showed signs of discomfort, but she finally mustered the courage to say, "Such as, 'damn!'"
..............................
"Damn**"
Hearing this word, Su Cheng was utterly stunned. His mind suddenly flashed back to a past incident.
Then, his face alternated between green and purple, both horrified and remorseful.
He couldn’t imagine what it would look like when Ji Qingyi would ever utter vulgar language like 'damn.'
This was simply too damaging to her persona.
His head became a chaotic mess, ringing loudly.
But soon, he managed to calm down, taking a deep breath to regain his composure.
Yet moment later…
His thoughts started to spiral again: ‘Senior, if she learns how impolite and coarse the word 'damn' is, will she kill me?’
"Who knows?" Liu Qingyue replied nonchalantly.
Su Cheng’s face shifted in uncertainty, unsure of what to do. He then turned to look at the backseat, asking Liu Qingyue, "Senior, this… have you explained it to her?"
Liu Qingyue smiled sweetly, blinking her glistening big eyes, "Of course not, but…”
"But what?"
Su Cheng pressed further.
"But she might have guessed some things from my expression, so…"
As she spoke, Liu Qingyue shrugged.
“Don’t worry, Young Mistress is a very kind person. She never hurts anyone."
Liu Qingyue reassured him by patting his shoulder.
"Then, who’s rumored to have sunk someone into Flame City Bay?"
Su Cheng probed again.
"Oh, please, it certainly wasn’t Young Mistress!"
Liu Qingyue exclaimed, her face filled with fear.
"Then who?"
"It was me!"
Liu Qingyue declared with certainty.
Su Cheng: "……"
His mouth twitched in disbelief.
In his heart, he started to dread the afternoon’s club activities, unsure of how to face Ji Qingyi.
"Alright, stop here."
Liu Qingyue suddenly called out.
"We haven’t reached the sc…”
Before Su Cheng could finish, he noticed a black sedan ahead, from which an elegantly dressed middle-aged woman emerged.
Realizing, he halted the bike.
"Alright, Junior."
As Liu Qingyue stepped off the bike, her smile instantly vanished, replaced by a serious expression as she looked intently at Su Cheng.
"Don’t use your abilities unless absolutely necessary. Now that you’ve changed, more and more people are watching you. In future, if you encounter something you can't handle, you can come to me."
She firmly advised.
An emotional warmth gleamed in Su Cheng's heart as he hurriedly nodded in agreement.
Liu Qingyue’s face then brightened with cheer, extending her arms as Su Cheng momentarily hesitated before stepping down from the bike and gently embraced her. A gentle fragrance brushed past his nose while his heart quickened.
"Welcome back."
Liu Qingyue hugged him gently, her voice soft.
An unusual feeling surged within Su Cheng.
Then, the two separated; Liu Qingyue once again beamed with a radiant smile, "Until next time, remember to contact me if there’s any trouble. I’ll always stand by you. There’s no 'stories weakened' rules for me."
"Alright, if Senior encounters any problems, you can also come to me. Although I may not solve everything, but I’ll do my best."
Su Cheng replied earnestly.
Liu Qingyue nodding happily.
With a farewell, they parted. As he watched Liu Qingyue’s disappearing figure, Su Cheng rode his bicycle towards the academy.
Although participants in the competition could rest for three days, Su Cheng, passionate about his studies, couldn’t bear to waste his learning time.
He loved class; classes brought him joy and helped him forget his troubles.
Minutes later...
He stopped his bicycle at the academy gate, under the watch of two Disciplinary Committee Members whom he didn’t recognize.
Despite that, they appeared to recognize him, their gazes firmly fixed on him.
There were also some students just entering the school, all staring at him simultaneously.
Feeling a bit awkward, he knew that fame had its downsides.
Usually, winning wasn’t enough to trigger such attention.
But during his matches, he had displayed extraordinary talent.
Television news, the internet, and newspapers were all buzzing with headlines such as: 'He lives solely for archery'; 'The brilliant yet mysterious Su Cheng ?'; 'Staggering ten-arrow series – jaw-dropping!'; 'A legendary showdown — His light eclipses all others'; 'Does Su Cheng deserve the title of the world’s best?'; 'Which posture will Su Cheng adopt to claim this year’s mounted archery championship?'; 'Su Cheng said: From the first time he picked up the bow, he knew he reigned supreme!'.
Yesterday, while ready to die by the sea, he had surfed the internet, only to find it packed with things about himself.
Before even going, he had already social-dead.
Beginning paid nonchalantly, halfway through, utterly averted, wanting to copulate with the last article editor.
When hadn’t declared such overbearing and shameless remarks ? !
Just thinking about yesterday’s news reports, Su Cheng felt unbearably embarrassed, ready to dig a hole and bury himself in.
Still, he endured his shame, calmly and indifferently, pushing his bicycle towards the parking location, ignoring the stares and chatter.
"Guys, look, it’s Su Cheng. He’s at school today!!"
Suddenly, a familiar, loud voice echoed, causing his blood to freeze.
"Really!"
"Su Cheng! Su Cheng!"
"Wait for us!"
In that instant, students who hadn’t noticed Su Cheng earlier began turning their heads, their eyes blazing with enthusiasm. Feeling like prey, all he could think was: "Damn it, Wang Guancong!"
"Su Cheng!!"
Right then, another surge of ecstatic screams erupted in the crowd.
Turning his head, Su Cheng saw a group of his classmates waving at him.
Finally, forced to stop, he found himself surrounded by Wang Guancong and the others. Not only that, but the entire class had also gathered around, chattering away.
“I watched you in yesterday’s competition—you were absolutely amazing!”
“How did you do it?”
“Those ten arrows you shot in the finals were just insane.”
“The commentator was nearly bowing down to you!”
…
Questions came from all sides, and Su Cheng had no choice but to humbly respond, putting on a brave face.
However, he didn’t notice that not far away, a beautiful girl with an air of nobility and elegance, exuding a cold and aloof aura, was quietly watching him.
Though her face showed no emotion, her eyes were filled with complex and incomprehensible emotions.
“How many more surprises are you hiding from me…”
Ji Qingyi murmured to herself, then gracefully strode away with her black silk-clad legs, leaving behind a faint scent.
From her gait, it seemed her mood was rather good.
“Hey, are you guys really going to let Su Cheng go to class?”
Suddenly, a familiar female voice rang out.
Everyone turned to look, and there stood Zhao Yan, accompanied by Xuan Yinger.
Xuan Ying, in particular, was glaring angrily at Su Cheng.
“Perfect timing!”
Seeing this, Su Cheng immediately lowered his head and pretended to concentrate on pushing his bicycle towards the parking lot.
In no time, he had parked his bike and entered the classroom, only to find that everyone was still staring at him.
He pretended not to notice and walked straight to his seat, placing his bag on the desk.
But Wang Guancong wasn’t going to let him off the hook. Leaning over the back of his chair, he extended his neck towards Su Cheng and asked, “How about having lunch together today?”
Su Cheng shook his head.
“Don’t you remember? Last time, I put all my money on you, and with this match, Gao Ye and I made almost two million. It’s all thanks to you! We have to throw a victory banquet today!”
At the mention of “two million,” Su Cheng, who was down to only a few dozen bucks, couldn’t help but twitch his lips.
He couldn’t help but regret not betting on himself.
Wait, no. He was a boy of good character.
He never touched gambling or drugs.
After losing all the money he had earned from washing dishes for several months after his transfer, he had sworn never to gamble again.
“I brought my lunch today. If I don’t eat it, it’ll go bad.”
Su Cheng replied, then lowered his head to continue flipping through his book.
Wang Guancong looked disappointed but knew Su Cheng’s personality well. He then gave him a hopeful look and said, “Well… if you have any needs, you can always tell me, okay?”
Su Cheng felt a shiver run down his spine and glanced up at him with a less-than-friendly look. “Are you sure about any need?”
Wang Guancong was momentarily stunned.
However, he quickly recovered, smiling sweetly at Su Cheng. “Of course, if it’s something I can do, I’ll definitely do it.”
“The banner in my neighborhood—did you have it put up?”
“I didn’t.”
Wang Guancong shook his head, then seemed to realize something and said, “It must have been the neighborhood acting on its own. You mentioned in class before the competition that banners would embarrass you, so why would I ever want to make you uncomfortable?”
“Okay, I see. Thanks.”
Su Cheng nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. It was good that it wasn’t Wang Guancong—he had been worried that the guy was deliberately trying to embarrass him.
“Ring~”
The school bell rang.
Su Cheng put his thoughts aside and pulled out his textbook to start class.
His eyes, however, kept drifting towards Li Guanqi’s seat.
She hadn’t come to the first class.
By the end of the first class, he had already collapsed onto his desk, asleep. He simply couldn’t adapt to being the center of attention like this. He would rather be ignored than endure this kind of torture.
Fortunately, no one bothered him while he pretended to sleep.
What he didn’t notice was that as soon as the bell rang for the break, a girl with braided hair in front of him, who had a chessboard in her drawer, glanced at Su Cheng as he lay on the desk, then looked away.
And today, the noise in the classroom was also quieter than usual.
Even if someone made a loud noise, they would be silenced by Zhao Yan and Xuan Ying with just a glance.
Since he hadn’t slept for seven days, the mental exhaustion eventually made him truly fall asleep.
During the second class, he was asleep, and no one woke him up.
Even the teacher pretended not to notice.
At the end of the second class, a graceful figure suddenly appeared at the door. She entered without expression, catching no one’s attention, but she noticed Su Cheng sleeping.
She placed her bag aside, sat down, and propped her cheek with her hand, quietly gazing at the sleeping Su Cheng.
Su Cheng’s sleeping posture was far from impeccable. One leg was draped over the edge of the table, the other was curled up, and he was hugging a 《Chinese》 textbook, looking like a sleepy koala. His sleep seemed very deep.
He was definitely the type of person who would kick the blankets off while asleep.
Due to his strange sleeping posture, some of the girls in the class couldn’t help but want to laugh.
Xuan Ying, sitting in front, kept sneaking glances at Su Cheng.
She didn’t laugh; instead, she found him very adorable.
She even wished she could transform into the textbook he was hugging.
…………………………
“Ring~”
The third class bell rang.
The sound also woke Su Cheng from his deep slumber.
He blinked his hazy eyes, rubbed them, and looked around, realizing he was still in the classroom.
“How did I fall asleep…”
Su Cheng muttered, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he looked around, eventually meeting Li Guanqi’s gaze in the corner.
Li Guanqi nodded slightly at him, and Su Cheng nodded back.
Then the teacher entered, and he looked away.
At the end of the third class, as he returned from the restroom, he found a chessboard set up on his desk, and in front of him sat a girl with braided hair, giving him a smile and extending her white fingers: “Can we finally have a quiet game of chess this time?”
Su Cheng was momentarily stunned, then nodded.
Xu Tianyi had helped him before, and he had promised to accompany her for a game, so he couldn’t go back on his word.
Thus, he sat down at his seat, facing her.
As soon as they sat down, the entire class’s attention focused on them, and then Xuan Ying and Zhao Yan walked over as well.
They wanted to watch the game.
Li Guanqi had already moved Wang Guancong’s seat back, positioning herself behind Su Cheng.
“Another game of five-in-a-row?”
Xu Tianyi asked, looking at the chessboard in Su Cheng’s hand.
Su Cheng nodded.
“This time, don’t let me win on purpose.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll win this time.”
They started placing their pieces.
But after a few dozen moves, Su Cheng’s heart sank because he was about to lose.
Just as he didn’t know what to do, a slender, fair hand stretched out from behind him, gently pointing to a position on the board.
Su Cheng was taken aback, and a familiar scent made him suddenly understand something.
No one else knew—only he did.
He possessed a chess-watching alter ego!
Wait, wasn’t it said that “chess players should remain silent”? So why was she teaching him now?
No, she wasn’t speaking!
But even so…
What was the difference between this and cheating or using a cheat code?
Wasn’t he a man of integrity… was he unable to accept losing?
At this thought, Su Cheng decisively acted as if nothing had happened, picking up a piece and placing it on the spot Li Guanqi had just indicated.
Wasn’t the whole point of being a transmigrator to cheat and use cheat codes?
In the next second, the game situation immediately changed. Xu Tianyi looked slightly surprised at Su Cheng, then made another move.
And the chess star behind him—Li Guanqi—stretched out her hand again, pointing to another position.
This repeated several times.
“I’ve lost.”
Xu Tianyi looked at Su Cheng and gave a forced smile.
“It was just luck.”