We Want Su Cheng to Be Our Friend.

The heartwarming interaction between classmates drew sidelong glances from passing students.

Both male and female students alike stared at the harmonious and cheerful group of four as if they were looking at some bizarre creatures.

"Is that guy a first-year? I don’t recognize him," remarked a third-year senior who was buying a drink from the vending machine nearby, his tone laced with disbelief. "How does he have so much luck with girls?"

Having been abroad recently, he had no idea what had been happening at school, and the sight left him somewhat envious.

After all, he recognized one of the girls—she was beautiful, came from a wealthy family, and he had even tried striking up a conversation with her at a party before, only to be met with disinterest.

Yet today, she was being unusually affectionate toward this unfamiliar guy…

He couldn’t help but scrutinize Su Cheng a few more times.

But no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t recall whose son this was.

Could he be effeminate?

Beside him stood another tall, handsome senior, who glanced at Su Cheng upon hearing this and chuckled dismissively. "That’s Su Cheng. It’s normal."

"Feeling jealous?"

"A little."

"Bullshit, you’re downright green with envy!"

"Never mind that. Did you say his name is Su Cheng?"

Hearing the name, he suddenly had an epiphany. "Is he from the Su family in the tourism industry?"

"No."

The senior quickly shook his head. "He got in through exams. No background."

"Oh?"

The senior raised an eyebrow, his interest immediately reignited at the mention of "no background." His eyes gleamed with curiosity as he studied Su Cheng. "Then what’s so special about him that he’s so popular with girls?"

"Well…"

The other senior paused in thought before launching into Su Cheng’s story.

"This Su Cheng," he began, shaking his head slightly as he recalled, "is a pretty unique guy—kinda withdrawn, introverted. His standout traits are his grades, archery, and magic tricks."

"That’s it?"

"Yep."

"No other advantages?"

"None."

"Then it doesn’t make sense. Why would girls flock to him?"

"No idea."

Hearing this, the senior shrugged.

Watching his reaction, the other senior couldn’t hold back and started toward Su Cheng, who was now sitting alone on a bench, eating bread and drinking milk.

"Hey, Liu Yi, I’d advise against that!"

The other senior quickly grabbed his arm.

"Relax, I’m not going to bully him. I just want to be friends and ask how he’s so popular!"

Liu Yi scoffed. "Do I look like the type to pick on the weak?"

"He’s close friends with Ji Qingyi."

At those words—

Suddenly, an image of Ji Qingyi’s cold, lifeless gaze looming over him flashed through Liu Yi’s mind, sending chills down his spine. His face instantly paled.

"No way!" he blurted out in disbelief.

Seeing this, the senior let go of Liu Yi with a resigned sigh. "She’s an archery champion. Ji Qingyi holds him in high regard. If you approach him with ill intentions, the Ji Family’s stewards will notice and report it to her. And then I won’t be able to save you."

Liu Yi’s expression turned panicked. He knew all too well how terrifying the Ji Family’s stewards could be!

He immediately averted his gaze from Su Cheng, his heart pounding. Provoking Ji Qingyi would be like playing with fire—if he angered her, he was done for!

He quickly lowered his head, pretending to browse the drinks, though his heart was racing wildly. All he wanted now was to get as far away from Su Cheng as possible.

"You just gave me an idea."

At that moment, the other senior, Wang Qi, watched Liu Yi’s fearful reaction and fell into deep thought.

He patted Liu Yi’s shoulder and murmured, "What if we became his friends? Wouldn’t that indirectly earn us some goodwill from Ji Qingyi too?"

"Wang Qi, have you lost your mind?"

Liu Yi stared at him in shock.

But Wang Qi just stroked his chin thoughtfully and grinned. "Not at all. Everyone else is too scared of Ji Qingyi to even talk to him, let alone befriend him. Weren’t you curious about why Su Cheng attracts so many girls? Now we have the answer."

Hearing this, Liu Yi’s eyes lit up.

Of course—those girls were after Ji Qingyi.

And Su Cheng was Ji Qingyi’s friend.

So, pleasing Su Cheng meant pleasing Ji Qingyi!

"Have you seen any of those girls face her wrath?"

Wang Qi pressed further. "From what I know, Su Cheng has very few male friends. If we succeed, we’d essentially have a connection to Ji Qingyi."

Liu Yi wavered. "You’ve got a point. The plan could work, but…"

"But what?"

"But you said Su Cheng’s personality is too aloof. He’s cold and won’t easily open up to us, right?"

"Well…"

Wang Qi rubbed his chin. "If we can get close, we’ll find a way. Opportunities will come."

After a moment of hesitation, Liu Yi finally gritted his teeth. "Fine. Let’s do it."

……

That afternoon, after P.E. class, during free time.

Wang Qi stood at the edge of the sports field, scanning the area with a calculating gaze.

"What’s wrong?"

Liu Yi noticed his odd behavior and asked, "Something up?"

"It’s just…"

Wang Qi hesitated before speaking. "Su Cheng’s class had P.E. in the same area as us, but I don’t see him anywhere."

"Huh?"

Liu Yi blinked, then looked around in confusion. Seeing no sign of Su Cheng, he suggested, "Should we go look for him?"

"Grab a badminton racket from the equipment room first."

"So we can play near him and create a chance to talk?"

"Exactly."

With a quick nod, the two sprang into action, fetching a racket before combing the area.

Soon, they spotted Su Cheng sitting alone on a bench in the grassy field.

But something was off.

Despite being by himself, he seemed to be talking to… no one.

As if holding a conversation with the air, he said, "Go ahead and buy it. I’ll rest here for a bit."

With that, he leaned back and closed his eyes.

The two froze, exchanging bewildered glances.

"Is this what introverts are like?"

Liu Yi couldn’t help but mutter. After all, this was his first time witnessing something so strange.

Wang Qi thought for a moment and said, "Emotional venting. It’s probably because he’s been isolated for so long. Talking to the air might help him relieve his emotions. Look, he’s even fallen asleep now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Yi’s eyes lit up with sudden understanding, and his gaze toward Su Cheng filled with sympathy and pity. "He must be really lonely... His only friend is someone as aloof as Ji Qingyi..."

By the end, Liu Yi himself felt a pang of sadness, knowing Su Cheng had no one to confide in.

Originally, he had approached Su Cheng with ulterior motives, but now he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of compassion. He genuinely wanted to befriend him.

"Alright, enough sentimentality. Let’s play badminton here. Later, we’ll pretend to accidentally hit him, then go over to apologize and enthusiastically invite him to join us."

"Fine, but let’s go easy—we don’t want to hurt him."

With that, Liu Yi nodded, and the two took their positions, one holding a badminton racket and preparing to strike.

Soon, they had exchanged over a dozen shots.

Then, Wang Qi leaped up and swung his racket—but this time, his target wasn’t his opponent. Instead, the shuttlecock shot toward Su Cheng, who was sitting on a bench twenty meters away, feigning sleep.

Thwack!

The shuttlecock flew at breakneck speed toward Su Cheng.

Both of them stared intently in that direction.

But just as the shuttlecock was about to hit Su Cheng’s forehead, he tilted his head slightly to the side. The shuttlecock whizzed past his ear and landed with a plop in the pond.

Wang Qi and Liu Yi froze in disbelief.

"What the—?"

Wang Qi blinked, utterly dumbfounded.

"Was that a fluke?"

The whole thing looked bizarre—Su Cheng had dodged it!

"What just happened?!"

Stunned, Liu Yi and Wang Qi exchanged glances before nodding in silent agreement: they had to try again.

Soon, another shuttlecock came hurtling toward Su Cheng.

Both held their breath, eyes locked on him.

Yet, at the last second, Su Cheng shifted slightly to the side—again—and the shuttlecock missed.

"Is he faking sleep?"

"But I’m sure his eyes never opened. How did he know the shuttlecock’s trajectory?"

They stared at each other, baffled.

"So… another coincidence?"

"Maybe?"

Liu Yi sounded uncertain but quickly suggested, "Let me try. There’s no way he’d dodge three times in a row by accident, right?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Wang Qi nodded in agreement, and they switched roles.

But the result was the same.

Su Cheng tilted his head and avoided it effortlessly.

"Coincidence?"

Liu Yi and Wang Qi locked eyes, their expressions a mix of shock and disbelief.

"I swear, he didn’t open his eyes. I even aimed for his blind spot!"

"Then is he using echolocation or something?"

They both sucked in a sharp breath, minds reeling.

"Wait, if his hearing’s that sharp, he’d have heard us talking. Why keep pretending to sleep? If he knew we were doing this on purpose, wouldn’t he just move somewhere else?"

"I think he’s using Ultra Instinct!"

"Huh? What martial arts nonsense is that?"

"You know, that ability from that anime—where the body reacts independently of the mind. The limbs move on reflex, sensing danger without the brain processing it first."

Liu Yi explained, then trailed off, realizing how absurd he sounded.

No way, right?

Is Su Cheng secretly a Super Saiyan?

"Are you even listening to yourself?"

Wang Qi, predictably, gave him a deadpan look.

"I don’t believe this!"

Wang Qi took a deep breath, tossed the shuttlecock high, and swung his racket with full force—this time aiming straight for Su Cheng’s head.

Smack!

This time, he hit something.

But not Su Cheng.

Because just as the shuttlecock was about to strike, a figure with long, straight black hair suddenly appeared in his line of sight, holding a drink and standing with her back to him.

The shuttlecock landed squarely on her shoulder.

Luckily, the impact wasn’t too strong.

The girl barely flinched, unharmed, but slowly turned around. Her face was expressionless, her pitch-black eyes fixed on Liu Yi and Wang Qi.

"Uh…"

"I…"

The two of them gaped at the mysterious girl who had materialized out of nowhere, utterly speechless.

Where the hell did she come from?!

But before they could process it, Su Cheng leisurely stood up, his cold gaze sweeping over them.

"Having fun?"

His tone was calm, but in that instant, they both knew—he was furious.

"N-no!"

"We didn’t mean to—"

Stammering under his icy glare, Liu Yi and Wang Qi stumbled backward, scrambling for excuses.

"Sorry, it really was an accident!"

"We were just nervous!"

"We didn’t have any bad intentions, we just—"

Before Wang Qi could finish, Su Cheng cut him off. "Now it’s my turn."

He picked up the shuttlecock from the ground, took aim at Wang Qi, and mouthed a silent curse before hurling it with terrifying force.

Whoosh!

The speed was so fast it seemed to slice through the air.

Then—

Thud!

The shuttlecock struck Wang Qi square in the stomach. The impact felt less like a lightweight badminton birdie and more like a cannonball.

Wang Qi doubled over, clutching his abdomen in agony, face twisted in pain. He couldn’t even speak, the wind completely knocked out of him.

"How is this possible?!"

Liu Yi’s jaw dropped. It’s just a damn shuttlecock!

How could it hit like that?!

He rubbed his eyes, but the scene before him didn’t change—Wang Qi was on his knees, retching, clearly in excruciating pain.

Meanwhile, Su Cheng and the black-haired girl walked away side by side, leaving Liu Yi rooted in shock.

......

"Hey… you okay?"

Liu Yi helped Wang Qi onto a bench, watching him with concern.

Wang Qi winced, still clutching his stomach. "I’ll live. We should be glad he retaliated instead of reporting us to Ji Qingyi."

"Now that you mention it… I do feel a bit relieved."

"Besides, I’ve already gotten a full taste of how formidable this guy is—definitely not as simple as he seems on the surface! This Su Cheng is full of mysteries, and I’m completely fascinated by him."

"Should we just give up?"

Hearing Wang Qi’s words, Liu Yi shook his head.

"No, they say 'no discord, no concord.' And look at that indifferent expression of his—it’s obvious he doesn’t even take us seriously. If we back down now, wouldn’t that be too pathetic?"

Wang Qi shook his head, his face filled with determination, clearly eager to become Su Cheng’s friend.

Strangely enough, he didn’t hold any resentment for being beaten by Su Cheng. Instead, he felt shocked and exhilarated.

"Fine then."

Liu Yi sighed and nodded in agreement, then asked curiously, "Right before he threw the ball, his lips formed four words. Do you know what they meant?"

It had been bugging him.

"Nothing much. He just caught a glimpse of the secret of my birth."

"Wow, that deep?"

Liu Yi was taken aback, then pressed further, "What secret?"

"Go f yourself!"

"Hey, why the insult?!"

Liu Yi flared up, but quickly caught on, his expression turning equally bizarre.

"Still, we’ve pissed him off this time, so it’ll be even harder from now on. But at least if we persist, there’s still hope."

"Alright, let me help you back."

"Thanks."

Under the sun, the two supported each other as they walked away.