Another S-Class Girl

"A wild female ghost not protected by law?"

"Huh… She even has a system mark?!"

After the initial shock, Su Cheng's eyes sparkled with excitement, as if he had stumbled upon a fascinating new toy.

With his magical cigarettes in hand, he wasn’t afraid of some ghost—even if God Himself appeared today, He’d have to show Su Cheng some respect.

But his enthusiasm quickly waned when he noticed the girl not only had a shadow but was also wearing the uniform of Flame City Private Academy. Disappointed, he sighed.

"Tch."

After calming down, he realized this was no ghost—just a regular person. What a waste of his dramatic reaction!

Of course, ghosts didn’t exist in this world.

Science always had the answers.

With that thought, he stashed his ghost-slaying knife back into his system inventory, deactivated his invisibility, and lazily stepped forward.

The disheveled girl, her face obscured by her long hair, seemed to notice his movement and turned toward him. Whether she could actually see him was unclear—her eyes were completely hidden.

"Hey, you need something?"

Su Cheng spoke up when she remained silent, revealing nothing but her lips beneath the curtain of hair.

Honestly, he wasn’t surprised by her appearance. A gloomy girl hiding behind her hair? Flame City Private Academy had weirder students.

Take Li Guanqi, who barely registered as a presence, or Xu Tianyi, who deliberately dressed down despite being naturally pretty.

Still, Su Cheng didn’t judge. Everyone had the right to present themselves however they wanted—as long as they weren’t harming others.

The girl, however, seemed to process his words. She tilted her head slightly, though her face remained obscured.

"I heard… you’re skilled at chess. I came to challenge you."

Her voice was icy, laced with stiffness, as if she rarely spoke to others.

"Uh, well, you might be disappointed. I’m not that good—just decent at Gomoku."

Su Cheng awkwardly waved his hand. He knew his limits.

His past victories? All thanks to his "Platinum Chess" ability secretly doing the work behind the scenes.

"Then we’ll play Gomoku."

She shook her head, then extended a slender, pale hand—almost skeletal—gesturing for him to follow.

"Uh…"

Su Cheng hesitated but eventually gave in. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Losing wouldn’t cost him anything.

"The chess club speaks highly of your skills. I wanted to see for myself."

Her tone remained detached, yet polite.

Su Cheng glanced at the girl beside him, noting that aside from her eerie hair and unsettling aura, she seemed like any other student—just shorter than him by half a head.

"Little Yu, wait! I was just going to get help!"

As they stepped out of the abandoned equipment room, a junior boy came sprinting after a petite girl.

"You coward! You’ve got no backbone!"

"Little Yu, please stop! I admit I was wrong!"

The boy pleaded desperately, but the girl—Little Yu—ignored him, fleeing without a backward glance.

"Huh?"

Su Cheng recognized the pair as the same junior couple from earlier. He paused, eavesdropping.

Ah, young love crumbling.

How satisfying.

The mysterious girl beside him also slowed, observing the scene.

The junior boy soon noticed Su Cheng and his companion. After a brief pause, his expression twisted with rage, and he redirected his fury at the long-haired girl.

"Hey! You—you freak! What’s your deal, huh?!"

He jabbed a finger at her, storming closer. "A high schooler skulking around the junior campus, scaring people—got no shame?!"

Su Cheng, ever the mediator, stepped forward with a smile. "Hey now, junior, we were just taking a walk. No need to—"

Before he could finish, the boy turned to him, blinked in recognition, then scoffed.

"You’re… Su Cheng?"

"You know me?"

Su Cheng was surprised—he didn’t recall ever meeting this kid.

"Don’t think your popularity makes you special! I’m just as big a deal in the junior division. Know your place—I’m talking here, so shut it! Back off, or I’ll take you down too!"

The boy glared, his eyes burning with contempt—the arrogance of nobility looking down on commoners.

Although the rumors about Su Cheng were outrageous, he believed there was no need to take them seriously—commoners were just commoners, forever destined to be insignificant side characters.

"..."

Su Cheng's lips twitched. Indeed, the rich kids from the junior high division were nothing like those in the senior high division.

Wasn’t this just a bratty little punk?

So arrogant, dismissive, and even provoking toward his elders.

"Hmph!"

Su Cheng’s stunned expression made the little punk snort in satisfaction, feeling immensely pleased.

This Su Cheng was nothing special after all.

Having thought that, the brat glared at Su Cheng with a warning look before turning his attention to the girl standing nearby.

"Hey! Apologize!"

He commanded haughtily, "Did you hear me, you gloomy freak?"

The girl kept her head lowered, seemingly oblivious to his words, refusing to acknowledge the brat.

Enraged by her indifference, the punk snapped, "Are you deaf or mute? I’m talking to you! Say it properly!"

In his mind, anyone who associated with commoners could only be a commoner themselves—birds of a feather, after all.

Though, if it were Ji Qingyi standing before him, he wouldn’t even dare meet her eyes.

Because if Ji Qingyi decided to teach him a lesson, he’d have to obediently offer his head with a smile.

Otherwise, if word got back to his father, the consequences would be far worse than just a scolding.

Yet, the girl remained unmoved.

Her silence only fueled the brat’s anger. Suddenly, he reached out, trying to grab her hair and yank her head toward him.

At that moment, Su Cheng moved as well. As a guy—and the one who had caused this mess in the first place—he couldn’t just stand by.

He intended to teach this brat a lesson.

But before Su Cheng could act, a white Go stone appeared in the girl’s sleeve. In the next instant, she flicked it outward.

The speed was terrifying.

"Ah—!"

A blood-curdling scream echoed through the abandoned gymnasium.

The brat clutched his wrist, now split open and bleeding, howling in agony as crimson dripped between his fingers.

Su Cheng gulped, his mind reeling at the sight.

Just how much force did she have?

If that had hit a vital spot, wouldn’t it have killed him instantly?

"Given his ignorance due to youth, this is merely a light punishment."

The girl spoke calmly, as if she had done nothing more than a trivial thing, noticing Su Cheng’s stunned gaze.

"You ugly freak, do you even know who my dad is?!"

Trembling from pain but still defiant, the brat snarled through gritted teeth, "Listen up—my father is Li Yong’an, CEO of Tiansheng Group! My mother is the younger sister of Lin Group’s chairman! If you think you can hit me and get away with it, you’re dead wrong!"

As he spoke, the brat pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Dad—"

"Waaah!"

The moment he opened his mouth, the brat burst into loud, pitiful sobs. "Dad, Dad! Someone bullied me!"

Typical of junior high kids—running to their parents the moment they got hurt.

"Just go. I’ll handle this."

Su Cheng sighed, resigned. He had to clean up this mess himself—after all, it was his fault for pretending to be a ghost in the gymnasium. If not for that, none of this would’ve happened.

"No need for such trouble."

Another black Go stone appeared in the girl’s sleeve. She pinched it between two fingers and spoke nonchalantly.

Was she… planning to kill him?

Holy shit?!

Was this girl seriously about to murder a kid right here at school?!

Su Cheng’s instincts screamed in alarm.

No matter how detestable the brat was, you couldn’t just kill him on school grounds!

"Hey, don’t take it that far!"

Su Cheng couldn’t help but intervene.

"Let’s use him as the board to decide the match."

Her words sent a chill down Su Cheng’s spine.

Wait… what?!

Was she challenging him to a game of Go?

And using the kid as the board?!

Just how little did she value human life?!

For a moment, Su Cheng wondered if he had misheard.

But his doubts were quickly dispelled.

The next second, the girl’s fingers trembled slightly as she held the black stone—

Luckily, Su Cheng reacted in time. Remembering the Go set someone had gifted him for his birthday, he retrieved a white stone from his system space.

And in that instant—

"Whoosh—!"

The black stone shot through the air like a streak of light, aimed directly at the brat’s forehead.

Fortunately, Su Cheng’s throwing skills were maxed out. With all his strength, he hurled the white stone, intercepting the black one mid-flight.

"Clink—!"

The two stones collided in midair, producing a metallic clang before shattering into dust.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The brat, still clutching his phone, stood frozen in shock, staring blankly at the scattered remnants in the air—so petrified he forgot to breathe, like a lifeless puppet.

"Truly living up to your reputation."

The girl nodded appreciatively before flicking several black stones from her sleeve again, pinning them between her fingers with a light chuckle. "So, how will you handle this next move?"

However, Su Cheng's expression remained dark as he glared at her.

Because, just moments ago, he had seen it clearly—this girl had genuinely intended to kill that brat right here at school.

If Su Cheng hadn’t intervened in time, the boy would already be a corpse lying on the ground.

Such an act was downright deranged!

"Who are you?"

Suppressing his anger, Su Cheng furrowed his brows and demanded.

"My apologies for the rudeness."

The girl’s previously teasing and indifferent tone faded as she studied Su Cheng seriously before replying, "Class 3-1, Go Club. Si Jing."

As soon as she spoke, the air around them seemed to freeze.

Si?

That surname…

Wasn’t there a certain conglomerate with that exact name?

Meanwhile, the boy who had been sprawled on the ground earlier, upon hearing her introduction, immediately paled in disbelief.

Then, completely disregarding the pain in his wrist, he scrambled forward on his knees, stammering out a plea: "I—I’m sorry! I was reckless and offended you earlier! Please, spare me!!"

"Get lost. You’re in the way."

Su Cheng snorted coldly and kicked the boy in the rear, sending him stumbling away—mainly to get him out of there faster.

The boy, as if granted a pardon, staggered back a few steps, nearly falling, before bolting frantically from the sports equipment room.

"The chess piece ran away…"

Si Jing suddenly sighed regretfully before turning her intrigued gaze back to Su Cheng. "You really are something special. Let’s call this a draw for now."

With that, she turned to leave.

But just as she did, she paused mid-step and glanced back at Su Cheng. "Next time, I’ll pay you another visit."

After dropping that cryptic remark, Si Jing’s figure slowly vanished into the surrounding woods.

And then—

Thud!

"Ow!"

The sound of a head hitting a tree echoed, followed immediately by Si Jing’s pained yelp.

Su Cheng: "…"

"Hey, if you can’t see where you’re going, maybe trim your bangs or something!"

Finally unable to hold back, Su Cheng facepalmed and called out.

"O-oh, right… But it’s fine."

Hearing his exasperated tone, the girl’s voice drifted back as she obediently fumbled forward before disappearing from Su Cheng’s sight.

"Sigh… How is that ‘fine’?"

Rubbing his temples, Su Cheng had no idea where he’d picked up this life-disregarding menace.

But one thing was certain—

This girl was absolutely S-rank!

It wouldn’t be so bad if he actually knew how to play Go, but the problem was, he was completely clueless about it.

If she found out next time that he couldn’t play at all and assumed he was going easy on her or deliberately losing… wouldn’t that come off as disrespectful?

"Su Cheng-senpai, you came here without even telling me?"

Just then, a frosty voice cut in from the side. A middle school girl stood there, arms crossed, leaning against a tree as she stared at him expressionlessly.

Su Cheng glanced up and recognized her immediately—Aino Marui.

Ah, the classic tsundere brat.

"Were you here the whole time?"

Su Cheng blinked in surprise.

"Just arrived. My underlings said you came to the middle school section, so I rushed over."

Aino Marui replied icily before adding, "But on the way, I caught that little punk who messed with you."

With a snap of her fingers, a burly man in a suit stepped forward, dragging along a scrawny figure like a chick by the scruff.

Su Cheng took a closer look—wasn’t that the same brat from earlier?

Yet now, the boy was utterly docile, his face filled with regret as he forced an awkward smile at Su Cheng. "I—I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have talked big earlier! Please, have mercy and forgive me!"

Honestly, Su Cheng almost felt sorry for him.

Not only had he been dumped by his girlfriend, but he’d also been beaten up repeatedly. His parents would probably burst into tears if they saw him like this.

Talk about a brutal consequence for showing off.

"Uh… Could you at least get him patched up first?"

Unable to bear the sight, Su Cheng averted his gaze and reminded Aino Marui.

She gave him a sidelong glance before turning to her subordinate. "Beat him till he smokes, then give him basic first aid."

"Understood!"

The subordinate bowed respectfully.

"No, no—just let him go."

Su Cheng immediately intervened.

While he found the brat annoying, it was just at the level of being a loudmouth who needed a slap—not worth life-or-death measures.

"You’re my friend. If he disrespects you, he disrespects me."

Aino Marui coolly swept her eyes over the boy before looking back at Su Cheng. "But since you said so, fine."

Hearing this, Su Cheng exhaled in relief before turning to the boy. "Alright, consider this over. Get out of here."

"Th-thank you…"

The bratty boy lowered his head, his voice as faint as a mosquito's hum.

After a moment, he gave Su Cheng a deep look before scurrying away with his tail between his legs.

Only when the boy had completely disappeared did Su Cheng turn around to face the stunningly beautiful girl before him. "I haven’t thanked you yet… Would you like to come with me to see Club President Ji?"

"N-no, I have something to attend to. I should go."

Aino Marui’s icy expression flickered with a trace of panic at his words, and she hastily retreated from the scene.

Watching her flustered figure disappear into the distance, Su Cheng raised an eyebrow slightly before shaking his head and heading toward the high school division.

………………………………

Meanwhile, not far away…

"Guanqi, what do you think of this?"

On a long bench sat two familiar figures—Zhao Yan and Li Guanqi.

The one speaking was Xuan Ying, who stood behind Li Guanqi, slightly bent forward with her head resting on Li Guanqi’s shoulder. She held out her phone, gesturing for her to look at the screen.

"It looks… decent," Li Guanqi replied after a few seconds, her red lips parting as she spoke in a calm tone.

"I think so too."

Xuan Ying straightened up and withdrew her hand, still staring at her phone. Suddenly, it occurred to her that Li Guanqi never seemed to use her phone when they were together.

Curious, Xuan Ying asked, "Guanqi, why don’t you ever use your phone?"

"Yeah, it’d be so much easier if we could just share things with you directly through messages," Zhao Yan chimed in from the side, phone in hand.

Faced with their questioning, Li Guanqi fell silent for a moment before finally responding, "I don’t really like using phones."

Xuan Ying and Zhao Yan exchanged glances, their thoughts diverging.

Xuan Ying’s assumption was simple—perhaps Li Guanqi didn’t know how to operate a phone, or maybe she just genuinely disliked it.

Zhao Yan’s mind, however, wandered into more complicated territory. Could it be that Li Guanqi was hiding something unspeakable on her phone?

Meanwhile, Li Guanqi remained seated quietly on the bench, her gaze fixed into the distance as if peering through the void into some far-off future. Her expression was distant, lost in thought…