My heart wavers and is full of doubt.

Since he had accidentally lost the other person's ring yesterday, Su Cheng was especially attentive to the ring on her finger today.

He could confirm that it had been on her hand before she rummaged through her bag, but after taking out the money, the ring had vanished.

Had she taken it off herself?

Or had it slipped off while she was searching through her bag?

Su Cheng furrowed his brows slightly, but after only a brief hesitation, he accepted the money and averted his gaze, choosing not to dwell on it.

"Here's your change."

To avoid any awkward physical contact, Su Cheng placed the change on the corner of the table.

Unexpectedly, as the other person reached for the money, one of the coins slipped out, landing with a crisp clink before rolling to a stop at his feet.

"Hmm?" He instinctively bent down to pick it up.

To his surprise, at the same moment, the other person also leaned down, extending slender, fair fingers to retrieve the coin.

Both froze in that position, faces close enough to feel each other's breath, as if silently debating who should be the one to pick it up—leaving them awkwardly suspended mid-motion.

At such close proximity, her beauty was impossible to ignore, especially with her slightly hurried breaths and the faint fragrance that seemed to make the air around them grow warmer. Su Cheng found himself momentarily dazed, his head spinning, completely forgetting that he was supposed to pick up the coin.

So close… so close.

So fragrant… so fragrant.

And why was she so breathtakingly beautiful?

That was the first thought that flashed through his mind before he abruptly snapped out of it, quickly regaining his composure. He picked up the coin, straightened up, and placed it on the table with forced nonchalance before saying, "Here."

"Thank you."

Li Guanqi also stood up straight, her movements poised and composed as she adjusted her appearance—though the faint blush on her cheeks betrayed her inner turmoil. She swiftly suppressed it, however, tucking the coin back into her bag before picking up her workbook and returning to her seat.

"Is this my 'peach blossom luck' acting up again?"

Even though he hadn’t made any physical contact with her, the moment had been far more suggestive than if he had. Su Cheng sighed inwardly.

As he stowed his bag in his desk drawer, he noticed something blocking it, preventing him from sliding it in smoothly.

Frowning, he peeked inside and discovered a notebook encased in a high-quality leather cover.

He pulled it out and was immediately greeted by a delicate, pleasant fragrance.

"What is this?"

Su Cheng was puzzled, but the fine leather cover alone suggested it was something valuable. The notebook exuded an air of antiquity, clearly a cherished item meant for important notes.

He ran his fingers over the surface, and to his surprise, it emitted a faint 'squeak.'

It was 'singing leather'—a rare material.

Without overthinking it, he opened the notebook and quickly realized it belonged to Xu Tianyi. Inside were densely packed notes from the previous year’s junior high curriculum—not just lecture summaries, but also exam patterns, key concepts, and even detailed answers to final exam questions. It was an exhaustive compilation.

The handwriting was elegant, delicate yet firm, brimming with vitality.

The phrase "the handwriting reflects the person" didn’t quite apply here, though, because Xu Tianyi was far too plain and unremarkable in appearance.

That said, she had good bone structure—with a little effort, she could probably be quite pretty.

Now that he had this notebook, he could familiarize himself with Flame City Private Academy’s teaching style and expectations, allowing him to quickly adapt and reclaim his status as an academic prodigy.

"No wonder students from Flame City Private Academy are considered top-tier scholars outside—their curriculum is far more extensive and rigorous." After skimming a few pages, Su Cheng chuckled and closed the notebook, intending to keep it safe.

Just then, an intense gaze pierced through him from the front of the classroom.

Xu Tianyi was playing a game of Go with a classmate in the front row, but at that moment, she had turned her head to stare directly at him.

Their eyes met.

She adjusted her glasses with her middle finger, and inexplicably, the lenses defied the laws of physics by reflecting light at an impossible angle.

Su Cheng instinctively squinted.

Xu Tianyi turned back to her game without a word.

"Wait, is her special ability making her glasses reflect light?"

"Did Newton’s tears get in her eyes or something?"

How else could he explain this blatant violation of physics?

The thought nearly made him burst out laughing—what could be a more useless superpower than that?

"Hold on, why is that girl’s head smoking?"

At that exact moment, Xu Tianyi seemed to sense his amusement. Her hand, clutching a Go piece, froze mid-move before she slowly turned her head again—only to find Su Cheng stifling laughter. Her face twisted in anger, and she clenched the piece so hard her knuckles turned white.

Unaware of her reaction, Su Cheng shifted his attention to another classmate—a girl with long, straight black hair who had just tripped and fallen. When she stood up, her head was literally emitting smoke.

He recognized her!

Wasn’t she called Xuan Ying?

This was way too anime-like.

If he had to explain it scientifically, her body temperature must have spiked, causing instant sweating, and the cooler air around her evaporated the sweat, creating the illusion of smoke.

Or maybe she had moyamoya disease—a rare condition causing temporary cerebral ischemia.

As he was busy rationalizing the phenomenon, Xuan Ying, now back on her feet, glared furiously around the classroom. Su Cheng quickly averted his gaze and scanned the room for any other students with peculiar traits.

Unfortunately, he found nothing else out of the ordinary.

"Tch." He sighed softly and was about to look away when he noticed Li Guanqi in the corner, fiddling with her ring—taking it off, putting it back on, over and over, her expression utterly focused.

"What’s she doing?"

Just as the question crossed his mind, she removed the ring once more—but this time, she suddenly turned and locked eyes with him.

Her eyes were large and luminous, her pupils dark and deep. But this time, they sparkled with excitement, as if she had stumbled upon something delightful. Though her face remained expressionless, the corners of her lips curled ever so slightly in quiet joy.

Su Cheng immediately looked away, not daring to meet her gaze any longer.

"Is my 'peach blossom luck' really this overpowering?"

Did I save the galaxy in a past life or something?

…………………………………………

Morning classes came to an end.

Su Cheng hurried through lunch, then stuffed the notebook into his schoolbag and headed straight for the Special Building to find the so-called Social Practice Club.

The Special Building was essentially the club activities building.

Since the new semester had just begun, the area around the building was bustling with noise and activity, even though it wasn’t officially club hours yet.

Navigating through the crowd, Su Cheng tried to ignore the flyers being handed out, but he couldn’t escape the enthusiastic upperclassmen.

"Hey, junior! Hold up a sec!"

One senior called out to him, but before Su Cheng could react, the guy had already slung an arm around his shoulders and dragged him into a secluded corner.

"Mind if I take a look at your feet?"

"Sorry, senior, I’ve got somewhere to be!" Su Cheng’s face paled as he wrenched himself free and bolted.

Yet another senior blocked his path, exuding a gentle and virtuous demeanor as she softly explained, "Junior, your steps just now seemed weak and unsteady—likely due to an injury or illness. Would you mind sharing what’s wrong?"

"..."

After a long silence, Su Cheng finally spoke with resignation, "Senior, is your club part of the medical department? Are you trying to get me to test some medicine?"

"Not at all. We’re actually a sports club."

The same senior from earlier approached again, slinging an arm over Su Cheng’s shoulder with an overly familiar attitude. "Junior, join our club, and we guarantee your legs will become stronger and more agile than ever. Your overall physical fitness will improve too. What do you say?"

"Thanks for the concern, but no. I’m not into soccer," Su Cheng declined with a shake of his head. Yet inwardly, he was baffled—why would a popular club like soccer be so insistent on recruiting him?

"No, we’re not the soccer club."

The senior shook her head, hesitating before continuing, "We’re actually..."

She trailed off, as if struggling to say it.

"I’m Liu Guanyi, president of the Bowling Ball Kicking Club."

The senior beside her stepped in with a friendly grin. "Kicking bowling balls is a sport that really tests leg strength. I think you’ve got talent in that area. Join us, and under this lovely senior’s guidance, your stamina will skyrocket in no time. How about it?"

Su Cheng’s face instantly froze. He immediately shrugged off the arm around his shoulder. "Like hell I’d join!"

With that, he walked away from the two lunatics.

No wonder they were so eager to recruit at noon. A useless club like that should disband already and stop wasting school resources.

Thus, Su Cheng arrived at the club building entrance again. Surrounded by obscure clubs and hobby groups, he wandered around briefly and confirmed that none of the popular clubs were present. The only one that caught his eye was the Nap Club—fittingly, its senior was already fast asleep on the desk, perfectly embodying the club’s spirit during midday.

Once inside the building, he began searching room by room for the Social Practice Club’s activity space, passing by one club after another.

Suddenly, Su Cheng stopped in his tracks, staring blankly at the name of one particular club—the Basketball Club.

This was the kind of inspiring, passionate club he had once admired.

This was what youth should look like.

He shook his head and continued forward.

Soon, he halted again in front of another club, spotting a familiar figure inside.

It was Xu Tianyi.

"The Go Club, huh..."

Su Cheng glanced up at the club’s name and was about to leave when a calm yet clear voice drifted into his ears from behind.

"Junior, are you interested in Go?"

Su Cheng turned to see a poised, long-haired girl with straight bangs approaching from the staircase. She exuded an air of quiet confidence, her movements graceful and nearly soundless. Her appearance was refined and elegant, dressed in black stockings and holding what looked like a folding fan. Every gesture carried an air of sophistication.

"I don’t know much about Go. Just curious," Su Cheng replied politely.

"In that case, why not come in for a look?" The girl smiled slightly, gesturing for him to follow.

"I appreciate the offer, but I have other things to attend to," Su Cheng declined outright before hurrying off.

But before he could get far, another familiar voice called out from behind. "Su Cheng, wait!"

He turned to see Xu Tianyi stepping out of the club. Reluctantly, he stopped and faced her.

Xu Tianyi smiled at him before introducing the poised senior beside her. "This is our Go Club’s vice president—Ling Ning."

"Hello, Su Cheng."

Ling Ning lightly covered her lips with her folding fan, her smile warm and disarming.

Su Cheng returned a faint smile. "Hello, Vice President Ling."

"Su Cheng, since you’re here, why not join the club? Or at least play a game with us," Xu Tianyi invited directly.

Beside her, Ling Ning flicked her fan open and waved it gently, her voice crisp and pleasant as she added, "The Go Club could really use some new members this year. If your classmate is willing to join, that would be perfect."

Caught between their enthusiastic invitations, Su Cheng felt a pang of frustration. But he had already joined the Archery Club.

"I’m already part of the Archery Club," he admitted. "So, I hope you’ll understand, Xu Tianyi, Vice President Ling."

His words visibly surprised both girls—evidently, they hadn’t expected this answer.

After all, the Archery Club wasn’t just open to anyone. Some couldn’t even get in through connections, let alone someone as seemingly ordinary as Su Cheng.

Still, they didn’t question it. No one would bother lying about something like that.

"Congratulations, then," Xu Tianyi said with a faint smile, adjusting her glasses before extending another invitation. "But since you’re here, why not come in for a game?"

"Su Cheng must have some exceptional talent to be accepted into the Archery Club," Ling Ning chimed in. "And Xu Tianyi doesn’t recommend just anyone."

At this point, Su Cheng was thoroughly embarrassed. Refusing again would make him seem ungrateful, but he really didn’t have time to waste here.

Just as he was about to explain—

"Xu Tianyi, could you show me around the Go Club?"

A calm voice cut in from behind them. Standing there, as if appearing out of thin air, was another long-haired girl—Li Guanqi.

"You two go ahead. We’ll take our leave," Su Cheng quickly seized the chance to excuse himself, offering an apologetic nod before heading toward the staircase.

"Thank goodness..."

Su Cheng sighed in relief, grateful for Li Guanqi’s timely intervention.

Otherwise, he’d have wasted time and made a fool of himself—since he didn’t know the first thing about Go.

Resuming his search, he hoped to finally locate the Social Practice Club. But after another round, he still couldn’t find it. Instead, he stumbled upon the Esports Club.

Inside, two of his classmates were present, and the atmosphere was lively and cheerful.

Standing outside, Su Cheng peered through the window at the familiar games on the screens. He felt like a thief, stealing a glimpse of others’ happiness—only to walk away with a lingering sense of melancholy.

It had been so long since he’d played games. Even though he had a computer at home, he barely ever turned it on, let alone used it for gaming. He’d practically forgotten it existed.

He withdrew his gaze, listening to the club members discussing the familiar topic of heroes. He could only let out a bitter laugh, his eyes fixed straight ahead. Yet, even if his expression showed indifference, a wave of loneliness surged from all sides, enveloping him.

"Maybe I’ll play a round of games when I get home today?"

Su Cheng murmured to himself before heading to the staircase and climbing another floor, continuing his search for the so-called Social Practice Club.

This floor was unusually quiet compared to the others—eerily silent, with only the sound of his footsteps standing out starkly.

"Social Practice Club..."

He repeated the words in his mind, then came to a stop. Raising his head, he stared at a door plaque bearing the words "Social Practice Club" in bold characters, an odd feeling stirring in his chest.

But more than anything, his mood was heavy. He rarely asked others for help. If not for the fact that this club specialized in offering consultation services, he would never have stepped foot inside.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly knocked on the club’s door.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Come in."

From behind the tightly shut door came a cool, low voice in response.