Su Cheng Classmate is Actually a Prince

"P-Penguin!?"

The girl covered her mouth with one hand while pointing at the penguin with the other, asking in shock with a trembling voice.

This creature that lives in Antarctica was actually on the school rooftop - it was simply unbelievable.

"Am I seeing things?!"

Hoshino Mirai instinctively rubbed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she saw the penguin suddenly lift one foot and then the other, wobbling and swaying from side to side before turning around and lowering its head with its back facing her.

"It's real, and so cute!!"

Looking at the penguin's back, Hoshino Mirai couldn't help but swallow, her heart racing, feeling completely overwhelmed by its cuteness.

"Meow~"

The penguin suddenly made a sound, which startled Hoshino Mirai.

"A penguin that meows?!"

Hoshino Mirai stared wide-eyed at the penguin in disbelief.

However, the penguin ignored her and continued swaying its body, making another strange sound: "Woof~"

"A penguin that barks?!"

Is this real?

Hoshino Mirai couldn't help but wonder if she was dreaming - this penguin could not only meow but also bark!

This wasn't scientifically possible!

But regardless, she was completely smitten.

Although penguins don't attack humans, approaching them rashly could still result in injury.

Therefore, it would be best not to approach or touch it carelessly.

So—

"I must record this wonderful moment!"

With that thought, she took out her phone, but she froze as soon as she did because the penguin suddenly turned its head around, its eyes fixed on her phone screen.

At that moment, Hoshino Mirai felt like she'd been struck by lightning and quickly hid her phone behind her back.

The penguin glanced at the phone and then looked at Hoshino Mirai, spread its wings, slowly opened its flat beak, and made another strange sound: "Want to top up QB?"

"?"

Hoshino Mirai was stunned, unable to process what she'd just heard, thinking she must have misheard.

However, when she looked carefully again, she saw the penguin's beak moving up and down.

"Top up QB?!"

"?"

"I must have misheard, how could a penguin possibly tal—"

Before she could finish her sentence, the words caught in her throat, and her face filled with terror.

Because in that instant, everything changed—

"I'm asking if you want to top up QB!"

Hoshino Mirai stared woodenly at the penguin, feeling an uncontrollable sense of panic rising within her.

The probability of being killed by a penguin is definitely not zero.

And her probability of being killed by this penguin before her was definitely one hundred percent.

Because this penguin was now holding a knife in its beak, walking toward her.

"Will you top up or not?"

"I... I will."

"I will... isn't that enough..."

Hoshino Mirai instinctively stepped backward as the penguin immediately pursued her, while she continued to retreat.

"Not enough, you need to get an S membership too!"

The penguin got closer and closer, making more outrageous demands, frightening her so much that she suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground, with the penguin pouncing on top of her.

The penguin's feet pressed against her stomach, its face less than ten centimeters from hers!

Her nostrils could even feel the penguin's breath.

The breath was light, like feathers brushing against her face.

This confirmed it wasn't some remote-controlled or voice-activated toy.

Hoshino Mirai's body stiffened, her heart pounding uncontrollably. She was at a loss, only able to stare into the penguin's eyes.

She wanted to escape, but the penguin's body pressed down firmly, and she was also scared.

This was a penguin that could speak human language!

And crucially, it was holding a gleaming knife in its beak.

If she moved carelessly, what if it cut her!

Just as she was at a loss for what to do, the penguin suddenly stopped advancing.

Hoshino Mirai couldn't help but sigh in relief, while simultaneously filled with enormous shock, asking in a trembling voice of disbelief: "You... you can actually talk! How can you talk! Aren't you a penguin?!"

The penguin placed the knife from its beak onto the ground beside them: "I was cursed by an evil person, transformed into my current form."

Hoshino Mirai breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly realized what was said and exclaimed in shock: "Ma... magic?!"

"Yes."

The penguin jumped off her body and continued wobbling forward, reaching the railing, turning its back to her and tilting its head forty degrees to gaze at the sky: "I was once a prince."

Its tone was full of grief, mixed with intense anger and hatred, its lonely silhouette emphasizing its melancholy.

Hearing these familiar-sounding words, Hoshino Mirai felt dizzy and couldn't help but comment sarcastically: "What an absurd fairy tale setting."

The penguin's silhouette stiffened, then slowly returned to normal as it continued walking forward, leaving her with its back view: "Are there any other penguins in the world that can talk like me?"

"No."

"Isn't that proof enough?"

"Well, yes, but this is way too melodramatic!!"

Hoshino Mirai held her forehead, unsure how to describe her current feelings, then continued: "So according to the plot, do I need to kiss you for you to return to your original form?"

At that moment, the penguin suddenly turned around, tilting its head as it looked at her.

That look gave her the distinct impression it was viewing her as an idiot.

"Could you not arbitrarily cast yourself as the princess?"

The penguin said with obvious disdain, then turned its head and walked forward again, acting as if it was terrified that Hoshino Mirai might actually try to kiss it.

"Huh?"

Hoshino Mirai was bewildered.

It even knew about this trope?

No wonder it gave her that look like she was an idiot!

"Wait a minute, what right does a penguin have to look down on me?!"

Hoshino Mirai was getting frustrated - was this penguin discriminating against her?!

"Actually, I've been waiting for a destined person to help me break the curse, so I've been waiting, and you are that destined person, which is why I'm willing to speak with you."

The penguin spoke slowly, its voice filled with sadness and despair, like an elderly person recounting their story: "If you're not willing to help me, then I will dissipate into the world, so you are my only hope. Will you help me? I will reward you afterward."

Listening to the penguin's words, Hoshino Mirai swallowed nervously: "If it's not kissing you, then how can I help?"

The penguin was silent for a moment, then suddenly turned around, sticking out its round white belly, lifting its beak, and flapping its little wings as it slowly waddled toward her, swaying back and forth.

This sight completely melted her heart, making her swallow again, but the next second she couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Hahaha!"

Because—

"Thump~"

The penguin face-planted on the ground.

All the previously built-up mystique and dignity instantly vanished.

"I can't take it anymore, I'm going to die laughing!"

Hoshino Mirai laughed, crouching down and holding her stomach.

The penguin's struggle was real!

"Stop laughing."

The penguin bounced up from the ground and lunged at Hoshino Mirai in apparent embarrassed anger.

However, with its snail-like speed, Hoshino Mirai was well-prepared and quickly got up when the penguin lunged, dodging to the doorway.

The penguin missed completely and fell to the ground again, then bounced back up, but realizing it could never outrun the girl before it, finally gave up struggling.

"Hahaha......"

Hoshino Mirai found the penguin's reactions increasingly hilarious.

"Ahem!"

The penguin suddenly coughed twice and changed the subject: "Will you help me?"

Hoshino Mirai rubbed her chin, falling into thought, then said: "That's not a problem, what do you need me to do?"

The penguin came to her side and gazed at her with its black pearl-like crystalline eyes, speaking seriously: "Give me money, I need to top up QB!"

It extended a wing as it spoke, making a gesture of asking for money.

Hoshino Mirai paused: QB? What's that?!

"This is something that can free me, but it requires human money to purchase."

The penguin explained matter-of-factly.

"Okay, how much?"

Hoshino Mirai took out her wallet from her skirt and asked curiously.

The penguin was startled: "Aren't you afraid I might have ulterior motives?"

"Not afraid!"

"Well then, one hundred yuan."

"Okay."

Hoshino Mirai took out a bill from her pocket money and placed it on the extended wing.

The penguin tucked the money against its waist, slowly picked up the demon blade again, and with its back turned, said in a deep voice: "Beautiful and kind young lady, I truly thank you for your sentiments."

"Why haven't you transformed into a prince yet?"

Hoshino Mirai asked reflexively, somewhat confused.

"In today's society, the status of prince no longer exists," the penguin sighed. "Relics of the old era only bring disaster to people."

A sense of foreboding rose in Hoshino Mirai's heart, and she hurriedly asked, "What do you mean?"

The penguin gazed at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, speaking in a deep and weathered tone: "In hundreds of years, you're the only one willing to give me money."

The penguin turned around and shook its head: "Originally, after taking your money, you would have turned into a penguin, and I would have regained human form. But your kindness has changed me, making me realize that I too should go where I belong."

"Wait, you were trying to harm me?!"

"Don't worry about that detail!"

"How can I not worry when I almost turned into a penguin?"

"Ahem..."

After coughing, the penguin turned around again and said solemnly: "That's why kind people shouldn't meet such an end."

At this moment, Hoshino Mirai, watching the penguin's silhouette, seemed to see a lonely soul that had been imprisoned in an adorably tiny body for hundreds of years, only now being released.

"This QB isn't worth it!"

Just as Hoshino Mirai was trying to make sense of the situation—

"Poof~"

A white smoke arose, and Hoshino Mirai's pupils suddenly contracted as if she had seen something unbelievable, her body freezing in place.

The penguin's figure had vanished, replaced by a male silhouette standing before her.

Due to the smoke, his clothes and features weren't clear, but judging from his tall, robust physique, this person's bearing must have been exceptional.

Especially with the blade in his hand, he appeared particularly cold and imposing.

Then, a strong, powerful voice slowly rang out: "To make up for my previous evil intentions, I will use my remaining power to protect you for a while. After I dissipate into the horizon, please remember that I once existed!"

Hoshino Mirai stared dumbfounded at the man's silhouette before her, feeling that his entire body was enveloped in a transparent light, as if wrapped in a sacred, otherworldly radiance that couldn't be defiled.

"Wait. No!"

Hoshino Mirai suddenly realized the figure was beginning to disperse and shouted in an attempt to save something, but it was too late.

The person had vanished into thin air as if he had never existed.

Hoshino Mirai stood rooted to the spot, completely stunned.

After a while, she suddenly came to her senses and looked down at a banknote on the ground.

She picked up the still-warm banknote from the ground in a daze, staring at it blankly, lost in thought.

Much later, she carefully put the banknote in her pocket and left, looking back every few steps.

"Ah!"

But being distracted, she accidentally missed a step on the stairs and was about to fall straight down, causing her to scream in fright.

At that moment, she suddenly felt a strong hand grab her shoulder and steady her balance.

"Than-"

Hoshino Mirai turned around instinctively to thank someone, but the words got stuck in her throat.

Because there was no one behind her.

Yet she was absolutely certain she had felt someone grab her shoulder, which reminded her of what the penguin prince had said: "I will use my remaining power to protect you for a while."

"Is this your protection?"

A bitter smile played on Hoshino Mirai's lips as she gently touched the banknote in her pocket, feeling a sense of loss in her heart.

"Little sis... little sis, so this is where you are!"

A young man suddenly rushed to Hoshino Mirai's side, plopping down on the steps beside her, panting heavily: "Phew... phew... I'm exhausted!"

"Brother, what's wrong?"

Hoshino Mirai forced a slight smile.

"The news about the committee chairman position is out!"

Hoshino Yikui showed an excited expression and said enthusiastically: "You can participate in the election next week."

He had nearly run his legs off these past few days for his little sister's sake, pulling strings everywhere just for this opportunity!

However, to his surprise, his little sister didn't show any joy, but instead looked down dejectedly: "Is... is that so?"

Is this his protection again?

"Penguin Prince..."

Hoshino Mirai touched the banknote in her skirt pocket again, her lips curving into a faint smile that seemed both bitter and self-mocking.

Because she knew this was the blessing the Penguin Prince had given her with his last remaining power.

Hoshino Yikui asked strangely: "What's wrong? This is good news, why aren't you happy?"

When his sister didn't respond, Hoshino Yikui continued puzzled: "Little sis, haven't you been looking forward to this day?"

Hearing this, Hoshino Mirai shook her head: "It's nothing, brother. I'm just not in a good mood today. I'll head back to class first."

With that, she hurried down the stairs, leaving Hoshino Yikui staring blankly at her retreating figure, at a loss for words.