Seat

Su Chenxi stood tall and spoke with clear articulation:

"It's an honor to speak as the representative of the new students."

"Most of you probably already know me, but what I want to say is..."

"I don’t wish to be seen as an untouchable princess, but rather as just another ordinary classmate."

Zhang Yang froze in shock.

"So that’s the princess?! No wonder she’s so stunning!!!"

Zhou Ke covered his face slightly with one hand, pretending not to know the guy next to him.

Su Chenxi continued her speech, though most of it was the usual formal address.

Only one line stood out to Zhou Ke—something she had said before:

"I hope that one day, the divide between nobility and commoners will no longer exist."

As a princess, she chose to ride the subway to school like everyone else.

Clearly, this was her genuine belief.

"...That concludes my speech. Thank you." She set down the microphone and walked toward the audience seating.

Clap clap clap—

Thunderous applause erupted from the crowd.

But most weren’t applauding her words—they were applauding her status.

"Hey, hey, the princess is coming this way!!" Zhang Yang whispered, shaking Zhou Ke’s arm.

"No kidding. She’s a new student too—where else would she sit?" Zhou Ke brushed his hand off, urging him to act normal.

Su Chenxi walked slowly, scanning for an empty seat.

Nearly every pair of eyes followed her movements.

Some students had open spots beside them, but even without acting like royalty, she carried an innate air of superiority that made it hard for anyone to muster the courage to invite her.

As she passed one row, a figure suddenly stood up.

Zhou Ke frowned.

Lavish clothing, an arrogant demeanor, and the square noble emblem on his chest—

It was Ye Lingtian.

He gave a slight bow and extended a hand. "If Your Highness doesn’t mind, you may sit here."

There was an empty seat beside him.

But Su Chenxi only nodded politely. "Thank you for the offer."

Then she walked past the row without stopping.

Ye Lingtian stiffened awkwardly before sitting back down.

Zhang Yang couldn’t help but smirk.

"Hah! First time I’ve seen the Ye heir get shut down like that. If it were anyone else, they’d be in trouble for refusing Ye Lingtian’s invitation."

"But since it’s the princess—a member of the royal family—he won’t dare say a word."

Still grinning, Zhang Yang turned to Zhou Ke. "Hey, you think she’ll sit by us? There’s an empty spot here too."

Zhou Ke sighed. "She’ll sit wherever she wants. Why does it matter?"

Just then, Su Chenxi stopped right at their row.

Her gaze landed on Zhou Ke—clearly recognizing him.

"Z-Zhou Ke, the princess is looking over here! Is she looking at me?!" Zhang Yang immediately straightened up. "I hope she actually sits with us!"

As if answering his wish, Su Chenxi walked toward them.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked Zhou Ke softly.

"No. You can sit," he replied flatly.

"Thank you." She took the seat without hesitation.

A collective gasp rippled through the surrounding students, followed by hushed whispers.

Ignoring the reactions, Su Chenxi struck up a conversation.

"Earlier, I saw your test results from the first two rounds backstage—you ranked first among all the new students."

Zhou Ke smiled faintly. "Just luck. The second round’s [Aptitude Test] was interrupted. I was the only one who finished."

"Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been first."

Su Chenxi smiled back.

"No need to be modest. Your performance on the subway convinced me that even if the test had gone normally, you’d have scored well."

"If you weren’t a commoner, you probably would’ve been chosen as the student representative instead of me."

Before Zhou Ke could respond, Zhang Yang let out a strangled noise.

His eyes darted between Zhou Ke and the princess, then back to Zhou Ke again, his expression practically screaming disbelief.

Both Zhou Ke and Su Chenxi turned to him. "What’s wrong?"

"W-W-Wait, you know the princess?!" Zhang Yang hissed.

Su Chenxi glanced at him politely. "Zhou Ke, is this your friend?"

Zhou Ke reluctantly introduced them.

"Su Chenxi, this is Zhang Yang. A friend I met during enrollment."

"Zhang Yang, this is Su Chenxi. We’ve crossed paths before."

Su Chenxi added, "Zhou Ke saved my life. He’s my benefactor."

Zhang Yang stared at Zhou Ke with an unreadable look.

Zhou Ke just chuckled.

"By the way, Your Highness," Zhang Yang suddenly asked, "why did you choose to sit here?"

Su Chenxi kept her eyes forward. "Where else should I have sat?"

Zhang Yang scratched his head. "This area’s toward the back—mostly minor nobles."

"Ye Lingtian invited you earlier. I thought you’d sit in the high noble section."

"But you ignored him. That was unexpected."

Zhou Ke and Su Chenxi answered in unison: "Not unexpected."

Su Chenxi turned to him. "Oh? You understand my reasoning?"

Zhou Ke replied calmly, "Just a simple analysis."

"As a princess, you wrapped yourself up completely and took the subway to school."

"During your speech, you asked not to be treated like royalty."

"And at the end, you said you wanted nobles and commoners to coexist."

"All of that tells me you don’t want to be seen as some untouchable noble heiress."

"So, rather than the high noble section, you’d prefer the ordinary seating area with minor nobles."

"And since I’m probably the only person you know here—with an empty seat beside me—"

"It’s no surprise you’d choose to sit next to me."

Su Chenxi blinked.

After two seconds, she laughed.

"If I didn’t know you were the King of Spades, I’d think you had a Heart-type ability."

"You read my mind perfectly."

Zhou Ke looked at her.

"So, Heart cards have mind-reading abilities?"

He had already triggered the Heart-7’s ability once—he knew.

But to keep up appearances and gather more information, he asked anyway.

Su Chenxi nodded.

"Of course. It’s common knowledge that Heart abilities are tied to the [mind]."

"Mind-reading, mind control, hypnosis, memory alteration... Oh, right—you’re so capable, I keep forgetting you’re a commoner."

She smiled warmly. "You’re still new to all this, aren’t you? If you ever feel out of place here, feel free to ask me. I’d be happy to help."

"Don't stand on ceremony with me. After all, you saved my life—it’s only right that I find a way to repay you."

Zhou Ke chuckled. "So, you really sneaked out just to ride the subway?"

Su Chenxi sighed. "Yeah, I finally managed to shake off a whole team of bodyguards. I just wanted to experience public transportation for once, but who knew I’d run into an assassin?"

"I’ve caused trouble for the passengers. The government will properly compensate the injured civilians later."

Seeing the guilt on Su Chenxi’s face, Zhou Ke thought to himself that the assassin was probably his own doing—the blame wasn’t hers. But he simply smiled faintly and said nothing.

At that moment, Professor Chen Yun stepped slowly onto the stage and adjusted the microphone.

"Everyone, quiet down. I’m Professor Chen Yun, also the head of the first-year program."

"The principal couldn’t attend due to prior commitments, so I’ll be representing him in introducing the school."