The Little Guy 01

"Others have systems to command the wind and rain, but I have you, either getting beheaded or about to be beheaded all day long," Fang Zhiyi grumbled.

Little Hei sighed helplessly, "Boss, I've already suggested you could just start a rebellion, but you won't do it."

"Just to satisfy an emperor complex and cause common people to lose their homes and wander destitute? I haven't sunk that low."

Little Hei felt somewhat indignant, but it decided to stop Fang Zhiyi's grumbling first, so it promptly delivered the plot.

This is an Eastern fantasy world, a world similar to one with magic.

This world has many deities. No one knows their origins; people only know that if one gains the favor of these deities, they can become a divine agent and also obtain supernatural abilities.

Almost everyone strives for this goal because gaining a deity's favor means becoming part of the elite, completely escaping life at the bottom.

Fang Zhiyi was born into an ordinary family. After his birth, staff from the Divine Association came to test him and said it was almost impossible for him to succeed in the future Divine Selection. Fang Zhiyi's parents didn't take this to heart. They were an ordinary couple who treated their child with the love of ordinary parents.

From a young age, Fang Zhiyi knew that some people were destined to be superior from birth, because those children his age had been detected to have an aura of the divine, almost guaranteeing they would gain a deity's favor during the Divine Selection and become ability users.

He also knew his parents had no great demands of him. They just wanted him, like ordinary parents, to grow up healthy. Even if he wasn't chosen in the future Divine Selection, he could live a serious life.

But Fang Zhiyi didn't want to accept fate. Unlike those children, he worked very hard, diligently studying the knowledge taught by his teachers. Even though that knowledge was only useful if one became an ability user, he still strove to be prepared. He remained unmoved even when mocked by others. His parents also sent him to school... All children of the empire enter school to receive knowledge about the deities, essentially brainwashing.

Fang Zhiyi's precocious nature meant he had few friends, but quite a few people enjoyed bullying him.

This didn't stop his progress. Fang Zhiyi achieved the best results in the entire school in that perfunctory exam. As he took the prize from the teacher's hand and turned to leave, he heard the teacher sigh.

"What a pity, such a diligent child. If only he could pass..."

Fang Zhiyi didn't listen further. He always believed his efforts would not be in vain; the deities would see them.

Later, he made a friend, Mo Xuan. Mo Xuan was his deskmate, very good-looking, talkative, and Fang Zhiyi always found him slick-tongued and noisy. Originally, he had no intention of befriending Mo Xuan, but once, when he was being bullied, Mo Xuan appeared.

At that moment, he wavered in his belief for the first time.

Because the usually unserious Mo Xuan could actually gather a strange energy even before the Divine Selection, indicating he was naturally favored by the deities. This scene made those bullying Fang Zhiyi stop in fear.

From that moment on, Mo Xuan extended his hand to him, saying he was his friend.

But Mo Xuan didn't know that Fang Zhiyi disliked him, even somewhat hated him. Because as Mo Xuan interacted with him more, Fang Zhiyi saw many things he hadn't seen before. Mo Xuan was actually the grandson of the empire's old military commander. So... his family didn't need to grow vegetables; meals could be cooked and served by others. Even the school principal would visit Mo Xuan's home.

Gradually, Fang Zhiyi found he had become Mo Xuan's foil. Although Mo Xuan was always with him, people looked at Mo Xuan with full praise and at him with utter disdain.

"That guy must know about Mo Xuan's family background, sticking to him every day on purpose."

"Absolutely."

"I heard last time he was bullied, Mo Xuan even stood up for him. So envious."

Hearing such words always upset Fang Zhiyi. Although Mo Xuan also explained, his explanations only earned him more praise from others.

The school belle liked Mo Xuan. Mo Xuan always avoided her, so Fang Zhiyi naturally became his shield. For this, Fang Zhiyi was even beaten up several times by that girl's lackeys. When Mo Xuan found out, he only apologized verbally, but he still acted the same way when facing the school belle's attentions.

Fang Zhiyi began to suspect that Mo Xuan somewhat enjoyed the feeling of being admired.

Fang Zhiyi actually had someone he liked too. It was a girl with black-framed glasses, very ordinary. He hardly spoke with her; they just both liked reading books. Since school courses weren't heavy, he would actively seek out books to read. Over time, he noticed this girl was often there too.

The two seemed to develop a tacit understanding. Fang Zhiyi even fantasized about when he might confess to the girl, but he didn't dare.

Mo Xuan noticed his feelings and, with the idea of helping his buddy out, patted his chest and promised to "get her" for him.

Fang Zhiyi really disliked the word "get."

But an accident happened. He didn't see the girl for several days. When she finally returned to school, he saw the familiar figure. The girl had changed her usual style of dress, wearing brighter colored clothes, had taken off her glasses, and cut short the bangs that covered her forehead. He saw her radiant for the first time.

"Here, you're Fang Zhiyi, right? Help me give this to Mo Xuan." She walked up to Fang Zhiyi and handed him a handkerchief. Fang Zhiyi noticed a cute little bird embroidered on it.

He watched her leave. Mo Xuan didn't arrive until noon, greeting Fang Zhiyi with a cheeky grin, naturally putting an arm around him and talking about his plans for the day. Fang Zhiyi took out the handkerchief the girl had given him.

Mo Xuan became somewhat awkward.

"That, you know, I'm not that kind of person..." Mo Xuan explained. He said he wanted to help Fang Zhiyi test the waters, so he had someone ask the girl out for a drink. And then... he suddenly thought the girl looked really pretty without her glasses, and the girl had expressed her liking for him too.

"I swear, it wasn't intentional." Mo Xuan raised his fingers, his face full of sincerity.

Fang Zhiyi didn't speak. He just stared blankly into the distance.

The day of the Divine Selection arrived. Many were very nervous. If chosen today, they would enter the various factions representing the deities and become part of the elite. If not selected, they could only slink away, return to being ordinary commoners, engaged in simple, basic production and agriculture.

Mo Xuan patted Fang Zhiyi on the shoulder, then strode forward.