Chapter 73

The plot of the next chapter was the gathering of the new Class S.

Xie Chang’an had originally planned to move his luggage into the new dormitory and then set off for home, but he had not expected to receive a notice from Class s' homeroom teacher. Li Xuehua specifically pulled several of them into Class s' group chat and informed them there about the winter break field assignment.

That kind of development had come completely out of the blue. Although Xie Chang’an was worried about the family he still had at the orphanage, he could only accept it.

At most, the winter break field assignment would delay him by a week. Xie Chang’an had only just joined, and he had previously clashed with the other members of Class S. If he rashly asked for leave now, it might well lower the impression others had of him even further.

【Winter break field assignment? As expected of Class S.】

【All the other classes are already on break, and only they have to stay behind for holiday field practice. This is making me see the top students from my high school experimental class.】

【Winter break field assignment (??) competition sprint training (??)】

【Hey, hey, hey, don’t make me relate this to something so real.】

【Will somebody please worry about the orphanage?】

Outside the manga, things were loud and chaotic, but inside the manga, the story kept moving forward.

Xie Chang’an finally arrived at the door to Class S.

Perhaps because he cared about it so much, Xie Chang’an knew every single member of Class S. At this point, the manga reviewed the information of every Class S student through his perspective, and the final person to appear was Ji Qing, who arrived a little late.

You Xingluo greeted Ji Qing with a smile.

Ji Qing, meanwhile, calmly took the window seat beside him. Their interaction was restrained, but anyone with eyes could see how deep their bond ran.

【Pupil quake.】

【Ji Qing actually knows how to smile?】

【Isn’t he supposed to be cold and aloof? He can smile that beautifully at his own people? (shocked face)】

【It’s over, the fan creators just got stabbed in the back.】

【Baby, are you trying to seduce me with a smile that pretty? (rose in mouth)】

“Hm?” Ji Qing suddenly raised a brow.

He usually only read forum threads that discussed the plot, so he genuinely had no idea what kind of image his fan-created portrayal had turned into. But looking at his pitifully few appearances, Ji Qing suddenly fell silent: it really did seem easy to get the wrong idea...

After all, Ji Qing himself was the sort who instinctively put on a cold face whenever he was in a serious or unfamiliar setting.

In the manga, the class bell suddenly rang.

Li Xuehua entered the classroom right on the bell, and behind her followed an unfamiliar male student. Xie Chang’an was a little confused by the sight, but before he could think further about it, the commotion in the back row drew his attention.

Shao Huayu swiftly pinned Zhou Que, who had been about to start talking, onto the desk.

Although the sound of the collision was very slight, it still drew the attention of the few people in the back. For a moment, both Xie Chang’an and Gu Lingxue looked shocked.

【I’m dying, hahaha】

【Zhou Que got sanctioned by Shao Huayu】

【Shao Huayu: Please stop causing trouble for me again. (smile)】

【Liu Mu’s reaction is so flat. How many times has he seen this for him to be that unfazed?】

【No, this is way too funny, isn’t it?】

At the podium, Li Xuehua clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. She first said a few fairly official opening remarks, then went straight to the point. One by one, she laid out the reason for this gathering and the matters the students of Class S needed to pay attention to over the next two years.

Once the students had more or less grasped the situation, Li Xuehua began explaining the cause and objective of the winter break field assignment.

The manga directly displayed all the key information: the Federation map, the terrain of Snow City, the distribution map of the danger zones, the rough range of the accident trains, and so on. These meticulous details greatly strengthened the realism of the world of 《Ability Hunter》, and the barrage responded with one exclamation after another.

【That old thief Yuexia Cao is amazing】

【The moment these panels came out, I instantly felt the charm of 《Ability Hunter》, wuwuwu】

【The teacher explains things so clearly too】

【As expected of Class s' teacher. The feeling she gives off is completely different. It feels like she treats the students as equals.】

【Isn’t that normal?】

【Class S is just different from the other classes. So far, only Class S is participating in the winter break field assignment. Just thinking that Chang’an has finally joined them makes me so excited!!!】

Class S really was special.

Ji Qing’s green eyes quietly watched the screen in front of him. Thanks to the existence of the manga, Ji Qing had also gotten the chance to understand the teaching standards of the homeroom teachers of Class A and Class F. To be honest, none of those teachers really surpassed Li Xuehua.

The best teacher for the best class. Perhaps that counted as a form of preferential resource allocation too.

After Li Xuehua finished explaining the details of the mission, Shao Huayu casually raised an objection.

As the young master of the Shao family, he knew the mission’s classification. Then came You Xingluo’s raised hand. He deliberately repeated the date of the latest accident before asking in a cold voice, “May I ask whether the school is aware that this trip carries the risk of encountering infected individuals?”

That single question immediately stirred up a considerable ripple.

The students below the podium began discussing it at once, but most of them focused on how they should deal with such a situation. Although Zhou Que and the transfer student were also openly making friends off to the side, Xie Chang’an’s expression was much more troubled.

【Wow, wow, wow, is it really this intense?】

【Infected individuals... no way, are we finally going to meet a third infected person?】

【Everyone is so impressive】

【Hey, hey, hey, don’t forget those two over there (covering face)】

【The transfer student can actually get along with Zhou Que... I feel like he’s another one with an impulsive personality...】

【Birds of a feather, after all】

Xie Chang’an quickly raised his hand to ask whether they would be allowed to make their own decisions midway through the mission, and Li Xuehua gave him a positive answer. He quietly felt relieved: at least they were not making him kill people...

The room soon returned to calm.

No student felt there was anything unreasonable about the situation. Even You Xingluo, who had first pointed out the issue, did not think so. Seeing that, Li Xuehua guided the topic toward the self-introduction segment, and this time, she looked directly at Ji Qing.

Ji Qing stood and walked toward the podium. His self-introduction was brief, but no one dared overlook it.

【Finally in the same class as Ji Qing, long live!】

【So handsome, wuwuwu】

【Ji Qing seems like the type who goes cold-faced in public settings, right? But when he smiles in private, he looks really gentle】

【We were all deceived by exactly that contrast, QAQ】

【Feels like the type who’d be hard to enter into his heart, but once you got in, he’d be very gentle?】

【He kind of feels like the male lead of an otome game】

Seeing this, the barrage began flooding the screen frantically, clearly showing an extremely strong curiosity toward Ji Qing.

Quite a few of them also mentioned the questioning from the Central City investigators, but because no one knew the reason, it was quickly ignored.

After that, the members of Class S went up to the podium one by one and began introducing themselves.

In the span of a few short panels, that old thief Yuexia Cao delicately displayed the students’ completely different personalities. Then came Xie Chang’an’s own introduction. Imitating the students before him, he said in a slightly guilty tone, “Xie Chang’an. My ability can more or less be counted as F-rank physical enhancement... I’m from Spring City, and my hobby is working out.”

【I’m dying, hahaha】

【Only Chang’an knows just how guilty that line sounded】

【He clearly doesn’t have an ability at all, and later he has to pretend he does. Meanwhile all his classmates think he’s just lacking confidence (covering face)】

【The investigators got tricked so badly】

【An F-rank ability is barely there at all, but it really wasn’t easy for Chang’an to make it into the same class as S-rank ability users】

【It really makes you sigh】

The final one was the transfer student from the Second Ability Academy.

Jiang Cuo deliberately emphasized his ability and his former high school, then copied Feng Youyou and casually threw out a wink at the end. The transfer student’s sudden move left everyone below the stage visibly stunned.

Just as he was about to step down, Li Xuehua quickly stopped him and encouraged Jiang Cuo to say more about himself. Jiang Cuo looked conflicted, but in a rapid burst of speech, he blurted out something extremely jumpy: although talking too much ruined the act, he still wanted to enjoy the feeling of being a big shot for a while...

【Hahaha, the transfer student is so jumpy】

【The moment he opens his mouth, it’s babble babble babble. He only has that big-shot aura when he stays quiet】

【Looks like he’s a chatty husky】

【Does this manga not have a single cool-guy archetype at all?】

【Isn’t it better that way?】

【The people in Class S all seem cold on the surface, but once you interact with them, they’re actually pretty easy to get along with】

【There is one, blah blah. As long as you don’t get too close to Ji Qing, he’s always this icy. I’m living for that differential treatment. I just love that feeling of being looked down on】

【Mom, there’s a freak here】

Ji Qing’s brows twitched when he saw that. “...There really are all kinds of people.”

He had never expected the readers to discover a new preference from something like this, but that had nothing to do with him, living inside the manga world.

In the manga, the conversation between Jiang Cuo and Li Xuehua continued.

As he said more and more, Jiang Cuo’s aloof and mysterious image shattered directly into dust. After hearing him, Zhou Que threw out a few sharp-tongued remarks, and Li Xuehua quickly stepped in to stop the exchange between the two. Only then did the topic finally shift to the next stage—team assignments.

This chapter of the manga ended right at “Li Xuehua proposes drawing lots.”

【Yay, drawing lots!!!】

【This kind of blind-box suspense is so exciting】

【You can still reason out the result, though. It’s probably either Ji Qing or the transfer student, right?】

【It definitely won’t be Shao Huayu】

【Maybe possibly with Xue? I’m not too sure about that part】

The barrage flooded the screen once again.

The manga readers had an entire week to speculate and wait for the result to be revealed, but Ji Qing only needed to click 【Next Chapter】.

The next chapter opened with Ji Qing, Jiang Cuo, and Xie Chang’an appearing on the train.

Compared with when he was facing You Xingluo and the others, Ji Qing’s expression was obviously much colder. Because of Jiang Cuo’s random attempts at conversation, even his tone turned especially chilly. Xie Chang’an clearly sensed that Ji Qing was in a bad mood.

So Xie Chang’an very self-consciously chose to stay as quiet as possible.

The manga showed their train compartment from multiple angles, along with the plains outside the window. Mottled light and shadow fell across the figure seated by the window, and Ji Qing’s green eyes quietly watched the landscape outside.

His features were already soft to begin with, and paired with his shoulder-length white hair, they gave him a distinctly cool and detached beauty.

【Ji Qing looks so good】

【He feels a little androgynous? It feels like that old thief is deliberately emphasizing his gender ambiguity】

【Slash bait? Setting up a cross-dressing plot?】

【That would be so gross】

【Not necessarily, right? That old thief Yuexia Cao hasn’t deliberately done that kind of slash bait so far. I feel like there’s some plot point behind this? If a sister or younger sister shows up later and they say Ji Qing looks like her, that would be pretty reasonable too】

【This really feels like foreshadowing】

“Really?” Ji Qing murmured when he saw that. “I am kind of curious why I look like this.”

Ji Qing’s original appearance had been the traditional black hair and black eyes of a Chinese person. Although he really had inherited his mother’s delicate brows and eyes, they had never been as visibly pronounced as they were now. Ji Qing pondered inwardly, “It’s probably related to my identity as a mutant species, right?”

But beyond that, Ji Qing could not guess any further.

In the manga, Ji Qing’s conversation with the transfer student was still continuing, but the pattern was very simple: Jiang Cuo asked first, and Ji Qing answered with a cold face.

Once the topic came to an end, Jiang Cuo suddenly noticed that the atmosphere was off. The three of them then remained silent for the rest of the train ride, until just before they arrived at Ning City, the transfer station. As Ji Qing prepared to get off, he turned back and asked, “Do you need to buy some winter clothes in Ning City?”

Jiang Cuo waved it off, but Xie Chang’an hesitated.

The winter clothes he had now were all old clothes donated by kind-hearted people, so they were not especially warm. They were barely enough for Spring City, but in Snow City, they would be far too thin.

Jiang Cuo immediately started shouting noisily, and Ji Qing briskly cut him off.

【I’m dead, hahaha, even the top student was planning to buy some】

【Ji Qing is deliberately looking out for Chang’an here】

【Beautiful and kind-hearted】

【Wuwuwu, Chang’an, hurry up and get closer to the top student. I want to see the top student smile gently at me too, QAQ】

【Just imagining it is enough to make me excited】

【What an utterly beautiful vision (starry eyes)】

“That kind of thing feels a little... hard to imagine,” Ji Qing suddenly frowned. “But come to think of it, do I really smile that well?”

Ji Qing was thoroughly baffled by that.

In the manga, Jiang Cuo immediately changed his tune.

Xie Chang’an could not help criticizing Jiang Cuo’s behavior, but Ji Qing’s reaction remained unusually calm. He returned once again to the same distant attitude he had worn when he first got on the train. That feeling subtly reminded Xie Chang’an of someone he had not contacted in a long time, someone he did not know if he would ever see again.

Li Yuan often did the same thing.

Every time Xie Chang’an felt that the distance between them had shortened, Li Yuan would immediately drive him away again with a poisonous tongue, followed by a critique of just how stupid he was. Xie Chang’an sighed inwardly: Somehow, I kind of miss it...

【Have you gotten addicted to being scolded?】

【Protagonist, you...】

【Don’t tell me he’s found a substitute for his unattainable crush?】

【Xie Chang’an: That’s right! It’s exactly this kind of cold, contrasting feeling!】

【Holy shit, holy shit, is his unattainable crush about to change?】

【No way? So that bittersweet romance setup actually has more to it? Has it turned into a three-way now?!!!! (horrified face)】

【Come on! Let the great shipping stew begin!】

【I strongly recommend that everyone ship Li Yuan × Top Student—the ultimate showdown between the sharp-tongued type and the cold type!!!】

【???】

【No! Don’t come in here promoting crack ships!!!】

【Judging from the personality angle alone, this feels like selfcest (slurp) (slurp slurp slurp)】

So he was thinking of Li Yuan? Ji Qing frowned at once.

This situation felt especially troublesome. He had very deliberately differentiated the two personas, but he had not expected the connection to be made so quickly. A trace of irritation rose in Ji Qing’s heart: Xie Chang’an’s intuition was even sharper than he had imagined.

Still, it worked out that Li Yuan would not appear again for quite a while.

And the winter break field assignment in front of them could also further separate the independence of the two identities, so the situation was actually better than he had expected. Then, all at once, a meaningful smile curled at the corner of Ji Qing’s lips. “Maybe I should try deliberately tying the two together first... and then break that connection.”

Back in the first volume, Yuexia Cao had once used the orphanage as a smokescreen for the kidnapping organization. He ought to be able to use the two identities as a smokescreen as well. Rather than waiting for Xie Chang’an’s future probing, it would be better to completely break his suspicions now in one go. At the same time, he could also dispel the readers’ doubts and raise both sides’ popularity a little.

“That counts as good news, I suppose?” Ji Qing murmured.

After all, once that kind of projection happened once, it was bound to happen a second time. Ji Qing had no choice but to guard against it.