It was him.
Luo Zhiyu instantly understood what all those “Fairy Frowning” stickers from yesterday had meant.
Every time Luo Zhiyu saw Xiao Yan, it was as if he had stepped onto the grand stage of Zu’an. His first words were never the other person’s name, but “fuck your mother.”
It was instinctive, always preceding conscious thought. This time was no exception.
Looking at Xiao Yan’s gleeful face made Luo Zhiyu furious.
“Fuck your mo—”
Before he could finish the word “mother,” Xiao Yan quickly reached out and switched off the microphone in front of Luo Zhiyu.
The row of school leaders: “…”
Opening with “I am your mother” was far too shocking. The entire auditorium of No. 1 High School erupted into an uproar, and some people laughed loudly.
Principal Zhang cleared his throat and coughed twice before the auditorium gradually quieted down.
“Fellow schoolmate, you’re the one who said we should be united and friendly.” Xiao Yan nodded toward the principal and the others on the other side, then switched Luo Zhiyu’s microphone back on and gestured for him to continue.
There was still a Band-Aid slanted beneath Xiao Yan’s right eye. It was Luo Zhiyu’s masterpiece from the group fight two days ago.
Luo Zhiyu rolled his eyes at Xiao Yan, finally remembered his own name, and continued with the freshman representative’s opening speech.
“I’m Luo Zhiyu from Class 3, Grade 10, and I’m one of this year’s freshmen.”
In his wildest dreams, Luo Zhiyu never would have imagined that the person he had been beating up since childhood would end up attending the same high school as him—and would even be an outstanding student representative like him.
His opponent was just as outstanding as he was.
The freshman speech was only three minutes long. Reading from a script was far too conventional and went against Luo Zhiyu’s philosophy of life. If he was going to give a speech, he would naturally do it without notes.
If the person who had appeared in the seat beside him had not been Xiao Yan, he probably would already have been leading all the freshmen toward a bright future under the approving gazes of the teachers.
But now—
“The reason I’m standing here is because of my high school entrance exam score.” He faced all the students, but every word was directed at Xiao Yan. He picked up the paper cup on the table and slowly took a sip of tea. Then he nodded, making sure he had fully put on his airs before slowly spitting out the final two words.
“Very high.”
Xiao Yan: “…”
Being the top scorer was an unwritten rule for giving the opening speech, but Luo Zhiyu was the first person to expose that unwritten rule so bluntly.
Sitting in the front row, Qiu Yi, the homeroom teacher of Class 3, Grade 10, stared at Luo Zhiyu onstage in utter disbelief. The student who had seemed perfectly normal over the phone yesterday had completely taken over the stage.
The conventional speech formula was to begin with modesty, then look toward the future, and finally encourage everyone together. After seeing Xiao Yan, Luo Zhiyu took matters into his own hands and skipped the modesty entirely.
The students in the auditorium were practically ready to hit someone.
“It’s him. Luo Zhiyu. That asking-for-a-beating tone is definitely his.”
“I fucking refuse to accept this!”
“I shouldn’t have let that face fool me, sob…”
“I feel like a poor student just got personally attacked.”
“Shh.” This guy actually had the nerve to complain about the auditorium being noisy while pressing a finger to his lips and motioning for everyone to be quiet.
“You might think I’m bragging.” Luo Zhiyu turned to look at Xiao Yan. “But every word I’ve said is a fact.”
“That concludes my speech,” Luo Zhiyu said. “I hope everyone has a pleasant high school life.”
Only then did scattered applause break out from below the stage.
Xiao Yan smiled and clapped twice along with everyone else. Under Luo Zhiyu’s scorching glare, he said matter-of-factly, “No. 1 High School’s motto: Unity and friendship.”
“As the Grade 11 student representative, I’m honored to be sitting here.” Xiao Yan’s opening was similar to Luo Zhiyu’s, but toward the end, he also abandoned his prepared remarks. “Now that you’ve come to City No. 1 High School, you should continue working hard. Otherwise, who knows who will be sitting in my seat next year?”
“And finally.” Xiao Yan turned toward Luo Zhiyu on his right. “On behalf of all the Grade 11 students, I welcome all the little first-year students.”
Luo Zhiyu glared at Xiao Yan and quietly ground his teeth.
“Little first-year student? Don’t let me see you again.”
“Can’t guarantee that.” Xiao Yan stepped down from the podium and went backstage with his friends from the student council.
“Your Luo family’s little tyrant really gets angry the moment he sees you.” Fan Yue was an alpha and was familiar with Xiao Yan. He basically understood the “deep-seated grudge” between Xiao Yan and Luo Zhiyu.
Xiao Yan thought about their conversation yesterday and still found it amusing.
“Why do you always provoke him?” Fan Yue asked helplessly.
“This time, he came looking for me himself,” Xiao Yan said. “I warned him.”
“He blows up at the slightest thing. Don’t you think that’s pretty interesting?” Xiao Yan handed his phone to Fan Yue. “Look.”
In Xiao Yan’s WeChat chat window was a series of messages Luo Zhiyu had just sent.
[Not Cicada]: Fairy Frowning.jpg
[Not Cicada]: You’re a piece of shit.
[Not Cicada]: I should’ve known it was you.
[Not Cicada]: You’ve been a bad seed since you were little.
[Not Cicada]: Ptooey.jpg
[???]: Luo Zhiyu, we’re going to be attending the same school from now on. We’ll see each other whether we look up or look down. How about we call a truce?
[Not Cicada]: Fuck off. Who wants to see you whether they look up or look down?
[Not Cicada]: I’ll smash your head in with a shit scoop.jpg
[Not Cicada]: I guarantee I’ll stay far, far away from you.
The two big shots’ pre-school-year exchange of threats caught the attention of the city newspaper reporter. The reporter was immediately delighted, putting the unique professionalism of a journalist into practice and finishing a new article by noon.
[Follow-Up Report: The Luo and Xiao Students, Previously Reported to Have a Zero Percent Pheromone Compatibility Rate, Appear Together at No. 1 High School’s Opening Ceremony. Netizens: A Zero-Percent Fate.]
The opening ceremony ended amid applause from all the students. The campus forum gained today’s campus news, along with several new posts.
[How Do You Rate This Year’s Opening Ceremony?] Hot
1L: ? RT. What do you guys think?
2L: Giving Class 3, Grade 10’s Luo Zhiyu a massive round of applause.
3L: Luo Zhiyu is fucking incredible, hahaha. An opening ceremony worthy of being recorded in the school’s history. My guess is that he wanted to curse at Xiao Yan, but the school heartthrob cut off his microphone.
4L: After seeing the city newspaper’s photos, Xiao Yan and Luo Zhiyu sitting together was such a feast for the eyes. I kind of want to ship them.
5L: Replying to Bro Four: There’s no way those two will happen. Their pheromone compatibility is 0%, and their relationship is that terrible. From where I was sitting in the front row, it looked like the two of them were only one step away from fighting onstage.
6L: Exactly, exactly. Break it up, everyone. Anyone could potentially fall in love, but those two are impossible. You have to believe in science.
7L: Luo Zhiyu is an omega? Then do I have a chance?
8L: I think you guys don’t know him well enough…
9L: I can’t wait to see what next year’s opening ceremony is going to be like.
Luo Zhiyu sat blankly on the steps outside the auditorium. Jing Ximing had felt unwell that morning and had skipped the opening ceremony altogether. He was currently staying in the dormitory and had asked Luo Zhiyu to bring him lunch.
[Fence-Sitter]: Respect, officially. You became famous so fast.
[Not Cicada]: Fairy Frowning.jpg. Blame me for being too outstanding.
[Fence-Sitter]: Lunch is up to you. I’m covered in pheromone scent right now, so it’s not convenient for me to go out.
[Not Cicada]: Don’t worry. I’ll guarantee you the tastiest food. I’ve already mastered the cafeteria intelligence. Confident Little Dinosaur.jpg
[Not Cicada]: I’m going to change into my military training uniform first. The size is wrong, so I’ll get that fixed, then head to the cafeteria.
According to No. 1 High School tradition, freshmen underwent a week of military training before officially beginning their first year. Luo Zhiyu had received his military training uniform the previous week but had not had time to try it on. Only yesterday had he discovered that he had taken the wrong size.
Luo Zhiyu made his way to the Student Activities Office and knocked on the door. A teacher he didn’t recognize opened it.
“Here to exchange your uniform? We don’t have any ready-made ones left.” The teacher was filling out a form and immediately understood why he had come. “Go to the room over there and have someone from the student council measure you. Shoulder width, collar length, waist, chest, and hip measurements. They’ll know which size to get you. Then have them register it, so you won’t have to make another trip if there’s a mistake.”
“Can I measure myself?” Luo Zhiyu asked.
“You probably won’t get it very accurate by yourself,” the teacher said. “Those few Grade 11 students are all free right now. Let them do it.”
Luo Zhiyu took the measuring tape from the teacher and walked toward the designated room. He pushed open the door.
Among a room full of blue school uniforms was one student wearing red. The five alpha students holding cups of instant noodles clearly hadn’t expected anyone to come in at this hour. Ten eyes blinked at Luo Zhiyu, who had just become famous at the opening ceremony.
“Omega?” The student at the front remembered the information in this big shot’s personal profile.
“Yeah.” Luo Zhiyu nodded and waved the measuring tape in his hand. “Who’s doing it?”
“It probably wouldn’t be appropriate for us…” Fan Yue looked awkward. This newly differentiated young master apparently still didn’t know that there was a difference between A and O.
“The senior girls went to eat lunch, and there’s no one else here right now. How about this…” Another alpha had a sudden idea and called toward the inner room. “Xiao Yan, come out and help.”
“Oh, right! Why didn’t I think of that?” Fan Yue slapped the table. “Their pheromone compatibility is 0%. Completely pure.”
Luo Zhiyu: “???”