Chapter 29 : Chapter 29
Chapter 29
The next chapter of the story began from Gu Lingxue's perspective.
Gu Lingxue walked with her classmates from Class A towards the training ground for the ability assessment.
The manga finally revealed the true appearance of Gu Lingxue's roommate: she had long, tea-colored hair, a silver music note hair clip holding back her bangs, clear silver eyes, and a noble temperament, like a young lady from a noble family who had been meticulously raised.
Looking at the training ground they were about to reach, Gu Lingxue suddenly felt a lack of confidence.
She walked over to her roommate with a worried look on her face. "Qingyin, I'm a little scared."
"It's alright, everyone has a first time," Lu Qingyin first glanced at the blue-haired boy walking at the very front, then gently comforted Gu Lingxue.
She solemnly took Gu Lingxue's hand. "If anyone really says anything, I'll stand up for you."
[Wow, the roommate!]
[The young lady is so beautiful, and her words are so domineering (thumbs up).]
[I finally see Xuexue, sob sob sob.]
[Lingxue finally appeared. She wasn't in the previous few chapters. I was almost afraid she was going to be removed from the protagonist's group...]
[Protagonist's group? What protagonist's group do we have?]
[Two people can be considered a protagonist's group.]
[Did something happen to Xuexue? From Feng Youyou and Liu Mu's descriptions earlier, there's a lot of trouble in Class A. I'm really worried about Xuexue, and she's never been exposed to the world of ability users...]
"She finally appeared..." Lin Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Lingxue hadn't appeared for a while, and she was really worried that the old scoundrel Yuexia would shelve her. After all, he had done this kind of thing several times before.
Once a manga character became useless, they were immediately taken offline.
And Gu Lingxue's identity and background had been fully explained in the first volume. There were very few plotlines for her to follow, and like Xie Chang'an, she was unfamiliar with the world of ability users.
The two of them had a few too many overlapping attributes.
In the manga, Gu Lingxue quickly refused, "There's no need for that."
She had already received a lot of help from Lu Qingyin. When she first came to Class A, Gu Lingxue knew nothing about noble families and abilities. It was Lu Qingyin who taught her what to do.
Gu Lingxue had never been involved in the world of ability users for the first ten-plus years of her life. Even if she had indeed met ability users, they wouldn't have bothered with a rich girl from a small town.
Due to her parents' strict demands, Gu Lingxue had been learning etiquette and piano for a long time.
Gu Lingxue considered herself to be definitely more outstanding than her peers in Spring City, those of her own social class, although she sometimes wondered why she had to learn so much useless etiquette.
But all that changed until she met Lu Qingyin.
Compared to Gu Lingxue, who was from a small town, Lu Qingyin was from a truly prestigious family. Her elegant speech, noble temperament, and her stunning violin performance... all of these made Gu Lingxue feel inadequate.
Gu Lingxue thought dejectedly, Compared to Qingyin, I'm just an ugly duckling.
But the etiquette and musical instruments she had painstakingly learned in the past became the opportunity for the two girls to become friends. The two girls, who both knew music and had similar personalities, became close friends.
Lu Qingyin also became Gu Lingxue's first friend in Class A.
Gu Lingxue had never been so grateful for her diligent studies as a child. It had saved her from many detours at the Third Ability Academy. Her friendship with Lu Qingyin also allowed her to avoid being drawn into the internal struggles of Class A.
But Gu Lingxue sometimes wondered, Is this really what I want?
[I see.]
[Huh?]
[In that case, Xue's situation is also very difficult. Most of the students in Class A have been exposed to the world of ability users, and only Xue is completely ignorant.]
[Xuexue's roommate is quite nice.]
[Is she? I just feel suffocated. Xue is clearly not the elegant young lady type. In the first volume, it said that she wanted to go out and explore rather than become the elegant young lady her parents wanted her to be.]
[But what else can she do? The atmosphere in Class A is not something Xuexue can change.]
[She can only endure it for now.]
[Xuexue, you should move up to a higher class! Class S is much more comfortable than Class A!]
"Hiss..." Lin Yan gasped upon seeing this.
The old scoundrel had never directly shown Gu Lingxue's situation before. Now, at first glance, it was even more depressing than Xie Chang'an's. If Xie Chang'an suffered physical damage, then Gu Lingxue suffered mental damage.
Why was Class A so terrifying?
In the manga, an orange figure suddenly darted to their side.
Feng Youyou held up her camera and playfully leaned in. "What secrets are you two beauties whispering about? Can I join in?"
Lu Qingyin imperceptibly took a few steps back.
"If you keep holding that camera, don't even think about talking to me," she said coldly. "I hate Federation reporters the most."
As a major noble family renowned in both the music and ability user worlds, the members of the Lu family were always easy targets for the media. Lu Qingyin had hated these intrusive reporters since she was a child.
Especially since both her parents were famous musicians.
Wouldn't the daughter of two world-class musicians become the next musician to be famous throughout the Federation? The Federation reporters had therefore harassed her life in many ways.
"Alright..." Feng Youyou put away her camera and explained with regret, "It's just a habit of mine, but I didn't turn it on. It's to be prepared for any eventuality."
With that, Feng Youyou showed the back display of the camera.
Lu Qingyin's expression softened slightly upon seeing this. She explained gently, "We were talking about the upcoming ability assessment."
Gu Lingxue nodded glumly.
She looked at Feng Youyou, who was talking normally with Lu Qingyin, and a strange sense of envy welled up inside her.
Feng Youyou's professional acuity was quite impressive. She had joined the News Club at the beginning of the semester, firmly latching onto a senior from the student council, and completely distancing herself from the factional struggles of Class A.
Lu Qingyin had also privately expressed her appreciation for Feng Youyou.
If the problem was not something one could solve on their own, one should find someone who could protect them as soon as possible. After all, such a chaotic situation was not something one person could change.
"Is Lingxue worried?" Feng Youyou immediately understood the situation. She chuckled lightly, "Don't worry, at worst, you're still in Class A."
"The school has no precedent for demoting students, and isn't there Qingyin?"
But I don't want to always rely on Qingyin, Gu Lingxue's heart grew heavy upon hearing this.
She had transferred schools to seek change, so why was she even more uncomfortable than she had been in Spring City?
[So depressing.]
[Feng Youyou is so smart. No wonder she joined a club so early. I was thinking that the club recruitment period wasn't that early. So it was because if she didn't join, she would be dragged into it...]
[I don't think it's the roommate's fault either. It's just that the atmosphere in Class A is wrong.]
[I feel sorry for Xuexue.]
[No wonder Xuexue hasn't contacted Chang'an... This kind of situation is so stressful and exhausting, it's really not suitable for contacting people...]
[Xuexue is envious of Youyou.
Youyou is still free, while she is tied to her roommate's faction.]
[Terrifying Class A.]
"It's too terrifying." Lin Yan hugged herself in fear.
She muttered to herself, "A perfectly good shonen manga has turned into a factional struggle in a noble academy. Should I be glad that the protagonist is Xie Chang'an now..."
Compared to Gu Lingxue's experience, Xie Chang'an's was a piece of cake.
In the manga, Feng Youyou looked at Gu Lingxue and said, "By the way, Lingxue—"
"If I've said anything bad about Xie Chang'an before, I apologize to you here," Feng Youyou scratched her face in embarrassment. "I've met him, and he's not the kind of person I thought he was."
Gu Lingxue was stunned upon hearing this.
Her fingers quietly clenched, and a strange sense of panic suddenly welled up in her heart. Gu Lingxue hadn't seen Xie Chang'an in a long time, and Feng Youyou's words made her feel uneasy.
It was the panic of a friend no longer being a friend, and shame for herself.
Just as Gu Lingxue was feeling guilty, Lu Qingyin interrupted, "Don't mention him."
"An F-rank ability user has nothing to do with us," she paused and kindly reminded, "You won't meet him in the future anyway. It's better to interact more with people from your own class."
Gu Lingxue frowned slightly.
She didn't think Lu Qingyin's view was correct, but she didn't want to argue with her. Lu Qingyin had helped her a lot, and Gu Lingxue didn't want to embarrass her friend.
But Feng Youyou was blunt, "I feel like you people from noble families... seem to rank people into three, four, or five classes, right?"
"Let me make an assumption..." Feng Youyou frowned. "If I weren't an A-rank ability user, would I not even be qualified to talk to you?"
"Of course you would," Lu Qingyin nodded elegantly.
But her tone quickly changed, and she said arrogantly, "But our relationship would only be limited to a nodding acquaintance."
[Holy crap.]
[I thought the roommate was a good person before, but now... why do I feel like she's even worse than Shao Huayu?]
[If we can't fit into a circle, let's not force it.]
[But she has to take a side. If Xue doesn't take a side, she'll be directly isolated.]
[It seems that all those from noble families have this kind of mindset.]
[Damn it, why do I feel like only Youyou and Xuexue are normal in Class A right now?]
[There's also Liu Mu.]
[Liu Mu might not be normal either... (remembering Liu Mu's background).]
"Sigh..." Lin Yan let out a long sigh, her head aching.
Why did this book by old scoundrel Yuexia always mention the cruel social background? Although the world of Ability Hunter was depicted quite realistically, Lin Yan just didn't like reading it.
"I have nothing to talk to you about," Feng Youyou said in the manga and turned to leave.
Lu Qingyin didn't think anything was wrong.
People with different views could not be her friends. She had no intention of becoming good friends with Feng Youyou, who dreamed of becoming a Federation reporter.
Besides, she had already met a new friend.
Lu Qingyin naturally reached out to take Gu Lingxue's hand, but this time, Gu Lingxue pulled her hand back. Lu Qingyin turned back in confusion, "Lingxue, what's wrong?"
"I... I'm fine," Gu Lingxue said with feigned ease.
I have to leave Class A, Gu Lingxue secretly vowed.
Whether it was moving up to a higher class or down to a lower one, she had to leave Class A.
Lu Qingyin had been very good to her, and she didn't want to embarrass her, but their views were simply too different. Gu Lingxue thought heavily, Feng Youyou and I are the same kind of person.
[Ahhhh, terrifying Class A.]
[The three A-class students who have been focused on so far all plan to escape Class A.]
[Compared to Class A, Class S is a paradise.]
[The capable ones (like Feng Youyou) plan to move up; the less capable ones (like Liu Mu, Xuexue) plan to move up or down.]
[Too terrifying.]
[Why couldn't Youyou have been arranged as Xuexue's roommate?]
[I feel like it also has to do with the fact that many noble disciples are A-rank. S-rank is ultimately a minority, and most noble disciples are A-rank ability users. So that leads to the bad atmosphere in Class A.]
[But the senior from the News Club's Class A seemed pretty good.]
[Then it's this year's Class A's problem (bluntly speaking).]
Looking at the scrolling comments, Lin Yan suddenly remembered the words of the senior from the News Club. At that time, she seemed to have disliked the oppressive atmosphere of Class S, so she didn't move up, right?
It seemed that the situation in each grade's classes was also different.
Lin Yan shook her head thoughtfully and continued to read the next chapter of the manga.
Lu Qingyin's ability was sonic waves.
When she appeared in the training room holding a violin, the scene instantly transformed into a grand, live concert. Melodious and light musical notes floated in the air, and a gentle and smooth melody flowed through the room.
With the pull of the bow across the strings, the targets were mercilessly destroyed by sound waves that had turned into sharp blades.
And the owner of the violin strolled through the room, moving to the next room with ease. The sound of the violin was sometimes high and clear, sometimes low and deep, and finally, the piece came to an end.
When the last note sounded, the test ended.
Lu Qingyin faced the camera and curtsied elegantly.
The music note hair clip in her bangs sparkled under the light. The pale light of the training room unexpectedly coated her in a layer of brilliant light at this moment.
Gu Lingxue stared blankly at the scene before her, momentarily speechless. She thought, Lu Qingyin is truly the most perfect girl I have ever met.
Gu Lingxue's parents had always wanted to raise her to be such a girl.
She had originally thought that there was no such girl in the world, but she hadn't expected it was because she hadn't met Lu Qingyin. Do I really have to leave Class A... Gu Lingxue's heart was filled with confusion.
Gu Lingxue had lied to Xie Chang'an.
Her parents actually did not support her coming to the ability academy. Before she left, the three of them had a big fight. Gu Lingxue's parents felt that their daughter didn't need to be a bitter and tired ability user; she just needed to marry well.
The professions of ability users mostly required combat, while the path arranged by her parents only required her to maintain elegance and decorum.
Gu Lingxue extremely resisted the future her parents had planned for her, but she, who loved her parents deeply, often felt sad.
She thought hopefully, If my parents knew that a girl like Lu Qingyin was also attending an ability academy, would they support me in pursuing my own future?
[Xuexue's situation is so miserable.]
[The future my parents want VS the future I want.]
[How many people in reality are also confused about the answer to this question... No wonder Xue is so depressed, because she still loves her parents and wants their approval...]
[Lu Qingyin is so elegant.]
[Her looks and etiquette are amazing.
Compared to her, Xue is just a country girl (covering face).]
[A family of musicians, a musical prodigy, plus the ability of sonic waves. Old scoundrel Yuexia is really good at designing characters.]
[You can tell the old scoundrel really likes her.]
"Mmm..." Lin Yan's face showed a difficult expression.
To be honest, she quite liked the elegant speech Lu Qingyin displayed.
The shonen manga Lin Yan had read lacked the appearance of such female characters, and old scoundrel Yuexia was a rare manga artist who would depict the delicate emotions of girls.
But Class S already had Shao Huayu in a similar position.
Old scoundrel Yuexia would never arrange characters with similar positions in the protagonist's group. And... Lin Yan thought with a strange feeling, I don't think Shao Huayu's views are that rigid.
After all, he just didn't take Xie Chang'an seriously, not that he discriminated against him.
When Lu Qingyin from the manga walked out of the training room, there was a round of enthusiastic applause.
"As expected of the daughter of the Lu family," the blue-haired boy looked Lu Qingyin up and down provocatively, and said bluntly as he clapped, "You're very suitable for an arranged marriage."
Gu Lingxue frowned instantly upon hearing this.
And what greeted the blue-haired boy was the plucking of Lu Qingyin's violin strings. A sound wave laced with killing intent, like a blade, slashed across his cheek, leaving a few bloody marks.
Lu Qingyin said coldly, "I think you should weigh your own strength. If it weren't for the freer course arrangements at the Third Ability Academy, I wouldn't have come here to study."
"How dare someone who can't even be rated S-rank say such a thing?" Lu Qingyin's face was full of disgust. "Lan Nianxuan, the men of my Lu family will only be upright and indomitable heroes."
That was a very painful slap in the face.
[Holy crap, Class A is full of undercurrents.]
[The commoner students in this class have it so tough.]
[I completely understand why the two from the previous volume wanted to escape Class A.]
[Isn't Lan Nianxuan the A-class boy from the freshman orientation speech?]
[His personality is so awful.]
Lin Yan's face twisted as she read.
Lin Yan hadn't thought so before, but now she also supported Gu Lingxue running away. Any class would be fine, just don't stay in Class A.
Class A was too terrifying, wasn't it?
In the manga, Lan Nianxuan's face instantly darkened. Just as the two were about to clash, the Class A teacher quickly stepped between them and said with a headache, "Students, please don't resort to violence here."
"There are students from other classes coming over later. I don't think you want to make things too ugly," the Class A teacher said sternly. "If you want to settle the score, you can wait until the individual competition."
"I believe everyone can understand the current situation."
Following the homeroom teacher's words, the two opposing parties both backed down. Lu Qingyin tossed her long hair, clicked her high heels, and returned to Gu Lingxue's side; Lan Nianxuan, on the other hand, let out a "tsk" and leaned against the wall nonchalantly.
They also understood that infighting at this time was extremely unbecoming.
If they became a laughingstock for Class S, their families would surely reprimand them upon hearing about it. Both of them knew they didn't have an S-rank ability to rely on.
The Federation had been passed down to this day, and the various families had countless A-rank ability users.
It would be fine if it only spread within the school, but if it were spread back to their family's town by someone with ill intentions, it would definitely become a handle for their own branch to be used against them.
Besides... a self-deprecating smile touched Lu Qingyin's lips.
She didn't have Zhou Que's family background. Lu Qingyin thought, To have grown into such a person who would publicly provoke a commoner in front of everyone, Zhou Que has really been well-protected...
Gu Lingxue breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
It was good that a fight didn't break out, but there would definitely be a battle between the two in the individual competition. Gu Lingxue secretly glanced at the expressions of the other students around her: most of them were used to it, and some were even eager to see it happen.
Gu Lingxue's heart grew heavy again.
She quite liked her homeroom teacher. Although he looked like a big guy, he spoke exceptionally gently. When Gu Lingxue first came to the school, it was the teacher who had specifically taken her to her dorm.
The teacher has it really tough, Gu Lingxue sighed inwardly.
[The teacher really has it tough TAT.]
[Oh my god, it's so normal that Xuexue couldn't contact Chang'an often...]
[Lu Qingyin is quite cool.]
[I now super support Xuexue escaping too...]
[You reminded me. Why haven't I seen the other two?]
[Feng Youyou is the second to last one leaning against the wall on the left, and as for Liu Mu... his black hair makes him hard to spot (covering face).]
Seeing the last scrolling comment, Lin Yan suddenly stopped her page-turning action.
She went back to the page where "Lu Qingyin tossed her hair and left" and couldn't help but notice the blurry orange figure in the corner. Because Feng Youyou was standing very far away, the old scoundrel didn't even draw her facial features.
But Lin Yan could vaguely make out that Feng Youyou was standing there with her arms crossed, watching everything.
"I feel like this girl is pretty good," Lin Yan suddenly exclaimed in admiration.
Her strength was good, her personality was good, and her self-awareness was accurate. When she moves up to Class S in the future, she might become an important asset to the protagonist's group.
Or rather, she would become a member of the protagonist's group.
As for Liu Mu... Lin Yan scrolled up and down the manga page repeatedly and found several black-haired students with glasses. But because they had no facial features, she couldn't tell which one was Liu Mu.
"The character anchor points aren't very good," Lin Yan thought with some shame.
Perhaps a fan of Liu Mu could distinguish him by his actions and expressions, but unfortunately, Lin Yan was not.
In the manga, the ability assessment for Class A was still ongoing.
The manga first detailed the testing pages of several key characters like Lan Nianxuan and Gu Lingxue, then quickly skipped over the other Class A students.
The ability assessment for Class A was thus concluded.
Just as the Class A teacher was about to go to the gymnasium for the mental strength test, the figure of the Class S homeroom teacher appeared at the door. The Class A teacher was suddenly stunned and greeted her gently:
"Good afternoon, we just finished up over here."
[Why did they bring Class S into this?]
[I'm so scared. Class S and Class A have clashed. Is something serious going to happen?]
[Calm down, calm down, we're at school now.]
[It shouldn't be anything bad, although I think Class A is a lost cause.]
"There's really nothing to save..." Lin Yan muttered to herself.
The mindset of the wasteland world couldn't be changed overnight. There were too many noble disciples gathered in Class A, and it was no easy task to change their way of thinking.
Lin Yan felt that this male teacher's backing wasn't strong enough, and he had been stuck with the hot potato that was Class A.
In the manga, the two teachers chatted for a bit.
Li Xuehua quickly called for Ji Qing to enter the training room. Just as the Class A teacher was about to lead his students away, he looked at Ji Qing's figure on the display screen and suddenly fell into deep thought.
A bold idea emerged in his mind.
This year's top freshman was from a commoner family, while most of the students in his Class A were from noble families.
In his many years of his professional career, the atmosphere of a class often followed a rule: if noble disciples made up the majority of the class, the atmosphere was usually more oppressive; and if commoners made up the majority, the atmosphere would be more peaceful.
He and Li Xuehua had previously speculated about the situation in Class S.
Because the three from Central City were close, he had originally thought that the situation in Class S wouldn't be much better, but the result exceeded everyone's expectations.
Ji Qing had successfully broken the long-standing "rule-based horror story" that had been passed down among teachers.
He had successfully gained the recognition of all the noble disciples in Class S as a commoner.
Why couldn't he try to break it as well?
A look of struggle instantly appeared on the Class A teacher's face. He looked at his students and thought through gritted teeth, The future of these children should not be bound by class traditions.
He first gestured for the Class A students to stop, then cautiously said to Li Xuehua, "Teacher Xuehua, can we discuss something?"
"Can you let our class' students observe?"
[Holy crap, holy crap.]
[Amazing.]
[I'm so excited. I never expected to see the ability assessment of Class S, ahhh.]
[The abilities of everyone in Class S, I'm looking forward to it! Super looking forward to it!]
[Seeing the Class A teacher cautiously asking the teacher of another class, I feel so sorry for him. He's really trying to find a way out for his students.]
[Sigh... this is what an idealist is like.]
[I feel like this male teacher's character design is pretty good, but his power is too weak, and his personality is also too soft.]
[The teacher is a pretty good person.]
[But still... the rule-based horror story among teachers... that description...]
[The teachers are probably helpless about it too.]