School sports field, on the podium.
“Piercing through the long night, causing all things to lose their color! Answering the call of light, fulfilling the promise of glory!”
“I am the shining Flowing Light—Amber Flowing Light, descending here!”
Accompanied by special effects that Lu Yushan found extremely cringeworthy but everyone else thought were explosively cool, the special guest Amber Flowing Light descended from the sky along a glowing light trail.
She wore a magnificent bright orange outfit trimmed with silver, striking the classic Sailor Moon-style pose.
Her clear voice, amplified by magic power, echoed across the entire field, making Lu Yushan’s scalp tingle.
The students below instantly erupted. Waves of cheers nearly flipped the sports field upside down.
“Amber-chan! Look over here!!”
“Amber Flowing Light is number one in the world!!”
The entire opening ceremony of the sports festival had turned into a personal idol concert.
Looks like most magical girls work as idols.
Lu Yushan thought of Qinghai Starlight, the world-famous top idol he had met before.
But none of that mattered right now.
Because at this moment, he was at the center of a different kind of storm.
If looks could kill, he would have already been sliced to pieces three thousand times over.
“Fuck, why though.”
“Young Miss Gu is one thing, but why is even the class beauty from the neighboring class, Bai Ning, also…!”
To his left sat the elegant and noble Gu Lingyue, radiating an aura that screamed ‘strangers keep out.’
To his right sat Bai Ning, who was usually clumsy and scatterbrained but was currently sitting perfectly straight.
“Shan-ge, don’t worry! I’ll definitely cover for you!”
Bai Ning stared at Lu Yushan with sparkling eyes, lowering her voice.
Her gaze was filled with a strong sense of mission.
She had originally wanted to call him “Master,” but under Lu Yushan’s strong insistence, she reluctantly changed it to “Shan-ge.”
“Tch.”
A disdainful sound came from his left.
Gu Lingyue had her legs crossed, the elegant line of her black-stocking-covered calves on full display.
She rested her cheek on one hand and didn’t even bother looking at Bai Ning directly.
“Where did this little stray cat come from? She doesn’t even know whose spot this is.”
Gu Lingyue’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a natural arrogance.
“Some things aren’t for just anyone to leech onto.”
Bai Ning was stunned for a moment, then immediately bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“Hah? Who are you calling a stray cat? Is your name written on this seat?”
Although the Gu family was very wealthy, as someone who had just awakened her chuuni soul as a dependent, Bai Ning felt she had powerful backing and her spine was exceptionally straight.
She puffed out her ample chest and glared back without showing any weakness.
Lu Yushan was sandwiched between them.
In his left ear was capitalist financial humiliation, in his right ear was a chuuni mental attack.
He felt like a piece of fatty pork trapped between two red-hot irons, sizzling with oil.
Ah, I suddenly really want to eat barbecue.
He had only come here to earn an easy 1000 yuan. Why did it turn out like this?
“All right! Before the official opening, let me liven up the atmosphere for everyone a bit more!”
Amber Flowing Light on the podium seemed completely unaware of the battlefield below. She was thoroughly enjoying being the center of attention.
She waved the magic staff in her hand, scattering golden sparkles of light that drew another wave of screams from the crowd.
Lu Yushan sighed and slowly closed his eyes, trying to sense the other party’s magic power.
Weak.
That was his first impression.
The glamorous Amber Flowing Light before him had far less magic power in both quantity and density compared to Qinghai Starlight.
At that moment, there was movement on his leg.
The large bag of potato chips resting on his knee was wriggling strangely, and faint crunching sounds of “crunch crunch” came from inside.
Lu Yushan rolled his eyes.
This guy was only ever this active when there was food.
He pretended to grab some chips, reached into the bag, and poked a soft, squishy meatball.
“Stop eating.”
He lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear and asked:
“What rank is the one on stage?”
Muffled chewing sounds came from inside the bag:
“Mmm… She’s still Delta-class for now, but her aptitude is very good.”
“What about me? What rank am I?”
Lu Yushan had always been curious about this.
“You?”
The chewing inside the bag stopped.
A small head covered in potato chip crumbs poked out from the opening, its eyes unusually serious as it looked Lu Yushan up and down.
It was silent for two seconds.
“As long as you want to, your aptitude can reach Alpha-class.”
Alpha?
Another new term.
It looked like he would need to find time to catch up on this knowledge.
“I’m full~ I’m full~”
Before Lu Yushan could ask more, Snowball suddenly bristled all over, as if sensing something extremely terrifying.
“Run! A big one is coming soon! I’m out too!”
Whoosh.
The bag deflated, leaving only half a bag of crushed potato chip crumbs.
It had run away.
The corner of Lu Yushan’s mouth twitched.
It just ran like that? Weren’t familiars supposed to assist their masters?
Why did this one run faster than anyone else the moment something happened?
“Lu Yushan! Lu Yushan from Class 2, Year 2!”
“The competition is about to start! Please proceed to the starting line immediately!”
On the podium, Amber Flowing Light’s voice rang out across the entire sports field through the speakers.
She even held the microphone and waved cheerfully in Lu Yushan’s direction with a sweet smile.
All eyes on the field focused on him once again.
The gazes mixed with jealousy, resentment, and confusion burned even hotter and more intensely than before.
“Why the hell?! Not only does he have beauties on both sides, but even the idol is personally calling him out?!”
“What’s this guy’s background? I refuse to accept this!”
Lu Yushan’s head throbbed.
How had it come to this so quickly? His event was clearly scheduled much later.
“I moved it forward.”
Gu Lingyue beside him spoke casually, a capitalist smile on her face.
“I have a meeting this afternoon and can’t stay here too long. But I didn’t want to miss your race, so I had a word with the principal and moved your event to the front.”
The privilege of the rich—simple and unpretentious.
“…”
Lu Yushan let out a long sigh.
He stood up and brushed the potato chip crumbs off his pants.
“By the way, it’s not safe here. A monster might be coming soon. You two should leave as soon as possible.”
After thinking it over, Lu Yushan decided to give them a warning.
Although he wasn’t the type to meddle in other people’s business, he wasn’t cold enough to watch people he knew walk into danger.
“Heh.”
Gu Lingyue didn’t take it seriously at all. She even thought it was just Lu Yushan’s excuse to get rid of her.
“Sir, you wouldn’t want to lose your sponsor, would you?”
She pointed toward the prize area below the podium.
“The prizes for this sports festival are exclusively sponsored by the Gu Group. If I don’t approve, you won’t get that one thousand yuan.”
Although she said that, out of caution she still sent a warning signal to her bodyguards.
On the other side, Bai Ning’s reaction was completely different.
Her eyes lit up instantly.
“A monster?! For real?!”
She clenched her fists excitedly, lowering her voice, her tone full of irrepressible excitement.
“Awesome! Are we about to have our first joint operation, Shange?!”
“Is this the hidden undercurrent flowing beneath everyday life?!”
Lu Yushan looked at the two living disasters on his left and right.
One relied on her wealth and thought everything would be fine.
The other had an overactive imagination and thought she was the protagonist destined to save the world.
Maybe the world should just be destroyed.
Lu Yushan turned expressionlessly and walked toward the starting line of the track.
He could only hope that the “big one” Snowball mentioned would come a little later—at least long enough for him to finish running and claim that one thousand yuan.