Chapter 52: Chapter 52: So Cringey... I Love It

...

"WOOF WOOF WOOF!" (Xue Li! Xue Li! Hurry and teach me the duck walk!)

"QUACK QAQ!" (Don’t you come over here, quack!)

On the way home from school, the trio headed back together as usual.

Yu Bao chased Xue Li, running circles around them on the road.

Xiaoyue walked leisurely beside Shao Ya, occasionally rubbing against the girl’s lovely legs with a look of pure bliss.

Just a moment ago, the silly little dog had wanted to play with him again. Xiaoyue had a flash of inspiration, telling Yu Bao that today’s game was the duck walk and that he should find Xue Li, learn it, and then come back.

And so, Yu Bao turned to torment Xue Li instead...

Xiaoyue had found a way to get rid of the silly little dog!

Watching the three little guys, Su Zhi couldn’t help but smile.

After a long, tiring day, they always knew how to make him smile.

It was a shame his descriptive skills weren’t good enough to record these interesting moments. He could only store them away in his memory.

Shao Ya and Liu Yuhang’s minds, however, were clearly not on these small, everyday matters.

"That principal is just inhuman! Su Zhi fought for the school in the exchange tournament, and not only did he not get a reward, he got punished! What fucking bullshit!"

The class representative was still fuming with indignation.

Shao Ya waved her hand. "Relax. It sounds outrageous, but it’s actually pretty normal for our high school."

"Sigh." Liu Yuhang sullenly clenched his fists.

He felt indignant and sad for Su Zhi, but that was all he could do.

Just like that time with the size comparison, he was powerless to help.

Xue Li stopped running from Yu Bao and jumped onto Liu Yuhang’s shoulder, curling up into a small, round ball.

"Quack." (Don’t be sad~)

The round little Xue Li nuzzled against him.

Liu Yuhang’s mood calmed a little. He turned to the person beside him. "Brother Shu, say something. We won’t be seeing you tomorrow."

Su Zhi replied instantly, "I think it’s great. Not going to school means I can really let loose."

"That’s not what I’m talking about..."

Liu Yuhang sighed softly. "We all know you and Yu Bao obviously did your best, but what you got wasn’t comfort and understanding, but condemnation, just because you didn’t achieve the goal they wanted... That feeling must be awful."

"That’s true, I guess."

Su Zhi looked at Yu Bao, who was continuing to have fun on his own as if nothing had happened.

"But so what?"

Su Zhi stopped in front of his apartment building.

"We were rebellious from the start, taking an unorthodox path. We’ve always been surrounded by condemnation and doubt. That’s never changed."

"If there’s less of it, I’m happy. If there’s more, I don’t care."

"What other people think of me doesn’t change anything. Yu Bao and I will continue on our own path. Time will prove who was right."

"Alright! That’s the Spirit!"

Shao Ya clapped Su Zhi hard on the shoulder.

Su Zhi was prepared this time, and his physique was a bit better, so her pat didn’t knock him flat.

The three of them stopped and looked at each other.

Shao Ya and Su Zhi shared a smile, then both turned to Liu Yuhang with comical expressions.

"Our muddle-headed class representative has been led astray again~"

"Why don’t you stay the night? My place is pretty big."

"Haha, I’m not that muddle-headed to be led astray every time. I was just worried Brother Shu was dwelling on things, so I walked with you a bit longer."

Liu Yuhang laughed heartily.

"You’re awesome, Brother Shu! Let’s split up here and meet at the summit. Good luck in the city tournament!"

"Yeah, see you at the summit!"

Two strong fists bumped together.

"See ya, Brother Shu!"

Xue Li: "Quack~" (Goodbye, quack~)

Yu Bao: "WOOF WOOF WOOF!" (Next time we meet, remember to teach me the duck walk!)

Xue Li: "...Quack!" (Let’s never meet again!)

Liu Yuhang and his Envoy’s Pet disappeared into the surrounding darkness.

Even though they were wearing weighted vests, the man and his duck ran with remarkable lightness and agility, completely unaffected.

"They’re improving fast, too. Everyone’s working hard."

Su Zhi remarked to Yu Bao, "If we slack off even a little, it’s not certain who’ll win the next time we face Xue Li."

He meant it from the bottom of his heart.

Hao Waterfowl are a Strong Attack Type Pet Beast. Xue Li’s overall stats might not compare to Cotton’s, but offense is definitely its strong suit. If Yu Bao shows an opening, Xue Li could take him out with a single Continuous Combo.

"WOOF!"

Yu Bao confidently patted his chest.

He was saying that he’d work even harder, and Xue Li would never have a chance to surpass him!

Su Zhi smiled softly and said nothing. There was no need to. He had always believed in Yu Bao.

Su Zhi then looked at Shao Ya.

The girl stood quietly in place, her azure eyes sparkling under the streetlight. Her waterfall of white hair cascaded naturally over her shoulders, flowing with a frosty, moon-like sheen.

"Is there something else?" Su Zhi asked curiously.

Shao Ya puffed her cheeks almost imperceptibly, raised her chin, and handed him a small, dark green ticket stamped with "Huai City Municipal Battle Hall".

"See you at the Battle Hall tomorrow afternoon!"

"Aren’t you going to class? We could do it at night..."

"It’s fine if I skip a class. Old Ban will take care of the fallout for me."

Shao Ya glanced at Xiaoyue. "Yu Bao has been improving so quickly lately that Xiaoyue thinks he’s getting full of himself. We need to set the pecking order straight. Since you guys can’t make the mini-test on Saturday, we have to issue the challenge for tomorrow."

"Meow," Xiaoyue calmly agreed.

"I see. Alright."

Su Zhi took the ticket and suddenly smiled. "Thank you."

"What’s there to thank me for? Just get Yu Bao ready for a beating!"

The girl cockily raised her fist, but as she turned to leave, her playful expression vanished, replaced by a gentle, concerned gaze.

"See you tomorrow afternoon!"

"Oh, bye-bye!"

Hearing that Su Zhi’s voice still had its usual reliable tone beneath the nonchalance, the corners of the girl’s mouth, which hadn’t curved up the entire walk, finally lifted slightly.

Xiaoyue rubbed against its master, its meow sounding a bit helpless. "Meow..."

’How should we fight tomorrow? Should we go easy on the silly little dog?’

"Mhm, go easy on them. Help Su Zhi and Yu Bao rebuild their confidence! But of course, make it look like you’re trying hard. Don’t be too fake about it."

"Meow-kay."

’Fine.’

Xiaoyue had no objections.

’Who says the big bro doesn’t have to look out for the little bro, after all?’

...

In his empty bedroom, Cao Mingyu answered his phone.

"How did it go? What was Su Zhi’s reaction?"

"He-He’s as calm as ever. It’s like he really doesn’t care about the defeat or the punishment."

Zhang Wei reported, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"His two classmates had very strong reactions, but Su Zhi himself seemed completely unconcerned. He also said... uh... it’s a bit, a bit hard to repeat. I’ll just send you the recording!"

"Fine. Hanging up."

Perfect. Cao Mingyu liked Su Zhi’s voice, not Zhang Wei’s.

Zhang Wei sent the recording—

["We were rebellious from the start, taking an unorthodox path, surrounded by condemnation and doubt..."]

["Time will prove who was right..."]

["My place is pretty big..."]

"..."

Cao Mingyu listened on speakerphone, his eyes wide and his breathing growing heavy. His toes curled and uncurled frantically inside his slippers.

’So chuuni... so cringey... so hot... How can he say lines that only exist in anime out loud...’

’Fuck, I love it so much!’

Cao Mingyu slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet.

’Su Zhi... I must have him!’

·

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Something came up, so I can only come back to write in the morning. The second update will be around 11 a.m.!

To make it up to everyone, and to make the principal die sooner, I’ll add another Chapter at 11 p.m. Three updates today!