"That is... so polite."
The class had ended. Upon hearing the bell, all sixteen students in the class became visibly nervous.
Class 15's Chairperson, Zhang Yang, would drop by any moment. Of course, visiting was nothing to be worried about, but it was apparent that Zhang Yang was trying to figure out the situation unfolding in their class.
"Su Ying, what should we do?" Zhao Ming turned around, "If he is coming to cause us trouble, should I beat him up?"
Zhao Ming had thought of asking Zhang Yang for his signature, but he had not been able to get it. That could have been an excellent opportunity to settle both the old and new debts. As the rich heir of a respectable family, he had never experienced such anger. No matter what happened, Zhao Ming was determined to settle all past conflicts right there and then.
"Are you sure?" Su Ying shook her head and said, "He's not done anything to you yet... Hang on for now. I want to see what he is going to do!"
Zhao Ming could have chosen not to treat Zhang Yang with respect, but he had to obey Su Ying's words. After all, they were all part of the same team. In addition, Su Ying was a popular member of Class 16. Now that she had Awakened with the Elemental Power to control ice, they had to listen to her. Zhao Ming nodded his head, "Sure, I'll do whatever you say. Call me if you need any help."
Then, he turned to look at Hong Xiaofu, "You are the Class Chairman's deskmate, please take care of her."
'No problem," Hong Xiaofu smiled as he nodded, "I will stay here."
There was nothing unusual about providing strong support for Su Ying.
Just as they were speaking, they noticed several schoolmates starting to look into their classroom with curiosity. There were some from Class 15 and Hong Xiaofu even noticed a few students from Class 1 and Class 2, who had run over to observe the situation.
Zhang Yang had always visited Class 16, but in the past, there was less focus on his actions. Looking at the current situation, it seemed that after the Aura Resurgence, the Awakener's every move would receive scrutiny from others.
Except for Hong Xiaofu.
Before Zhang Yang even arrived, the crowd of onlookers had begun jeering and kicking up a fuss.
"Su Ying, you just date him. I think Zhang Yang is actually quite good."
"Yeah, I agree. Zhang Yang has a good family background and he is a comprehensive Awakener from the Strengthening System. He can take on ten men alone!"
"Such great opportunities are scarce!"
The students in Class 16 confronted them head-on.
"What are you doing here? Su Ying is also an Awakener. She's an Elemental Awakener with the ability to control ice. When Zhang Yang arrives later, he will be frozen into ice!"
"Yes! Although Awakeners from the Strengthening System are strong, we do not care!"
"Su Ying has an Awakening talent index of 3.12%, we are not even sure who will be more intimidated. Why are you being so arrogant?"
That had always been the case on campus—comparisons were made on everything.
Before the Aura Resurgence and the Awakening, comparisons among students were made using their family backgrounds and their academic results. After the Resurgence, it was all about their strengths and Awakening talents.
Su Ying sat firmly in her seat. She twirled a pen in one hand while she stared indifferently at the door. Hong Xiaofu shrugged his shoulders as he sat steadily, maintaining his calm composure.
Suddenly, the noise outside the classroom died down—it became so silent you could hear a crow croak.
A tall, handsome young man appeared at the door of Class 16. All the boys in the room gulped unconsciously.
Although they said they did not care, when Zhang Yang appeared, he really brought along a sense of superiority that was unique to Awakeners, which made the students of Class 16 visibly nervous and a few girls in the class blush as they whispered, "so handsome!" under the breath.
"Su Ying, I'm here," Zhang Yang said as he leaned against the doorframe. He pulled out a stalk of roses from his clothes, smiled at Su Ying, "Are you excited that I am here? Come on, don't hide, don't be shy! Now time belongs to us. You see, with both our talents and looks, we will definitely make a great pair, and we can achieve great things together!"
As he finished his speech, the crowd broke out in cheers and applause: after all, they were all high school students who tended to idolize those who appeared to be strong and fierce. With the Aura Resurgence, whoever was Awakened with excellent talents would most certainly be worshiped by the students.
Sure enough, after the applause and cheers died down, the crowd began to shout—
"Move away, move away! Give way to my dear Brother Yang!"
"That's right, Brothers from Class 16, move aside. You should know that my Brother's fist is unmatched!"
"Do not ever block comprehensive Awakeners of the Strengthening System! Don't you know how strong his punches are?"
Zhao Ming immediately stepped forward, "Why should I be afraid? How about you come over here and try?"
At that moment, Zhang Yang raised his hands, and the crowd fell silent.
He spoke, "Well, we are all classmates here. How can we use force against one another? We have to use our morals to convince others, our conduct. And most importantly, our power and strength. How can we only use force to convince those around us? I, Zhang Yang, will show you my capabilities today!"
Suddenly, a group of people rushed into the classroom and cleared the path in front of Su Ying. All the students who were present in Class 16 pushed themselves against the wall—everyone was ready to watch Zhang Yang's performance.
Su Ying sneered in her seat. How could he be so arrogant with such little power? With such a personality, who could fall for him?
On the other hand, Hong Xiaofu was curious to witness Zhang Yang's little scene. What was he going to perform for everyone?
Seeing that space had cleared, and all that was left beside Su Ying was Hong Xiaofu, the Mascot who was Awakened with no abilities, Zhang Yang cleared his throat and spoke, "It's time for me to display my strengths!"
He held the rose between his teeth and took a slow deep breath while combing his hair with his hands, attracting the screams of the many girls who were present.
Then, using the strength of his legs, he leapt to a height of nearly two metres and did a double flip.
Zhang Yang had intended to end this stunt perfectly with a beautiful pose, by inserting the flower into Su Ying's water bottle that was on her desk—such a perfect ending would definitely stun everyone present. It would also make it clear that this difficult trick could only be pulled off by a comprehensive Awakener from the Strengthening System. No one else would be able to do it.
That was definitely a lofty aspiration. Unfortunately, in reality, the chances of such a perfect ending were slim. As Zhang Yang was completing his double flip, his right foot suddenly hit the roof, making a loud noise. He lost his balance, making a miserable mistake in a stunt that he had practised over fifty times at home.
The students saw Zhang Yang fall from midair and landed on his knees at Hong Xiaofu's feet.
The classroom fell silent. Everyone's jaws dropped in shock.
Hong Xiaofu looked at Zhang Yang, perplexed. After a long pause, he finally uttered,
"Well…. That's really kind of you."