Chapter 4 An Unremarkable Special Admit

Chapter 4 An Unremarkable Special Admit

The young couple was about to ignite, then hastily packed their things and left.

The athletic guy with dark skin rolled up his sleeves, revealing his wheat-colored skin, making the difference in their skin tones even more apparent. He slung both of their backpacks over his shoulder, not letting his girlfriend carry anything, and pulled her along by the arm.

Anyone could guess what they were rushing out to do.

Damn.

He had just come here to soak in some cultural knowledge, but he almost became one of those oblivious extras in Japanese videos at the library!

Could these couples please spare the library?

After the couple left, only he and the brooding handsome guy remained in the library.

The air seemed much fresher, with only the sound of pages turning.

The magazines were new, barely touched, still carrying a strong scent of ink, and some pages stuck together slightly. His body still warm, he lowered his head, his slightly curly hair framing a pale, slender neck and hands. Because he was so thin, his ears stood out even more, tinged pink, adding a rare color to his appearance.

Because he kept his head down, he didn't notice the brooding guy looking at him several times.

He stayed in the library reading until 10:40 PM.

From 11:00 to 12:00, it was cello class.

Ning Song came out twenty minutes early and headed straight for the music building.

Since he was a bit directionally challenged, the school's vastness often disoriented him. He always thought the sun was in the north, completely mixing up east and west. Even knowing he was heading south, he felt like he was going north, unable to correct himself.

The white ash trees deep within the campus were over ten meters tall, their branches lush and swaying in the breeze, enveloping him in their fragrance.

White ash is considered the provincial flower of Shangdong Province. It is said that a former governor loved white ash, leading to its widespread planting throughout the region.

After taking many detours, he finally arrived at the practice room and encountered the brooding guy again, with his long legs and slim waist, sharp and lean.

Apart from his face being very student-like, every other part of him was angular and sharp. Though his build was slender, he exuded an intense presence.

The brooding guy entered the classroom he was supposed to enter.

Turns out they were in the same class.

He followed closely behind, and the lively atmosphere in the practice room suddenly quieted down. Twenty or so boys, aged sixteen or seventeen, all turned to look at him.

They were all dressed in uniform black uniforms, their gazes making him feel as if he had fallen into a black vortex.

He was the only one in the class with a white nameplate.

A tall, lean, and composed guy said to him, "Go get your cello."

He recognized their class president, Chen Mo, whom he had added on social media last week.

His voice was a deep, youthful baritone, immediately recognizable.

Unlike the arrogance of Senior Zhou, who looked down at people, the class president was simply not very friendly but always answered questions. He was the type of person who would help you if you approached him but wouldn't give you any extra emotions.

He knew about Upper East School's rules two months ago. The school provided everything needed for classes, such as musical instruments and sports equipment, possibly to minimize disparities due to different financial backgrounds.

On one hand, there was a strict hierarchical system; on the other, efforts were made to hide the differences between levels. This world really was contradictory.

He hurried to get his cello. He was small, and the cello looked disproportionately large next to him.

Fortunately, he had practiced for the past two months; otherwise, his frail body might not have been able to carry it.

Carrying the cello, he found a seat, meeting the brooding guy's gaze.

The brooding guy seemed to recognize him and gave him an extra glance.

He sat down in the empty seat beside him.

Encountering someone like this made him happy.

It's well known that high school boys and high school students are not the same species.

It was because of ordinary high school students like him that brooding guys like the one beside him stood out even more.

Conversely, such a person was like the moon, making someone like him, a faint star, invisible around him.

He glanced around at the others.

He even felt that his previous worries were overly self-indulgent.

There were too many handsome guys in this school. He was the most unremarkable one in the class.

He didn't even need to pretend; his looks and height placed him at the bottom.

His new classmates exuded vitality and brightness, nurtured by wealth and power.

Glancing around, most of their appearances and demeanors were quite average, with only two standing out.

One was the brooding guy, undoubtedly the epitome of a campus heartthrob, with his strikingly brooding good looks.

Another was a boy sitting in the first row.

He was roughly the same height, also very slender, but unlike him, this boy was delicate like a porcelain doll, with deer-like eyes. When their eyes met, his gaze quickly drifted away, leaving only the back of his head, with a small braid at the nape.

He had seen him among the twenty cards!

A class with two main characters should be enough, right?

As a newcomer, he naturally became the focus of the entire class. A few boys were discussing him in English.

"Is he really from Lower Harbor?"

"Holy crap, Lu Zixuan, stop taking pictures. Don't let him see."

He also heard them say, "Do you think he can understand what we're saying?"

"Then let's switch to French."

"He hasn't reacted at all; he definitely doesn't understand."

Suit yourselves.

Ning Song slightly adjusted his violin.

"Are you Ning Song?"

A bespectacled boy who looked like an ordinary student approached him.

"Yes, hello," he greeted with a smile.

The other person was particularly friendly. "Hello, my name is Qiao Qiao, 'Qiao' as in 'Qiao,' and 'Qiao' as in 'Huaqiao.'"

Qiao Qiao had a face as ordinary as his own, looking like a clean-cut bookworm with thin lips, seeming like the kind of extra in novels responsible for gossip.

Sure enough, Qiao Qiao enthusiastically engaged him in conversation, asking where he used to study and why he transferred in the middle of his second year.

"You should move over here," Qiao Qiao suddenly whispered.

Ning Song obediently moved over.

In a new environment, it's important to make friends quickly, and there's no reason to reject someone extending an olive branch. Besides, this Qiao Qiao didn't seem like someone who would be bullied based on his appearance and demeanor.

This point is crucial—newcomers shouldn't befriend those who are isolated, or they might end up isolated themselves.

Qiao Qiao lowered his voice. "You'd better stay away from Pu Daxi. He doesn't like people getting too close to him."

"Pu Daxi?"

Qiao Qiao nodded, seeing that Ning Song knew nothing, and secretly filled him in.

The handsome, quiet guy is Pu Yu, and Pu Daxi is his nickname.

Back in junior high, he played Mr. Darcy in a performance of "Pride and Prejudice" during the Spring Festival, and everyone thought he was the teenage version of Mr. Darcy.

You have to admit, he does look a bit like him!

None of the boys in the class look bad, after all, they are all rich second-generation heirs, with their heights and demeanors standing out. But Pu Yu is still the most outstanding one. Just like how noble schools aren't short of wealthy and influential people, Pu Yu's family background is still at the very top of the social pyramid.

Qiao Qiao added in a low voice, "His grandfather is Pu Mingke."

Just a simple name, without any titles, for one reason: this name is well-known in this world.

He secretly searched for this name on his phone.

He immediately recognized their family.

Because Dad Ning works as a driver for the Pu family.

During the December 129 riots, when Mr. Pu was attacked by thugs, Dad Ning, who happened to pass by, risked his life to knock down the criminals. Afterward, Mr. Pu not only gave him a large sum of money but also hired him as a driver for the Pu family. Mom Ning quit her job at a laundry in the slums and started working as a housekeeper in the Pu family mansion. Mrs. Pu, hearing about his excellent academic performance, recommended him for a special admission spot at Upper East Boys' School.

Dad Ning and Mom Ning were incredibly grateful and nervous; they didn't even take a day off on his first day of school.

If Upper East School had its own pyramid game,

Pu Yu would be at the very top.

He would be at the very bottom.

There couldn't be anyone further apart than the two of them in the entire school.

No wonder the classmates looked at him that way when he sat next to Pu Yu.

"Our class is super harmonious; there's no class more united than ours," Qiao Qiao smiled. "Except for Pu Daxi and Zhen Zhen."

"Zhen Zhen?"

Ning Song instinctively looked at the cute little beauty sitting in the front row.

Qiao Qiao said, "Zhen Zhen is a bit autistic and may not like talking to people, but he's very well-behaved."

Extremely pretty and delicate, slightly autistic, a rich young master, with a signature tuft of hair, fully loaded with buffs.

Would he be Pu Yu's love interest?

He glanced at Pu Yu.

As soon as class began, their cello teacher asked him to play a piece to gauge his level.

He played the cello terribly.

Actually, he had tried to cram in some practice over the past two months. After passing the special admission test for Upper East School, Dad Ning and Mom Ning immediately enrolled him in several crash courses because the four major schools of the Asian Federation differ from regular high schools in their emphasis on students' comprehensive qualities. Ning Song originally attended a regular high school, excelling academically but lacking in artistic and athletic skills compared to the wealthy young masters at noble schools.

Unfortunately, he hadn't taken these classes seriously.

There was no way; he really didn't know which novel he had transmigrated into. It wasn't until he heard Mom Ning excitedly mention that they had a way to send him to try out Upper East School that he realized the school's name sounded familiar. Then he realized he might have transmigrated into a novel.

So when he first came over, the first thing he did was find a way to make money.

He didn't have any special talents growing up. He was an abandoned child who had always been frail, and besides studying, he loved playing games.

At first, he just enjoyed playing games, but later he started making his own games.

There was a teacher named Liu Zhaohui at the orphanage who supported him a lot. He began learning programming in the fourth grade of elementary school, and the other kids all said he was a genius.

He didn't think he was a real genius; he just genuinely loved it.

And for things he loved, he became obsessed.

Recently, he has been contacting a game company called Shark Arts. Making games alone is impossible, and platform marketing is crucial. Shark is a new company, but it has a good reputation and loves discovering and nurturing new talent. He sent them a game he developed, which he wrote in middle school. It's impossible to memorize all the code, so he has been improving it whenever he has free time, waiting for Shark Arts' evaluation and feedback.

Having a career you're good at and truly passionate about is rare and precious. Even if he lived a hundred more lives, his goal wouldn't change.

When he makes games, he gets so engrossed that he doesn't even eat properly, let alone have the energy to learn the cello.

Apart from games, his life for the past decade seems to be nothing else.

He really is boring, even in his only specialty, he acts like a dull programmer. Unlike protagonists who dance, play instruments, or study art, if related to games, they are usually handsome esports players or hot-tempered but eye-catching male streamers.

Truly a side character.

After playing the cello, some classmates snickered, and the teacher was surprised.

But she probably never had high hopes for him anyway. A scholarship student from the slums, lucky to afford schooling, let alone musical instruments.

Art is always the icing on the cake for the rich and privileged.

So she encouraged him: "Not bad, you played an entire piece."

The poor student from the slums, apparently unaware of shame, actually smiled, seemingly content with finishing a whole piece.

It's hard to tell whether he was leaning on the cello or the cello was leaning on him, but it seemed to be crushing him.

Almost immediately, someone live-streamed his first class at Upper East School on the school forum with pictures.

By afternoon, Ning Song's photos had spread throughout the school.

During break, he went to the restroom and secretly checked the school forum.

Every post was about him.

"Who is this new scholarship student?"

"He's from Lower Harbor. What were you expecting? Beautiful boys there end up in Underground City bars and KTVs!"

"He looks like a bookworm without glasses."

"Does he have health issues? He looks pale."

"Hard to say, the environment in Lower Harbor is scary! He looks sickly. Good thing we have medical check-ups; I'm worried about contagious diseases!"

Ning Song zoomed in on his photo.

Because he was too thin, his eyes looked unnaturally large, and his lips appeared pale and unhealthy. If he played the violin or a larger instrument like the piano, it might have been better, but it was the cello.

This instrument made him look as if he were nothing but bones, with his pale wrists and slightly bowed head.

His facial features were actually quite good, but his extreme thinness made him look listless. At first glance, he was disappointing, and no one bothered to look closer.

The new students on the forum insulted him mercilessly. Someone with weaker mental fortitude would likely become depressed.

Fortunately, he didn't care.

He used to worry about getting involved in messy romantic entanglements.

But it seemed unlikely now.

Someone was staring at a series of his photos on the screen.

Playing the cello, smiling at the teacher after finishing.

His hair was slightly curly and soft, his skin very pale and thin. He wasn't short, but he looked lanky.

Zoom in, zoom in again, until the screen showed only his face or hands, like a magnifying glass, examining him from head to toe.

His slender frame made him seem perfect for being held tightly, unable to escape.

The screen dimmed, reflecting eyes glowing with a blue hue behind thin lenses, revealing tender, affectionate almond-shaped eyes.