Great, we're doomed now!

Her grades were actually quite good, but they didn't stand out when she was around Ye Shou, who had been "someone else's child" since kindergarten.

Living in an environment where there is always someone better than her for a long time, Chika's competitive spirit was suppressed. She never had any motivation to strive for "number one" and gradually became lazy, instead indulging in things like magic, board games, and comics.

—Okay, actually it's because she likes it herself. Even without Ye Shou, she still wouldn't have become a top student.

Ye Shou's only excessive act was that he surpassed his childhood sweetheart in all her areas of expertise.

The Chika Society speaks five languages, while Ye Shou is fluent in all six official languages ​​of the United Nations (Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic) except for Japanese.

One is a musical prodigy who won a gold medal in a world-class piano competition; the other is a monster who has little interest in music but can reach the same level after a month of intensive practice!

Where did Fujiwara Chika, the "aloof genius" who once dominated the world stage, go?

Ye Shou scoffed, "You weren't even as ambitious as you were when you were a kid! That genius girl has now been reduced to nothing more than acting cute and charming... tsk!"

"It's all Xiao Shou's fault."

Chika tilted her head, her face, which should have been puffed up with anger, was now all smiles.

"If it weren't for Xiao Shou, I would definitely have become a much better woman now."

—So please take responsibility.

"..."

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have just treated the piano as a personal hobby, and I wouldn't have been thinking about how to have fun every day. My grades would definitely have been better, hehe!"

As a political family, the Fujiwara clan was relatively lenient in disciplining their children, but they still unconsciously provided them with an elite education. In particular, Chika showed an interest and talent in music at a very young age.

For mature adults, nurturing a child's interests and talents is a natural investment. After all, it's far better than forcing them to learn things they don't like.

At first, Chika was very happy, completely immersed in the world of music... but gradually, as her skills improved, she felt less and less joy.

It's like your hobby suddenly turned into your job!

Instead of a natural outpouring of emotions, it becomes a professional training program conducted at fixed times every day, which quickly wears down the child's enthusiasm.

Even though this was the musical path she chose herself, it ultimately became an invisible shackle on her body.

—Until Ye Shou heard her play once.

The melody and rhythm were precisely controlled in every detail, and the action performance was impeccable. Technically, it was almost unparalleled among its peers.

The only thing I couldn't feel was the performer's own emotions!

It was like a sophisticated automaton playing the piano.

Qianhua couldn't quite remember what happened back then. She only knew that Ye Shou had asked her a few questions, and then not long after, this man went from a novice to a professional-level player, making a name for himself on the field and easily surpassing her years of hard work.

Logically speaking, she should be jealous or even resentful of Ye Shou, as the gap in talent is always despairing... But in fact, Qianhua's life became much easier after that.

She hasn't participated in any major competitions since then. Although she still plays the piano, she only plays when she feels like it, completely returning to the time when she only treated it as a hobby.

If Chika were to compete with Ye Shou, it would be too pitiful for her. Thinking this way, the Fujiwara family naturally stopped making any demands on Chika and mostly followed her wishes in terms of her studies and special talents.

As for Fujiwara Chika, no matter what role Yoru played—whether he was a prince charming who saved people from danger or an arrogant villain—she only knew that Yoru's actions had allowed her to live happily until now.

So even though Ye Shou was indifferent to her, Qianhua still liked to tell him about things at school and at home.

"Give me a modified gaming helmet, and I'll forgive you."

—At the same time, they also had ulterior motives.

"A helmet is nothing."

Ye Shou shook his head: "But the new game hasn't been released yet, so even if you get the helmet, you can't play it."

"Ugh... Damn it!"

Qianhua collapsed in despair. Although she had only played for two hours before the server automatically went offline, the surreal scenery and the tangible sense of realism made her eagerly anticipate the server reopening.

But her disappointment didn't last long; the optimistic Chika once again came up with a great idea to pass the time:

"Come with us to find Su Nuo tonight!"

"what?"

"We just got a new member in the board game club, let's have a test of courage as a welcome ceremony!"

"This sounds more like the Supernatural Department," Ye Shou retorted ruthlessly.

Chika didn't seem to mind: "I hope Miko isn't scared to tears. Our board game club is very professional in this area~"

"See you...who?"

"Yotsuya Miko, a first-year high school student—you definitely don't know her."

Don't recognize me? I know you all too well!

"A test of courage? That's too cruel to her... I've decided to participate!"

Chapter 15: Damn it, which Su Nuo is this?!

The crescent moon cast a soft, silvery light, and at the end of the winding forest path, under the last streetlamp, a diverse array of figures gathered.

After meeting, the group greeted each other as is customary. Those meeting for the first time greeted each other with introductions from friends and quickly struck up a conversation.

"So, Yotsuya-kun isn't a student at Shuchiin Academy? Then how did you two meet?"

"It was Chika-nee and Fujiwara-senpai who forced it..."

"It must be the guidance of fate!"

Chika, hands on her hips, laughed heartily: "We went through so much, so many hardships, to finally be together—"

"Give me a concise and to-the-point summary!"

"...Since no new students were willing to join the board game club, we brought in passersby who came to visit the school."

"As expected of you," Ye Shou rolled his eyes.

Miko Yotsuya appears to be a quiet and pretty girl. Today, she's wearing a simple outfit of a knitted sweater and jeans, with a cute pendant hanging from her backpack. She's just like any other JK (high school girl) enjoying her youth these days.

She was neither from an elite family nor academically outstanding enough to be specially admitted to the academy; she was not a student at Shuchiin High School, but just a first-year student at an ordinary high school.

The opportunity a few months ago was the spring festival. Shuchiin Academy's ceremonies are always grand and impressive, attracting not only students and parents but also residents from the surrounding area and students from other schools to visit and play.

Chika and her best friend were just two of the many people who came to watch the fun, but somehow they were encountered and captured by the board game club who were playing "real-life flying chess", and inexplicably became a member of "Chika and her happy little friends".

Later, they often went out shopping and sightseeing together, and with the speed at which women make friends, they quickly became close confidantes.

Coincidentally, the board game club was warned that its share would be reduced next time because it often pulled stunts, had few members, failed to produce results, and consumed a lot of activity funds.

So, in order to prevent the club from being disbanded, the beautiful high school girl Fujiwara Chika decides to become an idol—cough, I mean, to drag her best friend along to make up the numbers.

In principle, Shuchiin University allows the existence of "joint clubs," and even students from other schools can join. However, because it is very difficult to gather enough members for some niche hobbies, rejecting all applications outright would seem inhumane, so this compromise was adopted.

In reality, high school students' social circles are relatively fixed, and students from different schools have little opportunity to interact, making "joint efforts" virtually impossible. Furthermore, establishing a joint club requires permission from the student council, a very cumbersome process.

The school is just using this excuse to appease those niche enthusiasts.

However, Fujiwara Chika is known as the "Queen of Ideas," so how could she be stumped by such a trivial matter!

As the student union secretary, she used her connections and official power to resolve the problem.

"Um, please take care of me tonight, Kuze...senpai."

Seeing that Zi was leaning against Chika, although she couldn't be said to be trembling, she was clearly very nervous about Ye Shou, looking like she might hide behind Chika like a hermit crab at any moment.

[The Villain] This negative talent is really harmful!

Knowing how "terrifying" he was, Ye Shouxin didn't try to force a connection. He simply smiled gently and nodded to her.

Qianhua reassured everyone: "Don't be afraid, Xiaoshou is easy to get along with. Once you get to know him, everything will be fine!"

"I wasn't scared at all! Cough!"

Seeing her throat move, she took a deep breath to calm herself down and bowed earnestly: "Excuse me, I don't dislike Kuze-senpai... I'm just a little shy."

"It's okay. No matter how others judge me, it's not as good as seeing it for yourself, is it?"

Thank you~

As Chika had said, Ye Shou was not difficult to get along with, which relieved Miko.

But she still couldn't completely relax.

Aside from Ye Shou's infamous reputation, what was more important was that she saw something very subtle in the boy.

Yes, this seemingly well-behaved, quiet, and somewhat timid JK (high school girl) actually has a pair of special eyes that can see many things that ordinary people cannot see, commonly known as "ghosts" or "spirits".

Unfortunately, she could only see, but had no ability to fight against evil spirits. So she suffered a lot and could only pretend that she couldn't see anything, trying her best to maintain her Muggle persona in front of all kinds of strange evil spirits and get through the difficult days.

Incidentally, the higher the population density, the more evil spirits there are that cannot be exorcised. Remote mountain forests like these, which may seem terrifying, are actually quite peaceful.

So what would be a real test of courage for the average person is more like a form of leisure and entertainment for her.

"If I may ask, does Senior Kuze exercise regularly?"

"Well, I know a little about archery and swordsmanship."

"No wonder..."

When she first entered high school, she suddenly began to see some strange things. Then, a month ago, she inexplicably gained a new ability: she could see things that resembled "atmospheres."

In her eyes, Ye Shou's "atmosphere" was unique, quite different from the ordinary people's aura, which was like a thin mist or a pale light. It was more concentrated and regular, like a polygonal crystal.

This could perhaps be explained by his exceptionally strong vitality and spiritual power, but beyond that aura... strictly speaking, it was the faint black aura condensing behind him that Jianzi had never encountered before.

That… it wasn’t a spirit, but it seemed to possess a life of its own, constantly changing, like a shadow, like ink, like black mist, and occasionally revealing the “appearance of a demon” when it gathered and dispersed! It wasn’t the ghost or monster that Miko usually saw, but rather the Shura mask that would appear in picture books!

Could this man be a reincarnation of a warlord from the Warring States period? Seeing that Zi was half doubtful and half fearful, he could only remain silent in the end.

"Alright, now that we all know each other, let's start the test of courage now!" Ye Shou looked around and clapped his hands happily.

"No!"

Without a second thought, Chika immediately retorted, "How can you be so nonchalant? Shouldn't you have properly introduced these uncles behind you before we officially begin?"

As Chika voiced her complaints, everyone was forced to confront the issues that had been deliberately ignored before:

Six high school students attended the test of courage: Chika Fujiwara, Miko Yotsuya, two others from the board game club, Mori Kuze, and Tsubaki Rurikawa, who seemed like a spirit behind him.