“Xiao Chen, I’ve packed up. Let’s go.”

“Let me carry the bag.”

“Okay.”

Shen Qinghan didn’t act reserved with Lin Zichen and directly handed him the bag of uniforms.

Lin Zichen took it and the two left the classroom together.

Watching them leave, a girl who had deliberately applied to transfer from Shanhai No.1 Middle School to be in the same class as Lin Zichen sighed dreamily,

“Lin Zichen is such a gentleman, helping girls carry bags. If only I were his childhood friend instead.”

“Gentleman? More like showing off. Today is free activity time. Everyone’s either chatting or walking around campus, but he just had to be different, going outside to train. Total poser.”

Next to her, a tall, thin boy said with disdain.

He was Shanhai No.1 Middle School’s entrance exam top scorer, with excellent grades and good looks. For all three years of middle school, he had been the school’s golden boy, admired by peers and showered with love letters.

The girl sitting beside him was the only one who had been able to compete with him for first place.

Over the years of rivalry, he had developed feelings for her.

After the exam, when he learned she had applied to Shanhai Middle School, he didn’t hesitate to reject the high school division’s principal at Shanhai No.1 and followed her choice to Shanhai Middle.

But seeing her full of admiration for Lin Zichen now left him upset.

‘It was me who came first! Why him? How did it end up like this?!’

“Hey, we’re all classmates here. Don’t badmouth people behind their backs. If you really don’t like him, challenge him in martial arts class.”

It was Lu Gang, the one who could lift 300kg with one hand, who spoke up after hearing the tall boy’s comment.

The tall boy wanted to snap back instinctively, but when he turned and saw the nearly two-meter-tall giant, he instantly backed down, not daring to say a word.

The girl beside him sneered, seizing the chance to pile on, “Exactly, if you don’t like him, challenge him. Just don’t repeat what happened at the Eight School League, when you got kicked off the stage in seconds and faceplanted.”

“You…”

The tall boy was furious but left speechless, suddenly finding the girl repulsive.

Lu Gang turned to her and asked, “Is that Lin Zichen really that strong?”

The moment Lin Zichen came up, her eyes lit up and she gushed passionately, “Strong? He’s unbeatable! Since childhood, Lin Zichen has been the greatest prodigy I’ve ever seen! Believe it or not, when he first entered junior high, he beat every single student in the district! And not just one-on-one battles either!”

The more she spoke, the more excited she became, her face flushed bright red, as if Lin Zichen were her own.

After listening, Lu Gang grinned with interest, “Interesting, I’ll have to spar with him sometime.”

“Forget it, Lu Gang.”

At that moment, another sturdy boy stepped over.

It was Nanguan City’s third-place scorer, Wang Shujie, the one with a 7.98-second 100-meter sprint.

He stopped in front of Lu Gang and said calmly, “No matter how good he is, he’s just a district top scorer from Shanhai City. It’s like a monkey being king in the absence of a tiger. And you, you’re one of Nanguan City’s top five talents. No need to lower yourself to that level. If you want a sparring partner, spar with me instead.”

His words carried the arrogance of someone who looked down on Shanhai City’s students, making many local students uncomfortable.

Lu Gang waved dismissively, “Forget it. Sparring with you isn’t fun. You’re fast, so I can’t hit you. You’re weak, so you can’t hurt me. We’d go all day and never settle it.”

Wang Shujie smiled, “Then how about this: I’m planning to challenge some second-year elite class students soon. Want to join?”

“Perfect, count me in!” Lu Gang agreed without hesitation.

The two, both top talents brought in at great expense, left the classroom together.

They lived in the faculty housing provided by the school—just the two of them in a three-bedroom apartment, a lavish setup.

After they left, the pair of students from Shanhai No.1 were left stunned.

‘Top five in Nanguan City? What’s going on? Why are Nanguan City prodigies in our class?’

Nanguan City’s education level was far superior, often producing a provincial top scorer every few years.

Shanhai City, meanwhile, had only ever produced one provincial top scorer in decades and that was over twenty years ago. There was no comparison.

So why were these Nanguan prodigies here at Shanhai Middle?

The two of them couldn’t figure it out.

* * *

On the school path, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan walked side by side at an easy pace.

Once outside the classroom, Shen Qinghan was much livelier, chatting nonstop.

Suddenly, she remembered something, “Oh, my mom just texted on WeChat. She’s working late today and asked me to buy some groceries on the way home. Let’s stop by the market to the right of the gate.”

“Let’s go to the supermarket instead. We’re still young and inexperienced. It’s easy to get ripped off at a street market.”

“Alright, supermarket it is.”

After a brief exchange, they left the gate and took the bus to the nearest mall.

From the stop, they still had to walk a bit to reach it.

On the way, they passed an alley. Shen Qinghan suddenly startled, pointing, “Xiao Chen, there are so many rats in there!”

Lin Zichen followed her gaze and indeed saw several rats.

One large rat was even fighting a cat over its food.

Frowning, Lin Zichen picked up a stone, ready to kill it.

But then he thought better of it and lowered his hand.

For now, it was best not to provoke rats.

Even now, giant aberrant rats remained shrouded in mystery.

No one knew how they suddenly appeared in human society, nor if they were even related to ordinary rats.

Lin Zichen worried that killing that large rat might bring trouble.