Chapter 44: The Seat of Destiny

“All right, all right, let’s move on to the second matter. The second thing is…” The homeroom teacher drew out the last word on purpose, then announced, “Now, let’s have Yan Yi introduce himself to the class.”

Yan Yi gave a brief self-introduction.

“Let’s give a warm round of applause to welcome Yan Yi as our newest classmate!”

As soon as she finished, the teacher led the applause.

The clapping was thunderous, and it took some time for the classroom to quiet down again.

The teacher, being rather open-minded, allowed Yan Yi to choose his own seat.

The moment the students heard this, the classroom erupted into excitement. Everyone secretly hoped for the good fortune of having Yan Yi as their deskmate—especially the girls.

After all, this was none other than the nation’s heartthrob, Yan Yi! He had debuted in H Country, and in just two years had taken the nation by storm. Only recently had Yan Yi decided to return home and continue his career, though that news had yet to be made public.

Yan Yi’s handsome, almond-shaped eyes swept across the room.

He spoke neither too quickly nor too slowly, “The sixth boy in the last row—would you mind switching seats with me?”

The boy he referred to was Xie Xu.

But Xie Xu clearly didn’t realize he was the one being addressed. Head down, he was wholly absorbed in driving to catch an airdrop in his game.

It wasn’t until Lu Yiqi nudged him with her elbow.

“What is it?”

“Yan Yi is talking to you.”

“Oh.” Only after that response did Xie Xu frown, finally realizing what was going on.

Wait a second.

If he’d heard correctly just now, this girl had called Yan Yi… brother?

Xie Xu instinctively glanced up at the podium.

The boy standing there had hair trimmed just right, his fringe slightly veiling a pair of deep, jet-black eyes. His lips curled faintly as he looked over, a smile playing at the corners.

Xie Xu, on instinct, took that smile as a challenge.

So this was Yan Yi, eh?

Because he’d been distracted, his character in the game happened to stop at the edge of the airdrop. Unbeknownst to him, an entire squad lay in wait there. Playing solo against a four-man team, with no teammates for support and a poor position, Xie Xu barely managed to knock one opponent before meeting an honorable defeat.

…Damn.

So annoying.

Irritated, he tossed his phone into the desk cubby, took off his Bluetooth earphones, and shot a cold glance at the podium. “What did you just say?”

Yan Yi, still good-natured, repeated himself.

“Switch seats with me? So where am I supposed to sit?”

Thinking he had a chance, Yan Yi pointed to an empty seat in the front row. “Isn’t there a spot right up front?”

“If you know there’s an empty seat, why not take it yourself? And you want to swap seats with me—what makes you think you’re worthy?”

His tone was outrageously arrogant.

Yan Yi and Lu Yiqi: “…”

The whole class collectively sucked in a breath.

The top dog versus the national idol.

As expected, Xie the Big Boss was still Xie the Big Boss. When he clashed with someone, it didn’t matter who they were.

The homeroom teacher, seeing the awkwardness before her, quickly stepped in with a cheerful smile, “Let’s not make a fuss, everyone. Yan, are you hoping for a seat at the back for a better view? You don’t necessarily have to swap with Xie Xu. Here’s what we’ll do—Chen Peng, could you move up to the front for now? Yan Yi, you take the second-to-last row instead, how about that?”

Yan Yi glanced at Lu Yiqi for a few seconds, then gave a slight nod in agreement.

Chen Peng: “…”

Chen Peng looked at the ‘chosen one’ seat in the first row.

Despair filled his heart.

Why is it me again!

This is the second time this semester I’ve been reassigned!

Clearly, I’m the sacrificial lamb here!

Yan Yi took his seat beside Chen Ziyi.

Chen Ziyi, seeing the superstar sitting next to her, was a bit uneasy.

But Yan Yi really was stunning to look at!