Chapter 2

1

What kind of grudge is there between the head of the News Club and the student council president, anyway? I’ve never seen them interact, but whenever they run into each other, both of them pull a face. Zi Sirou is pretty fiery—you only need to see her once to understand what “Imperial royal aura” means.

If I remember right, Liliu should be her cousin. Liliu’s a few months younger than her. But since Liliu ran away from home, she’s never publicly admitted it, so no one notices.

“So what do we have to do to officially get this year’s spot?” Qin Ying had changed clothes, now in a black-and-red riding suit—the bare minimum if you’re using a bike for the first time.

“It’s simple. Team battle. Single match, winner takes all.”

“So, President, that’s why you made us go to that training camp? And that crazy upperclassman!” Just thinking about that island feels like a trap. It was basically the student council fighting like their lives depended on it.

“Yuyuan, that crazy girl, wasn’t invited by me.” The president looked helpless. Yuyuan Qing’s insane entrance really wasn’t her fault. Well, maybe it had something to do with the vice president. They’d had a huge fight that time and even traded blows on the mountain.

“Team battles—especially outdoor team battles—are worth the most points. Whichever team performs better racks up the highest score in the tournament.” Tesha stayed seated, pen scratching across the page nonstop.

“Tesha, what’re you writing?”

“Calligraphy practice.” Not a bad choice.

“But we don’t need to race bikes too, right?”

“The bike race is in the solo/duo category. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m just worried I won’t be able to drive it.” The big black thing looked like it’d take a ton of brute force just to move.

“It still runs on magic crystals. You just need to channel elemental mana into it to trigger its transformation. If you’re lucky, it might unlock a special ability.”

“Luck? I thought everyone got one by default. Now I’m disappointed.” She pictured the seniors last year fighting tooth and nail. When it’s my turn, will I be that fired up?

“Hurry up and go change. You still need to learn the basic controls.” The president handed me a set of the same gear.

I had the suit on in under a minute, and the president went through the requirements one by one.

Honestly, what’s there to explain? It’s just like the bikes we usually ride. The only difference is you have to keep it in its form at all times, so I need to feed mana into it regularly.

“Yang, let’s play a game. Guess what color it’ll be when it starts up.”

“Sure. Hmm… I’m guessing you’ll be black and white mixed.”

“You’re that sure?”

“I bet the color’s tied to the mana element. Try it if you don’t believe me.”

Qin Ying placed her hand on the bike. The whole thing moved like a living creature. The dull black surface shifted through the entire spectrum of light, then finally settled on black and white. The frame looked a bit shorter than before, but with Qin Ying’s slim figure, it actually matched her really well.

“I win. Now guess what mine’ll be. If you guess wrong, you’re taking a bath with me.” I’d wanted to prank him ever since the semester started, but after he agreed to be my test subject I never got the chance. Today… heh.

A faint blush colored Qin Ying’s thin, delicate face.

The ventilation was great here. Was it really that hot?

“Black. The original color of the bike.”

“You don’t wanna think about it? You know what happens if you’re wrong.”

“I’m sure it’s black. Definitely.”

When I swung a leg over the bike, the color change I expected didn’t happen. It did transform though. I watched as two long, sharp horns grew out from the front, streaming backward with the wind. No matter how I looked at it, it resembled some kind of beast. Could this be because of the Demon Dragon?

“Weird. How were you so sure I’d be black? Can you see the future or something?”

Qin Ying ignored me, put on her helmet, and shot off on her bike.

“Feeling smug, huh? Watch me catch up to you!”

“Hey! Don’t go that fast on school grounds!”

“At their speed, President, your voice won’t reach them,” Tesha said, still writing away.

To be fair, I really didn’t hear what she yelled back then.

2

11:30 a.m., lunchtime. I’d just spent an hour riding in the wind with Qin Ying, and my brain still felt whooshy.

I was supposed to go back and eat with Yao and the others. But I wasn’t in the mood for a big group today. Loud, lively days need a little quiet to balance them out.

If I went to the cafeteria now, it’d just be a tide of people. So much for “peace and quiet.”

Guess I’d have to go off-campus for food. I could grab ingredients from the school supermarket and cook, but… nah, going out sounds better.

Way too much drama happens on campus.

I headed for the west gate. There’s a street out there with amazing food, and I hadn’t been once since school started.

“Qin Yang, that’s your name, right?”

See? Drama. I was right in front of the gate and hadn’t even stepped out yet, and something popped up again. Who now?

“News… Minister?” When I turned to see who called me, there she was—the News Club minister, Zi Sirou. She wasn’t here to stir up trouble between us, was she?

“Yeah, I’m the head of the News Club.”

“Uh, looks like you’re heading to play tennis, Minister. I won’t keep you.” The sooner I bail, the safer I am.

She was in a pleated mini skirt, white short-sleeved shirt, and holding a red tennis racket. Standard tennis kit, right?

“Is your eyesight that bad? I clearly *just finished* a match.” Zi Sirou hooked the racket against my neck.

“Hey, don’t be so fierce. You’re a girl, be a bit more elegant. Like our student coun—”

“Like your student council? Like those vixens in your student council, flirting left and right all day—that’s what you like?”

You’re the one with bad eyesight. It’s not like I’m a pervert. Any normal guy would have a soft spot for gentle-looking girls. The ones who like scary girls are either hardcore masochists or… hardcore masochists.

“Got time?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking if you’re free.”

“Y‑yeah, yeah… Could you maybe take the racket off my neck first? It hurts, and we’re in the middle of the road. Kinda a scene, don’t you think?”

Zi Sirou let the racket drop and said, “If you’re free, come eat with me.”

“Hey, we don’t really know each other. Grabbing a meal seems… a bit much, doesn’t it?”

“There’s nothing ‘too much’ about it. If I feel like it, it’s fine.” Without giving it much thought, Zi Sirou just grabbed me and hauled me out of the school.

3

Second floor of the restaurant. Conveyor-belt sushi in front of us, plates of icy-fresh sashimi sliding by.

“My treat. Go wild,” Zi Sirou said like it was nothing.

“Are all royals this generous?” I didn’t feel any need to be polite. Free meal, why not.

“I’m not the only royal you know, am I?”

“Mm. This fish is sliced well. And yeah, it’s not just you.” Looked like Duke Qin had noticed us on that island. Liliu’s whereabouts were probably blown already.

“Liliu’s always been within my line of sight. Her safety’s my responsibility. If it were just her, you think she could vanish from her old man’s watch that easily? Even if her eyes are powerful, she’s not necessarily a match for him.”

“Why are our dads all so overbearing?” I lifted my sake cup and took a small sip.

“You’re old enough to drink?” Zi Sirou poured herself some sake too and took a drink.

“You’re not either. Look who’s talking.” We both let it slide. Who hasn’t snuck a drink before?

“Your dad’s Duke Qin. Even my uncle doesn’t have that level of dominance.”

“Cough, cough—” I choked.

“What’re you getting worked up for? You didn’t even bother changing your name. It’d be hard *not* to find you.”

Zi Sirou picked up the bottle and slowly swirled it. Day drinking like this—how’s she going to survive afternoon classes?

“You think everyone’s some master escape artist? Don’t overestimate me.”

“No one runs away like you do. Ten years in one go, and you still dare to wander under your dad’s nose. I started running away at seven and never lasted more than two days before getting dragged back.”

“You dragged me out just to trade runaway stories? Not a bad topic, actually.”

“Then let’s talk about the student council.”

“Eh? So you *are* here to fish for info.”

“Idiot. You think I need to interrogate you for student council intel? Don’t look down on the News Club. If we can’t even dig up basic profile stuff, we might as well shut down. Two more bottles.” That last part was to the owner, asking for more sake.

She really didn’t plan on going to class. She just kept drinking.

“What do you want to ask?”

“Qin Yang, who do you like the most in the student council?”

“That’s such a weird question. Oh, I get it—you’re writing gossip. Gonna trash our image.”

“Image my ass. You already trashed the student council’s image. The student council is all about strength. If you don’t have overwhelming power, and we’re talking knowledge? Tesha’s not worse than you at all. There was no need to bring you in.”

“Hey, I’ve made huge contributions, okay?”

“So, who are you more interested in?”

“That’s a hard question. All the girls in the student council have really strong personalities.”

“Heh.”

…

This whole meal felt off. She kept asking relationship-type questions. Answering stuff like that in front of a reporter is high‑pressure.

I’d planned on just a cup or two, but in the end I drank… uh, I don’t even know. I drank until I puked, and then… then… then nothing.

By the time I woke up, it was already night.

3

8:30 p.m.

Xiao Qiong walked alone along the shortcut back to school.