When Liming walked back to his seat and sat down, the preparatory bell had already rung a while ago. In about a minute, the class bell would chime.

The preparatory bell signaled that class was about to start. Strictly speaking, it was still break time. But Class 9, as an elite class, naturally had a much better atmosphere.

As soon as the bell rang, most students were already sitting obediently at their desks, taking out books to review. Formal classes hadn’t begun yet, but for an elite class like this, it was only natural.

Liming himself had gotten the high school textbooks during summer vacation. He’d mastered a large portion of the curriculum on his own.

Without that, how could he have dominated the freshman placement test? He’d rightfully claimed the top spot in the entire grade.

"Yo, Little Ming’s back~~"

Just as Liming sat down, Zhangqianxing’s annoying voice reached his ears.

Earlier, he’d vanished to flirt with some girl. Now he suddenly appeared, bursting with energy. Every time he faced his best buddy Liming, Zhangqianxing felt the urge to rub his temples.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing much. I just didn’t want to disturb your little love fest earlier, bro~~"

Zhangqianxing said this in an extremely annoying tone. It sounded normal, but Liming sensed hidden meaning.

"If you keep talking to me in that sissy tone, I’d be happy to make you a real eunuch."

"Must you be so heartless? I held back to not ruin your fun. And since you’ve already hooked up, shouldn’t you treat your bro to dinner tonight?"

Zhangqianxing rubbed his thumb and middle finger together, hinting Liming should cough up some cash.

But Liming grew more confused. What fun? Since arriving at school, nothing good had happened. Only Minister Wu’s visit earlier counted as decent news.

"I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

This made Zhangqianxing, lazily blackmailing moments before, sit up straight. His peach-blossom eyes glared with anger. Liming truly didn’t know what "fun" he meant, staring back innocently.

Finally, his best friend slumped onto the desk. He looked heartbroken, like dealing with a hopeless case.

"I’m seriously drunk on your stupidity, Little Ming. Your IQ’s sky-high, but your EQ’s rock-bottom. Earlier... Xulu and the class beauty almost fought over you. Isn’t that good news~~?"

Good news? Liming froze, unable to grasp his friend’s bizarre logic.

"Are you crazy? Just seeing women makes it good news? You should see a psychologist before you end up like in movies, seeing only women everywhere."

"Hey hey, you’re totally discriminating against me. Don’t you trust my judgment?"

"I’d be crazy to trust you. Last time I listened to your nonsense, that girl avoided me like I was some dirty thing."

"Cough, cough, that was an accident..."

Back in middle school, shortly after Liming joined the Student Council but before meeting Senior Bailin, he’d been close to a pretty girl. He asked Zhangqianxing whether to take it further. The answer was "charge ahead~~!"

So Liming confessed. On that day, the girl rejected him for no reason. She avoided him afterward, making Liming doubt if his face was an eyesore for months.

Later, he properly met Senior Bailin. Liming lost interest in that area.

Even now, Zhangqianxing felt ashamed. His analysis said Liming should’ve succeeded. The girl’s reaction was too extreme—almost scared.

Everyone makes mistakes. Zhangqianxing thought it wasn’t his fault, but he still took the blame.

"Anyway, this time, if you don’t want big trouble, Little Ming, you’d better listen to me."

"No. Get lost."

He almost grabbed a broom to sweep the unreliable guy out. Only his good upbringing stopped him from flipping him off.

"Don’t be like that, bro. This time, I genuinely want to help. You can’t wait until trouble happens to come to me. By then, it’ll be too late~~"

Liming remained unmoved. He was tired of his best friend’s scare tactics.

Since childhood, because of Liming’s natural charm with women, Zhangqianxing often said such things. But nothing ever happened. Liming didn’t believe his buddy’s nonsense.

Interestingly, Zhangqianxing was a love guru—except when it came to Liming.

"Shut up and pay attention to class. Even with no teacher, you should follow rules, Vice Mon Itor."

"Can’t do it. This time, I refuse to believe I’m wrong again. Damn it, I’ve calculated your love life so many times. Not once was I right. What the hell."

Zhangqianxing’s stubbornness kicked in. He felt like someone was against him. Every prediction spiraled to the worst outcome.

This time, he ignored the mess and whispered his thoughts to Liming.

Of course, he kept his voice low. The person sitting right behind them mustn’t hear. Otherwise, it’d be deathly embarrassing.

"Today, the conflict between those two beauties seems like work. But it doesn’t fool my eyes. The point of conflict is you, Little Ming. They’ve both seen your excellence and shining points."

"Of course, saying they’re in love is nonsense. But they definitely have a crush. You know Xulu’s a talented cutie, and Liqianying’s the class goddess. Naturally, they’ll want to outdo each other."

"So you’re a key point in their contest. Later, they’ll likely ask you to be the judge. If you’re smart, Little Ming, you can play both sides before choosing. Getting a girlfriend won’t be a problem at all!"

Zhangqianxing’s reasoning wasn’t flawed—simple and direct. But Liming let it in one ear and out the other.

Hmm, the prospects looked good. If it were Zhangqianxing, he might flirt with both before things got messy. But Liming, with his personality, would clarify things early.

Because Liming held his personal feelings sacred and inviolable. How could he do something he considered despicable?