PSWHNC CH1
by bwoingChapter 1 Excellence Brings Us Together Again
“We interrupt this program for a news update.
“…Yesterday, a fight broke out between two gangs of teenagers on the streets of the school district in our city. Police arrived in time to stop the brawl. Due to the hot weather, one student surnamed Xiao and another surnamed Luo both underwent secondary gender differentiation at the scene. The police immediately called an ambulance, and the two were taken to the hospital…
“…The two students successfully completed their differentiation at the city’s central hospital. Their secondary genders are alpha and omega, respectively. Notably, the pheromone compatibility between the two was reported to be 0%. Due to the innate physiological pull between alphas and omegas, compatibility rarely falls below 20%. A 0% pheromone compatibility is rarely seen nationwide…
“…According to the students’ parents, Luo and Xiao had never gotten along, often getting into fights since childhood. While this incident was no exception, the parents had not expected the two to undergo differentiation during a fight. It’s reported that the student surnamed Luo bears the main responsibility…
“…Experts remind that summer is a peak season for secondary gender differentiation in teenagers. Students are advised to avoid lingering outdoors, and street fights are strongly discouraged. Both students have declined interviews for now. Our reporters will continue to follow up on this rare 0% compatibility case…”
Luo Zhiyu, eyes half-closed, ambled into the living room and turned off the TV, which someone had forgotten to switch off.
“Making a mountain out of a molehill,” he muttered. He had just gotten into a fight with an idiot and accidentally differentiated, but somehow that was enough to land him in the city news.
Good news travels slow, while bad news spreads like wildfire.
He and Xiao Yan had never gotten along. They lived in the same neighborhood, always crossing paths, always ending in a fight, usually started by Luo Zhiyu. Thankfully, school was starting tomorrow in No. 1 High, a reputable boarding school with a closed campus system. As long as he stayed on school grounds, he probably wouldn’t have to see Xiao Yan again.
World peace.
He pulled a glass from under the coffee table, filled it to the brim with lemon water, and chugged it down before he finally felt a little more awake. He had just undergone gender differentiation yesterday and was still unusually sleepy. At noon, while playing a game with his phone still in hand, he ended up dozing off right there on the table.
The match had long ended, the interface stuck on the word ‘Defeat.’ In the top right corner of the main menu were glaring report messages and point deduction notices. Luo Zhiyu opened WeChat and found a string of howls and complaints from his teammates.
He ignored their wailing and tapped on a new group chat that had appeared at the top of his WeChat message list.
Someone had added him to a group while he was asleep.
【No. 1 High’s Opening Ceremony Coordination Group Chat】
What the hell was this?
Luo Zhiyu scrolled through the chat history twice and was startled by a flood of elderly stickers. Every highly-saturated image featured kind-looking uncles and aunties smiling warmly at the camera.
[Principal Zhang]: cherish this bond.jpg
[Director Xu]: the prettiest flowers for the prettiest you.jpg
[Director Wu]: take care of yourself during busy days.jpg
Luo Zhiyu: “?” What was this?
[Not Zhile]: Don’t pull that crap with me panda head.jpg.
[Not Zhile] deleted a message.
Sandwiched among a collection of nature-themed profile pictures featuring flowers, birds, insects, and fish, his own two-dimensional wild boar avatar stood out awkwardly. Luo Zhiyu shuddered and finally remembered what these ‘monsters and demons’ were.
Earlier that morning, his homeroom teacher had called and asked him to speak as the excellent first-year student representative at the opening ceremony. This group chat must’ve been created by the teachers to coordinate the event.
Those people who were just lining up to send stickers and well-wishes were probably the school administrators and teachers.
Good thing he deleted his message quickly. Hopefully, no one saw it.
[Not Zhile] changed nickname to [Excellent First-Year Student Representative].
Just as Luo Zhiyu had that thought, a new message popped up.
[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: No. 1 High School still on top.jpg
Luo Zhiyu: “?”
A kindred spirit?
Luo Zhiyu had ended up at No. 1 High purely due to his high entrance exam scores. He knew almost nothing about the school, so he figured he’d just grab someone to ask about it.
[Not Zhile] sent a friend request to [Excellent Second-Year Student Representative], with the note: “The excellent you deserves to know the excellent me.”
This student was probably marveling at his bluntness, as he didn’t reply for a long time. Luo Zhiyu rubbed the back of his slightly sore neck, opened his suitcase, and started sorting through the clothes he’d packed for boarding school.
As the school year about to begin, the No. 1 High campus forum was especially lively.
【Damn, I’m already in third year. By the way, how are the first-year students this year?】
1L: A bunch of people graduated in June, and tomorrow’s the opening ceremony. Any good-looking freshies this year?
2L: Isn’t Xiao Yan from Class 2-3 hot enough? He just differentiated into an alpha recently. He’s totally an A! Why are you little demons never satisfied?
3L: I was helping out at the office the other day sorting the freshman class lists, and I actually spotted someone really good-looking!
4L: Xiao Yan is the campus heartthrob, thanks. There’s no room for anyone else in my heart.
5L: Luo Zhiyu from Class 1-3. Even his ID photo looks great. He’s definitely something in person.
6L: Luo Zhiyu? That name sounds really familiar. Am I imagining things?
7L: …You’re not. That’s Luo Zhiyu, the little tyrant from No. 19 Middle School, who’s rumored to have beaten someone with his drawing board. If you do the math on his age, he should indeed be starting high school now. I think our school is about to get livelier.
8L: It’s not a rumor. It really happened. He even had to write a self-reflection paper. All I can say is, don’t be fooled by his face! Luo Zhiyu isn’t as harmless as he looks. Just don’t provoke him.
9L: That scary? Then I’ll stick to being a loyal fangirl of our Campus Heartthrob Yan.
10L: Hehe, quiet down. Let me show you something interesting. [News link: AO secondary gender differentiation triggered by a street fight? And the culprits are…?]
11L: ……
12L: ……
13L: So uh… that student surnamed Xiao and student surnamed Luo, are they the two people I’m thinking of?
Since the school wasn’t far from home, Luo Zhiyu hadn’t packed much. He planned to head back next weekend anyway. Just as he finished sorting his clothes, a new message came in on his phone.
[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative] accepted your friend request.
[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: frowning fairy.jpg
[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: It’s you?
[Not Zhile]: It’s me.
[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: You added me? Are you serious?
This person even had three question marks as their avatar. They must be an incredibly curious and eager learner.
[Not Zhile]: What else?
[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: Do you even know who I am? frowning fairy.jpg
[Not Zhile]: That’s not important. Remember No. 1 High’s motto? Unity and friendship. We’re schoolmates now.
[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: frowning fairy.jpg
[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: Fine. See you tomorrow. Hope you don’t regret this.
[Not Zhile]: Don’t be ridiculous. Meeting you is something I’ll never regret.
Except for Xiao Yan and a few idiots, Luo Zhiyu was generally friendly and warm to most people. He spent the afternoon chatting with this seemingly aloof second-year student and managed to get a pretty good grasp of how things worked at the new school.
Luo Zhiyu figured that this excellent second-year student representative had probably been won over by his enthusiasm.
Luo Zhiyu now knew all about how to order takeout inside the school, the best dishes in the canteen each day, the routes to leave school on non-holiday weekdays, and even the most deeply hidden school forum.
But it was getting late. With the opening ceremony scheduled for early the next morning, Luo Zhiyu decided to skip browsing the forum for now. He placed his drawing board case on top of his suitcase, turned off the light, and went to bed.
No. 1 High was a prestigious school. Its educational philosophy emphasized that a good beginning was the first step to success. Therefore, the opening ceremony each year was always a grand affair. Luo Zhiyu arrived early to pick up his uniform.
The base color of the uniform was white, with accent colors that differed by grade. The one Luo Zhiyu was wearing, with light red accents, represented first-year students. Second and third-year students had pale blue and light green accents, respectively.
“Have you thought about what you’re going to say, First-Year Representative Luo Zhiyu?” Jing Ximing, who had grown up with him, was not only in the same class but also his roommate for high school.
“I’ll just speak off the cuff.” Luo Zhiyu had just changed into his uniform. As he lowered his head, the fresh pheromone suppressant patch on his nape came into view. “Trust me, no one really listens at events like this. No matter what I say, no one’s going to remember it.”
“You’re really something else,” Jing Ximing said. “You knew your expected differentiation period was coming up, and you still went out and got into a group fight.”
“It was worth it,” Luo Zhiyu replied. “That bastard was dragged into differentiating with me.”
The only catch was that Xiao Yan had differentiated as an alpha, which made the process far less punishing for him.
As for ending up on TV, neither of them got away with it. It was only fair.
The school anthem was playing in the auditorium. New and returning students were already in their seats. The front rows were reserved for school admins, teachers, and a reporter from the city morning paper who had come to take photos and write a feature.
The speakers had yet to take the stage, and the students in the audience were already whispering among themselves.
“Who’s the first-year representative this year?”
“No idea. We’ll find out soon. No. 1 High is practical, so whoever scores highest gets the spotlight.”
“I’m new here. I heard you guys in second year have some insanely handsome guy?”
“That super handsome guy got his face messed up a bit these past two days. You might have to wait a couple of days.”
“It’s starting, it’s starting. Stop talking, shh!”
The school anthem faded out, and the opening ceremony officially began. Everything followed the usual routine. The principal, vice-principal, and directors successively expressed their blessings and hopes for the new students. The sound of camera shutters clicked nonstop from the front row.
There were no nameplates on the student representative seats. Luo Zhiyu was seated with an empty spot between him and the third-year student representative. That was probably the guy he’d chatted with yesterday. Even as the director began wrapping up the speech, this person still hadn’t shown up. They must be incredibly laid-back.
“Buddy,” Luo Zhiyu whispered to the third-year student next to him.
The student looked at this omega freshman with a confused expression.
“Do me a favor, scoot forward a bit,” Luo Zhiyu said in a low voice.
The guy didn’t quite understand, but he still moved himself and his chair forward by a decimeter, blocking the line of sight of the row of school admins to the left.
Luo Zhiyu glanced around, pulled out his phone, and, under the cover of his senior buddy, started scrolling through his phone right under the noses of the school admins.
[Not Zhile]: Friend, are you still not here?
[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: Just picking up materials. Almost there.
[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: You care that much about me? frowning fairy.jpg
[Not Zhile]: Get lost.
[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: One minute, I’ll be there right away.
One minute later, as the auditorium erupted in applause, Luo Zhiyu put away his phone and calmly stepped up to the mic. “To the school admins, teachers, and fellow students, good morning. I’m…”
A sudden cheer broke out in the hall. Luo Zhiyu turned, still smiling politely, and realized someone had appeared beside him.
Luo Zhiyu: “……”
The idiot he’d gotten into a group fight with was now grinning at him.
Xiao Yan had clearly anticipated his reaction. He grabbed Luo Zhiyu’s hand to stop him, while his free right hand pointed at himself. He didn’t even try to hide the mockery in his eyes. “Luo Zhiyu, the excellent you deserves to know the excellent me?”