Lin Yuan took a deep breath, straightened his chest and hips, and fixed his sharp eagle-like gaze on the finish line two hundred meters away.
He was just waiting for the starting gun to sound so he could sprint out first and bring the championship home proudly for Class 9, Grade 11.
Although it hadn’t been fully revealed that he was Lin Shen’s younger brother, Lin Shen had only subtly mentioned he was attending as a parent without naming him outright.
Still, rumors said each class was already investigating every student with the surname “Lin.”
The identity of the film emperor’s brother would eventually come to light. With so many eyes watching, he couldn’t afford to embarrass his brother before then.
The starting gun slowly rose into the air, and Lin Yuan’s tension tightened to the extreme.
“Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan, extraordinary! No first place, no honor for Qinghe!”
The old-school slogan unexpectedly reached his ears, and Lin Yuan’s eyes widened in disbelief.
His body stumbled forward, and his hands on the ground helped him complete an impromptu handstand right on the spot.
Lin Yuan: “…”
Great, forget about saving face— better to figure out how to lose less of it first.
‘Are you crazy!’ Amidst the crowd’s laughter, Lin Yuan’s face flushed bright red as he shot Bai Luo the biggest eye-roll.
Every movement of his lips was filled with silent hatred. He bared his teeth and gritted, ‘Just you wait!’
Bai Luo smirked playfully, unfazed: “Nyeh nyeh nyeh~”
At 1:30 PM, the sports meet was in full swing.
After a morning of chaos, the school’s order finally stabilized, and one event after another proceeded smoothly.
On the surface, it was no different from previous years— if you ignored the paparazzi and frenzied fans swarming outside the school gates, causing severe traffic jams and tirelessly climbing over walls from every corner.
It wasn’t that Lin Shen didn’t want to leave; it was just that all the exits were completely blocked. The studio’s nanny van assigned to pick him up was still three kilometers away.
Faced with this “spectacle,” the overwhelmed principal could only grimace with both pain and joy, throwing all available security forces into managing the paparazzi and fans.
He also contacted the local Police Bureau, requesting reinforcements to help maintain order.
The only “good” thing was that because all the external attention was on the fans, the school had little energy left to micromanage the students.
Although the sports meet’s schedule remained unchanged from previous years, the atmosphere had genuinely lightened.
After several fierce competitions, Class 9 had already secured three gold medals. These were won by Zhou Xun in the 100-meter dash, the 400-meter dash, and the girls’ 4×100 meter relay.
Their small class size was ultimately their weakness. Though they stirred up trouble in Parnaki, on Earth they were just a group of simple, inward students.
To compete head-on with sports-trained students from other classes in pure sprinting, javelin, or shot put was basically impossible given their physiques.
—Those skill-based events were all scheduled for the next day.
With fewer events to participate in, the students poured most of their energy into teasing their own classmates— winning was Rui Teacher’s joy, but toying with classmates was their own.
Thus, the early “cheering squad” for Lin Yuan led by Bai Luo came about.
Two minutes later, Lin Yuan, silver medal hanging from his neck, dragged out the last syllable of his name and sprinted wildly toward Bai Luo, delivering a perfect flying kick.
“Bai—— Luo——”
“Hey hey, let me say this first: we’re both on the principal’s radar as ‘dangerous elements.’ I don’t want to get demerits before graduation.”
Bai Luo dodged Lin Yuan’s kick with ease.
Despite the teasing about his “muscle weakness,” years of fighting experience meant Lin Yuan was no complete loser.
With no teachers nearby watching, the two exchanged several moves quickly. After blowing off steam, Bai Luo cheerfully changed the subject: “By the way, where’s your brother?”
“He’s hiding in the Principal’s Office.” Mentioning his older brother drained Lin Yuan’s anger, leaving only a smile. “He wanted to come out and smooth things over, but the principal locked him in the office. Said it’s too dangerous for him to appear.”
Thinking of his older brother’s frustration at not being able to watch the competition, unable to leave, and having to worry about fans disrupting school order or getting hurt chasing stars, Lin Yuan felt for them.
The entertainment industry really was tough.
“Speaking of which, didn’t Lin Lang get surrounded by crazy fans before? How did she handle it?” Lin Yuan wondered if he could learn something to fix their current mess.
“Lin Lang?” Bai Luo, who had helped out in Lin Lang’s troupe before, tilted his head in thought. “Her solution’s usually pretty brutal— either controlling everyone with magic or just fighting her way through.”
Lin Yuan: “…I’m suddenly worried about my brother’s studio’s reputation!”
Wouldn’t it be horrifying if news broke like “Lin Shen Studio’s artist throws a tantrum, assaults staff/another artist”?
Among their 24 classmates, the boys were mostly gentle and avoided direct conflict, but the girls were increasingly violent and ambitious.
Some aimed to assassinate the King, others sought to rise to power themselves, or even overthrow the government and establish new states.
If anything, Parnaki was even more patriarchal than Earth’s Middle Ages.
While magical talent wasn’t entirely inherited through bloodlines, superior bloodlines often produced stronger offspring.
Therefore, female family members with magical potential were strictly controlled as valuable reproductive and political assets.
Yet, this did not elevate women’s status to a position of power.
Instead, to better control these resources, families forbade women from learning anything about magic, then assessed their reproductive potential by testing their affinity for magic through male relatives’ cultivation.
In short, every girl in the class had overcome far more hardships to reach her position than the boys.
For example, Yu Zhi was born into an extremely patriarchal country and unloved by her parents from birth.
Her “princess” title only added unnecessary pain and responsibility.
She was sacrificed as a living offering and endured immense suffering to transform into a Goddess of a Nation.
Ouwena was born as the child of a concubine, a mere tool for political marriages.
Through personal charm, she won the “favor” of the King and Queen, but was treated like a “pet,” not a real person.
Despite thirteen heirs vying for the throne— except for the first eliminated heir— no one respected her, seeing her only as a pawn.
Ultimately, Ouwena crushed them all, leading the most earth-shattering rebellion in the history of the Saint Malo Empire and successfully ascending the throne.
Sun Jingshu’s story was similar. Born a minor noble’s daughter and raised as a political marriage tool, she secretly built an extensive intelligence network in her city, gradually eroding the country’s foundations, and eventually led the common people to overthrow the nobility and establish her own regime.
Even Lin Lang had no illustrious background. Sold as a slave girl to a small theater troupe, enduring unbearable pain and torture, she rose to become Parnaki’s brightest star.
Using ruthless tactics and the troupe as cover, she created Parnaki’s largest intelligence organization spanning the entire nation.
They had all endured too much; their ruthlessness became their shared shield.
Because of knowing these hardships and difficulties, Lin Yuan and others genuinely admired every single person in their class.
Of course, none of their achievements would have been possible without Rui Hang.
Rui Hang’s teaching style was hands-off, allowing students to grow independently and never exposing his relationship with them publicly.
But whenever they faced danger, as the Lord of Demons, Rui Hang was always their strongest shield.
Since the topic turned to Lin Shen, and all events they could participate in had ended, Lin Yuan and Bai Luo, both eager to check on Lin Shen (or just looking for some excitement), agreed to head toward the Administrative Building where Lin Shen was.
The Administrative Building of Second High School was opposite the No.1 Teaching Building, connected by a long corridor. From above, the school’s buildings formed a shape resembling the letter ‘З.’
Compared to the chaotic school gates and playground, the teaching buildings were unusually quiet in the afternoon.
Second High was known as the “Royal Garden” due to its abundant greenery. The landscaping drew heavily from S Province’s garden aesthetics— pavilions, towers, lotus ponds, all perfectly recreated.
If you could ignore the insects, strolling here was truly delightful.
—If only you could also ignore the strange things lurking about.
“Xiao Lin.” Bai Luo patted Lin Yuan’s shoulder, his expression complex. “Let’s analyze this rationally. Do you think that’s your brother’s fan or just a paparazzo?”
Lin Yuan looked over and mirrored Bai Luo’s complicated expression.
How to put it? This was absurd!
How could someone be so reckless as to tie a safety rope around their waist and swing from the sixth-floor rooftop directly into a fifth-floor window just to snap photos of a celebrity!
If not for the huge, reflective camera in the person’s hands, Lin Yuan would have sworn they were an assassin.
Taking pictures across the building wasn’t enough anymore? Why insist on such dangerous methods!
“Look, even the girl standing on the rooftop edge is too scared to jump!” Bai Luo said.
Bai Luo: “…”
Lin Yuan: “???!!!”
A girl in uniform, looking sixteen or seventeen, stood dumbfounded on the rooftop edge, body leaning forward slightly with nothing to hold onto. A strong gust could blow her frail frame off.
She stared blankly in the direction of the “paparazzo,” seemingly trying to process the sudden situation.
Then, a hand appeared from behind her. The girl’s body wavered like a butterfly with broken wings and suddenly fell off the sixth-floor rooftop.
At the critical moment, another hand shot out from behind the rooftop— it was Yu Zhi!
The instant the girl fell, Yu Zhi lunged forward, half her body leaning over the edge, gripping the girl’s arm tightly and suspending her in midair.
Only then did the girl snap awake and let out a heart-wrenching scream.
The scream instantly drew the paparazzo’s attention. He looked up reflexively, directly locking eyes with the girl’s tearful and desperate gaze.
His hand holding the camera trembled, and the device slipped from his grasp, crashing to the first floor below.
A fierce burst of fire and smoke followed, accompanied by a loud explosion.
Lin Yuan: “…”
Bai Luo: “…”
What the hell!
That damn thing really was a bomb!!!
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