pertwk Chapter 2 The Daily Life of a Loser
Chapter 2 The Daily Life of a Loser
On the other side, Chu Zihang, who had just finished his nighttime sword practice and was walking back to his dormitory, stopped in his tracks.
He was wearing a black training uniform, his bangs soaked with sweat, and a katana still tucked in his sheath. Raindrops pelted him, but he didn't use an umbrella, only staring expressionlessly at the golden light that suddenly appeared in the night sky.
But when the name "Lu Mingfei" appeared, Chu Zihang's tightly pursed lips and suddenly contracted pupils revealed the intense turmoil in his heart.
Lu Mingfei... that boy who looked a bit down on his luck, whom he met by chance in China and helped out casually?
Chu Zihang's thoughts were instantly pulled back to a few months ago—
The basketball court at Shilan Middle School, the skinny boy who was ostracized by his classmates and sat alone in the corner reading a book; the back view of him silently picking up the ball and leaving with his head down after being deliberately hit by a ball by the basketball team; and that time when he was surrounded by thugs on his way home from school, Chu Zihang happened to pass by and helped him out.
Lu Mingfei's reaction at that time left a deep impression on Chu Zihang: there was no tearful gratitude, no panic, just a strange look in his eyes, a soft "Thank you, senior brother," and then a quick departure. There was surprise, familiarity, and a complex emotion that Chu Zihang couldn't understand in his eyes, as if they had known each other for a long time, and knew each other very well.
Later, Chu Zihang learned through some channels that Lu Mingfei's parents were both overseas researchers at Kassel College, and he lived abroad for many years. He had lived with his uncle since he was a child. Because of his parents, Lu Mingfei had actually been included in Kassel's observation list long ago, but his rating was not high, and he was in the "to be observed" category.
But now...
Kassel's last principal?
How is that possible?
Chu Zihang unconsciously tightened his grip on the knife, his knuckles turning white. The image of Lu Mingfei's excessively ordinary face flashed through his mind, his eyes that were mostly droopy and listless, and his perpetually slightly hunched back.
Could someone like that become the principal of Kassel? Could he lead the entire Secret Service after Angers?
absurd.
But the golden light screen before him was so real, so real that its existence was undeniable. Even Chu Zihang could clearly sense the power contained within it—it wasn't a modern technological creation, but something more ancient and mysterious.
Nono stared blankly at the golden sky.
Her red hair, soaked by the rain, deepened in color, like congealed blood, clinging wetly to her cheeks and neck. Rain dripped down her chin, but she remained oblivious.
"Lu Mingfei..." she repeated the name softly, her brows furrowing slightly, a hint of confusion and inquiry flashing in her eyes, as if searching for some vague imprint deep in her memory.
Strangely, this name should have been completely unfamiliar to her. She was certain she had never heard of it before, nor had she ever seen this person. Yet, when the name came into view, her heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable flutter rose from the depths of her soul.
It feels like... like hearing a song you heard a long time ago, the melody is familiar but you can't remember the name; like smelling a certain scent and suddenly remembering a long-forgotten afternoon from your childhood; like dreaming of someone but waking up and being unable to recall that face.
Familiar yet unfamiliar.
Dangerous yet attractive.
Nono shook her head, trying to shake off this inexplicable feeling. She was Chen Motong, the red-haired witch of Kassel College, who only trusted her own intuition and judgment, not this kind of unfounded flutter.
"Hey! Nono!" Caesar's voice came from upstairs.
Caesar had climbed down from the windowsill and was now standing in front of a window on the third floor, calling out to her, "Do you know what this light screen is all about? Is it related to you?"
Nono looked up at him, shrugged, and spread her hands: "Would you believe me if I said I knew absolutely nothing?"
Caesar stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed: "I believe you. Because if you were the one who did it, it would be even more outrageous."
"Thank you for the compliment." Nono grinned, revealing two sharp little tiger teeth.
Just then, the words on the screen slowly faded away, flowing and dissipating like molten gold. Immediately afterwards, the image rippled outwards like water, and a new scene began to unfold.
Two striking gold characters appeared at the top:
【TOP10】
Below that are more specific subheadings:
[First Impressions of Kassel]
Throughout Kassel College, everyone who witnessed this scene—in dormitories, classrooms, offices, and the library—held their breath. The rain continued to fall, but no one paid it any attention. All eyes were fixed on the golden curtain of light suspended in the night sky.
They wanted to see who this so-called "last principal of Kassel," this mysterious figure named Lu Mingfei, really was.
What gives him the right?
The image on the golden screen began to become clear.
The first thing that appears is not the Gothic architecture of Kassel College, nor the training grounds or the library, but an ordinary, even somewhat dilapidated, street scene of a Chinese city.
[Future World·Golden Screen]
[Timeframe: Lu Mingfei is 18 years old, during the summer vacation after graduating from high school]
Location: A coastal town in China, near Shilan Middle School
The scene depicts a hot summer afternoon.
Cicadas chirped tirelessly in the sycamore trees, and sunlight filtered through the layers of leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Along the streets stood some old residential buildings, their white paint yellowed and peeling, revealing the gray cement beneath. Bicycles and electric bikes were parked haphazardly downstairs, and a few elderly people sat in the shade, fanning themselves and playing chess.
This is an ordinary scene in a small Chinese town, so ordinary that it surprised the teachers and students of Kassel College.
Their imagined entrance of the "last principal of Kassel" should, if not be earth-shattering, at least take place in some mysterious ruin, a treacherous mountain peak, or at least in an elite college like Kassel. Not... such an ordinary, even somewhat dilapidated, little street.
"Is this where Lu Mingfei lives?" someone muttered quietly.
"It looks so ordinary..."
"Could there be a mistake? This is so different from the style of our Kassel!"
The camera on the light screen slowly moved and finally settled on a six-story residential building.
This is a typical 1990s building with gray cement walls. Each apartment's balcony is enclosed with security grilles of varying styles; some have clothes hanging out to dry, while others have potted plants. The unit door downstairs is half-open, its green paint already peeling off.
The camera zooms in, passing through the building entrance and climbing a dimly lit staircase—the stairwell is cluttered with miscellaneous items, and the walls are covered with various small GG stickers. Finally, it stops in front of a deep red security door on the fourth floor.
House number: 402.
Then, the image seemed to penetrate the wall and enter the room.
The first thing you see is a small living room, about twenty square meters. The furniture is a bit old: the fabric sofa is covered with a printed cover, a fruit bowl and remote control sit on the glass coffee table, and an LCD TV sits on an old-fashioned TV cabinet. Several cheap decorative paintings hang on the wall, and there's a potted green ivy in the corner with slightly yellowed leaves.
The living room connects to the dining room, where several people are eating at a round dining table.
"Auntie, I'm full."
A slightly low, listless voice rang out.
The camera pans to the source of the sound.
At the dining table, a boy wearing a loose T-shirt and athletic shorts was putting down his chopsticks. He looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, thin, with messy hair and bangs that almost covered his eyes. His face was ordinary, neither handsome nor ugly, the kind that would blend into a crowd. The only thing that stood out was his eyes—they were drooping and lacked any sparkle, but if you looked closely, you could see something indescribable hidden deep within them.
Lu Mingfei.
The faculty and students of Kassel College finally met the person associated with this mysterious name.