Chapter 2: A Sun Rises from No. 6 Middle School

Chen Yufeng had long since become accustomed to his homeroom teacher’s biting sarcasm. It was one thing to look down on him, but the teacher always dragged his parents into the mockery as well.

Did he think himself so accomplished? Did he really despise construction workers that much?

This left a sour taste in Yufeng’s heart. In the past, he might have tolerated it just to graduate smoothly, but now, with nothing left to lose, he met the teacher’s gaze and replied, full of conviction, “Yes, I intend to go move bricks. What of it? Why is such a noble and promising profession so beneath you?”

“Oh, look at your ambition,” the teacher sneered, the contempt on his face deepening as he glared at Yufeng. “Since you enjoy moving bricks so much, let me help you. Stand at the front and do a hundred push-ups. Strengthen your arms, so you’ll be ready for your future on the construction site.”

“Well then, thank you, teacher, for thinking of me,” Yufeng replied with a helpless smile. He didn’t argue further; after all, he was two periods late. Obediently, he went to the front and started doing push-ups, providing his classmates with a little entertainment in their boredom.

“Haha, look at this clown. With that skinny frame, he thinks he can move bricks?”

“Hey now, don’t be so harsh. The site needs support staff too—he can wash clothes, sweep dust, cook a little. He’ll get by somehow.”

“True, I envy him, honestly. He can inherit his father’s profession, moving bricks. The rest of us are doomed to slog through university…”

Yufeng ignored the jeers and ridicule, letting them slide off him. Inwardly, he thought, I wonder if that little fairy tricked me or not. Let’s see how the principal acts in a moment.

While doing push-ups, he occasionally glanced toward the back row of girls, his gaze lingering on one in particular.

It was Qin Ning, the class beauty.

She was indeed stunning—an oval face, large eyes framed by long lashes, delicate features, porcelain skin, and a cascade of black hair falling naturally, untouched by makeup yet still dazzling. She stood just over 1.7 meters tall, already graceful and elegant at sixteen or seventeen.

The very image of a school belle.

Among the girls, she stood out like a crane among chickens.

Qin Ning’s face always wore that cold, proud expression, as if she were a phoenix above the clouds, indifferent to all below. When she caught Yufeng sneaking glances, her look of disgust was obvious.

She hadn’t changed her attitude even though Yufeng had saved her the previous night.

To her, that poor, short boy clearly had ulterior motives. She even wondered if the two thugs were people Yufeng himself had called, just to stage a hero-rescues-beauty scene and get close to her for his own ends.

Could that be possible? Someone like him, a poor, short nobody—was he even worthy of a second glance?

If Yufeng knew what she was thinking, he’d probably be furious.

He, too, had noticed Qin Ning, knowing she wasn’t just beautiful and smart, but talented in singing and dancing as well. Rumor had it her dream was to become a celebrated star, to break into the entertainment industry.

She had always been Yufeng’s unattainable goddess. But now…

“Students, please give a warm round of applause to welcome Principal Qin to the stage,” announced the voice of the Director of Student Affairs over the loudspeaker.

As the words faded, a tall, dignified middle-aged man in a black suit strode onto the red-flag platform at the front of the field.

This was Qin Yiran, the current principal of Six High. Though already forty-five or six, he was well maintained and carried himself with distinction. One could easily imagine that in his youth he’d been quite the handsome man. Qin Ning had inherited his fine features.

On the platform, two tables pushed together formed a podium, draped in golden silk, with a pot of artificial flowers atop.

Principal Qin stepped up, offered a few formal remarks, then suddenly raised his voice into the microphone, “Now, let us invite Chen Yufeng from Class Seven, Grade Twelve, to the stage!”

“Haha, his moment of glory has come!”

“Yeah, time to shine and grab some attention—I’m jealous!”

Hearing the principal personally summon Chen Yufeng, not only the students of Class Seven but nearly the entire school knew what was coming next.

It was an old routine: at every honors assembly, a few of the worst-performing students were called up first to make self-criticisms and be embarrassed before the whole school. Only then would the top students be invited up.

The contrast would be sharp, letting the stars bask in glory and spurring others to study harder.

As for the so-called losers’ dignity—who cared about that?

As the worst of the worst, Chen Yufeng’s appearances at these assemblies were numerous—he was always there, a fixture, now the most familiar face in the entire school.

He had become Six High’s number one joke.

Why was the principal calling me up? Surely not to praise me, to admire me, or curry favor with me?

Yufeng’s heart pounded with excitement. To be honest, he still wasn’t sure if that so-called artifact was real.

Supposedly, every time he acted cool or put someone down, he’d be rewarded.

Earlier, the little fairy had even helped him by locking onto a target and briefly controlling that person’s thoughts to assist him in showing off—the target being the principal.

Now came the moment of truth.

He desperately hoped the little fairy hadn’t tricked him. If it was true, he really was about to reach the peak of life.

Ha!

Zheng Mingjie saw Yufeng still standing there grinning and snapped irritably, “Chen Yufeng, what are you smiling about? Feeling proud? Get up there!”

“Er…” Yufeng didn’t argue, merely shot him a glance, and strode toward the podium.

“Wait.”

He’d only gone a few steps when Zheng Mingjie called him back, leaned in, and whispered, “Xiao Feng, do me a favor, will you? When you get up there, say you’ve had a congenital mental deficiency since childhood, that you’re not dumb because of my teaching, all right?”

He paused, adding, “If you do well, maybe I’ll be in a good mood and help you get your diploma. How about it?”

Yufeng just gave him a “heh” and ignored him.

Then, under the watchful eyes of four or five thousand teachers and students, he walked confidently to the stage.

Usually, when the “losers” were called up, they slouched, heads hung so low they might as well be tucked into their pants. That was the standard posture.

After all, this was utter humiliation.

But Yufeng walked with his head high, a brilliant smile on his face, even waving nonchalantly to the crowd.

He looked, not like a student about to be publicly shamed, but like one going up to accept an award.

The four or five thousand onlookers couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

“Is this clown out of his mind? Does he not know why he’s up there? He’s at the bottom of the class!”

“No shame at all—he’s beyond saving.”

“He’s determined to be Six High’s biggest joke, isn’t he? Well done.”

“You don’t get it—graduation’s near, and he probably wants to leave everyone with one last laugh so he won’t be forgotten!”

Under a torrent of ridicule, mockery, jeering, and sarcastic applause, Yufeng mounted the podium.

“Silence, please, everyone.”

At Principal Qin Yiran’s signal, the crowd fell quiet, awaiting the self-criticism and embarrassment they expected from the loser’s representative.

Under the gaze of thousands, Principal Qin Yiran smiled, shook Yufeng’s hand, then took the microphone and, looking out at the crowd, announced loudly:

“Teachers, students, do you know? From the very first moment I met Chen Yufeng, I knew he was a talent—a man destined for greatness.

“Look at him! A noble forehead, a square jaw, remarkable bone structure—if this isn’t a genius, what is?”

What was going on?

This kid looked more like a monkey than anything else—what noble forehead, what square jaw?

Had the principal gone blind?

The students of Class Seven, and everyone else, were utterly dumbfounded, their minds unable to process what was happening.

Who didn’t know that Chen Yufeng’s grades were always at the bottom? Who didn’t know he was always the one doing self-criticisms?

A genius? Destined for greatness?

Why would the principal praise a loser?

Was there some city education official inspecting the school, so the principal was pretending to care for underachievers and encourage them?

As the crowd whispered in confusion, Qin Yiran cleared his throat, gestured for silence, and continued loudly:

“I dare say, within half a year, this unassuming Chen Yufeng will soar to the heights, reach the pinnacle of life, and become the pride of Six High, the pride of Ninghai City.

“In the future, he will become the pride of the nation, of the world—he will lead us into the new century.

“This is the future of humanity.

“To be able to stand beside Chen Yufeng today is the peak of my own life, my greatest honor. And for you, his schoolmates, this is the greatest glory of your lives as well.

“A new sun rises from Six High today—let us applaud!”

There was no applause—only a rising tide of gasps and exclamations.

What the hell—

What was going on? Had the principal’s brain short-circuited, or had he been kicked in the head by a donkey?

This guy, reaching the pinnacle of life in six months?

Pride of the nation? Pride of the world?

Leading humanity into the new century—the future of humanity, no less?

He wouldn’t reach the pinnacle of life in thirty years, even as a construction foreman. Everyone knew he was set to inherit his father’s trade after graduation and start moving bricks.

A sun? Calling him a firefly would be generous!

To call being his classmate the greatest honor? More like the greatest disgrace.

At that moment, all four or five thousand teachers and students were in turmoil, doubting their ears, staring blankly at Qin Yiran.

Had the principal taken leave of his senses?

The script was all wrong!

Even as Principal Qin lavished him with praise, Yufeng maintained a calm facade, but inside he was ecstatic: Praise me, admire me—what’s next, will he try to curry favor too?

Ha!

Sure enough, the principal looked at Yufeng, smiled, and solemnly declared, “Chen Yufeng, on this basis, I have made a bold decision: today, before the entire school, I would like to betroth my daughter Qin Ning to you. Do you find this acceptable?”

At these words, the entire school was thrown into chaos.

Everyone was stunned, their eyes wide with disbelief.

This was too outrageous to be real—completely beyond comprehension.

When they finally recovered, a tidal wave of chatter erupted:

Good heavens, did I hear that right? Tell me this isn’t real.

What is going on here—has the principal’s brain been bombarded?

My God, the principal is actually trying to curry favor with Chen Yufeng?

How could this be?

At that moment, Qin Ning, having recovered first, marched to the front of the stage and cried out angrily to her father, “Dad, what is wrong with you today? Are you possessed? You want to betroth me to him? I’m destined to be a superstar, a queen of the screen, and this guy isn’t fit to carry my shoes!”

Then, turning to Yufeng, she snapped coldly, “Chen Yufeng, so you do know a few underhanded tricks. Last night you staged a scene with two thugs, and today you even got my father to say all this in front of the whole school.”

“Heh, no matter how you scheme, you’ll never succeed. You make me sick.”