Chapter 4
After delivering that line, Su Bei didn’t linger. Suppressing the last shred of embarrassment, he quickly strode toward the back row by the window. There was a perfect spot in the second-to-last seat by the window.
Back row by the window—the homeland of kings.
He didn’t take the very last seat because it was already occupied by a white-haired boy, currently sprawled across the desk, asleep.
White hair + corner seat + chronic sleepiness—a full stack of buffs. Based on Su Bei’s years of reading manga, this white-haired guy was definitely not ordinary.
He chose this spot for two reasons: first, to give readers the illusion that he was a big shot; second, to make contact with this true big shot.
If this guy made moves with the protagonist group later, Su Bei would know immediately.
But he didn’t try to wake him. Haste makes waste. Besides, there were other matters to handle now.
Rubbing his slightly warm ears and listening to the “Manga Consciousness” report, Su Bei finally shook off the awkwardness from his cringeworthy line, raising a surprised brow. “You said the manga has already started updating?”
“It’s a teaser,” the “Manga Consciousness” replied. “Since the new season is starting, they need to build some hype.”
In the real world.
“Ding!” Lin Xue opened her phone and saw a message from her friend.
“Xuexue, did you see? 《King of Abilities》 updated!”
She froze, eyes widening. “Season two is starting already? There wasn’t even any news!”
After a quick reply to her friend, she opened the manga app and sure enough saw the green update badge on 《King of Abilities》.
Fumbling to click it, Lin Xue murmured, half-disappointed, half-relieved, “It’s just a teaser.”
Opening the “teaser” chapter, she was greeted by a full-color splash page.
“The old thief’s art has improved,” Lin Xue praised, instinctively saving the image before examining the details.
The background appeared to be the Ability Academy’s sports field. Jiang Tianming’s trio, absent all autumn, naturally dominated the center of the splash page. They sat close together, all smiling.
Having read the first season, Lin Xue couldn’t help but smile warmly, recalling how wary the three were of each other at the start of season one—a stark contrast to now.
They’d become close friends. How nice.
After observing the familiar trio, Lin Xue shifted her gaze to the other characters in the image. The page featured plenty of students: a brightly smiling red-haired boy, a burly teacher, a short-haired girl reading, a white-haired extra who hit all the right tropes…
Lin Xue gasped. So much information!
Excitement gleamed in her eyes. Rumors had circulated that season two would introduce many handsome and beautiful new characters, and it seemed they were true!
Suddenly, her gaze landed on a corner of the image. Under the shade of a tree, a blurry golden-haired figure leaned against it, seemingly looking toward the protagonist group.
This dim, blurry speck was easy to overlook, but once noticed, it stood in sharp contrast to the vibrant, polished characters.
A key plot character?!
Lin Xue felt she’d uncovered a secret, her eyes widening with excitement. She circled the figure, screenshot it, and sent it to her friend: “Susu! Look at this guy, I feel like he’s super important!”
She quickly got a reply: “?”
Her friend was clearly puzzled. “What’s important about him? He’s obviously just an extra, or why would he be drawn so small?”
“But look, he’s watching the protagonists!” Lin Xue insisted.
Her friend replied, “You can’t even see his eyes. How do you know who he’s looking at?”
“But he’s handsome!” Lin Xue offered another reason. “Even if he’s just a blurry speck, look at that pose! That aura!”
Her friend: “…”
Her friend: “He doesn’t even appear in the teaser. I know you’re hyped, but calm down.”
Reading the reply, Lin Xue puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction and quickly skimmed the teaser. It covered the protagonist group’s summer vacation antics and some academy rumors.
As expected, no golden-haired character appeared.
“Hmph, I still trust my gut,” Lin Xue muttered with a small “hmph.” “He’s definitely going to show up!”
Meanwhile, Su Bei had also finished reviewing the newly updated content.
There was good news and bad news. The bad news was that, after microscopically examining all the new content, he found only one instance of himself.
The good news was that this instance was in the promotional page.
Compared to the teaser’s main content, the season two promotional page was definitely more eye-catching.
But unfortunately, his spot on the page was extremely inconspicuous, tucked in a shaded corner. If not for his golden hair standing out, he might not have even found himself.
Su Bei knew why he was there. He was the character who died at the manga’s opening. Though cannon fodder, he was technically an important character, so he got a tiny, unobtrusive spot that didn’t affect the composition. Most people wouldn’t notice him, and if they did after his death, it’d just be a funny Easter egg…
“At least I made it in,” Su Bei sighed, consoling himself.
He opened the forum, where the long-dormant community was now boiling over like water on a stove, thanks to the teaser.
《Season Two Is Finally Starting!》
【HolyFireMeowMeowCultNo.0: From summer to winter, I waited so long! Finally seeing the light! Season two, let’s go!】
【NightGlowMangaNo.1: So excited!】
【CokeNotPepsiNo.2: I couldn’t believe it when I saw the update notification. This teaser even trended. The old thief’s still got it.】
【NoWaterPostsNo.3: I’m setting a goal: teaser today, main story tomorrow! Who’s with me, who’s against?】
(To avoid fluff, unnecessary usernames for later replies are omitted)
【…】
【No.32: The summer vacation antics killed me. Bingbing’s family is loaded, taking everyone to a beach vacation.】
【No.33: I’m so jealous my tears are dripping from my mouth. I want a rich bestie too!】
【No.34: Hiring an ability user to share their academy experiences—only a chaebol could pull that off.】
【No.35: For real, I didn’t expect the academy to sort classes by ability level. Why am I even more hyped?】
【…】
【No.70: The old thief nailed this promo page. My boy barely showed such a relaxed smile in season one.】
【No.71: Look at that art. No wonder it’s the hottest manga right now.】
【No.72: So many new characters on the promo page. I’m already stoked!】
【No.73: Clearly a ton of hot guys and girls. My friends are already betting on the next big character.】
【No.74: There’s a white-haired hottie, totally my type! White hair is in my DNA!】
【No.75: Hehe, pecs, hehe, buns, hehe, slurp】
【…】
As expected, no one discussed his character. After a moment’s thought, Su Bei asked, “Can I have a forum account?”
The “Manga Consciousness” replied promptly, “You can, but it won’t activate until the main story starts updating.”
So he couldn’t build hype in advance. Su Bei sighed, but he wasn’t too disappointed.
He closed his phone and looked up at the protagonist, Jiang Tianming, who had followed him over. “Classmate, may I ask what you want with me?”
Even the composed Jiang Tianming couldn’t help but twitch his eyelid.
This guy was turning the tables, wasn’t he?
He was the one who’d said something weird first, drawing attention, and now he was asking what Jiang Tianming wanted.
Though he thought this, he still asked politely, “I wanted to ask what you meant by what you said earlier.”
After he spoke, Su Bei keenly noticed their exchange was drawing eyes. Many classmates were openly or subtly watching their conversation.
This was normal. He hadn’t lowered his voice when he said that line, so plenty in the class had heard and were naturally curious about what he meant.
“Just a joke,” Su Bei said, half-sprawled on the desk, propping his chin with one hand. He grinned at the other, looking innocent but actually sly and mischievous. “You didn’t take it seriously, did you?”
Jiang Tianming, true to his status as a wildly popular manga protagonist, showed no trace of anger at this near-provocative “prank.”
He just gave Su Bei a deep look, then shrugged. “My mistake. It was a pretty interesting joke.”
He continued, “We’ll be classmates for the next three years. Want to introduce ourselves? I’m Jiang Tianming.”
“Su Bei.”
After getting his name, Jiang Tianming returned to his seat without hesitation.
Watching his back, Su Bei’s lips curved slightly. Jiang Tianming’s line, “We’ll be classmates for the next three years,” was intriguing.
If Su Bei harbored ill intent, it was a warning. If Su Bei was neutral or friendly, it could be taken as a gesture of goodwill.
Worthy of a rational protagonist.
Su Bei was curious about what he was thinking. He was certain Jiang Tianming didn’t buy his explanation but chose not to press the issue—a very smart move.
In the first volume, besides being rational, composed, and ruthless, Jiang Tianming had a less prominent but fan-favorite trait: cunning.
In a factory’s broadcast room, facing a brainless rich kid’s taunts, he’d deliberately flipped on the loudspeaker, letting the kid’s scorn and misdeeds be heard by all the workers, sparking a riot.
That moment was thrilling to read in the manga, but in real life, Su Bei had no desire to be the target of that cunning.
He knew Jiang Tianming was being polite now only because he wasn’t sure of Su Bei’s deal. He absolutely couldn’t let him find out he was bluffing, or he’d be in big trouble.
He muttered to himself, “Being a liar feels awful. I’ve got to make it real fast.”