novelraw Chapter 13 : Chapter 13
Chapter 13 : Chapter 13
Chapter 13
The News Club of the Third Ability Academy was located in a corner next to the broadcasting room.
The club’s location was quite hidden. Ji Qing circled around the broadcasting room twice before finally discovering an old iron door at the end of the corridor on that floor.
The door to the News Club was not closed.
Ji Qing walked to the doorway and looked inside. Two girls were sitting in the room.
One girl had orange hair tied into low twin ponytails. She wore gold-rimmed glasses, and faint freckles dotted her face. She was typing rapidly on a computer.
The other looked like a senior student. Her ice-blue hair was strikingly bright, and all ten of her fingers were decorated with glittering nail art. She was staring blankly at a stack of newspapers.
Ji Qing raised his hand and politely knocked on the door.
“Hello there!” The orange-haired girl poked her head out first and greeted him enthusiastically. “What brings you to the News Club?”
As she spoke, she walked out from behind the computer and quickly approached Ji Qing. But the moment she came closer, her steps suddenly stopped. Her gaze flicked between Ji Qing’s face and the nameplate on his chest.
In the next second, she abruptly stepped back several paces and shouted toward the room.
“Senior Sister—someone from Class S has come to kick down our door!”
The senior who had just opened her newspaper: “…”
Ji Qing, who had just stepped one foot inside: “…”
“They came to cause trouble this quickly?” The senior instantly snapped out of her daze. Her ice-blue eyes locked precisely onto Ji Qing. But after realizing that he was not the Class S student mentioned in the report, she murmured with slight surprise, “This year’s Class S… is unexpectedly united.”
The orange-haired girl did not hear her clearly.
She quickly hid behind the senior and exaggeratedly shouted, “Senior Sister, you go! The future of the News Club is in your hands!”
Her words sounded fearful, but Ji Qing could not see the slightest hint of nervousness in her actions.
What he saw instead was her secretly lifting the camera from the table, turning it on, adjusting the focus, and starting the recording.
The entire sequence flowed smoothly, as if she were simply waiting for the two of them to start fighting so she could gather material for the next report.
Ji Qing could not help laughing.
“Heh…”
He did not feel offended at all. Instead, he found the News Club quite interesting. Their reaction speed clearly showed that they had accumulated plenty of experience from being “raided.”
Even so, they still insisted on reporting the various events happening at the school?
Ji Qing raised both hands helplessly in a gesture of surrender.
“I came to commission you to investigate something, not to cause trouble.”
“Oh?” The senior’s lips curled into a playful smile.
She casually grabbed the “trembling” junior behind her and pushed her toward Ji Qing.
“Go on. He is not here to cause trouble. You are in the same year anyway, so chat slowly.”
The orange-haired girl blinked awkwardly, the red recording light still glowing on the camera in her hands.
“Ahem.” She pretended to clear her throat and introduced herself.
“Hello, Ji Qing. I am Feng Youyou from Class A.”
“You know me too?” Ji Qing raised an eyebrow.
“You are famous,” Feng Youyou replied bluntly. Her gaze fixed on Ji Qing like a camera lens.
“You are the first freshman in six years to become the top student without coming from a noble family,” Feng Youyou said, pushing her glasses up as she spoke seriously. “The one six years ago only became the top student because no noble family students enrolled that year. But you are different.”
“You truly surpassed all the noble family students in your cohort.”
“That makes me sound impressive,” Ji Qing commented casually.
He stepped past Feng Youyou, who was still standing, and naturally sat down in one of the few chairs in the News Club.
“You do not mind if we sit and talk, do you?” Ji Qing said with a smile between his teeth.
After that sequence of actions, he looked more like the host than the host himself.
However, neither of the two members of the News Club cared.
It was natural for high-level Ability users to receive preferential treatment. That belief was deeply rooted in the wasteland world.
Feng Youyou naturally walked to the water dispenser nearby and brought back two cups of water.
One cup was placed in front of Ji Qing. The other was set in front of the seat she was about to take.
“Go ahead,” Feng Youyou said as she sat down, focusing her gaze on Ji Qing again.
“I saw your report on the school bulletin board,” Ji Qing said calmly, tapping his finger lightly on the table. “The report says Zhou Que lost to Xie Chang’an, but I think that story is incomplete…”
“We were already quite restrained in our reporting,” Feng Youyou said with a slight frown. “We did not exaggerate the process or the result. The News Club’s purpose is simply to state facts and inform the entire school about what happened fairly and truthfully.”
She paused briefly before adding tactfully, “The people who deliberately exaggerate and distort the duel are someone else. Members of the News Club have never posted comments on the school forum privately.”
So she still thought he had come to stir up trouble.
Ji Qing understood immediately.
He raised a hand to interrupt her, his expression serious.
“I already said I did not come to cause trouble. I only said the report is incomplete.”
“The conflict between Zhou Que and Xie Chang’an began in the cafeteria. If you truly want to report the incident fairly and truthfully, should you not investigate the cause as well?”
The senior instantly stopped what she was doing.
The amusement in her eyes deepened.
“So you mean…”
“You want us to act as intermediaries and calm the turmoil currently spreading through the school?” Feng Youyou was the first to grasp the meaning behind Ji Qing’s words. Surprise flashed across her eyes.
The truth was that this matter was extremely difficult to handle.
The cause of the conflict in the cafeteria involved two Class S students. One came from a prestigious noble family, and the other had enrolled as the third-ranked student of the year despite being a commoner.
Neither of them was someone easy to offend.
Students from Class S had always stood at a higher level than those from other classes. Moreover, these two had been classified as S-rank purely because of their Ability strength, without any other factors.
Compared to students who later transferred into Class S, they were destined to go much further.
“Yes,” Ji Qing said casually. “I have already discussed the situation with my classmates. None of us want the turmoil to drag on for too long. After all, Class S will begin off-campus practice next semester. This matter is rather meaningless.”
“We simply want to use your newspaper to publish the full sequence of events.”
“And besides…” Ji Qing paused, shrugging helplessly. “As you can see, the other two people do not want to communicate with Xie Chang’an directly.”
“So if the issue can be resolved through external means, we might as well do it this way.”
As he spoke, Ji Qing quietly observed the expressions of the two News Club members.
His intentions were already clear. If they truly wanted to report events truthfully, as they claimed, they would certainly not refuse.
“We accept this commission,” Feng Youyou said decisively.
This was a quality that every journalist must possess.
Even without asking, she knew that the senior’s thoughts were identical to hers. At that moment, Feng Youyou made the decision on behalf of the entire News Club.
The senior’s reaction required no explanation.
She smiled as she looked at Feng Youyou’s back. Although they had not worked together for long, the junior’s performance had been impressive.
Ji Qing smiled silently.
His impression of the News Club rose instantly. But since he had already received their answer, it was time for him to leave.
Ji Qing stood up casually and waved behind him as he walked away.
“Oh, right. Song Xiaoran is at the Glass Greenhouse today, and he has time. As for Zhou Que, he will be available tomorrow. Remember to send a female reporter to interview him—he tends to be gentler with girls.”
Though only slightly gentler, Ji Qing sighed inwardly.
Zhou Que’s behavior was quite obvious. When he encountered Xie Chang’an, he immediately confronted him. When he encountered Gu Lingxue, he bluntly said the situation was boring. But when dealing with girls he knew and found irritating, he would still be just as sharp-tongued.
When Ji Qing finally walked out of the News Club, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The rest depended on how the News Club handled things.
Ji Qing believed that Xie Chang’an, as the protagonist of the manga, should be able to understand his own situation.
If he made another irrational move, the only option left would be dropping out.
Perhaps he should find something for him to do…
Ji Qing pondered silently.
But for now, he would return to the dormitory. He was a little tired.
Meanwhile, inside the News Club after Ji Qing had left.
Feng Youyou stared at the untouched cup of water on the seat where Ji Qing had been sitting.
She turned to ask, “Senior Sister, what do you think?”
Naturally, she was not referring to the commission but to Ji Qing’s motives.
“Super interesting~” the senior said, dragging out her tone with a smile.
She set down the newspaper in her hand and tapped her fingers lightly on the table.
“On the surface, it looks like Class S simply does not want trouble. But the person who benefits the most… is actually that Xie Chang’an from Class F.”
“I suspect that this top student actually knows him.”
“If they truly knew each other, he would not have used such a roundabout method,” Feng Youyou said, pushing her glasses up as she shook her head. “I think he simply finds the other person interesting. After all, someone who can defeat Zhou Que—also an S-rank Ability user—is certainly worth his attention.”
“That makes sense.” The senior’s smile deepened. “The fact that he persuaded Zhou Que to stop suppressing him is also fascinating. It shows that he already holds considerable influence within Class S.”
“This year’s Class S is quite different from previous years.”
In the past—including the senior’s own year—students from noble families had always held the dominant voice in Class S. But this year’s top student not only came from a commoner background but had also genuinely gained influence within the class.
No… perhaps that was not quite right.
Perhaps it was precisely because he was the top student that the noble family students were willing to yield.
Strength commanded respect everywhere—especially strength greater than one’s own.
The senior with the ice-blue hair suddenly looked at Feng Youyou with amusement.
“Youyou, did you not want to leave Class A?”
“This year’s top student of Class S is a commoner, and his position within Class S seems quite strong. Meanwhile, the internal conflicts in Class A are endless. Why not take the opportunity during the upcoming school competition to leave Class A and move to a higher platform?”
“But, Senior Sister…” Feng Youyou said with a troubled expression. “If I enter Class S, I will not have time to prepare for the journalist certification exam or participate in News Club activities.”
Class S would begin off-campus practice next semester.
They spent almost the entire year traveling through Danger Zones, conducting field investigations. These tasks were extremely dangerous, and they often lacked stable environments to rest.
That was simply the rule of the wasteland world.
The stronger a person was, the more privileges they received—but the heavier their responsibilities. The status of high-level Ability users was earned through personal struggle.
Feng Youyou’s dream was to become a reporter for the Federation.
She needed to obtain a journalist certification during high school and secure an internship with the Federation’s News Agency. In this world, although universities still existed, a high school diploma was already sufficient to find work.
“What does that matter?” the senior said with a smile. “When you graduate as a student of Class S, they will naturally give you more opportunities.”
“My own senior was like that. She had nothing except the identity of being from Class S, yet she still took my spot.”
The senior’s tone carried a hint of self-mockery.
“I regret not moving up to Class S back then because I thought the environment there was too oppressive. But you are different—you still have the chance.”
She picked up her school jacket, flicked her long hair, and gracefully patted Feng Youyou on the shoulder.
“Come on. Let us go meet the members of this year’s Class S.”
“I think you will like them.”