Chapter 4
After finishing his bold declaration, Su Bei didn't linger. Fighting the last bit of embarrassment he felt, he quickly walked to the back row by the window. There was a perfect spot—second to last in the row.
The back row by the window—the king's domain.
The last seat was already taken by a white-haired boy, who was currently sprawled over his desk, fast asleep.
White hair + corner seat + sleeping habit—the classic combo. Based on Su Bei's years of reading manga, this white-haired character was bound to be someone special.
So, he chose this spot not only to give readers the impression of a "big shot" vibe but also to get close to this likely true big shot.
If this guy made any moves with the protagonist group, he could catch wind of it right away.
However, he didn't try to wake the guy up. Patience is key, and besides, he had other things to handle right now.
Rubbing his slightly flushed ears, Su Bei listened as the "Comic Consciousness" gave him an update. Finally snapping out of his embarrassment over that cringe-worthy line, he raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Did you say the comic has started updating?"
"It's just a teaser," replied the Comic Consciousness. "Since a new season is beginning, it's getting some early promotion."
In the real world…
"Ding!" Lin Xue glanced at her phone and saw a message from her friend.
"Xiaoxue, did you see? King of Superpowers is back!"
She blinked in surprise, her eyes widening. "Season two's starting this soon? I didn't hear anything about it!"
After quickly replying, she opened her manga app. Sure enough, King of Superpowers had a green update notification.
Hastily tapping it, Lin Xue murmured to herself, sounding both disappointed and relieved, "It's just a teaser."
Opening the teaser chapter, she was greeted with a full-page color illustration.
"The artist's skills have improved!" Lin Xue admired the artwork, instinctively saving the image before zooming in to examine the details.
The background seemed to be the training grounds of the Academy. Taking center stage were Jiang Tianming and his two friends, who had been missing the entire fall season. They sat together, leaning close with smiles on their faces.
Lin Xue, who had followed season one, couldn't help but smile nostalgically, remembering how the trio had been wary of each other at the start of season one. They'd come a long way since then.
They'd become good friends. How nice.
After taking in the familiar faces, Lin Xue's eyes roamed over the other characters in the promotional image. The picture featured a good number of students: a red-haired boy laughing brightly, a burly, muscular teacher, a short-haired girl reading a book, and a white-haired boy who seemed to hit all her aesthetic marks.
Lin Xue inhaled sharply, excitement gleaming in her eyes. There had been rumors that season two would introduce lots of new, handsome and beautiful characters, and it seemed those rumors were true!
Suddenly, her gaze shifted to a barely noticeable figure in the far corner of the image. In the shadow of a tree, a blurry figure with blond hair leaned against the trunk, seemingly watching the protagonist group.
It was easy to overlook this small, shaded figure, but once noticed, he stood out sharply from the bright, lively characters around him.
Could he be a key plot character?!
Feeling as if she'd discovered a secret, Lin Xue's eyes sparkled with excitement. She quickly circled the figure, took a screenshot, and sent it to her friend: "Su Su! Look at this guy! I feel like he's not ordinary!"
A reply came back quickly: "?"
Her friend was clearly confused. "What's so special? He looks like a background character. Why else would he be drawn so small?"
"But he's looking at the protagonist group!" Lin Xue insisted on her hunch.
Her friend replied, "You can't even see his eyes. How do you know where he's looking?"
"But he looks cool!" Lin Xue argued, "Even though he's just a tiny blur, look at that posture! Look at the vibe!"
Friend: "…"
Friend: "He doesn't even appear in the teaser. I know you're excited, but take it easy."
Seeing the reply, Lin Xue pouted, quickly finishing the teaser. It mostly covered the protagonist group's summer vacation and some rumors about the academy.
There was no sign of the blond character.
"Hmph, I trust my intuition," Lin Xue muttered to herself. "He's definitely going to show up!"
Meanwhile, Su Bei had also finished reading the latest update.
There was good news and bad news. The bad news was that after scrutinizing every frame, he found only one instance of himself in the entire teaser.
The good news? That instance was on the promotional page.
Compared to the main content of the teaser, the promotional page would undoubtedly get more attention.
Unfortunately, his position was so inconspicuous—tucked into a shaded corner. If not for his blond hair standing out slightly, even he might have missed himself.
Su Bei knew why he'd been placed there: he was the character marked for death at the start of the comic. While he was a disposable character, he was at least somewhat important, so they'd given him a tiny spot that wouldn't disrupt the composition. Most readers wouldn't even notice him, and when he eventually died, he'd be more of an Easter egg for fans to laugh about.
"Well, at least I made it in," he sighed, trying to console himself.
He opened the forum, which had exploded with activity after the teaser's release, the quiet having finally ended like water coming to a boil.
"Season 2 is finally here!"
[Sacred Flame Meow No.0: From summer to winter, I've waited so long! Finally, there's hope! Season 2, here we go!]
[Nightlight Comics No.1: So excited!]
[CokeNotPepsi No.2: I couldn't believe it when I saw the update notification. This teaser's trending!]
[NotSpam No.3: I have a proposal—teaser today, main story tomorrow! Who's in?]
(Following users omitted for brevity)
[…]
[No.32: The summer vacation scenes were hilarious. Bing Bing's family is loaded—they took everyone to the beach!
[No.33: I'm crying from jealousy. I need a rich friend too!
[No.34: They even hired an abilities user to give them a tour of the Academy. Classic wealthy move.]
[No.35: Who would've thought the Academy sorted classes by abilities level? I'm even more excited now!]
[…]
[No.70: The artist did an amazing job on the promo page. My son barely smiled like that in all of season one.]
[No.71: With this art, it's no wonder this is the hottest manga right now.]
[No.72: So many new characters on the promo page! Already looking forward to them!]
[No.73: Gorgeous new characters everywhere! My friends are already betting on the breakout stars.]
[No.74: There's a white-haired guy who really hits my aesthetic! I'm weak for white hair!]
[No.75: Hehe, pecs… Hehe, booty… Hehe… drools…]
[…]
As expected, no one mentioned his character. After thinking for a moment, Su Bei asked, "Can I have a forum account?"
The Comic Consciousness responded quickly, "You can, but it'll only activate when the main story updates."
So, he wouldn't be able to start building up his reputation just yet. Su Bei sighed, though he wasn't too disappointed.
Turning off his phone, he looked up at Jiang Tianming, who had followed him over. "Hey, can I help you with something?"
Even as calm as Jiang Tianming was, he couldn't help his eye twitch.
This guy… was he trying to play innocent?
He'd just said something strange to catch his attention, and now he was asking if he needed something.
Still, Jiang Tianming kept his composure and politely asked, "I just wanted to ask what you meant by what you said earlier."
As he spoke, Su Bei keenly noticed that many students were glancing over, curious about their conversation.
It made sense; he hadn't lowered his volume when making that comment, so plenty of people had heard him. Naturally, they'd be curious about what he meant.
"It was just a joke," Su Bei replied, half-laying on his desk, propping his chin up with one hand and looking at Jiang Tianming with an innocent smile that was anything but. His gaze was mischievous and playful. "You didn't take it seriously, did you?"
But Jiang Tianming, being the popular protagonist he was, didn't show any sign of irritation at this near-taunting "prank."
He simply looked at Su Bei for a moment, then shrugged, "My mistake. It was a pretty funny joke."
Then he continued, "Since we'll be classmates for the next three years, mind if we get acquainted? I'm Jiang Tianming."
"Su Bei."
Having gotten his name, Jiang Tianming turned and left without hesitation.
Watching him go, Su Bei smirked slightly. Jiang Tianming's comment about "being classmates for the next three years" was interesting.
If Su Bei had ill intentions toward him, it could be taken as a warning. But if he were neutral or friendly, it could be seen as a friendly gesture.
A true rational protagonist.
Su Bei was curious about what Jiang Tianming was thinking. He was sure Jiang Tianming didn't buy his explanation, but he hadn't pressed further, showing his intelligence.
In the first volume, Jiang Tianming's calm, decisive nature was well-established, but he also had a lesser-known yet popular trait: his cunning.
For instance, in a previous arc, Jiang had deliberately turned on the loudspeaker in a factory's broadcast room, exposing the taunts and misdeeds of a spoiled rich kid, sparking a worker rebellion.
It was satisfying to read about in the comic, but in real life, Su Bei had no desire to be on the receiving end of Jiang Tianming's schemes.
He knew Jiang Tianming's politeness now was due to his uncertainty about Su Bei's motives. So, he couldn't afford to let Jiang realize he was bluffing, or things would go south fast.
Muttering to himself, Su Bei sighed, "Being a fraud is exhausting. I need to make this reality, and soon."