It was Su Cha’s first time visiting a friend’s home, and something like this had already happened—his heart felt as dark as the night outside.
Upon hearing that he’d woken up, the butler brought a late-night snack.
They sat at the same dining table, quietly eating. Ji Tianjin finished first, set down his chopsticks, and said, “Your spiritual power is very unique.”
Su Cha found it hard to describe the sensation. He spoke honestly: “If I tried again, I might not succeed.”
What had happened earlier was more instinct-driven than intentional.
“Don’t let it weigh on your mind.”
Su Cha pursed his lips and looked up at him.
Ji Tianjin said, “Getting stronger is a good thing.”
The temperature inside the mansion was lower than outside. After the earlier exhaustion, Su Cha still felt a bit weak, holding a warm cup of tea to dispel the chill. Despite that, a hint of happiness lingered in his heart—he had always worried that when his abilities fully awakened, his body might not be able to handle it. But after fainting three times, each time he woke up, his spiritual power had broadened his internal meridians.
When the true awakening came in the future, the success rate would likely be much higher.
Su Cha, holding the cup, couldn’t help but smile due to his good mood.
Ji Tianjin saw him smile and his own lips curved slightly. Then he said, “There’s going to be an exchange fair at the exhibition center tomorrow afternoon. If you have a good product, make a sample, and I’ll have my father take it inside for you.”
It was a great opportunity to build a name.
Su Cha’s eyes lit up. If a big name was willing to promote something for him, it could lay the groundwork for future sales.
“Food wouldn’t be very appropriate to bring inside…” He couldn’t exactly offer everyone a bite of a pancake.
Thinking back to the aura he’d felt from Su Cha the first time they met, Ji Tianjin pondered briefly and suggested, “Perfume.”
Su Cha raised an eyebrow. “Good idea.”
That night, he barely slept. He started by stimulating rose seeds for raw material, then began purifying and filtering. Su Cha had high standards for product quality, and anything related to fragrance-making never stumped him.
His tastes were always the same—using the boldest, most passionate scents to create the most calming effects.
Normally, perfume needed time to sit and settle, but he forcibly accelerated the process with spiritual power. The result was roughly the same, though the color was slightly inferior.
Creating perfume required peace and quiet, so Ji Tianjin gave him a private space. As dawn approached, Su Cha brought the finished product to him, carefully dripping a bit onto paper.
Pure, passionate, and yet strangely calming.
Su Cha, a bit excited, asked, “Can you smell it?”
The watermelon and chives he’d grown before had a faint sweetness to their taste—this high-concentration perfume had to produce some effect.
It didn’t disappoint. Ji Tianjin nodded. “It’s a very light scent.”
The detector gave its reading: [Rose blended with magnolia scent.]
Ji Tianjin took the finished sample to see Ji Chong. The latter commented meaningfully, “This is the first time I’ve seen you care so much about a friend.”
The Ji and Rong families had been close for generations, but Ji Tianjin had never been this considerate toward Rong Shao.
“Rong Shao is lively all year round,” Ji Tianjin said flatly. “Su Cha’s different—he’s actually very fragile and needs looking after.”
His mental resilience was another matter. But in daily life, Su Cha fainted easily, and his spiritual power wasn’t enduring or destructive enough. He could only rely on raising plants for self-defense.
Though Ji Chong had only met Su Cha once, based on his experience, he could be certain—this boy had nothing to do with “fragile.” But he couldn’t be bothered to question his son’s judgment. Glancing at the perfume, he said, “There’s no product registration, no official release. Promoting it directly will draw criticism.”
Ji Tianjin sprayed some on him. “This is enough.”
A walking billboard.
“…”
The butler spoke up at the right moment to remind Ji Chong it was time to leave.
If he hadn’t been pressed for time, Ji Chong honestly wanted to smack his bratty son right then and there.
With a sullen face the whole way, Ji Chong arrived at the exhibition center just on time. As soon as he arrived, the welcoming staff froze—then twitched their noses slightly.
Fragrance!
The scent was so subtle that they instinctively wanted to step closer to confirm it.
The bodyguards blocked the front, snapping the staff out of their daze. After apologizing, they led the way to the venue.
The exhibition hall displayed many high-tech products. Many inventors hoped to use this opportunity to attract investment—if a major corporation took interest and moved to mass production, even better. Before Ji Chong entered, everyone had been promoting their products with enthusiasm. Once he stepped in, all nearby eyes turned to him.
Ji Chong knew exactly how powerful the perfume he was wearing was. For those with strong spiritual power, it wasn’t a big deal. But for those with average spiritual power or weak willpower, they could hardly resist wanting to get closer.
A business owner from a manufacturing company came over to greet Ji Chong, and the moment he approached, he too was drawn in by the faint fragrance.
“Boss Huang,” Ji Chong said in a low voice, snapping him back to reality.
Boss Huang barely regained his composure and praised, “Mr. Ji, you truly exude elegance today—the scent carries far and wide.”
“…”
Ji Chong was quickly surrounded. Only after he released a warning pulse of spiritual power did people take a few steps back. At that moment, his communicator rang—Ji Tianjin had sent a message, reminding him to mention that the perfume was made by Su Cha and to promote it well.
Ji Chong was silent for a few seconds before calling his wife, who was away on a business trip. “I want to discuss something.”
“I’m a bit busy. Didn’t we already agree on the guardian application?”
“Not that. Can we let our son take half a semester off from school?”
That finally got her attention. “Why?”
“I want to beat him up.”
The kind of beating that would have him in bed for half a year.
***
While Ji Chong was wishing he could beat Ji Tianjin to death, the latter had already returned to school safely with Su Cha.
Shortly after returning, they met up with the rest of their team at a pavilion. Upon seeing them, Rong Shao was the first to speak: “Where were you guys yesterday?”
He had originally wanted to discuss modifying the mechanical gloves with Ji Tianjin but couldn’t find him. On a whim, he went to look for Su Cha—also missing. No one answered their phones. Only after asking the dorm supervisor did he find out they weren’t coming back for the night.
At the time of Rong Shao’s call, Ji Tianjin had been tied up by vines. He forgot to call back afterward and vaguely replied, “Went home for a bit.”
Su Cha changed the subject and pulled out an old play script. “What do you think of this play?”
He hadn’t found a suitable script yesterday, but before leaving this morning, he had a sudden idea and picked one from the study.
Just as everyone was about to read it, Wu Shui suddenly let out a “Whoa!”: “Su Cha, you’re in the news.”
At the exhibition’s exchange event, Ji Chong revealed that the perfume was a gift from his son’s classmate and personally made by Su Cha. Now the internet was buzzing about the perfume’s mysterious qualities. Students who had bought watermelon from Su Cha during the Ten School Tournament also confirmed that crops stimulated by his spiritual power gave off a faint scent.
While marveling at the news, Wu Shui was the first to finish reading the play. Not quite believing what he saw, he flipped through it again. “We’re performing this?”
The script Su Cha picked perfectly embodied the idea of revenge on society.
“Just following the school’s initiative,” Su Cha said. “Didn’t they talk about cultivating endurance at the assembly the other day?”
Wu Shui fell silent. If someone could sit through this whole play without batting an eye, their endurance must be deeper than the ocean and higher than the sky.
Ji Tianjin said, “If no one has objections, let’s assign roles and start this afternoon.”
The script was ready-made. Memorizing lines was easy for them.
They spent two hours trimming and adapting parts of it, reviewing their lines, and upon hearing that the auditorium was available, headed there to rehearse.
The auditorium was dark and empty. Since the play itself had a gloomy tone, they didn’t turn on the lights.
The first run was to find blocking and familiarize themselves with the stage. The second was to build chemistry among the cast. By the third run, everyone began taking it seriously.
While they were passionately acting on stage, two people quietly entered the auditorium and sat in an inconspicuous corner of the back row. A spiritual power barrier prevented their presence from being noticed.
The two were Xie Ruanjue and the principal.
Xie Ruanjue had come by in the evening to see Su Cha. The principal received him and, after finding out where Su Cha was, came with him to the auditorium.
Watching the performance without blinking, the principal asked, “The Investigation Department doesn’t like Su Cha. Why are you still submitting a guardian application?”
Xie Ruanjue smiled. “I like clever kids.”
His tone made no attempt to hide that he intended to groom Su Cha as his successor.
The principal frowned slightly.
“I’m a better fit than Yise to be his guardian,” Xie Ruanjue said calmly. “Since noon, the Investigation Department has already blocked over 200 posts—all accusing the kid of using his powers to cozy up to powerful figures and trying to become their adopted son.”
If Su Cha’s perfume hit the market, it would be devastating to certain corporations. So they were doing everything to smear him.
This time, they’d chosen a very effective angle—highly provocative.
But the principal was unmoved. “The Investigation Department isn’t suitable for him.”
That was a twisted and terrifying organization—only lunatics could control it.
Xie Ruanjue always wore a smile, but sitting next to him, the principal could vaguely sense the brutality beneath it.
Then, without warning, Xie Ruanjue’s smile completely vanished. “What the h*ll is this play?”
Interstellar people didn’t believe in fairy tales. They never watched fairy tales. But Su Cha had picked The Little Mermaid.
Su Cha playing the Little Mermaid wasn’t his own idea—everyone else felt too awkward to take the role, let alone play it.
The story reached the part where the prince was rescued but mistook someone else for his savior.
Xie Ruanjue: “Why is the mermaid hiding?”
The principal frowned. “Maybe they heard someone coming and got scared because they’re different species.”
To marry the prince, the Little Mermaid made a deal with the Sea Witch, giving up their beautiful voice in exchange for legs. But every step they took felt like walking on knives. Still, for love, they danced with the prince.
Not long after, the prince—played by Ji Tianjin—declared he would marry his “savior.”
The mermaid tried to explain, but no sound came from their throat.
Xie Ruanjue: “Didn’t she have hands?”
Principal: “Maybe she’s illiterate.”
Xie Ruanjue, nitpicking: “But everyone’s speaking human language—they must’ve learned it.”
“…”
If the prince married someone else, the Little Mermaid would die—unless she killed him.
Looking at the sleeping prince, the mermaid chose to give up and turned into sea foam.
There was no stage setup, no lighting or music effects, but the story itself was gripping. One could imagine how compelling the performance would be on the actual event day after proper preparations.
They lacked many things—but audience was not one of them.
Xie Ruanjue clapped, drawing everyone’s attention on stage.
“Not bad,” he said.
Su Cha modestly replied, “It’s the script—standing on the shoulders of giants.”
The Investigation Department had a very complicated image in the public eye. Not just for Su Cha—for others, too. Compared to their surprise at seeing the principal, the lingering confusion in everyone’s heart was: Why did he come?
Still, as a performer, Su Cha kept his focus and asked Xie Ruanjue for his opinion on the play.
Xie Ruanjue said expressionlessly, “Let it all burn.”
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