The Villain Is Too Popular

Ding-a-ling!

In the afternoon, as the dismissal bell rang, Tendo, who had been assigned a window seat at the back of the classroom, immediately prepared to lie down for a nap.

Just as he was about to doze off, he suddenly noticed that the surrounding sunlight seemed to be blocked by a shadow.

Tendo instinctively looked up, and what greeted his eyes were dozens of shining eyes.

What blocked his sunlight was nothing other than a dozen curious female classmates.

Before he could even react to what was happening, these girls started speaking all at once.

"Tendo, I heard you're only here for a month. Can you extend your exchange period?"

"Tendo, is your hair naturally like this? The quality feels so good..."

"Tendo..."

The girls' eager questions, coming from all directions, instantly stunned Tendo.

Even for him, a "popularity king" accustomed to being the center of attention, facing such a crazy, fan-like spectacle was a bit overwhelming and completely new territory.

After all, if the guys from Embers dared to swarm him like this, he would have punched them one by one and sent them to the infirmary for some serious self-reflection.

Fortunately, while these female classmates were enthusiastic, their questions generally stayed within a reasonable scope and weren't too abrupt.

So, it didn't make Tendo too uncomfortable.

Watching Tendo being surrounded by everyone, Chen Kong, who was sitting behind him, had eyes full of envy.

They were both exchange students, and both were new to Class 1.

But the treatment he and Tendo received in the class was like night and day.

When he arrived that morning, everyone was curious about him, but it was just curiosity.

There was no desire to actively approach him.

But Tendo was completely different.

From the moment he appeared in class that afternoon, he attracted a lot of attention.

Many people even subtly turned their heads to glance at Tendo during class.

It was clear they were very interested in him.

In contrast, Chen Kong's initial treatment when he first arrived was practically abysmal.

However, despite his envy, Chen Kong didn't find it strange at all.

Ever since he had known Tendo, Tendo had always been the focus of everyone's attention, someone naturally suited to stand in the spotlight.

So, even though they were now in a completely unfamiliar environment, Tendo was still Tendo, and he, Chen Kong, was still Chen Kong.

Everything seemed to have changed, but at the same time, nothing seemed to have changed.

Just as Chen Kong was lost in thought, a familiar voice suddenly pulled him back to reality.

"Kong, don't just sit there spacing out. Come help me explain; they have too many questions, and I can't answer them all."

Tendo grabbed the still-dazed Chen Kong and, without asking for his consent, forcibly pulled him into the conversation.

To Chen Kong's surprise, after being pushed forward by Tendo as a human shield, the female classmates who had been rather aloof towards him that morning now gently gathered around him.

"Kong, are you very familiar with Tendo?"

"Kong, can you secretly tell us what kind of girls Tendo likes?"

"Kong, do you know what hobbies Tendo has?"

Facing so many strange questions, Chen Kong, who had never interacted with so many girls before, immediately felt his ears visibly turn red, and his speech became a bit stuttered.

However, his shyness didn't lead to ridicule from the surrounding female classmates; instead, they found him simple and cute.

This harmonious atmosphere was a stark contrast to the near-ignored coldness he experienced that morning.

Although Chen Kong knew that their significant change was simply because he knew Tendo, and they wanted to get more information about Tendo from him.

He had to admit, Chen Kong really liked this current atmosphere.

In this atmosphere, for the first time, he felt that he wasn't insignificant air, but a living, breathing person who was noticed and cared for.

Unfortunately, this pleasant atmosphere that Chen Kong cherished didn't last long.

Because the short break was over.

As everyone returned to their seats, Chen Kong was still giggling foolishly, rubbing the back of his head, clearly in a very good mood.

Seeing him like this, Tendo leaned back, resting his chair against Chen Kong's desk, and said with a smile, "Kong, you know, sometimes you just overthink things."

"You should know that most people in this world aren't as complicated as you imagine. The reason they're cold to you, in the end, is simply because they don't understand you at all."

"So, be confident, Kong. Don't think so little of yourself."

Hearing Tendo's words, Chen Kong's expression was slightly lost in thought.

A moment later, he couldn't help but ask, "So, Tendo, is that why you're always so popular?"

"Oh, no, that's not it."

"Then what is it?"

Tendo thought for a moment, then pointed to himself and said, "Kong, when you're as handsome as I am, even if you're a mute who can't speak, you'll still be as popular as I am."

"..."

The comfort was well-intended, but next time, please don't bother.

Looking at the "confident" Tendo, Chen Kong felt speechless for the first time in his life.

So, for once, Chen Kong spoke his true feelings to Tendo.

"Tendo, has Caroline ever told you that you... aren't very good at comforting people?"

Hearing this, Tendo said without hesitation, "How could that be! Every time Caroline was down, I was the one who comforted her and helped her out of her slump."

"Caroline wasn't angry?"

Tendo thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "She should, probably... wasn't angry, right?"

Seeing that Tendo himself couldn't be sure, Chen Kong immediately came to a conclusion.

Case closed, Tendo has been bad at comforting people since he was little.

After all, as a genius, how could he understand the feelings of ordinary people like them?

"Alright, enough talk. Class is starting."

Seeing the teacher entering the classroom, Tendo immediately stopped his meaningless discussion with Chen Kong and pretended to pay attention to the class.

While seemingly looking at the blackboard, he had actually opened his dimensional screen and was openly slacking off, watching "Prequel of the Stars: Embers."

Meanwhile, as this small interlude between Tendo and Chen Kong ended, the camera in the anime also shifted away from them and focused on Deikola, the wealthy young master who hadn't attended class that afternoon.

Deikola was alone in the school dorm, secretly making a phone call.

A short while later, the call connected...

"Dad, I have results for what you asked me to investigate. That transfer student named Chen Kong really is suspicious."

"When I used the 'Star Energy Sensor' you gave me near him, I detected a clear star energy reaction."

"According to the readings, he possesses at least 100 points of star energy, making him a legitimate Rank One Star Envoy."

"What about the others?"

"As for that guy named Tendo Simei, I ran into him by chance this afternoon, but I didn't get a chance to approach him alone, so I can't confirm his identity yet. As for Caroline and Chen Xing..."

Deikola paused, then continued, "They're not in my class, and I haven't had enough opportunities to observe them yet."

Hearing this, there was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, then a voice spoke, "Understood, Deikola. Go back to class for now, and contact me if you find anything new."

"Don't worry, my plan to enter the decision-making layer of the Tianhai Group is going very smoothly. Soon I'll acquire more shares."

"Before that, maintain your arrogant persona and continue to provoke those transfer students."

"Ideally, you should force them to use their Star Source in public as soon as possible, confirming their identities as Star Envoys..."

At this point, a cold chuckle suddenly came from the other end of the phone.

"And once their identities as Star Envoys are confirmed, our city's Star Envoy Association will have a legitimate reason to intervene."

"At that time, even if these unknown individuals manage to get through safely, they definitely won't be able to return to Trilland easily and spoil our plans."

"So, work hard, Deikola. The future of our family... depends entirely on your performance."

"Understood!"