Chapter One: The Great Blame-Shifting Assembly

On a spring afternoon, sunlight streamed through the glass window, casting a warm glow upon the silver-haired young man resting his head on the table. At the far end of the long table, Qiluo and Qin Qianbai were flipping through fashion magazines, while Shiyu Jun sat before his computer, headphones on. The activity room was unusually quiet; no one made much noise, and outside the window, the cicadas had yet to begin their summer chorus.

Perhaps sensing the sunlight, Gongsun Ce, who was napping, tucked his head in slightly.

“……”

At that moment, the young lady sitting opposite happened to look up and caught the subtle movement. She gazed absentmindedly at the young man’s small gesture, completely unaware that Qiluo beside her was silently stifling a chuckle.

Shiyu Lianyi drew aside the sheer curtain by the window and poured himself another cup of tea.

The group rarely found themselves this leisurely when together. One reason was that the silver-haired bespectacled man never paused, constantly chattering away.

When your close friend is always talking, it’s hard for others not to keep up. But now, with Gongsun Ce—the usual topic master—falling silent, the atmosphere in the activity room grew still.

Shiyu Lianyi took a sip of tea, amusedly wondering: who would be the first to break the silence? Would it be the impulsive Qiluo or the thoughtful Qin Qianbai?

He turned slightly to observe the three at the table. Gongsun Ce was still sound asleep, while Qiluo whispered into Qin Qianbai’s ear. The expressionless girl hesitated for half a second, then quietly lifted her phone toward the sleeping figure.

Taking a photo, huh.

Not a bad idea.

It could serve as material for a prank or be used to blackmail Gongsun Ce. But how to use it?

Just as the young lady pressed the shutter—

“Bang!”

The activity room door was flung open by someone. A blonde woman stormed in, shouting without even looking around, “The first club meeting starts now!”

The silver-haired youth jolted upright, his expression like a startled prairie dog.

That exact face was captured in Qin Qianbai’s photo. The young lady regarded the comedic close-up as a perfect moment, and Qiluo burst into laughter on the spot.

“Ha ha ha ha ha!”

Shiyu Jun removed his headphones, sighing silently: the leisurely afternoon was over.

Another reason they seldom enjoyed such tranquility was that the dear Miss Caldesia was no less noisy than Gongsun Ce. Moreover, her unmatched energy brought one unexpected event after another, just like now.

“Ugh…” Gongsun Ce, not wearing his glasses, fumbled before pressing his pocket watch against his face.

“Ha ha.”

He stowed away the watch amid Shiyu Jun’s laughter, finally locating his glasses. Tousled hair atop his head, he shouted irritably, “I was taking a nap!”

Caldesia seemed unsurprised by the obvious fact.

“This is the club activity room,” she said, arms crossed. “And I’m the president.”

“I’m going to impeach you for being unreasonable,” the silver-haired youth stood angrily. “Starting with the first proposal: President Caldesia Spencer has abused her power, acted recklessly, and is unfit for her role—an outrage to all reason and justice! As vice president, I propose a club-wide vote to decide a new president!”

The acting president wagged her finger. “Vetoed.”

“Who gave you veto power? That doesn’t even exist.”

The top-hatted woman’s arrogant demeanor reminded Qin Qianbai of the phrase ‘a petty person emboldened by success.’

“Lianyi, Xiao Qian, Qiluo-chan, all the council members are on my side. What chance do you have against me?”

Qiluo blinked blankly. “Huh? I got automatically assigned over there before I even took a stance.”

“Loud voices have the right of way; that’s politics,” Qin Qianbai explained. “See, Gongsun Ce even appointed himself vice president.”

The two leaders of this small club continued bickering over their positions, filling the room with noise. Shiyu Lianyi quietly poured tea for everyone, then gently reminded, “Caldesia, what were you originally going to say?”

“Ah!” The top-hatted girl smacked her forehead and went to the whiteboard. “It’s the reflection meeting, the reflection meeting!”

“What reflection meeting? You’re confessing your guilt.”

Facing the silver-haired youth’s stern questioning, Caldesia sneered, “Of course it’s a reflection meeting for the disastrous date plan you all botched!”

Except for Qin Qianbai, everyone’s expression shifted noticeably.

So that’s it!

Following the explosive date and the subsequent city-wide crisis, none of them had had time to properly discuss the matter. Now one of the involved parties brought it up, her fierce expression and sharp words a kind warning: “Members, disaster looms for you all.”

When women strike, only women can stand against them. Without hesitation, Gongsun Ce gave Qiluo a look: you go first!

The twin-tailed girl blinked, looking away shyly. “Gongsun Ce, why are you staring at me like that…”

“You see, that’s the look of disdain for impolite men,” Qin Qianbai pulled Qiluo closer. “I didn’t expect you’d still refuse to give up sexual harassment even in a setting like this.”

The superpowered youth screamed, “Fine for you, Qiluo, but you definitely did it on purpose! Is it fun to cause such misunderstandings?!”

“Very fun,” the young lady nodded in agreement.

Shiyu Jun struggled to hold back laughter, while President Caldesia’s patience was nearly at its limit.

“Hey, you guys…”

Gongsun Ce steeled himself. “Since it’s come to this, let’s be upfront!”

He pushed up his glasses and turned seriously to the young man in the suit beside him.

“How is your relationship going? Are you together or not?!”

Four pairs of eyes turned toward Shiyu Lianyi. The handsome youth no longer looked so composed; he answered awkwardly, “We… have established a relationship.”

The room fell utterly silent, so still that even a pin dropping sounded like a thunderclap.

Shiyu Lianyi awkwardly added, “…I was the one who confessed.”

Caldesia chimed in excitedly, “Although it was telepathy, Lianyi was indeed the one who took the initiative!”

The room erupted, shifting from absolute silence to a lively celebration. Gongsun Ce raised both fists like a champion, head tilted back, shouting, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

The young lady clapped and repeated, “Wonderful, wonderful.” Qiluo cheered, “Congratulations!”

She animatedly staged a virtual celebration: the activity room filled with flags, balloons, and flying confetti. Miniature fireworks even appeared on the table (invisible to Gongsun Ce).

Shiyu Lianyi looked even more embarrassed.

Suddenly, impatient knocking came from outside. Gongsun Ce telekinetically opened the door. Several students with stern expressions stood there—familiar faces from their classes.

“Hello, Gongsun Ce. We must kindly remind you to keep the noise level appropriate during activities…”

Gongsun Ce beamed. “Shiyu Jun and Caldesia are dating.”

The students at the door looked like gamers who had endured two hours of dull announcements during a release event but suddenly caught wind of a blockbuster title dropping next month.

Then cheers and applause erupted.

“Oh my god, how long has it been? Congratulations!” “Great news! I’m heading to the forums to spread the word—everyone will congratulate you.” “Wait, the betting pool isn’t closed; I’m going to bet big on this month, odds 30 to 1!” “Brothers, the tamer succeeded! He finally did it!”

The university students dispersed with a rush, the hallway echoing with exclamations like, “Really?!” and “Oh my god, finally!”

Gongsun Ce closed the door with his power and heard Caldesia’s shout: “What do you mean ‘tamer’?! Bring him back here!”

Shiyu Jun dutifully comforted her, “Don’t mind them, Caldesia. You know they mean no harm.”

“I know, but… what’s this betting pool anyway?!”

The young lady opened her phone and found a forum thread blocking two user accounts.

“Everyone’s been guessing when Caldesia and Shiyu Jun will finally get together, so a long-term betting pool has appeared.”

Qiluo provided data analysis: “A small portion of optimistic bettors chose one-to-two years, while most picked over three years. Almost no one believes they’ll succeed this year.”

Caldesia buried her head in her hands. “No way! Did everyone really see through us?!”

Shiyu Lianyi stared intently at the teapot to avoid the awkward conversation.

“Power or not, vision or not, it’d be hard for college students to be blind to this,” Gongsun Ce shot mercilessly. “It’s not easy, you see? Everyone’s been waiting for this day. When’s the engagement? When’s the wedding candy? Why not just get married today and put our minds at ease?”

“Stay away from me! Even my parents don’t care about my life events as much as you do,” the top-hatted girl clung tightly to the suited man’s arm. “And don’t try to change the subject. What was that ridiculous date plan? Spill it!”

Shiyu Jun stared so hard at the teapot it seemed he might bore a hole through it.

Gongsun Ce acted decisively to save his friend. Five white pots of various sizes materialized on the table. He pointed and said, “The date plan was designed by the four of us. Now that we’re talking about it, let’s divide up the blame.”

He grabbed the largest pot. “As chief strategist and main executor, the date’s failure is inseparable from my poor leadership. I failed to shut Shiyu Lianyi up at the critical moment, causing his emotional outburst. That’s definitely my fault. I’ll take this biggest pot!”

The young lady across the table reached out and pressed down on the pot. “It’s not Gongsun Ce’s fault. I chose the strange movie, and my misunderstandings led to the chaos. If anyone deserves blame, it should be me.”

Using “not to boast” at a time like this—what is she, a troublemaker bragging about her exploits to elders after a rampage?

As the two stood their ground, a third hand covered the pot. Qiluo exclaimed excitedly, “Everyone, stop! It was my cleverness and powers that caused the misunderstandings. I also share responsibility for the missteps. If anyone—”

“No, no, it’s me, Gongsun Ce…”

“No, let me handle this…”

Just as the three were about to argue over who should bear the greatest blame, Shiyu Jun silently set down the teapot, stood, and bowed.

“It’s all my responsibility.”

“I couldn’t express my feelings and asked friends for help; I feared her distance and acted poorly… The cause of all this is my own selfishness and cowardice.”

He straightened up and said solemnly, “None of you did anything wrong. I’m very thankful to you all.”

The room fell silent for a moment. Gongsun Ce looked at his friend and gently said,

“—Really? That’s great. Honestly, I also think it’s all on you. Truthfully, even if you gave me a month to prepare a prank, I couldn’t have made it as spectacular as you did at the end. You pressing that self-destruct button was truly impressive. How did you come up with such a terrible idea?”

The suited youth silently covered his face, while Caldesia laughed heartily, slapping the table.

“Because, Shiyu Lianyi’s last words were really too much!”

“Making jokes during such a time? Anyone would be angry.”

The two female strategists pursued him relentlessly; Shiyu Lianyi fled, “Please stop…”

Caldesia finally stopped laughing. Seizing the moment as everyone chased after Shiyu Jun, she suddenly snatched the largest pot.

“Heard that, Lianyi? You owe an apology!”

For some reason, Caldesia’s cheeks flushed slightly.

“But fundamentally, the date failed because I lost my temper. That is…” She removed her hat, eyes drifting. “Losing control and causing a scene was my fault. Thank you all for helping us foolish two. Please forgive me, that’s all!”

Gongsun Ce sighed dramatically, “A woman with a mouth harder than ivory actually apologized.”

“What did you say?!”

“I said your mouth is hard. Since everyone thinks they bear the biggest blame—”

The silver-haired youth made all five pots the same size. “Let’s just share the blame equally!”

Shiyu Lianyi grimaced and shouldered a pot; the others followed suit. Half a minute later, five white-shelled figures resembling sea turtles who had attained sentience gathered in serious discussion about invading the human world.

“…”

Qiluo spoke for everyone: “This looks like a comedy show…”

“It really does.” “Who came up with this dumb idea? So silly!” “Wasn’t it you, Gongsun Ce?!”

The club members erupted into another noisy argument. Amid the chaos, Qiluo sent Shiyu Jun a message.

To Shiyu Lianyi:

【Shiyu Lianyi, I also saw another betting pool on the forum, this one about Gongsun Ce and Qin Qianbai, with their accounts blocked. Should we tell them?】

Shiyu Jun replied quickly.

To Qiluo:

【I think it’s better to leave this to the people involved.】

She decided to heed her friend’s advice. After all... if they had to go through another date operation, who knew what trouble might arise again.

Qiluo watched her noisy friends and thought so.

At that moment, a revived Caldesia knocked on the whiteboard and said, “Then this topic is closed! Next, the club’s future activity plans. Let’s start with everyone’s performance costumes—they must have a cyber-ghost style!”

“Oh!” “Okay.”

The imperial duo raised their hands in agreement. Shiyu Jun blinked in surprise. “...Are we still going?”

“Going where?” The blonde woman grinned mischievously. “Our club activities haven’t even started yet!”

The discussion quickly shifted from costumes to vocal practice, then to instruments. It seemed Miss Caldesia’s three-minute enthusiasm was far from spent.

Shiyu Lianyi quietly borrowed a batch of professional books from the library website. He drew back the curtains, letting a few more rays of light into the small classroom.

The suited youth listened to his friends’ noisy chatter and once again felt deeply:

Truly, a peaceful daily life.

—

The incidents triggered by the Dragon Phenomenon and the Impermanence Mage had left with February, ushering in a March that, by city standards, was plain and uneventful.

This is a story unrelated to any conspiracies or major events...

A tale of club activities, romance, and the mundane rhythms of study.