XI CHEN MAKES A FRIEND OR TWO OR MAYBE THREE.

The door shut once more, and each student went through the process of the retina scan once again. This was not just a security measure; it also served as a way to take attendance and determine who was present and who was absent. Upon entering, they discovered that the gymnasium was an interesting combination of indoor and outdoor space. Although it was technically outdoors, it was enclosed by a concave glass dome that had a reflective surface, ensuring that no one could see inside while still allowing those inside to see out.

A large, imposing man stood waiting for them with a cheerful expression on his face, which seemed somewhat out of place. With a booming voice, he instructed them to line up at the tracks. They would begin by running at a normal speed, especially for those with super speed who were particularly fast were required not to use any abilities. Xi Chen suddenly understood why his father had insisted on him having a hearty meal earlier in the day—he must have known that it would be a grueling day.

Their task was to complete one hundred laps around the massive gymnasium, allowing the instructor to assess their fitness levels. They started running, and most of them managed to reach the fifty-lap mark. Xi Chen was pleasantly surprised by his own endurance; he hadn't been sure if he would make it that far, but he continued going strong without losing his breath. Eventually, people began to drop out, and by around the 65th lap mark, only a few remained. Sadly, the shadow boy was one of those to fall out at this mark. As they approached the 75th lap mark, Xin Yi also reached her limit and fell out too.

Eventually, only Xi Chen, SuperSpeed Boy, and, surprisingly, the Animal Talking Girl remained. At the 90th lap, she also fell out and left Xi Chen and Speed Boy running together. By the time they reached the 100th lap, they were completely exhausted. However, they managed to push through and finish it before collapsing together, gasping for air but filled with a sense of accomplishment. They turned to each other and burst into awkward laughter, acknowledging the unspoken competition between them earlier.

"Hi, my name is Zhang Feiyu," Runner Boy introduced himself. "I'm Xichen," Xi Chen replied, introducing himself as well. "I know," Feiyu responded, remembering the encounter with his classmate from the previous day. Xi Chen smiled and nodded as they both sat up. Suddenly, two bottles of water appeared before them. Xi Chen looked up to see Xin Yi holding them out. Despite her cold expression, Xi Chen appreciated her tsundere personality and took one of the bottles. Feiyu also accepted the other bottle, loudly thanking her without noticing her icy demeanor. As she turned away, he jokingly called after her, remarking that she must be an angel in disguise sent to save him because he was dying of thirst. She completely ignored him as she walked back to where the instructor was.

For the remainder of the class, Fei Yu stuck by his side, engaging in silent competition and incessantly talking about various aspects of his own life. Before the class concluded, he was confident that he would have acquired a comprehensive understanding of Feiyu. Surprisingly, Xi Chen discovered that he was not irritated by the constant chatter. Perhaps it was because Fei Yu's voice was not grating to the ears, or maybe it was because he seemed genuine. It could also be attributed to the fact that both of them were often the last two standing throughout the entire class. Whether it was for the 500 pushups, 500 squats, 500 sit-ups, or 500 chin-ups, it appeared that the teacher had a fondness for the number 500.

By the time the two-hour class came to an end, everyone felt exhausted, sweaty, hungry, and silently cursing the instructor in their minds. As they all filed out of the gymnasium and headed towards the cafeteria like a pack of wolves, they didn't even bother stopping by the locker room to change out of their gym clothes. They didn't seem to care about their sweaty bodies or the resulting odor. Feiyu continued to talk animatedly on Xichen's right side, while Xin Yu walked silently on his left, maintaining her usual cold demeanor. Xichen remained silent but smiled at the interactions between them. Together, they formed an unusual trio.

Xichen couldn't help but smile to himself as they moved forward toward the cafeteria with the rest of their peers. They joined the queue to have their retinas scanned. "I suppose I've finally made a friend," he silently contemplated. They entered the cafeteria, which resembled a buffet, for the very first time. They were taken aback by both the magnificence of the place and the wide variety of food options available. It truly had the finest selection of dishes. As they stopped gawking, they noticed that there were other students from different classes already present, most likely their seniors. Upon realizing this, they momentarily froze before respectfully bowing to greet them. The seniors responded with smiles as they rose to depart, wishing them luck with their orientation before leaving. The rest of the class remained astonished by the encounter, except for Xichen, whose growling stomach overshadowed any sense of awe he might have had. He was starving, so he maneuvered around the others to grab a plate and start assembling his meal. Xin Yu followed closely behind him, while Fei Yu, noticing their departure, also joined in to get his food. The actions of Xichen, Xin Yu, and Fei Yu snapped the other students out of their stupor, and they too eagerly descended upon the food. Despite the air-conditioned room and the closed windows, Xichen opted for a seat near the window. Xin Yi took the seat next to him, while Fei Yu sat opposite him.The three of them sat in silence, their mouths moving as they consumed their food. Feiyu, perhaps feeling energized from eating or simply uncomfortable with the silence, broke the silence and began to talk again. Curiosity getting the better of him, he asked Xi Chen where he lived. Xi Chen replied that he was moving today and therefore was unsure of his current address. Feiyu then turned to Xin Yu for an answer to where she lived.

At first, Xin Yu ignored him, but eventually she responded, revealing that she lived in Festark Prime Estate. This estate was known for housing the most important individuals, including the premier's family. Feiyu was taken aback by this information, indicating that he hadn't realized what family she was from or the identity of her father. Before he could react, Xin Yu also added, "He is moving there today," while pointing at Xi Chen. This revelation left Feiyu doubly shocked. Generally, new transcendants were not able to live in such prestigious locations except if they were from a prestigious family who already lived there; it was reserved for only the most special families. The fact that both of his new friends would be residing there could only mean one thing: they either came from a special family or they themselves possessed unique qualities. Given that Xi Chen's family was just moving there so soon after his awakening, Feiyu leaned towards the latter possibility. He had already sensed that there was something extraordinary about Xi Chen, not just his young age, but he could not put a finger on what it was.He didn't really care about any of this, though. He became friends with these two individuals because he genuinely liked their personalities and found them capable of keeping up with him. Although they were both quiet, they seemed kind-hearted, so he was happy to be the talkative one in their presence. They didn't seem to mind, so he was content with the new friends he had made. Xi Chen noticed that Fei Yu had been silent for a while and thought that maybe he was waiting for someone to ask about him as well. So, Xi Chen went ahead and asked Fei Yu where he lived. "Oh, I live in the same neighborhood," Fei Yu casually commented as he changed the topic to meeting up after school for practice and hanging out. He even started making plans for carpooling and other activities for the weekend. The other three were amazed by his incredible ability to connect with people. None of them objected, though; they listened to him as he made his plans. Eventually, lunchtime came to an end, and they all walked back to class together. Not surprisingly, Fei Yu left his original seat and moved to sit next to Xichen. Noticing Xin Yu, who was sitting alone at the other end, he got up and managed to convince or half-drag her to come sit with them.

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She was placed in a seat next to Xi Chen, while Fei Yu himself moved to sit in front of Xi Chen but turned so he could continue talking to them. Eventually, when the teacher entered the room, Fei Yu turned back around and Xin Yu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. The constant talking was starting to tire her out. Xi Chen chuckled inwardly, wondering how these two would get along. The teacher was a short, stocky man with glasses, and he would be teaching a class on history and basic knowledge of Transcendants. It was a very generic class that caused Xi Chen and most of the other students to zone out.

Noticing this, and based on his experience as a teacher, the instructor asked the students to form groups to complete a class exercise. Most of the people in the class formed groups with their friends sitting around them. Fei Yu turned to form a group with Xi Chen and Xin Yu. Xi Chen noticed the shadowy figure sitting alone in the corner, whom he didn't know the name of yet. Fei Yu, following Xi Chen's line of sight, also noticed the figure and was momentarily stunned. He muttered something about how easy it was to not notice him there. Then he got up, walked over to the shadowy figure, and started talking to him. The figure mostly nodded and shook his head, but this showed signs of him obviously listening. After a short while, both of them approached the group, with the shadow boy gathering his belongings and following Fei Yu. Xi Chen was taken aback by this turn of events, while Xin Yu remained unfazed. He couldn't help but wonder if Fei Yu's ability to persuade people was a bit overpowered. When they finally reached the group, Fei Yu took his seat again, while the shadow kid sat next to him, facing Xin Yu. Fei Yu turned towards the others and introduced the boy as An Xi Yang. Xi Chen smiled warmly at him, while Xin Yu simply nodded, her expression unchanged. Xi Yang blushed at all the attention and looked down shyly. Xi Chen realized that he was quite introverted and decided not to overwhelm him with too much attention, as it seemed to make him uncomfortable. The rest of the friends also noticed this and focused on their discussion topic for the exercise, which was the basic rules and penalties for transgressions among transcendants. At the end of the class, they were required to input their learning and thoughts into the temporary tablet provided by the teacher and send it back to him. They continued their discussion, with Fei Yu mainly doing the talking and Xi Chen asking questions to deepen their understanding of the topic while Xinyu and Xiyang mostly just chirped a few sentences here and there based on their own understanding. Xiyang’s voice was quiet and subdued, but he still spoke his mind when he commented, which to Xi Chen meant that he was shy but not timid or spineless, which he liked. After the discussion concluded, they all reached for their tablets to input their responses. The class ended after two hours, and the teacher collected the tablets before leaving. Although they were supposed to have a simulation class next, it being their first week, they hadn't started yet. This meant they had a free hour and thirty minutes before school was officially over. Normally, school starts at 7:30 a.m., with classes commencing at 8. The morning session consists of two two-hour classes, followed by a two-hour break for lunch at noon. The afternoon session includes a two-hour theory class and an hour and thirty minutes for simulations. School ends at 5:30 p.m. Since school hadn't officially ended, the friend groups in the class resumed their discussions, including Xi Chen's group. Although Fei Yu did most of the talking, Xiyang, who attempted to slip away, was caught and cornered by Fei Yu. Realizing that most of them weren't paying attention to him, Xiyang became less shy and a little more relaxed. Xin Yi took out her phone and started scrolling through it while still listening, occasionally chiming in with her opinion but mostly remaining silent. Xi Chen noticed that Xiyang was carefully observing each person in the group, studying their dynamics. He couldn't help but smile, imagining the unique bond this peculiar group of friends would develop in the future. As school ended for the day, they all made their way towards the gate to leave. Xi Chen spotted Xiren waiting for him at the gate and walked over with his friends. When Xiren saw his brother approaching, he smiled warmly and greeted him. Xi Chen introduced Xiren to his friends, who all reciprocated with friendly smiles and greetings. Together, they continued walking towards the gate and then went their separate ways to their respective cars.

However, before they could go too far, Fei Yu suddenly shouted for them to stop. Startled, they all froze in place as Fei Yu approached each of them and asked for their contact numbers. Xi Chen couldn't help but chuckle at his new friend's playful antics. After collecting everyone's numbers and informing them that he would create a group chat for all of them, Fei Yu dismissed them with a wave of his hand as he sauntered away to his car. At this point, Xi Chen burst into laughter, finding Fei Yu's behavior absolutely hilarious. Finally composed, Xi Chen and Xiren reached their car, where their driver was patiently waiting. The driver opened the door for them, they climbed in, and he closed it before getting into the driver's seat and setting off towards their new home.