Su Wen finally managed to see off his homeroom teacher at the entrance of the cafeteria. He immediately turned around to contact Chen You, taking advantage of the st day they could still bring their phones.

  "Where are you?" Su Wen asked as soon as the call connected, scanning the cafeteria while walking.

  "Cafeteria 3, Window 5. Hurry over, there’s a show!" Chen You’s slightly hushed tone conveyed his excitement, and Su Wen could hear the sounds of a scuffle through the phone.

  "On my way!" Su Wen hung up, asked a senior for directions to Cafeteria 3, and took off running.

  Su Wen wasn’t the only one who’d gotten the news. As he headed toward Cafeteria 3, he noticed the crowd around him growing.

  By the time he reached Cafeteria 3, it was already packed. Su Wen had to squeeze his way through the crowd.

  "Over here!" Chen You waved frantically to get Su Wen’s attention.

  Chen You had secured a prime spot, and Zhou Wan was standing right beside him.

  When Su Wen reached them, he saw two Pokémon facing off in the center of the crowd: a Spearow and a Snorunt, with their trainers standing behind them.

  "What’s going on?" Su Wen was astonished. Mr. Mu had just said Pokémon weren’t allowed on campus, and here someone was breaking the rules. Were they seniors?

  Chen You, his eyes glued to the slender girl in a sky-blue dress, answered absentmindedly, "Not sure if they’re seniors. Apparently, that guy groped a girl’s butt while they were in line. Her friend confronted him, but he denied it and even tried to get physical when things got heated."

  "Cssmate, let’s just drop this, okay?" The guy, seeing the crowd growing, started to panic.

  The girl in the sky-blue dress gred at him. "You think you can just grope my friend in a crowd and get away with it? Apologize now."

  The guy was desperate. With so many people around, if he apologized, he’d be beled a pervert for the next three years and might even get disciplinary action.

  "I’m telling you, don’t snder me. If you want, we can check the surveilnce footage," the guy said confidently, making the crowd nod in agreement.

  But Su Wen gnced around and noticed there wasn’t a single security camera in the cafeteria.

  Soon, others realized this too, and their expressions turned to disdain. The guy had clearly picked this spot deliberately.

  "Momomo, maybe let’s just drop it," the girl beside the one in the sky-blue dress whispered, her face flushed as she tugged at her friend’s sleeve.

  "No way. I, Wang Momomo, have seen it all. If you let someone like this off, they’ll only get worse," the girl in the sky-blue dress said, gring at the smug guy, refusing to back down.

  Chen You’s eyes lit up. "So her name’s Wang Momomo."

  Zhou Wan, unable to stand Chen You’s infatuation, stepped forward. "Cssmate, if he did grope you, there should be fingerprints. You can get a forensic analysis done. If it’s confirmed, he could be charged with sexual harassment, detained, and expelled from school."

  "Yikes," Su Wen felt the temperature in the air drop. The crowd looked at Zhou Wan with a mix of awe and fear. She was going for the kill.

  Leaning against the wall, Su Wen muttered, "Even if it’s a bit of a bluff, Sister Wan is ruthless. Look at that guy—he’s pale as a ghost."

  Chen You followed Su Wen’s gaze and saw the guy trembling like a leaf, looking at Zhou Wan as if she were a demon.

  Without hesitation, the guy recalled his Spearow and bowed almost 90 degrees. "I’m sorry, it was my fault. I shouldn’t have touched your butt. Please forgive me."

  Instantly, the crowd erupted in condemnation.

  "Disgusting. He should be expelled."

  "What a scumbag. How does someone like this get into our school?"

  "Ugh, he’s in my css. I’m staying far away from him."

  ...

  Even though the guy knew his reputation was ruined, all he cared about now was avoiding criminal charges and a permanent record.

  The girl beside Wang Momomo, clearly soft-hearted, nodded, and the matter was settled. Wang Momomo recalled her Snorunt.

  With the drama over, the crowd quickly dispersed, eager to get back to their lunch.

  "Wow, you’re amazing," Wang Momomo said, linking arms with Zhou Wan in admiration.

  Zhou Wan, feeling a bit embarrassed, replied, "Not really. I was just bluffing to scare him."

  Su Wen was about to leave, but when he turned around, he saw Chen You already asking Wang Momomo for her contact information.

  Meanwhile, on the second floor of the cafeteria, someone had been watching the entire scene unfold.

  "The four seed candidates have crossed paths. What are your thoughts?" The speaker was a silver-haired, bespectacled gentleman who, if not introduced, no one would guess was the former principal of Cloud City High School.

  To be precise, he was the retired principal who’d been brought back after the current principal was swiftly ousted by the board. The school’s recent aggressive moves were all orchestrated by this veteran.

  Seated with him were the homeroom teachers of the five Trainer program csses, including Mr. Mu Hanzhi.

  The reason no teacher had intervened during the Pokémon confrontation was that trainers had been monitoring the situation. If things had escated, the students would’ve been immediately detained and expelled.

  The retively young homeroom teacher of Css 5 mused, "From what we’ve seen, Wang Momomo and Zhou Wan both have a strong sense of justice. Wang Momomo seems a bit fiery, while Zhou Wan is more composed. Chen You’s harder to read, and Su Wen seems like the type to stay out of trouble unless it involves him."

  Mr. Mu Hanzhi added, "Chen You’s quite slick. During the book-moving this morning, he’d already gotten familiar with some cssmates. As for Su Wen, if I hadn’t forced him into the css monitor role, he probably wouldn’t have interacted with anyone except Chen You today."

  Zhou Wan’s homeroom teacher, an elderly woman, had high praise for her. "Zhou Wan has the makings of a great leader."

  Wang Momomo’s homeroom teacher sighed. "Wang Momomo’s talent is undeniable, but her temper... I’ll keep an eye on her."

  "What about the other seeds? Let’s hear your thoughts," the former principal said with a warm, approachable smile.

  "Principal, it’s only been one morning. Let’s observe a bit longer," the Css 1 homeroom teacher said helplessly. "Take Ni Xuanya, for example. She seems polite, but you know how high her ambitions are. It’s too early to judge anything on the first day."

  The former principal gently tapped the table with his middle finger. "Is this the attitude you’re taking toward the Little Ho-Oh Cup three years from now? Let me tell you, this year’s Little Ho-Oh Cup will be different from previous ones. I’ve heard from a friend that the Alliance is making some changes to the competition. The official announcement will come in six months, which means our challenge will be tougher than ever."

  He sighed softly and looked at the group. "I know some of you still believe that practical and theoretical skills are equally important, but everyone, times have changed."