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In the icy pool, two young men were chatting, seemingly in a world of their own separated from the boisterous classmates. Apart from the rippling sound of water, the surroundings were eerily quiet, allowing Fu Jinxiu to hear his own thundering heartbeat. He said, “Let go of me; I’m going up.”

Yin Minglu immediately released him, blinking his eyes, “Classmate Fu, are you going to get out like this? Aren’t you uncomfortable?”

“Who do you think is responsible for my current state?” Fu Jinxiu’s forehead veins throbbed, as if he wanted to grab the person in front of him. He turned away, went straight to the shore, grabbed a towel, and headed to the changing room.

After an hour, when he emerged, Fu Jinxiu had transformed back into the well-groomed and refined honors student. His features were reserved and distant, exuding an air of purity and untainted elegance.

He coldly crossed his arms, observing the person who still hesitated to come ashore. Abandoning the swimming ring, that person continued to enjoy swimming in the pool with graceful strokes, conquering the heart of the instructing teacher. The teacher generously awarded him a high score and praised, “Student Yin Minglu, your progress is truly remarkable.”

“Thank you, teacher,” Yin Minglu responded with a series of bubbles. Before gaining his abilities, the original host’s physical fitness was below average, resembling many protagonists in superhero movies. Aside from having a kind heart, he had no advantage in physical activities like basketball, running, or swimming.

However, the rigorous curriculum of the New Era required every student to master these skills. Failing to do so would affect their college entrance exam scores, subsequently influencing their choice of higher education institutions and even impacting their lifelong employment and marital prospects. The original host, who was not good at anything, had earned the nickname “useless” behind his back. This label had accompanied him for a long time.

Therefore, gaining abilities was like a rebirth for the original host. He proved that he was not a physically unfit “useless” person. However, he couldn’t help but wonder why, in this era, people with poor athletic abilities were labeled as “useless.” This was a question that left him puzzled.

Unfortunately, the original host died too early, and some information couldn’t be acquired. Yin Minglu had to rely on his own exploration and investigation.

Seeing the students’ progress, the teacher’s pleased expression softened. “Student Yin, don’t blame the teacher for being strict, but swimming class is indeed necessary. Although our city is not by the sea, many people can choose not to go to the seaside or swim in their entire lives, but…”

“When a real crisis comes, they will realize that swimming can really save lives.” After saying this, the teacher left.

Leaving the young man in the pool, deep in thought.

Without waiting for him to contemplate for long, he noticed Fu Jinxiu standing by the pool, looking at him coldly. He subconsciously smiled, and images of the slender waist and long legs he saw in the water lingered in his mind. Surprisingly, the other person changed clothes and came out so quickly.

Fu Jinxiu, dressed in a formal shirt, stood by the pool, resembling a high and mighty fashion model from a fashion magazine. In any case, he exuded an aura of unapproachable superiority.

Thinking back to what he touched earlier, he couldn’t help but feel that something sacred had been defiled. The young man awkwardly scratched his head, his face slightly turning red, and he offered a pleasing smile.

Seeing that pretended innocent face blushing and smiling, Fu Jinxiu could almost instinctively guess what was going on in the other person’s mind. His face immediately turned cold, “Stop your vulgar imagination. Exams are over, so get out of there!”

Yin Minglu wasn’t foolish. He knew that if he went up, he would definitely be caught and scolded. So, he played dumb and mischievous like a child playing with water, saying, “It’s cool in the water. Why don’t you come down, Ah Xiu?”

He just wouldn’t go up.

Fu Jinxiu chuckled, “Your skin will soak and wrinkle. Why don’t you come up?”

He was just exaggerating, but unexpectedly, as soon as Yin Minglu heard his words, he immediately pinched his own arm, testing the elasticity of his skin, as if checking whether it was really going to become loose and soft. After all, he had spent some time in the sea not long ago.

Having confirmed that his skin had undergone no changes except for being wet and slippery, the young man breathed a sigh of relief, saying, “It’s not soaked yet. I can stay a bit longer. Why don’t you come down, Ah Xiu? Let’s play in the water together!”

Fu Jinxiu: “…”

Taking a deep breath, he said, “Come up here.”

“I won’t!”

In the eyes of onlookers, the repetitive and seemingly pointless dialogue of “You come up” and “No, Ah Xiu, you come down” resembled the exchanges between immature elementary school kids in the adjacent kindergarten. However, the parties involved seemed to be enjoying it, and the onlookers were merely there for the spectacle.

Unfortunately, the fun came to an abrupt end when the girls from the neighboring class emerged. They passed by the boys’ swimming pool, giggling with shy yet teasing expressions, as if curious to catch a glimpse of the well-built male student.

The boys felt extremely embarrassed and immediately submerged their bare upper bodies in the water, displaying a mix of shyness and a willingness to be seen. This, in turn, amused the girls even more.

At that moment, a large towel was tossed down, securely covering the body of the young man. Surprised, Yin Minglu lifted his head to find that it was thrown by Fu Jinxiu, and it was only given to him.

After throwing the towel, Fu Jinxiu didn’t offer any explanation, maintaining a cold demeanor, staying silent, and only observing the group of giggling girls. He seemed as if he were staring at a peeping tom attempting to glimpse the pure skin of young girls.

Girls: “…”

Boys: “…”

Well, what kind of feeling is this?

Of course, there were also some girls whispering about Fu Jinxiu, “He’s the class monitor in Class One, he’s really handsome. Yazhi, don’t you think so?” “I think the one with the towel in the swimming pool is not bad either. I just don’t know his name.”

Yazhi is the most beautiful girl with an elegant figure among the girls in Class Two. She is highly popular in the entire grade. Coupled with the mysterious melancholy often present in her glazed eyes, her beauty has an elusive quality, like a hallucination, making her even more sought after.

Upon hearing the discussion, she carefully observed Fu Jinxiu, who was being talked about by the girls. After a while, she shook her head, “No, I don’t think he’s outstanding.”

“Eh?” The girls were particularly surprised. They thought, isn’t it because Fu Jinxiu has that kind of aloofness, which is not the type that Zhao Yazhi likes? So they brought up other people, including classmates around them and even celebrities on TV, but Zhao Yazhi rejected them one by one, saying, “No, I don’t think any of them are outstanding, including the young man in the towel in the swimming pool.”

Even to the extent of being considered ugly, Zhao Yazhi found them downright unattractive. If it weren’t for the mission, and just to deal with these strange-looking girls, she wouldn’t even bother to look at them.

Upon receiving these responses, the girls were shocked. They couldn’t help but feel that this new transfer student had a bit of a problem with her mind, or her aesthetic sense was somewhat distorted. She often looked in the mirror and cried, saying that she was too ugly, that her eyes, nose, and every part of her face had flaws. But those features were clearly beautiful like Ming jade¹a poetic expression used to describe someone or something that is exceptionally beautiful; “Ming jade” refers to jade from the Ming dynasty, a period known for its high-quality craftsmanship and artistic achievements in China., yet she insisted on saying such things. She even praised a less attractive girl in the class, complimenting her as exceptionally charming.

So, everyone had been suspecting whether this girl was doing it on purpose. The girl herself didn’t find it amusing; she only felt a deep sense of humiliation. Now, it turned out that the other party genuinely felt this way, considering herself hideous and finding those guys, who were considered handsome by everyone else, plain.

This… isn’t her aesthetic sense too twisted? How could there be someone like this? Privately, the girls discussed it, expressing their opinions.

“Do you think Zhao Yazhi really believes she’s ugly?”

Immediately, someone scoffed and said, “How is that possible? Hasn’t she seen how many people are pursuing her? She says she’s ugly every day, so she must be doing it on purpose, just to mock us.”

“Yeah, she probably enjoys us comforting her. We say, ‘No way, Yazhi, you’re so good-looking and beautiful,’ then she continues to shed tears, claiming she’s really ugly. We comfort her again, and it goes on in an endless loop. Damn, it’s really insincere!”

There were also people pointing outside the window, saying, “Exactly, exactly! Look, the Class Three’s class representative confessed to her again and got rejected. She said he wasn’t good-looking enough. The class representative must be so heartbroken, but strangely, he likes her even more now. He follows her around all day. Do you think this strategy is what they call ‘playing hard to get’?”

As this was said, everyone gathered around the window to see. Under the big banyan tree on the playground, a tall and handsome boy was holding the hand of a beautiful girl, looking eager and seemingly pleading. However, the girl had a melancholic expression, appearing cold as she shook off his hand and walked away.

The boy stood there, foolishly rooted to the spot, as if his soul had followed the girl’s steps as she left. The more she rejected him, the more infatuated he became.

“Damn, that’s true! The Class Three’s class representative likes her even more now. This must be intentional!”

“She’s really scheming. Our standards are not even close to one of her fingers.”

The students from Class Two labeled their new classmate as a “schemer” or “fake white lotus,” not realizing that Zhao Yazhi genuinely found the boy unattractive. Pinned against the wall by the handsome class representative, with his face so close to hers, she almost felt like vomiting.

What she hated even more was that no matter how she rejected him, he wouldn’t believe her reasons. He said, “I don’t know if there’s something unattractive about me, but why do you have to say I’m ugly? Such reasons are too fake and unfounded. How can I give up on you with such an unconvincing excuse? Is it because of my past relationships that make you uncomfortable? Is it my temper that confuses you? I can change!”

The persistent and stubborn attitude of the other party almost made her burst into curses: Being ugly is the original sin! I hope you know that!

Encounters with handsome class representatives from Class Three, who were self-absorbed in their good looks and entangled with her, were not in short supply. Each one of them was ugly enough to ruin her appetite. Being surrounded by a group of ugly boys every day made her skin crawl, and she almost wanted to give up on this mission.

Fortunately, it wouldn’t take much longer. Once the assessment arrived or the true identity of Young Hero N was revealed, she could go back and report.

As she angrily walked back, she bumped into Yin Minglu. Although she didn’t know him, she noticed his curious gaze, and she instinctively frowned.

Because it was an inquiry, as if he wanted to see through her appearance and into her innermost thoughts.

It was different from the admiration and infatuation she received when she first arrived on the surface. Despite considering herself ugly and being impatient with the entanglements of those around her, she had grown accustomed to the affection of males around her. Suddenly encountering someone like Yin Minglu, she still felt a bit uncomfortable, sensing an intrusion.

So she coldly said, “Ugly freak, get out of my way. You’re blocking my path.”

In fact, in the past, for the sake of the mission, she wouldn’t have been so irritable. But today was different; three ugly fellows took turns confessing to her. When she rejected them, they cried and pleaded for her not to leave, sacrificing her precious time to find Young Hero N. That would have been bearable, but now she was blocked by another passerby ugly fellow. His eyes were full of probing, which made her feel disgusted. Naturally, she couldn’t be bothered to maintain a good image and began to speak without restraint.

Calling him an ugly freak, Yin Minglu raised an eyebrow. He found it worrying that this extraterrestrial friend had such a low IQ. Wasn’t it clear enough that he stood out, showing himself as exceptional and unique? Did this person genuinely think his abnormality went unnoticed?

If the other party hadn’t called him ugly and refrained from making judgments about others’ appearances, even with the students from the two classes avoiding each other, he wouldn’t have noticed anything unusual about this neighboring classmate. However, because the other party insulted him, it happened to fall into Yin Minglu’s ears. That’s when he began paying attention to this classmate and discovered various signs.

Moreover, during the time when Fu Jinxiu tutored him, he had encountered an interesting question that was beyond the scope of the college entrance examination: “Assuming the finesse of your appearance is 80 points, according to the laws of the Floating City, how much tax do you have to pay?”

This was a fascinating question. To answer it, he searched for information online and found that in order to survive in the Floating City, one had to pay taxes everywhere. Based on the finesse of facial features, those with finesse below 30% didn’t have to pay taxes. Those with finesse between 30% and 50% had to pay a tax rate of 14%. And for those with finesse between 50% and 80%, they had to pay a permanent tax rate of 35%.

At that time, he wasn’t just solving a problem or expressing surprise at the existence of such a bizarre law. He noticed that this question had existed for two centuries, meaning that the Floating City had been collecting appearance taxes for over two hundred years. Could such a heavy appearance tax really not have any impact on societal norms?

Humans are creatures that seek benefits and avoid harm. In order to reduce taxes and the cost of living, people would likely use plastic surgery to intentionally make themselves appear unattractive. Over time, if ugliness became the mainstream, the entire society might adopt a “ugly is beautiful” mentality, and this impression could persist for two hundred years. This could explain the peculiar aesthetics of this strange classmate, making it understandable. It was one of the reasons why Yin Minglu was convinced that the other person was an “extraterrestrial visitor.”

Soon, a twist of events occurred.

When Zhao Yazhi woke up again, she found herself locked in a small room, tied up, with a young man working on homework in front of her.

Seeing her awake, the young man put down his pen, leaned closer, and questioned her with the tone of an interrogator, “You are not from our surface world. I may boldly guess that you come from the sky?”

She sneered, “What are you talking about? Are you praising me as a celestial being from the sky?” She had learned this novel term after coming to the surface because there were a group of men who flattered her, calling her a little celestial being from the sky. Initially, she thought her identity had been exposed and was frightened, but after hearing it a few more times, she realized it was a compliment on her appearance.

However, in this situation, she sensed that the young man had noticed something, so she was determined not to admit it. In her mind, she cursed, “What a sensitive ugly freak.”

Wearing a pitiful expression, she said, “Classmate, what do you mean by tying me up here? Do you want to violate me? If you don’t release me, I’m going to scream!” In the past, whenever she showed this kind of expression, almost all the male beings around her, including teachers, couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Even if she made a mistake, they couldn’t bear to blame her. So, she often ridiculed the surface people for not having seen a beauty, using this method to her advantage.

But she didn’t expect it to backfire with the young man.

The young man replied, “Don’t act foolish with me. You know if you’re one of us from the surface. Do you need evidence to believe it? As for your screaming, go ahead. This room is specially prepared by the parents of surface people for the convenience of students studying. All four walls are coated with super soundproofing material. No matter how loud you scream, no one will come to uphold justice for you.”

In other words, even if she screamed her lungs out, no one would pay attention to her.

“Shameless!” Zhao Yazhi was infuriated, her face turning red. She began to struggle frantically, but the young man’s binding skills were exceptional. With a long rope and seven or eight different techniques, she couldn’t move at all.

The girl, with tears silently streaming down her face, began to plead, “Classmate, please spare me. We have no grievances, and I don’t know what you mean by ‘heaven’ and ‘surface.'”

She was afraid that the young man would use her life as leverage, asking her about heavenly secrets or forcing her to reveal higher-level secrets. She wouldn’t betray her own country.

“It’s okay if you don’t know. I’ll just ask a few questions. What is the assessment, and how do you plan to assess us?”

He even knows about this! Zhao Yazhi was shocked. Unbeknownst to her, her changed expression confirmed Yin Minglu’s speculation. He continued, “So there really is an assessment. Let me guess, maybe this assessment is mandatory? Otherwise, your attitude wouldn’t have been so disdainful and aloof. Judging from the contemptuous and indifferent gazes at each student, the assessment is probably very cruel, a life-or-death situation. You know that most students won’t survive. That’s why they look at you as if you were ants.”

Zhao Yazhi just realized that she had exposed herself. She began to shake her head frantically, looking scared. “I-I don’t know, I don’t know anything! What are you talking about? You’re so good at making up stories, why don’t you become a scriptwriter?”

She felt like she was already doomed, so she dared not let the other person continue to talk and extract more information. She started screaming, pretending to be crazy and threatening the other person to release her. If not, she would file charges of illegal detention and attempted assault once she got out.

Listening to her furious accusations, Yin Minglu raised an eyebrow. “Do you think, if you were an extraterrestrial being and I captured you, I would easily let you go?” That seemed a bit too optimistic.

“Besides, you’re too noisy. Even with the soundproofing at home, I can’t stand you.” Saying this, he found a piece of cloth and gagged the girl who was still making noises.

Ignoring the murderous gaze from the other person, he continued, “I’ve got what I need to know. You probably don’t know about the things coming up. You’re of no use to me anymore. I’ll find another place for you.”

As he spoke, the young man stuffed her into a sack and jumped out of the window.

Zhao Yazhi hadn’t had time to struggle before she realized that she, bound hand and foot, was being treated as a gift. Along with a letter claiming to have discovered the existence of celestial beings, she was delivered to the government and laboratory built by surface-dwelling humans.

Upon waking up, she saw a row of researchers in white coats staring at her with fanatical eyes. She felt an icy chill, as if she were in an ice cellar, and despair filled her heart. It was over—she had been exposed.

T/N: idk if u guys noticed it but I changed “Young Man N” to “Young Hero N”

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  a poetic expression used to describe someone or something that is exceptionally beautiful; “Ming jade” refers to jade from the Ming dynasty, a period known for its high-quality craftsmanship and artistic achievements in China.