Chapter 3: Don’t Give Me Any Camera Time.
“Hello, I’m Yu Wanwan.”
Pu Tong nodded in greeting, then immediately shifted a full 20 cm away from her.
“…Do I smell bad?” the girl frowned.
“No, I’m just afraid I might.”
Yu Wanwan stared at him as he kept distancing himself, completely unable to understand him.
It wasn’t that she was being arrogant. She had become famous at a young age, so she knew very well how much attention she would attract. When she casually mentioned choosing a seatmate earlier, everyone’s eyes immediately lit up with excitement—almost feverish.
But this guy…
He looked completely uninterested in her.
That should have made him a perfect seatmate choice.
But instead, the moment he moved over, he kept retreating like she was something dangerous.
Yu Wanwan genuinely didn’t understand.
“What’s your name again…?” she leaned slightly closer.
“Pu Tong. Pu like Pu Songling, Tong like Tongguan.”
He shifted away again. His right arm was now hanging off the edge of the desk.
Damn, nowhere left to retreat.
It wasn’t that he disliked interacting with celebrities. Celebrities were people too—chatting a bit was fine.
The problem was the cameras.
They were constantly filming.
Even though there was a contract for student participation, actively avoiding camera time was still the safest option.
“Pu Songling? Who’s that?”
“…Never mind. Forget I said anything.”
Pu Tong gave up explaining—this world
didn’t have Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.
“Oh…”
Yu Wanwan, seeing his awkward reaction, retreated back slightly.
Good, that’s better.
Pu Tong glanced at the camera across the room and pulled his head in, preparing for class.
“It’s math class. I’m not very good at math…”
Yu Wanwan glanced at her desk mate, who was lying on his arm with only the back of his head visible, and rolled her eyes.
Do I look that ugly?
She considered herself at least a pretty girl—but this guy…
The math teacher, Teacher Yang, a young woman, seemed to be doing her best to suppress her excitement. She kept wandering around the celebrity students whenever she could.
“Next question, I’ll randomly pick a student.”
Random selection—everyone understood what that meant.
“List the methods for finding the zeros of a function. Hmm… Yi Zhi Xuenai, please answer.”
“Huh?” the Japanese girl stood up blankly, scratching her head.
“Algebraic method, geometric method, transformation method.”
Lin Yuxi quietly whispered the answer from the side.
Pu Tong, sitting right behind them, heard it clearly.
So even celebrity high schoolers are just normal students after all.
“Algebraic method, geometric method, transformation method,” Yi Zhi Xuenai repeated confidently.
“Very good. Next question—how do you determine the zeros of a quadratic function? Yu Wanwan, you answer.”
Yu Wanwan stood up, completely blank.
…What was it again?
Where’s my seatmate? Help me out!
She instinctively glanced at Pu Tong—but he had already shifted even farther away.
“I forgot, teacher. Sorry.”
“It’s okay, pay attention next time.”
She sat down awkwardly, glaring at Pu Tong.
He felt that gaze and silently suffered.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help—it was that the camera immediately locked onto her the moment she stood up. How could he possibly pass notes?
After class, Pu Tong felt like he learned less than the previous day because he spent so much energy avoiding cameras.
Looks like he would need to study more privately.
“Hey! Are you scared of me?”
Yu Wanwan tugged his sleeve.
Anyone could see it—this level of avoidance was obvious.
“It’s not you. I’m just afraid of cameras.”
Pu Tong pointed at the fixed camera positions.
“Honestly, I have a condition—if I’m filmed, I might suffer full-body convulsions, foam at the mouth, collapse, heart stop syndrome…”
“Yeah right, I don’t believe you.”
“You’re a black fan of mine, aren’t you?”
“Maybe. Stay away from me so I don’t catch your weaknesses.”
“Che…”
During breaks, camera operators came in to film interactions.
Pu Tong immediately retreated to the farthest corner.
“Wanwan, what’s up with your seatmate?” Lin Yuxi asked.
“Who knows… he sits 30 cm away from me like I’m bullying him or something.”
“Isn’t that just… oh wait, that really is Pu Tong.”
“Pun intended? Deduct points.”
Pu Tong glanced at the three girls being filmed constantly and felt relieved he had escaped early.
He knew how audiences worked—they had sharp eyes, sometimes even “8x zoom perception.” If he showed up too much, he would definitely become a focus.
As a professional “low-profile cultivator,” caution was key.
His identity as Yu Wanwan’s seatmate alone was already dangerous enough.
“Bro, what’s it like sitting next to Yu Wanwan?”
“Painful. Extremely painful.”
Everyone thought he was being modest.
Only he knew it was torture.
Later, Yu Wanwan surprisingly became quiet for several classes, and Pu Tong finally enjoyed some peace while studying.
Yi Zhi Xuenai quietly observed him and muttered:
“…He doesn’t seem like he’s pretending.”
“He really doesn’t care about celebrities,” Lin Yuxi added. “No offense to you.”
Yu Wanwan nodded, slightly annoyed:
“I thought it was my problem.”
The two girls exchanged looks and smiled.
“I didn’t mean I wanted his attention!” Yu Wanwan quickly clarified, her face turning slightly red.
The group burst into laughter.
“Hey, can you guys talk about me behind my back… at least when I’m not here?” Pu Tong sighed.
“Sumimasen!” Yi Zhi Xuenai apologized.
“Excuse me, classmate,” Lin Yuxi suddenly asked, “you don’t seem interested in this show. Any insights?”
“I don’t have insights,” Pu Tong said,
glancing at the camera filming the boys’ side.
“But I do have a suggestion: less ‘studying hard’ behavior in front of cameras.”
“Hmm? What are you talking about?”
“Well, building a ‘top student persona’ is dangerous. Fans will exaggerate everything. They’ll say ‘wow she’s so hardworking,’ then turn it into marketing. If exam results flop later, it becomes a disaster.”
The girls fell silent.
They understood exactly what he meant.
“Also, don’t over-emphasize being a genius student on screen. It’s safer to be low-key. If you do well, it’s a bonus. If you don’t, it’s expected. That way, there’s no backlash.”
“…How do you know so much?” Yu Wanwan blinked.
“I’m gifted.”
“Yeah right.”
Before they could continue, Pu Tong had already slipped away.
Because—
The camera was coming.
(End of Chapter)
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