The Villain Is Too Popular

At 1:35 PM, Triland Middle School, cafeteria area.

"Hey, Chenkong, we're classmates, after all. How can you not even treat your classmates to a few bottles of Blue Harmony Mountain City juice? You're really not putting your classmates first."

"Yeah, yeah, Young Master Dekola is right. It's just a few bottles of Blue Harmony Mountain City, it won't cost you much. Why be so stingy?"

"Sigh, it seems some people only treat us as classmates in words, but in their hearts, they don't care about us at all."

Listening to the cold sarcasm from his classmates and their playful, mocking gazes, Chenkong, being introverted and not good with words, knew they were wrong but couldn't think of any reason to retort.

He could only awkwardly lower his head, remaining silent.

Just this morning, he had felt that these classmates were incredibly 'enthusiastic.' Not only did they 'show concern' for him as soon as class was over, but some even proactively offered to be his friends.

Faced with this sudden care and attention, Chenkong, who was used to being ostracized and ignored at the Ember base, immediately felt a warmth. He agreed to their invitations without hesitation, becoming their 'friend.'

But the cruel reality soon dealt Chenkong a heavy blow. It turned out that these people's so-called 'friends' merely wanted Chenkong to be their errand boy.

Because at lunchtime, these people used similar excuses to make him wait in line at the cafeteria, and even made Chenkong use his own money to pay for their lunch.

Although he had already learned his lesson once, Chenkong at that time was still deceiving himself into believing that they might just be using this method to help him integrate into this unfamiliar class as quickly as possible, rather than genuinely bullying him.

But with the current act of forcing him to buy drinks for the entire class, this clumsy excuse could no longer convince Chenkong.

He knew he had no reason or obligation to suddenly pay out of his own pocket to buy drinks for the entire class for the sake of 'friendship.'

However, even though Chenkong had already sensed the malice from Dekola and the others, out of some strange persistence, he strangely chose not to retort, silently enduring this grievance, which made people quite frustrated.

But his forbearance not only didn't make Dekola, the leader, let him go; it made him escalate.

Because Dekola, as a famous rich young master from the Nearshore District, loved nothing more than seeing commoners like Chenkong, awkward and at a loss.

Whenever this happened, he wouldn't feel bad at all; instead, he would gain a huge sense of superiority, feeling sincerely proud to be a 'Nearshore person.'

However, as a clever rich young master, Dekola wasn't the kind of fool who lacked insight.

He knew very well who he could bully and who he couldn't. In the morning, before he figured out Chenkong's bottom line, Dekola had always maintained the politeness befitting a noble Nearshore person towards Chenkong.

This facade lasted until he learned from Chenkong that the reason he could come to Triland Middle School as an exchange student wasn't because his family was rich, nor because he was related to some powerful figure in the Nearshore District.

It was purely because he had good academic results, and was therefore fortunate enough to be sent by his school.

Knowing this crucial information, Dekola immediately dropped the act completely. No way, where did this country bumpkin come from, also coming to our Nearshore District to beg for food!

Looking at Chenkong, who was flustered by his few words, Dekola, in the crowd, not only didn't let Chenkong go but also spoke up, feigning magnanimity. "Sigh, I thought that classmate Kong, as an exchange student, would have tens of thousands of pocket money each month like us, which is why I thought of asking you to treat the whole class to drinks, to help you build good relationships with everyone."

"But now it seems I misunderstood. Sorry, classmate Kong, I'll treat everyone to drinks this time, as a welcome to you, our new classmate."

Hearing Dekola's words, before Chenkong could even speak, Dekola's cronies immediately chimed in, very perceptive. "Wow, Young Master Dekola, you're so generous, unlike some poor kid who can't even afford a few drinks."

"Yeah, yeah, he's right. He can even come to our Triland aristocratic school, but he can't even afford a few drinks. I wonder if this guy really has no money, or if he's not treating us as friends and is deliberately pretending to be broke."

Seeing his underlings so quick to catch on, Dekola immediately put on an act to explain for Chenkong. "Hey, hey, hey, how are you guys talking? I believe classmate Kong is definitely not as stingy as you think. He should just genuinely not have money."

"Hahaha, that's true, Young Master Dekola is right."

"Right, right, look at my mouth, how could I suspect classmate Kong of being stingy? He's just simply poor."

Watching Chenkong, who was being bullied by a group of brats but couldn't give any reaction for a long time, the audience outside the dimensional screen was completely speechless.

No way, you were bullied in Ember, and now you're out of Ember and still being bullied? Didn't you leave Ember for nothing then?! Answer me!

Chenkong: Kick me? Well, you've kicked a pillow!

Protagonist? Scapegoat!

Just as the audience was frustrated with Chenkong's weak and introverted personality, a familiar voice suddenly came from off-screen. "Hey, female classmate, I'm asking you if this is our school's cafeteria. Don't just stare blankly, hey, hey?"

As this voice sounded, the camera instantly switched from Chenkong to Tendo at the cafeteria entrance.

In the picture, Tendo, wearing his iconic small sunglasses, looked exasperatedly at the unfamiliar female classmate in front of him, who was holding snacks and staring intently at him. He clearly didn't understand what she was spacing out about.

Under the meticulous production of the production team, Tendo at this moment was clearly wearing the same blue and white Triland school uniform as everyone around him.

But his incredibly detailed, high-quality visuals, clearly showing him as the production team's favorite child, plus his 'Stars's Peak of Beauty' high-class face, immediately made this somewhat ordinary Triland school uniform worn by Tendo exude a different aura.

He was clearly not of the same art style as those around him. By now, the production team's blatant favoritism towards him, their 'No. 1 in popularity,' was visible to the naked eye; they weren't even pretending anymore.

In the anime scene, as Tendo reminded her multiple times, the dazed female classmate finally came to her senses. She shyly glanced at Tendo, then pointed behind her with a stammering voice, "Um, th-this is our school's cafeteria..."

Getting the answer he wanted, Tendo immediately smiled. "Then it seems I didn't come to the wrong place. Thanks, classmate!"

With that, Tendo walked straight in. Looking at Tendo's departing back, the unfamiliar female classmate thought of something. She immediately ran excitedly towards her classroom, clearly eager to share some incredible secret with her friends.

And when Tendo entered the cafeteria, he 'coincidentally' encountered Chenkong, who was currently being ridiculed by the crowd. Looking at Chenkong, who was surrounded by Dekola and the others, head bowed and silent, Tendo immediately ignored the strange atmosphere around them and greeted him with a smile.

"Yo, not bad, Kong, you managed to integrate so quickly with your new classmates?"

Seeing Tendo's sudden appearance, Chenkong, who had been so embarrassed he didn't know what to do, instantly brightened, as if he had seen a savior.

Meanwhile, Dekola in the crowd looked at Tendo, this unfamiliar uninvited guest. His acne-scarred face immediately filled with vigilance.

Although he had never seen Tendo and had no idea of his background, just his appearance and the 'absolute confidence' he exuded in every gesture made Dekola feel an inexplicable, strong sense of crisis.

Because just by looking at this guy's face, he knew... he was definitely not to be trifled with.

Noticing the change in Dekola's expression, Tendo secretly chuckled to himself, knowing that the other party had fallen into his trap.

The grievances the dimensional audience suffered because of you, let me, the Stars popularity champion... take it all back in one go.

Of course, I'm not doing this to steal the spotlight, or to gain popularity or anything. I just simply dislike people playing regional discrimination... Besides, what's wrong with the Nearshore people of Deep Blue Metropolis? Strictly speaking, I, Tendo Simei, am technically an alien! Playing regional discrimination with me? Friend, congratulations... you've found the right person!

At this moment, Tendo couldn't help but once again marvel at the excellent matchmaking mechanism of the Stars region. Because whenever he was about to run out of content and his popularity struggled to rise, Chenkong, the nominal protagonist of the series, always managed to deliver an assist in time, helping him create excitement.

In this regard, Tendo genuinely approved of Chenkong as the Stars protagonist and hoped he would continue to be the protagonist. After all, if it were someone else as the protagonist, how could he so easily gain so much popularity...