[1st World: Campus of High Society 4] An Intruding Faction

Chen Tanglu rummaged through the papers on the table, examining them, then either discard or set them to the side for further review. After some time, the number of white envelopes sealed with cherry blossom stickers dwindled down to only six.

She is the one in charge of making sure the applications fulfill the minimal requirements An Qi had set, and by the looks of it...

"Wow, these are the only ones left out of more than a hundred application sent in...did we set the requirements that high? Or are the students here just..." An Qi mused, her last words implied already what other thoughts she had that she left omitted.

"O-oh...well...at least it is better than...none...?" Lydia just need to speak more confidently now, she's been pretty accurate with pronunciation and grammar.

Chen Tanglu picked up one of the envelopes, or more specifically, the one she had just last looked at. "Let's take a look at them together now."

The small number doesn't matter, because they're not interested in just anybody joining in. If they were chosen then they failed meeting the standards for their club.

'Well, a smaller group would be much easier to keep track of too.' An Qi thought. "A large group would bring more influence, but what good is that if it became uncontrollable?"

"Oh goodness...I do feel kind of glad about this...too many people would be just...eek!" Lydia is just relieved that she doesn't have to open up to that much people. "I hope that whoever we chose are nice though..."

Chen Tanglu left out a theatrical cough to gather attention of the other two deep on thought. "Alright, so, we have six candidates left."

The remaining candidates are as followed:

1. Su Feili

2. Su Lifei

3. Chang Ju | 昌菊

4. Peng Chunfeng | 彭春枫

5. Hu Jiajia

6. Falsetta Halls

'Well...more than half of these are some familiar name. How funny...' An Qi still pretended to look focused and asked Chen Tanglu to check for the information of these individuals.

"Oh look, seems like the first two are sisters. Huh, but something is off..." Chen Tanglu remarked with interest. "Su Feili seems to be a recently transferred student from...drumroll—"

Lydia went along with her and created the sound effect by slamming on the table.

"—a place none other than Dame Dahlia. Alright but with jokes aside, this is quite surprising." Chen Tanglu is well-versed in gossip and other knowledge about this society. "She came from our academy's rival school."

An Qi wonders just who exactly Chen Tanglu is, after all, she didn't take the time to completely look into the other two's backgrounds. She doesn't really regret not doing that yet though, they are both...promising...

Also fun to be with...hmm...but that might only be temporary.

There are few things that can catch her interest for long.

Until then, the present is most important.

Lydia suddenly pointed at a profile in one of the files. "Oh...she looks familiar!"

"Hey, you're right! Didn't we see her that other day?" Chen Tanglu agreed.

"Well, if you remembered her, then you must remember these other two right?" An Qi teased, but her thoughts are different.

'Took them long enough to notice!'

That encounter was not that easy to forget and plus, they personally asked them whether they might like to join the club.

"So it's those two...interesting." Chen Tanglu seem to have some information on them. "Those two, they are pretty well known in the upper class. But as for Su Lifei...I dare say she's talked about more than those two combined!"

"I...I did hear some...commotion, the other day." Lydia revealed, and they beckoned for her to continue. "R-rumors around, says that a senior? Mu? Mu something...I can't remember but, they say that he announced he is in a relationship with Su Li...Su Lifei."

An applause rang throughout the room, for Lydia, but it was by neither An Qi nor Chen Tanglu. They all turned their attention to the sound.

"Sorry for intruding, but is this the new girls' club?" The male student smiled apologetically, his appearance—blonde hair and blue eyes—and his lax attitude were a dead giveaway to who he is.

An Qi immediately smiled in return, "Yes, this is. And I presume you are Senior Jiang?"

"Haha, seems like you all heard of me too..."  The heir of the Jiang family confirmed.

"Of course, after all, you are an excelling senior. May I ask what brought you here?"

"I'm just wondering...is it possible for me to join your club?"

"Oh?" How unexpected...what is his motive?

"But Senior~ Why do you want to join?" Chen Tanglu brought up the obvious question.

"Haha...well this is a bit awkward, but don't you think a club shouldn't be limited by gender? Or do I just not fit the qualifications?"

"We...can give you an invitation form. Please return it by tomorrow." Lydia quickly took one and handed it to him.

Then Chase Jiang was enthusiastically chased out by Chen Tanglu.

"Alright now, cya Senior~"

"Hey—isn't this too sudden—"

"Don't worry..." Keeping up an elegant and calm front, An Qi reminded him again, "...you just have to turn that form in by tomorrow, all the others have submitted their application this way."

"Take care!" Chen Tanglu shut the door after half-dragging the sudden visitor down the hallway.

The three girls then packed up everything before sitting back at their makeshift conference table in the unused classroom they had chosen.

"Now...let's chat about how our location got discovered..."An Qi said, setting aside the last of the paperworks.

"Seems like we have some pests trying to interfere..." Chen Tanglu scowled.

Lydia frowned uneasily.

* * *

"Peng Chunfeng, a Junior year student. Top grades, Junior representative in the academic team, and member of the student council." Chen Tanglu recited from the document.

"So...she is the suspect." Lydia muttered thoughtfully.

"Interesting, what would this guest want to do with us? To get an invitation while sending someone down to confront us..." An Qi stopped tapping her pen and circled the name.

An arrow was then drawn to connect this name to another circle with the name of a group—

—the Student Council.

And another name under it...Peng Chenfang.

"Oh and as for family...as the daughter of the Peng Family, she's the younger sister of Peng Chenfang, the current student council president."

"H-how do you know all this, Lulu?" Lydia wondered.

Chen Tanglu proudly shared that it's just her forte, "Information searching has always been a hobby of mine, so it's my specialty."

"Well, Dia, I'm sure you'll find something fit for you eventually." An Qi knows exactly what's on her mind.

Lydia lacks in self-confidence, but she works hard and has potential for growth.

Chen Tanglu doesn't lack any confidence and has solid skills, but she can be a bit spontaneous and unstable.

It's not a bad team so far...

* * *

It is after school the next day, and the main school halls are empty as the students had long left.

It was empty with the exception of two people, and their paths crossed.

"Hello, Senior Peng. Or should I refer to you as Student Council President Peng?"

The dark haired female struck up a conversation with a honey-blonde male, her tranquil purple eyes met questioning green eyes, and the talk begins.

"Hello, you must be Lan Ziyan. Either is fine."

"I'll get straight to the point, I think that's the most beneficial for the both of us. We are both busy people after all." An Qi smiled brightly.

"...Go on."

"Why is the student council interfering?"

"Pardon?" Feigning ignorance, huh.

"President Peng, I believe we can drop the facade now. I did say we are both busy people, right?"

The two maintained eye contact the entire time, and it was after this sentence that it was finally broken by Peng Chenfang.

"I see...well...please follow me."

They moved to a place better suited for their conversation—the conference room of the student council.

"Take a seat." The aloofness and gentleness from earlier was gone, and Peng Chenfang is more serious this time.

* * *

"Thank you for the hospitality, Senior."

"It was a pleasure speaking with you too, Junior."

She got all the information she needed, Peng Chenfang was guarded against her but that was futile when he didn't know what she is trying to get. It was a simple thing she wanted though.

The student council will help with promoting her club, and in exchange she will allow them to snoop around and investigate her club freely. Giving away some of their privacy for the sake of a stronger backing. It's not like it'll affect them heavily because who said they can't meet outside of club activities?

The people on the list...

1. Su Feili

2. Su Lifei

The Su Sisters have a one-sided rivalry, so Su Lifei must've joined to keep an eye on her sister due to her inferior complex. It is not exactly clear why Su Feili want to join this club, but it could be that she wants to find a place to start building her life here at Blossoms Academy, with how she is just a new transfer student. Or maybe she's just curious.

3. Chang Ju

She is a commoner who barely got admitted into Blossoms with her grades, but she was the only one from her hometown who did so Blossoms accepted partially out of kindness and as a way of showing they don't care about status. According to the original plot, she became good friends with Su Lifei, almost like best friends.

Too bad Su Lifei didn't have the same sentiments, she used Chang Ju for her purposes. It was until one particular plan where Chang Ju was manipulated into poisoning Su Feili that she stopped using her. It was because Chang Ju was no longer of any use, she was expelled from Blossoms Academy and exiled back to her hometown for the attempted murder. Su Lifei's manipulation of Chang Ju was also whitewashed by the fact that well, Chang Ju was actually not a sincere friend neither.

Yeah, they weren't actually just best friends, they were very good backstabbing friends. Chang Ju was always jealous of Su Lifei's success despite them starting the same (though they really didn't, considering Su Lifei's true identity), and was one of the people spreading rumors about her. Su Lifei knew this, but still tolerated her while also using her for her own goals with her envy directed at her sister. Despite the events that transpired, it is undeniable that they were really meant to be friends, both holding jealousy and well, dark intentions.

4. Peng Chunfeng

There isn't much to her honestly, the younger sister of the student council president who An Qi had just talked to a while ago. She strives to live to being her brother's shadow, and while she does bear some jealousy directed at her brother just like Su Lifei, she also recognize and admire him. So basically, a brother-con who wants to become a leader like her brother. But she was the one to try investigating this club first, so she's not entirely mindlessly following her brother's footsteps. She can be labeled as the "Student Council Spy" for now, because that's probably what she is going to do.

5. Hu Jiajia

6. Falsetta Halls

As for these two, it seems they had decide to try their luck at joining this club after that sudden encounter. Having them in the club with Su Lifei would be exciting, so why not? Oh, and Hu Jiajia is the main villainess, the one that tried and failed to disfigure Su Lifei. It can be assumed that fate is already diverted for now though, because it happened before Su Feili transferred. These two are from influential families, so it won't be a loss to add them in. Adding higher ranks would also help increase their club's reputation! Surely they can't deny them when they allowed commoners to join too, that will be a different type of discrimination. Very negative.

Well, why not just accept them all now? Chen Tanglu really has an impeccable judgement, an absolutely phenomenal job she did with filtering all the applications.

Now, what that other senior—Chase Jiang—brought up with the gender equality thing...it is worth looking into but she'll tackle it later when the opportunity arise.