It was early morning, and the autumn sunlight poured in through the window, casting a golden halo on Xanthia’s lovely cheeks.

  Gently gazing at her face, Dematero felt as though she was now enveloped in a divine filter, her presence transcendent as time moved slowly right before his eyes.

  Listening to her sing one of his favorite songs with an incredibly melodious voice, he struggled to find words to describe the tremors in his heart at that moment.

  Who would have thought that something she had casually mentioned from the beginning, which he had subconsciously dismissed as a bit contrived, would one day be perfectly realized?

  How much did she really care about him as a friend?

  Dematero felt like he had hit the jackpot, but at the same time, he began generating "pain points" again.

  He lowered his head, his heart aching. Suddenly, he felt deeply ashamed. How could he have taken her words for granted? She was so sincere, kind, and gentle.

  Yet, he had always relied on her kindness to enjoy her effortlessly gentle demeanor. What right did he have to sit next to such a perfect girl?

  He kept bming and questioning himself.

  His heart ached so much that his eyes misted over, and tears almost fell.

  He felt utterly inadequate, unworthy of being her friend.

  Why did he only realize this now, when there was no chance of sitting next to her again?

  Wait, that doesn't quite fit. Even if they weren't sitting together anymore, they were still friends... Dematero took a deep breath to console himself.

  Dematero was just an ordinary music enthusiast. So, Xanthia's rendition of "A Thousand Years" with her level 2 singing skill already sounded amazing to him.

  He felt that with her current level, she could easily become a celebrity on ptforms like MeTube or Spotify just by covering songs.

  What's more, this was an acapel performance. If there had been accompaniment, it would have been even more stunning!

  In fact, Xanthia herself felt something was missing during the acapel performance.

  If she learned to py a musical instrument, it would enhance the appeal of her singing. Singing while pying would elevate her status even further than just acapel.

  Indeed, after leveling up her skills, she had realized the shortcomings only through real practice.

  Then there was another issue: the cssmates in the css who needed to change seats were busy packing up their books, stationery, and other items. The cssroom was quite noisy, which diluted the infectiousness of Xanthia’s singing.

  However, to Dematero, who now saw everything through rose-colored gsses, he couldn’t find any faults at all. The noisy environment even added a touch of sentimental color to her singing.

  Artistic souls understand these things. When parting ways, a carefully prepared farewell song like this—how could anyone resist?

  Dematero, already somewhat mencholic by nature, found his mind filled with the beauty of Xanthia under the rays of sunlight and her captivating voice.

  Just as he was still immersed in this atmosphere, a deep, manly voice broke in: “Xanthia, how much longer until you’re ready over there?”

  Css monitor Ryan had somehow appeared in their row and was asking Xanthia by the window.

  At this point, Xanthia had finished singing. She smiled at the tall and sturdy Ryan, “I’m almost done. I’ll be ready in a moment.”

  Dematero suddenly woke up from his daze, his heart screaming—

  No, no!!! Don’t leave me, Xanthia!!!

  And the background music switched to an anime scene from 5 Centimeters Per Second—sakura petals fluttering, north wind howling...

  Xanthia might have considered saying to him politely, “I’m sorry, but let’s not keep in touch anymore. I’m afraid Elena might misunderstand.”

  Css monitor Ryan saw Xanthia’s smile and felt a bit shy himself.

  In fact, he had arrived early and, fortunately, heard Xanthia singing. He waited until she finished before speaking up.

  Fortunately, Xanthia had the "Social Master" attribute and was completely unaware of any embarrassment. Otherwise, like most people, she might have felt too embarrassed to continue singing after just a few lines.

  At first, Ryan had just been casually listening, but as he listened, he felt like he was being conquered by her voice. He hadn’t expected Xanthia to not only excel academically but also possess such talent. She had been too low-key in their css before.

  From now on, even if Dematero was unwilling to part, he couldn’t change the fact that his desk mate had been switched to the css monitor. Likewise, the student behind him had changed—Jimmy had finally escaped from this seemingly cursed seat.

  The newly transferred student was the academic affairs commissioner Henry. Naturally, he wore a gloomy expression, feeling that this seat was cursed and worrying that one day, he might suddenly feel the urge and couldn’t hold it in, staining the chair...

  Dematero’s former desk mate was now the vice monitor and disciplinary committee member Lilim. He couldn’t help but compin that Emmanuel was being too much by surrounding him directly with the css monitor, vice monitor, and academic affairs commissioner. Wasn’t this akin to being imprisoned?!

  Anyway, apart from Lilim, the only girl, Dematero found himself surrounded by boys. Lilim and Henry’s desk mate were also boys with above-average grades and potential. Obviously, Emmanuel hoped that they, too, would be guided by the excellent students among the css officers.

  As for Elena, her desk mate and best friend, roommate Yannis, looked reluctant. She really didn’t want to separate from Elena!

  However, Yannis’s performance in the recent monthly exam had declined significantly. Emmanuel had eyes and ears throughout the css and must have known about Yannis sitting next to Elena, talking endlessly, and sometimes not having time to finish her assignments, resulting in directly copying Elena’s work. Elena never refused Yannis; she had always been the type to pamper her friends without reservation.

  Yannis’s new desk mate turned out to be Crissante, a quieter girl who only spoke up when provoked by something strange.

  Elena’s attitude toward her new desk mate Xanthia was indifferent. They weren’t close, and Xanthia wasn’t the type to be sociable or overly familiar.

  On the other hand, Luciel was particurly happy because Xanthia was now her back-seat neighbor. After css, she could just turn around and talk to Xanthia.

  Furthermore, she had finally escaped from the annoying Hera as her desk mate. It was like having double the happiness!