The Sports World's Most Popular Girl Is Hard of Hearing

[⁄(⁄ ⁄ ⁄ω⁄ ⁄ ⁄)⁄ Thank you all so, so much for your support (bows down!)]

[Coming next: The Resonant Twins' One-Track Guide. Blurb at the end!]

1/

A striking pair of cousins have transferred to Nantu Eighth High School. They're in different grades, but are inseparable, and word is they live together too.

The boy is handsome and gentle, popular with everyone, and has no shortage of admirers. The girl trains in shooting and rushes off to practice the moment school ends. But she's kind of weird. Seriously weird.

"We talk to her, but she never answers. She seems so snobbish. She won't give anyone the time of day unless they're handsome, rich, or top of the class."

"And she keeps staring at my mouth. When I first met her, I thought she was a discipline monitor. Then I found out I was wearing lipstick!"

"Hey, I'm the discipline monitor. What class are you in?"

…

Some nameless students complained in private.

2/

Actually, her classmates aren't the only ones with complaints. Lang Yi has a lot he'd like to get off his chest, too.

Ever since his childhood friend was reborn with a beloved-by-all System, he's been stuck playing both sides. At home, he's like a guard dog keeping away romantic rivals. Outside, he's like a social butterfly, setting her up with her targets, while being introduced as her cousin.

He's jealous, he's angry, he's hurt!

So one typhoon night, his mother found that the window in his room had mysteriously broken. That night, he picked up his pillow, quilt, and sleeping mat, wiped his tears, and was led into Shen Zhiyu's room, where he choked out:

"I'm sorry, but I'm really scared all by myself."

Shen Zhiyu: Huh? Did you just say something?

3/

Shen Zhiyu, the person at the center of this whole mess, knows nothing about any of it. After all

she is hard of hearing.

Ever since she awakened a System that restores her hearing and makes her beloved by all, she has been suppressing her socially anxious nature, busy pretending to be able-bodied and nervously harvesting other people's affection points so she can become a competitive shooter.

There are few things she cares about. She only hopes that one day she can stand on the Olympic podium, and that Lang Yi can grow up safe and unharmed.

She's a crybaby and a coward. In the past, she always hid from trouble, but now she has a goal, no matter how many hardships and obstacles lie ahead.

She wants to hold on to her faith and bring down the dawn.

Reading guide:

1. Naturally dense, career-focused girl × outwardly gentle but inwardly cunning, highly sensitive, jealous puppy

2. Childhood friend beats out all the newcomers for a happy ending. They help each other through middle and high school, and start dating in college.

3. A coming-of-age story. The main plot follows the heroine as she grows stronger through competitions. Everyone is a little angel who dotes on the heroine, and she flirts without realizing it. The setting is fictional, with no real-life models.

Below is the announcement for the upcoming novel The Resonant Twins' One-Track Guide. You can jump to it:

1/

Nuo Xiaoyang was born spoiled. The only hardship she's ever endured is eating an unripe pomelo. She's a homebody, a sheltered young lady. While her peers stay up late working overtime, she's busy deciding which Aurora brand of scenic ocean-view game plots to use to fill her mansion.

After transmigrating into a comic as a useless Guide, the original owner is accused of losing an important chip. Nuo Xiaoyang casually sips her coffee and says:

"Is that so? Then I'll resign."

White hair, tragic beauty, the most extraordinary protagonist in human history: her favorite, who practically checks every box for a wildly popular character. As long as she has him as her darling husband, she has nothing to fear! But Aurora seems to hate her.

When they first meet, she saves him from the plot's deadly blade. She wants to treat his wounds, but as soon as she gets close, his lips turn pale from how tightly they're pressed together. When she accidentally touches his arm, he scratches his skin until it's bloody and raw.

Nuo Xiaoyang, who has always been surrounded by people wishing the happy couple a long life together, finally breaks down. In the middle of the night, she sobs and decides to leave the world of the living, but a hand reaches under the covers and gently wipes away her tears.

"Y-you, don't come any closer!"

"But you're in heat."

The man's whisper is like a spell. She's so scared she wants to get out of bed, but she's so weak she lets him drag her back into his arms again and again. After being sweet-talked until morning, all she can manage to say is: You seem like a different person.

"Heh~ Did you mistake me for that coward?"

Chang Ye smiles slyly in the darkness, his beautiful face cracking like a mask. The person before her isn't her favorite, but the illustrious head of a prestigious family, her favorite's twin brother, who dismembers her favorite in the comic. Her sworn enemy.

"So you're the one who has my little brother all worked up?"

"You're pretty average."

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

"Die, die, die, ahh..." (gets smacked on the forehead)

2/

Later, the colleague who framed Nuo Xiaoyang gets fired, and everyone who bullied her mysteriously vanishes. Things have gone a little off script.

Her darling husband has become Chang Ye. Rumor has it that when Chang Ye goes on a mission, the only things attached to his waistband are his communicator and Nuo Xiaoyang.

She resists for a day, then quickly accepts it.

Chang Ye may have a terrible personality, but he has the same face as her favorite. Cover his mouth, and he's a delicious substitute. She's getting a bargain!

"D-did you get a fever?"

At night, Chang Ye simply holds her face, cheeks flushed, and says nothing. Nuo Xiaoyang asks nervously. This is so unusual...

Or maybe it's cute. His tempestuous kisses turn into little pecks. If only he could stay quiet forever.

But this slow torture is seriously sinister!!

"Do you... not like me anymore?"

He seems to sense something and asks, clingy and dejected.

Oh no. The more Nuo Xiaoyang looks at him, the cuter he seems. She gets a bad feeling: could she really be a fickle woman?!

The entire floor-to-ceiling window is smashed open. Aurora stands in the howling wind, his expression grim, as if he'd climbed up here with his bare hands. This is the eightieth floor!

She tries to explain herself

"Tsk, coward. Give him back."

That tone...

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻*2

"You two brothers are both insane!"

"If you're so obsessed with eating out of each other's bowls, neither of you gets to eat!!!"

3/

Nuo Xiaoyang is driven to a nervous breakdown by their games.

She often can't tell who's trying to please her. Is the person in front of her an optical illusion, or are there really two of them? Just as she's fretting over how to escape, the major powers in this dangerous city all come looking for her at once.

The military, which needs an S-rank Guide to secure its dominance.

A secret organization, which needs an S-rank Guide to overthrow the corporation's control.

The Quan Yi Cult, which kills S-rank Guides without batting an eye.

Every single one of them says she's so powerful that even the sun must give way before her.

"As expected, this young lady was born to save the world!"

She kicks open the door, packs her things, and runs away from home.

Two identical faces loom over her.

Thinking fast, she declares righteously:

"Fight it out. I'll go with whoever wins!"

(Inner thought: Hehehe, I'll run away once they start fighting.)

"You think you can get rid of me just by going with him?"

Things don't go as she imagined. Chang Ye bursts out laughing, while Aurora remains silent. What does that mean? He leans close to her ear and says, each word striking a nerve:

"The twins share a mental connection."

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻*3

"Damn you, official guidebook!!!!!!"

"You can't leave something this important out, ahhh... mmph..."

Theme: Self-reliance and strength, and the power to keep living.