I became the King of Ryukyu

The two entered a coffee shop called "Hamabe Chaya" by the beach.

I first went to the washroom to clean myself thoroughly, and then found a seat by the window.

There weren't many customers in the store, and the speakers were playing soothing old songs, just the ones Zheng Yi listened to while jogging: Seiko Matsuda's "Blue Coral Reef".

Lu Yao was treating, so she ordered the restaurant's signature breakfast—Western-style pancakes, toast, eggs, and a cup of coffee.

After taking only a couple of bites, Lu Yao asked timidly, "Senior Zheng Yi, are you really Chinese?"

Zheng Yi peeled an egg, a common Japanese soft-boiled egg, squeezed the yolk between two pieces of toast, opened his mouth as wide as possible, and took a bite.

Satisfied with his neat teeth marks, he swallowed the food before asking, "Was my pronunciation 'fucked' and not standard?"

"Ah, I used to think that was just one of your catchphrases, senior."

Zheng Yi thought about it and realized that in his previous life, there were quite a few people who used vulgar language, but they were just joking around.

He said in fluent Mandarin, "It's not just me, many Ryukyuans are like that. For example, the Ishikawa family in Kume were originally Chinese surnamed Feng who were forced to change their surname to Japanese by the Meiji government. There are also the Shiro, Goya, Ukui, Azama, Hayashikawa and so on."

"Oh, is that so?" Lu Yao said, "It's not taught in the textbook at all."

"Those idiots from the Ministry of Education," Zheng Yi muttered, pursing his lips.

"But it's not in the textbooks back home either..." Lu Yao whispered, pointing to the west.

Zheng Yi was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll write it from now on."

"Huh, are you planning to take the national unified civil service exam after graduation and become a civil servant in the Ministry of Education?"

"Guess." Zheng Yi gave a mysterious smile.

After getting to know each other a little better, Lu Yao became less shy and started chattering about her life at the girls' high school.

Zheng Yi's head started to spin from not being fully awake, but he maintained a gentle smile on his face.

This was a trick he had learned during his history classes; it allowed his brain to be in a state of light sleep.

The phone's cheerful alarm woke Zheng Yi.

Reaching into his pocket, he realized it was Lu Yao's phone ringing.

"Ah, it's so late! Farewell, Senior Zheng Yi!"

When Lu Yao stood up, bowed, and prepared to leave, she realized that she had been so busy talking that she hadn't touched the food on her plate.

She hurriedly stuffed the eggs into her pocket, then shoved two slices of toast into her mouth, her cheeks bulging like a hamster's cheek pouches.

"Hey, I never would have guessed your mouth was so big!"

Zheng Yi gestured with his homemade toast sandwich with soft-boiled egg, which he had taken a big bite of, and showed an expression of admiration for his friend.

"Excuse me!"

Lu Yao spoke incoherently, bowed again, and hurriedly ran out.

Shuri Girls' High School isn't far from here, but I'm still usually late.

"Wow, this is youth!"

Looking at the youthful ponytail swaying up and down, Zheng Yi felt a surge of superiority as a college student.

He slowly finished his breakfast and looked at the steaming coffee across from him.

It seems she didn't drink anything just now?

Zheng Yi bent down and examined the rim of the coffee cup; it was very clean.

The water level inside is neither high nor low; you could say you've had it, or you could say you haven't.

"Old Zheng, what are you doing here!"

A large group of men dressed in professional sportswear flooded into the coffee shop, and Yuichi Miyagi was among them.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just ran 15 kilometers during the baseball team's morning practice, and my throat is practically parched!"

Miyagi Yuichi sat down opposite Zheng Yi with a smug look on his face and casually reached for the coffee in front of him.

At an almost imperceptible speed, Zheng Yi grabbed the coffee cup and gulped it down.

Yuichi Miyagi blinked. If he wasn't mistaken, that was Italian espresso!

"Damn it, Old Zheng, you stingy bastard!"

"If your son is unfilial, your father won't give him coffee." Zheng Yi said calmly as he finished his espresso without adding a spoonful of sugar.

"Haha, Lao Zheng, you guys, oh wait, I mean, there's an old Chinese saying..."

With a sly grin, Miyagi put his hand on Zheng Yi's shoulder. "Wei Junjie, you used to be my strictest father, the academic underachiever Miyagi. But now, I'm the rising star of Okinawa's baseball scene!"

"Welcome to our [Make Ryukyu Great Again] team." Zheng Yi took out a pin with a hand-drawn Mazu card by Tetsuya, then stretched out his left hand like a lucky cat. "Your team fee is 1000 yen."

"Hey, are you serious?" Yuichi Miyagi exclaimed. "It's true that the Miyagi family are native to Ryukyu, but that was so many years ago!"

"Miyagi-kun, your loyalty isn't pure!" Zheng Yi shook his head and said regretfully, "The price won't be the same if you join again later."

"I really can't do anything with you." Miyagi Yuichi said in the tone of an old father giving his son living expenses, as he pulled 1000 yen from his pocket. "It's not easy for Kume Island to produce a genius like you. If you starve to death in Naha, it would be a huge loss for the locals!"

Yuichi Miyagi went to serve breakfast to his seniors—although he kept saying he would earn his position as the fourth batter by his own merit, flattery was also a necessary tactic.

In the morning, there was a friendly match between the baseball team and another school. Zheng Yi went to school alone first.

Upon arriving at the teaching area, sleepy-eyed college students walked in twos and threes, carrying breakfast in their hands.

Couples also strolled hand in hand along the Anli River, occasionally letting out light, youthful laughter.

Of course, there were also stylishly dressed girls getting out of luxury cars; they worked in Kabukicho and earned money much faster than Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi parked the bicycle properly and locked it with the U-lock that reduces intelligence by 5 points.

He first changed into clean clothes, and then habitually looked into the shoe cabinet.

Huh, there are no new love letters.

This is a good thing!

It seems that by repeatedly rejecting girls, he has successfully established an image of being "uninterested in women."

This is great; it fits his persona as the top talent on Kumejima Island.

Zheng Yi, carrying his schoolbag, walked confidently toward the Department of Animal Medicine.

"Hey, did you guys hear? Fukuzumi from Class 1 actually applied for that position."

"Good heavens, he's so desperate! He's willing to do something so dangerous just to get close to the students from the main campus."

"Perhaps they're after the Motobu family's money?"

"That's wishful thinking. She's the young lady of the main conglomerate."

"The young lady is a woman too, and Fukuzumi-kun is a handsome guy too."

"What's the use of being handsome...?"

The girls' chatter stopped abruptly when they saw him; they avoided his gaze and ran away in small steps.