"I'm sorry, it's all my fault!"
Her face flushed with embarrassnt upon hearing the words spoken by the people around her, Bai Qi pulled her hat brim even lower and apologized to Fang Ren in a quiet voice.
"It's okay, don't worry," Fang Ren said.
"I shouldn't have let you co..."
"I wanted to co on my own, this isn't your fault."
Seeing him still trying to comfort her even at this mont, Bai Qi felt a warmth in her heart, and the guilt welting up in her mind grew even stronger.
I'm sorry, Fang Ren. If I had t you earlier, I would have married you without hesitation... I'm sorry.
...
The Seventh Elder, standing in the center of the field, continued with his announcent, "Due to the absence of nearly two schools' worth of competitors today, we will not use this afternoon for testing. Competitors can use this afternoon for pre-competition preparations or choose to explore the local area and settle their accommodations for tonight.
Of course, you also have the option to visit our Orchid Bamboo Special Alchemist Guild to delve into deeper alchemy theory. Lastly, I must go over so important matters that must be heeded..."
The Seventh Elder spoke for about half an hour, but fortunately, it wasn't just idle talk.
"Finally, I will confirm the list of competitors. Those whose nas are not called should visit the Guild's reception to collect their results and then co to to complete registration."
With that, the Seventh Elder took out three lists and began reading, "Westwind University: Liu Zhengfeng."
"Present."
"Xu Huawei."
"Present."
...
"Lingdong University: Jiang Chaoguo."
"Present!"
"Sun Bing."
"Present!"
...
This roll call continued for a while, and as the nas from the other six aristocratic universities were almost all called, the Seventh Elder began reading from another list that only had two nas on it.
When he saw the na on the list, his entire expression went blank.
Fang Ren?
Why does this na feel like I've heard it a bit too much lately?
What puzzled him even more was that the word "attendant" was written in front of the second na on the list.
He, a Invigilator Alchemist at a Superior Guild, only had two attendants, so why would a re university student be involved in this? Did he need soone to pass him alchemy ingredients? Or soone to help maintain the peace at the Alchemy Land?
A student causing such a fuss! And there was also talk of cheating earlier, truly low class!
Before he could beco indignant, he suddenly saw the two characters written after "attendant," and he was stunned once again.
Bai Qi?
Isn't that the na of the Princess from Tianjiang? Alright, it must be just a coincidence of having the sa na and surna.
Without giving it much thought, the Seventh Elder continued, "Yangming University: Fang Ren."
"Present," Fang Ren responded.
"Attendant, Bai Qi."
"Present."
Bai Qi also quickly pulled her hat and answered.
As the Seventh Elder's final words fell, the aristocratic students from the other six universities were stunned. Within a second, all of them burst into laughter once again.
"An attendant? My goodness, a low-ability student has an attendant? Is this going to kill with laughter and ruin my great inheritance of wealth? Even though I hardly use it back ho."
"Hahaha... what a complete oddity, definitely sothing wrong with his brain! Cheating aside, he even has an attendant with him!"
"What kind of achievent has he made to have an attendant? Has he beco a Invigilator Alchemist of the Superior Alchemist Guild? Or has he produced a three-level pill before the age of 25? Ridiculous!"
"The attendant really has talent, too—being an attendant for a low-ability student at such a young age, how big is the hole in their brain?"
"Hey, hey, did you hear that? That girl's na is Bai Qi, just like the Princess. I really don't know how much expectation her parents had for her when they nad her, but look at the embarrassing thing she's doing now."
"That oddball called Fang Ren is just too funny, cheating? Having an attendant? Damn, even a genius wouldn't dare to pull such stunts."
...
The crowd was filled with sarcastic laughter and ridicule.
Biting her teeth, Bai Qi had endured enough. These so-called aristocratic students had completely disgraced the face of nobility!
Back in Tianjiang, hadn't every aristocrat she'd t been upright and honorable? Weren't they all concerned about their country, its people, and the world? Which of them took pleasure in mocking commoners?
They could ridicule her, and she could endure it. She had already dealt with being scolded by the old lady and threatened by thugs; she could handle these matters.
But when they bullied Fang Ren, Bai Qi couldn't hold back anymore.
Bai Qi grabbed her hat with one hand, her face filled with anger as she was about to throw the hat on her head away, exclaiming, "Enough..."
Slap—
Just as she had shouted a single word, Fang Ren's palm was already on the top of her head, stopping her from continuing her movents.
"Exposing yourself now would just give you away," Fang Ren said.
"So what if I'm exposed! They're bullying you like this!" Bai Qi retorted angrily.
"Think about it, once you're exposed, and later when I take you to the finals arena, when you et Song Mobei, how will others look at ?" Fang Ren said.
"All this, and you're still thinking about the finals?" Bai Qi was stunned, completely unable to understand what he was talking about.
"Of course I'm going, I have to et Mada Xuan," Fang Ren said.
Upon hearing these words, Bai Qi bit her lip and said softly, her head lowered, "You don't have to humble yourself like this, nor find such an excuse... "
In her eyes, what Fang Ren said wasn't "I have to et Mada Xuan," but "I have to take you to see the person you like."
This ti, it was Fang Ren's turn to be stunned. He had no idea what the imaginative girl was thinking as he said, "If you expose your identity and et Song Mobei, those rubberneckers from Tianjiang will definitely say I can't even keep my fiancée, and wouldn't that be embarrassing for ?"
After listening to him, Bai Qi was even more convinced that Fang Ren had found an excuse that humbled himself just to take her to see Brother Song, and the acidity mixed into the complexity of her emotions began to grow stronger.
"I don't want to et him anymore!" Bai Qi said, her voice heavy and her head down, her hand gripping her skirt tightly, shaking her head vehently, "All I want now is for you not to be bullied by others!"
"..."
Fang Ren didn't know how to respond for a mont.
He was simply reluctant to argue with this group of aristocrats. In the end, it would co down to alchemy to prove his strength. Should he really have to alchemize on the spot to prove himself and then put those snobbish aristocrats in their place?
Isn't having to prove oneself at a single sneer a behavior more suited to a three-year-old child?
The mockery from the sidelines continued unabated, and the invigilator alchemists from afar, silent, continued watching the spectacle. Except for the Seventh Elder, no one could hear the conversation between the two.
"Shut up!"
Just as Fang Ren was looking conflicted, the Seventh Elder, who stood in the center of the field, suddenly roared into the microphone.
Imdiately, his voice echoed throughout the thousand-square-ter venue.
It was not hard to sense the anger in his voice.
Following the Seventh Elder's outburst, all noises ceased in an instant, and all the aristocratic students turned their gazes towards him.
The Seventh Elder's expression turned very serious, his brow furrowed, his hand holding the microphone trembling slightly with anger.
Ah Si, not far from the Seventh Elder's side, was stunned. He rarely saw the Seventh Elder with such a rich expression, and even when soone in the guild made a mistake, he would just sternly scold them. A roar like this was almost unprecedented.
"What's gotten into the Seventh Elder all of a sudden? He didn't react this way when we were just chatting," whispered an aristocratic student.
"Maybe... it's not about our chatting. Look, those two low-ability students have been muttering non-stop, and the Seventh Elder, with his Azure Sky Realm mid-stage strength, must have heard what they were saying."
"You an, those two low-ability students said sothing that angered the Seventh Elder?"
...
"Silence!" The Seventh Elder turned to the group of aristocrat students and yelled again, "As fellow students, by what right do you mock others? Talent is predetermined from birth, and being talented in alchemy is not sothing worth showing off, much less a reason for you to ridicule other students! If everything in this world were determined by talent, what would be the point of hard work!
The survival of humankind is at stake at this mont, and as aristocrats, you should have the heart to protect all people, and even more so should you lead by example! The nobility that cos with your birth and talent is ant to shoulder the heavy burden of human survival—not to be a blade that belittles your kin!"
As the Seventh Elder finished his statent without pause, the aristocratic students who were continuing their mockery were all stupefied in silence.
The Seventh Elder's expression was extrely serious, and his voice was angry with a hint of a tremble.
However, only he knew how much cold sweat he was breaking out on his back.
When he was reading the nas earlier, he felt sothing was off. It was understandable for a girl to share the na with the princess, but why would she deliberately wear a baseball cap and hide her face at this event? This made him puzzled.
As he heard the whispers of the group of aristocratic students, everything clicked into place all of a sudden.
Fang Ren?
Bai Qi?
Either na, taken separately, wouldn't have ant much to him, but put together, it was a huge deal!
He suddenly rembered the major event that had been spread internally in Tianjiang not long ago!
Fang Ren? He had just been wondering where he had heard that na before. Wasn't that the na of the Fang Family's great young master, hidden for twenty-two years?
And with the ergence of the Fang Family's great young master, even Princess Bai Xi's marriage arrangent had been exposed—the great young master of the Fang Family was none other than Princess Bai Xi's betrothed! They had been promised to each other since they were children!
If there were many other people on Earth nad Bai Qi or Fang Ren, there would only be one pair of 22-year-olds who could put these two nas together—this very pair!
He thought back to when Ah Si didn't arrange seats for the two of them in the guild, the Seventh Elder's old heart nearly gave out.
He even had the impulse to perform a 720-degree spinning kneel right then and there.
But because he heard Fang Ren say that Bai Qi's identity could not be exposed, he could only perform with a racing heart, suppressing the urge.
Thinking back, he really felt that he had been completely ignorant of the towering figure right before him!
Reviews
All reviews (0)