"I'm done eating, thank you." Le Yuxin pointed at his empty plate with an unchanged expression, stood up, and prepared to leave.
Ever since he accepted Qian Yuya as his sister, Le Yuxin consciously avoided her, even going to the cafeteria a bit earlier to dodge the post-class student rush. But today, because he was too engrossed listening to everyone bashing Blue Fla, he ate slowly and got caught by Qian Yuya.
After all, Le Yuxin's lie wasn't completely foolproof. The biggest loophole of the 'Le Yuxin' organization is Le Yuxin himself—if Qian Yuya were to dig deep and probe into the details of the organization, Le Yuxin would surely say sothing wrong and get exposed.
Le Yuxin was very confident he might accidentally ss up—he's the kind of person who, when playing badminton, thinks he can smash but ends up jumping and missing the shuttlecock.
But actually, Le Yuxin was overthinking it. Ever since she received 'Le Yuxin's task,' Qian Yuya returned to her peaceful life, without having any interactions with Le Yuxin. She was like a child playing a spy ga, acting with extre caution and diligence, avoiding unnecessary questions and words, surprisingly considerate and easygoing.
Bang!
Qin Yueshi slamd her tray on the table and sat next to Qian Yuya. anwhile, Ming Shuiyun sat next to Le Yuxin, filling up the four-seater table completely, making it even a bit cramped.
"This sure is..." Le Yuxin raised an eyebrow, "an interesting combination."
He lowered his voice and asked near Ming Shuiyun's ear, "My dear feeder, why are you hanging out with them?"
Qin Yueshi and Qian Yuya knowing each other and acting together in the academy was normal, but why had Ming Shuiyun joined their little group as well?
Ming Shuiyun's face blushed slightly, and she whispered, "They are my friends."
With a little thought, Le Yuxin understood—Ming Shuiyun couldn't find friends.
Unlike Ming Shuangli, who was already a student at the Imperial Academy, Ming Shuiyun and Qin Yueshi were transferred students and naturally didn't experience the phase of getting to know new classmates ignorantly.
The reason Qin Yueshi was always hanging around with Senior Sister Qian Yuya was partly because she wanted to integrate into Qian Yuya's social circle—it was the easiest circle for her to join.
Though it is said lions and tigers walk alone while cattle and horses move in herds, humans are social animals and how can they reject socializing? Even the ultimate recluse who doesn't even step out of the house and only eats takeout can at least engage in verbal battles in forum chat groups. In this era, if you don't have friends, you might eventually even forget how to talk.
Moreover, 'I don't need social interaction' and 'I have no social interaction' are two different concepts; the forr is independence and self-reliance, the latter is just plain pitiful.
The main reason Ming Shuiyun used to care about Le Yuxin so much was because he was the only person she could completely trust.
Aside from Le Yuxin, the only people Ming Shuiyun regularly interacted with were her roommates. He couldn't even imagine if her dorm life was more like "Palace Scheming," "The Glamorous Imperial Concubine," or "The Legend of Zhen Huan," as Le Yuxin, who barely had the competency comparable to "Tom and Jerry" in palace intrigue, could only feel sympathy.
Even if she had close sisters, they remained in a competitive or even life-or-death Sword Seeker relationship, always needing to keep their guard up. Therefore, if she wanted to find friends, she could only do so from outside.
At this ti, Qin Yueshi and Qian Yuya, who were connected to Le Yuxin, appeared in her view, naturally becoming the ideal friend choices for Ming Shuiyun.
Moreover, the three of them shared a little secret, mutually aware of each other's background, rapidly and significantly pulling their relationship closer.
"And also, can you... not call that?" Ming Shuiyun said with difficulty.
"Weren't you quite proud of that title that night?" Le Yuxin, tornted by Qian Yuya's 'Brother Hongle,' finally found Ming Shuiyun as an outlet for stress, rcilessly teased her, "Or is it that my tone isn't respectful enough? Dear master?"
"Stop bullying Shuiyun!" Qin Yueshi slamd the table hard, pouted, and glared at Le Yuxin, "Is bullying and exploiting the weak the only thing you can do?"
Le Yuxin wasn't surprised by Qin Yueshi's attitude. When he went with Qian Yuya to et Qin Yueshi and Qin Yueyang, telling them 'I accepted Qian Yuya as a sister,' Qin Yueshi's attitude began to turn strange.
Though not as hostile as before, it wasn't close either, like she wanted to beat both Le Yuxin and herself up.
In fact, Qin Yueshi's feelings were quite conflicted. Even though she never considered being Qin Leyin's sister as anything special, watching Qin Leyin take on another sister made her feel as if she lost sothing, like a dog that used to wag its tail only for her suddenly wagged it for others too.
Especially since Qian Yuya was so respectful towards Qin Leyin, it instantly triggered a sense of crisis in Qin Yueshi.
As the saying goes, no one farms barren land, but once tilled, everyone fights for it. Yet, asking Qin Yueshi to curry favor with her own brother was sothing her pride couldn't swallow.
After thinking it over, she put on a sour face towards Qin Leyin, not realizing that her subtext was—'Stupid brother, I'll give you a chance to please , and I'll offer you a big discount if you try.'
Unfortunately, Le Yuxin, who had experienced won's subtle personalities during his antics and scuffles with Qing Lan, sensed that despite Qin Yueshi appearing fierce, she was actually quite adorable, like ice cream that lted with warmth. So, of course, he wouldn't dare provoke her, bluntly saying, "None of your business."
"You!" Qin Yueshi clenched her fists in anger, "Fine, Shuiyun's matters don't concern , but the fact that I got scamd out of so much money by the Unrivaled List does, right!?"
"None of my business."
"You!"
"Alright, alright." Le Yuxin waved his hand, "How did you get scamd by the Unrivaled List? That's really sothing, you're a daughter of a rchant family, getting scamd by your own product—how embarrassing for the Qin Family, you even make the Royal Academy ashad of you."
"What can I do about it? My second brother wouldn't secretly give an epic card, so I can only buy it myself." Qin Yueshi said angrily, "Weren't we told that the drop rate for epic cards was one percent? How co after buying a hundred copies of the Unrivaled List, I still didn't get an epic card?"
"Probability is probability, reality is reality. It doesn't an if you buy a hundred copies you're guaranteed one." Le Yuxin said nonchalantly, "There are just a hundred epic cards in the whole of Yanjing, isn't it normal that you didn't get one?"
"Are you talking about this?"
Ming Shuiyun timidly pulled out a card with a silver edge, instantly drawing everyone's attention—the card image depicted a Blue Fla standing proudly in the sky, slashing the river with dual swords, stirring endless waves, piercing rocks through the air, crashing waves against the shore!
"Blue Fla Slashing the River"
"You may win, but I will never lose."
"A classmate brought a few copies of the Unrivaled List to sell at the school, and I bought one. Besides the list, there was a poster and this card inside..." Ming Shuiyun said quietly.
With Qin Yueshi's misfortune preceding her, the way everyone looked at Ming Shuiyun changed imdiately. Even Qian Yuya knew that such a thin card was already being resold outside for over ten gold coins, and yet Ming Shuiyun managed to draw it on the first try, as Le Yuxin would put it, this was like drawing cards with one's lifespan!
"Do you want it, Shi-sis?" Ming Shuiyun offered the epic card to Qin Yueshi, "Take it."
Qin Yueshi, alas, co to feast!
Qin Yueshi stared longingly at "Blue Fla Slashing the River," and with great difficulty, declined, "No, I'll just have him print one later..."
"Don't look at , I can't handle this. Every epic card is registered, monitored jointly by the Shi Family, Qin Family, and the Statistical Departnt. We can't just print however many we want." Le Yuxin said calmly, "My foolish sister, if you want a card, just keep trying. How could soone who can't even give up money be worthy of a one percent miracle?"
"Alright, I won't disturb your al any longer..."
"Wait." Qian Yuya said, "We ca here to find you for a reason."
Just as Le Yuxin was about to speak, he suddenly felt a slight warmth on the sickle-and-hamr mark on the back of his right hand.
He turned to look at Ming Shuiyun, who nodded and took a paper out of her book bag.
"The next ga has started," she said.
Le Yuxin looked over and found it was an announcent addressed to all the students in the academy—
"Eye of Omniscience Title Contention Comnces"
Event Ti: September 25th, 14:00-17:00.
Unlock Condition: 10 coins
Event Description: During the event period, the "Eye of Omniscience Contest" will take place, allowing all enrolled students to participate in the exam and compete for titles based on their scores: "Eye of Omniscience," "Heart of Universal Learning," and "Seeker of Knowledge."
"Eye of Omniscience": Awarded only to the student who ranks first in the Omniscience Exam, the prize includes an 'Eye of Omniscience' pocket watch along with 5 academic credits. Displaying the watch grants a 100 coin al allowance at the two main cafeterias, updated daily, valid for one year.
"Heart of Universal Learning": Awarded to the students ranking second to tenth in the Omniscience Exam, the prize includes a 'Heart of Universal Learning' badge and 4 academic credits.
"Seeker of Knowledge": Awarded to students ranking eleventh to thirtieth in the Omniscience Exam, the prize includes a 'Seeker of Knowledge' certificate and 3 academic credits.
Note: Registration fees are non-refundable, even if you fail to achieve a ranking. If you're broke, how can you afford to compete for the Eye of Omniscience?
'The Seeker of Knowledge is so pitiful, the Heart of Universal Learning gets a badge, the Eye of Omniscience gets a watch, yet the Seeker of Knowledge only gets a certificate...' Le Yuxin thought to himself, looking up at the others, "What is this Eye of Omniscience exam...?"
"It's a comprehensive exam without a specific range," Qian Yuya said, "The questions are entirely random, covering everything from ancient to modern tis, tallurgy, farming, Combat Technique, Luminous Stone, astronomy, geography... what is tested is the breadth and depth of a student's knowledge."
"Sounds pretty interesting." Le Yuxin said, "But doesn't that make it difficult?"
"To say it's easy, it's definitely not easy," Qian Yuya said, "but to say it's difficult, it's also not hard."
Le Yuxin was slightly surprised—Qian Yuya had turned into a puzzle person too?
"If only one person takes it, then it would definitely be difficult," Qin Yueshi said, "but based on past years, during the Eye of Omniscience exam, students can choose to hand in their papers early and leave, taking the draft papers with them."
Choosing to leave early with the draft papers... Le Yuxin blinked, "Do you an to say that halfway through the exam, people outside can know the questions, and then..."
"Cheat."
Ming Shuiyun said decisively, "The Eye of Omniscience doesn't test knowledge, it tests the ability to cheat—this is an exam where you must cheat to win."
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