by Feng Yue
But one girl paced uneasily in the street outside the Music History department. As if there was something at the end of the road that made her frightened, the girl with a ponytail stood at the intersection and hesitatingly looked back, not daring to walk further.
“Come on! Shirley, you can do it,” Shirley murmured as she gripped her clothes, encouraging herself. Her face, pale with fear, calmed down gradually. She hid her panic carefully and transformed into a look of seriousness. Feeling calmer, she let out a breath and clenched her fists as she stared at the Music History building. Her eyes looked heavy and determined as if she was gazing at her mortal enemy, the root of all evil.
Shirley was one of the students who had just entered the school, but because of some physical reasons, she had to leave and recuperate for a period of time just after enrolling. She had returned two days ago. But when she came back, she found that all had changed.
The academy that had been harmonious, pleasant, and gentlemanly, but was now full of tension. Students treated each other like enemies. The news that someone was injured in a duel came every day. The fact that the mannered elites were humiliated by commoners saddened Shirley. But when she tried to mediate the fights, she would receive taunting gazes from the commoners. Some people would advise Shirley not to care about these matters, while others laughed at her, saying that she was just an ignorant and naïve little girl. She was not like that!
All the servants knew that Miss Shirley was the most concerned about their sufferings. Every time she went downtown and saw beggars, she could not help but shed tears in sympathy and give them some money. Seeing their happiness at receiving money, Shirley would feel the real meaning of the elites’ existence. As expected, the Blood of Glory existed to make Avalon better!
Her father and brothers all approved of her charity and kindness. They always said that commoners just did not know the rules, but if the elites guided them with kindness, everyone’s lives would be better. That made Shirley believe even more strongly about the importance of elites being role models.
But now everything had changed. The Academy was all messed up! It was no longer that warm and harmonious family she had imagined.
Shirley was worried and sad about this, and she tried to figure out what was going on. She heard the same name from everyone. The source of all this trouble, the synonym for evil, the culprit who made the academy into this—Ye Qingxuan!
“He’s a villain, Shirley! Do you understand? A villain!” Her cousin, Bart, was wounded badly. With a sad and indignant face, he waved his fist at her and said, “That d*mned Easterner is a savage who doesn’t know any rules. He not only stole our glory shamelessly, but also defeated Edmund with his dirty tricks and wounded him badly too.”
“That’s right!” the student next to his bed said resentfully. “It’s all because of that d*mned guy.”
“Don’t say his name!” another mentally weak student exclaimed. “Don’t mention the disgrace of the Academy, that Easterner!”
“Easterner? Where’s the Easterner?!” The sleeping Jon woke up in shock. Hearing the name, he shot up. “Come on, somebody help me up, I’m going to fight him! What are you doing? I’m going to fight him! Don’t stop me. I will… ” Before he could finish, he was cuffed by the nurse next to him. She shut his mouth and sent him to the emergency room. “Doctor, patient no. 06 is going crazy again!”
Shirley watched as brother Jon was taken away with tear-filled eyes. She felt pain and sadness deep in her heart. Why did it have to be this way? Cousin Bart, brother Jon, and everyone else were all very good people! Why did the guy do this to them?
The girl made up her mind. She was going to change this situation, change this brutal reality and save the endangered Royal Academy of Music. She would stand up bravely and become…a heroine!
Thinking of this, Shirley was suddenly full of courage. She continued walking down the path with her head held high, going toward the dark core of the Academy to look for the villain Ye Qingxuan.
Soon, she turned with a scream and crawled out of the path, hiding behind a statue and trembling. It was so scary! So Scary! This place was horrible…they had even raised a scary monster!
Just as she was trembling, the huge golden monster with a hairpin on its head walked past her at a calm and leisurely pace. Seeing her shaking, it opened its mouth in pride. “Woof! Woof woof woof!” it roared loudly, as if it was going to pounce.
“Ah!!” Shirley screamed. She collapsed onto the ground and did not move.
“Eh, what’s wrong with you? You’re just gonna stay there and not get up? You want to scam me?” Next to the big hairy monster was a girl with an unpleasant face, glancing down at her. “What, have you never seen a dog before?”
“I…I…” Cradling her head, Shirley cautiously lifted her eyes. She was stunned when she saw Bai Xi. “Are you that Easterner?”
“Huh, another challenger?” The girl with white hair pursed her lips and pointed behind her. “See that road? Go straight to the end and turn right.”
“Oh.” Shirley got up timidly, and gingerly kept a distance from that horrible monster. It was too big to even look at…How was that a dog? What a lie! She had had a dog before. How could dog grow so big? Her uncle once gave her a Chihuahua and it was only the size of her palm. This thing must be a demon. A demon!
At the thought that the Easterner was breeding demons in the academy, the timid Shirley suddenly felt a burst of anger. How dare he! No wonder so many students were so afraid of him!
Seeing that Bai Xi had left with that golden monster, Shirley took a deep breath and went on her way again. This time, she would stop the guy’s mischief! She held her head up and set foot on the path again.
Walking through the dense woods, treading on the withered leaves, enduring the buzzing mosquitoes, she finally saw an eerie building before her. Just after the towering woods, the dilapidated little building stood in the gloom. It was covered in moss and fissures, and emanated a ghastly chill. The cracks on the walls seemed to be a menacing smile.
Shirley felt her legs go weak suddenly, and had the urge to escape again. But soon, she finally found her goal—the one who turned the academy into this state!
Before the small building, the shining sun illuminated the stone bricks on the ground. In the genial sunshine, there was a spacious and comfortable sofa, and a cup of freshly squeezed apple juice on the table beside it.
A hand stretched out from the couch and the fingers snapped. The rune Frost immediately covered the cup with a layer of white frost. Then the cool juice was sucked into the vicious mouth with a straw.
On the couch was a lazy youth in a gaudy short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts. He lay on the couch, two naked feet peeking out. On his face was a pair of sunglasses and his hair shone in the sun like silver. His expression was leisurely and comfortable, and he just looked really bored as he enjoyed the summer sun. But….he did not look evil!
“No, no, Shirley, you have to be alert, not to be blinded by his appearance…” Shirley thought. Shirley rubbed her face hard, took a deep breath, and then slowly, seriously, walked toward the Eastern youth step by step.
There were no attacks, traps, or nets that fell from the sky as she walked. The Eastern youth did not rush up and tie her up either and do the embarrassing things that books often omitted. But Shirley still did not let her guard down. She finally went to the juvenile, looked down at him and asked with a trembling voice, “Excuse me… Are you Ye Qingxuan?”
-
In a daze, Ye Qingxuan felt a shadow cover him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw a nervous girl staring at him. She seemed to be staring at something scary—it was that kind of weird look.
Wait, was this another evil trick from the elites? Wait, it’s not a conspiracy of the aristocracy.
“Excuse me… Are you Ye Qingxuan?
Ye Qingxuan pulled down the sunglasses with a finger and raised his eyes, but he could not see anything other than her nervousness. After a long t
ime, he realized that he could not keep wasting time and he nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
Shirley’s face instantly paled. It was him! It was really him, that Eastern demon! Under that “aggressive” sight, her legs turned to jelly again. She almost fell onto her butt.
“No, Shirley, you can’t lose! You are the family’s pride! How could you fall here?” she thought. She took a deep breath and loudly challenged ‘the criminal’ in a trembling voice, “…Please don’t do this anymore!”
“…” Ye Qingxuan did not reply. There was a long silence. He looked at the little girl in confusion and began to wonder whether there was something wrong with her brain. But from Shirley’s perspective, he was angered by her fearless courage to challenge evil!
She was growing more and more afraid, but she still tried to look serious and solemn, and stared back. “You can’t lose, Shirley! Don’t surrender to the devil!” she thought to herself.
After a long awkward silence, Ye Qingxuan uttered in confusion, “Eh?”
“I mean, the …concertmaster thing.” Shirley finally opened her mouth and spouted the lines that she had prepared. “‘Cheating’ is a provocation to the rules of the Academy and it is despicable behavior against the spirit of chivalry! Becoming the concertmaster in this way is meaningless. Bullying students and other things can only prove that your mind is not sound! Why fight and kill? Isn’t it better to get along with each other harmoniously?”
“…Oh.” After a long time, Ye Qingxuan slowly nodded and said softly, “Can you stand to the left a little?”
“Huh?” Shirley was confused.
“You’re blocking the sun.”
154 The Beautiful Life of the Academy’s Disgrace 2
“You’re blocking the sun,” Ye Qingxuan stated. “This is when the sun’s at its best and time is precious. I haven’t been able to relax in such a long time. Can’t you not bother me like this? And also, I’m busy even though I’m the concertmaster. I beat four people today. If this continues, the hospital will run out of beds.”
Shirley froze, her face reddening. Angered by his nonchalant attitude, she pointed at the lazy youth, stammering, “You—you—you…don’t you feel any shame?!”
“No.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head. “Why do I have to feel shame? I’m the concertmaster, I’m the best! If I feel shame, then won’t the others have to commit suicide or something?”
“You—you…” Shirley was too angry to talk and even her eyes were red. “You’re just…low-class!”
“Oh.” Ye Qingxuan nodded lightly and went back to the sofa to sunbathe. He picked up the glass of juice and drank happily, smacking his lips. This was how life should be! This was how beautiful life should be! It was okay to be a bit low-class if he could enjoy this kind of life, right?
“So are you done?” He looked up at the girl who was close to tears and waved his hand, wanting her to leave quickly. “Tell the people who sent you that if they want to find trouble to come personally. There’s no point in bullying a girl.”
Shaking but trying really hard not to cry, Shirley glared at Ye Qingxuan. “I’m not going to admit defeat. No matter how much you bully me, I am not going anywhere!” But as she spoke, she could not control the tears anymore.
Just as she was about to cover her face and run, a gentle voice sounded behind her. “Are you okay?”
Shirley turned around and saw a handsome blonde youth. He gazed at her caringly and, seeing her red eyes, he offered her a handkerchief and a bright sunny smile. “Don’t cry. Wipe your tears. Miss, don’t waste your beauty and youth on tears.”
Shirley stared at him blankly. She took in the handsome youth’s warm smile, his bare chest, the gentle cascade of hair, and the words “I lost, I’m a pig” on his chest. The sun shone down warmly on his perky and lively…Butt, butt, butt…
Shirley looked down at the naked man and her shoulders shook. Her mouth fell open but her mind was blank. In the end…“Wah!!!” With a scream, Shirley covered her face and fled.
“…”
“…”
The two boys stood rooted to their spot, utterly confused.
“She left?” Charles asked softly.
“Yeah, she left.” Ye Qingxuan nodded. “She was probably scared of the naked pervert.”
“That’s bull! I’m wearing boxers!” Feeling wronged, Charles pointed at the skintight nude-colored boxers innocently. “Look, it even has my favorite elephant on it…”
“Wearing that is worse than going nude!”
“…” Charles gave him a glance that said, “You’re just jealous of me.” He pushed Ye Qingxuan off the sofa and picked up the juice, freshly-pressed from the grapes he had taken from the academy’s backyard. “Junior, get me some ice!”
Annoyed, Ye Qingxuan pointed his finger to plaster Charles’s face with a rune effect, but Charles expected it and dodged it easily, cackling. “Aha, you missed! You’re still too amateur!”
Ye Qingxuan continued to sunbathe.
Charles layed down as well, getting into a comfortable position. They sprawled on the sofa like dead dogs, letting the sun fall on them. At times, they would raise their juices in unison. Throwing their heads back and taking large gulps, they let out satisfied sighs. Life was too beautiful!
“Sad that we don’t have money. Otherwise, we could dig a swimming pool!” Charles sighed. “We’re at the height of summer. Look at Old Phil. He always goes to the fountain in the School of Royal Musicians for a quick bath. It’s so embarrassing.
“But don’t worry, Junior. Wait until I get this research done and we’ll be rich! We’ll have more than enough money for a pool. We can even hold a bonfire party! All the junior brothers and sisters will wear bikinis and sit by the pool. And when you come out, they’ll call sweetly, ‘Senior Qingxuan…’”
Ye Qingxuan retched. “The girls are okay but why are the guys wearing bikinis too?!” Seeing that Charles was ready to explain, Ye Qingxuan quickly cut him off. He really did not want to know why guys would wear bikinis…
“Senior, what are you researching now?” he changed the subject.
“I found the mystery hidden in material!” Charles’s eyes brightened at the mention of his own research. “According to my hypothesis, all material is made from different microstructures. Even the structure of steel and copper are extremely different.
“We can perform an experiment and have these two dense materials crash against each other at a set speed in an environment with high temperature and pressure. The moment the structures break will create a really powerful energy, even if the material is smaller than a grain of sand.
“Using my calculations, I created an equation. To put it simply, it’s e=m…ah, whatever, you don’t care about this stuff. Just know that I’m working on something great in the basement!”
“No, don’t!” Ye Qingxuan jumped up in fright. “If you’re going to do anything, go to the backyard of the School of Revelations. Don’t mess with this house anymore. Look at how sad it already is. If you make something explode and it collapses, we won’t have anywhere to sleep!”
“Aww, you should support my research…”
“Support your *ss!” Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. “Go ask the Professor if he supports you.”
Charles shrugged and glanced toward the library. He froze when he did not see the figure behind the window. “Where did he go?”
Ye Qingxuan pursed his lips. Lying on the sofa, his nostrils to the sky, he forced out, “The school board!”
“The qualifications audit again?” Charles furrowed his brows. “Aren’t they tired by now?”
“Who knows?” Ye Qingxuan said lightly. “Maybe they’re bored. Anyway, it’s not the first time they’ve made things hard for us.”
“They’re not just making things hard for us. They act like we’re lice in their hair and the disgrace of the academy. They’d love it if they could kick us out.” Charles shrugged. “But don’t worry. Professor is retired from the military. The school board c
an’t do anything to him without Principal Maxwell’s permission. They can just reduce our budget and insult us.
“Budget thief, unaccomplished and useless, weird clowns…the money we get every year is less than the other schools’ cafeteria allowance! They just can’t get over the fact that we don’t kiss their *sses.”
“What a group of idiots.”
“Yeah, a group of idiots.” Charles nodded. He picked up the juice and clinked glasses with Ye Qingxuan. Downing the drink, he felt much better. But his eyes grew curious after he gazed around. “Where are they?”
“Who?” Ye Qingxuan asked.
“The challengers,” Charles said. “Didn’t they swarm over like flies when they heard that you showed up again? I thought they wouldn’t give up until they took the concertmaster title from you. How come only a girl came to challenge you today?”
“Oh, those people.” Ye Qingxuan squinted his eyes as he enjoyed the sun. “There was probably a dozen challengers today.”
“Huh? Where are they? How come I don’t see any of them?”
Ye Qingxuan grinned. “They all lost.” Under the blazing sun, the youth hummed Bolero’s melody and the faint water vapor around his fingertips transformed into thread that extended in all directions.
With a snap of the finger, the aether began to ripple vaguely. Before them, various lost figures emerged from the shadowy forest. The ones that were bent on beating the disgrace of the academy and restoring the glory of pure blood now looked bedraggled and travel-worn.
Their pristine school uniforms and gold-lined jackets were torn by the thorns and branches. Their faces were covered in cobwebs and dust and their eyes were terrified. This was a forest that they would never be able walk out of. They were like insects stuck in an endless loop. They would walk down the paths that seemed to be familiar and follow every branch, but would never be able to find the way out. They were lost in utter darkness.