by Feng Yue
-
Unrest happened just as Ye Qingxuan had predicted. In actuality, it ended pretty quickly. After all, the executive office people were still wandering around, and Richard had not gone far. Even though the school did not forbid fighting, it was not allowed to get too out of hand in the auditorium.
Just as Ryan was about to move, Ye Qingxuan punched him in the eye and pummeled him, not giving him the chance to fight back.
The unrest ended quickly. They were pulled apart by members from the executive office and kicked out of the auditorium after being scolded.
Ye Qingxuan was totally unharmed, but Charles had helped him block some kicks while trying to stop them. Now, he sat beside the fountain pathetically like a defeated dog.
“Senior, don’t be sad. You were just wrong about some people, right?” Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder. “Look, I already helped you vent. Why are you still sad?”
“I just think it’s a pity.” Charles lowered his head and rubbed his nose. “I just wanted to help them. After all, they were still willing to talk to me. I thought they were my friends, but sadly…”
Ye Qingxuan fell silent. He patted Charles’s shoulders, not knowing what to say. After a long while, he suddenly asked quietly, “Senior, are you free tonight?”
“Huh?” Charles glanced at him in confusion.
Ye Qingxuan chuckled. Throwing an arm over his shoulder as Charles used to do, he said quietly, “How about we work hard this time and help you graduate first?”
-
It was a night without words.
Early morning the next day, a crowd gathered soundlessly in the campus square. Bai Xi yawned and swayed amongst the crowd. Her eyes were still dazed, not yet understanding what had happened.
After staying up until midnight the last night, she was dragged out by Ye Qingxuan in the morning. It felt like she had brushed her teeth and eaten breakfast while sleepwalking, but she was still not awake. Her hair was a mess. Some parts were sticking up like a bird nest. Her short hair had gotten long at some point and she finally looked like a little girl. But sadly, she was still the sloppiest type of girl.
“Even if you don’t put on makeup, girls should at least brush their hair in the morning.” Ye Qingxuan sighed and pulled her over. He turned her around so her back was to him and held down her head so she could not move. Then he pulled a comb from his pocket—don’t ask where he had gotten this from. He felt more and more like a single mother now.
Bai Xi sleepily let Ye Qingxuan do whatever. Quickly, her messy hair became neat. Then Ye Qingxuan pulled a hair tie from her pocket and collected her hair into a bun with experience. Good, now she was clean and simple.
“Done?” Bai Xi leaned against the youth lazily. She yawned and forced her eyes open to a slit. “Cousin.”
“Yeah?” Ye Qingxuan looked down at her.
“You feel like a sister…” Bai Xi looked up at him. “Can you be my sister?”
Whack. Ye Qingxuan flicked her forehead, forcing her awake. “No.”
The crowd rustled. The long-awaited principal finally appeared at the front.
185 Requiem
On the square, Maxwell stood amongst the crowd of silent professors with his top hat. He studied the students before him quietly.
“This group of kids is full of youthful energy,” he chuckled. “Every time I see them, I think that the change of eras might not be a bad thing.” Sydney glanced at him in confusion, but Maxwell whistled proudly. “These kids are at least luckier now. When I was their age, I didn’t have all these long-legged girls wearing short skirts to look at! Everyone had class in church. Men had to be gentlemen and girls had to be covered up. They could only show their faces and talk about God’s teachings. They were just like nuns…”
Sydney coughed softly and glanced at the girl standing quietly nearby, hinting at Maxwell to stop. This old b*stard did not think about the situation before speaking—he did not need to be full of praise, but he should not be acting like a gangster in public.
This time, the second princess had come to observe as the queen’s representative. “If she writes you down for being disrespectful before royalty you’ll be okay, but don’t drag us into it!” Sydney thought.
The girl stood away from the crowd in the light morning mist. Seeming as if she did not hear anything, she was cold and serene as she studied her surroundings. After a long while, she nodded and glanced at Maxwell. “Mr. Principal, is it almost time?”
“Thank you for waiting, Your Highness.” Maxwell took off his hat and tossed it to Sydney. “Let’s start now. The school anniversary should be livelier. How can it be so quiet?”
Crack! He raised his finger, and with the crack of his joints, he produced a clean and crisp snap. Behind him, a mighty sound came abruptly from the thin morning mist. The sound was not grating, but it was shocking. The bell!
The bell had rung. Above the school bell tower, the great gears began turning, moving the iron plates and hinges. The iron rods rubbed against each other and the machinery turned as the huge bell shook.
The first time the bell tolled, the mist began moving and the students gazed around in confusion. After the second bell, a wild wind suddenly blew in from the sky. It transformed into blurry ripples, spreading in all directions. The third bell caused a thick white fog to rush in from thin air, covering everyone’s eyes and swallowing the school whole.
Amidst the heart-stopping and glorious bells, a faint melody appeared. It was the gentle song of a clarinet. The melody was extremely tender. Beautiful like a dream, it was like a lullaby and embraced everyone gently. In an instant, everyone sank into a long daze, captured by the sweet melody.
Maxwell waved his hands and the fog promptly transformed and rippled like a tide. Submerged in the beautiful melody, he conducted the music notes and created waves in the aether sea. He closed his eyes and murmured, “God, please give me the world’s eternal peace.”
This was the music piece that Mozart, the King of Yellow, had carved here centuries ago. The notes had sunk deeply into the aether and became the enchantment that surrounded the academy. It was the Requiem!
Of the professors, some had already become immobile by the majestic power. Sydney grasped the top hat and stumbled back, his face pale. “The school board still needs to talk and coach…”
“Didn’t you all speak yesterday?” Maxwell’s chuckle came from afar. “All you have no substance and are filled with empty words. Where do you find so many things to talk about?”
Sydney’s face changed. He wanted to say something, but he found that he could not speak. In fact, he found that he had forgotten speech and did not know how to speak anymore. The Requiem enchantment had been activated. Who needed such annoying noises in eternal sleep?
-
In the mist, all the students looked around in confusion. The thick mist had covered everything. All objects began changing like a hallucination. Everything became unreal and distant. Even the people beside them slowly faded and disappeared. At first, some still did not know what to do. But soon, they heard a voice.
“Thirty minutes.” Maxwell’s low voice sounded in their ears. “The academy has already been transformed. You still have thirty minutes to look for a position. After thirty minutes, the trial will begin…”
Before them, the white mist dispersed and revealed the large school that slightly retained its original appearance. The graduating students who could not see each other froze for a second. Quickly, they rushed toward their previously scoped out locations and hurried to start the mimicry. The trial was about to begin!
-
Ye Qingxuan only remembered that white mist was spreading. He was stunned and when he processed everything, the mist was already dissipating. Everything had returned to stillness.
He had been tossed into an unfamiliar place unknowingly. Everyone around him was gone. They were probably thrown somewhere else by the Requiem enchantment. Everything in his vision had become unfamiliar.
&nb
sp; It was still the academy, but everything had been changed slightly. Some buildings were gone, other places had new buildings. Even the design and structure of buildings had changed. The basic shape was still familiar, but one could no longer see its original shape.
The Requiem’s power had shone into the material world from the aether world and changed everything’s appearance. It had changed soundlessly. In the distant parts of his vision, he could faintly see participating students looking for the graduated students who had completed mimicry without wasting time.
Charles should have found his place, right? If nothing went wrong, it should be easy to get past this round according to the plan they made last night….If Charles was not unlucky.
“Cousin…” Bai Xi shook her head forcefully. “Can you let down my hair?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry, I didn’t notice.” Ye Qingxuan quickly let go of the hair in his hands. When the mist had creeped in, he had subconsciously grabbed Bai Xi. Then he was in a daze until now. “Is this the Requiem?”
Unlike the cautious Ye Qingxuan, Bai Xi was much braver. She poked around and nodded. “Yeah, the effect is similar to Cloud Gate, but there are differences in the specifics. One is fine and detailed while the other is more general…but both are part of the School of Illusion’s field of ‘thought realization.’”
“Bai Xi, stop playing. The trial already started.” Ye Qingxuan pulled her off of some wild flowers. “Stop stepping on them. What if that flower is actually a big guy?”
“Huh? That’s gross.” Bai Xi got up in disgust and looked at him with uncertainty. “Should I examine it?”
With that, she pulled out her school badge and prepared to spend ten points to test the flowers, but Ye Qingxuan stopped her. “These aren’t mimicry. Don’t waste your points.”
Hearing that, Bai Xi happily squashed the flowers with her feet…One could only say that she was still a kid.
However, Ye Qingxuan was now worried about the trial’s increased difficulty. Technically, one could not use mimicry to become something smaller than oneself. But with the Requiem enchantment, a musician’s mimicry could cover an object’s original shape and project something to cover himself. So the difficulty level skyrocketed.
After three hours, there would be a change. Every graduating student had to pick a ballot and would be required to mimic what they chose. But that was for later.
If he thought of the worst case scenario, Ye Qingxuan would have to get all his points before the difficulty was lowered. Not just himself though. Bai Xi and Charles also had to get their points. They could not let the History department’s comprehensive score be too sad. Otherwise, the school board would give them a hard time again.
“Let’s just hurry and start looking.” Ye Qingxuan sighed. “Hopefully I can go to the library again this afternoon.”
“Going to read that woman’s books again?” Bai Xi side-eyed him. Looking elsewhere, she said quietly, “Professor is sad these days.”
Ye Qingxuan knocked her forward, slightly upset. “Don’t speak nonsense. I already told him. Anyway, I’m just going for lessons occasionally. He won’t mind.”
“Tsk.” Bai Xi was unhappy after her lie was seen through and muttered, “I think you’re going to get played and destroyed by that woman sooner or later and get abandoned.”
“Professor Lola and I are innocent.”
“Then how did you get her attention?” Bai Xi rolled her eyes and glared.
Ye Qingxuan instantly became speechless. After stammering, he could only say, “It’s just academic communication.”
It was not as if he could say, “Hey, remember the Professor? Right, that really dangerous and talented one. The Professor’s actually a girl and my dad’s student and now she’s really good to me…” It was even more unbelievable and even more unspeakable.
He sighed. “Just see it as fate.”
Bai Xi’s eyes changed and she stopped looking at him. With her head low, she walked forward and muttered, “Liar…”
The weak voice traveled in the wind. Ye Qingxuan froze. He tried to grab her, but she shook him away.
“Bai Xi?” He furrowed his brows and said quietly, “Stop it. Let’s talk about this when we get back, okay?”
“No need.” Bai Xi shook her head and did not look at him. “There’s nothing to talk about it. It’s just fate.”
These were Ye Qingxuan’s words thrown back at him. He felt a bit annoyed. “Bai Xi, why are you throwing a tantrum? Can’t you just say what’s on your mind?”
“Am I throwing a tantrum?” Bai Xi looked back with an expressionless face. “I just don’t want to hear you lie.”
“I…”
“You can just say that you like her or you need her help. It’s okay. Or you don’t have to say anything,” Bai Xi said as if talking to herself. “I don’t care who you’re with, right?”
Ye Qingxuan could not reply.
“I just don’t want to hear you lie.” She finally looked at Ye Qingxuan. Her eyes were slightly red. “Cousin, you’re lying to me now.” She spun around and sprinted, running away without looking back. The ribbon around her hair broke and fell to the ground. Her hair flew, like a beautiful flash of light fading in the wind. The light disappeared. Bai Xi disappeared too.
Ye Qingxuan was rooted to his spot. He wanted to run over, but he felt exhausted. He did not even have the energy to move his feet. He did not even apologize.
-
The youth sat onto a stone bench in the corner in fatigue and picked up the hair tie from the ground. Looking at the tear and two strands of short hair, he let out a bitter self-deprecating smile.
What was this? Getting what he deserved? Looking for trouble? Or some strange humiliation? Until now, he finally realized he had made a mistake. It had been a long time since Bai Xi threw a tantrum.
If he wanted to drink water, she would go boil water. If he did not have time, she would go walk the dog. If he stayed up late, she would sit on the side and read comics. She was quiet and truly an obedient little girl.
He had thought that girls just needed to be coaxed. He just needed to coax her a bit and everything would be okay. If he coaxed her, she would listen, right? But then reality slapped him in the face.
Stop joking, Ye Qingxuan. How can you use a lie to restrain her? She didn’t want to deal with you and didn’t want to get angry. She was just bearing your lie. But now, even the lie is useless. It broke, just like the ribbon you tied around her hair.
She had enough of your lies and chose to run. What can you do?
You can’t even catch up to her.
-
As time passed, Ye Qingxuan sat on the stone bench without moving. He just stared at the ribbon in his hands sadly.
Faint yells came from the distance, as well as excited cheers. Those were the noises made by participating students. But this small yard was silent like it belonged to another world. It was silent like the forgotten times.
After a long while, a pained voice sounded. “Hey…” The voice was filled with helplessness as it called quietly, “Hey?”
Finally, Ye Qingxuan looked down and saw the bench under his butt.
“Hey, can you move?” The long bench could no longer bear it and said in pain, “You’re sitting on my back.”
“… Sorry.” Ye Qingxuan scooted to the side. “I’m just sad and didn’t notice.”
The bench was speechless. Shouldn’t he get up before talking? Why was he still sitting?! But he could not do anything, other than let Ye Qingxuan keep sitting. After all, Ye Qingxuan had not reported him. It was not as if he could say, “Get up, you *ss. Try using your badge on me!” That would be suicide…
Seeing his sadness, the bench was silent for a long time and finally sighed. “Don’t be sad. Everyone’s like this when they’re young. You’ll do some things you’ll regret.”
“And then what?” Ye Qingxuan asked.
“And then?” The bench’s voice became bitter. “Then you’ll get used to it.”
Ye Qingxuan scratched his head. “That sounds worse.”
“Nothing you can do. That’s how the world is. There are so many misunderstandings, but only a few people who stay by your side.” The bench sighed. “That’s why you need to treasure people. If you don’t grab her, she’ll run off. And then, you’ll be by yourself. She’ll be alone too.”
Ye Qingxuan was silent.
“Go chase her back,” the bench said quietly. “She’s waiting for you to comfort her.”
“Yeah.” Ye Qingxuan rose and glanced at the bench. “I was going to sit a bit longer, but thanks for your advice. I won’t blow your cover.”
“…” The bench’s said in shock, “You already discovered me?”
“The flaws are too obvious. I saw through it easily.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head. “It’s really damp these days. Bugs and fungi are growing like crazy. But you don’t have a bit of moss or spider webs. Anyone would think something’s wrong.”
“I can’t believe…” The bench’s voice was troubled and so were his thoughts. He had thought that Ye Qingxuan was upset and just happened to sit on him. But this guy was just playing with him because he was sad? This instantly made him feel like his good intentions had been eaten by that vicious golden dog.
“Well then, bye Bench.” Ye Qingxuan left and waved without looking back. “Hope you pass this round.”
“…Bye,” the bench bid farewell weakly. After a long while, it sighed. “Hope you get that girl back.”
-
At noon, the sun was blazing. The energetic students had started becoming tired now. There were already people squatting in the shade, trying to catch their breath. All these people became insignificant in the large campus. Compared to the hunters, not many graduating students had been found.
The most tragic thing in life was that there were many wolves but only a bit of meat. And…the meat could run.
Actually, it was not the first time Ye Qingxuan saw the following scene: a tree running for his life and a cluster of people behind him, flashing their badges wildly. With howls and wails the entire way, it was too tragic to look at.