Chapter Thirty-Five: News of the Crown Prince

The preliminary round ended as suddenly as it had begun, without the slightest warning. The next round would not take place for another three days, so after leaving the venue, everyone returned to their dormitories instead of practicing further.

“How did the preliminaries go today?” Back in the dorm, the first thing everyone wanted to know was the outcome of the competition.

Feng Shang immediately burst out laughing. “I advanced without a hitch!”

All eyes turned to him in anticipation.

He began weaving his story with wild imagination. “You have no idea—it was a battle for the ages, earth-shattering, enough to make ghosts weep!”

He paused dramatically. The others, hanging on his words, pressed him, “Come on, tell us! How was it so earth-shattering?”

“Cough, cough!” Feng Shang faked a few coughs. Peng quickly handed him a cup of water, which he sipped before continuing, “You just don’t know how strong the other side was. But as soon as I stepped onto the field and unleashed my ultimate move—the Storm—they were so terrified they nearly wet themselves!”

“Really?” His classmates looked at him with skepticism.

Fang Zhe stood up and said coldly, “Who would actually believe anything he says?”

Hearing this, Feng Shang stood up with a laugh. “Alright, the truth is, we hadn’t even started when the other side simply forfeited and left!”

“Ugh!” With that, everyone dispersed in a chorus of disappointment.

“I just wanted to get everyone excited!” Feng Shang realized he might have exaggerated too much and tried to defend himself.

“If you have so much time to make up stories, you’d do better to think about what to do next,” Fang Zhe said, climbing onto his bed and covering his head.

“That’s true. Whoever’s left is definitely no pushover,” Feng Shang mused, but unable to come up with any ideas, he turned to ask, “So, what do you think we should do next?”

But Fang Zhe was already asleep. Feng Shang turned to Han Tianyue, who, after a moment’s thought, shook his head. “I haven’t figured it out yet.”

With no good ideas, Feng Shang flopped onto his bed and fell asleep as well.

“Wen Pin, you’re our elder brother—can you tell me about Crown Prince Mao?” When everyone was asleep, Han Tianyue gently woke Wen Pin to ask.

Half-awake, Wen Pin muttered, “She’s gone.”

“Gone where?” Han Tianyue pressed urgently.

Now fully awake, Wen Pin hurriedly replied, “I—I don’t know anything. I’m going back to sleep!”

Before Han Tianyue could ask further, Wen Pin pulled the covers over himself and pretended to sleep.

Han Tianyue realized there was no point in pushing further, but from Wen Pin’s drowsy words, he deduced that the Crown Prince had already left the school.

“Could it be that the Crown Prince left because of my departure, overcome by grief?” Han Tianyue shook his head. “She’s not the kind to be ruled by emotion. It can’t be that simple.”

But he knew he wouldn’t get anywhere by thinking about it alone, so he too buried his head under the covers and fell asleep.

“Crown Prince, Crown Prince!” In his dreams, Han Tianyue couldn’t help but call out her name. Fang Zhe, on the next bunk, heard him and sat up, watching Han Tianyue. All along, no one had mentioned the Crown Prince in front of Han Tianyue. “Are we being too cruel to him?”

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