Chapter 39: Given a Break
In the gaze of encouragement from Māomao, Qīng míng, and Sī Yino, I opened the door and walked in, glancing at the quiet Mò míng. I sat down next to him slowly. He slightly flinched, his silvery hair trembling a little in the sunset, his emerald-green eyes focused ahead.
“I don’t blame you,” I said through my phone.
“No, you should blame me,” he replied.
“I really don’t blame you.”
“You must blame me!” His voice became intense. He tightly clenched his hands together, “This is all my fault! My responsibility! So, I’m reflecting on it.”
“It’s me who didn’t summon you~~~”
“That’s also my responsibility! It’s because you didn’t trust me.”
I stiffened as I looked at him, just as Maomao had said. Mo Ming had taken all the blame upon himself. I turned my head and stole a glance at Maomao and the others hiding behind the door, shrugging my shoulders in helplessness. What should I do?
Maomao raised a fist and silently mouthed to me, “Go for it!”
Qing Ming also nodded emphatically at me, “Yeah!”
Si Yino and Xiao Bai stared at me with wide eyes. I could only steel myself and turn my head back. Honestly, I felt like Mo Ming and I were on different wavelengths. Our words never seemed to align, and I couldn’t enter his world.
I rested my chin on my hands and sighed, “Sigh… Don’t blame yourself.”
“But that’s absolutely impossible!”
“Then I command you not to blame yourself!” I sat up angrily, and only then did Mo Ming turn his head to face me with his vivid green eyes. “But I can’t be forgiven for failing to protect you.”
“That’s your fault! Who asked you not to help me normally?” I couldn’t hold back my frustration any longer.
He blinked his green eyes and looked at me earnestly, “I can’t let you become dependent on me.”
“So what?” I spread my hands in his direction. “I don’t depend on you, so of course, I wouldn’t think of you.”
He froze, his green eyes beginning to lose focus.
I rolled my eyes at him in exasperation and continued, hands still propping up my cheeks. “It’s you who’s unwilling to blend in with us. You always look down on us from above, and have you ever greeted anyone as you come and go? When they greet you, do you respond? If you want me to think of you without relying on you, shouldn’t you be our friend?” I turned to face him again. “That way, even if I forget about you for a moment, they will remember you and remind me!”
He stared at me, dumbfounded. I looked at him in frustration. “Only friends are truly remembered.” I pointed at my heart. “All this master and servant stuff, I’m not used to it. Xia Xiaolan has never had servants, and I don’t even rely on my own father. Should I rely on you? Anyway, if you want me to remember you, start by blending in with us, the bunch of misfits, okay?” I raised my hand in an “OK” gesture.
He gazed at me, his hand slowly forming the “OK” sign as well. I smiled, then punched his chest with my fist. “There you go, is today’s performance by your ‘master’ satisfactory?”
He blinked his green eyes and slowly touched his chest, then turned his face away, lost in thought.
“Don’t push him any further…” Suddenly, Jiang Yan’s voice came. I immediately turned around and saw Jiang Yan leaning against the doorway, a blood bag in his mouth. “He always resides in Wang Palace, and the people there prefer to be alone.”
I looked at Jiang Yan’s pale face and said, “Senior Jiang Yan, I’m sorry…”
“Sorry for what?” Jiang Yan smiled. “Without you, how could we have become famous today? Isn’t that right, guys?” He raised his hand, and immediately, Qing Ming, Si Yino, and Maomao all exchanged high-fives with Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan withdrew his hand and glanced at me. Holding a blood bag in his mouth, he walked briskly to sit beside me, looking ahead. Everyone emerged one by one and sat behind us.
“I always thought that protecting everyone from harm was the right thing to do, but now I realize that withdrawing actually makes everyone weaker,” Jiang Yan said while holding the blood bag, his gaze fixed forward. He placed his hand on his shoulder, giving a faint smile. “Though everyone got hurt today, it’s the first time I’ve seen everyone so happy, so…” He turned to me. “Xiao Lan, thank you. You’ve restored our confidence!”
I smiled and immediately spread my arms wide. “So… how about a love-filled group hug?”
Jiang Yan blinked.
“Sure thing!” Maomao was the first to hug me. Then, Si Yino quietly leaned against my shoulder. I reached out and hugged Jiang Yan on one side and Mo Ming on the other. Mo Ming froze momentarily, then a pair of long arms embraced all of us – it was Qing Ming.
“Hugs.” Qing Ming unexpectedly embraced all of us.
“Ah~~~ Too tight~~~” Maomao’s yell echoed beneath the glow of the sunset.
Classes in the Immortal Realm were strange, but then again, it’s the Immortal Realm, so strange is normal. For instance, this time our “Bunch of Misfits” group earned credits in a team combat exercise, which meant we got some free time, a break from our studies.
I’ll be darned, this kind of study schedule, where it’s like three days of leisure and two days of work, suits me perfectly.
The break would end after other groups concluded their post-mortem analysis of their failures. In other words, as long as there’s one group not analyzing correctly, we’ll keep getting breaks.
Oh, how splendid~
During this period, our video of the team battle had the highest view count again, resulting in another hefty reward!
However, everyone decided to give the reward to me because I’m the only mortal among them. They suggested I buy some good equipment to use in future battles. Um… I think they’re worried about me dying.
I sat at my desk, opening my notebook, while Mo Ming sat cross-legged beside my chair. He was officially applying to the school as my guardian, right beside me. This was a completely official matter.
I don’t even know who suggested that Jiang Yan should stay by my side, as if they were worried I’d forget him. As a result, he’s practically hanging from my belt, never leaving my side.
Even though everyone told me to buy equipment, I can’t just buy things randomly. I need to research carefully, and the reward money is limited, so I can’t be reckless.
I opened my phone, and the campus website had automatically loaded up. Immediately, a picture of someone wearing a mask caught my attention – it was Fu Su’s profile picture!
He was wearing a mask and had taken a bunch of selfies.
This conceited and narcissistic guy.
Below the selfies, the comments were already overflowing.
“Ah~~~~ Prince Fu Su looks so handsome with a mask on~~~~”
“Honey~~~ I prefer you with a mask on——”
“I can’t take it anymore! As a mask enthusiast, I’m setting this as my screensaver!”
Geez, a bunch of devoted fans and brainless followers.
Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph…
My sinister laughter burst out uncontrollably.
Mo Ming turned his face upward next to me, looking puzzled.
I let my phone drop a bit for him to see. “Look, I’ve infected Fu Su too. Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph…”
Mo Ming glanced at it and suddenly widened his vivid green eyes. “Couple’s masks!” He spoke with a hint of murderous intent in his eyes.
“What couple’s masks?” I took my phone back to look, and I realized the comments below read:
“Don’t do it~~~~ Lord Fu Su, please don’t wear matching masks with that faceless freak~~~~”
“Yeah, exactly! Prince Fu Su, can’t you pick a different mask? This style is the same as that faceless guy’s!”
Only then did I notice that Fu Su’s mask was black. “Oh… right, when I attacked Fu Su, everyone who was watching got disgusted and left, so no one saw it. Now, probably no one knows that Fu Su’s face is disfigured. The therapeutic masks are all the same style, with no choices.”
“Seems like it.” Mo Ming’s murderous intent subsided, and he glanced down at his own phone, slightly lowering his face.
I looked at his photo with a mischievous smile and took a picture of myself. I directly posted it in the comments below his post, saying, “Why are you wearing the same mask as me? Is your face disfigured too?”
Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph…
I felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction. I finally taught that arrogant guy a lesson!
