For a student, nothing is more painful than receiving a notification from your homeroom teacher just as you've gone on holiday and are ready to go out and have some fun.
Due to special circumstances, the holiday has ended, and classes will resume tomorrow!
Unfortunately, all the students at the Spirit Hall Academy found themselves immersed in this very agony.
Wang Zhong didn't know how others felt, but Xie Yue, Yan, and Hu Liena’s faces were practically dripping with resentment upon hearing the news.
Wang Zhong, however, was delighted. Although they were all in the same grade and class, the top student of the first year had the privilege of skipping class.
He even invited Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan to ditch class with him, only to be met with three furious glares.
"Honestly, seeing how much you all didn't want to go to class, I invited you to skip together. If you weren't going to agree, fine, but glaring at me like that?"
"Our friendship has truly faded! It's faded!"
By a campfire, Wang Zhong held a wooden skewer with a fish caught from a deep pool, carefully roasting it.
He spoke words that seemed like complaints, but his face was full of schadenfreude, a smile plastered on his face.
He slowly turned the skewer, ensuring the heat of the flames evenly roasted every part of the fish.
Roasting fish is a technical skill. If the heat is too high and not turned promptly, it's easy to get burnt or undercooked. If the heat is too low and turned too quickly, the fish meat will remain lukewarm for a long time, resulting in a strong fishy odor when cooked, greatly affecting the taste.
Only with just the right amount of heat and turning neither too fast nor too slow can one roast a fragrant, golden-brown fish.
Wang Zhong, who had always loved fish, was an expert at this, his skills honed to perfection.
The white, tender fish meat on the skewer gradually turned golden under the flames, its skin curling. A wonderfully sweet aroma wafted up, making Wang Zhong swallow repeatedly.
He loved fish, he could cook fish, and his skills were quite good.
When the entire fish turned golden, Wang Zhong, ignoring the intense heat, eagerly tore off a small piece and popped it into his mouth.
The tender, crisp texture, along with the unique freshness of the fish, flooded his taste buds. The flavor in that moment made Wang Zhong’s face light up with pure bliss.
"Indeed, fish is the most delicious thing in the world!"
Wang Zhong declared loudly, holding up the skewer.
But his declaration was soon broken by a clear, proud, and tender voice.
"You are Wang Zhong?"
The sudden voice froze Wang Zhong. He quickly turned to look at the source of the sound.
It was a bright girl wearing a pure white princess dress, with waist-length golden hair, skin as pale as snow, and a face as beautiful as a painting. She was as lovely as a porcelain doll.
The moment he saw the girl, Wang Zhong’s heart, which had been pounding, suddenly relaxed. His stiff body instantly returned to normal, and he let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Wiping a non-existent bead of cold sweat from his forehead, he said with lingering fear, "You scared me to death! I thought His Eminence the Pope had come again today!"
"It's truly strange. Before, apart from Nana occasionally visiting, no one knew this place."
"Why are people showing up one after another now?"
Wang Zhong was quite perplexed.
Qian Renxue's slender eyebrows furrowed. She was displeased that Wang Zhong was rambling and hadn't answered her question.
As the sole granddaughter of Elder Qian Daoliu, the adjudicator, she enjoyed immense favor and honor in the Spirit Hall. Throughout the entire Spirit Hall, everyone treated her with utmost respect.
"You are Wang Zhong!!"
Suppressing the slight irritation that had just arisen in her heart, Qian Renxue asked unhappily.
"Tsk!"
"Why is it that same question again! It's only been a few quiet days, and it's back."
He took a forceful bite of the roasted fish in his hand, glancing sideways at Qian Renxue, muttering as he chewed.
A faint line of darkness appeared on Qian Renxue’s smooth forehead, a gentle anger simmering in her heart.
"I'll ask again, are, you, Wang, Zhong!"
Each word was squeezed out as if through gritted teeth, one after another. Ignoring her words completely, did she really think she, the little princess of the Qian family, had no temper?
"Sigh."
Wang Zhong sighed almost in resignation. Even the roasted fish in his hand felt a little less appetizing.
"Yes, yes, yes! I am Wang Zhong, that is, if there's no one else with the same name at the Spirit Hall Academy!"
"What is it you need me for? Please just say it directly! I'm very busy!"
Qian Renxue pursed her tender lips slightly. Wang Zhong's perfunctory tone amused and annoyed her at the same time.
She had traveled all the way from the Spirit Hall to the Spirit Hall Academy just to see what was special about this person that her grandfather valued so highly. She also wanted to see what kind of person her grandfather described as being so important to her.
But before she could see anything special, she was starting to feel a sense of being looked down upon.
With her small hands clasped behind her back, Qian Renxue walked to Wang Zhong's side, taking small steps as she circled him. Her agile eyes scanned Wang Zhong from head to toe.
"What are you looking for on me!"
"I'm the same as you, two eyes, one mouth, two arms, two legs. There's nothing unusual about me."
"Except that I have Innate Level Ten Spirit Power and you're a girl while I'm a boy, we're all the same!"
Wang Zhong chewed on his fish, which had become almost tasteless, and sighed.
People say beauty is appetizing, but looking at Qian Renxue’s exquisitely carved, bright, and beautiful little face, Wang Zhong found it difficult to swallow even his favorite fish.
"Mm, I see."
"However, the differences between us are not just that you are a boy and I am a girl."
"I also have Innate Full Spirit Power, but my Innate Full Spirit Power is not what you think it is."
"I have Innate Level Twenty Full Spirit Power!"
Qian Renxue crossed her arms, her fair chin held high, and looked down at Wang Zhong with unconcealed pride.
"Ha!"
Utterly shocked, Wang Zhong dropped the roasted fish in his hand.
His dazed gaze swept over Qian Renxue with the look one would give an idiot. He absolutely did not expect this girl, who looked so well-dressed and adorable, to be someone who hadn't even read a book and loved to brag.
"Innate Level Twenty, you really dare to say that!"
"Have you even read any books! Were you skipping class when the teacher was teaching?"
"Innate full spirit power is only level ten! Without obtaining your second spirit ring, where would you get level twenty! Did you dream it!"
Wang Zhong scoffed at Qian Renxue's proud tone and claims.
What good was being good-looking if you didn't study and were still an idiot?
If she had even a little education, she wouldn't be spouting such an outrageous lie.