Chapter 166: Complex Classmate Relationships
“So this is what you call a celebration meal?” I looked at the spread of dishes on the table, and while I wouldn’t say it was too bland, it was… difficult to describe.
“Well… the budget is limited, the budget is limited!” Annie said somewhat sheepishly.
“What budget? Don’t we contestants have reimbursement limits? Are you not using those?” I looked at the few dishes and felt my appetite dwindling.
“Ah? What reimbursement limit?”
“You can’t be serious! Contestants can claim reimbursement for expenses during the New Student Competition based on their status! Didn’t Teacher Lina mention that before?” I explained, rubbing my forehead in exasperation.
“Really? Is that true?” At that moment, Annie widened her eyes, somewhat in disbelief, but still confirmed with me again, “Is it really reimbursable?”
“How could I possibly lie to you about this? Hurry up and order some better dishes.”
I picked up the chopsticks next to me and poked at the vegetables in front of me, genuinely curious why Annie didn’t know about asking someone out to eat; it felt rather sad.
After all, she had just spent quite a while begging for this, which made me worry about her current financial situation.
If her financial situation was dire, why would she insist on treating me to a meal?
Was it just to build a relationship with me, and then… to help keep her classmates in line?
“Annie, can I ask, is your financial situation not looking too good?”
“Eh? Well… you noticed it… I’m sorry, it seems a bit too obvious, even though I don’t have much money left and insist on treating you…”
“Don’t your family send you money?”
“I don’t have a family.”
“Uh… then what about familiar friends?” I was momentarily taken aback by Annie’s words, then awkwardly asked about something else.
“I don’t have friends either. Before entering the Witch Academy, friends were still too extravagant for me…”
“I’m sorry for saying something that kills the mood in this situation. Since this meal can be reimbursed, let’s order something nice! Waiter! Extra orders!”
With Annie’s shout for extra orders, it seemed she briefly cast aside her worries; after all, getting something for free tends to brighten one’s mood.
Once the sumptuous dishes were served, Annie finally revealed a joy and satisfaction she hadn’t shown before, as if she were finally tasting the treatment that came with being class leader.
During our conversation, I learned some of her basic information. After all, it was quite normal to chat while eating.
Rather than saying it was a conversation, I seemed to be her unilateral sounding board, a friend she could vent to. Although it had only been a short time since the semester began, it was clear Annie had faced a lot of setbacks.
She had entered the Witch Academy with great joy, thinking the atmosphere would be harmonious since it was all girls, but it had instead become rife with manipulation and threats.
“Sister Xiao Han, what should I do? I don’t want this, but now it feels like there’s no turning back. I never wanted to be the class leader, but because of a moment’s greed, I walked down a path of no return. I can’t imagine how I would exist in the class without the status of class leader and the resources that come with it. All I want is a normal college life…”
“Don’t worry, everything will pass.” All I could do was keep offering meaningless words of comfort; after all, missteps often lead to complicated consequences.
“Each day feels like walking on a tightrope. My advisor is in charge of several classes, so she won’t manage to help me, yet she constantly emphasizes team spirit, which I simply can’t achieve…”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry…”
I sighed along with her; Annie sounded like she was speaking non-stop after a drink, even though we were just having non-alcoholic beverages.
“It will get better. If you feel something is wrong, then boldly question it. That so-called team spirit doesn’t necessarily require obedience. When an individual’s strength surpasses that of the group, the collective becomes a shackle for the strong. It all depends on how you choose to respond. When you are strong enough—strong enough that only your voice matters in the entire group—then wouldn’t that also be a form of team spirit?”
“What… is that twisted logic?”
“Twisted logic? So what if it’s twisted? Why are you so sad now? Isn’t it because of other people’s twisted logic? You became class leader by conforming to the class’s will, as a result of the lottery, and you rightfully deserve it! Isn’t that akin to announcing, ‘Commanded by heaven, may it last long’?”
“What ‘may it last long’? What is this jabbering from ancient times?” At this moment, Annie burst into laughter at my words.
“That’s the way it is; good people can be bullied. Since they choose to isolate you, why aren’t you preparing to isolate all of them by yourself? How can you not hold them accountable for their isolation?”
“Nonsense and bias can easily make one lose their way. While they continue to focus on your identity as class leader, you should be looking towards a longer-term future. Don’t forget, this is a world of extraordinary beings. While strength may not be everything, it can solve most problems.”
“That’s right, you’re right! I need to get stronger! Sister Xiao Han, teach me the secret to becoming strong! You must have your own methods, right?” Annie dropped her chopsticks and grabbed my hand.
“Ah? Annie, don’t do that! We girls shouldn’t be this close!” I quickly pulled my hand away.
“I’m sorry, I got a bit too excited! Anyway, thank you for dining with me, and for… telling me about the reimbursement!”
“I’m happy today, so I’ll go prepare for the afternoon competition.”
“Yeah, take your time preparing! I heard the rewards for the top-ranked students this time are quite generous, so you need to work hard!”
“I will!”
I gently nodded; someone filled with hope wouldn’t easily give up, would they? But there was nothing I could do about it other than hope she wouldn’t run into me and Tan Han in the afternoon.
After putting down my chopsticks, I was ready to leave, but just as I was about to bid farewell to Annie at the door, she was stopped by someone at the entrance.
It seemed she had run into an acquaintance.
“Hey? Our class leader is still able to have a leisurely meal here? I remember contestants were supposed to be provided with lunch boxes?”
“Where I eat is none of your business, right?” Annie glared at the person in front of her, her tone taut with irritation.
As the tension built between the two, I stepped forward.
“Annie, what’s going on? Who is this person?” I noticed the tall girl in front of Annie and recognized they weren’t on good terms, so I moved to her side to support her.
The opponent had a single-digit magic source and possessed a spellbook; she was likely a new student. However, she didn’t seem to be the class leader. A non-class leader with access to a magic source and spellbook was quite capable.
“Xiao Han… I’m sorry, this is a matter within our class; I didn’t mean to involve you,” Annie said apologetically.
“It’s okay. But since you say this is a matter of your class, is she your classmate?” I looked at the girl before me, who carried a hint of defiance in her gaze. Upon meeting my eyes, she seemed to be taken aback, then her expression changed as if she’d realized something.
“You! You’re that Explosive Witch!”
“Don’t call me the Explosive Witch, I have a name.”
I felt a bit awkward at being referred to as the Explosive Witch since there were quite a few witches called that; it diminished my uniqueness, especially since I wasn’t someone who specialized in explosive spells.
However, I couldn’t quite recall her, and I was more interested in the figure behind her, who looked somewhat familiar.
I turned my head a bit more to get a clearer look.
“That… is… Yang Yuelan? Um, this seems to be a misunderstanding…” The shift in the girl’s attitude was quite noticeable; she seemed like someone who could bend or break, knowing whom to provoke and whom not to.
If all of Annie’s classmates were like her, I wouldn’t mind Annie leveraging my name to rally some support.
Forming cliques isn’t something anyone can avoid, but at the moment, Annie’s only clique consisted of herself.
“Um, my name is Feng Chengyin. Miss Yang Yuelan, are you here looking for my sister? This is my sister, Feng Yuzhen. She’s too shy, I’m sorry, she’s a little anxious.” Feng Chengyin noticed my gaze drifting to the person hiding behind her, so she quickly turned and nudged the timid girl forward.
“Feng Yuzhen…” I raised an eyebrow. She was lowering her head and didn’t dare to meet my eyes, definitely a shy girl, but her sister seemed to be her polar opposite.
I knew Feng Yuzhen well; she was a student in Class 14. When I first arrived, I had mistakenly thought I was the first one there, but it turned out she had arrived first, quietly standing in the back without speaking.
“Feng Yuzhen, what a surprise to see you here,” I said with a gentle smile.
“Yuzhen, say something… Um, Miss Yang Yuelan, do you know my sister?”
Feng Chengyin seemed a bit surprised, and even Annie beside us looked stunned, not knowing what was going on.
“Feng Yuzhen is also a student of Class 14, so she’s my classmate.” I gave a simple introduction. Shouldn’t this sister have known her sister was in class 14?
Since I was also in class 14, couldn’t she have connected the dots?
However, it seemed that after I revealed my connection with Yuzhen, she became even more restrained.
“What? Yuzhen, why didn’t you tell me something so important?”
“Isn’t the problem on your side? Shouldn’t this be your responsibility as her elder sister?” I interrupted Feng Chengyin’s inquiry to Yuzhen; clearly, extroverts naturally overshadow introverts.
“Feng Yuzhen~ If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can contact me. As your class leader, I will help you.” I finally sighed and said this to Feng Yuzhen, mainly to give her some leverage against her sister.
Having a sister like this could be quite a burden, right?
Though I also understood that for introverted people, they probably wouldn’t actively seek help from others to resolve their difficulties; they would bear it silently themselves.
But I said this for Feng Chengyin to hear; as for whether she understood… I wouldn’t be giving her too many friendly looks.
But now the complexity of our four-way relationship had grown; Feng Chengyin might end up being the fool in the end.
The class leader she’s targeting is my friend, her introverted sister is my classmate, and I am a person she cannot provoke at this stage. From her perspective, this was indeed despairing.
“Well, let’s meet again if fate allows.” After bidding farewell to Feng Yuzhen, I turned to Annie, “Let’s take our leave; the afternoon competition is coming up.”
“Ah? Okay.” Annie quickly responded, flashing a victorious smile at Feng Chengyin before following me out.
At that moment, the awkward Feng Chengyin was holding back her anger, but she didn’t dare vent it out loud. She had only intended to take her sister around the academy to experience the lively atmosphere and help her overcome her introverted nature.
She hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.
“d*mn it, that Annie is actually friends with her? If I were the class leader, I could certainly get in touch with her too…” She finally voiced her unwillingness but soon realized she still had her sister with her. “Yuzhen, why didn’t you tell me something so important like the fact that you’re classmates with Yang Yuelan?”
“I mentioned I was in Class 14…” Feng Yuzhen quietly responded after a moment of silence.
“Right… missed opportunities… tsk, never mind that. Let’s eat first; in the afternoon, we’ll go to the arena and let you experience a crowded place. Yuzhen, you really need to work on that shy demeanor of yours.”
“Can… we not go?” Feng Yuzhen quietly pleaded.
“But sister has already paid for the entrance fee, even if it’s just a second-hand transfer. Think of it as cheering for your class leader! You need to work hard to build a good relationship with your class leader too.”
“I… will try…” Feng Yuzhen sat on her seat with her head down, but only she understood how improbable that was.
At that moment, after accompanying Annie out of the restaurant, I stayed with her until we reached the viewing area of the arena.
A little time had passed since midday.
The morning competition had concluded, and the victors had been divided into two hundred winners, along with the emergence of the top hundred new students.
The defeated hundred would continue their battles in the afternoon, split into two categories, after which they could leave with their rewards. The ranking rewards for these two categories were different, but the rewards within the same category were the same, with no further fine differentiations.
The focus remained on the top hundred rankings; the higher the rank, the clearer the rewards.
Of course, in order to prevent a recurrence of the first session’s incidents in the new student competition, what was originally a random pairing had now turned into something akin to a dark horse operation.
Naturally, such dark horse operations shouldn’t be widely publicized, but as the competitions progressed, a discerning eye could still pick up on the clues.
That was to say, higher-ranked students would never face each other, leading to frequent occurrences of overpowering battles in the morning.
Weaker students would naturally be eliminated more quickly.
As for the afternoon competition, it soon kicked off, starting with a detailed announcement of the match arrangements, followed by batches of competition.
The afternoon competition was much easier for me, probably on par with Chen Yu from the morning; I simply exchanged a few moves and cast a few spells, and I didn’t even have time to gain anything from the fight before my opponent surrendered.
Their goal was clear; after casting a few spells, they conceded at lightning speed, which hardly qualified as a valid competition.
Thus, this person seemed to be the first who bounced off the field happily after facing me, and even in the Grand Brawl, none of my opponents had been this relaxed; none had escaped injury unscathed thanks to the referee’s quick response.
“Sister Xiao Han~ Hey? Sister Xiao Han, are you leaving early?” At this moment, Annie bounced over to me cheerfully, clearly in a great mood.
“Yes, but congratulations on your victory in the afternoon match! I told you your celebration at noon was too early, right?”
“Hehe~ I didn’t expect to win like this, it’s a bit surreal. Um, Sister Xiao Han, aren’t you staying to watch more?”
“Yeah, I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t waste time here.” I nodded. Rather than spending time memorizing basic knowledge about these runes, I’d better head back to the lab and consult Teacher Ji.
Besides, I wanted Teacher Ji to help me incorporate the magic sources into my body; otherwise, seeing so many magic sources was making me too tempted.
Moreover, the more magic sources I had, wouldn’t that just speed up my Witch Transformation Progress? I felt my body really needed to undergo that transformation. Although I hadn’t had the magic sources for long, I could feel that the changes during this short period surpassed those from when I first entered school.
It got to the point where I’d soon need to upgrade to a larger size.
It was hard to imagine how much change over seven hundred magic sources would bring?
Of course, the witch transformation was merely a bonus; mainly, I wanted to understand that Earth Vein Crystal, which was a name I had temporarily given it. I really didn’t know how to use it; it was better to handle it under Teacher Ji’s supervision.
“Alright… then see you later~ Tomorrow!”
“Yeah, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
