Chapter 431: The Child of Fortune and Their Supporters
“This…,” the young girl was suddenly stumped by my question and didn’t know how to respond. Eventually, she just stammered, “It’s just… I heard that Sister Xiao Han, you voluntarily gave up your identity as the Child of Fortune, right? You weren’t originally the Child of Fortune, but you earned the world’s recognition through your efforts! Why would you give up such a great opportunity?”
“Oh…” Hearing the young girl ask me this, I pondered for a moment and roughly pieced it together, “That’s right. I destroyed the Fortune Seed with my own hands. Also, there’s something I need to clarify: my efforts were not to gain the world’s recognition. I strive for myself, understand? There are no free benefits in this world.”
“But… without the Fortune Seed, how will you compete for the world’s ownership later?”
“Why am I competing for the ownership of the world? And where did you hear this from?” I looked at her in confusion and then shifted my gaze to others. At this moment, Hong Chanyi seemed hesitant to speak, while Dongli Yiren and Guan Qiuling had complex expressions. Even Yu Yatian looked slightly curious.
“What kind of looks are you giving me? Did you impose some strange setting on me without me knowing anything?”
“No… We didn’t originally plan to ask this, but since we did… Actually, we are a bit curious about this question. Sister Xiao Han, do you know that you now have a group of supporters behind you?” At this time, seeing that the young girl didn’t know what to say, Hong Chanyi hurriedly interjected.
“How do I suddenly have supporters? I just disappeared for a while; what happened in the academy?” I asked, completely puzzled.
It seemed that everyone else knew the situation, but I had no clue, and they were trying to get from me the answers they wanted to know.
“I’ll explain, Sister Xiao Han. During the time you were gone, most of the people who knew they were the Children of Fortune gathered a group of their own supporters. Some are spontaneously formed supporter groups, and it’s not just here at the Witch Academy; I’ve heard that other academies have seen similar signs too.” Seeing everyone hesitating to speak, Dongli Yiren stepped up and summarized the current situation with her understanding.
“And they don’t even know where it came from, the idea that the Child of Fortune is the final contender for the strongest position in the world; they found a reason for their faction.”
“Contending for the strongest? They’re really bold.” Upon hearing this explanation, I couldn’t help but laugh. What’s the use of being the strongest in this world?
Which short-sighted person came up with such reasoning?
Anyone who understands the truth of this world can see that this is at most just a source of entertainment… Wait, entertainment?
It couldn’t have come from the Witch Academy, right…
“Actually, there have been several versions of this going around. Some say the strongest, some seek truth, others are about something else, and some even say you can communicate with the world and realize any wish you have.”
“Do you believe it?” I directly asked them in return.
“Uh… Originally, we didn’t believe it, but this saying has been spreading more and more impressively.”
“Fake news, no matter how widely it spreads, is still fake; you should understand this principle, right?” I continued, knowing that everyone here was an adult and had some level of judgment.
Although I knew that for most people, without proper channels to obtain information, discerning truth from falsehood is a one-time deal, I was aware of all this, and I explicitly stated it; whether they believed me or not was none of my concern.
After all, all I cared about was being at peace with myself.
“Then… this situation seems to be trending, Sister Xiao Han. Many people in our class know that even if you are not the Child of Fortune, they are still firmly supporting you in silence.”
“So what do you want from me?” I smiled at the young girl.
“This… Although I can’t speak for so many people and answer this question, we all have the same goal, which is to hope you know that there are people like us supporting you.”
“Oh.” I nodded without saying anything further. After talking for so long without getting to the point, if supporting someone has no reason, simply unilateral support without seeking anything in return is meaningless; even if you say, “I want to improve so much,” I can still affirm her value in following me.
I can’t afford to have fools who blindly follow the trend and are swayed by emotions; who knows when they might turn against me?
Even if I’m not afraid, it would still disgust me.
After chatting with them briefly, I used updating the dream data as an excuse to leave.
Once they saw my figure disappear, everyone exchanged glances, and it was Hong Chanyi who finally spoke.
“Well, I can only help this much. It’s just a coincidence that you all got to meet Sister Xiao Han and had a conversation with her; I’ve done what I could to help, okay?”
“Thank you, Sister Xiao Yi, I will take my leave now.”
“Oh, it’s nothing, take care~ If there’s anything next time, feel free to look for me.” Hong Chanyi smiled and bid them farewell, watching them disappear.
“Hong Chanyi, are you taking advantage of Sister Xiao Han?” After hearing what Hong Chanyi said earlier, Dongli Yiren couldn’t help but ask first.
“How is that taking advantage? Sooner or later, Sister Xiao Han has to know about this. Don’t you all understand? She doesn’t care about those people. Besides, they even gave an introduction fee; they are my classmates too. I can’t refuse. How about… I treat you all to dinner tonight?”
“You should be treating Sister Xiao Han. It’s best to clarify this matter with her.” At this moment, Yu Yatian, who had been mostly quiet, finally spoke up.
“Uh… I didn’t do anything, right? Why are you looking at me like that? This was just a pure coincidence!” Hong Chanyi was a bit bewildered, looking at the few people under the same roof. Wasn’t it wrong for her to do this?
“No, what we mean is that everyone who sees should share.”
“Alright, alright, tonight I will pick up the tab. Just remember to ask Sister Xiao Han along!”
At the same time.
In the dream world, I suddenly arrived in an empty space.
I had just requested a data update for the false image in the dream, and it seemed that the academy intended to make my image in the dream a long-term testing subject for the monthly exam.
I didn’t mind this at all; I even thought it was a bit fun. After all, who would refuse to be the final boss in the monthly exam?
Just as I was curious about what to do next, a figure suddenly appeared in the distance.
“Hello, you are Yang Yuelan, right? I saw that you applied for an update of your own dream data just now, am I right?”
“Uh, yes. You are… a teacher?” I asked instinctively, looking at the imposing big sister in front of me; it couldn’t be just a virtual character in the dream, could it?
“Pretty much. I am responsible for maintaining the Primordial Dream World here at the academy, as well as some other trivial matters, like right now.”
“What should I do?” I asked curiously.
“Very simple, just perform a demonstration of your abilities. Soon, you will have a battle with a false dream opponent whose data will synchronize with yours in real-time. It’s that simple.”
“Is it really that simple?” I found it hard to believe.
“Yes, don’t overthink it. The power of the Primordial Dream World far exceeds your imagination. Of course, you don’t need to speculate about the principles behind the Primordial Dream World—baseless wild guesses will only cause you unnecessary internal strife.”
“Thank you for the reminder, teacher.” I nodded.
After all, what this Witch teacher said was right. Earlier, learning that my data was treated as an opponent in the dream caused me a great deal of worry as I pondered how that could happen, even thinking about all my secrets being exposed.
But such wild guesses were indeed useless and only added unnecessary internal conflict, so I didn’t want to think about those non-existent things anymore.
“By the way, I want to ask, will this update affect the upcoming monthly exam?”
“Of course, there will be a little impact, but not much. The workload is not as much as you think. Just pay attention later; your opponent will be the most challenging one you have ever faced in your life because she will be an existence very close to your own.”
“Mm.” At this moment, I nodded, preparing for battle.
When this instructor saw that I was ready, there was no ceremony; they directly began.
Soon, a figure appeared before me.
It was a shadow like I used to be, but upon seeing me, her appearance began to change gradually. Her irises turned bl**d red, her long hair became snow white, and a kind of body cultivation energy subtly surrounded her.
Seeing this change, even I couldn’t help but marvel; she even changed in appearance?
In an instant, she possessed the strength of body cultivation.
Indeed… she might really be the most challenging opponent I have met so far.
After all, “A person’s greatest enemy is themselves.” This saying is not just for fun, though in most cases, such a situation would never occur.
But this Primordial Dream World achieved it in such a way.
“Let’s begin.”
With the teacher’s words, the two figures clashed in an instant, followed by a burst of intense collision sounds.
…
In the evening.
“I’m not saying… Why has Sister Xiao Han not come out yet? She can’t be stuck in the dream chamber, right?”
“How about… we go ahead and order, and then contact Sister Xiao Han on the phone?”
“Don’t! Sister Xiao Han is notoriously indifferent to phone messages; what if she doesn’t pick up?”
“It does seem to be the case…”
At this moment, a group of young girls had just emerged from the dream chamber. During this time, they had carried out real combat practice in the dream, but this kind of intensive training had not led to any significant improvement, and they had suffered quite a bit from the dream opponent.
While they were discussing, the cover of a dream chamber was opened.
“Mm? Why are you all still here?”
As I leisurely emerged from the dream, I instinctively opened the chamber, but my somewhat dazed gaze immediately recognized the familiar figures outside.
“Sister Xiao Han is out? Let’s go, tonight I’ll treat you to dinner!” Upon hearing my voice, Hong Chanyi immediately turned around and waved her hand at me.
“You? How are you treating us to dinner?” I shook my shoulders and moved my limbs, as the phantom pain left in the dream still lingered in reality.
“Oh, it’s just that I benefited from Sister Xiao Han and made a little side income. Since it’s called ‘those who see should share,’ I had to treat, but we can’t order anything too expensive; I don’t have much money… How about skewers?” Hong Chanyi said while rubbing her hands in front of me.
“That, Sister Xiao Han, don’t mind what those girls said earlier. They just want to hold onto your leg, there’s no other meaning. If you find it bothersome, you can just ignore them. After all, Sister Xiao Han, you’re no longer the class leader of Class 14 and don’t attend classes; there’s really no need to have too many pointless entanglements with them.”
“I know that for sure. It’s all one-sided devotion. But… skewers sound good, so it looks like you’re treating tonight?” I said while placing a hand on Hong Chanyi’s shoulder, smiling.
Since school started, I really hadn’t been treated out by anyone, and this was one of the few occasions I could catch up with these housemates; usually, I had no free time. This was a rare opportunity that I definitely would not miss.
Before long, we arrived near where we lived. It was an open-air barbecue place with few people. It seemed to be operated by an older sister with some signs of age on her face, another one who hadn’t chosen to become an Extraordinary Witch and was preparing to spend the rest of her life here.
Then, the four of us picked out food for a while, and with Hong Chanyi’s reluctant expression, she paid for it.
“Sister Xiao Han, we rarely have a full dormitory dinner like this. It’s a rare opportunity. We all know you are very impressive; although we usually don’t see you, we still want to thank you for treating us as housemates.”
“Hong Chanyi, what are you saying? Why wouldn’t I treat you all as housemates? Saying that makes me seem very unfeeling.”
“Oh… Mainly, although we’re all in the same year, it feels like we are drifting apart from you. Even though less than a semester has passed since we entered school, the gap already feels like we’re from two different worlds. We’re very worried. With such a big leg to rely on, we haven’t even managed to hug it before it runs away, and we feel very helpless…”
At this point, Hong Chanyi seemed to have opened up, expressing her feelings at this moment.
This was also the first time I heard them talk about the relationship between me and them.
“Drifting apart? Actually, I sometimes feel the same. It’s a very helpless feeling; obviously, we are housemates, but it just feels strange, and in just a few words, I feel like we’re out of sync… I don’t know how to get along with you all. I’m a bit passive; before entering the Witch Academy, I was even quite introverted and never had friends…”
“Haha, it’s okay. There’s no need for Sister Xiao Han to make the topic so serious; it was me that led things in a bad direction. As long as we know you still care about us, from now on, for any dormitory activities, we will definitely proactively invite you along!”
“Thanks, by the way, the alchemical item I gave you earlier is actually used to summon me. As I told you, if you want to see me, just use it; don’t worry about bothering me. If I’m not free, I might just not respond to the summon.”
“Alright! Next time we won’t be polite with you anymore, Sister Xiao Han. Do you drink?”
“Drink? No, I don’t really drink that.”
“Then fruit juice it is! Today we have to eat until we are full before going back!”
