Stepping closer, they saw that Ning Rongrong's mood seemed to have stabilized. Her pretty face once again carried a gentle smile as she sat on a large rock by the academy gate, swinging her legs back and forth.
Oscar, on the other hand, looked rather grim. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his eyes were filled with reluctance.
Dai Mubai walked at the very front.
"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly. "Ning Rongrong, have you thought it through?"
"Of course," Ning Rongrong replied lightly. "How could I leave such a fun place so easily? I'm definitely staying. But why are you back so early? Didn't you go find your twin girlfriends to have fun?"
Having dropped all pretense, Ning Rongrong no longer held back. Mockery filled her expression.
A cold glint flashed through Dai Mubai's eyes. Flender already held an extremely high place in his heart, and Ning Rongrong's defiance had irritated him for a long time. Now she was still provoking him with such cutting sarcasm.
"Ning Rongrong, don't test my patience," Dai Mubai said darkly. "This isn't your home. I, Dai Mubai, am not afraid of your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. If you push me too far, you'll regret it."
Seeing his anger, Ning Rongrong giggled and deliberately puffed out her chest.
"I'm so scared. What are you going to do to me?"
"You asked for it!"
Dai Mubai could no longer suppress his fury. His spirit power erupted instantly.
In the next moment, Ning Rongrong was blasted backward by the shockwave.
Oscar immediately tried to rush forward to catch her—but someone was faster.
"Second Spirit Ability: Starry Sky Bind!"
Lin Xian made his move.
The target of the ability wasn't Dai Mubai, but Ning Rongrong, who was flying through the air. She was restrained instantly, stopping her from crashing to the ground and getting hurt.
At the same time, Tang San used Controlling Crane Catching Dragon to restrain Dai Mubai.
"We're all classmates," Tang San said calmly. "Let's let this go."
Blocked by Tang San, Dai Mubai slowly exhaled a breath and withdrew his spirit power.
"Fine, Little San. I'll give you some face."
After that, he shot Ning Rongrong a fierce glare.
"Remember this—no matter what your background is, don't provoke me. Otherwise, you know what will happen."
With those words, he turned and strode away without looking back.
Ning Rongrong stared at his retreating figure, tears welling up in her eyes. Although she hadn't been seriously injured, the sudden impact left her whole body aching.
Tang San stepped forward as well.
"Ning Rongrong, if you want to stay at the academy, you need to correct your attitude," he said. "Dai Mubai is our senior—show him the respect he deserves. Otherwise, I might not be able to help you next time."
After speaking, he also turned and left.
Xiao Wu glanced at Lin Xian, then followed Tang San into the academy.
Oscar stood there with a complicated expression. He looked at Ning Rongrong, shook his head, and spoke quietly.
"Ning Rongrong, I admit that when I first saw you, I was attracted to you. I even liked you a little."
"But after spending time with you, that feeling disappeared. Tang San was right. If you keep this kind of mentality and personality, you should leave. With you like this, the word 'friend' will always be out of reach."
He had indeed been moved by her beauty, but over time, he'd clearly seen the flaws in her character.
Yes, she was the pampered little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
How could someone like him be worthy of her?
And more importantly—was such a princess really the kind of person he liked?
He realized that he had been wrong from the very beginning.
With that thought, he felt as if a weight had been lifted. Turning around, he walked away decisively.
At last, Ning Rongrong could no longer hold it in. Tears streamed down her face.
Loneliness, helplessness, disappointment, pain—countless emotions surged through her heart.
Back at the sect, everyone either bowed respectfully when they saw her or deliberately kept their distance. Behind her back, they all called her a little witch.
Now that she thought about it, in the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, she didn't have a single true friend…
Were friends really nothing more than an unattainable luxury?
"Here—take this."
Hearing the voice, Ning Rongrong lifted her tear-streaked face.
She looked pitiful beyond words.
At some point, Lin Xian and Zhu Zhuqing had come to her side.
"You two… are you here to mock me too?"
"If we were mocking you," Lin Xian replied calmly, "why would we give you tissues?"
Ning Rongrong froze, then finally reacted. She took the tissues from his hand and gently wiped her tears.
"Besides," Lin Xian continued, "crying won't solve anything. If you're bullied, then clench your fists and hit back."
The moonlight was soft and bright. Ning Rongrong could clearly see the young man before her.
His lips curved upward, his expression filled with confidence. As he spoke, he seemed to radiate light.
But when she thought of her own situation, her gaze dimmed again.
"I've realized that I'm really terrible," she said softly.
"It seems I'm not even qualified to stay here."
"If only my talent were as strong as yours…"
Strong talent?
Zhu Zhuqing smiled faintly.
Looking at Ning Rongrong, she seemed to see her former self—the same sadness, the same helplessness.
"My innate spirit power was only level seven," Zhu Zhuqing said quietly.
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened.
How was that possible?
She was a once-in-a-century genius of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, born with innate spirit power at level nine. Even so, she had only reached level twenty-six after all these years.
Yet Zhu Zhuqing was already a three-ring Spirit Elder.
Even if Zhu Zhuqing hadn't been diligent before, the gap shouldn't have been this large.
Soon, Ning Rongrong understood. Coming from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, she wasn't foolish.
The two people in front of her must possess a special cultivation method that dramatically increased cultivation speed.
She almost blurted out an offer to buy it—but recalling what had just happened, she froze and swallowed her words.
Seeing her hesitation, Lin Xian smiled.
"You were about to ask if you could buy our cultivation method with money, weren't you?"
"I…"
"It's fine. That's normal. A rich girl's way of thinking tends to work like that," Lin Xian said lightly. "But I have to tell you—this cultivation method is special. It can't be bought with money."
Those words exploded in Ning Rongrong's mind.
She looked at Lin Xian, then at Zhu Zhuqing.
"You… you're not practicing some kind of dual cultivation method, are you?"
A faint blush appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's face. Although what they practiced was Star Attraction, the process wasn't that different in essence…
Lin Xian immediately turned serious.
"What nonsense are you thinking about? Of course not."
"Then the way you said it was really easy to misunderstand, okay?" Ning Rongrong pouted, her lips puffing up like a little goldfish.
"Then… can you teach me?" she asked hesitantly. "I can provide cultivation resources. I want to become stronger too."
Hearing this, Lin Xian was secretly delighted. The little fish had finally bitten the hook.
"Of course," he said. "But there's one condition."
"What is it?"
"For the next month, you'll stay by my side and be my little maid. Consider it an assessment."
Lin Xian paused briefly.
"Of course, if you can't accept that, then forget it."
(Author's Note)
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