Chapter 80

 Ye Zheng glanced at the four people present and showed a smile. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

The youth took his seat. The five of them gathered around the table. Across from her sat Pei Xi.

Although Pei Xi was smiling, his face carried some fatigue.

“Pei Xi, you look a bit tired. Have you been unwell lately?”

The youth blinked his green eyes and asked with concern.

“It's nothing. We were just talking about the recent changes in aberrant realms in the lower district. Your timing is perfect.”

Pei Xi brushed past the topic. Everyone began discussing the aberrant realms. The young faces turned serious one by one.

“Although the empire has not released official data yet, I am certain aberrant realms are appearing more frequently and growing stronger.”

Roy spread out a large pile of clipped newspaper articles on the table and pointed to the reported figures.

Lu Qi nodded. Even the usually optimistic and cheerful girl lowered her eyes, looking worried. “My parents have been caught up in two aberrant realms recently. The western district has seen a lot more of them too.”

The western district’s terrain and climate were extremely complex and sparsely populated. In the past, aberrant realms had rarely descended there.

Ye Zheng listened silently. She had already heard about these changes and received even more accurate data from the church. The losses caused by aberrant realms had even left the empire feeling overwhelmed.

In the midst of silence, Kyle suddenly hugged his head helplessly and sighed. “I have been hesitating whether to tell you all, but Cloud Soarers Academy recently received a suspension notice.”

“What?”

Everyone looked at Kyle in disbelief. This tall and sturdy boy was the team’s reliable shield and also the son of the principal of Cloud Soarers Academy. The principal had always supported their activities.

Pei Xi quickly asked, “Kyle, what exactly happened at the school?”

“You know about the group that has risen in the lower district recently? They claim to be saints following the true daughter of the divine. The daughter of the divine has golden hair like the God of Hope. She is to execute false heretics and awaken the God of Hope back to the world through devout faith.”

“Some students from our school joined that group. Now the entire school is being suspended for investigation.”

Pei Xi rubbed his forehead as though he had a headache. “I know about that group. They are mostly ordinary people and low-talent ability users who lost family or property in aberrant realms and feel disappointed in the church and imperial family. These ‘saints’ have been active for a while. The Pope’s scandal probably stimulated them.”

Kyle said nervously, “They have already caused quite a bit of destruction, burned a church in the southern district, killed several priests. I never expected Cloud Soarers Academy would have people like that too.”

“I am a bit curious, who exactly is this daughter of the divine they are talking about?”

The black-haired, green-eyed youth suddenly joined the conversation.

“Their description sounds somewhat familiar.”

Pei Xi pondered for a moment and uttered a name. “Sela?”

Lu Qi’s eyes widened. “Who? Sela? The daughter of the divine?”

She tugged at her own orange hair. “If my hair were golden, I would look more like the daughter of the divine than she does.”

Lu Qi suddenly heard someone chuckle lightly. She turned and glared at Zhao Mei, who had not yet managed to wipe the smile from his face.

“Ahem. It seems Sela’s actions coincidentally fit the doctrine of those ‘saints.’ But if Sela truly joins them, things might get troublesome.”

This group of saints was mostly composed of ordinary people and low-talent ability users. Though their ideas were radical, they lacked real destructive power. But if Sela joined, the group could become a threat the empire could no longer ignore.

The system watched speechlessly as the host spoke gravely about “things getting troublesome.” Who could have guessed that she herself was the true culprit behind all these variables.

『There was no such development in the original plot at all. Sela escaped, but she always operated as a lone wolf, occasionally causing trouble for the government, the church, and the protagonist team.』

『You strengthened Sela, and she now harbors hostility toward you. This is bad.』

Ye Zheng already understood. It was the “execution” scene she had staged with Sela that had caught the saints’ attention. So far, there was no sign of Sela’s direct involvement in the saints’ actions. She wondered if Sela would be interested in joining them.

“Zhao Mei, what's wrong? You look like your expression is not good.”

Pei Xi looked at the youth sitting across from him with concern. Zhao Mei had his head lowered, seemingly deep in thought. His usually gentle face was expressionless.

The youth shook his head at him. “I just feel the situation is getting more and more chaotic. Truly... ha.”

Pei Xi was curious about Zhao Mei’s unfinished sentence, but saw him turn his head away, unwilling to say more.

Ye Zheng was thinking: she had used Sela to cause quite a bit of trouble for the Pope, while also adding Sela as a new variable for herself. She had done this sort of thing more than once. She wondered what kind of ending it would ultimately lead to.

The group talked for a long time, well into the night. Tomorrow the competition would officially resume. Everyone returned to their rooms to rest, each harboring their own thoughts.

Ye Zheng was just about to return to her room when she heard a faint sound in the corridor. Following that subtle noise, she leaped onto the rooftop.

On the rooftop, the black-haired boy sat with his head tilted back, gazing at the star-filled sky. Beside him rested a bottle of wine.

“Pei Xi, I am confiscating this bottle. You are not of age yet.”

The bottle beside him was picked up. Pei Xi turned his head and saw Zhao Mei sit down at his side.

Pei Xi gave a helpless smile. “Actually, it is just juice inside.”

“My sense of smell is very good.”

The black-haired, green-eyed boy smiled at him with a hint of slyness.

“What could be so serious that it requires an underage person to drink to relieve it? It seems this country has been quite negligent.”

The boy shook the half-transparent bottle. His green eyes stared curiously at the swaying liquid, yet his words carried the composure of an adult.

“Zhao Mei, I think you want to drink it even more than I do. Do not let me catch you hiding it later.”

Pei Xi teased, though his smile was somewhat forced. It was clear that many things weighed on his heart.

“I still have three months before I can drink. I am curious about its taste, but I do not expect it to solve any troubles for me.”

“Rather than drinking, why not confide in me? I have always been a good listener.”

The boy set the bottle down and looked at him earnestly.

Pei Xi was momentarily stunned. Indeed, he had experienced many things lately, things far different from what he had imagined. He had kept them bottled up, unwilling to share with Roy and the others. After all, he was the captain of this team. If even he showed weakness, Lu Qi and the rest would become even more uneasy.

But in front of Zhao Mei, perhaps because they were not as close, or perhaps because Zhao Mei displayed a maturity greater than his own, he felt a stronger urge to speak.

“Lately, I have been having the same dream over and over. In the dream, there are very strange scenes, almost like prophecies.”

“I had such dreams when I was little too, but they were never as clear as now. The dream feels like it is calling me to do something.”

Ye Zheng lowered her head and listened attentively. A trace of surprise crossed her face beneath the stray black hair.

She felt that the “strange scenes” Pei Xi described might be related to the scene she had seen in the manga spoiler.

“From your description, the dream does not sound bad, does it? Dreams always reflect the deepest worries and desires of the heart. If you choose not to worry about it, perhaps the troubling dream will naturally disappear.”

Pei Xi let out a laugh. “Why aren't you asking what I dreamed about? Are you not curious?”

“Dreams are very private matters. I do not like prying into other people’s privacy.”

Hearing Zhao Mei’s reply, Pei Xi’s desire to confide grew even stronger. He sighed and said, “Actually, there is nothing worth hiding. I dreamed that I was like the God of Hope, raising a sword. That sword seemed to call out to me, urging me to find it and wield it.”

Pei Xi lowered his head in distress, thus missing the brief, peculiar expression on the boy’s face.

“If it is such a heroic dream, then what are you troubled about?”

“Troubled, about having to bear such a grand responsibility?”

Pei Xi jerked his head up as though struck at the core. His words even became somewhat incoherent. “It is just a dream. Maybe I have been under too much pressure lately, always thinking of strange things.”

Suddenly, the black-haired, green-eyed boy drew even closer. A warm hand rested on his head. Zhao Mei was gently stroking his hair.

Pei Xi’s body froze completely. Since his mother’s death, no one had ever touched the top of his head like this.

“Pei Xi, you are still just a child. Feeling pressure, wanting to escape, those are all normal thoughts. You don't need to blame yourself for them.”

“No. No. As captain, everyone expects so much from the Cloud Soarers team. I cannot retreat. I cannot show weakness.”

“You can retreat. You can show weakness. That is your right.”

Pei Xi felt his mind fall into complete chaos. He heard his own voice drifting as he asked, “Should you not be encouraging me? Like Roy, Lu Qi, Kyle, and the principal, so many people. They all say I can definitely do it, that I will definitely succeed.”

“Look at me. Do not lower your head.”

Pei Xi lifted his head at the words. He met those gentle, compassionate green eyes for a long moment. They were eyes full of warmth, like the palm resting on his head, warm enough to make one feel weak.

“The desire to change this world does not belong only to you.”

Zhao Mei spoke softly.

“Yes. I still have all of you. A group of very good companions.”

Pei Xi murmured.

“That is right. Since it feels hard, occasionally let others share the burden with you.”

Pei Xi’s blue eyes reflected the concerned face of the boy. He heard Zhao Mei’s ethereal voice brush past his ear.

“Even if you let me bear all the glory and responsibilities that have become too heavy for you, that would be fine too.”

The warmth on his head disappeared. The black-haired, green-eyed boy withdrew his hand and looked at him quietly.

Pei Xi’s body trembled slightly. He knew this was not right. Yet perhaps tonight was too cold, the sky too dark. In those shimmering green eyes, he clearly saw his own wavering, cowardly reflection.

✧✧✧✧✧

【Aaaaaah Xi-Zhao big explosion!】

【Oh my god, how did our Xi-Zhao suddenly sell this so hard?】

【I fainted from “let me bear all the glory and responsibilities for you.” How much trust and intimacy does it take to say something like that. Uncle, are you drawing a proper friendship?】

【Zhao Mei has such strong white moonlight tragic beauty vibes. This kind of second male lead always ends up sacrificing to become the male protagonist’s eternal white moonlight.】

【Aaaaah Zhao Mei, do not raise flags. Our Cloud Soarers team needs to all live well.】

【Apologizing for ever cursing Zhao Mei before. He is just a good baby. Finally someone cares about our Pei Xi’s mental health issues wuwu】

Li Yixin looked at the final scene of the latest chapter. Her phone screen was almost completely covered by barrage comments. She had a premonition that Xi-Zhao would become a massive hot topic in the coming period.

Aaaaah, although she had briefly been an Xi-Zhao CP fan before, right now she felt like she had become a Zhao Mei dream girl. Please do not let that kind of thing happen.

【Rushing to screenshot the famous scene. The head-pat moment has already been set as the profile picture in the Xi-Zhao super topic.】

【Famous scene check-in +1】

【Famous scene check-in +2】

【Famous scene check-in +3】

...

Although this update was a transitional chapter, the amount of information was unexpectedly large. There were also many famous scenes, not just Zhao Mei and Pei Xi, but Ye Zheng and Sykes appeared too. The forums must be exploding right now.

But this was the first time Li Yixin felt so reluctant to open the forums.

Li Yixin could already imagine opening the forums and being bombarded face-to-face by Xi-Zhao stans. Zhao Mei’s mama faction had probably started producing content, and maybe even some Zhao Mei gonggong*, though that species was quite rare.

[T/N- gonggong/ og chinese means Eunuch IDK context here though.]

The girl struggled but still clicked into the forums. Her expression was extremely complex.

At this moment, the sad Li Yixin could not yet imagine that this Xi-Zhao famous scene giving her heartburn would soon be dubbed by readers who had come to their senses as “the biggest death flag scene in your aberrant realm.”

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Authors Note  

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I was very moved seeing the babies’ encouraging comments. Next chapter is the forums. Spoiler: the mask is about to drop soon.