“Zhai Hao, he’s your friend? Mind introducing us?” a short boy with a crew cut asked. Though he had known Nie Yan for a long time, he pretended not to know him and acted a bit aloof.
“Nie Yan, my brother,” Zhai Hao said cheerfully. Then he introduced Nie Yan to the others, pointing at the short boy, “This is Liu Wei, the son of the CEO of Tianhua Group. He’s from class 5. His physical fitness has already met the standard for the top military academy. Now he’s just waiting for his liberal arts scores.”
“Liberal arts scores are nothing,” Liu Wei said confidently. “Once we become alumni, we should definitely keep in touch.”
“Definitely, definitely,” Nie Yan replied politely. He could tell that among this group, there were five or six people who formed a small clique led by Liu Wei, while the others were more familiar with Zhai Hao.
Hearing Nie Yan’s words, Liu Wei’s expression relaxed a bit. Nie Yan was being quite courteous. His father had instructed him to maintain a good relationship with Nie Yan. Even if they couldn’t become friends, they absolutely must not become enemies. They had seen Nie Yan’s potential, and Nie’s father was currently on the rise, with considerable financial resources that they valued highly. If things continued like this, the Nie family might become a formidable financial power, so they needed to build a good relationship with them.
Zhai Hao introduced everyone in the group. Nie Yan listened casually but remembered all their names effortlessly and interacted with them naturally.
The group immediately had a feeling that Nie Yan wasn’t arrogant at all; on the contrary, he was quite amiable and easygoing. Compared to that guy called Liu Rui, he was incomparably better, making everyone feel comfortable.
Nie Yan, having experienced two lifetimes, had seen countless situations and found it simple to deal with these half-grown kids. He also understood that none of the students who could enter Huada High School were ordinary; they all had some background. This group could maintain a harmonious atmosphere, but if they became enemies, they might trip you up behind your back, making it hard to guard against.
After chatting for a while, the conversation naturally turned to the game Faith.
“Speaking of Faith, among us, Liu Wei has the highest level, 51. He’s the top player in the Lianfire Guild and can definitely rank in the top 500 in the entire Granland region,” said Ge Baiyu, a boy nearby. He glanced at Liu Wei, as he was one of Liu Wei’s followers and naturally needed to watch his leader’s expression.
Liu Wei felt a bit proud inside but tried to appear humble, smiling and saying, “Actually, it’s nothing. After the forgotten history was unveiled, leveling up became easier. There are countless players above level 50.”
“With so many players in Granland, being in the top 500 definitely can’t be achieved by luck alone. Liu Wei, don’t be so modest,” a few people nearby chimed in.
“There’s no guild activity recently, so I can help everyone level up. I just learned three new area-of-effect spells. Leveling up will be very fast,” Liu Wei looked at Nie Yan and Zhai Hao and said, “Nie Yan, Zhai Hao, you two should come too. I’ll help you level up for free.”
Liu Wei clearly meant that they should all come and he would take care of them.
Nie Yan and Zhai Hao exchanged a glance, feeling somewhat helpless.
Zhai Hao chuckled. This guy was actually talking about levels and area-of-effect spells with Kuangzei Nie Yan. Were his area-of-effect spells as powerful as Nie Yan’s Golden Earth Dragon’s area-of-effect spells?
Lianfire was a relatively small guild in Karol City, with only over ten thousand members, and their levels weren’t very high. Compared to the Bull Player Tribe, it was so small it could be almost ignored.
Nie Yan didn’t argue, saying, “I have something important to do recently. My guild has some activities, so I might not be able to go.”
“Oh, which guild are you in?” Liu Wei asked. He was a bit too proud and hadn’t even asked Nie Yan and Zhai Hao’s levels yet. In his mind, there wasn’t anyone in the entire Huada High School with a higher level than him, and the people around him generally followed his lead.
“I’m in the Warrior Tribe,” Zhai Hao answered. Knowing that Nie Yan definitely didn’t want to reveal his identity, he helped Nie Yan cover up, saying, “Recently, I also have something to do. A friend said he would help me and Xiaoling level up together.”
Hearing the name Xiaoling, Liu Wei felt a bit jealous. He couldn’t figure out why Zhai Hao, who looked a bit clumsy, could find such a beautiful girlfriend as Xiaoling. It was like a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung. He looked down on Zhai Hao a bit but didn’t say it out loud.
“Zhai Hao, why don’t you and Xiaoling come too? We can level up together. It won’t make much of a difference with just a few more people,” Ge Baiyu smiled. He stole a glance at Liu Wei. His words obviously pleased Liu Wei, who definitely wanted to invite a beautiful girl like Xiaoling to show off.
Zhai Hao shook his head and said, “No, the class beauty definitely won’t like leveling up with others.”
“Class beauty?” everyone was puzzled.
“Xie Yao?” Liu Wei’s eyes lit up, though he tried to remain calm. Xie Yao was one of the few people in class 3 that he had been eyeing. She was undoubtedly the class beauty of class 3, even a school beauty. Then there was Jiang Yingyu, whose figure was absolutely amazing. Her graceful and seductive dance moves made people’s hearts tremble. Many people secretly fantasized about her. Then there was Xiaoling, who was also quite pretty, just slightly inferior to Xie Yao and Jiang Yingyu.
“Why don’t you invite Xie Yao to come too?” Ge Baiyu said. “Since there are so many people, bringing her along won’t be a problem.”
In their opinion, as a girl, Xie Yao’s level naturally wouldn’t be very high.
Zhai Hao glanced at Nie Yan, whose expression remained calm.
“The class beauty definitely won’t be willing, so you guys should forget about it,” Zhai Hao said. This group was really funny; they wanted to level up with the class beauty, but it might be the other way around.
“She’s too arrogant.”
“Exactly, leveling up together is just for fun. It’s unnecessary to be so unkind,” Liu Wei’s followers chimed in, though they dared not use too strong a tone, as Xie Yao had a powerful background they couldn’t afford to offend.
“Actually, it’s fine if she doesn’t come. We were just sincerely inviting you. Let’s drop this topic,” Liu Wei acted as the peacemaker, though he felt a bit resentful inside.
Just then, a girl approached them. Seeing her, everyone’s heart skipped a beat, and their breathing became slightly labored.
The girl was none other than Jiang Yingyu. She wore a silk dress she usually wore for dancing. As she walked, her slim waist swayed, and her chest was impressively endowed, instantly capturing everyone’s attention. The male hormones of all the men present immediately surged.
“Nie Yan, we meet again,” Jiang Yingyu greeted Nie Yan, her soft voice making everyone’s bones feel instantly weak.
Everyone looked at Nie Yan with envy, thinking why Jiang Yingyu had greeted Nie Yan instead of them.
“Hello, it’s rare to see you come to class,” Nie Yan greeted her indifferently. He and Jiang Yingyu were merely casual acquaintances.
Nie Yan’s aloof demeanor caused Jiang Yingyu to gaze at him with a complicated expression. Undoubtedly the top student in their class, Nie Yan had already met the admission criteria for the elite program at the premier military academy. Everyone was awaiting his liberal arts scores—if he passed, he would become the third student in the school’s history to gain entry into that prestigious program. Yet Nie Yan’s attention was fixed on Xie Yao, not her, Jiang Yingyu. He had known Xie Yao for barely a month. Jiang Yingyu had always harbored resentment toward Xie Yao, and the two frequently engaged in covert rivalry.
(Note: “不服气 (furiqi)” is translated as “resentment” to convey the competitive dissatisfaction, while maintaining the implicit tension. The parenthetical pinyin is omitted as per instructions.)
“I’ve also been admitted to the top military academy. Please take care of me in the future. We are alumni now,” Jiang Yingyu said. Unlike Nie Yan and the others, she had been admitted through a special arts program.
Nie Yan suddenly remembered. Jiang Yingyu had applied to the top military academy before, but she had narrowly missed the cutoff. However, in this life, due to Nie Yan’s special performance and the principal’s extensive efforts, several more special admission spots had been added to Huada High School for the top military academy, especially in the arts category.
Huada High School’s college admission rate was famous, and this year seemed particularly outstanding.
“Definitely,” Nie Yan replied politely.
“I have a ticket to the Huada Theater. I’m performing there this afternoon. Would Nie classmate be willing to grace us with your presence?” Jiang Yingyu smiled.
Jiang Yingyu’s charming smile made everyone’s breathing stop.
A seductive invitation!
“This afternoon…” Nie Yan hesitated for a moment, glancing at Xie Yao in the distance.
Everyone stared at Nie Yan, thinking, “This guy is too awesome. When a beautiful girl invites you, you actually hesitate for so long before deciding.” They stared at the ticket in Jiang Yingyu’s hand, each one wishing they could rush forward and grab it.
“Nie classmate is busy this afternoon?” Jiang Yingyu asked slightly embarrassed.
“If Nie Yan is busy, other classmates would definitely be happy to go,” Liu Wei interjected, giving a meaningful glance to Ge Baiyu beside him.
“Yeah, there are so many classmates here who would be happy to go. Why don’t you give the tickets to us?” Ge Baiyu said with a thick face.
Jiang Yingyu looked at Nie Yan with a bit of grievance, then took out another ticket from her pocket and handed both tickets to Ge Baiyu, saying, “Here, take them. These two are adjacent seats. You can bring your girlfriend to watch together.”
Ge Baiyu took the two tickets, smiled awkwardly, and even his thick face couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed.
They all felt a bit depressed inside. Everyone present understood Jiang Yingyu’s meaning and looked at Nie Yan with complex expressions, wondering why such a fortunate encounter didn’t happen to them.
Nie Yan pretended not to see and turned to Zhai Hao, asking, “Is Xie Yao going to level up with you? What level is she?”
Zhai Hao hesitated for a long time, looking at Xiaoling in the distance. At this moment, he didn’t know how to answer, as Xiaoling had specifically instructed him.
Zhai Hao, this kid definitely knew that Yaoyao was actually Xie Yao, yet he kept it a secret from him. In the previous life, it might have been the same. Nie Yan really wanted to slap him a few times. Thinking about it, this couldn’t be entirely Zhai Hao’s fault. In the previous life, Zhai Hao didn’t know about his and Yaoyao’s entanglements. It was all his own fault for being too careless, allowing himself to be deceived for so long.
“You can just say it. Actually, I already knew,” Nie Yan waved his hand helplessly, understanding that Zhai Hao was afraid of his wife.
“You already knew all along? Then why didn’t you say so earlier? You made me afraid to speak,” Zhai Hao’s expression immediately became relaxed. Now that Nie Yan knew, he no longer needed to hide anything.
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