The Attack of the Wastrel

Although extremely unwilling, Gu Linglong still managed to make it in time to pass the first round of entrance examinations before the sky turned dark. She was then informed to gather at the bottom of the Red Leaf Hill for the second round of entrance examinations the next morning. If she was able to pass the second round, she would officially become a student of the Royal School.

Holding the medal she was given by the Royal School for entrant participants, she showed it off to Gu Lingzhi. She headed back to her parents, with Gu Rong and Lin Yue-er flanking her sides.

“Does your younger sister have a problem? What’s so good about getting the entrance medal? Does she not remember that you have been an official member of the Royal School since last year?”

Seeing their leaving silhouettes,, Ye Fei could not help but ridicule.

“Your father is weird too. He doesn’t put as much effort in grooming you, a natural talent, and instead chooses to dote on that brat who’s untalented. I really don’t know how he became the leader of the Gu Clan.”

“Maybe because the previous leader… was blind?” Gu Lingzhi retorted, causing the three people around her to burst out in laughter.

“Haha… Lingzhi, I never thought that you had the capacity to mock others because you’re always so quiet. If Gu Rong knew that in his daughter’s eyes, the only reason he became the leader was because the previous leader made a mistake, I wonder how he would feel.”

“Not very happy, I suppose,” Gu Lingzhi gave her conclusion seriously, causing the three of them to laugh once again.

Amidst the laughter, an unexpected guest arrived at their dorm.

“Your Highness, what brings you here?” Ye Fei asked puzzled.

She was already pretty surprised to see the Third Prince at the examination grounds today and never thought that he would come here.

Rong Yuan smiled gently as he looked at Gu Lingzhi, “I came to find her.”

“Oh?” Ye Fei’s voice rose a few octaves as her eyes switched between Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi. She was mildly surprised.

As the first daughter of the leading conglomerate in the country, Ye Fei had heard of how Rong Yuan previously seemed to be conflicted on how he treated Gu Lingzhi. On her way to school, she also heard numerous rumours with regard to the Third Prince and the Black Thorn. She was secretly berating the loose behaviour of the Third Prince when it comes to relationships. The Third Prince had once again come to find Gu Lingzhi and Ye Fei could not help but be suspicious of his intentions.

Similarly, Qin Xinran had heard some of the rumors and gave Rong Yuan an unpleasant look. Only Tianfeng Jin, who did not care about anything other than fighting, was oblivious. She was confused when she realised that the two people next to her suddenly became alarmed.

On the other hand, Gu Lingzhi’s reaction was much more natural. She looked at Rong Yuan blankly and asked, “What for?”

“The school sent me to find you,” Rong Yuan spread out his hands, hiding the fact that he was the one who had wanted to see her. He said seriously, “The school wants me to inform you to participate in the second round of entrance examinations together with the new students tomorrow. Although you entered under my recommendation, the rules cannot be broken. I hope you understand.”

After her initial surprise, Gu Lingzhi nodded, “Thank you for informing me, I will be there tomorrow.”

“That’s good.” Rong Yuan gave a relieved smile as he fixed his eyes on Gu Lingzhi.

“I heard that you were injured on your way to the Capital? Where are you hurt? Is it serious?”

To prevent Rong Yuan from being suspicious when he saw her injury, Gu Lingzhi lied, “I injured my hand, but it has healed already.”

“Really?” Rong Yuan frowned slightly, “But I heard that you were injured on your calf and it was a serious injury, almost causing you to lose your leg.”

Gu Lingzhi’s heart started to beat faster and wondered if the Third Prince had guessed her identity. However, the Third Prince spoke normally and he looked like he was simply curious. Suppressing the anxiety in her, Gu Lingzhi added, “The rumours are not that accurate, the injury on my arm was more serious than my leg.”

“Oh, I see.” Rong Yuan nodded and expressed his concern, “Will this affect your performance in the entrance examination tomorrow? Let me see how much you have recovered, if you are still recovering, I can speak to the Principal to push back your test date.”

He then walked in front of Gu Lingzhi and grabbed her arm, attempting to assess her injuries.

“There’s no need, I have completely recovered!” Gu Lingzhi quickly grabbed his hand and stopped him, “It will not affect my performance on tomorrow’s test.”

If she had let him see her hand that was completely fine, he might start to discover what she was trying to hide.

Rong Yuan did not intend to make things difficult for her and gave up checking when he saw Gu Lingzhi grab onto her own sleeves. They had not met for so long and he only managed to hold her hand for such a short period, it was not sufficient to alleviate his yearning towards her.

After Rong Yuan left, Ye Fei scolded out, “Scum!”

Gu Lingzhi looked at Ye Fei puzzledly, only to see concern written all over her face.

“Lingzhi, you mustn’t get fooled by the Third Prince’s appearance. Just a while back, he was mingling with a girl from unknown origins and even cancelled his engagement for her. But now, he is already attempting to pamper you. You cannot fall for someone as fickle-minded as him.”

Hearing Ye Fei’s words, Gu Lingzhi suddenly realised that the Third Prince was indeed a scum.

“Ye Fei is right. I heard that in order to get the Black Thorn to like him, the Third Prince even stayed in the inn that she was staying in for a month just to get closer to her. Now that the woman is gone, he comes back to find you. If he isn’t a scum, then what is?” Qin Xinran added on.

Poor Rong Yuan - he was completely oblivious that his actions to tease Gu Lingzhi made him look like a scum to others. If he knew that this was how people thought of him, would he still continue? 

The next day, Gu Lingzhi headed to the entrance of the Red Leaf Hill where the examination was about to start.

Knowing that she was here to get replacement test, Gu Linglong ridiculed her, “I thought with the Third Prince’s recommendation, you wouldn’t need to work hard to pass the test like the rest of us applicants, but I see you are here to have a replacement test. I wonder if you will get kicked out of the school if you are not able to pass.”

“That won’t happen.” Gu Lingzhi pretended to not be able to detect the mockery in her voice, “I have enough points to be promoted to the next year and it is just a formality for me to participate in this test. On the other hand, you should be careful. I heard that for this examination, the mountains were filled with numerous obstacles and demon beasts. Last year, a majority of the students that passed the first round failed in this round. I hope you won’t leave this place disappointed.”

“Hmph, how can those wastrels be compared to me?”

“Indeed.” Gu Lingzhi’s gaze swept over her, “You are not a wastrel, you’re a fool.”