The Attack of the Wastrel

Lingzhi… took the initiative to hold his hand?

Rong Yuan only had one thought. This was the first time that she had shown affection towards him! In an instance, the happiness in his heart surged and even the energy around him seemed to sparkle with joy.

He held her hand even tighter, an overjoyed expression on his face.

However, his happiness did not last. It crumbled to pieces the moment he saw Su Nian walking out of the competition arena.

“Ling- Lingzhi… I’ve finally found you!” Su Nian grinned, a wide smile on his face.

Heaven only knows how many times Su Nian had tried to find Gu Lingzhi. If there was not someone holding him back, then it was that Gu Lingzhi was not around in the first place. Finally, he had managed to bump into her today, even though Rong Yuan had arranged for him to draw a lot with a number that had the biggest difference with Gu Lingzhi’s, so that he would not have time to interact with her.

Now that Su Nian had finally found a chance to talk to her, how could he not be happy?

“If you’re done with the competition, then go back and rest to prepare for your upcoming matches,” Rong Yuan stated blandly.

It was not easy to spend time together with Gu Lingzhi, how dare Su Nian try to ruin this?

“The next match is in two days, I can rest tomorrow.”

“I am the leader of the team for this competition. If I think that you need the rest, then go back and rest,” Rong Yuan pursed his lips unhappily.

Yuan Zheng automatically stepped in to take the responsibility of sending Su Nian back to the dorms.

“This isn’t your homeland and you’re not familiar with it, let me send you back to rest,” Yuan Zheng started to drag him back by the collar, disregarding Su Nian’s protests.

“Ling- Lingzhi…” Su Nian looked as if he was going to cry and struggled against Yuan Zheng’s death grip.

Gu Lingzhi wanted to tell Yuan Zheng to be gentler with Su Nian, but before she could open her mouth to say anything, Rong Yuan dragged her away.

“Alright, Yuan Zheng will send him back, he’ll be fine.”

The Yan Capital’s trading market was much bigger than she imagined. Not even a third of the market could be covered after spending an entire day there. Gu Lingzhi had managed to find many things that she liked and managed to get many medicinal ingredients and materials that she needed for Alchemy and Weapon Forging.

Seeing that the sun was setting, she felt that it was time to head home. She was about to turn back to talk to Rong Yuan, but she only saw a stranger.

Where was Rong Yuan? Gu Lingzhi furrowed her brows. Wasn’t he following her this entire time? When did he separate from her?

She backtracked, wanting to find Rong Yuan. Suddenly, everyone around her became restless and was clamoring with each other towards a certain direction.

“Look, I’ve heard that someone is selling Black-Level Spiritual Medicine at a low price over there. It’s priced the same as a Yellow-Level Spiritual Medicine, we can’t miss this!”

Everyone started to squeeze, following the direction where the sound came from. Gu Lingzhi was dragged along with the crowd ten meters away from where she was standing. When she had finally stabilized herself and wanted to head back, the crowd had suddenly disappeared as quickly as it had formed.

“That was strange…” Gu Lingzhi murmured to herself as she walked back to her original spot.

From afar, she could see someone handsome in the middle of the crowd. Wearing a black and green robe, it only made him look more exquisite. A girl walked past him; her face slightly flushed as she looked at him. The girl took a few more glances even after she was a distance away from him.

Gu Lingzhi laughed lightly at what she was seeing – to think that such an outstanding and exceptional person belonged to her.

With light steps, she walked towards Rong Yuan with a smile on her face. However, she paused when she saw that Rong Yuan, who had always been indifferent to other girls, smiling back at the girl who had just walked past him.

Gu Lingzhi’s heart sank, but she continued making her way slowly to him, wondering what they were talking about to make him look so happy.

Gu Lingzhi, who had spent a lot of time with Rong Yuan, could tell that his smiles were genuine. He seemed to click with this girl instantly!

When she was close enough to them, she realized that the girl had looked very familiar. She was actually a student from the Royal School. If she remembered correctly, her name was Ding Rou, who was a good friend of Tianfeng Wei’s. She was not in the list of competitors, why would she be here?

Gu Lingzhi headed towards a direction that put her beside Rong Yuan, such that he did not see her. On the other hand, Gu Lingzhi could see both of them clearly.

Ding Rou wore a robe that was a bright, fiery red. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, accentuating her sharp facial features that gave off an otherworldly vibe. The smile on her face had shaken even Gu Lingzhi’s heart, what more if it was a man? No wonder she had many suitors in the Royal School.

Looking at the sincere smile on Rong Yuan’s face, she looked down and tried to get rid of the discomfort in her heart. She did not know what they were talking about previously, but they both erupted in laughter at the same time. Looking up again, she saw Ding Rou’s gaze on her, her hand on Rong Yuan’s shoulder.

“Rong Yuan, look, isn’t your pretty girlfriend standing right over there?”

Rong Yuan immediately turned around to where Ding Rou was pointing and smiled at Gu Lingzhi, “Lingzhi, I’ve finally found you.”

Gu Lingzhi plastered a half-smile on her face and replied, “I thought you’d forgotten about me.”

Her words had caused Rong Yuan to be stunned for a moment. A gentle look on his eyes, he asked, “Lingzhi, are you acting coy towards me?”

“What do you think?” Gu Lingzhi tossed the question right back at him and looked at Ding Rou, “Isn’t this Senior Ding Rou? I’ve heard of you a long time ago but never had the chance to formally meet with you. I didn’t think that I would meet you here.”

“Yes, it is such a coincidence,” Ding Rou laughed, “I didn’t think that I would meet Rong Yuan here too. If it weren’t for him, I would have been scammed by that heartless shopkeeper.”

Ding Rou then gave Rong Yuan a pat on the shoulder, exchanging smiles with him.

Seeing the interaction between both of them, Gu Lingzhi’s heart went into a frenzy. Ding Rou’s hand that was on Rong Yuan’s shoulder also became a sore sight.

This was the first time that she had seen Rong Yuan being so close with another girl other than herself. He had allowed Ding Rou to say his name formally and did not mind her hand on his shoulder. Gu Lingzhi had only started to call Rong Yuan by his name to avoid appearing to strangers as if they were distant from each other.

“Look at me, I was so excited that I’ve forgotten that you’re already part of the Royal Family.” Without waiting for the sourness in Gu Lingzhi’s heart to develop any further, Ding Rou removed her hand from Rong Yuan’s shoulder and looked at Gu Lingzhi apologetically, “I’ve forgotten to tell you that I’ve always treated him like a brother, I hope Lady Gu doesn’t mind.”

“I don’t mind,” Gu Lingzhi smiled, “He’s always had many women around him, I’m used to it.”

“Haha, Lady Gu, you have a good sense of humor, unlike what the rumors say. I was just telling everyone that the lady who could be treated exceptionally by Rong Yuan would be someone special. Now that I’ve met you, you’re indeed one-of-a-kind.”

“Of course, my judgment has never been bad,” Rong Yuan laughed lightly. Extending his arm, he brought Gu Lingzhi closer to him and whispered in his ear, “How dare you forget about me while picking out your things? Watch how I’ll get back at you when we get home.”

He wanted to get back at her? Who was the one who had told her to go ahead and shop while he would stay close behind? Once she turned around, he was already with another girl. What’s more was that it seemed like he was the one who had started the conversation with Ding Rou first.

Furious, Gu Lingzhi laughed in response as well, “How do you intend on getting back at me?”

“I think…” Rong Yuan lowered his voice and dragged out his words. He tightened his grip on her waist, sending her a very clear message what he had meant. Gu Lingzhi’s face immediately darkened and she scolded, “You’re shameless.” Rong Yuan only laughed blandly in response.

The display of affection in front of Ding Rou made her cough and wave her hands dismissively, “Since you’ve found each other, I’m not going to stay here any longer. Both of you can continue talking to one another.” She then turned around and left, two men trailing behind her.

Without anyone else to interfere, Rong Yuan let go of Gu Lingzhi and took her hand in his, pulling her towards the Fuyue Restaurant.

The Fuyue Restaurant in the Yan Capital was located strategically, like how the Bright Silk Eating House was located in Chiyang City. They were eating spots that tourists could not miss out on. The food that Fuyue Restaurant served were made from carefully chosen high-quality ingredients. A few of their specialty dishes were made from the meat of Demon Beasts that were as powerful as Martial Sages. However, they were subject to availability and every time they were put on the menu, many people would flock to the restaurant to try these dishes.

Today was Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan’s lucky day, as someone had brought in a fifth-order demon beast that they had killed and sold it to the Fuyue Restaurant.

“I would like one serving of the Eight Treasures that I’ve reserved beforehand, some other small dishes and a bottle of Jingxian Wine,” Rong Yuan randomly picked out some dishes after looking at the menu. He then handed the menu over to Gu Lingzhi.

Gu Lingzhi received the menu and after glancing through the description of the dishes that Rong Yuan had ordered, she passed the menu back.

“These dishes are enough.” It’s not like they were two pigs who ate a lot.

The waiter confirmed their order once again before leaving to prepare them.

After the waiter left, Rong Yuan suddenly stood up from his seat and went to sit beside her. He stretched his hands towards her and cupped her face. After examining her face, he confirmed, “Lingzhi, you’re angry.”