Lu Mingfei: What? They're all real!

“Forget it, you’re barely any meat on your body. You wouldn’t even make enough to cover the travel expenses if you sold you to the slaughterhouse.” Lu Mingfei shook his head. “Let’s just forget it.”

These words struck a nerve with the girl, and she instantly lost her temper. "How dare you say that! Zero has three ounces of flesh? She's not even as tall as me! I don't think you like mature women at all; you're just a lolicon."

She suddenly stood up, waving her arms up and down as if to show that she at least had the advantage of height.

"Stop talking about these things, I'm so tired, I want to sleep." Lu Mingfei really didn't have the energy to argue or play around with her today. "I've been busy all night."

"Of course, we fought all night, of course we're exhausted." The girl's hands trembled with anger.

"Come closer." Lu Mingfei reached into his pocket, only able to prove his innocence with concrete evidence.

Xia Mi's neck was stiff as iron, but her head moved sideways.

Lu Mingfei opened his palm, and a small crystal lay in his hand.

Chapter 80 The First Gift

"This is..." Xia Mi instantly lost her girlish aura, her pupils contracted, becoming a vertical line.

“Didn’t we talk about it in class? The Philosopher’s Stone.” Lu Mingfei waved his hand, the small crystal bouncing up and down in his palm.

"Where did you get this?" Xia Mi's voice had become low, her eyes fixed on the small, blood-red crystal, unable to look away.

Humans call the condensed spiritual element the "Philosopher's Stone," hailing it as a miracle of alchemy, and even in the world of dragons, such praise holds true.

Jormungandr wasn't the type to excel at alchemy. In her eyes, the strongest alchemist was Odin, followed by Norton and Constantine. Even if you subtract Norton and Constantine from Odin's stats, he was probably still stronger than her... She didn't know if Odin or Norton could easily create the Philosopher's Stone, but she knew that even if she used all her strength, she would never have the ability to create such a thing.

The spiritual element transcends the four elements. No monarch can command such an element that transcends the rules. If there is anything in the world that can threaten the princes of the dragon race, it must be this.

"I found it while picking up trash," Lu Mingfei answered honestly; he really had found it while picking up trash.

"Nonsense," the girl scoffed. "If I could find this thing while scavenging, I'd go scavenging every day and compete with that retired old lady in our neighborhood for territory."

“It really is,” Lu Mingfei said again.

He himself didn't believe it was such a coincidence, especially since every time he thought of the "Sunset" who posted the message, he strongly suspected that this thing might have been planted in that bone by Lu Mingze, and that the woman who wanted to "steal the Philosopher's Stone" was also sent by him, and her purpose...

The purpose was something Lu Mingfei couldn't figure out. He always felt that if Lu Mingze was scheming and calculating in some way, it couldn't all be for him to be held in Ling's arms and sleep, right?

But considering what that devilish guy had said, Lu Mingfei thought it wasn't impossible...

"Alright then, I believe you."

Xia Mi seemed much calmer, whether it was because the person in front of her was holding something that could kill her, or because she believed that he really hadn't spent two days and one night fooling around with another girl... She was probably more concerned about the latter; she wasn't afraid that the boy in front of her might have murderous intentions.

A cheerful smile returned to her face, and she became the lively girl again. She leaned closer to take a closer look at the thing. Although she had seen this kind of thing before, most of the time it was aimed directly at her vitals, and she had never had the chance to look at it so closely.

“Spiritual elements… are wonderful.” She nodded repeatedly in admiration, then began to mutter complaints about someone, “That biased old man, he gave such good power and influence to a disloyal guy. He deserves to fall into that guy’s hands.”

"How so?" Lu Mingfei suddenly became interested.

"Don't you know? It's the one I told you about last time. The old man got carried away and handed over such an important power over the spiritual element to someone else. Isn't it only natural that he was betrayed?" Xia Mi said. "Anyway, he's just an idiot. He deserved all the harm he suffered."

"What if it's not betrayal?" Lu Mingfei had no recollection of this statement and was completely unmoved by it.

"How could that be? Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, it must be like that!" Xia Mi was indignant, just like those big trolls that Lu Mingfei had seen on various forums.

"Aren't you judging others by your own standards?"

"What? I... I had my reasons back then." Xia Mi defended herself, her voice becoming low. "That matter was too complicated. People who haven't experienced it won't understand. Everything changed too fast. Before we could even react, everyone was caught in the crossfire. The moment the blood oath was signed felt like a dream... It all felt like a pre-orchestrated scheme..."

She doesn't seem to be lying.

"So you hatched from the egg quite late, didn't you? You don't even know about such a major event? I'm starting to question your stance." But then she suddenly changed her tune and started shouting and questioning Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei silently thought to himself, "Of course I wasn't hatched from an egg; I was born of my mother."

"So you have to be more respectful to your older sister from now on, understand?" The girl proudly elevated her status.

"Sister my foot! You're a year younger than me, and I'm already being very lenient by not making you call me 'brother'." Lu Mingfei waved his hand dismissively. "Lu Mingfei is a year older than Xia Mi. If you don't believe me, take out your ID card and let me see. It's nationally certified. Stop bringing up the past. I'm Lu Mingfei now, and you're Xia Mi, understand?"

The girl was stunned by these words, blinking repeatedly, unable to recover for a long time. After a long while, she nodded slowly and forcefully, letting out a heavy "Mmm".

She liked that sentence from the bottom of her heart.

"Also, this is for you. Keep it safe and don't let anyone find out." Lu Mingfei flicked his arm, and the crystal in his hand flew out lightly.

Xia Mi hurriedly reached out to catch it, thankfully preventing the precious item from falling to the ground. Then she belatedly realized... according to him, it was probably some kind of gift.

"You gave it to me?" she asked incredulously.

"It's yours," Lu Mingfei said generously.

He felt that this thing was useless to him.

Lu Mingfei doesn't need solidified spiritual elements; he can control them just as well as unsolidified ones, so there's no need for extra steps... But he understands the preciousness of this thing. If others—like the cheeky and talkative Finger—discover it, it will definitely spread throughout the campus within ten minutes and then reach the ears of those higher-ups. He doesn't want to carry such a time bomb with him.

He also asked Lao Tang, but Lao Tang said he didn't want that stuff. "Do you know why I never crash? Because I never covet windfall gains. That's how I can last, Mingming!" These were Lao Tang's exact words.

He didn't intend to give this kind of thing to Zero either; he didn't want her to get into trouble.

But keeping them for himself would only do him harm, so giving them to the more experienced Jormungandr was the only option... He just hadn't expected that she would take them as a gift...

"Hmph...Hmph..." The girl seemed to have suddenly lost her voice, just exhaling breaths from her nose, looking smug.

Lu Mingfei blinked strangely, wondering if this stuff was actually highly poisonous to dragons. This poor girl had already been poisoned and gone mad even from just skin contact.

Fortunately, Xia Mi was still able to speak normally.

The girl jumped up from her seat, her face held high as if she were about to fly away. She showed her sharp canine teeth and laughed lightly. "Then I'll accept it. Thank you for your kindness. Although receiving the Philosopher's Stone as the first gift from a friend sounds a bit unlucky, I'll remember it until I use it."

"Even if you use it, don't forget!" Lu Mingfei said. "Also, don't let Zero know."

"No way! I'll go back and tell her this is a gift I received from someone!" The girl turned and ran.

……

Before Xia Mi returned, a long time passed before Lu Mingfei suddenly realized that the "important matter" she had summoned him for seemed to be interrogating him about what he had been doing outside...

"Don't actually tell her!" he exclaimed, and chased after her.

Chapter 81 The Red Sleeve Fragrance Academy

Almost three weeks have passed since the start of the semester. The initial feelings of novelty or fear have disappeared among the new students. Everyone has entered the standard college student state, with some lazy, some actively skipping classes, and some sleeping all day long.

There are also big stars like Lu Mingfei, who are watched by others every day, and even eating an extra meal will be reported.

Zero dislikes other people, dislikes everything about them, even the air itself; she always creates a vacuum around herself. She also dislikes other people's gazes, but she can't shake off those looks. To be honest, she enjoys being talked about how close she is to Lu Mingfei, but she doesn't want to be constantly watched.

So she always chose to cover her face with a book.

Lu Mingfei couldn't help but sigh at this.

"Serves her right! Who told her to insist on going out with you?" Xia Mi said indignantly.

"Then why are you so agitated?" Lu Mingfei retorted.

The girl was momentarily speechless. She stiffened her neck and tried to find an excuse, taking several moments to speak before finally opening her mouth, "I... I'm just worried that everyone will know about your ambiguous relationship with other people, and if I tell the people at the academy that you want to take me along, there might be problems..."

Her voice grew softer and softer, revealing a hint of guilt.

“Then you really should think about it.” Lu Mingfei’s expression became a little more serious. “Although I don’t know exactly what the ‘Kuimen Project’ looks like, I checked the map and it’s near the Three Gorges. It’s very likely that we’ll be going underwater. I just happened to hear from Fingel that the people in the Executive Department who are strictly prohibited from working underwater have developed feelings for each other. It’s probably related to the failure of an operation many years ago. He seemed pretty serious, so I guess he’s not lying.”

"That's not important!" Xia Mi waved her hand and said, "We're not members of the Execution Department, and what you did wasn't in accordance with the rules anyway. As long as you're firm in your attitude and tell everyone that I'm the one you'd rather die with, they'll make an exception for you. You're a noble S-rank."

Ever since she learned that the difference between an S-level scholarship and an A-level scholarship was enormous, she had often used this tone to mock Lu Mingfei. She always muttered that Lu Mingfei was too bold and made himself so conspicuous. What if he was discovered?

However, she never mentioned this when she was eating at someone else's house.

"But judging from how you're indulging in this gentle embrace, you must have other ideas on your mind, right?" she said sourly. "What grand ambition could possibly compare to sleeping with a sweet, soft little girl!"

“I now strongly suspect that you posted that 'S-Class Enjoying a Spring Night' erotic post.” Lu Mingfei’s eyes were piercing.

"No way! My ID is clearly 'Dreaming of becoming a rich woman,' okay?" Xia Mi said openly.

“What a silly ID…” Lu Mingfei couldn’t help but complain.

"'Mingming' isn't a name a normal person would choose; it sounds like a girl's name," the girl retorted.

The two of them huddled together again, arguing back and forth, completely oblivious to the commotion that had broken out in the large classroom.

"Lu Mingfei." A male voice rang down from above, like a priest preaching in a church.

The boy and girl looked up and found that the guy in front of them was so bright that they couldn't open their eyes.

The visitor was Caesar.

"Hello there," Lu Mingfei waved awkwardly, "You're here for class too?"

He thought to himself that this guy looked all high and mighty on the surface, yet he still had to repeat his first-year courses. He was indeed a playboy who was all show and no substance.

"I'm not here to teach a class, I'm here to see you."

When Caesar spoke, it was as if he had a built-in amplifier; his voice echoed throughout the entire space.

The students who were still discussing Caesar's arrival fell silent instantly. Although the semester had not been long, quite a few people had already joined the student council. The Lionheart Society, their only rival, rarely recruited new members. Therefore, the atmosphere was easily defined, and almost everyone maintained their respect for the student council president.

At this moment, Ling also laid her textbook flat and raised her face. Although she was a little small, she had a strong presence.

"No, no, no, don't suddenly become so tense, as if I'm here to cause trouble." Caesar smiled calmly. "How about letting your guards calm down first?"

That's what he said, but there were even more people standing behind him, a huge crowd of probably dozens. Following closely behind on the first floor were likely the vice chairman and the heads of various departments, and then it was all girls... This suddenly reminded Lu Mingfei of Young Master Zhao...

However, these girls were far more attractive than the dance troupe that Young Master Zhao had spent a lot of money to hire, and they were much more demure. Half of the girls were holding books, like the type of girls who would sit quietly by the window in a high school class and read books, and they were also wearing glasses—it is obviously very difficult for mixed-race people to be nearsighted.

Lu Mingfei suddenly understood what this guy wanted to do.

He hurriedly tried to stand up to stop Caesar from saying what he was about to say—

"This is a new department established by a resolution passed by all members of the student council. I've named it the 'Red Sleeve Fragrance Academy.' How about it? You should be very interested, right?" Caesar said confidently, extending Shen Lü Meng's hand again. "Join us, join the student council, and become a true elite. The results of the 3E exam have already proven that you are a well-deserved S-class, a treasure of this campus. I invite you to join us and lead this department."

The results of the 3E exam were just released yesterday afternoon. Lu Mingfei did the math and figured that Brother Caesar must have held a meeting overnight to establish the "Red Sleeve Fragrance Academy"—

What a terrible name! It's not even as good as the Pretty Girls Book Club!

Lu Mingfei was furious. He certainly didn't want to give up his previous life, but he also didn't want to be constantly nagged about it. Was joining the literary society some kind of brand? "Lu Mingfei" wasn't some literary lad!

He shook his head as if convulsing.

"What do you mean?" Caesar was clearly surprised, repeating the key point he had just wanted to make, "What I mean is that you will be the leader of this department, leading these girls who love literature. This responsibility is indispensable to you."

Lu Mingfei's convulsions suddenly stopped, and he let out a desolate, eerie laugh. He felt that his reputation was finally going to be ruined today, even though, thanks to Fingel's embellishment, he didn't have a good reputation to begin with...

Laughter is a strange thing. When someone is at their wit's end but then a stroke of luck turns around, laughing might just lead to a Zhao Zilong appearing by the roadside; laughing while captured might trigger the perfect "spare the life" scenario; but if you laugh while being offered amnesty, the ending is pretty obvious—

Lu Mingfei grabbed Caesar's hand, his face displaying a strange smile that was a mixture of crying and laughing.

“Brother Caesar, I have no problem with you personally, but I must solemnly tell you—” Lu Mingfei said with a look of grim determination, “I will absolutely, absolutely not join your strange organization.”

"Is it because only half the girls from the dance troupe were selected? We can add more—"

"do not want!"

Chapter 82: The Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage Didn't Mean That

"Failed?" Nono leaned against the wall by the classroom door, looking at the man who came out with a grin.

Her face clearly said, "I knew it would turn out like this."

"Yes, a complete failure." Caesar didn't shy away from his defeat. He nodded, cautiously and rationally analyzing his own performance. "It's probably because he wasn't well-prepared. He might not like organizations like the Pretty Girls Book Club... but it's also possible that he felt embarrassed because his female companions were around—"

“That’s not the reason. I made the same mistake as you before.” Nono’s expression was somewhat mocking. “I also thought he was a lapdog who would drool over a woman’s charms, so I suffered a painful defeat.”

She was more like mocking herself.

"I haven't heard you mention that before."

Caesar moved a little further in this direction, making way for the crowd behind him. Girls carrying books filed out, taking off their glasses and chattering about Lu Mingfei.

"I don't tell you everything," Nono said, crossing her arms and leaning back to the other side. "Anyway, if you want to persuade him, you should offer a sincere invitation, right?"

“Hmm,” Caesar nodded, “The Chinese often mention the story of ‘Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage.’ I’ve read the book about the three kingdoms. So far, we’ve only been invited twice, which isn’t enough.”

“The story of the Three Kingdoms isn’t understood that way,” the girl corrected. “The core of the story of the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage lies in the fact that ‘as a lord, he repeatedly went to the home of his subject and moved the hermit with his sincerity.’ It’s different from what’s happening now. If you approach this with the mindset of a superior looking down on a subordinate, I think you’ll only fail again.”

She sounded as if she had done extensive research on the person named "Lu Mingfei".

"Hmm..." Caesar pondered, "That does make some sense..."

But he only pondered the reasons behind it; he wasn't the type to treat others with an "equal mindset." If he couldn't accept the invitation, he would accept it without hesitation.

“You want to give up,” Nono said, revealing his true thoughts.