Love from the Male Protagonist’s Harem

Chapter 48-The Kindness of One Candy Part 2

Translated by Snowfall77

Huo Bai’s pupils contracted, then subconsciously strayed back to  Xia Wuyin’s face.  Finished with both weighing the silver carbon and the candy, Xia Wuyin tilted his head up, obviously deep in thought, the reflection of flames flickering over his cheeks.  His expression was distressed and preoccupied, but strangely without any hint of physical pain.

Xia Wuyin was bleeding though.

——Did he not feel it?

The reek of blood was only getting stronger.

Apparently sensing Huo Bai’s scrutiny, Xia Wuyin lifted his head and met Huo Bai’s probing gaze.  Xia Wuyin blinked and touched his face, seemingly perplexed as to Huo Bai’s reason for staring.  A moment  later something visibly dawned on Xia Wuyin and his wan face turned bright with a glittering smile.

“Brother Huo, don’t be worried!  Rest assured!  To repay the kindness of your candy, after the examination is over, I will definitely buy you a meal!  You can count on it!”

Huo Bai: “……”

Frustrated, Huo Bai turned his head to sullenly look straight ahead.

Who wants to have dinner with you?!

What does your blood loss and death have to do with me?!

The next second, Huo Bai heard Mao Qing’s voice from his other side: “After I get 1st place, I’m gonna invite you out for a meal.  Your candy was very good!”

Huo Bai: “……”

I said it wasn’t my candy!

Bring it up one more time and I’ll kill you!

Again the Danfeng disciple’s voice rang out: “Commence!  The examination begins now!”

And thus it did.

Immediately the field was filled with a flurry of activity, every participant tossing materials into their furnace.  Fire burned, plumes of smoke rising into the air as potential inner disciples from every walk of life gave their all to prove what they were capable of.

Over at the east platform, Chu Yao sat holding her double-edged sword, brow slightly furrowed.

Xiaoqing, watching at Chu Yao’s side, didn’t miss Chu Yao’s riveted stare at that boy in black who’d showed up at the last minute.

Xiaoqing spoke up: “Miss……you’re interested in that Xia Wuyin?”
Ever since Xia Wuyin had appeared, Chu Yao had been memorized.  But what was so special about that boy?

Chu Yao’s lips thinned: “Mmm.”

Light brown eyes flickering, she suddenly added a moment later: “He shouldn’t have come here.”

He?  Who?  ……Xia Wuyin?

Xiaoqing surmised: “You mean……he has no talent for liandan?”

Chu Yao was irritated: “Who knows if he’s got the skill or not?”

A thoroughly confused Xiaoqing: “Then……”

Chu Yao paused: “His eyes, they’re not appropriate.”

Xiaoqing: “???”

Explaining no further, Chu Yao couldn’t help recollecting her last encounter with the boy.

The deception wasn’t unexpected, the name ‘Xia Ge’ surely given to shake Chu Yao off.

But that wasn’t what Chu Yao was hung up on.

The last time they’d seen each other, when Xia Wuyin had rescued that little girl, righteous anger and compassion had burned in the boy’s eyes.

Because of compassion, there was anger at injustice.  Because of compassion, there was defending the weak.

Chu Yao grasped her sword and watched the black-haired boy, the expression in her light brown eyes sinking.

Even if the boy wanted to—

——It wasn’t his destiny to be in front of a furnace making dan for the rest of his life.

Because of the compassion in his heart, he would end up walking a hard path in the future.

Xia Ge, completely unaware that she was being built up as a superhero in someone else’s imagination, was methodically following her steps, carefully putting materials in the furnace at the right time and in the right order.

Huo Bai, on the other hand, was haphazardly tossing materials into his furnace as if he hadn’t a care in the world.  While Mao Qing was rigidly glaring at her furnace, pretty eyes wide open and cold sweat dripping down her cheek, making her nervousness very apparent.

Observing them both with bemusement, Xia Ge tossed another ingredient into her furnace, and whispered to the system: “You see that?  One is putting in no effort and the other a little too much.  Funny.”

System: [……If It’s Not Too Inconvenient, Could You Exercise Some Conscientiousness, Please?  Thank You.]

“Little puppet, would you kill you to show me some support?”  Xia Ge gave a little laugh, but her movements slowed.  She’d already finished the peppermint candy, and although the crisp mint taste lingered on her tongue, the dizziness was starting to creep back.

The system made a token effort: [Oh Yes, You’re Showing Exceeding Skill.  So Fierce, So Exciting.]

Xia Ge: “……just stop, you shutting the hell up is better.”

The vertigo was getting worse and worse, and she couldn’t keep track of time.

Unable to shake the sluggishness off, Xia Ge tried to come up with a plan: “Little puppet.”

System: [Yes?]

“Can you make the sounds of a clock for me, you know, like a click for every second?”  Having put almost all her materials into the furnace, Xia Ge propped herself against the table with one hand, her vision doubling, then tripling everything she saw in a decidedly unbeneficial manner.

System: [……I Can Do That.]

The sound of seconds ticking away filled Xia Ge’s ears.  Coming back to her senses, Xia Ge picked up the Liuli tree that she’d weighed, her hand shaking.

Click-

Click-

Five seconds……that should be about right.

Xia Ge dropped the Liuli tree chunk into the furnace, her vision going dark.  Grabbing the corner of the table, she pressed its sharpness into the palm of her hand, willing the faint pain to be a stimulant.  After a long moment, there was the sense of someone watching her and Xia Ge unconsciously lifted her head.

But practically all her brain could handle at the moment was focusing on counting down the next 30 seconds……

Half a minute……thirty clicks.

Click-

Click-

Who’d been looking at her?

……Ye Ze?

Xia Ge’s gaze drifted to the north platform, where Gu Peijiu was serenely seated, dressed in her red and white silk.  Ye Ze was standing next to her, and had probably noticed Xia Ge’s less than stellar condition, given his vaguely worried expression.

Xia Ge smiled at him.

——Don’t be uneasy, I’ve got this.

Gu Peijiu’s face was slightly turned to the side, her long black hair elegantly tied back by her red ribbon. Xia Ge couldn’t exactly tell if Gu Peijiu was looking in her direction or not.  Per usual though, her countenance was detached, her posture graceful, and her mien calm.

……Senior Sister.

Despite the physical distance between Senior Sister and herself, Xia Ge couldn’t help feeling that Senior Sister’s eyes were gazing back at her.

And as soon as Xia Ge believed it, suddenly those black eyes seemed to belong to her alone.

……their inward light quiet and tender.