The Silly Alchemist

Holding his book and trying his best to hide, Ye Lang hissed, “I’m serious, I’m not going to help you with this, I’m not a matchmaker! You have to earn it yourself.” 

“...So it’s true you had no plans to help me in the first place! All your support will just be ‘moral support’, right?” 

“That’s right, I will provide unlimited moral support!” 

“...”

“Go to hell!” Xiaoyan picked up an item and tossed it towards Ye Lang in anger.

“Hey, Xiaoyan…Can you please stop doing that?!” yelled another innocent bystander while Ye Lang walked away unharmed. 

“Damn! No fishball noodles for you tomorrow!” 

“I want my usual tomorrow.” 

“...”

Zhen Xiaoyan did still prepare lunch for Ye Lang on the very next day -not sure out of fear of him taking her lunch or just out of habit. Anyway, it was business as usual. 

However, there had recently been a break in the routine. Zhen Xiaoyan had also started to pack lunch for Moya- it was part of her strategy to ‘conquer his heart through his stomach’! 

Her plans unfortunately often disrupted the couple’s lunch break. To spend some time together, Sha Lan and Moya even began to avoid meeting in the study halls, often switching their meeting place They began to spend time together at the entrance of the alchemy academy, in the cafeteria, and then various obscure corners around the school. Their current choice was the cafeteria.

Why the big fuss? Well, the couple hadn’t been able to enjoy quality time together because Zhen Xiaoyan would simply pop out of nowhere no matter where they were. They'd no idea how she was able to guess their locations! So, in the end, they figured that it would be pointless to hide and had simply settled on meeting in the cafeteria. 

People often go insane because of love. You might even question the existence of something called a brain when you meet them. Then again, for love, they’d find a way to overcome any obstacle and meet impossible goals.

Zhen Xiaoyan had gone mad. She was so focused on chasing after the boy of her dreams, she never stopped to consider Moya’s feelings. She even ignored advice and comments from other people. 

“This is all your fault, Ye Lang!" hissed Sha Lan and Moya, grinding their teeth. This was something they often said. They hated Zhen Xiaoyan, but they also hated Ye Lang as he was the trigger to their now chaotic life. 

Truthfully, if it weren’t for him, Xiaoyan wouldn’t have caused such a scene and challenged Sha Lan in a battle for love. Without Ye Lang,  Xiaoyan wouldn’t have thought to mention something so insane like, “I like you and it’s none of your business!” to defend her actions when told off by the couple. 

…

“Don’t look at me like that! I swear I’m innocent!” Ye Lang frantically waved his arms in front of the glaring Sha Lan. 

“Hmph!”

…

This went on for quite some time. There were many different opinions on this incident- some felt it was unreasonable, some felt it was inspiring, some even supported Xiaoyan, while others looked down on her…

However, everyone agreed that Zhen Xiaoyan’s courage was admirable. They learnt something from this incident. One day, when they met someone they liked, they promised themselves to be as firm as Xiaoyan and would pursue them with their heart and soul. 

As time passed, Sha Lan’s hatred towards Xiaoyan gradually intensified. Ye Lang was spared as he was slowly left out of the picture. Technically, the boy hadn’t done much other than lighting the fire in Xiaoyan’s heart. He didn’t help her with anything, he’d just given her some moral support. 

Sha Lan was determined to end the torment earlier- she decided to drive Xiaoyan into a dead end. 

“What?! You’re joining the beauty pageant?!” Ye Lang was shocked to his core after hearing the news. His eyes bulged from their sockets. 

“No, this isn't a beauty pageant. Look, it says The Most Talented Girl---Royal Institute of Education here,” corrected Xiaoyan. 

“It makes no difference. It may say 'most talented' but you and I know they’re going to judge you by your appearance and personality too. At the end of the day, it’s still a beauty contest,” Ye Lang really wasn’t the most discreet person to begin with. 

The Most Talented Girl of the Royal Institute of Education was a competition that was held on campus once every three years. The event was a huge deal not only on campus but also in town. Every year, crowds would come to attend the showcase. Some people may travel from far, just to see this competition! 

Why the attention? Well, just like what Ye Lang said, it was a beauty contest in a sense. Many of the contestants were talented, beautiful and charming girls from aristocratic families.

Aristocrat girls rarely made public appearances like that, so this competition was a good platform for curious citizens to satisfy their curiosity of seeing what these girls looked like. The event itself was extremely crowded. 

But this had also meant one thing, if Xiaoyan entered as a contestant, it would certainly cause a great stir among the crowd. Unfortunately, her current form might attract negativity and harm...

“Are you planning to embarrass yourself by joining this? Why are you doing this?” Ye Lang asked in a straightforward manner. Though everyone thought the same when they heard the news, no one was as insensitive as Ye Lang. 

“Moya and Sha Lan said if I join and win this competition, I’ll get to be with Moya!” Xiaoyan explained with mixed feelings. She knew that this was just a prank to publicly embarrass her, but the possibility of getting together with Moya had made her accept the challenge. 

This would be her last fight, her last time being a silly woman. After this, she would surely give up on her feelings towards the handsome Moya,  and would never dream of such like thing ever again! 

“I see. So did she ever mention any specific details, like you having a higher ranking than her or winning the overall competition in order to win?” Ye Lang had to admit he was quite impressed by Xiaoyan. 

“Nope, she said nothing of that sort. But I guess it’s just the same,” she shrugged in response. 

“True, you’re bound to lose anyway!” 

“...”

“Can’t you just be a champ and show me some support?” she was a little offended at his reply. 

“Support? Oh, right. I remember they’ll be placing bets for this competition, I’ll go and place a bet for you. But before that, let me ask you something. Singing, dancing, playing an instrument- do you even know how to do any of these?” Ye Lang asked. 

“I… don’t know any of these,” she said while shaking her head. 

“Do you have any other talents other than cooking?” added Ye Lang. 

“No.” she shook her head again. 

“If I recall, your upper-class etiquettes were so awful, it’s like you don’t know a thing at all,” said Ye Lang after some thought. Even though not much attention was paid on proper aristocratic etiquette in the alchemy academy, still the girls would make an effort to learn or practice it. However, that obviously wasn’t the case for Zhen Xiaoyan. 

“That’s true…” muttered Xiaoyan. 

“Alright, I shall go place a bet of a hundred thousand gold coins on you emerging as a winner. I’m such a supportive friend, no?” Ye Lang said as he was about to leave. 

“A hundred thousand gold coins?!” Xiaoyan was taken aback by the amount. That was way too much!

While she knew Ye Lang was a prodigal and such an amount was nothing to him, it still seemed pointless to spend it on supporting someone who was barely a close friend!