The Silly Alchemist

“Ah, we’ve reached an agreement already? I wasn’t expecting it to be so easy, I even prepared a long speech…Well, fine...” the gorgeous girl seemed a little disappointed that there wasn’t much of a debate. She hadn’t had the chance to use the script she prepared.

What a waste of time and effort!

“Alright then. I shall excuse myself now,” waved the girl as she left the venue. 

“Stop!”

There were two girls who were not ready for her to leave. 

These two had been waiting for Ye Lang for three whole days. It was Ye Lanyu and the seventh princess!

“You must be Miss Ye Lanyu. Please do not ask me about Ye Lang’s whereabouts as I have no idea!” the girl gave her a small smile, though she stared at Lanyu in a peculiar manner. 

The girl continued, “But you don’t need to worry, Ye Lang told me to inform his sister and the seventh princess that he will surely be present at the final round in three days!”

“You’re behaving quite oddly, are you lying?” Ye Lanyu was sceptical about the credibility of this girl’s message. Her expression was odd as if she was hiding something from Lanyu. 

“I’m laughing because the thirteenth prince initially wanted to offer you two to the audience if the panel hadn’t agreed to his request…” the girl’s tone had a hint of slyness, her smile hiding a secret untold. 

“Offer us to the audience? What do you mean?” questioned Lanyu and the seventh princess.

“He said if the panel had found Zhen Xiaoyan not worthy, he’d let his sister perform a dance on stage, surely many would love to see that. If that plan didn’t work, then he’d offer the seventh princess to sing a song for the audience instead…”

Fuck! Why didn’t you say so earlier?! Some of the by-standers eavesdropping the exchange between the three girls were filled with regret. If only they had pressed a little further, they would’ve had the chance to see these two rare beauties perform! This was so sad…

While everyone around them started to wail and wallow in sadness, Ye Lanyu and the seventh princess’s expressions turned to stone. “Ye Lang, you little sicko! I’m going to skin you alive!” yelled the girls in unison. 

Why was there such a response to the offer? Well… Ye Lanyu had once performed a dance many years back. Her posture, her movements and expression were... indescribable. Perhaps you could tell how it went with a comment she received from her beloved brother, Ye Lang.

…..

“Sister, are you alright? Cramps?” asked Ye Lang with genuine concern. 

“... I-I was dancing!” Ye Lanyu was a little taken aback by such a comment. 

“Ah, I see. But why were you so stiff and expressionless? You looked like a log of wood!” supplied Ye Lang dumbly. He was relieved to hear that it was just dancing and not cramps in her limbs. 

“Are you messing with me?” Ye Lanyu’s brows were scrunched up, she was pissed. 

“...You did a great, sister! I’m so dumb I couldn’t understand your art. Everyone else loved it and they had such big smiles plastered on their faces! Though I think the food tonight might’ve gone bad, they were clutching their stomachs very hard,” continued Ye Lang innocently, unintentionally shifted her anger onto someone else. 

“Idiot! Keep your mouth shut if you have nothing nice to say! Sweetie, you were amazing, I loved it! But please don’t ever dance in front of anyone else ever again…” heaved Long Anqi as she clutched her stomach, looking as if she was about to collapse soon. 

“...”

…...

It was the same case for the seventh princess’s singing. Though dancing and singing were different arts on their own, she had the same problem as Ye Lanyu. Her voice was melodious in speech but when she sang...It was a disaster. 

To save themselves from future embarrassment, the two girls made a silent oath to never sing or dance ever again. None of them dared to dream of returning to the stage, which explained their rage now. 

Clueless about their unwillingness, many wished to see them on stage with their “unique” talents. It was an acquired taste to appreciate such art but it was worth doing so for such beauties!

Unfortunately, one could only dream. Not even Ye Lang would have the chance to see them perform again! 

“Hehe, remember to hit him after this, bite him!” stated the gorgeous girl cheekily before disappearing in the crowd of angry and excited people. 

It was utter chaos at the scene, so crowded it looked as if the girl had disappeared. In the end, no one had grasped the identity of the strange gorgeous girl.

There were guesses here and there. A certain someone had popped up in their mind but was the possibility was quickly dismissed. There was too stark of a difference between this beauty and the girl they had in mind. 

The idea had appeared as some found their voices very similar, but again not that similar either. This girl gave off a cheeky, approachable feeling while the person in mind was absolutely seductive and arrogant. 

It was just weird… were they thinking too much? Perhaps… Maybe paying a visit to that one place at night would give them an answer to this mystery. 

On the hand, both Ye Lanyu and the seventh princess were regretted losing their temper. They should’ve instead held on to the girl to pry more about the missing boy. They might not get the exact answer to his current location but at the very least they would know his previous locations. 

The girl’s tone certainly meant she was with Ye Lang before this!

Unfortunately, what was done, was done. Now, they had only the option to wait for another three days before they could beat Ye Lang to a pulp!

Meanwhile, in a corner of the kingdom…

Ye Lang let out a roaring sneeze. “My, my, who is thinking of me now?” muttered the boy to himself while giving his nose a rub. 

“Come on, fatty! You can do this! All your sacrifices will be worth it in just another three days!” said Ye Lang without sparing a glance to the struggling Zhen Xiaoyan. He sat comfortably in a rocking chair, reading a book.

“Hmph, easy for you to say! I’m literally disintegrating right here while you’re there enjoying your book and my suffering!”

“Well, there’s really nothing else I can do for you in this aspect!” replied Ye Lang like it was the most obvious thing ever. 

“You could at least be my cheerleader, make me feel like we’re going through this together…”

“Oh, okay. Come on, push for it, fatty! You’ve got this! You can win this! I believe in you!” said Ye Lang firmly while he held out a signboard and started to write cheers and encouragements on it. After a brief moment, he placed it down and returned to his book with a slight rock of his chair. 

“... Go to hell!” 

“I must be already dead since I’m seeing you here…”

“Are you saying that I look like a ghost?!”

“Hey, don’t blame me, you said it yourself!” 

“...”