104 To Remove the Mountain (1/2)

Chapter 104: To Remove the Mountain

Translator: TransnEditor: Transn

After the second day of classes, when the bell rang, the students did not leave the study room as cheerfully as they usually did. Instead, they turned a succession of shocked and puzzled faces toward the door. Xie Chengyun and Zhong Dajun were standing by the door, with several companions. They were Grade A Dormitory students and had no reason to be here today.

Classes had been ongoing for more than a month, and classmates gradually became familiar with each other and each dormitory came together collectively. Although there were no disputes among them, it was only natural that they had opposing attitudes. When they saw Xie Chengyun, Zhong Dajun, and the others at the door, the students of Classroom Three were not only curious but also vigilant.

Mr. Xie from the South Jin Kingdom had not gone upstairs for days, so he had had a good rest and his face was no longer as pale as it was before. He walked slowly with his companions to the back of the study room, calmly suffering the suspicious and prudent gazes from the Classroom Three student's, he then took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it over, seriously and solemnly.

Ning Que kept watching the door quietly, thinking that the person Mr. Xie was looking for might be Jin Wucai or someone in the front row who might be the daughter of one of the Chang'an nobles. He speculated a romantic scene would play out, but he never expected that Mr. Xie was actually walking straight to the rear of the study room, towards him.

After taking a short moment to contemplate, he stood up and smiled at him. He looked at the brown envelope, and then asked, ”This's an invitation or... You'd like to invite me to dinner?”

Xie Chengyun took one glance at Zhong Dajun who was standing beside Ning Que, whom he turned to with a severe countenance and calmly said, ”It's not an invitation, but a challenge. I'd like to set a gentleman's agreement with you to see who will pull the top spot in the semester exam of the Academy, which is about to start in a month. Since it's an agreement between two gentlemen, I won't profit at your expense. It's limited to the three courses that you got A+ in the academy entry exams.”

Ning Que's total results on the academy entry exams were not that eye-catching, but being that he got A+ in three courses, driving, toxophily and mathematics, made him abruptly overshadow the prominent young talents, Xie Chengyun, Zhong Dajun and Wangying. Their so-called disgust and unwillingness started from that moment on. In addition to the later resounding competition of going upstairs together, Xie Chengyun, the talent of the South Jin Kingdom, who had been prominent since childhood had to admit that he kept losing to the ordinary Bordertown soldier. Xie Chengyun, who came to Tang Empire bearing the glory of his families and even the South Jin Kingdom wouldn't allow himself to keep losing. Besides, due to the instigations of Zhong Dajun's and other companions', he decided to take the chance to win back the elegant demeanor that had always belonged to him.

Naturally, the semester exam was the best chance.

Ning Que never thought that it was possible. He had not been involved in such games for many years, and hadn't held grudges over exam results. To be more accurate, he had never met a classmate who could challenge him in his studies since his first grade of primary school, when he was beaten severely with a mop by his mother, after which he always got full marks.

More crucially, he got used to fatal challenges involving swords, life, and death in this lifetime; but these young classmates still remained at this level, which inevitably made him feel funny and naive, so he could not help laughing. Looking at Xie Chengyun, he wanted to say something, but he found it hard to make it clear to a guy who was from a noble family.

A brief moment of silence and a gentle smile meant different things to different people. Zhong Dajun fretfully asked with a sneer, though he clearly knew Ning Que was not a coward, ”Are you afraid?”

The Classroom Three students fell into a moment of silence, and then broke into a whispering discussion after realizing that the Grade A Dormitory students were here to hand in a letter of challenge. Though Classroom Three students feared the well-known guys such as Xie Chengyun and Zhong Dajun, they still could not help getting annoyed on hearing Zhong Dajun's mockery and provocation. They then all shouted one after another, ”Ning Que, accept his letter!”

Situ Yilan stood up, gave a glance at Ning Que, and was ready to say something. Ning Que, however, shook his head to stop her. He accepted the letter naturally and stared at Xie Chengyun, and asked. ”Although it is neither a duel in cutting sleeves nor a deathmatch in cutting palms, it's certainly about winning or losing. If you insist on using this naive way to win back your lost dignity, I think you should make a relevant bet.”

He added with a smile, ”The bet can't be too much. If the loser can hold up the old library's large pillar and shout out loud 'I love the Empress', then I will withdraw in advance.”

After these remarks, the study room burst out into an exaggerated laughter. Xie Chengyun also laughed and said, ”It is a match between gentlemen and what we want is to improve our studies. All the loser has to do is to invite the opposing side to dinner.”

The bet was nothing but a meal. It was the so-called grand plan with little skill. Hearing Xie Chengyun suddenly changed the original bet, Zhong Dajun who was standing behind him seemed angry. Classroom Three students, however, considered Xie Chengyun's proposal absolutely graceful and were more affectionate towards him.

But Ning Que dismissively shook his head, and smilingly said to Xie Chengyun in a slight voice, ”Gentlemen's agreement... Am I not a gentleman if I don't accept your challenge? Though I'm not actually a gentleman and never expect to act as a gentleman, I think you are far from being a gentleman to force me to yield to your words in this way.”

Xie Chengyun felt slightly awkward and did not say anything.

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