541 Chapter 541: New Friends” (2/2)
”I concur.” Nan Gong Jiao Shou spoke up. ”I'm also friends with Teresa Taylor. I appreciate what you've done for us, Tang Li, but I need to speak with Teresa. No doubt the White Witch is planning a counterattack and I intend to be part of that when we rescue my daughters.”
”There will be no counterattack. Not when Saint Teresa Academy needs time to recover from yesterday's assault.”
”Nonetheless, I wish to speak to Teresa. And Richard is correct. That is most likely the safest place in Flandor City right now.”
Tang Li digested the argument for a moment before he sighed.
”…I understand. As always, Professor Nan Gong's words have wisdom in them. And it's a given that you will want to rescue your daughters as quickly as possible. I apologize for my insensitivity. However…” His eyes narrowed. ”I advise you not to expect too much of Headmistress Taylor, or you'll be sorely disappointed.”
”It's all right. If she's unable to help me, then I'll seek other avenues of approach. The Midnight Order is recruiting volunteers right now, and I have connections to the military. I'll just pull some strings and get myself attached to a squad.” Nan Gong Jiao Shou smiled. ”For everything else, I'll be relying on you, Tang Li.”
Tang Li returned the smile. ”You're so unfair.”
As the adults sank into their own conversation, an uncomfortable silence rose over the teenagers' table. Not wanting to enter a staring contest, I averted my gaze and pretended to sleep. Yue Jian leaned against the window, her expression set in constant concern for her sisters.
”Will Zhao Yan and Ji Yan be all right?”
”They will be,” I assured her, only to be superseded by the blue-haired bishounen.
”We will do everything within our power to ensure your sisters are safely rescued. I promise.”
Wow, what a smooth talker. How pretentious.
”So please don't worry.” Blue-haired idol offered a handkerchief to Yue Jian, whose eyes were filled with tears of worry. No wonder the guy was popular and I wasn't. I didn't even realize Yue Jian was crying, but evidently he was sensitive to the feelings of girls. ”So please don't cry. You look much prettier when you're smiling.”
…you're kidding me, right? Hitting on a girl who was worried about her sisters? That guy was definitely a natural playboy.
”Thank you.”
Yue Jian sniffed as she accepted the white handkerchief. Beside the blue-haired star, the blond tomboy clicked her tongue in annoyance as she glared at Yue Jian with folded arms. Predictably enough, she existed solely to be jealous of the female lead.
”Hmph! Only useless people resort to crying.”
”Ah…” Yue Jian hastily wiped her tears away. ”I'm sorry.”
”You shouldn't be. Only nasty people resort to saying such insensitive things.”
”What did you say?!” the girl snapped, slamming her hands on the table and glaring at me.
”Xue Xiao,” the blue-haired bishounen warned her in a dangerous tone. He then turned to Yue Jian. ”No, we're the ones who should apologize. Xue Xiao can be pretty blunt at times, so please pardon her insensitivity.”
”Hmph.”
Still folding her arms, the girl called Xue Xiao sniffed and looked away unhappily. Pointedly ignoring her, the blue-haired bishounen continued in a conciliatory tone.
”Let me introduce myself. I'm Lin Xuan Chi.” He gestured toward Xue Xiao. And she's Ling Xue Xiao.”
I didn't ask.
”And what's your name?”
As if he didn't notice my hostility, Lin Xuan Chi turned toward Yue Jian and asked in a friendly manner.
”I'm Yue Jian.”
”Yue Jian?” Brushing a lock of hair from his face, Lin Xuan Chi smiled. ”That's a lovely name.”
…I give up. This guy was definitely a playboy. The kind of playboys I hated dealing with the most. I wished I was speaking to someone like Kufa or Dong Fang Yue Chu instead. Or even Craig, despite his abrasive mannerisms. They might be good looking, but at least they weren't playboys who hit on every girl they met, especially one who was so worried about her sisters. I wondered if he had flirted with Ling Xue Xiao. That would make sense, given how she was acting jealous and all that.
Without even glancing at me, Lin Xuan Chi displayed a dazzling smile that would have captured the hearts of any innocent maiden.
I suddenly realized that I had to keep Rossetti away from this bastard at all costs. Not caring about my resentment, Lin Xuan Chi continued.
”We'll be together for quite a while, so if you encounter any problems, please do not hesitate to approach me for anything. I'll definitely do everything within my power to help you.”
”…and who are you?”
Probably because she had gotten impatient with Lin Xuan Chi's sweet-talking, Ling Xue Xiao was glaring at me. She was mostly likely desperate to change the subject.
”I'm just an exchange student from Jing Tian Academy, currently enrolling in a program offered by Saint Teresa Academy.”
”I don't care about all that! Isn't it polite to give your name after we offered ours?”
”Yeah…except that you didn't offer yours. It was Lin Xuan Chi who told us your name instead.”
”You…!”
”Xue Xiao…”
That warning tone again. With a ”hmph,” Ling Xue Xiao folded her arms and turned away. Lin Xuan Chi turned to me with an appeasing smile.
”That was quite the interesting magic you had. You're pretty impressive. I'm surprised I haven't heard of you before, um…”
”Richard Huang.”
”Oh!” Lin Xuan Chi's eyes brightened up. ”Now that you've mentioned it, I did hear your name before! Aren't you a representative of Jing Tian Academy, one of those who helped them to their highest tournament finish a few months ago? I should have made the connection when I heard that you're from Jing Tian Academy!”
”Oh, no. It's fine…”
”Nice to meet you.” he stretched out his hand. I accepted the handshake and smiled back. I wasn't childish enough to ignore an offer of friendship if there was one. I might be jealous and paranoid but I wasn't stupid and rude.
Not unlike Ling Xue Xiao, at least…
So I nodded and put on what I hoped was an affable expression.
”Nice to meet you too.”