"Ahem, well, Little Black Hei, I was just spacing out! Weren't you guys doing fine before? How did things suddenly turn out like this?" Ye Lang readily admitted and raised his question.
"... Can't you respect me for once? I'm speaking with such emotion, how can you be so distracted?!" Edward roared, feeling utterly insulted by the pure affection between him and Kasha.
"Excuse me, I was just thinking about the Violet Academy. I feel like I've heard that name before."
"Nonsense, that's the second-best academy on the entire continent, how could you not have heard of it?!" Edward said irritably, "Which remote, secluded Lineage from which mountain village do you come from?"
He had some doubts. He had always suspected that Ye Lang shouldn't be in this chaotic world. Ye Lang possessed a pure aura that no one else had, making him different from this murky world.
Such a person should only exist among those who live in seclusion in the mountains, and Ye Lang is so extravagant, so he must be from the Yinshi Lineage!
"Isn't the Royal Academy second?" Ye Lang asked curiously, having heard about it from others.
"Bullshit!! Which bastard told you that? The Royal Academy is third, and our Violet Academy is second!!" Edward said excitedly, which was his way of defending his alma mater.
"I heard it from those bastards from Violet. They said they were third..." Ye Lang remembered that at that time, a Violet person had said such a humble thing.
It seems that the Royal Academy is indeed in second place this time, while Violet is in third, but the people of Violet just won't admit it!
"...Tell me, which bastard is it? I'm going to cripple him!" Edward was speechless at Ye Lang's words. This wasn't a case of pointing fingers at a monk and cursing a bald monk, and the bald monk couldn't say anything because it was Edward who had just asked which bastard had said it.
Edward probably doesn't realize that he's about to slap himself in the face again...
"He said his name is Karrot!" Ye Lang said after thinking for a moment.
"..." Edward fell silent. He dared not curse this person because Karrot was a highly respected martial arts instructor at the Violet Academy, known as the number one martial arts expert at the Violet Academy.
At the same time, Karrot is also Edward's idol, so naturally he wouldn't criticize him; he would only support him!
"How did you meet him?" Edward, a little curious.
"He was giving a speech. I saw him when I passed by," Ye Lang replied. In his memory, that should be right; Karrot should be giving a speech.
"A speech?! When did Professor Karrot learn to give speeches? Never mind, let's not talk about that. We haven't finished talking yet. What did you ask me?" Edward realized the question had gone off-topic and got back to the main point.
"I'm asking you, why have you suddenly become strangers? Weren't you childhood sweethearts?" Ye Lang asked again.
"Sigh..." Edward sighed and said, "Childhood sweethearts! When we were little, neither of us felt any distance between us because we didn't know! As we grow up, we realize that there are many kinds of distances between people!"
"She's the city lord's daughter, a favored daughter of heaven. Everyone around her is of similar status, while I'm just an ordinary minor nobleman!" Edward said slowly. "The difference between us is so obvious, and the older we get, the further apart we become!"
"These are just shackles that people put on themselves. What difference in status, what distance, they are all self-imposed!" Ye Lang frowned and said with some emotion, "As long as you try to break through, you will find that it is just a thin layer of paper!"
"You're thinking too simply. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you can't bridge the distance between people!" Edward shook his head, denying Ye Lang's words, which seemed to be something he felt compelled to say.
This is actually the problem between him and Kasha, something he's been experiencing for years!
"Perhaps, perhaps you're right. The feelings between people are very subtle, but I don't think there's a problem. Even if I were a beggar, if I fell in love with a princess, I would still steal her away!" Ye Lang said with a smile, seemingly joking, but also seemingly very serious.
"...If I had your mindset, I wouldn't have wasted so many years!! Saying that as long as she's doing well is just comforting myself. I want to be with her, it's that simple!!!" Edward said, contradicting his previous statement.
"Yes! It's that simple: either stay together or let go!" Ye Lang nodded in agreement.
"I couldn't let go of things before. I felt that my status was distant from hers, and some of her friends ostracized me, so I gradually drifted away from her. Actually, it was my fault. If I had stayed with her, we wouldn't have drifted apart!" Edward's words were a bit incoherent, and others would have been confused, but Ye Lang understood them perfectly.
This is actually quite simple. The so-called distance between two people often stems from their own perception that they have something to offer, which prevents them from being together, and they gradually drift further and further apart.
If one of them tries to overcome this distance, the outcome will be different. The worst thing is if both people feel that the distance between them is getting further and further apart, then the problem will be serious!
Edward continued, "Until two years ago, an accident brought us together, and I realized that she had never understood why I had distanced myself from her, whether I didn't like her anymore! I realized that she had been heartbroken for a long time because of this, and that she also liked me..."
Fate is a mysterious thing. If it weren't for that accident, the two of them would have gradually drifted apart on the road of life and would never have been together in the end.
However, fate arranged that unexpected event, allowing the two of them to be alone together, free from all concerns about their status and position, and to confide in each other.
"What accident?" Ye Lang asked, sounding quite gossipy.
"It was an expedition organized by the academy. We were divided into several groups to hunt Devil Beast in the Elven Forest and survive there for half a month! That time, she accidentally got separated from her group members, so I went to find her and found a way to leave!"
"At that time, everyone thought we were dead, but how could I let her die..."
When Edward said this, his face softened with tenderness, as if Kasha were right in front of him!