The Courage of Love (1)

It was lunchtime a few days later at the Royal Academy. Most of the students, in fact, the vast majority, had gathered in the academy's dining hall.

At the Royal Academy, no one dared to be special and bring their own super-luxurious lunch. The reason, of course, was that such special treatment would negatively impact their image and annoy others.

Furthermore, it was also prohibited by the academy. If every student did this, what kind of situation would that create?

Of course, bringing a simple packed lunch that wouldn't affect others was permitted. However, in such an environment, very few students would bring packed lunches, as it would make them lose face.

Generally, there were three types of people who brought packed lunches: first, to save time, which was the most common reason; second, those who couldn't adapt to the food here, which was a very small minority; and third, the absolute rarity, those who wanted to save money. While this was common in other places, it was extremely rare here.

In this Royal Academy, filled with upper-class nobles, few understood the concept of saving money. Prodigal Sons, however, were seen everywhere, like the person in the middle.

As a young lady of the Ye Family, Ye Lanyu naturally didn't need to save money, nor would she do anything out of the ordinary. She always ate lunch in the academy's dining hall, usually with two other people. One of them she liked, and the other she disliked.

These two people were Ye Lang and the Seventh Princess. As for who she liked and who she disliked, there was no need to say it; everyone knew.

Lately, for a long time now, one of these two people no longer joined her. If it were the Seventh Princess, she would have celebrated with open arms. But it was Ye Lang, her most cherished younger brother, who had not been eating lunch with her recently, which made her very unhappy.

"Ye Lanyu, where is Ye Lang? Is he not eating with us again today?" the Seventh Princess asked as she entered the dining hall, seeing Ye Lanyu alone and Ye Lang nowhere in sight.

At this moment, if Ye Lang didn't appear, it meant he wouldn't be appearing again today.

"Yeah, no matter how we call him now, he won't come. He insists on eating the food made by that woman. You, as his wife, are truly useless; you can't even keep your own husband." After sighing, Ye Lanyu immediately launched her habitual verbal attack on the Seventh Princess.

Although these two met often and understood each other more and more, even to a degree higher than they understood themselves, their status as sworn enemies had never changed. They would bicker and argue whenever they met. If one said something was right, the other would say it was wrong, and even if it was truly right, they would still present a different opinion.

Of course, they did have moments of agreement, specifically regarding matters concerning Ye Lang. It was Ye Lang who often brought them together.

"I'm only his fiancée now, how can I control him? He's under your control as his sister; you're the most useless one..." the Seventh Princess retorted without politeness. There was no restraint between them, and they often brought up the engagement between Ye Lang and the Seventh Princess.

For many years, the Seventh Princess had never refuted it, as if she tacitly accepted the relationship. On the other hand, Ye Lang sometimes raised objections, though only occasionally and very rarely.

"You should be grateful that he's with her. If it were any other woman, your status as his fiancée would likely be in jeopardy. Although you're annoying, I don't oppose you two being together in the future," Ye Lanyu said reluctantly, unwilling for her brother to marry the woman she argued with every day.

However, she understood the Seventh Princess well, knowing that she genuinely cared about her brother, and that this care came from the heart. As long as he was treated well, no matter how much she disliked her, she wouldn't object.

Of course, this was just not objecting, not approving. She also knew that the Seventh Princess didn't love Ye Lang; it was a special and complex emotion, one that was hard to describe.

She and Ye Lang, although they were often together and their relationship was always good, had never sparked any romance. Their parents were troubled by this situation, but there was nothing they could do; such things couldn't be forced.

"Hmph, even if it were another woman, it wouldn't jeopardize my position. Even if she were better than me, it still wouldn't!" the Seventh Princess snorted. No one knew if this was said in anger or seriousness.

Soon after, she quickly changed the subject, giving no one an opportunity to delve deeper into the matter.

"Ye Lanyu, why do you think he likes being with her? Is it just for the food?"

"What else would it be? With her qualifications, what else besides food could attract my brother? My brother wouldn't have such poor taste," Ye Lanyu said naturally.

"Not necessarily. He's always liked strange and unusual things. Perhaps he..." the Seventh Princess interjected. Ye Lang's preferences were peculiar, and his standards were strange. Sometimes, when others praised something, he would be indifferent, but he would approve of things that were not good.

This made her wonder if his strange taste had led him to like the "her" they were talking about. Of course, this was just a suspicion, a suspicion that anyone would find impossible.

"Pah, children's words are harmless! If he liked her, I'd lock him up immediately!" Ye Lanyu immediately objected, her tone extremely firm.

"Heh heh, just kidding. Why are you so nervous? Do you think this is possible?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!!" Ye Lanyu shook her head and then continued eating her lunch.

What kind of girl would make both of them feel it was impossible, not even a sliver of a chance? Of course, it was the girl who was currently with Ye Lang. Even if her appearance was a bit... well, she was indeed a youthful maiden of eighteen years.

Of course, she wasn't a beautiful girl!

In the Alchemy Academy, in Ye Lang's classroom, a scene was unfolding, a scene that had been happening every day recently.

"Ye Lang, you stole my lunch again, give it back to me!!" a voice exclaimed, seemingly filled with anger, but strangely, there was also a great deal of helplessness and habit within it.

The owner of this voice belonged to a girl of large stature, the girl named Zhen Xiaoyan from their class. She was also the girl whom Ye Lanyu and the Seventh Princess had deemed absolutely impossible.

For a long time now, Ye Lang had been eating lunch with her, and the reason was, as Ye Lanyu had said, simply for the food.