Wang Dong blended in, showing just enough interest while making it clear he would need to go back and think it over.
A perfectly normal reaction.
As for whether he would actually go with them later to the Viscount Highland Territory to take the Warship Academy entrance exam, that was of course impossible.
The agreement still had to be signed. That was at least a month or two away.
By then, if nothing unexpected happened, Wang Dong should have received his notice and begun preparing to return to the barony.
After the gathering ended, a few classmates arranged to continue the night elsewhere. The rest began to leave, but Wang Dong stayed put.
Zheng Yan had called him over.
Chen Linfeng, Ding Ling, and Li Zi Qing were there too.
Wang Dong had some idea why Zheng Yan had asked them to stay.
Sure enough, compared with her bright smile and easy charm in front of everyone earlier,
once only a handful of people remained, Zheng Yan let her smile fade and turned serious.
"If what I had in mind earlier, in front of everyone, was that we're classmates and I should help whoever I can, then now I hope those of you here can help me—and help yourselves!"
No one said a word.
Even Chen Linfeng, who was usually the lively one, only turned his head slightly to look at Li Zi Qing.
Zheng Yan wasn't surprised by their silence.
They had all spent a few years making their way in society, after all. The people she'd deliberately asked to stay were the few classmates she considered promising.
If they lacked even that much composure, Zheng Yan would have started doubting her own judgment.
"Ding Ling, you're the third daughter of the chief of security. You have older siblings