42 Goodbye, My Love

Xia Ming's expression turned a little strange. "Su Weiwei is that famous?"

"Of course! Miss Weiwei is one of our academy's most outstanding students, a genius even Headmaster Rogge acknowledges! Forget it—there's no explaining it to a rookie freshman like you who just arrived at our academy. You'd never understand Miss Weiwei's charm!" Tang Ge spoke with such impassioned indignation that Xia Ming was reminded of the celebrity-chasing fans from his previous life. It seemed Tang Ge was one of Su Weiwei's "fans."

Xia Ming rubbed his nose. Su Weiwei's allure truly was immense.

Su Weiwei was like the eye of a typhoon—wherever she went, she was bound to stir up a storm among the students. Xia Ming even noticed that Luo Jia, who had put on such an impressive magical painting performance earlier, was now straightening his clothes, his sidelong gaze falling upon Su Weiwei as well...

As Xia Ming surveyed the scene, his gaze inadvertently settled on Su Weiwei. At that very moment, Su Weiwei looked over too.

Their eyes met, and both froze for a moment.

Su Weiwei was startled at first, then noticed the academy badge on Xia Ming's clothes. A trace of surprise surfaced in her bright eyes, as though she had recalled something, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

The instant she smiled, everyone around them was taken aback and, as if by prior agreement, turned to look in Xia Ming's direction.

A bad feeling immediately rose within Xia Ming.

Sure enough, he was greeted by countless stares from boys filled with envy and jealousy.

Every student present was pondering the same question: Who was this guy? What gave him the right to win Su Weiwei's favor?

"Damn, Brother Xia Ming, Miss Weiwei smiled this way. She couldn't have been smiling at you, could she?" Tang Ge chose that moment to add fuel to the fire. Though he spoke quietly, everyone nearby heard him.

Just where had this Xia Ming fellow come from?

The students all frowned. Xia Ming had already become somewhat famous among the freshmen, but to these upperclassmen, he was an unfamiliar face, and they had no way to find out more.

Then Su Weiwei walked straight toward Xia Ming!

The gazes around them had already made Tang Ge feel as though thorns were pressing against his back. Somehow, he and Xia Ming had become the center of this bizarre atmosphere, leaving Tang Ge torn between laughter and tears.

"You came to the academy too?" Su Weiwei ignored the surrounding stares completely. Standing before Xia Ming, she got straight to the point.

Xia Ming smiled. "That's right. My teacher told me to come to the academy and gain some experience." Xia Ming dumped all responsibility onto old Anthony.

Su Weiwei gave Xia Ming a meaningful look. A different kind of light flickered in her cool eyes. "Looks like I'll have another good opponent from now on."

Xia Ming was slightly startled. Su Weiwei had clearly seen through his cultivation, yet he had obviously concealed his aura.

Under normal circumstances, there were only two explanations for this. First, the other party's cultivation was far beyond his own, allowing them to easily see through his magical level—like Anthony. Every time the old mage saw him, he could tell at a glance where Xia Ming had improved. The second possibility was that the other party possessed some secret technique for seeing through one's strength.

The last time they met, Su Weiwei had been a level-six knight. Now that they met again, Xia Ming felt ever more keenly just how terrifying her strength was. At the very least, she was at the high level of level six.

While he had been improving, these people had not fallen behind in the slightest. Those who bore the name of genius could not possibly be so simple!

Xia Ming kept his expression unchanged and smiled. "How could I compare to you, Miss Weiwei? I'm only a level-five mage..."

"Don't be modest. The last time we met, you were only a level-three mage. In less than a month, you advanced to level five. You're very impressive." Su Weiwei's clear voice and utterly sincere gaze arrived together.

Anyone—any normal man—would feel at least a little lightheaded upon hearing praise from such a peerless beauty. Xia Ming was no exception. But when he thought of the even greater strength possessed by the girl before him, he could only rub his nose and smile wryly.

"Miss Weiwei, we meet again! Haha, what fate!" The sociable Tang Ge immediately sidled over, grinning at Su Weiwei.

Su Weiwei nodded. "It has been a long time."

Su Weiwei was not unfamiliar with Tang Ge either. His strength was quite respectable, and he had at least made something of a name for himself in the academy.

With the lively Tang Ge joining in, the atmosphere of their conversation immediately became more animated and relaxed. Tang Ge always wore a friendly smile, and with his "many years spent among the flowers," he could chat with Su Weiwei without making things dull. With Xia Ming occasionally joining in, the three of them conversed quite merrily.

Of course, Su Weiwei was clearly more interested in Xia Ming. Her seemingly casual gaze remained focused on him, and she occasionally raised questions about cultivation, plainly intending to discuss such matters with him.

Xia Ming gradually began taking the conversation seriously. Though magic and battle qi were fundamentally two different concepts, there were always places where different paths led to the same destination. Moreover, Su Weiwei's views on cultivation were highly experienced and uniquely insightful, making Xia Ming regard this girl his age with renewed respect.

The three were engrossed in their discussion, but to the others, it only seemed as though Su Weiwei held that unfamiliar boy in exceptional favor.

It was easy enough to understand Su Weiwei chatting with Tang Ge. After all, Tang Ge had some renown in the academy, and both of them cultivated battle qi. Perhaps they were exchanging insights on cultivation.

But what was with that mage brat who had appeared out of nowhere?

Su Weiwei seemed to care even more about him. It was far too strange!

Luo Jia, who had noticed this from afar, looked somewhat livid. Nearly every boy in Azure Flame Academy had more or less entertained some thoughts about Su Weiwei, and Luo Jia was naturally no exception.

Luo Jia narrowed his eyes, stroked the head of his pet Thunderhawk on his shoulder, and walked toward Su Weiwei and Xia Ming.

"Miss Weiwei, what a coincidence!"

Luo Jia greeted her with a beaming smile. Anyone could see his eagerness toward Su Weiwei, and quite a few girls felt disappointed—Senior Luo Jia really did like Su Weiwei. It seemed they had no hope after all...

"Yes, quite a coincidence."

Su Weiwei merely nodded out of courtesy, her attitude indifferent. It couldn't be helped—Xia Ming and the other two were in the middle of discussing something crucial, and Luo Jia had happened to come over and disturb them!

Unbothered by Su Weiwei's cold greeting, Luo Jia continued smiling broadly. He took out the painting of Clearwater Lake he had created with magic earlier and said with a smile, "Miss Weiwei, I just used magic to create a painting titled By Clearwater Lake. I believe only your beauty is worthy of the charm within this painting, so I wished to give it to you. I wonder if it might be pleasing enough to catch your eye?"

Those words were practically a confession of his feelings.

Xia Ming secretly found it amusing. Luo Jia's confession was terribly clumsy; he truly had no idea how to choose the right occasion. At the very least, he should wait until they were beneath flowers and moonlight, when the atmosphere was right, before delivering the final blow. Besides, Xia Ming could tell that Su Weiwei had absolutely no interest in Luo Jia.

Poor Senior Luo Jia. He should go back and read something like Thirty-Six Strategies for Winning a Girl or One Hundred and Eight Tricks for Picking Up Girls before trying again!

Xia Ming could already foresee that, given Su Weiwei's cool and straightforward nature, she would most likely reject Luo Jia outright.

Sure enough, Su Weiwei shook her head and declined. "Luo Jia, your painting is very well done. Such a precious work should be given to someone important to you."

Those words sent Luo Jia into an icy abyss. Forcing a smile, he put away the painting, then turned his gaze toward Xia Ming and stared at him. "This fellow student... you look very unfamiliar."

There was a faint trace of hostility in Luo Jia's gaze!

Xia Ming frowned. What was wrong with Luo Jia? After failing in his confession, this guy seemed to be taking out his resentment on him!

Where were the promised bookmarks and votes?