The Scene Became One Degree More Chaotic

Inside the tiered lecture hall, the eyes of men and women alike fell upon Fan Ning as he walked in.

Some were curious, surprised, or eager to come over and strike up a conversation with him.

But the gazes that came mostly from the boys seemed more complicated. There was admiration, envy, jealousy, and even a faint, indistinct hostility?

"Is he Caloen Van Ning?"

"There's nothing particularly special about him. How did he...?"

"Did Miss Roy get the wrong person?"

Fan Ning couldn't make out those voices very clearly.

He touched his face guiltily, feeling his legs go weak beneath him as he walked.

What's wrong with me?

And why are so many people gathered over there...

At a slightly elevated spot in the middle rows of the tiered lecture hall, the crowd parted, and a tall young woman stepped out from among them.

She seemed to be about his age. Her jet-black hair was swept up into a high bun, and she wore a fitted, light-colored pleated dress with a white blouse. Over it lay a bright-red, gauzy court cloak, while the soft skin around her collar was adorned with lace trim.

"Click... click..." The diamond sheen on her high heels set off the fair skin of her insteps. Several silver tassels above them obscured her ankles and swayed faintly as she descended the steps one by one.

As Fan Ning looked up at her, a friendly and familiar smile appeared in her clear blue eyes. Her dignified appearance was finally softened by wisps of girlish playfulness, though her manner and bearing still retained the elegance of a noble young lady.

"Mr. Fan Ning, Roy greets you." She approached Fan Ning and curtsied gracefully.

Inside the classroom, the whispering among the several large groups of onlookers grew louder.

The smile in Roy's eyes and her graceful curtsy were like a pool of clear yet icy-deep water, drowning her admirers until they could barely breathe.

"She really came to find him?"

"Just because he composed 'Fantasy Impromptu' last Saturday?" someone asked incredulously, spreading his hands.

"Impossible. With Miss Roy's talent, beauty, and status, famous artists pursuing her are lined up outside." Someone vehemently objected.

"What are you all thinking? She must have something ordinary to discuss with him." Someone offered a rational analysis.

"I want to discuss something ordinary with Miss Roy too." Someone sank into a fantasy.

"This is the first time I've seen her come to another year's classroom to find someone." Someone's voice was thick with sourness.

"I've never seen Miss Roy take the initiative to greet a boy so politely." Someone sounded even sourer.

"Are you saying Miss Roy is impolite?" Someone was good at nitpicking.

"No, no! The point of what I said was 'take the initiative.'" The previous speaker hurriedly explained.

Looking at the girl's tall figure, exquisite features, and sweet smile, even Fan Ning, whose romantic life at school had been relatively eventful in his previous life, had to admit that he was dazzled. It was hard not to lose himself for a few seconds.

"Hello." Fan Ning then tried to confirm, "You're the Roy from last time, right?"

It wasn't that Fan Ning had trouble recognizing faces. He simply hadn't paid much attention to Roy before, the girl's face in the dream had been indistinct, and he couldn't clearly hear the surrounding whispers either.

Still, judging from the girl's bearing and the contents of their previous agreement, he was roughly sixty to seventy percent certain, so he spoke up to confirm.

Who would have thought that his words would make the boys whispering nearby explode all at once?

"This is the first time I've seen someone speak to Miss Roy in that tone."

"Good heavens, he doesn't recognize Miss Roy?"

"I agonize over every sentence, and in the end I still get nothing. How is he not completely doomed?"

Roy extended her fair, jade-like hands and handed Fan Ning a broad, rigid envelope plated in gold. It was sealed with wax and stamped with a coat of arms bearing intricate designs, with a ring of bright-red velvet ornamentation wrapped around it.

"Mr. Fan Ning, this is for you."

"Thank you."

After Fan Ning reached out and took it, he felt that the people around him suddenly seemed poised to rush forward and pick a fight with him.

"A letter? Miss Roy gave a letter to a boy?"

"Fuck, fuck, I must be seeing things. I definitely haven't sobered up from last night's drinking." Someone covered his face in despair.

Fan Ning felt that the intensity of the Inspiration resonating among the crowd had already reached the level of a third-rank Knower...

Only then did he realize just how much charm and fame Miss Roy MacAdam possessed at the school.

"Miss Roy, you didn't have to hurry like this." Fan Ning's tone was caught somewhere between amusement and helplessness.

Come on, everyone had already agreed to meet after class...

Are you planning to take full responsibility for making such a scene today...?

"Did I hear that wrong? He told Miss Roy not to hurry?" Someone took a single stride forward before the people beside him pulled him back.

"Technique! This might be a technique!" a boy suddenly exclaimed in realization. "No wonder Caloen Van Ning won Miss Roy's favor. I understand now. I'm going to take him as my master later."

"What's inside? What is it? What is it?" one boy turned into a broken record.

Watching this unfold, Fan Ning rubbed his head with considerable distress.

What is it? It's the thing every single one of you likes. Happy now?!...

So no matter what I say, I'm wrong?

Roy pursed her lips, a trace of irritation appearing on her pretty face. Yet that only made her presence even more captivating.

But when she swept her gaze slightly to either side, the surrounding people quieted down considerably.

Looks like only magic can defeat magic... Fan Ning continued to grumble inwardly.

"Mr. Fan Ning." Roy's voice remained elegant and sweet. "Since our previous commission wasn't a transaction, I must pay you in advance to show Roy's sincerity. The envelope also contains an invitation extended to you in my own name. Although Uncle Huxley has already invited you as well..."

She blinked. "But a young prodigy, a composer, and a Knower ought to receive invitations to many people's salons at the same time..."

When she said the word "Knower," she lowered her voice and blinked.

"I have to go to class with my own year." She bid Fan Ning farewell at the end. "There are quite a few things to deal with today, so I may be twenty minutes late tonight. That's also why I needed to inform you in advance."

"I won't see you out." Fan Ning continued rubbing his head.

Roy curtsied once more, and her graceful figure disappeared through the classroom door.

"Um, Caloen, about the sheet music you promised last time..." A girl in a white dress approached and spoke softly once the conversation between the two had ended.

There was a trace of shyness in her voice. She seemed to be the first girl to speak to him after he had come down from the stage on Saturday.

Fan Ning had just forced a smile and was preparing to reply when several boys and girls from different directions stepped forward and surrounded him.

"Fan Ning, I was third in line that day. You promised to organize it and share it with me."

"Caloen, could I have a copy of 'Fantasy Impromptu' too?"

"Ah—what are you doing?" a short girl cried out.

The students who had stepped forward to ask for the sheet music were shoved aside by even more boys crowding in from behind.

Their voices were much noisier:

"Caloen, you must have used some kind of underhanded trick. Otherwise, how could Miss Roy possibly arrange a date with you?"

"Caloen, give it up. Your commoner status isn't worthy of him."

"Caloen, tell me quickly that the letter is just an official work document, not a love letter from Miss Roy."

"Fan Ning, Miss Roy came to find you, so what gives you the right not to see her out? Are you even a gentleman?"

"Fan Ning, do you dare come outside and duel with me?"

In the ten minutes before class began, the classroom descended into a great pot of chaos.

"Brother, it's already the year 912..." Hearing someone even shout the word "duel," Fan Ning felt that the whole situation was becoming more and more absurd.

If the envelope hadn't contained a solid five hundred pounds in banknotes, he would have wanted to throw it straight into the crowd.

"I've truly never seen a scene like this before..."