After seeing the Illusion Card billboard at the Twin Ring Card Shop, Chen Mu lost all interest in the other Illusion Card advertisements. He could not quite understand it. Some of the shops were no smaller than the card shop he had just passed, so why was there such a gulf between their Illusion Card advertisements?
Still, Chen Mu had gained a great deal from this outing. At least he had seen what a real Illusion Card advertisement looked like. In his eyes, those billboards that used beautiful women as their selling point did not even deserve to be called Illusion Card advertisements.
His horizons had broadened, but reality was cruel.
As he was now, Chen Mu had no way of producing anything on the level of that Illusion Card billboard. He still intended to make one for Uncle Hua, of course, but not one of those billboards featuring beautiful women.
After making his rounds, he had more or less finished drafting the design for Uncle Hua's billboard in his head. All that remained was to make it. That would probably take three days.
"Tingyi." A booming voice came from behind Zuo Tingyi. He stopped and turned to see a tall boy hurrying toward him. It was his good friend, Hong Tao.
"Haha, I finally caught you!" Hong Tao darted forward and hooked an arm around Zuo Tingyi's neck.
The slender Zuo Tingyi was immediately dragged into a stumbling step.
"Easy. Mind your appearance!" Zuo Tingyi frowned in displeasure and spoke in a low voice.
Hong Tao looked utterly unconcerned. "Oh, give it a rest. Appearance, my foot. You know what? You're a hypocrite. One word: fake!"
Hong Tao stood six feet tall, with an athletic build that filled out his school uniform snugly. Handsome and outgoing, with a sunny smile, he was immensely popular at school. His generous, chivalrous nature also made him one of the school's most influential students.
By comparison, Zuo Tingyi looked far too slight. Yet his fitted uniform only made him look more refined and elegant. With the scholarly air unique to Card Masters, he was even more popular among the girls than Hong Tao.
"Article ninety-one of the East Guard Academy's school regulations: students shall pay attention to their appearance in public places."
"Article sixteen of the East Guard Academy's dress code: on school days, students must wear their school uniforms when entering the school. Their attire shall be neat and clean, particularly around the collar, collar fastenings, and so forth..."
Zuo Tingyi straightened up and first smoothed his uniform. Then, his face expressionless, he recited the rules word by word, his gaze settling on Hong Tao's open collar.
"Enough, enough! I surrender!" Hong Tao hastily begged for mercy. Since joining the school's Discipline Office, Zuo Tingyi had become the first student in its history capable of reciting all seven hundred and twenty-two school regulations, major and minor alike, backward without a hitch. Hong Tao was not afraid of being hauled off to the Discipline Office by him. What he feared was the endless nagging.
"Hey, look. Isn't that Xin Yi?" Hong Tao seized his chance and immediately changed the subject.
Not far from them stood a girl wearing a pink hair clip. She held an ice pop in one hand and a brightly colored gossip magazine in the other. Two dogs, one large and one small, followed behind her.
Zuo Tingyi's expression returned to normal, and he started walking. Hong Tao quickly caught up, and the two walked side by side. Zuo Tingyi gave a small nod. "You're interested in her?"
"Forget that." Hong Tao hurriedly shook his head. "I wouldn't dare. Do you know who her brother is? The chief of the Dongshang Guard City Security Office. Heh, that brat Alagon tried to make a move on her last time, and they hauled him straight off to the Security Office. He spent a full five hours in there. They say he barely looked human when he came out!" Hong Tao clicked his tongue in wonder.
"Hmph. Served him right." Zuo Tingyi gave a disdainful snort. He had always scorned spoiled rich brats like Alagon. Zuo Tingyi came from a distinguished family. Although Alagon's father was a wealthy local magnate, to an aristocratic family like Zuo Tingyi's, he was no different from a nouveau riche upstart. Still, the fellow knew better than to cause trouble right under Zuo Tingyi's nose.
"I heard some people from the Star Academy will be visiting our school soon?" Hong Tao asked tentatively.
Zuo Tingyi gave him a mildly surprised look. "You're pretty well informed." A favorite among the teachers, Zuo Tingyi generally heard about any significant school matters ahead of everyone else. His position in the Discipline Office also involved him in school affairs, leaving him far better informed than the average student.
"Heh, naturally," Hong Tao said shamelessly. Then his face filled with indignation. "Some friend you are! You didn't even tell me about news this big."
"I only found out recently myself," Zuo Tingyi explained. "The school wants us to crack down on discipline so we don't embarrass ourselves in front of outsiders."
"How much longer until they get here? What are they coming here for?"
"A little over a month, probably. I don't know what they're coming for either. They only said something about an exchange."
"Just how strong are the Star Academy's students, anyway? I can't wait to find out!" A fiery light flickered in Hong Tao's eyes. Suddenly, he turned his head. "Tingyi, do you want to go to the Star Academy?"
Zuo Tingyi stopped walking. He tilted his head and considered it for a while before shaking his head. "I don't know either. Although the Star Academy has declined somewhat in recent years, it's still one of the six great academies. Its foundations run far deeper than those of any ordinary school. Besides, their visit might not have anything to do with admissions."
"Oh, come on. If you ask me, it's almost certainly about admissions. How many years has it been since the Star Academy held an exchange with another school? If it isn't about recruiting students, what else could it be?" Hong Tao sounded unconvinced. If things really were as he suspected, his chances would be excellent. Zuo Tingyi understood his good friend's abilities. Hong Tao's true strength was far greater than what he usually showed.
"Then why would they choose our school?" Zuo Tingyi's question pierced straight to the heart of the matter.
Indeed, if this was about recruiting students, why would the Star Academy choose the East Guard Academy? There were countless academies stronger than theirs. Surely the East Guard Academy would never be first in line.
"Uh..." Hong Tao was at a loss for words.
"I wonder whether they're sending students from the inner academy or the outer academy this time," Zuo Tingyi said leisurely.
"Hopefully the inner academy. The outer academy would be no fun." Hong Tao tossed the previous question aside and picked up on Zuo Tingyi's remark.
Zuo Tingyi gave Hong Tao a scornful look. "I'm afraid even the Star Academy's outer academy students would be more than some of our school's so-called experts could handle." He enunciated "so-called experts" with particular clarity, word by word.
Hong Tao gave a couple of dry chuckles. "Tingyi, you're bolstering their fighting spirit while snuffing out our own."
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(End of chapter)