This Fatty Again

"Take a look at this one. A 17th-century Bologna binding, half the weight of a Venetian one. The binding is exquisite too, made with top-grade Camilla leather, inlaid with the tail scales of Aegean mermaids. The edges are gilded, depicting the story of Poseidon and four cherubs. The spine has five raised gold bands, and there's space left for you to engrave your symbol. The title page features a prayer to Athena, printed on Hatifa linen paper, which feels incredibly refreshing to the touch."

"How much?"

"Twenty-three Jade Coins," the manager, Xiao Yuan, beamed, his face practically blooming.

"Too expensive, far too expensive," Zheng Qing said, carefully returning the book.

"Then how about this one? An 18th-century Ashmolean binding, ancient and substantial, made from North Sea Brent sharkskin. It has a fine texture, gilded edges, and retains the subtle blue hue of the sharkskin. It's simple and clean. The bookmark is made of ice silk, and the inner pages are semi-transparent fish skin parchment, perfect for frequently recording spells."

"How much?"

"Fifteen Jade Coins."

"I just feel it has too much of a bloody scent," Zheng Qing said, reluctantly stroking the cover before returning the book again.

After looking at several sample books, the prices were all a bit staggering.

The scholarship amount was limited, and he couldn't spend it all on one Spellbook.

He decided to look around a bit more.

Following the shop assistant around a bookshelf, Zheng Qing spotted a familiar figure.

It was the fatty from Yunxiangyi.

The fatty wasn't holding any roast chicken at the moment, and the satchel slung over his shoulder seemed much cleaner.

He was frowning, looking bored as he followed the clerk, picking out Spellbooks.

Zheng Qing disliked this guy with his ostrich-egg-shaped head.

He stopped in his tracks, intending to go to another display cabinet.

But the ostrich egg moved and spotted Zheng Qing.

"Yo, a Scholarship Student is here," the fatty boomed, his loud voice shattering the quiet atmosphere of the bookshop. "I forgot to ask earlier, are you a freshman Scholarship Student this year?"

The other customers, who had been leisurely browsing, all looked up, their gazes falling on Zheng Qing.

Zheng Qing thought he heard some whispers.

"Yes," he replied curtly.

His ears felt a little hot.

He felt embarrassed.

His childhood experiences with illness had made him somewhat sensitive. He hated being different, hated standing out, hated being looked at with strange eyes.

After he started reading, his favorite word became "harmonizing with the dust and light," like water that nourishes all things without contention, blending its brilliance and merging with the dust, so that no one in the world can contend with it.

However, the fatty's loud greeting had placed Zheng Qing under the scrutiny of everyone's gaze, and he didn't like that feeling at all.

"No wonder you don't have a Spellbook. My brother is also a Scholarship Student at First University. The school gives him a stack of paperback Spellbooks as prizes every year. It's the kind I was just using," he said, patting his satchel.

Zheng Qing recalled the bulging, dull yellow soft-cover book.

If you stacked three of those soft-cover books, you could perfectly recreate the fatty's chin.

Thinking of this, Zheng Qing's mood improved slightly.

"But I want a new Spellbook. When you're out and about, paperback ones just don't cut it. I told my brother that you need a hardcover, classic edition Spellbook so you don't embarrass him. You know, he's also a Scholarship Student." The fatty, oblivious to anyone else, continued to bellow in his loud voice, "He enrolled last year. Only five people in his year received full scholarships, unlike this year. Do you know how many Scholarship Students received the full scholarship this year?"

Zheng Qing shook his head and said nothing.

The curious gazes around him still lingered, making him feel very uncomfortable.

"I don't know either," the fatty grinned. "I was just trying to trick you. Looks like Scholarship Students don't know any more than us regular students."

A few chuckles rippled through the crowd, finding the fatty's comment amusing.

Zheng Qing tried his best to ignore the distractions.

He was here to buy a Spellbook.

He needed to use his intuition to pick a suitable Spellbook for himself.

This Spellbook would accompany him for a long time and was one of the basic conditions for his successful survival at the Wizard University.

He took a deep breath and smiled at the shop manager, Xiao Yuan, beside him.

Manager Xiao Yuan, very perceptively, leaned in and pointed to a gorgeously styled Spellbook in the display cabinet. "How about this one? As far as I know, Scholarship Students buy this Spellbook every year."

Zheng Qing tightened the soft leather gloves on his hands and took the sample book handed to him by Xiao Yuan.

"This is a 19th-century Parisian binding, ostentatious, and closer to a modern, luxurious style. Although it's second-layer leather, Romanian fire dragon leather is consistently thick and can be cut into five or six layers. For the second layer, the feel and texture are just right. It also has gilded edges, depicting Chapter 7 of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament – 'Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.'" he recited in a deep tone.

"How about I buy this one?" the fatty squeezed between them, snatched the Spellbook from Zheng Qing's hand, and yelled, "I remember my brother's classmate bought this one too. How much is it?"

"Thirteen Jade Coins," Xiao Yuan said happily, praising the fatty's discerning taste.

The fatty's original sales manager watched the customer who had run off with the book with a sullen expression, saying nothing.

Zheng Qing pursed his lips and said nothing.

He highly doubted this fatty could enter through the narrow gate as the gospel described.

And he felt that no matter how fancy a Spellbook this sloppy fatty held, in his impression, he would always look like he was holding that bulging, dull yellow soft-cover book.

"Which academy are you from?" As the bookstore manager packed the Paris-bound book, the fatty suddenly turned his head and stared at Zheng Qing with his small eyes. "I almost forgot to ask."

"Jiuyou Academy," Zheng Qing replied quickly.

He hoped this fatty would disappear from his sight soon.

"I figured as much, the bookworm academy," the fatty nodded, looking as if he'd expected it. "Judging by your attire, you're definitely not from Alpha or Atlas. If you were from Starry Sky Academy, you would have charged over with your fists at Yunxiangyi earlier, even without your spellbook."

Zheng Qing silently looked at another thick sample book in his hand, unsure whether to throw it and hit that triple chin.

"My brother is from Atlas, but I was assigned to Alpha Academy this year," the fatty continued to ramble. "Relatively speaking, it's tolerable. After all, Alpha Academy has very well-educated students. If I were sent to Jiuyou Academy, I'd rather drop out. My brother once said that wizards who are strong in exams aren't truly powerful wizards."

"Then your exams must be terrible," Zheng Qing nodded affirmatively.

The fatty frowned, feeling that Zheng Qing's logic was a bit flawed.

"Hello, customer, your spellbook is packed. Please check it," a store clerk in the bookstore called the fatty, who was deep in thought, over to the counter.

Zheng Qing placed the Western-style hardcover spellbook he was holding back into the display case and turned to look at Manager Xiao Yuan.

"Do you have any Chinese-style spellbooks? These Western styles feel a bit too flashy."