Ever since that encounter with Yennefer in the dark passage, Yavi would always subconsciously pay attention to the movements around him when he was training in the underground training ground. His eyes swept across the remote corners of the corridor, hoping to see that rickety figure again.
However, as a few days passed, that corner remained empty and silent. Yavi felt a little inexplicable loss, but quickly put it aside - they met by chance, maybe she had avoided trouble or found another path.
The focus of his life soon returned to the regular rhythm of Academy of Sorcerers: struggling with the difficult magic theory of "Crimson Flame Wing" in the morning, and exhausting his energy in Vilgefortz's cold and efficient swordsmanship training in the afternoon.
However, he could not ignore an increasingly obvious fact: in this academy dominated by sorceresses, he, Yavi, had become the focus in a certain sense.
This is not entirely unexpected. There are already very few male apprentices among Academy of Sorcerers, but Yavi's tall figure, neat blond hair, and unique temperament given by her experience as a witcher, stand out among the many elegant or arrogant sorceresses.
More importantly, Francesca—the sorceress with a respected status and unfathomable strength—had publicly supported him during the turmoil at the beginning of his enrollment, which had already spread to every corner of the college. This undoubtedly gave him an eye-catching aura.
Walking in the corridors, he could feel the baptism of all kinds of gazes. Most of them were pure curiosity or inquiry, with the shyness of a girl or the scrutiny of a scholar. Occasionally, he could catch one or two muffled laughter, or the coldness of scrutiny from some high-level apprentices - those gazes may be mixed with contempt for "connected households", or discomfort with aliens.
Yavi only glanced at this slightly, and then looked away. His career as a witcher had long taught him that other people's gazes, whether they were admiration or hostility, were just the sound of wind passing through the wilderness. He kept walking and walked straight through those invisible gazes without any disturbance in his heart. These external noises were far less important than Vilgefortz's wooden sword or the spell analysis arranged by Francesca.
It was another evening after training. Yavi finished dinner silently in the corner of the cafeteria and was about to get up and leave when a sharp noise exploded from the dining area on the other side. He had no intention of paying attention to these common frictions in the academy, but his eyes inadvertently swept across the center of the commotion - the thin figure blocked in the corner by four or five aggressive female students, with the familiar rickety posture and long black hair...
It's Yennefer!
Yavi frowned and immediately turned his steps. He approached the crowd silently, and happened to hear the leading girl pointing to a large stain on her expensive velvet robe and yelling at the shivering Yennefer: "You disgusting ugly thing You weirdo! Are your eyes growing on the soles of your feet? Look at the good things you have done! Can you afford to pay for my clothes?" The spittle almost sprayed on Yennefer's face. "Look at what you are wearing, I don't know what trash heap you are wearing! It's all a waste on you!"
The surrounding supporters immediately echoed, and their foul words were like hailstones hurled at the figure who wanted to shrink himself into the wall. Yennefer held his head tightly, as if this could isolate those vicious sounds.
Just when the insults were about to reach their peak, a tall figure suddenly inserted between Yennefer and the group of girls, blocking all the malicious looks and sharp words directed at her like a wall.
"It's just a piece of clothing with some soup on it," Yavi's voice was low, but it could clearly cover the noise, with a hint of coldness that was barely noticeable, "How much is it worth? Give me a price, and I'll compensate you for her."
This sudden intervention silenced the group of girls for an instant, and they looked at each other with astonishment written on their faces. The leading girl obviously did not expect that anyone would stand up for Yennefer, especially the recent "celebrity" in the college Yavi. Her arrogance suddenly disappeared, her eyes flickered, and her voice weakened unconsciously. "This... this is the best Nilfgaard velvet... at least... worth at least two hundred crowns!"
Yavi looked at the robe, which was stained with oil but was obviously not of top quality, with a hint of undisguised disgust in his eyes. He was too lazy to expose the other party's false report, and just wanted to end it as soon as possible. "One hundred and fifty kronor. Do you want it? Don't take it down."
"Deal!" The girl almost rushed to answer, for fear that Yavi would regret it.
Yavi neatly counted out the kronor from the wallet and handed it over, but couldn't help but secretly sigh in his heart: Tsk, I agreed so happily, it seems that the asking price is still high, I should have known that I should have pressed harder.
When the group of noisy figures disappeared at the entrance of the cafeteria, Yavi immediately grabbed Yennefer's cold wrist - the wrist was so thin that it seemed as if it would break with force. He didn't say anything, just led her quickly through the crowd of people who had not yet subsided, and turned into a secluded path leading to the college garden. The moonlight passed through the sparse vines, casting mottled light and shadow on the bluestone road.
Only after confirming that there was no one else around, Yavi let go of his hand and motioned for her to sit down on a stone bench covered with ivy. Yennefer still lowered his head, shrank slightly, and held the hem of the shabby robe tightly with both hands.
Yavi sighed silently and sat down next to her. "You haven't eaten anything just now, have you?" His voice was particularly clear in the silence.
Yennefer nodded slightly, with a few strands of black hair hanging down, covering the emotion in her purple eyes.
Yavi didn't say much. His thoughts moved slightly, and his fingertips quietly passed over the Tiger Talisman lines on his waist, and a trace of imperceptible space fluctuations flashed through. The next moment, several pieces of food wrapped in clean oil paper, still with Warm honey bread and a leather water bag filled with water appeared in his hands. He gently placed the food on the chair next to Yennefer, with a calm but undeniable tone. "Eat. Don't go hungry."
After saying that, he stopped looking at her, leaned back, raised his head, and cast his gaze into the deep night sky. The stars in the sky were scattered like diamonds on the velvet night, quiet and eternal.
Yennefer hesitated for a moment, carefully stretched out her hand, and touched the soft bread with her fingertips. She secretly glanced at Yavi beside her, who was looking up at the starry sky. Seeing that he really wasn't paying attention to her, she picked up a piece of bread and ate it silently. The warmth of the food seemed to dispel a bit of the chill in her heart.
It wasn't until he swallowed the last bite of bread and drank a few more sips of water that Yennefer finally plucked up the courage. His voice was as thin as a mosquito's, with a hint of jerkiness. "Thank you... thank you, Ya... Yavi."
Yavi's eyes still stayed on the distant stars, as if looking for the answer to a certain question. His voice flowed out calmly, breaking the tranquility of the night:
"Yennefer." He called her name completely for the first time, his voice was low and powerful, "Raise your head. Don't always be so timid." He paused, as if he was organizing his words, and as if he was recalling the past, "When others insult you, or... punch you, just curling up and being patient will only make them think you are easy to bully, and they will be even more aggressive next time."
He turned his head, the moonlight outlined his angular profile, and his blue eyes shone with determination in the night. "You have to learn... to fight back bravely. In your own way. Even if you just raise your head, look directly into their eyes, and say 'no' loudly." He looked at the stars again, his voice with a power that penetrated people's hearts, "The more you retreat, the more they feel that they can step on you without restraint. Sometimes you have to earn your dignity by yourself."
The night wind blew through the vines, making a soft rustling sound. Yennefer listened blankly, and Yavi's words were like stones thrown into the lake of her heart, stirring up circles of waves in her long-quiet heart. Subconsciously, she straightened her back that was always stooped a little.