Chapter 0520: Gong Shenjun's Invitation
Li Luo was not sure about Gong Shenjun's invitation.
Foremost in his mind was the last conversation he had with Jiang Qing'e. She had said that Gong Shenjun did not seem to want to win.
Why? There was no good reason he could think of. And no one else seemed to have the same suspicions, not even Vice Principal Su Xin.
Li Luo had never considered it before either. Winning the Dragon Bone Holy Grail for the Astral Sage College was all pluses and no minuses. After all, the Umbra Cave was the greatest danger in the Xia Kingdom, and they should all be invested in it.
Moreover, Gong Shenjun was royalty, ruling over the Xia Kingdom itself.
But Jiang Qing'e's instincts were not to be questioned.
Others might laugh at her baseless hunches, but not Li Luo. No smoke without fire, he believed.
Jiang Qing'e had a ninth-grade light resonance, so she could read the hearts of others with acuity.
Perhaps she had sensed something that the others hadn't?
Li Luo really could not decide. On paper, Gong Shenjun was the stronger option, and he had no good reason to refuse. Together with Jiang Qing'e, the three of them made a formidable team indeed.
While Li Luo was still hesitating, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Senior Gong, perhaps we should wait for Vice Principal Su Xin to release more details about the mixed-level competition before we decide." Jiang Qing'e walked up to stand beside him, her face serene and unreadable as always.
Gong Shenjun's smile broadened further when he saw Jiang Qing'e. "Ah, Junior Jiang, perfect timing. Of course, my invitation is not just to Li Luo. You are also part of the dream team that I have in mind."
"The pipe in my room is spoiled," Jiang Qing'e said abruptly to Li Luo, grabbing him by the hand. "Lend me your room."
She left, taking Li Luo by the hand.
Everyone within earshot thought that Jiang Qing'e had gone mad.
Spoiled pipe? Lend room? Bathing?
Jiang Qing'e was going to bathe in Li Luo's room?!
The air suddenly grew a lot more tense, and suddenly Li Luo's popularity fell among the male students.
"Stop right there, you filthy animal!"
Was what many of them thought, but none of them dared to say.
Lu Qing'er almost choked, and she accidentally flash-froze the wine in her hand as her composure slipped.
Gong Shenjun's eyes narrowed. Not even someone of his bearing could perfectly hide his emotions. He almost made a move to stop the two, but he managed to stop himself.
Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo were engaged. Whatever they did was proper.
If Jiang Qing'e wanted to take a bath in Li Luo's room, not even Vice Principal Su Xin had a reason to stop them.
And so, in the strangely tense silence, they watched Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo leave.
It was a long while before the cheer from other parts of the hall finally reasserted itself in this part.
Gong Shenjun turned away, giving up on his invitations.
The others looked at each other.
"Heh, that's why Senior Jiang is my idol," Bai Doudou cheered. "She always does things with such brutal directness. I love it."
"It doesn't matter what you love, there's no love back," Yu Lang blurted.
Bai Doudou turned to him. "What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.
Yu Lang almost jumped out of his skin. "Er, nothing. I mean... Senior Jiang doesn't seem to love the idea of joining Senior Gong's team, does she?"
Bai Mengmeng nodded. "I got that same vibe," she said thoughtfully. "But why? Senior Gong is indeed the best choice to form a champion team with. Senior Jiang should have no reason to refuse." She posed the half-question to Lu Qing'er, who was still moodily watching Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e walk away.
"What are you thinking about, Qing'er?"
Lu Qing'er swished her wine-slush, trying to melt it back down again. "Senior Jiang wouldn't do anything to Li Luo, would she?"
Bai Mengmeng blinked innocently. "I don't know about that... I did hear Senior Jiang promise Leader once that she would give him some sort of reward if he became the strongest One Star Hall student."
Lu Qing'er almost fell out of her chair. "Come again? How do you know this?!"
"Oh, I overheard it by accident," Bai Mengmeng said with a smile. "You had best do something quick if you're going to act, Qing'er."
Lu Qing'er stared anew at the sweet-faced baby-doll girl. Somehow, she was looking more sinister by the moment. Perhaps she wasn't as childlike as everyone made her out to be.
She'd have to be careful of this one too.
...
Li Luo was dragged by the hand back to his room.
"Thanks for the save," he said cheerfully, still gripping her hand tightly. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to reply to him."
"It depends on whether you want to win the Holy Grail Meet," Jiang Qing'e replied. "I don't have any stake in this. We can win it or not. One strongest student title is enough to win riches from the school," she said indifferently.
Li Luo frowned. "But I can't wrap my head around why Gong Shenjun wouldn't want to win... If we win, the school will be grateful to him, his reputation in the Xia Kingdom will rise, and he could even crush the First Princess and rise with the Regent, his father."
"I can't wrap my head around it either," Jiang Qing'e admitted. "But my intuition remains unchanged."
"If you want to win the Holy Grail Meet, we have to avoid Gong Shenjun's team at all costs," she continued. "If you do not want to win, then it doesn't matter."
Li Luo paused for a moment. "I want to win it," he finally decided. "I promised Principal Pang."
"Pang Qianyuan?" Jiang Qing'e's eyes widened. She was unaware that the two had spoken of anything, but she was not one to probe too deeply.
"If you want to win, then we'll go look for the First Princess. In any case, we can wait until more details about the format of the mixed-level competition are released tomorrow before we decide."
She smiled.
"And I will help you."
"Thanks, Qing'e," Li Luo said gratefully.
"Now you can show your gratitude by loosening that claw-like hold of yours," she said primly.
Li Luo regretfully let go of her hand. If not for the fact that he had done very well in the hall-level competition, she would have probably held it against him.
She stood up. "Which way's the bathroom?"
Li Luo's jaw dropped as he pointed numbly to the right. "Er... why?"
She shot him a look. "The pipe in my room's really spoiled," she called over her shoulder as she walked into the adjacent room.
Li Luo swallowed as he watched her hourglass figure sashay away. His mouth suddenly felt dry.