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nOn another side, Lin Yuan also took a chair and placed it between Shui Xinran and Feng Moran. Shui Xinran glared at Lin Yuan with dissatisfaction and moved over a little reluctantly. Lin Yuan sat down.

n“Y-you barbarian, how can you be so rude?” Ximen Ya roared angrily and grudgingly moved toward Huo Qing.

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n“How can a barbarian be polite! Do you have any manners for me to see?” Feng Da said mockingly. This woman was still finding trouble with his young lady yesterday, yet she had the cheek to sit down at the same table shamelessly today. That’s right! The skin of aristocratic and imperial families had always been quite thick.

n“Big Brother Qing!” Ximen Ya looked at Huo Qing aggrievedly.

nLeng Ruoxue and the others had goosebumps when they heard her calling him ‘Big Brother Qing’. Shui Xinran, on the other hand, was fuming mad.

n“Do you think you have the right to call him Big Brother Qing?” Shui Xinran said with jealousy. This bitch actually dares to seduce my man in front of me. She must be tired of living.

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n“Big Brother Qing, this barbarian bullied me. You have to help me.” Ximen Ya ignored Shui Xinran and acted coquettishly. Big Brother Qing will give me face in public, won’t he?

n“How do you want me to help you, Princess?” There was no emotion on his handsome face, and his tone was light.

n“Big Brother Qing, you just have to help me teach him a lesson.” Ximen Ya wasn’t stupid. She knew that if her request was too much, Huo Qing wouldn’t bother with her at all. Moreover, private fights were not allowed during the Academy Competition.

n“Princess, don’t you know the rules during the competition?” Huo Qing frowned. Is this princess treating me like a goon? I’m not a lapdog following her around!

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n“I just want my Big Brother Qing to teach him a lesson for me. This isn’t a fight!” Ximen Ya said coquettishly.

n“Go away! Big Brother Qing won’t meddle in your affairs!” Shui Xinran roared furiously.

nClick! Leng Ruoxue put down her chopsticks, and her beautiful eyes glanced at them indifferently.

nThe sudden sound stunned Shui Xinran and Ximen Ya, but they quickly reacted.

n“What are you doing?” the two roared in unison.

n“This isn’t a place for you to be jealous of each other. Don’t affect my mood when I eat!

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n“Not just anyone can touch my people!” Leng Ruoxue warned as she looked at Huo Qing.

n“I’m sorry, they were too rude,” Huo Qing quickly mediated. He didn’t want to anger them, but what he didn’t know was that he had actually already angered Leng Ruoxue.

n“Young Master Huo, it’s better if we remain strangers from now on,” Leng Ruoxue said without giving him any face. She really didn’t want to be like in her previous life—being hypocritical with people she didn’t like. In this life, she only wanted to live freely and do whatever she wanted to do. It was enough to protect herself and the people she cared about. As for those aristocratic families, imperial families, and the like, she couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. But she knew very well that if she wanted to live the life she wanted without any qualms, she had to be stronger than anyone else. Otherwise, everything would be empty talk.

nBefore participating in this Academy Competition, she had already expected what she would have to face. It was impossible for her to keep a low profile like before since she had become famous from the competition. Since it was destined that she could not keep a low profile, she could only be arrogant, and there was a price to pay for daring to have any ideas about her!

nUpon hearing this, Huo Qing was stunned for a moment. But he soon recovered and smiled. “Do you think that’s possible?”

nTo be honest, Huo Qing really didn’t know what provoked her to dislike him so much. The feeling of being hated by a woman really made him a little uncomfortable.

n“As long as you really want something, there’s nothing impossible,” Leng Ruoxue said indifferently. Then she stood up and walked upstairs.

nSeeing this, Ye Chen and the others hurriedly left as well.

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n“Big Brother Qing, this woman is too much. Who does she think she is?” Ximen Ya tried to get into Huo Qing’s good books with a fawning expression while hating Leng Ruoxue to the core.

n“That’s right. Big Brother Qing, Leng Ruoxue didn’t leave you with any dignity. She’s really too much,” Shui Xinran said against the common enemy.

n“When did your relationship become so good?” Huo Qing stood up and walked out.

n“Don’t follow me!” His cold voice drifted over just as Shui Xinran and Ximen Ya stood up from their chairs and were about to follow behind him.

n…

nLeng Ruoxue and the others went straight to the reception room upstairs.

n“Xue’er, I’ll get someone to deliver some food!” Ye Chen said. He hadn’t eaten well downstairs just now. He and those people had little common ground and couldn’t get along. How could he have an appetite eating with people he hated?

n“Okay.” Leng Ruoxue nodded. She hadn’t eaten well either.

n“I’ll order,” Feng Da said quickly.

nFeng Da called for food, and the group began eating in the reception room.

n“What? Didn’t you have lunch?” Elder Qiu and Leng Qingtian walked in together.

n“We weren’t full.”

n“Grandpa, Elder Qiu, have you eaten?” Leng Ruoxue asked them.

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n“We’ve eaten. Oh, by the way, Xue’er, the imperial palace sent a message asking you guys, Elder Qiu, and me to attend the banquet,” Leng Qingtian said.

n“A banquet? Not interested.” She would rather sleep in her room.

n“Lass, the banquet was approved by the Lunar Shadow Academy, so it’s not good to miss it. It’s almost a tradition now,” Elder Qiu explained. Every time the competition approached the end, the imperial family would invite some students who performed excellently in the Academy Competition and their elders to the imperial palace for a banquet. In addition, some top families would also send invitations. But since the competition had not ended, it was up to the organizers whether or not they could go.

n“Does that mean I have to attend?” Leng Ruoxue was a little annoyed. She hated these hypocritical social interactions now, perhaps because she had had too many social engagements in her previous life.

n“Yes. We will offend a lot of people if we don’t attend,” Elder Qiu said. In fact, he didn’t like going either, but he had to.

n“When?”

n“Tonight. The palace will send a carriage to pick us up.”

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