Chapter 2: The Only Lament in History

  A bamboo forest, a misty fog, suddenly a faint song drifts by, mournful and indistinct, as if it's there but not quite. Moving one's heart and soul.

  A figure in the distance, gradually approaching, slowly drawing near, with a faint and ethereal gait, and fluttering clothes. Amidst the vagueness, a pair of bright eyes, cold as autumn water.

  It's as if it existed in a painting.

  I looked down——

  His hands hung low, and suddenly stood up.

  His hand was actually pinching a snake.

  "Ah!" I let out a sharp cry.

  "Here! Here!" he said, thrusting that awful thing into my hands.

  "I don't want to!" I retreated in a fluster, and with one vigorous kick, Ah! It seemed like I had fallen into an abyss.

  In the midst of intense struggle, I suddenly woke up, feeling cold all over, which was due to excessive fright, and broke out in a cold sweat.

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  Then I really fell ill, frightened by a snake, my whole body was weak, my spirit was dizzy, I had no heart to attend classes, and I didn't care about the water mirror scolding me again for being "superficial and vulgar", I just asked for leave.

  At home resting, feeling extremely bored, rolling around on the bed, doing some boring stretching exercises.

  The house servant suddenly came to report that Guan and Zhang, two young masters, had come to visit.

  Just thinking of them, I felt a surge of joy in my heart. I hastily got up and put on countless clothes over my snow-white shirt, repeatedly adjusting it. Then, facing the copper mirror, I carefully tidied up my hair, shook out the wide sleeves, and thought to myself, "Everything is perfect." With that, I headed out the door.

  Although the cool breeze blew on my face in the pavilion, after passing through so many corridors, I still sweated profusely. The sweat dripped from under my thick clothes and made my back wet and uncomfortable.

  Guān Xiǎoyǔ sat on the railing of the pavilion, with one foot resting on the railing, staring at the water below, as if in a trance. Zhāng Xiǎofēi stood beside her, arms crossed, his face black as coal, seemingly sulking.

  "Hey, Yunchang! Yide! I'm here, sorry to keep you waiting!"

  Those two heard my call, and simultaneously looked me up and down, Guan Xiao Yu smiled: "Indeed a typical noble young master, imperial demeanor, even at home, you dress so neatly?" He had an expression of jest.

  But Zhang Xiaofei was different, he said: "Xuande, wearing so many clothes, aren't you afraid of getting prickly heat?" This guy is straightforward and speaks his mind, whatever he doesn't like, he blurts out.

  "When he's ill, it's natural for his body to be weak. Why must you interfere with trivial matters?" Guan Xiaoyu, however, was more profound and her long, phoenix-like eyes narrowed into a meaningful smile. Her rosy complexion seemed to have been nourished by some kind of skincare product, as smooth as jade.

  What a charming man, making people drool all over, and I couldn't help but smile foolishly too.

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  But among the three of us, Guan Xiaoyu has always been the most resourceful and intelligent. As for me, I've always had a gentle and weak temperament, not good at competing with others, and in other people's eyes, I'm somewhat effeminate.

  After crying bitterly in piano class, he was given the nickname "The Only Cry in a Thousand Years".

  Zhang Xiaofei, from a martial arts family, has a quick temper and a violent personality. He often fights with knives and guns, and especially likes to engage in street brawls. Even the female students from the nearby literature department know about his ferocity, earning him the nickname "Little Zhang Xiaofei".

  Only Guan Xiaoyu, with his elegant and refined demeanor, has the aura of a young general, and as the son of a renowned military family, he is the idol or heartthrob of countless men and women in the courtyard.

  No need to mention the wind in the empty cave, I have been entrusted by countless sisters to deliver countless love letters to Yunchang, and Guan Xiaoyu is indeed a strange person, as if he has a heart of stone. As far as I know, so far, no beautiful woman from Lu's family has ever moved his heart.

  I do appreciate Guan Xiaoyu in this regard, unlike Zhou Xiaoyu. Although she is a bit more attractive and slightly resembles a certain celebrity nowadays, she floats around without knowing her own weight, leaving affection everywhere like a butterfly, often seen with the campus belle of our college, hand in hand, doing all sorts of mushy and romantic things.

  He even thought he was the male lead in an idol drama.

  I wake up feeling like throwing up.

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  I suppressed my excitement and said politely: "It's a trouble for both of you to come see me, I'm almost recovered from my illness."

  Guan Xiaoyu let him sit on the stool inside the pavilion, then said: "Don't worry, this time I came to see you, secondly to relax, and thirdly... to discuss whether or not to deal with that guy Zhou Xiaoyu..." He didn't finish his sentence, just looked at me ambiguously.

  "Stop discussing and just take action? I'm fed up with your indecisiveness, it's making us vulnerable to bullying! Xuande, if Yunchang hadn't held me back these past two days, I would have..."

  "What do you want?" I felt my facial expression twisted a bit.

  Guan Xiaoyu smiled secretly and didn't say anything.

  Zhang Xiaofei leaned against the pillar, thinking silently for a moment. Suddenly, he slapped the pillar and roared: "Assassination? Or find two brothers to thrash this kid severely?"

  The dust on the eaves fell down like snowflakes under Zhang Xiaofei's loud shout.

  Guan Xiaoyu and I rushed out of there in a flurry.

  No wonder he's the outstanding new generation of the underworld family, this fighting and killing is not my style. I brushed off the dust on my clothes with a racing heart, stealing glances at Guan Xiaoyu whenever I had the chance.

  Guan Xiaoyu was staring at me instead.

  As soon as our eyes met, I knew what Guan Xiaoyu meant. Yunchang was not as gentle and refined as he seemed on the surface; in fact, his personality was quite similar to Zhang Xiaofei's, with a tendency towards violence. To be honest, he had been tolerating Zhou Xiaoyu for some time now. But Zhou Xiaoyu was indeed strange - although he was arrogant and looked down on others, he was always polite and courteous on the surface. Yunchang and Yide, who were part of my group, had never been confronted by Zhou Xiaoyu before; in fact, he was particularly tolerant towards them. Therefore, even if Guan Xiaoyu and Zhang Xiaofei wanted to stir up trouble, they wouldn't be able to spark a conflict between the two sides for the time being.

  Wait a minute, I stroked my chin and thought: Zhou Xiaoyu is indeed very good to everyone and has a good demeanor... but... yes, except for me.

  As soon as he saw me, it was like a tiger seeing a lamb, and he had to take two bites before he could be satisfied, even if he wasn't hungry, he still had to make a move.

  That fox-like guy seems to have spotted my weakness and is taking advantage of me everywhere.

  I'm at a loss, deeply introspective, yet still can't figure out where I've fallen short in this person's eyes. In the Army Command College, my reputation as Liu Xiaobei is unassailable, not relying on the intimidation of Zhongshan Jingwang or the identity of royalty - the style of a noble family heir.

  Of course, nobody is perfect.

  But there are still many people who praise me for being elegant and refined with a dignified demeanor.

  But Zhou Xiaoyu was determined, and Yide had provoked him several times, but he didn't take it seriously, smiling and pretending to be a good boy. At first, I didn't understand his behavior, thinking that there must have been some misunderstanding between them, so I extended an olive branch with the intention of making peace, but this guy didn't appreciate it at all, instead becoming even more aggressive, until I shook off an entire olive tree and still didn't see any change in his icy expression.

  I'm exhausted from all the trouble I've been through, and I'm so angry that I could die... Suddenly, that ugly snake appears in front of me again. It's really hard to find something as ugly as this thing, I don't know where it came from.

  He actually knows what I'm most afraid of, ugh, scum.

  I knew that you can't judge a person by their appearance, the better-looking someone is, the more despicable they might be inside. But with my IQ, I couldn't have imagined that Zhou Xiaoyu would find a snake to scare me so badly! It just goes to show how cruel the real world is - nothing is unimaginable, only impossible to do.

  That's absolutely beyond human imagination, I wonder if that guy is an immigrant from Mars? I thought with a bit of malice.

  "Waa... why did you have to treat me like that?" I thought and thought, unknowingly my eyes welled up with tears, and I choked out a sound.

  Tears came streaming down.

  "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying again? We're all here, aren't we?"

  "It's alright, there are no more snakes. Don't worry, Guan Yu. We'll be on high alert from now on. If anything similar happens again, we won't show any mercy."

  Guan Xiaoyu and Zhang Xiaofei hastily came over to comfort me.