From the Heavens Descended an Immortal Sister

Chapter 197: Chapter 195: Too Deep Into the Role_1

Once again pulling the brim of her hat down firmly, Bai Qi swiftly turned and ran in the direction Fang Ren had left.

The elder butlers of the Wang family and Cao family standing behind her seemed to suddenly recall something. They had been so shocked by the Upper Level Pill from moments ago that they had momentarily overlooked the female student who had come with Young Master Fang.

Thinking about the revelation of Fang Ren's true identity and looking back at Lin Bozhong and Chen Cheng beside them, they recalled the rumors they heard while in Tianjiang—a princess had transferred out of Tianjiang University...

That meant, the girl they had just scolded... was the princess herself!

Their faces turned ashen in an instant, and they stiffly turned their heads to look at Chen Cheng, who was still laughing with Lin Bozhong. As their eyes met, both butlers were filled with a bitter expression, unsure of what to do.

Thinking back to when they had stood in the audience stand, criticizing Fang Ren and scolding Bai Qi, they were now filled with an overwhelming sense of unspeakable regret.

...

With Fang Ren and Bai Qi having left the arena, everything that followed became much simpler—no disputes, no noise.

Every person's heart was filled with various emotions, but most of all, there was that lingering shock and confusion over why Fang Ren did not lower himself to their level.

Was Young Master Fang simply biding his time before taking action, or was he holding a grudge? Or perhaps he had not cared about their mockery at all, and they were mistaking others for being as petty as themselves?

Butler Liu stood in the center of the arena, watching Fang Ren disappear outside the venue and muttered to himself, "It seems one truly cannot believe in hearsay; among his peers, perhaps only Song Mobei from the Tiandao Sword Sect can match Young Master Fang in composure."

Seventh Elder clutched the golden pill in his hand, his heart filled with immense excitement. According to the rules of the Alchemy Competition, any participant who could create a finished pill in the exam room was entitled to take it without paying a single coin.

But Fang Ren did not take the Upper Level Pill with him; that meant he had truly gifted the pill to Seventh Elder, just as he had said before.

After all, it was an Upper Level Pill! In the market, it would fetch enough to purchase three or four times the herbs Fang Ren had used, and they would be of excellent quality.

...

In the end, this tumultuous exam continued with everyone, except for Fang Ren, retaking it.

However, it was obvious that the candidates taking the exam again couldn't proceed with the same calm and composure as before; their understanding of the pills they cherished had been utterly subverted by a seemingly nonchalant lower-level student within just 14 minutes.

What had seemed unwavering self-confidence crumbled under the pressure, much like a group of world-class boxers who suddenly witnessed a Cultivator effortlessly shattering mountains and rivers.

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Outside the competition venue, on the streets.

Fang Ren paused at a crossroads, waiting for Bai Qi who had just run out of the venue.

As Bai Qi saw Fang Ren stopping at the intersection to wait for her, her rapid pace slowly decreased, and her shining eyes began to be obscured by the brim of her hat as she tilted her head slightly downwards.

"I didn't lie to you, did I?" Fang Ren said, smiling faintly as he watched her stop beside him.

Bai Qi first shook her head without looking up at him, as her subconscious felt deceived.

But after half a second, Bai Qi nodded her head, having thought through their past interactions; indeed, Fang Ren had not lied to her.

"Why the shake of the head?" Fang Ren was still smiling. "Taking you to the finals is a sure thing now."

After hearing his words, Bai Qi paused for a few seconds before slowly lifting her head, her beautiful eyes looking at him, "I originally thought you merely wanted to take me to the finals. Now it seems I was just flattering myself, like you said before—I imagined too much."

"It's okay, a misunderstanding cleared up is good."

Fang Ren shrugged nonchalantly, turning to cross the street, "You can rest up for a couple of days now. I need to focus on my Cultivation."

Bai Qi quickly caught up with him, a mixture of confusion and perplexity on her face, "If you weren't just taking me to the finals, then what was it for?"

"Didn't I say? To meet Madame Xuan," Fang Ren replied, his tone joking but his words sincere.

Bai Qi shook her head again slightly. Even now, she felt that Fang Ren's statement was just a jest.

"Perhaps you're not as nonchalant as you appear," Bai Qi broke the silence after a while. "Since the previous event was just my conceit, then your sudden demonstration of exceptional Alchemy Talent must have been to prove yourself."

Fang Ren laughed helplessly and then nodded; the girl was overthinking things again. She still didn't believe that he was actually going to see Mu Huanqing.

But Bai Qi's words weren't wrong either. There were many reasons Fang Ren went to the finals, and proving himself was indeed one of them.

Crossing the street, Fang Ren headed straight towards the hotel, with Bai Qi silent beside him, seemingly deep in thought.

After walking for three or four minutes, Bai Qi spoke with a twisted expression, "Did my appearance cause you embarrassment?"

Fang Ren reluctantly glanced at her and could only helplessly say, "You are overthinking it."

Bai Qi shook her head, denying his claim, and spoke with a hint of seriousness, "Your past performance has always been third from the bottom in the class. You never tried to stand out. I suppose it's probably because your life was originally bland and worry-free. But with my appearance, your identity was exposed, and your peaceful life was shattered. All over Tianjiang, people are talking about you.

None of them hold you in high regard; they all think you are the discarded piece that the Fang Family didn't want to lose face over. That's why you want to prove yourself now..."

After Fang Ren heard her say this, he began to understand why she would think that way. After all, considering everything that had happened to him from this girl's subjective point of view, it was inevitable she would think like that.

Bai Qi continued, "In the time I've been in contact with you, you seemed to me to be unremarkable. But now I've come to realize that the unremarkability of the past must have been due to your non-confrontational nature. If not for my arrival, you certainly would not have chosen to take part in this competition to prove yourself.

Even people who are non-confrontational don't like being constantly judged and nagged at. When pushed to the limit, the only thing to do is to take action to silence everyone."

Fang Ren smiled and said, "You only got half right."

His original life had indeed been bland and carefree, and his nature had truly been non-confrontational, leading to everything that had unfolded up to this point.

His second uncle tried to assassinate him, the Central Area wanted to separate him from his lover, the Bai Family wanted him to forcefully have a child with Bai Qi...

Any one of these issues indeed pushed him to the limit.

Bai Qi was slightly stunned as she looked at him, "Which half?"

"The part about being pushed to the limit," Fang Ren laughed.

"Did I get your personality wrong then?" Bai Qi asked.

"That's not the case."

"So I got it all right."

"The circumstances are wrong," Fang Ren said. "I wasn't driven to desperation because of you, nor because of the comments from the people in Tianjiang."

"Then why?" Bai Qi asked.

Fang Ren paused for a moment, then smilingly said, "Instead of probing for answers, better to wait and see how things unfold."

He still couldn't reveal some things.

Bai Qi looked at the slight smile at the corner of his mouth, her beautiful face flashed with bewilderment for a moment, and the light in her eyes trembled slightly.

"You and Brother Song are very similar... in character," Bai Qi murmured, looking at him with cherry-red lips.

The smile on Fang Ren's face stiffened, "Uh... I do hope there are more dissimilarities between him and me, preferably completely opposite."

"..."

Bai Qi fell silent after hearing his words.

It was as if Fang Ren's statement was a cryptic message that only she could understand— "You like him, and I certainly hope I'm not like the person you like... I don't wish for you to like me."

But Bai Qi felt there might be something wrong with her interpretation of this statement.

"Why?" she hurriedly asked.

Fang Ren's expression twisted slightly, he chuckled thoughtfully for a moment and said, "If you're asking for the most direct reason, it's because I don't like him, and I actually detest him a lot."

Bai Qi shook her head, somewhat unable to understand, and said, "You clearly have never met, and you haven't even gotten to know him. He isn't part of the Tianjiang group that looked down on you. How can you dislike someone so much without any reason?"

Fang Ren glanced at the sky and sighed, "It has to do with the person I like."

Tap tap—

Bai Qi's shoes moved twice on the ground, making a pronounced sound, and she gradually stopped in place, while Fang Ren ahead continued walking forward.

In Bai Qi's eyes, within the circle of girls Fang Ren had come into contact with, only she had interacted with Song Mobei, and she was the only one who had told Fang Ren about her feelings for Song Mobei.

He said that his dislike for Song Mobei was related to the person he liked...

Bai Qi stood there, watching Fang Ren's retreating figure slowly moving forward, the pretty cheeks flushing with color, her normally bright eyes shimmering even more...

So, when he said she overthought things, he wasn't saying she overthought everything.

At least, the fact that he liked her was not something she had conjured up in her mind. -Enjoy!

"Could this... be considered a confession tinged with jealousy?"

Bai Qi thought to herself.