In the library, Huang Feifei carefully moved past the bookshelves. Her eyes were glued to the teenage boy reading at the table.
The afternoon sunlight poured through the floor to ceiling windows, casting a golden glow on his brown hair. With his tall broad frame and clean outfit, he looked like a K-pop star.
"Hello," Huang Feifei gently greeted.
The boy didn't look up from his book. "Your mock exam is done?"
Huang Feifei's heart burst with happiness. This was the first time Zhao Ming asked about her how she was doing!
"Yes!" She sat next to him. "Our scores just came out. I didn't do so well. Maybe we can study together? I would learn a lot from your guidance." She gave him her best pleading eyes.
"Who was the top in your class?"
Huang Feifei's heart sunk. "It was a girl called Zhao Hana. You know, the one from the rumors." She grabbed his arm. "She did score high, but I'm sure you can beat her. She must have used some unscrupulous means."
Huang Feifei continued to ramble on.
Unbeknownst to her, the boy's attention was on something else. Zhao Ming's finger tapped the edge of the book.
Zhao Hana. Interesting.
He recalled her match with Song Lin. The beautiful girl stood amidst the flames, a wild sparkle in her eyes. He had watched from the window as her power annihilated the opponent.
So unique from other girls. Even Renae Cao wouldn't hold a candle to her. He previously considered targeting the Cao girl, but it seemed like her position in her family was dwindling. He had no use for a pawn that would bring future risks.
The idiot blabbering beside him was even more useless. He only kept her because she would do his bidding unconditionally. The starstruck look she gave him was nauseating.
But the Hana girl was different.
Powerful. Intelligent. Strong personality. A mysterious background, likely powerful.
A girl fit to walk beside him.
A small indiscernible smile graced his lips as he pondered.
*****
Floor 90 - Unknown location
"Yo, I heard you met a girl this time." A teenager leaned against the wall, eyes trained on his older brother who was lying against the tree. "You sent out your private army just to locate her. Should I be expecting to become a brother-in-law soon?"
He smiled teasingly.
The young man opened his eyes, revealing dark blue eyes. "She suppressed the flame poison."
"What!" The teenager's eyes widened in shock. "That's big news. I have to tell mom."
"Lance." Blue eyes bore into him oppressively. "I will take care of this. The Wu family is being eyed from the dark. We shouldn't bring more attention to this than needed."
Lance Wu huffed. "As if, you just don't want mother to meddle in your affairs." He grinned. "She would be ecstatic if she learned you're interested in a girl, even if it's for your condition."
He nudged his brother. "Was she pretty?"
A low reply. "Beautiful."
'My god, you are totally interested' Lance thought. He laughed silently.
"So how did she suppress the poison? All the elixirs we have tried so far have been ineffective."
The man's blue eyes showed a rare sign of doubt. "She fed me a fruit."
"Fruit?" Lance frowned. "Could it be a special dungeon item? I have never heard of such a thing. Then again, dungeons are constantly evolving. . ."
He turned serious. "The current situation on the front is a standstill. However, if the S - ranked dungeons actually break, we would be at a major disadvantage. You are the only person who cleared one, yet the price was too high." Although his brother's abilities skyrocketed from the dungeon clearance reward, he also got poisoned.
The flame poison erupted every month, rendering him vulnerable and was tortuously painful. The entire family and military had locked down the news so only a handful knew. This weakness would be exploited by enemies, not to mention impact the situation on the war.
"It was carelessness." The young man said.
Lance frowned. "You —"
He was interrupted by the appearance of the butler.
"Young Master, Lieutenant Bren requested to meet you. Miss Su has also come."
"Of course only let Bren in." Lance ordered. "I swear, Su Mei Hua clings to you like a vengeful ghost." He shudders. "You have to do something about her. She haunts me everyday about your likes and dislikes, I have to look both ways before walking down the hallways." He scowled as Bren walked in.
"Young Master, we have located the watch." He handed over a file. "It was sold by a young lady a few weeks ago. We have gathered all the information available on her."
The man opened the file. A picture with familiar purple eyes greeted him.
"So your name is Hana." He murmured. He looked over the information, with Lance catching sight of a few key points.
Lance nudged Bren aside. "Neh, I heard you fought with the girl."
Bren rubbed his neck, embarrassed. "Yeah, we though she was an assassin at the time. And she was disguised as a male. It wasn't until the young master told us that we knew the boy was a she."
"How were her skills?"
Bren's face burned, but he spoke the truth. "She completely crushed us. Her ice abilities could rival your level."
Lance whistled. "Nice. Seems like you need more training though, if you lot got your asses handed to you by a teenager."
A dark tone interrupted. "I think you should both get to the training grounds if you don't want extra hours added."
The two paled and quickly fled. Lance clucked his tongue. Hmm, he had to find out more about this girl.