The “Fatty” (a classmate) never expected Zhao Chunsheng to react this way after hearing that Si Nuo had been taking commissions privately. He had assumed Zhao Chunsheng would at least reprimand him. However, he forgot that if it had been any other student, Zhao Chunsheng might have lectured them about “overestimating their own abilities.” But with Si Nuo, Zhao Chunsheng simply found it reasonable and even felt validated in his own judgment of character.
The fatty curled his lip, thinking Si Nuo was being incredibly stingy, keeping a lucrative way to make money all to himself.
Ignoring the fatty, Zhao Chunsheng gave Si Nuo a few words of advice: “You should control the number of works you release. You understand what I mean, right?”
Si Nuo naturally understood the principle that scarcity creates value. Knowing Zhao Chunsheng meant well, he nodded and said, “I understand. Thank you, Teacher.”
“If you have any questions, you can come to me directly. The draft for the mural is fine; just proceed according to your design. You can finish it before the end of next month; manage your own time.”
“Understood, Teacher.”
After class, Zhang Yu could no longer contain his excitement. Watching Ren Ju and the fatty walk away, he remarked, “Did you see their expressions? Ren Ju and that fat jerk looked miserable. Seeing them unhappy makes me happy!”
“Si Nuo, are you painting the mural? If there is anything we can help with, just let us know,” someone suddenly approached Si Nuo to say. Others also offered to contribute their efforts.
Si Nuo was somewhat surprised by the shift in their attitude, but he did not refuse. “Sure, if I need help, I’ll ask you all.”
Seeing that he hadn’t flat-out rejected them, the others smiled. While they hadn’t treated Si Nuo as badly as Ren Ju did in the past, they had never shown much camaraderie either, and they were truly worried that Si Nuo would decline their offer.
As they left the classroom, Zhang Yu clicked his tongue. “People are truly realistic. I never saw them being this enthusiastic toward you before. Now that they see you’re doing well, their attitudes have changed instantly.”
Si Nuo knew Zhang Yu was standing up for him and looked at him with a smile. “I can tell whether they are being genuine or hypocritical. Come on, what do you want for lunch? My treat.”
“Forget it, don’t treat me. I’m afraid you’ll end up with a fever again after eating. Let’s wait until your health is fully recovered.”
Si Nuo couldn’t help but laugh; he felt Zhang Yu likely had some form of psychological trauma regarding his fragile health.
The two went to the cafeteria for a quick meal. On their way back, they ran into Ren Ju, who had changed into a new set of clothes and was coming down from the upper floor.
The fatty followed behind him and, upon seeing them, immediately laughed and said, “Ren Ju, are you off to meet that A-level mental power user now?” It was clearly meant for Si Nuo and Zhang Yu to hear.
Zhang Yu rolled his eyes in silence. “They haven’t even met yet; what is there to brag about? If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were about to get a marriage certificate!” He then looked at the terminal on Si Nuo’s wrist. “Still no news on your end?”
Si Nuo knew he was asking about the matching process and shook his head. “No…”
As soon as he spoke, his terminal vibrated, interrupting him.
Si Nuo opened the message. The pop-up screen displayed: [Congratulations! Through the third Central System matching process, data shows you have successfully matched with His Excellency Guan Xingchen-Cecil (SSS-level). The system has scheduled your first meeting for 3 days from now at 2:00 PM at the Central Garden Restaurant. Strive to make a good impression; please do not be late. The system wishes you a pleasant date! ^_^]
Si Nuo: “!!!”
Zhang Yu: “!!!!”
The two stared at the message on the screen, shocked for a long moment. Finally, Zhang Yu spoke first. “His Excellency Guan Xingchen-Cecil, a 3S-level mental power user is that the person I’m thinking of?”
Si Nuo looked back at Zhang Yu. “…You know this person?”
Zhang Yu looked at him with a complex expression. “Don’t you know? The surname ‘Cecil’ is the royal surname; only direct members of the royal family can hold it. There is only one Highness left in the royal family: Guan Xingchen. He is also the Empire’s only 3S-level mental power user. You can see news about him just by searching, though unfortunately, there are no photos.”
Si Nuo was truly stunned by what Zhang Yu said. The only Highness of the royal family, the Empire’s only 3S-level mental power user did that not mean this was the future King? No, given that he was the only one, he should technically be the current ruler.
How could someone like that be matched with him? “Did the Central System make a mistake?”
Zhang Yu looked at Si Nuo. “Although I am shocked, the Central System doesn’t make mistakes. Si Nuo, no wonder you couldn’t find a match before; it turns out all your luck was saved for this!”
If Si Nuo successfully dated this person, he would be the future Consort of the Empire! But… “I don’t know whether to say you’re lucky or unlucky!”
Si Nuo looked at his complex expression. “What do you mean?”
“Do you know why there is only one Highness left in the royal family?”
Si Nuo shook his head.
“Because their natural talents are too high. Every member of the royal family has exceptionally high mental power. But you know that the higher the mental power, the greater the impact of mental instability. As a result, royal family members rarely live long. The Highness you are going to meet is even more extreme. It is said that he was already at 2S-level at birth, and through royal medication to suppress it, he broke through to 3S-level. Whether he is even higher now is unknown. Of course, that’s not the point. The point is that this Highness is rumored to be bloodthirsty. Battlefields he participates in often end up as rivers of blood a hellish purgatory. People on the internet call him the ‘Human Weapon’…”
A Human Weapon!
Si Nuo never imagined that with his frail constitution, the Central System would match him with a human weapon! Was it trying to kill him?
Si Nuo said nervously, “T-that, can I refuse?”
Zhang Yu replied, “You can try. Usually, unless the other party also rejects the match, a one-sided refusal is ineffective. But you can initiate a refusal, and the other party will receive a notification. Perhaps when they see it, they will reject it themselves?”
Si Nuo felt the probability of the match failing was quite high. Given the other party’s status, if they saw a rejection notice, they might just get annoyed and call it off!
Thinking this, Si Nuo did exactly that. After clicking “refuse,” he felt a slight sense of relief. After all, such an existence was not something he could handle.
At the moment Si Nuo clicked “refuse,” Guan Xingchen, who was in his apartment, had just opened his communicator and seen the success notification from the Central System.
The adjutant standing nearby suddenly heard a scoff and subconsciously looked up. He heard the man sitting in the soft chair say, “The Central System finally matched me with someone.” His tone was flat, showing no joy.
But the adjutant’s eyes lit up. “Really, Your Highness? The Central System finally found a suitable match for you! After 233 attempts, it finally matched you. A meeting time must have been set, right? When is it? I’ll go prepare right now!”
Guan Xingchen looked up at the excited adjutant. “I don’t think that will be necessary. The other party refused.”
The adjutant’s smile instantly froze. He then saw Guan Xingchen lift his wrist as if to do something. Forgetting propriety, the adjutant grabbed his wrist. “Your Highness, no, don’t refuse! As long as we don’t refuse, the meeting can still happen. Think about it: from the time you came of age until now, four years have passed. After over 200 matches, you finally have this one suitable candidate. We have to seize this, Your Highness. A refusal from the other side is useless as long as you don’t refuse, they have to come meet you. Let’s just meet them, just see them first. If it doesn’t work out, we can refuse later, okay?”
If he could, the adjutant would have tied him up, preventing him from doing anything for three days, and then delivered him to the date. But he didn’t dare, and he couldn’t win in a fight!
Guan Xingchen broke free of his grip.
The adjutant asked tentatively, “Isn’t that a refusal?”
Guan Xingchen sneered. “Of course not. I’m just curious who dares to reject me? I have to go see.”
Besides, the name “Si Nuo” wasn’t that the boy he met that day? If there wasn’t another person with the same name, was he that big rabbit?
The adjutant was stunned. Seeing Guan Xingchen put away his screen with no intention of refusing, he let out a breath of relief. “Then I will go prepare new clothes for Your Highness, and a gift…”
Guan Xingchen looked at the babbling adjutant leaving the room and rubbed his temples.
Si Nuo had been terrified all day because of the notification, checking every so often to see if there was a response. When he saw nothing, he started to wonder if the other person’s terminal was broken or if they hadn’t seen the notification. Suddenly, his terminal vibrated, giving him a fright.
He opened it with anticipation, expecting to see something else, but it was a message from Zhuang Ning: [Master! I know you might be busy and not taking orders, but what about triple the price? My classmate is willing to pay 3x the usual amount for one of your paintings. Can you spare a little time in your busy schedule?]
Zhang Yu leaned over when he saw Si Nuo open the message. When he read it, he burst out laughing. “I say, don’t refuse. Triple the price is 300,000! Why turn away money? Besides, the mural only needs to be finished by the end of next month. Can’t you paint a landscape in a day?”
Si Nuo thought about it, but… “Is triple the price a bit too much?”
Zhang Yu immediately said, “Too much? Paintings that can heal mental instability are priceless—only you can paint them. They know that. If you feel bad about it, just throw in a small board painting as a bonus, okay?” He felt Si Nuo was simply too kind and gentle. If it were him, he’d never turn down such money!
Si Nuo figured that adding a small board painting wouldn’t take much time, so he thought the plan was viable. [Alright. Does your friend have any requirements? What type of landscape do they want?]
Zhuang Ning: [Master, you agreed! That’s great! He said there are no requirements as long as it’s painted by you, he won’t be picky!]