Age of Legends

Chapter 227 No need
The minibus from the Foreign Languages ​​Department arrived at the Yude Parking Lot. Pei Yan and his group got off and met up with the physics team from the provincial team.

Actually, many of us are acquaintances, and we've seen each other every year. The path of competitions relies on talent. You have to compete in competitions while also maintaining your academic performance. Those who can compete for a long time are mostly people who are very capable.

Before they could even finish exchanging pleasantries, a girl came up to Pei Yan and asked for his autograph.

Two years ago, a girl from Fuzhou Foreign Language School became a Harvard graduate, which was a hot topic on social media across the country. Fuzhou Foreign Language School's reputation became the pinnacle of private schools. Pei Yan is the second media student that Fuzhou Foreign Language School has been working hard to cultivate after the Harvard graduate.

Unfortunately, people only know the first place, and don't care much about the second.

But he is still somewhat famous in Rongcheng. The competitions and activities he participates in are often publicized and reported by the media. Because he is more photogenic, he is often featured in newspapers and magazines. Last year, he won the Oxford JL essay competition, which was his most publicized achievement. Many high schools in Rongcheng know him because of his school magazines and middle school journals.

He's like a celebrity now. The news of his coming to Yude High School spread a couple of days ago. Now, it's almost the end of the last two classes, and the girls from Yude who have PE class are already here waiting to see him.

"Pei Yan, can I get your autograph?" Someone who came to him showed him the page from the city newspaper that he had been featured in.

"Sign here?"

"It's right here!"

Some people were holding copies of "Youth Literature," which contained the current issue's report on Pei Yan. "Youth Literature" and "Middle School Students" were probably the most popular school periodicals that students could legitimately read at the time.

*Middle School Students* was founded in 1930 by Feng Zikai, Ye Shengtao, and others. Publication was intermittently suspended due to political turmoil, only officially resuming in 1980, and has been serialized ever since. *Youth Literature*, founded in 93, had a style quite similar to Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment magazines, both in style and content, making it more popular with students. As for the more famous *Yilin*, it wasn't founded until two years later.

Pei Yan also signed his name in the issue of "Youth Literature Collection" that featured his story.

The third girl brought something quite ridiculous: a book of past physics exam questions that she had been frantically working through.

After he signed his name, the people from the provincial team next to him laughed and said, "Wow, Pei Yan, you're really like a star. Oh, by the way, where are your 'friends' from Yude? I don't see them."

Everyone looked at him with a mix of teasing and eager anticipation. Pei Yan's fame naturally led to the digging up and spreading of much of his personal information, including the keyword "Shen Nuoyi." Shen Nuoyi was a well-known girl at Yude High School; back in junior high, she, Han Zhouxuan, and the other two were inseparable.

Later, according to a rumor circulating in an unknown place, Shen Nuoyi liked Pei Yan, and people have been digging into this matter to try to confirm it.

A young girl who was also selected for the provincial team glanced nervously at Pei Yan.

Pei Yan replied, "They're probably still in class."

"So, are you going to have dinner alone with someone later? Ah! It's rare for you to come all this way..."

Pei Yan just smiled and said, "I'm not sure, we'll see when the time comes."

Once Pei Yan confirmed that she would be attending Yude Training, she told Shen Nuoyi on QQ. Shen Nuoyi's reaction was neutral; Pei Yan couldn't see any particular surprise in her, but she still offered her congratulations to those of them who were competing.

Shen Nuoyi's behavior is normal. He used to be the same way when he was with Han Zhouxuan. He also noticed that whenever he and Shen Nuoyi talked, Han Zhouxuan would interrupt them and always avoid them being alone together.

When he was with Han Zhouxuan, Shen Nuoyi would often quietly step aside.

From childhood to adulthood, many girls had liked him and written him love letters. Among them were some whom Pei Yan found pleasing to the eye. After getting to know each other, they would often take the initiative to talk to him, express their affection, and even secretly pass him a letter containing anything that was anything but reserved…

And often, Pei Yan's vague feelings for that girl would simply fade away.

Pei Yan once saw a quote that she found quite apt: "Feelings are most flavorful when they are unspoken. Once everything in the world is revealed, the delicate, ambiguous relationship between a man and a woman, like a pipa player half-concealing her face, is lost."

But Shen Nuoyi is different.

He had noticed how close he and Han Zhouxuan had been during their conversations, and how Shen Nuoyi had become increasingly silent. Pei Yan even believed that she was the only person he truly wanted to express her innermost thoughts to him, someone he wouldn't refuse.

Unfortunately, even though he had given her hints, the girl seemed to be a block of wood and remained silent.

Pei Yan really wanted to see how long she could hold out. He also remembered what his mother had told him: if it were a daughter-in-law, based on the business relationship between the two families, they thought highly of Shen Nuoyi, after all, it's better to keep the good stuff in the family.

Pei Yan shook his head, wondering if he would have to take the initiative this time.
A girl who had just gotten an autograph from someone nearby gritted her teeth and asked, "Pei Yan, do you and Shen Nuoyi... actually like each other?!"

The scene fell silent for a moment. Even the teachers leading the teams from each school, who had just been chatting amongst themselves, turned around and smiled at Pei Yan.

Pei Yan was momentarily dazed, then looked at the girl, pondered for a moment, and said, "We've known each other for a long time."

The girls' expressions brightened as if they had discovered something. "You mean...you're childhood sweethearts?!"

Pei Yan did not refute further.

"Oh my!" A group of people cheered loudly at the parking lot, and then the sound quickly spread.

……

"Pei Yan just arrived! He even admitted in front of many people that he and Shen Nuoyi are childhood sweethearts!"

"Let's just say they like each other!"

"What does this mean? The person involved admitted it himself?"

"Oh no... this news is going to bombard Yude High School!" Dating in high school isn't exactly a monster; what era are we living in? Stranded couples are commonplace, and many people understand when news of someone dating surfaces. Firstly, it's genuine budding romance. Secondly, the monotonous school life does make people seek something to occupy their attention. Who hasn't had a crush in their youth? Who can say they didn't want to see that special someone every day at that age?
But the key point is that these two people are different.

Pei Yan, the school heartthrob at Rongcheng Foreign Language School, is a high school celebrity who's made headlines and in the news. Sometimes, even when he's standing right in front of you, it feels unreal. Many people even envy the students of Rongcheng Foreign Language School, wondering what it's like to meet someone as eccentric as him.

The other is Shen Nuoyi. Unlike Pei Yan, who appears in newspapers and magazines, Shen Nuoyi is usually only known by name but never seen in person. Even those who make a serious trip to Yude School to see her from afar often return to their own schools and say that seeing her in person is worse than hearing about her. She is indeed the kind of girl who makes one feel ashamed of oneself when she is around.

Throughout history, news of talented men and beautiful women coming together has always been the most eye-catching.

The same applies to Yude now.

The rumors that had been circulating for so long were just rumors; people speculated and doubted, but they never came to fruition.

And now, witnessing the dust settle on these rumors, how could one not feel excited and thrilled?

Some were excited, while many others felt a suffocating heaviness in their hearts. It was simply the pressure of facing a competitor in front of the girl they liked, a pressure that made it hard to breathe.

That just so happens to be Pei Yan!
They came straight to Yude, straight to Shen Nuoyi.

It's a bit like an enemy general swiftly charging into your own formation, brazenly taking the head of your commander, while you can only watch helplessly, feeling utterly pathetic and frustrated.

This is probably the feeling of frustration that many people at Yude are experiencing right now.

……

"Shen Nuoyi, big news! Just now, Dunmei from Class 7 asked Pei Yan for an autograph, and then asked him if you two liked each other... Guess what Pei Yan said? He said you've known each other for a long time! What does that mean?! Doesn't that mean he's admitting it? He didn't deny it right away, that's incredible... His feelings for you are crystal clear!"

Xu Rui brought this news as soon as he entered the door. It was news that the outbreak was beginning to sweep through Yude.

This was probably a rare opportunity for many girls in the class to openly tease and joke with Shen Nuoyi, so regardless of anything else, quite a few girls gathered around her, cheering her on with "Wow!"

"Really, Shen Nuoyi?"

"If Pei Yanzhen said that, then he's admitting it!"

These girls' faces and necks were even redder than Shen Nuoyi's, as if someone had confessed their love to them.

The jeers and commotion continued.

"That's not true!" Shen Nuoyi was surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, her face flushed red, unable to defend herself.

Although she refuted them, no one listened. Her unusually flustered state only fueled the enthusiasm of those around her.

Only a few boys in the class sat there listlessly, their faces showing a look of dismay and dejection. Why Pei Yan? This guy from another school was already so infamous that he was already annoying, and now he dared to come to Yude and push his luck. He was simply looking down on Yude because they had no one else!

Although some boys thought it was just students teasing each other and probably not credible, seeing Shen Nuoyi surrounded by girls with his face flushed red, their hard-won doubts crumbled again, and they were heartbroken.

……

Li Runjia was sitting in front of Zhang Chen and Wang Shuowei. He turned around and looked at Wang Shuowei, saying, "You damn foreign language students come here to assert your sovereignty!"

Wang Shuowei was also indignant, "Brother Jia, you're the top dog at Yude, after all. If we don't take him down, Pei Yan will get great grades. You didn't do worse than him!"

After all, they're high school students. Pei Yan is known for his excellence, and their class also has Li Runjia, who's in the top three of the grade. They have some notable figures. It's not impossible to put up a fight and psychologically put pressure on the other side.

Li Runjia thought about it seriously for a moment, then hesitated, somewhat undermining his own reputation, and said, "Oh dear, I'm afraid he'll be tough to deal with! That bastard is a physics competition contestant, and apparently he got the highest score in the province. If we're just talking about college entrance exam scores, he might be able to beat me! But when it comes to solving competition problems, it's a different story, since he's been through intensive training!"

He even seriously calculated each other's combat strength and felt that he might be limited in his competitive mindset.

Wang Shuowei pouted again. He had originally wanted Li Runjia to give him a boost of confidence, but good heavens, even the strongest in the class was weighing things up. He had no psychological support at all!

Zheng Xue was squeezed to one side by the girls. When the last class started and everyone went back to their seats, she looked at Shen Nuoyi and said hesitantly, "Nuoyi... I'll go eat by myself later."

This is quite normal, because Pei Yan's arrival and the spread of that rumor have caused a huge stir in Manyude. Zheng Xue felt that regardless of whether those rumors were true or false, Shen Nuoyi would probably have to fulfill his duty as a host and have a meal with Pei Yan.

If Zheng Xue were one of those girls who admired Pei Yan, she could have shamelessly asked Shen Nuoyi to take her to meet the school's most handsome boy, get to know him, and have a meal together.

But Zheng Xue still decided to give up and avoid the situation alone. She ultimately didn't want to hear the news that Shen Nuoyi was confirmed to be with Pei Yan.

But after she finished speaking, she heard Shen Nuo beside her say, "No need. I'm not eating with him. Let's eat together."

She turned her head suddenly.

It's as if I'm still seeing that free-spirited female knight-errant, and I'm talking to her.

To the ends of the earth... travel with me, you don't have to give up.

　Thanks to DaChuiSpring for their support, BookFriend20240905194750090, 23333emmmm, ChenBo0000, FuXiaober, and DiHuo for their generous donations.
　　I'll write more tomorrow; I plan to catch up on my debt to the Alliance Leader this week!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)