Age of Legends

Chapter 229 One Force Against Another

"Teacher Zhou, I heard that Shen Nuoyi from your class likes Pei Yan from the foreign language team in today's physics competition. You know him, right?" In the teachers' office, physics teacher Wang Changshan said to Zhou Ming as soon as he entered.

"Who said that... You're talking nonsense!" Zhou Ming paused for a moment. He hadn't lost his skill at pretending to be deaf and dumb all these years. He looked around and saw several female teachers looking at him, so he responded.

"Heh, it's just what the students are saying!" Wang Changshan chuckled. The teachers in their group often gossiped about the students, and they all knew perfectly well who was dating whom.

Zhuang Ning, the English teacher next to her, had been wanting to speak for a while, and now she smiled and said, "I saw Shen Nuoyi back in the first year of high school. Everyone else was ugly and unattractive, but Teacher Zhou, your class leader was quite good, especially Shen Nuoyi. He was so well-behaved. When he was raising the flag as the most beautiful flag bearer, I saw the youth of so many boys!"

She was referring to the flag-raising ceremony in her first year of high school, when Shen Nuoyi was assigned to be the most beautiful flag bearer. She was paired with a tall and handsome boy from the third year of high school to raise the flag, and the crowd was in an uproar as they walked across the playground.

On the other side, a slightly older female teacher, Qin Qianhua, said, "Teacher Zhuang, you too, early dating is forbidden at school!"

"Oh dear, we've all been through this age, don't be so conservative in your thinking. Besides, whether or not someone is in a relationship early is also related to the student. If it's a relationship that affects their life and studies, then it's called early dating. If they're doing well, then it's called mutual encouragement!"

Everyone chimed in with their own praise for Shen Nuoyi, which made Zhou Ming quite proud. Shen Nuoyi was undoubtedly the class's most handsome student, and his excellent grades also made him a popular topic of conversation. Every time the grade level talked about Shen Nuoyi, it brought him a lot of pride.

“I watched Pei Yan’s interview before. It seems his family owns that Taixun company, and they’re very wealthy. You know, sometimes it’s true, people from rich families are often very outstanding themselves! How can you compare!”

"Which Taixun Company..." a teacher asked, and I genuinely didn't know.

"Those involved in electronics and software have an annual output value of several hundred million."

"Oh..."

The teachers in the grade are currently somewhat dumbfounded. They are quite concerned about the future of many outstanding students. Some have done well after graduation, and as the saying goes, "their students are all over the world," so the teachers certainly benefit, and even the school benefits. Some of the good-looking students have gone into the entertainment industry, while others have become successful and entered the alumni hall of fame.

Some couples attracted attention at the time and later became a perfect match, which made people sigh.

It seems that this is the pair right now. If that's the case, they will most likely become a legend that Yude and Foreign Language School will leave behind for many years to come.

All the teachers got excited.

“I think you shouldn’t be so gossipy. You’re all teachers, so be more reserved,” Zhou Ming said.

"Heh, Teacher Zhou, if this were your daughter, you probably wouldn't object to this marriage, would you?" Zhuang Ning said.

"If it were my daughter, she should focus on her studies right now. As long as she does well in her studies, we can have some contact with her, but as long as she doesn't cross the line, we won't interfere!" Zhou Ming spouted some grand principles, but he actually felt a little bitter inside. His daughter was only in junior high school, attending No. 17 Middle School, and her grades weren't good. Her parents were often called in, which gave him a headache.

……

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Pei Yan did not meet the person he was supposed to see at Yude Hospital. Instead, he ate with the training team. When they sat down at the table together, the teacher in charge was a little surprised. He glanced at Pei Yan and laughed, "Hey, Pei Yan, I thought you were going to be absent. Didn't you have any plans?"

Pei Yan continued eating, and the whole team seemed to have lost their previous liveliness. They looked at each other, wondering what had happened. Being smart people, they didn't make a fuss.

Pei Yan ate his meal carefully, then went to his training class. He checked his phone, though he didn't know what had happened. Perhaps Shen Nuo was just shy, or maybe she really did have an appointment today, but it didn't matter. When get out of class was about to end, he raised his hand to use the restroom as an excuse to leave his seat, grabbed his bag, and walked out the back door. Just as he left the training classroom and arrived at the Yude Teaching Building, the bell for evening self-study rang.

"Don't rush, what's the hurry! I haven't finished explaining the final answer yet!" Zhou Ming said slowly, eliciting a groan from the whole class. Those who were about to rush out had to sit back down, looking dejected.

Then Zhou Ming finished explaining the last equation. The sounds coming from the corridor outside were somewhat strange and unpredictable. The doors of the next class opened one after another, and people poured out, but some exclaimed "Huh!?"

I could clearly feel that the footsteps that usually rushed out of the corridor slowed down considerably, as if they had passed by their class.

After explaining the problem, Zhou Ming hardly needed to announce the end of get out of class; everyone knew it was time to go home, and the more enthusiastic students would quickly grab their bags and rush out the door.

The person who left seemed to have been struck on the head, letting out a "Uh!" that made the strange feeling even more intense for those in the classroom.

Then, as the group of girls walked out and saw Pei Yan standing outside Class 5, the entire floor erupted in an uproar.

It turned out that the students from other classes who had just come out saw this and didn't rush to leave, nor did they want to block the way. So they went to the aisle and stood at a distance, some even walking slowly and looking back every few steps.

With the added jeering, the entire floor was soon bombarded with this news.

After the training camp ended, Pei Yan actually came to the entrance of Class 5 to wait for Shen Nuoyi!

This shows what?
This is almost a foregone conclusion.

Pei Yan made no attempt to hide anything from people, showing no fear that the already widely publicized news would cause an explosion.

He's a goal-oriented person; once he's decided to do it, then so be it. Whether Shen Nuoyi is embarrassed or shy, let him be the one to point out her usual wooden, silly self.

At that moment, Pei Yan suddenly felt a surge of pride, as if he could finally release the pent-up emotions in his heart. Wasn't this what youth was all about? He was confident that with this move, he could secure his future with Shen Nuoyi, and no one would ever dare to mess with her again.

He wanted to leave his mark on Shen Nuoyi at this moment and announce that Shen Nuoyi of Yude School was Pei Yan's person from the Foreign Languages ​​School!

Shen Nuoyi stepped out of the classroom right after Zheng Xue, and naturally saw her standing three meters away from the classroom door, near the railing, under the incandescent light of the corridor. Her brow bone cast a fan-shaped shadow on her eyelids under the top light, and a pair of smiling eyes were staring at Shen Nuoyi in the shadow. She was tall and, despite wearing an ordinary white shirt, she stood out from the crowd in the background.

The girls at the door gasped! They had to part to make room, their faces filled with excitement as they realized what was happening.

Even Zheng Xue's heart skipped a beat at this sight; who could withstand that?

The cheers started, and the girls collectively exclaimed "Wow!"

There were also teachers from the next class leaving the crowd. Pei Yan glanced at them. After all, he was an outsider and needed to be mindful of Teacher Yu De's expression.

It turned out that the teacher was Wang Changshan, who had been chatting with Zhou Ming in the office that afternoon. He didn't stop the situation; after all, he didn't want to be disliked. He had also learned from the office discussion how wealthy Pei Yan's family was and what kind of person he was. This kind of prince-and-princess affair wasn't something he could interfere with, so he simply gave Pei Yan a thumbs-up. Seeing that even Teacher Wang was giving a thumbs-up, the others cheered even louder.

Because the teaching building is L-shaped, the events that happened at the entrance of Class 5, the crowds that filled the corridor, and the tremors that spread from there and swept across the entire floor also affected the students leaving school on the opposite side.

"Pei Yan from the Foreign Languages ​​Department was actually blocking the entrance to Class 5, waiting for Shen Nuoyi to finish class! Ahhh! Pei Yan is so handsome! This is so romantic! Now it's completely exposed! Before, when I mentioned his relationship with Shen Nuoyi, some people argued with me, but now, he's just revealed it directly!"

"I just didn't expect it to be true! Shen Nuoyi and Pei Yan are having an affair!"

"Don't be jealous! It's Pei Yan! Seriously, they're a perfect match. Shen Nuoyi is so handsome, and Pei Yan is so outstanding. No one in our school can compare! Don't argue, the Foreign Language School is known as a prestigious school, and for a reason! Pei Yan is the aristocrat among aristocrats!" "He probably hasn't been beaten up yet..."

As Zhuang Yanyue walked out of Class 7 classroom with her deskmate Huang Lili, she naturally learned about the situation from the people next to her.

Huang Lili said, "Haha, look, Shen Nuoyi can't compete with you anymore, that's Pei Yan over there! He's really handsome!"

Zhuang Yanyue turned her gaze away from the tall, thin figure in the white shirt and smiled, "It's alright."

Huang Lili sighed and glanced at Zhuang Yanyue from the side, but considering that it was Zhuang Yanyue in front of her, it was perhaps understandable that she didn't like Pei Yan.

Zhuang Yanyue simply thought Pei Yan's methods were a bit old-fashioned; she just thought his methods for pursuing girls were mediocre.

Many of the boys in Class 5 were intimidated by Pei Yan's overbearing manner, and a lot of them felt a pang of jealousy. What did this mean? It was one thing to barge into Yude School, but to block the door like this was just asking for trouble. What, he couldn't have lunch with Shen Nuoyi this afternoon, so he just showed up at the door to block her?!
To be fair, many people's arrogance subsided when they saw Pei Yan at the door. He's really handsome, and he and Shen Nuoyi are such a good match! They couldn't help but want to wish them well!

Isn't this the kind of scene of a talented scholar and a beautiful woman that only happens in novels?
Shen Nuoyi never expected that Pei Yan would cause such a commotion on the entire floor after evening self-study. She also never expected that Pei Yan, who was always aloof and never talked about feelings with her, would be so bold today, taking a step forward and appearing in front of her in a scene that was almost exactly what she had imagined in her teenage years.

Shen Nuoyi also reads romance novels, satisfying many girls' princess fantasies. She also really likes "Sailor Moon," where characters use magic to save the world. If she were to identify with the heroine Sailor Moon, then Tuxedo Mask's image would be Pei Yan.

Pei Yan now is no different from Tuxedo Mask, the girl she fantasized about in her teenage years. For any girl, this would probably be a scene she would never forget in her high school years.

That's why it caused such a commotion during evening self-study.

But that was just a fantasy Shen Nuoyi had in her teenage years. Pei Yan was indeed the most unforgettable boy in junior high school. When she recalled him, all she could see was his handsome figure in the sunset. She would often hear about Pei Yan's deeds from Han Zhouxuan, and like her best friend, she felt admiration for him. But when they were together, she was too shy to express her feelings at all, and she didn't even dare to look at him for long.

Pei Yan always maintained a cold and aloof demeanor, making people keep their distance.

So he doesn't bring himself steamed buns in the morning. He wants to share delicious food with himself. He doesn't smile much either, unlike someone else who always has a sunny smile on his face, making people feel at ease and comfortable.

That person's grades weren't as good as Pei Yan's, nor was his family as wealthy, and he wasn't even as good-looking as Pei Yan.

But she didn't know when, the sense of distance and alienation that Pei Yan brought her was invisibly broken down by someone else.

If one day Pei Yan and she can no longer be friends and never speak to each other again, she might be sad, or she might feel regret.

But when she thought she was really going to lose Zhang Chen, it felt like something extremely precious was about to leave her and would never be found again—a kind of tearing and emptiness that seemed to transcend time and space.

She was somewhat certain that if she hadn't won Zhang Chen back then, she might have had a lifelong regret.

None of these things could be explained to Pei Yan.

Now, when Shen Nuo sees Pei Yan, her mind goes blank. She feels it's her fault for not explaining things clearly to Pei Yan, which led him to do something so radical.

Yes, for Pei Yan, this was probably one of the most radical things he had ever done.

Surrounded by a cacophony of thoughts and ideas, Shen Nuoyi was thrust into the eye of the storm, feeling as if she were about to be swallowed by the raging waves. She didn't know how to explain to him that she didn't need him to do that now.

"Get together!" Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted wildly.

And so it spread quickly, like a virus. People, always eager for drama, even fanned the flames with the attitude of creating a big news story: "Get together!" "Get together!"

The waves of gossip surged, and even the female knight Shen Nuoyi was stunned. The rumors spread like wildfire, and now the public opinion was so powerful that it could destroy a person's spirit and bones.

Unfortunately, Zhou Ming, who was usually the most composed person, stayed in the classroom. He didn't go out, feeling that this was something he couldn't interfere with or control. After all, it was big news in the student circles of Yude and Foreign Language Schools, and there might even be connections between the two companies pushing things along.

He was just a high school homeroom teacher, someone even the principal probably had to give him some face; how could he dare offend those people behind the scenes?

"No way... Holy crap..." Wang Shuowei looked utterly dejected. Things had come to this point; the outcome was predictable. Of course, he wasn't that fond of Shen Nuoyi anymore, but as the undisputed goddess of the three departments and four hospitals during his youth, his lifelong crush, it was understandable that he was still very unhappy that Pei Yan had taken her away. He felt a pang of jealousy. He remembered how he, as a family member, had felt when his workplace organized outings and he, as a family member, hid behind the adults to admire the angelic Shen Nuoyi. He had also countless times hoped to run into her in the compound, and each encounter would make him happy for a long time. He would be so excited about her birthday party invitation that he couldn't sleep a day in advance. He even took Zhang Chen to meet Shen Nuoyi; he remembered Zhang Chen's expression when he saw Shen Nuoyi, and how smug he was back then. After all, knowing Shen Nuoyi was a very significant thing in their childhood circle.

Now, is youth about to be defined? The ending we foresee is ultimately the clichéd scenario of a perfect match, a match made in heaven.

All his words boiled down to a single "Damn it!" He nudged Zhang Chen with his elbow, meaning that the two of them were ultimately in the same boat, and that it was time for neither of them to worry about the other.

The elbow strike missed its mark, and Zhang Chen suddenly walked past him, heading straight out of the classroom through the main door, which everyone was avoiding at the time.

There was a dense crowd gathered in the stairwell, watching the commotion from the front and back. Shen Nuoyi was blocked at the doorway, and in front of her was Pei Yan.

People saw Zhang Chen approach Shen Nuoyi from behind, and then stand side by side with her.

At that moment, the uproar and the sounds of surprise and doubt reached their peak.

Pei Yan narrowed his eyes, looking at Zhang Chen, puzzled. He then frowned, having a bad feeling.

Zhang Chen turned his head and made eye contact with Shen Nuoyi. He was relieved that Shen Nuoyi was not flustered or distracted. On the contrary, when she saw him, she seemed to have finally found a savior and breathed a sigh of relief.

She gave Zhang Chen a barely perceptible nod.

Zhang Chen was relieved. He looked at Pei Yan, smiled, and reached out his left hand to cover Shen Nuoyi's hand from the side.

Shen Nuoyi was nervously clenching her fists, but after Zhang Chen's palm covered hers, her fists visibly loosened, relaxed, and stretched out. Zhang Chen pulled and held her slender, jade-like fingers.

She didn't resist; instead, she seemed to reciprocate Zhang Chen's gesture by shaking his hand.

The expressions on people's faces shifted from astonishment to horror as if a short yet long century had passed. Then, like a slow-motion scene in a movie, countless expressions blossomed on their faces.

boom.

The entire floor exploded.

　I've been dealing with this for a while, so this chapter is a bit late. Sorry.

　　Thank you for the generous donation from Xushishengguang!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)