Even though Qin Xinran was scary, Gu Lingzhi was not one to be bullied. Even if her martial prowess could not be matched with Qin Xinran, but she possessed the Inheritance Space.

She could just hide in the Inheritance Space, what could Qin Xinran do then!

Looking at Gu Lingzhi’s back as she left, Qin Xinran pursed her lips. She then gave the people that were looking at her a cold look, bringing shivers down their spine.

After leaving the cafeteria, Gu Lingzhi had wanted to go to the battle arena next to the Training Tower to watch a few fights, and possibly pick up a few pointers. On the way there, she saw someone that should not have been here.

“Yuan Zheng?”

Gu Lingzhi thought that she had been seeing things when she looked at the man who was smiling brightly and walking towards her.

“Miss Gu, we meet again.” Yuan Zheng laughed before gesturing in an inviting manner, “His Highness is waiting for you in your dorm. Please follow me.”

In a split second, Gu Lingzhi could feel the cold gazes of over ten students land on her.

Didn’t the Third Prince know that almost everyone in the school had thought highly of him? 

Gu Lingzhi silently bore the unhappy looks that was directed at her and looked at Yuan Zheng helplessly.

“What does the Third Prince need me for? If there is nothing important, I have other things to do.”

This sentence was clearly meant to reject him, and Yuan Zheng hesitated for a moment before understanding her intentions. His eyes glanced upon the onlookers around them as his smile deepened.

“I’m not sure why His Highness is looking for you. If you really have important things, you can go ahead. However, His Highness has said that he will wait for you in your dorm until he gets to see you in person.”

“…”

Gu Lingzhi suddenly felt that the looks that she was receiving became more malicious.

Was Yuan Zheng saying all this to draw more attention to her? 

She clenched her jaw and did not bother giving a reply so that Yuan Zheng would not say anything more that would cause others to misunderstand. She had no choice but to follow him back to the dorm.

Once she entered the dorm, she saw the graceful and poised prince who was dressed luxuriously waiting for her. His face held an expression that emanated a demonic charm.

“Lingzhi, we meet again.”

“That’s right, I thought that since Your Highness had left the capital for so long, there would be a pile of official documents that needed your attention and you will be so busy that you won’t even have time to rest. I never thought that you would have so much free time. It is no wonder you are the pride of the Xia Kingdom, I’ve never seen anyone more efficient,” Gu Lingzhi laughed. It may seem as if she was praising the Third Prince, but in fact she was silently mocking him.

On the way to the capital city, she had already figured out the Third Prince’s personality. He was nothing like what the rumors had described. He was not a serious person at all, in fact, he was very easy-going. Gu Lingzhi’s words were insufficient to get a reaction out of him.

However, the Third Prince was not an easy-going person by nature. In actual fact, the Third Prince only puts aside his status and communicates freely with those that he thinks highly of.

Was he… being mocked? Rong Yuan hesitated before smiling.

Gu Lingzhi was not wrong. After leaving the capital for a few months, there were a number of official matters that accumulated. Yet, for some unknown reason, he felt the impulse to come and see Gu Lingzhi and rushed over, leaving behind a huge chunk of work that were undone.

In the end, he was still mocked. How could she not be charmed by him? Didn’t most girls fall for him? 

For the first time in his life, Rong Yuan felt bewildered by the fact that a woman had not fallen for him.

Even though he did not know why he felt this way, Rong Yuan was sure of one thing - that he enjoyed talking to Gu Lingzhi. The impulse that he had to see Gu Lingzhi was mostly due to Gu Lingzhi’s nonchalant attitude towards him.

“After being apart for so long, didn’t you miss me?” Rong Yuan raised his eyebrows as he persisted in trying to hear something nice out of Gu Lingzhi.

“Do you want all the girls in the whole school to kill me?”

The resentment in her voice made Rong Yuan smile, “Are…you complimenting me?”

“If you think I am, then I am.” Gu Lingzhi declined to comment.

With this half-hearted reply, if Rong Yuan still could not sense her resentment, then it would be a waste to call him smart.

“Okay, I know that my sudden appearance has definitely caused you trouble. Can I treat you to a meal as an apology?”

Treat a meal? How could this be counted as an apology if it made things worse?

Her thoughts were clearly written on her face and this time, Rong Yuan laughed out loud.

This was also the first time a woman had so outrightly mocked him. He was very sure that Gu Lingzhi did not do this on purpose to catch his attention. Maybe this was why he really liked talking to Gu Lingzhi.

Even with the danger of being every girl’s target in school, Gu Lingzhi was moved by Rong Yuan’s sincerity and so she summoned up her courage to have a meal at the nearby Wind Crow Vegetarian restaurant.

After having admired enough of Gu Lingzhi’s unwilling attitude, before he left, Rong Yuan whispered the real reason of why he came to her.

“Whether or not you ate with me, with the rumours spread by Madam Lin, the girls in school would still target you. Since that is the case, why should you hold back? It’s less likely that they would do something too heinous if they knew your importance to me.”

He knew about how she had been ostracized by the girls in school?

Understanding his intentions, she realised that if Rong Yuan had brought her to this school and not cared about her, the female students that disliked her would think of ways to torture her. But if Rong Yuan demonstrated his interest in Gu Lingzhi, his influence would be able to prevent any harm from coming to her.

However, doing this also resulted in a very serious consequence - more people would see her as an enemy.

“Haha, I will thank Your Highness for your effort then.”

“It is no problem, you’re mine, of course I will treat you better.” As Rong Yuan said this, he felt a sense of achievement.

“It is truly an honor,” Gu Lingzhi rolled her eyes and ignored him, causing Rong Yuan to feel slightly defeated.

As the two people met for the first time after arriving in the capital city, the meeting ended with one party being delighted while the other being helpless.

The Third Prince’s visit had brought about worse repercussions than Gu Lingzhi had imagined.

The next day, as Gu Lingzhi was on her way to her Martial Skills class in the Martial Student District, she was stopped by a Level Seven Martial Student.

“Gu Lingzhi, I want to challenge you!”

Those that witnessed this uproar immediately stopped their tracks to watch the show. The face of the pretty girl that stopped Gu Lingzhi was filled with jealous rage.

“I am willing to control my cultivation level to that of a Level Three Martial Student during the challenge and I will not ask for points even if I win, do you dare accept my challenge?”