99: Chapter 99 That look... something seems off.

Upon hearing Ouyang Wanqing's pointed, barbed retort, the smile on Shen Lingfu's face stiffened for a split second before she immediately put on an extremely innocent expression. She pouted her red lips pitifully, and a layer of mist instantly welled up in her large eyes, as if she had suffered some immense grievance.

"Sister Wanqing, how could you say that?" Shen Lingfu shook her head repeatedly, her voice soft and sweet enough to make one's heart ache. "How could I possibly block Sister? It's just that in the past, my relationship with the Young Prince was so good that it was inevitable for some jealous people in the academy to spread rumors everywhere."

"But rumors stop with the wise." Saying this, Shen Lingfu turned her head and, with practiced ease, blinked her large, watery eyes at Chen Shanzhi, saying softly and pitifully: "I believe that Your Highness is wise and martial; surely you wouldn't listen to those rumors, right?"

What a move—advancing by retreating! In the corner, Jiang Feiyu and Murong Yun, two genuine playboys, watched the murderous Shura field before them. The two exchanged a glance with perfect tacit understanding, then simultaneously took a large step back. Their movements were uniform, forcing them to clear a stage for the three involved parties.

After stepping back, Jiang Feiyu flipped her wrist and actually pulled a large handful of fragrant, five-spice melon seeds from her storage Waist Token! She divided them in half and generously handed them to the Murong Yun beside her. Murong Yun was stunned at first, looking at the wine gourd shards still in his hand, then at the melon seeds in Jiang Feiyu's hand. He then gladly accepted them. "Crunch, crunch." Two of the capital's top scions stood there, completely unconcerned with their image, acting as pure, melon-seed-eating bystanders.

On the other side, facing Shen Lingfu's textbook-level green tea speech, Ouyang Wanqing didn't even glance at her. She completely and thoroughly ignored Shen Lingfu. Then, the hem of her water-blue skirt fluttered as she walked straight past Shen Lingfu and directly up to Chen Shanzhi. The distance between them instantly closed to less than half a foot. A refined, elegant scent, a mix of faint ink and orchids, gently drifted into Chen Shanzhi's nostrils.

Ouyang Wanqing slightly lifted her snow-white chin. She raised a slender, jade-like hand and, with extreme naturalness, tucked a strand of dark hair that had been blown across her forehead by the wind behind her ear. This seemingly unconscious movement perfectly revealed her long, swan-like neck and a half-section of her frost-white collarbone, displaying them without reservation to Chen Shanzhi's sight.

After doing all this, Ouyang Wanqing's bright, crystalline eyes locked directly onto Chen Shanzhi's. A dignified and gentle, yet fatally seductive smile curled at the corners of her lips as she asked softly: "May I ask, is Your Highness's team still looking for people? If you are… can Wanqing join the Young Prince's team?"

At this, let alone others, even Chen Shanzhi, who had seen all kinds of storms in the future and considered himself a player, couldn't help but have his breath hitch slightly. This… this was too much. This unconscious hair-tucking movement, paired with Ouyang Wanqing's gorgeous face and the natural, cold, and refined temperament of a Prime Minister's daughter and noble lady, was simply a lethal weapon of seduction.

Chen Shanzhi looked at the great beauty in front of him, stunned for a moment. Meanwhile, Shen Lingfu, who was standing to the side and completely treated as air, had her pink fists clenched tightly inside her sleeves. Shameless! Too shameless! Shen Lingfu cursed internally. You, Ouyang Wanqing, are the daughter of the current Prime Minister; you usually pretend to be so aloof in the academy. Now you're actually throwing yourself at a playboy Young Prince's team in public? And using such seductive, vixen-like tactics to tempt him!

Since when did Chen Shanzhi, someone who only knew how to follow behind her, become so sought after and popular? Shen Lingfu bit her silver teeth hard. If Chen Shanzhi were still like before, obedient to her every whim and coming whenever called, she definitely wouldn't even glance at him today. Fish in the pond just need to know their place. But what happened? Starting from the literature class today, Chen Shanzhi not only mocked her but completely ignored her. Instead, he seemed like a different person, not only shining brightly in the Dao of Poetry and obtaining the literature class medal, but also achieving a Breakthrough in his strength in public! And now, even a top-tier beauty like Ouyang Wanqing was lowering herself to approach him! Why?

A wave of extremely unbalanced jealousy spread wildly in the depths of Shen Lingfu's heart. But it had only been a short month. How could Chen Shanzhi forget her so easily? Shen Lingfu considered herself an expert in manipulating human nature. She knew all too well how much damage the words "white moonlight" could do to a man. The reason Chen Shanzhi was so cold to her now was mostly because she had neglected him too much in the past, hurting his self-esteem. So now, he must be deliberately trying to get her attention. Yes, that must be it; after all, it's playing hard to get! As long as she lowered her posture just a little and showed him a hint of familiarity and tenderness, his heart would surely stick back to her devotedly in an instant!

Thinking that this man, whom even Ouyang Wanqing and Tang Xiaowu cared about so much, might ultimately prove that she was the one he cared about most, a sense of indescribable pleasure surged in Shen Lingfu's heart. Thinking of this, Shen Lingfu could no longer restrain herself. She stepped forward and skillfully squeezed between Ouyang Wanqing and Chen Shanzhi. "Shanzhi~" Shen Lingfu didn't even call him "Young Prince" anymore; her voice was so sweet and sticky it seemed to pull at the heartstrings. She tilted her head slightly, blinking her large, watery eyes at Chen Shanzhi with a hint of a coquettish nasal tone: "Since your team is still short two people, I want to join your team too, okay?"

Boom! As soon as that "Shanzhi" came out, the jaws of all the bystanders dropped to the ground. The two top talents of the academy were actually fighting over joining a playboy's team? What kind of magical realism is this? Beside them, Murong Yun, while "crunching" on melon seeds, nudged Jiang Feiyu with his elbow. He analyzed with great seriousness: "Feiyu, actually, don't say that. Although these two women look pretentious usually, if they really join, it would be quite good for our team." "After all, one is the Prime Minister's daughter, and the other is the direct daughter of the Treasure Pavilion. The most important thing is, they are both Martial Artists at the Xuanguan Eleven Apertures; their strength is not weak at all!"

Unexpectedly, Jiang Feiyu, who had just been watching the show with great interest, suddenly had her face fall. She stood there sullenly, saying nothing. Hearing Murong Yun's words, Jiang Feiyu turned her head directly and glared at him fiercely. "Give it back to me, I'm not feeding you anymore." Jiang Feiyu snatched the half-handful of melon seeds that Murong Yun hadn't finished eating from his hand without any ceremony. Then, she shoved the large handful of empty shells she had just finished eating into Murong Yun's hand. Murong Yun held a pile of shells, messy in the wind: "???" What's the situation? What kind of madness is this female tyrant having again?

Chen Shanzhi naturally didn't notice this. He looked at the two stunning beauties, one on his left and one on his right, secretly competing. Chen Shanzhi was absolutely delighted. A Shura field? His favorite thing is a Shura field! Moreover, although these two women, Ouyang Wanqing and Shen Lingfu, were both full of schemes, that solid "Xuanguan Eleven Apertures" cultivation could not be faked! He was about to go to the Jiantian Division to accept a mission. Two top-tier fighters delivered to his door for free. It would be a waste not to take them! Chen Shanzhi curled his lips, revealing an extremely bright, harmless smile: "It is my great honor that two great beauties are willing to condescend to join!" "Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome!" After some extremely slick pleasantries, Chen Shanzhi made the final decision and pulled both of them into the team. The surrounding geniuses from noble families, seeing this scene, were so jealous their eyes were about to bleed. Just like that… it happened? Ouyang Wanqing and Shen Lingfu actually joined the playboy Chen Shanzhi's team? Is there any justice left!

The team was assembled. The five of them walked directly across the Martial Arts Arena to the supervising teacher in front to register the team. Murong Zhaoling crossed her arms over her chest, her dark red martial outfit stretched tight. She coldly swept her eyes over these five people with their extremely strange vibe. When her gaze swept over Murong Yun, Murong Yun shrank his neck with practiced ease, almost shrinking himself into a quail. "Who is the captain?" Murong Zhaoling asked. "Him!" "Your Highness." "Brother Shanzhi." "Him." Ouyang Wanqing, Shen Lingfu, Jiang Feiyu, and Murong Yun spoke almost in unison. With perfect tacit understanding, they pointed at Chen Shanzhi, who was standing at the very front. Chen Shanzhi touched his nose and smiled helplessly. It seemed that whether he wanted to be captain or not, he had to be.

Murong Zhaoling shifted her gaze to Chen Shanzhi's face. In that instant, Chen Shanzhi keenly noticed that in Murong Zhaoling's originally cold eyes, a complex look seemed to flash by. Chen Shanzhi was secretly stunned; he didn't seem to have had any interaction with Murong Zhaoling, right? Murong Zhaoling didn't speak, directly picking up her Waist Token. She extended her long, powerful fingers and quickly tapped on the Waist Token a few times. "Hum." The academy Waist Token at Chen Shanzhi's waist vibrated. On the light screen in mid-air, the names of the five of them were already listed. [Heaven Class A, Team Six.] [Captain: Chen Shanzhi.] After doing this, Murong Zhaoling took out a token symbolizing the captain's identity and handed it over. Chen Shanzhi reached out to take it. Their fingers touched unconsciously in the air. Murong Zhaoling's heroic, piercing eyes quickly flashed with a hint of awkwardness. Chen Shanzhi was slightly stunned, gripping the token. He looked up, only to find that Murong Zhaoling had returned to her "strangers keep away" appearance and turned to register the next team. Chen Shanzhi held the warm token in his hand, his brows slightly raised. In that moment of eye contact just now, he seemed to see that the way this woman looked at him… seemed a bit wrong. Was it an illusion? Chen Shanzhi muttered to himself, tightening his grip on the token.