Chapter 58

Chapter 21: Going Early

　The gym incident didn’t cause too much of a stir, only sparking some waves online… or rather on the school forum.

　The main issue was that after becoming a star player, the fans and haters started attacking each other, and the discussion topics gradually went off-topic. Plus, good news came from the infirmary: both students only had minor injuries, so the fuss slowly died down.

　The school administration intended to make big things small and small things disappear—just like how Bai Ling’s incident of throwing a ball through a wall was handled back then.

　During that time, Bai Ling was attacked by someone and was considered the victim, but breaking public property by smashing the wall meant she bore some responsibility, so it balanced out, and both sides were satisfied.

　This time, the two classmates from Class Five were the victims, but fortunately, they only had minor injuries. The school declared the game as a win for Class Five and gave the whole team some prizes. The guys said they wouldn’t pursue it further.

　But there was still one problem: how to shift the attention of the students, at least changing the discussion topic on the forum—

　Thus, pictures, videos, and gifs of “Tianhai University’s Hottest Beauty Yuan Xiaoling, Cheerleader Edition” dominated the forum, flooding the screen. In less than half a day, dozens of pages of posts on the forum were all about her, even gaining some popularity outside the school on the internet.

　Even Bai Ling didn’t expect that so many people would use their mobile phones or various DSLRs to capture footage from every angle around the field, showcasing the beauty of the young girl with a childlike face, large chest, and golden hair from 360 degrees. Of course, it was a healthier kind, at least suitable for ages 12+.

　But 12+ was enough. After looking at the forum for a while, Bai Ling became somewhat… interested.

　So she decided to go early in the evening.

　It was still not dark in the evening.

　The bar was openly open, and the vibrations from the speakers could be felt even by passersby outside.

　Completely different from the low-key Nameless Bar located on Queen’s Road, this “Haitian Dihao Bar” had a flashy name and was situated in the most bustling area of the city center. If an ordinary person who didn’t know the truth went inside, they would be shocked by the scene.

　Glasses flying around everywhere in the air, red wine flying from the counter over tens of meters into the guests’ mouths, and women crawling around on all fours like cats on the beams.

　If an ordinary person came in, they might think they had walked into the set of a Harry Potter movie.

　”What dark forest, we are humans, and humans are different,” said a youth with dyed hair behind the bar, holding an e-cigarette.

　This was a bar opened by some rich young master, gathering here were spiritual energy manipulators, and they were all young.

　They were not very old, having just left school or still of school age but too lazy to attend. They were full of vitality, at the stage of understanding the world, and questioning everything.

　What they questioned most now was undoubtedly the “Spiritual Energy Manipulator Dark Forest Rule” that bound them and hindered their showing off and enjoyment.

　”That’s right, what dark forest,” the youth beside him finished a glass of brandy in one gulp, “as long as the interests are aligned, there won’t be so much life-and-death struggle.”

　At this age, their favorite phrase was, “Kids care about right and wrong, adults only look at interests.”

　Based on this statement, they discovered the second incorrect rule of the spiritual energy manipulator era—

　”There is no dark forest, only human relationships!”

　The dyed-haired youth stood up, raising his glass high in the bar hall: “Even if the Trisolarans come, they’d damn well smile and toast me!!”

　There was a cheer in the hall, everyone raised their glasses together, echoing each other.

　If they had a deeper understanding of the Inner Stone of the Mind, they would know that this statement was wrong. Unfortunately, at this point in time, these young people knew nothing about it.

　The dyed-haired youth was named Wang Chengze, the owner of this bar. His father was the founder of the Haitian Yise Chamber of Commerce, so he was also the leader among these young people.

　At this moment, the bartender whispered something in his ear, and Wang Chengze looked towards the corner, holding his glass and walking over.

　”What’s wrong, Brother Han, feeling down? Did you fail to chase your school beauty?”

　Sitting in the corner was none other than Mu Ron Han, who had arrived at some unknown time and had been drinking alone there. There were already several empty bottles on the table.

　Upon closer inspection, it was evident that he was wearing only one shoe, with the other being a pair of flip-flops hanging loosely, looking utterly disheveled.

　”Failed,” Mu Ron Han burped, dejectedly saying, “and can’t succeed.”

　By the time he spoke, a crowd had gathered around.

　”What happened, Brother Han.”

　”Who made Brother Han unhappy, speak up.”

　Besides Wang Chengze, Mu Ron Han was also a popular figure at the Dihao Bar because he was one of the few third-tier individuals among the young people.

　It was precisely because a few people had recently broken through to the third tier that the confidence of the young people rose. They wanted to overthrow the rules set by their families and no longer stay hidden. Having superpowers without showing them off was like wearing fine clothes and traveling at night.

　Mu Ron Han was the only one among the few third-tier celebrities still in school, but everyone knew it wasn’t because he loved studying; it was for Tianhai University’s school beauty.

　She was described as a young girl with a cute face, large chest, long legs, extremely adorable, and once you saw her, you couldn’t help but want more. It was exaggerated to the point where it seemed like she only belonged in heaven.

　Mu Ron Han sighed: “I was taught a lesson by her other half. I’m in such a sorry state today because of her…”

　Upon hearing this, the crowd around him immediately erupted.

　”How dare this happen.”

　”What’s the name of your school beauty’s other half?”

　”Living in our little territory in Tianhai City, and there are such blind fools.”

　”Tell us who she is, and we’ll teach her a lesson.”

　Ha! These youngsters were ready to fight, itching to get into action. They hadn’t even begun when they heard that one of their key members had been wronged. How could they let it slide? Everyone disagreed.

　”The name of hers is…”

　…

　When Yuan Xiaoling returned to the dormitory, her two roommates were still discussing the basketball game.

　”What a pity, such a great game was forced to stop due to immoral behavior.”

　”Even worse is missing out on Xiaoling’s cheerleading performance… although the cheering sound was slightly problematic.”

　”Ah, life is unsatisfactory nine times out of ten.”

　”At least no one got hurt.”

　”Um,” Yuan Xiaoling cautiously interjected, “I’m back.”

　”We know you’re back, we saw you earlier,” Qiao Lili said while holding her phone, “Nice job, Xiaoling, you really made a splash today. One video gif cleaned up the campus forum.”

　”The school needed this to suppress discussions about inappropriate events,” Gu Hui understood clearly, “Of course, the main reason is that Xiaoling looks amazing in her cheerleader uniform.”

　Yuan Xiaoling hung her little head, bitterly laughing and saying a sentence: “To wear the crown, one must bear its weight.”

　Because she looked too good, she had to endure it tonight.

　”What do you mean?” Qiao Lili was puzzled, “Are you getting addicted to writing papers in a literary style?”

　”No, I just want to tell you all that tonight…”