"Dou Power: Third Stage!"
The five characters blazed on the Magic Stone Tablet, so bright they stung the eyes. The boy stared at them without expression, a trace of self-mockery curling at the corners of his lips. His clenched fists tightened until his fingers dug into his palms, sharp nails biting deep enough to draw a dull, searing ache.
"Xiao Yan. Dou Power: Third Stage. Rank: Low!" Beside the tablet, a middle-aged man glanced at the numbers and announced the result in a flat, indifferent voice.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a predictable ripple of mockery spread through the crowded square.
"Third Stage? Hah, just as I expected. That 'genius' hasn't budged an inch all year!"
"Ugh, this trash is a disgrace to the whole clan."
"If the clan head weren't his father, this waste would have been cast out long ago to fend for himself. He'd never get to live off the family's grain for free."
"The boy who was once famous throughout Wutan City as a genius… how has he fallen to such a sorry state?"
"Who knows? Perhaps he did something shameful and drew the wrath of the heavens."
The sneers of contempt and the sighs of pity around him struck the rooted boy's ears like needles driven deep into his heart, making it hard to breathe.
Slowly, he raised his head, revealing a youthful, finely featured face. His dark, vacant eyes swept across the sneering boys his own age, and the bitter twist at the corner of his lips seemed to grow even more sour. *Are these people all so cold and calculating? Perhaps because, three years ago, they once showed me their most humble smiles before me—and now they want it all back.*
With a wry smile, Xiao Yan turned his lonely back on them and drifted quietly to the last row of the queue, his solitary figure at odds with the noisy world around him.
"Next: Xiao Mei!"
At the examiner's call, a young girl bounded out from the crowd. The moment she appeared, the chatter died down considerably, and a host of burning gazes locked onto her face. She was no more than fourteen, hardly a great beauty—yet her untrained, tender face held a hint of subtle allure. Purity and charm, in such a contradiction, made her the undisputed center of attention.
The girl hurried forward, her small hand falling naturally onto the black Stone Tablet, then closing her eyes.
A moment later, light bloomed once more upon the tablet.
"Dou Qi: Seventh Stage!"
"Xiao Mei. Dou Qi: Seventh Stage. Rank: High!"
"Yes!" At the announced result, the girl's face broke into a smug smile.
"Only when you let go can you truly hold on. Being at ease with both—that is the mark of a free spirit!" Xiao Xun'er spoke softly, her tender voice oddly warm and comforting.
"Hah, a free spirit? I can only say the words. Look at me now—do I look free? Besides… this world was never meant for me." Xiao Yan laughed at himself, utterly listless.
Facing his dejection, Xiao Xun'er knitted her slender brows. "Xiao Yan-gege, I don't know what happened to you. But Xun'er believes you will stand up again and reclaim your honor and your dignity." She paused, and for the first time a faint blush crept over her fair face. "The Xiao Yan-gege of those days… was truly captivating."
"Heh." At her innocent frankness, the boy let out an awkward laugh but said nothing more. A young man without romance was no young man at all—but right now, he had neither the qualifications nor the heart for it. He turned his lonely back and began to walk slowly out of the square.
Standing in place, watching that isolated, world-weary figure retreat, Xiao Xun'er hesitated for a moment. Then, amid the envious howls behind her, she hurried after him and walked at his side.