“What happened?”
The crowd in front parted, and a very eye catching person approached from the distance. As he walked through the bustling crowd, many people greeted him.
“What is going on, why is everyone gathered here?” The man who stepped forward looked at Su Rong, a bright smile on his lips that easily attracted women’s attention.
The man was quite tall. Although he was not very old, he gave off a very mature impression. From the moment he appeared, the gaze of every woman was drawn to him.
“Brother Bowen!” When Su Rong saw the young man step forward, she smiled slightly, a hint of shyness appearing.
“What are you hiding here for? Why not come and gather with us? I have not seen you for some time, you have become even more beautiful. I heard today you were holding a banquet and inviting people. I came uninvited, you will not blame me, right?” Chen Bowen laughed loudly, his laughter filled with confidence. His gaze rested naturally on Su Rong. From the moment he appeared he had become the centre of attention in the academy.
“It is a rare honour for Brother Bowen to come, how could I blame you?” Su Rong smiled. “I originally wanted to invite you, but I heard you have been busy cultivating, so I did not dare disturb you.”
Sun Bowen smiled and said, “Even the State Preceptor once said that if you truly devoted yourself to cultivation you could surpass me, but you did not focus your heart on cultivation, so I managed to take first place.”
While speaking, Sun Bowen’s gaze shifted toward Ye Chu and he smiled. “You are Ye Chu? I heard you defeated Ding Kaiwei. Haha, that was beyond my expectations. I had already heard about you and I am glad to meet you. I hope we can be friends in the future.”
Ye Chu looked at the cheerful man in front of him. In his eyes there was none of the contempt others showed toward him. He seemed very open and carefree.
“Becoming friends with me, are you not afraid others will also call you scum and trash?” Ye Chu looked at Chen Bowen and smiled, though in his heart he had no idea who this man was.
“If you will not give me that face, then forget it,” Chen Bowen said with a smile. “Perhaps I am not worthy of becoming your friend.”
Those words made Ye Chu’s heart skip a beat. He looked at Sun Bowen with interest.
Sure enough, Ye Chu soon heard waves of condemnation.
“You think Brother Bowen really wants to be friends with you? You are just trash, you are not even worthy of speaking to Brother Bowen!”
“Brother Bowen, we know you are kind, but you still need to see who you are being kind to. Why be so polite to the scum of Yao City?”
“Brother Bowen, it is he who is not worthy to be your friend. You are just too kind and always belittle yourself first!”
“…”
Listening to the constant insults, the playful curve at Ye Chu’s lips grew stronger. He looked at Chen Bowen and indeed saw him avoiding eye contact slightly.
Amid the angry voices, Liang Shan whispered to Ye Chu, “He is the son of General Chen of the kingdom, the publicly recognised number one among the younger generation of Yao City. Do not clash with him, otherwise everyone’s spit alone could drown you!”
“The number one of the younger generation in Yao City?” Ye Chu could not help glancing at him. To surpass his elder brother from the Marquis of Weiyuan’s residence was indeed impressive.
Looking around at the women nearby, their gazes toward Chen Bowen carried smiles. Even Su Rong looked at him more gently than she did others.
“Brother Bowen, you must teach Ye Chu a harsh lesson. He has been spouting nonsense here!” A woman moved closer to Chen Bowen, her face flushed as she glared angrily at Ye Chu.
“Is that so?” Chen Bowen smiled and turned to look at Su Rong, waiting for her answer.
“Ah, it is nothing,” Su Rong shook her head. She still did not want Chen Bowen to know about the palace incident. She glanced at Ye Chu and saw he had no intention of telling her the truth. Finally she gave up and said to Chen Bowen, “Brother Bowen, let us go. You have been busy cultivating, let us see if you have neglected your literary studies.”
Seeing Su Rong smiling charmingly, many people sighed. Even Liang Shan could not help sighing. He had thought Su Rong might really have some interest in Ye Chu, but now it seemed they had completely misunderstood. Looking at Chen Bowen standing beside Su Rong, Liang Shan could not help feeling powerless.
Chen Bowen and Su Rong truly seemed well matched. One was the adopted daughter of the king, a noble beauty, the other was the son of a famous general, a handsome and talented prodigy. Their family backgrounds matched, and among the young men and women of Yao City they were both ranked first. A truly perfect pair made in heaven.
Moreover, from Su Rong’s attitude toward Chen Bowen, it was clear he was different from other men.
“You have no chance,” Liang Shan shook his head and said to Ye Chu. “When Su Rong invited you before, I really thought you had turned things around.”
Hearing this, Ye Chu laughed. He knew Liang Shan had always believed he secretly loved Su Rong, but there was no way for him to explain such matters.
Watching Su Rong and Chen Bowen chatting and smiling, Ye Chu also smiled. Su Rong might not love Chen Bowen, but it was true she had a favourable impression of him.
This was easy to understand. Who would not want to interact with an outstanding member of the opposite sex? Handsome, talented, strong, with a powerful background, practically the perfect prince charming for women.
Many men showed jealousy toward Ye Chu, but when facing Chen Bowen they only felt defeated. In every aspect Chen Bowen surpassed them, how could that not make them feel inferior?
“Su Rong and Brother Bowen are truly a pair made in heaven,” someone could not help sighing, the small hope in his heart completely disappearing. The same was true for the women. If Su Rong also liked Chen Bowen, what chance did they have?
“You should go find the father of your child first. I will leave now,” Ye Chu said to Su Rong with a smile. In his heart he knew she had almost confirmed it was him. All he could do was firmly deny it. Su Rong could do nothing about that.
“You cannot escape it,” Su Rong said. Although she could not be completely certain, the coincidence was too great. Ye Chu had asked her about the Red Fiend manuscript, Pang Shao had looked strange that night, and she had learned that Pang Shao had brought Ye Chu into the palace but Ye Chu never appeared. All these clues pointed toward Ye Chu.
“Fine. When the child is born, if it looks like me, I will definitely take responsibility,” Ye Chu waved his hand and said to Su Rong.
“…” That single sentence caused another wave of angry glares from the women.
“Ye Chu, you should not treat women with such shameless behaviour,” Chen Bowen said to Ye Chu with a smile.
Ye Chu turned his gaze to Chen Bowen and smiled. “Then what do you think I should do?”
“A gentleman dares to act and dares to take responsibility, especially in front of women. I do not know what you two are talking about, but since Su Rong asked you something, should you not tell her the truth?” Chen Bowen curled his lips slightly and looked down at Ye Chu somewhat condescendingly.
“It is true that a gentleman dares to act and take responsibility. But unfortunately, I have already surpassed the realm of a gentleman. If you must place me somewhere right now, I believe I am at the stage of a sage,” Ye Chu sighed. “Asking a sage to follow such low level rules is too insulting.”
“…” Liang Shan felt it was better to stand a bit farther from Ye Chu at this moment, otherwise he might be drowned in people’s spit.
Chen Bowen smiled. “You are indeed skilled with words, but insulting sages will only make people dislike you even more. You do not understand what a real man is.”
Ye Chu laughed as well. “What a joke. No one understands better than I do. A man is someone who can make a woman pregnant.”
Seeing Chen Bowen remain silent, Ye Chu continued smiling. “Do you not agree? Fine, if you do not agree then forget it. Since you think I am not a man, then naturally I must be a woman. Tonight can I go to your residence and sleep with your sister or perhaps your older sister? We are both women after all, sleeping together is perfectly normal, everyone would accept it.”
“…” Everyone fell silent. The women’s faces turned red, and only then did many men realise that shamelessness could truly reach such a level.