RNP Chapter 25 Qi Lan's Invitation
Chapter 25 Qi Lan's Invitation
Inside the Golden Curtain: The Future World - Kassel College Library
At 7:30 a.m., the morning light streamed through the library's tall stained-glass windows, slicing the classroom into fragments of light and shadow. Dust particles floated within the beams of light, like materialized particles of time, slowly rising and falling in the solemn air.
When Lu Mingfei burst into the classroom on the second floor of the library, his eyes bloodshot, fragments of last night's dream still lingered in his mind—the torrential rain, his mother's departing figure, and the heart-wrenching yet unspeakable sorrow. He hadn't slept well all night, and his eyes were covered with heavy dark circles, making him look like an extra who had just escaped from a zombie movie set.
"Hello, Rabbit!"
The crisp female voice was like a loud slap, jolting him awake from his daze.
Lu Mingfei looked up abruptly, and what came into view was a pair of long legs dangling by the lectern, clad in jeans. The tight, dark blue jeans hugged the slender, straight lines, and below were a pair of familiar purple-gold Mary Jane shoes—a retro buckle design, rounded toes, and slender high heels that tapped gently on the floor, making a rhythmic "tap, tap" sound.
His gaze followed the legs upwards.
Nono sat on the lectern, leaning slightly back, her hands resting on the edge of the table. Her long red hair shimmered like flames in the morning light. She wore a simple white shirt and dark blue jeans, the shirt casually tucked into her waistband, the top two buttons undone, revealing her delicate collarbone. She tilted her head, a familiar, ambiguous smile playing on her lips, her finger pointing directly at Lu Mingfei's nose.
"You're late, Ricardo," she said. "The exam starts at eight, and it's seven-thirty-one now. You have twenty-nine minutes to get yourself together."
Lu Mingfei stood there, stunned, his brain unable to process so much information for a moment.
Was Nono talking to him? Was she taking the initiative? Not the businesslike "lie down" from yesterday, but a teasing "Hello, rabbit"?
And... Ricardo? That English name she casually gave him?
"I'm...I'm sorry..." Lu Mingfei stammered, bowing instinctively in apology. "I don't know how I ended up exposing your boyfriend yesterday...I didn't mean to..."
He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.
A chorus of hisses and suppressed laughter immediately filled the classroom. Lu Mingfei then realized how incredibly obnoxious his words had been—telling Nuonuo "I blew up your boyfriend" in front of the entire freshman class was practically flirting with death.
Nono raised an eyebrow, her expression unchanged, and simply shrugged: "Why are you apologizing to me after you've ruined him? He's not my son."
Louder boos.
Lu Mingfei's face instantly turned red, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"Go to your seat." Nono jumped down from the lectern, her movements as light as a cat. "It's about to start. The proctor is Professor Manstein from the Disciplinary Committee, and I'll be collecting the answer sheets."
She paused, her gaze lingering on Lu Mingfei's face for a few seconds, as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately looked away and turned to walk towards the podium. Lu Mingfei caught a fleeting glint in her eyes...inquiry? Or something else?
He didn't have time to think it through, because a dignified voice had already rang out in the classroom:
"Everyone is present. The exam rules will now be announced!"
Professor Manstein had already appeared at the classroom door sometime earlier. The chairman of the disciplinary committee was dressed in a sharp black suit, his hair neatly combed, and his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were as sharp as an eagle's. He coldly glanced at Lu Mingfei, his gaze as if assessing a violation that required serious action, then looked at his watch and began to read the rules in an unquestionable tone.
"The 3E exam, the Extraction Evaluation Exam, is the most important entrance test for Kassel College. It will determine your future bloodline rating, resource allocation, and course difficulty." Professor Manstein's voice echoed in the empty classroom. "The exam is simple—listen to eight recordings of dragon runes and draw the images that come to mind when you hear them on the exam paper."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the twenty-odd young, nervous faces in the classroom:
"Cheating is absolutely forbidden, and violators will be disqualified from everything! Do not try to peek at other people's exam papers. The entire classroom is covered by cameras, with no blind spots! Do not try to bring electronic communication devices either, as radio waves are monitored in the classroom! I know you are all geniuses, but I can tell you that people who are even more talented than you have also taken exams in this classroom. Every cheating method you can think of has been tried by someone—and they all failed and paid a heavy price."
He spoke his last sentence with intonation and authority, as if he were reciting some sacred law.
The classroom was completely silent. The freshmen—mixed-race elites from all over the world—sat upright, their expressions serious. They knew the importance of this exam: their bloodline rating would accompany them throughout their lives in Kassel. S, A, B, C, D, E, F—each letter meant different resources, different treatment, different…fate.
Lu Mingfei found his seat. It was a window seat, the sunlight streaming onto the tabletop, casting a warm golden hue over the rough wood grain. A nameplate was affixed to the upper right corner of the table; on the white cardstock, written in beautiful cursive English:
Ricardo M. Lu
Ricardo M. Ludwig van Gogh.
Lu Mingfei stared at the name, stunned for a few seconds before realizing that this was his official English name. It wasn't "Mingfei Lu" that he had just filled out a form, nor was it the perfunctory "MF Lu," but rather "Ricardo," a name that Nuonuo had casually given him, with an "M" added as a middle name, followed by the surname "Lu."
He looked up and saw Nuonuo with her arms crossed, her head turned to the side, gazing listlessly out the window. The morning light shone on her face, outlining her delicate profile, her long eyelashes casting soft shadows beneath her eyes. Today, she had her hair tied in a high ponytail, revealing her fair neck, with a few stray strands falling beside her ears, swaying gently with her breath.
Lu Mingfei's heart stirred slightly.
Nono was the first person in the world to call him "Ricardo." In that Chicago shopping mall, in that restaurant where everything was in English, when he was at a loss because he couldn't understand the menu, she casually said, "Then let's call you Ricardo, it sounds like an Italian aristocrat."
She was a very willful girl. She called him Ricardo, and she kept calling him that. Even in formal exam settings, even when Professor Manstein was reading out the serious rules, she stubbornly insisted on having the name "Ricardo" printed on his name tag.
For some reason, this discovery improved Lu Mingfei's mood. Perhaps it was the good weather that dispelled his bad mood from last night, or perhaps it was because it was the first time he had a formal, serious English name—even if the name sounded a bit cringey.
"Then... Ricardo," he thought to himself, a faint smile unconsciously curving his lips.
"Nice to meet you! 'S' rank!"
A warm, enthusiastic voice interrupted Lu Mingfei's thoughts. He turned his head and saw a dark-skinned, deep-set Indian boy standing in the aisle to his right, a bright smile on his face revealing two rows of white teeth.
"I'm Qi Lan, the president of the Freshman Societies!" The boy extended his hand, his eyes shining with sincerity. "Could I get your autograph? I'd like to invite you to join the Freshman Societies and become its president!"
Lu Mingfei was stunned.
Signature? Freshman Societies President? Become President?
What is all this about?
He subconsciously glanced at his hands—hands somewhat deformed from years of holding a pen, nails haphazardly trimmed. Hands like that, to sign an autograph? And to a handsome, seemingly elite Indian man?
"I..." Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, wanting to say that he didn't have anything to sign, but Qi Lan had already stuffed a pen and a small notebook into his hand without saying a word.
"Please!" Chilan clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture. "You're the first S-rank in Kassel in eighteen years! No, maybe the first in a hundred! You're a legend! I need your autograph to inspire the freshman sorority members!"
Looking into Qi Lan's sincere, almost pious eyes, Lu Mingfei suddenly felt a sense of absurdity.
A loser gains fans on his first day of school?
Did they pick up the wrong script?
But inexplicably, he still took the pen and signed a crooked "Ricardo M. Lu" on the title page of the small notebook. The handwriting was terrible, the strokes were crooked and of varying sizes, completely unworthy of the title "S-class Legend".
But Qi Lan was overjoyed, carefully holding the notebook, her eyes practically sparkling: "Great! Then...would you like to join the Freshman Society Association? And become its president? We can arrange the inauguration ceremony this afternoon!"
Lu Mingfei was stunned.
He looked at Qi Lan, who was so excited she almost jumped up, and then at the curious or envious looks from the other freshmen in the classroom. He couldn't quite process what was happening.
Becoming chairman? Taking the oath of office?
He's never been a group leader since he was a child, so why is he suddenly going to be the chairman of the freshman association?
But perhaps... perhaps it's because Qi Lan is the first person in eighteen years to think so highly of him, perhaps it's because deep down he also longs for recognition, perhaps it's because he doesn't want to let those sincere eyes down—
Lu Mingfei nodded, his voice barely audible, "Okay, alright."
"That's fantastic!" Qi Lan was so happy she almost spun around on the spot. "I'll make the arrangements this afternoon! Three o'clock, at the Freshman Activity Center! You absolutely have to come!"
After saying that, as if afraid that Lu Mingfei would change his mind, he quickly slipped back to his seat, not forgetting to give Lu Mingfei a thumbs up along the way.
Lu Mingfei stared blankly at Qi Lan's retreating figure, then looked down at his own hands, and suddenly felt that the world was becoming more and more magical.