Volume One, Chapter Three: The Celestial Fire Descends

“Stop laughing!” Chun’er Fu scolded. That scoundrel Lingxiao Yin truly deserved to be cursed.

Her face darkened with anger as she used her mind to control the brush, swiftly erasing the character for “rain” so quickly that even the system didn’t react in time.

[Host, this was your reward after studying until dawn. Are you sure you want to change it now?] the system asked in surprise, for the character seemed ordinary.

“Absolutely!”

The brush swept across the paper again, replacing the erased character with “fire.”

System: [...] My apologies.

The sky was overcast, and a storm was approaching.

Many sedan chairs were parked before the mountain gate of Bailu Academy, where a bustling crowd of students had gathered.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle pierced the air. A horse with silver mane galloped like the wind, charging forward.

Hearing the familiar hooves, everyone turned their heads.

“Heavens, it’s Young Master Yin! I finally see him!” “It was worth it for my father to send me to Bailu Academy; he’s just as extraordinary as the legends say!”

“I’m in the Heavenly Class with him—how lucky am I!”

The young man exuded an imposing aura, sharp and spirited. With one hand gripping the reins, he dismounted gracefully and swiftly, stirring the hearts of many female students.

From the moment he appeared, all eyes were fixed on him, filled with admiration, envy, and longing.

But Lingxiao Yin seemed used to the attention, casually glancing up at the sky—

The sky was gloomy, the wind howling, as if rain was coming... or fire?

Clusters of flames fell from the sky like meteors, crashing onto the ground, creating a shockingly strange spectacle.

“Run! It’s raining fire from the sky!”

“Help! Ahhh!”

Chaos erupted as people fled in panic.

The flames were scattered by the wind, and fortunately, no one was harmed. But a closer look revealed the flames were not real fire—they were toy flames made with special materials, appearing incredibly lifelike.

Lingxiao Yin frowned, scanning the surroundings.

There was no high platform nearby, and the entire area within several miles was visible. Who could have done this?

Deep within the academy, a young girl dressed in a loose, simple robe stared long at the mountain gate before finally lowering her gaze.

Chun’er Fu’s face, dotted with black spots, brightened with satisfaction.

System: [Host, you know the world consciousness does not allow real harm to the male lead…]

Chun’er Fu knew the system couldn’t kill him, but her objective had been achieved.

With Lingxiao Yin’s keen nature, he likely realized he was at the center of an incident and would begin investigating who wished him harm, becoming more wary of strangers around him.

From this moment on, everything would be different from her past life.

Elsewhere, Xiaolian Fu noticed Chun’er Fu’s gaze repeatedly drifting toward Lingxiao Yin and sneered inwardly. How dare this rustic girl from the countryside covet the Marquis’s son? She didn’t even consider if she was worthy.

Yesterday, Xiaolian had been stunned by Chun’er’s beauty, feeling a strong sense of threat. But after just one night, Chun’er’s once breathtaking face had sprouted many small black spots, making her utterly hideous. Even more laughable was that she wore no gold or jade jewelry, only a coarse blue linen shirt that concealed any figure, lacking any noble aura.

In contrast, Xiaolian had risen early to apply powder and rouge, her hair exquisitely styled from head to toe to outshine the other beauties in the academy. How could Chun’er compare?

Several glances fell upon them. Xiaolian smiled and tugged Chun’er’s sleeve. “Sister, don’t waste your hopes on someone like Lingxiao Yin. I’ll ask Father to find you some poor scholars. If they pass the imperial exams and become officials or marquises, you might even get an honorary title~ Come on, I’ll take you to the Literati Class.”

Chun’er pulled back her sleeve. “Thanks, but I don’t want to compete for your favors.”

Xiaolian was taken aback, not quite understanding. “Huh?”

Chun’er glanced down at her. “You like the poor scholars, don’t you? They’re all yours. I won’t snatch them from you.”

With that, she turned and left.

Xiaolian was momentarily speechless and hurried after her.

*

Most students in the Literati Class came from humble backgrounds. They were often intelligent and diligent but couldn’t afford expensive books and ink, so their learning progress lagged behind other classmates. Correspondingly, their teachers were usually ordinary scholars.

But ever since Lingxiao Yin voluntarily gave up his place at the Imperial Academy to attend Bailu, many noble young ladies flooded the already full Heavenly Class, pushing out some of the moderately ranked noble girls.

The academy head, not wanting to offend them, temporarily placed these displaced students into the Earth and Literati Classes and even introduced an outstanding top scholar to teach the Literati Class, greatly improving its quality.

At this moment, the Literati Class was lively.

“Have you heard? Young Master Yin was almost attacked at the mountain gate!”

“Impossible! Not just our academy, no one in the capital dares harm him. You must be drunk.”

“It’s true. I just came from the Heavenly Class, and the news has spread everywhere…”

At Bailu Academy, news related to Lingxiao Yin spread quickly. Now that many noble girls displaced from the Heavenly Class had arrived, discussions about him were fervent, fearing they might miss any tidbit about him.

The lively chatter ceased instantly when a proud figure entered—

Xiaolian Fu? Why was she here?

Jiang Rongrong, newly transferred from the Heavenly Class and still worried about Lingxiao Yin, immediately straightened up and put on a false smile. “Sister Fu, it’s been so long, like three autumns. How have you been?”

Chun’er Fu followed behind Xiaolian and was instantly speechless upon seeing Jiang Rongrong. This girl was obsessively infatuated with Lingxiao Yin to a maddening degree. In her previous life, she had been hostile toward Chun’er and had secretly set many traps.

At this moment, her main rival was Xiaolian Fu. The two were matched in looks and talent, so much so that even their conversation was laced with poetic quotes in a battle of wits.

Xiaolian smiled arrogantly. “Sister Jiang, ‘Green collar, my heart is long in yearning; though I do not go, do you not send a message?’ I came to see you, didn’t I?”

Jiang was about to reply but frowned in disgust upon seeing Chun’er enter. “Ugh! Who is this? What is she doing here?”

Xiaolian rolled her eyes and covered her mouth laughing, “This is my sister who just returned from the countryside. She’s not yet educated and can’t understand the Book of Songs. Let’s speak normally~”

Hearing this, the Literati Class students’ expressions shifted. How could such an ugly and dull countryside girl be admitted here? Her face was covered in dense black spots, barely revealing her features! Not only was her appearance terrible, but her knowledge was abysmal! Not yet educated? That meant she hadn’t even read the Three Character Classic!

Jiang’s disdain almost overflowed. She stepped forward to block Chun’er. “Stop right there! How dare someone like you come to Bailu Academy? Go back to a beginner’s school!”

Laughter erupted from the crowd. Beginner’s schools were for three-year-olds, teaching the Three Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, Thousand Character Text, and other primers. The noble girls here had long since mastered those.

Xiaolian feigned pity. “Don’t be so harsh; after all, she is my sister.”

Jiang sneered, “So what if she is? A stupid girl from the countryside, why insist on staying here?”

Everyone looked at Chun’er with mockery and appraisal. But Chun’er remained calm. She casually picked an empty seat by the wall, spread out her writing materials, and glanced coldly at the two.

Though Jiang appeared combative, the true instigator was Xiaolian. Chun’er did not care about others’ opinions but was no pushover.

Her face covered with countless black spots, only her clear, striking eyes visible, she replied lightly, “Indeed, since my origins are humble, why cling here? Sister, don’t you agree?”

Xiaolian froze, her expression instantly sour.

She was the daughter of a courtesan, Mei Niang, with a disreputable background her parents tried desperately to hide. Chun’er was subtly hinting that she, not Chun’er, was the one who should be driven out of the Fu residence and sent back to the countryside!