CHAPTER 214: CHAPTER 54: THE BEGINNING OF MISFORTUNE (PART 2)

The tenderness in Pello’s eyes gradually receded. He gazed at the girl with quivering eyelashes, steadied her face with his hand, shocked and unsure of how to face this moment. A cruel smile crept onto his lips, and like a North African lion stalking its prey, he fixated on the docile game before him.

With lips as sweet as nectar and breaths as soft as feathers, her breathing halted, and time seemed to freeze at that instant. Pello greedily absorbed the sweetness Su Ziceng brought. He had known since he read the Rose Handbook that Su Ziceng would become his to own. Her guilt towards him would turn into a lifelong bind. What he had to do now was to transform her guilt into love, a fatal love, and then trap her in a despairing abyss where she would never reincarnate.

The Rose Handbook fell onto the ground, and several petals from the chrysanthemums on the table scattered down.

Outside the teachers’ dining hall, Wen Mai Xue had been standing still for a long time. She had been staring at the couple from noon until now. Pello’s emotions had never been so visibly turbulent, and his actions toward Su Ziceng were so natural. Even though he had previously claimed it was all for revenge against Su Ziceng, Wen Mai Xue still felt a surge of jealousy.

"Su Ziceng... I won’t let you get away with this so comfortably," Wen Mai Xue muttered darkly, clutching the school notice in her hand, agitatedly walking away.

Su Ziceng had intended to return the Rose Handbook to Pello, but he refused, stating it might be more useful to keep it with her. Ye Taina’s ruthless parting had become an indelible wound for Pello; Su Ziceng did not dare to lightly touch upon it. The diary had made her conflicted when facing Pello. Initially, her relationship with Pello was purely that of a student and teacher. It was only later, because of Hang Yishao, that she tentatively started what was called a romantic relationship with Pello. Only this afternoon did she realize that her relationship with this man could never be simple again.

In the following days, Su Ziceng felt restless, and even during other classes, her mind would wander. Most of the time, Su Ziceng thought about whether to ask Su Qingzhang about what happened to Ye Taina in Africa. During a class meeting that day, as she was looking at the swaying plane trees outside the window, she heard someone calling her name.

Wen Mai Xue stood at the lectern, holding a list in her hands. She called Su Ziceng’s name several times, but Su Ziceng did not respond.

Sitting in the front row, Yu Feng knocked on her desk. Kelly Women’s College normally did not have fixed class meetings, and the class advisor only showed up on important occasions. Su Ziceng usually only saw the advisor once a semester during course selection.

"Regarding the reason for advancing this promotion exam, I have already explained clearly. Su, please come to the front and draw your pre-graduation exam location," Su Ziceng heard this part clearly when Wen Mai Xue had almost finished explaining the bulk of today’s class meeting.

"Pre-graduation? Isn’t it too early for graduation?" It was only the third term at Kelly Women’s College, and Su Ziceng, with this question in mind, walked up, wondering why a test related to graduation was arranged in the middle of the third term.

Wen Mai Xue stood at the front as usual, holding dozens of envelopes sealed with a rose stamp, inside which were listed the assessment locations selected by the school for these girls.

Su Ziceng glanced around the classroom and saw some girls already holding envelopes. If she guessed correctly, after this term, about half the students in the classroom would be gone, eliminated for failing the pre-graduation exams. Thinking of this, Su Ziceng finally felt a sense of crisis, and her hand hesitated a bit more while choosing an envelope.

Su Ziceng noticed the envelope in front of Wen Mai Xue, which, needless to say, must have been Wen Mai Xue using her class president’s privilege to select an assessment location in advance. Her eyes firmly fixated on Wen Mai Xue’s envelope, she unhesitatingly grabbed that envelope.

"What are you doing?" Wen Mai Xue, unable to stop Su Ziceng’s action in time, protested disgruntledly.

"You didn’t specify that I couldn’t pick yours, did you?" Wen Mai Xue’s nervous expression did not escape Su Ziceng’s eyes, who became even more convinced that the location inside this envelope must be the most relaxed pre-graduation assessment spot.

"Are you sure?" Wen Mai Xue looked at Su Ziceng with a very strange expression.

"One hundred percent sure," Su Ziceng opened the envelope, glanced inside, and only two pieces of paper were present. One was a one hundred franc banknote, and the other had a location written on it, Paris.

She paused, Paris, and what’s the meaning of this one hundred francs?

Wen Mai Xue pulled out another envelope from the pile. She calmly opened it and a one hundred US Dollar banknote slid out. The location written on it was New York.

"What does this mean?" Su Ziceng asked, eliciting murmurs from the classroom, with the girls looking at Su Ziceng with odd expressions.

"It seems Su didn’t really listen to what I said earlier," Wen Mai Xue continued to call different students to draw their envelopes. Each person got a different place name. Some drew city names within Country Z, while others selected cities like Japan Tokyo, South Korea Busan, and other foreign city names. But most were still cities in Asia, with only Su Ziceng and Wen Mai Xue drawing the furthest transcontinental locations.

"We do have a tacit understanding. Among all the pre-graduation assessment envelopes, there are only two transcontinental assessment places. Congratulations, you’ve taken one for the other students," Wen Mai Xue led the applause.

Su Ziceng accepted this applause somewhat confusedly until Yu Feng turned around and kindly informed her: "The content of the pre-graduation exam is to live for a month in an unfamiliar environment with the banknotes you currently hold. Those who pass can attend the final year’s graduation courses, and those who do not, must leave the school." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)