Commanding Wind and Cloud

Many classmates would gather at Rollin’s and Qian Jin’s room to party and chat. When men were together, the topic that usually came up aside from fighting and training was girls. These fifteen and sixteen-year-old teenage boys already knew what was going on.

Julius’ name was the most frequently mentioned girl’s name during these parties. According to Rollin, “The most popular girl in an academy would be the girl that was mentioned the most number of the times among the guys. If the guys could vote for their ideal sexual fantasy partner, Julius would probably win it easily.”

From what Qian Jin had heard, his impression of Julius was that of having a good family background and a proud personality, using men as servants and henchmen.

“I heard that you broke your rule of not participating in fights among the top ten seats for my sake yesterday, right? Also, did you beat someone who had a higher seat than you?” Julius crossed her arm and pushed her chest upwards. Her eyes glanced around as her chin pointed upward, as if she was declaring her charm in a proud manner. “Great. I’m willing to go on a date with you. After you are done with your classes today, you can come and find me…”

Qian Jin squinted at her, and the surrounding crowd could tell from his expression that he was very tired. He slowly lifted his arms and reached out for Julius shoulder. The crowd began to gasp. “This Qian Jin is usually very low-key, but he is very daring today. He wants to be hands on and touchy with Julius in public? This…” people thought.

“Excuse me… you are in my way.” Qian Jin applied a little force and pushed Julius to the side. He started to jog as he saw that the class started to move. “I don’t have time, so please find someone else to play and hang out with you,” he said to Julius without even looking back at her.

The gasps stopped. The crowd behind him that hadn’t started to jog were shocked as they watched Qian Jin jogging away.

What did Qian Jin just do? He rejected Julius? He rejected the most popular girl in the academy, and he directly pushed her because she was in his way?

Julius’ mouth opened wide as she dully stared at Qian Jin’s back.

“This… this Qian Jin dares to reject me? He… He…” Julius tightly held her hands together as she shivered in anger. Her eyes were locked onto Qian Jin.

“Oh? Rodriguez, this kid that you paid extra attention to is very interesting.”

“Principal, this is why I appreciate him. When I saw him on campus, he never paid attention to girls who were pretty; he treated them like air. I can tell that he isn’t pretending to be cold to attract their interest. This kind of mentality is rare to see in students at this age.”

“Beautiful Julius…” Rollin rubbed his hands together and said, “I’m Qian Jin’s best friend. I will gladly take his place since he is not available…”

“Humph!” Julius cut Rollin off and turned around to return to the meditation stage for mage students.

“Rollin, quick!” Qian Jin turned around and shouted at Rollin who was still in an obsessed state. “Do you want to get your ass beaten by Instructor Rodriguez?”

A chill went up Rollin’s spine as he heard that. He unwillingly withdrew his eyes from Julius and started to jog as he chased after Qian Jin.

Qian Jin saw the fat that was shaking on Rollin’s body as he jogged. He was confused as well. This fatty worked hard at morning exercises and warrior training, but why wasn’t the fat on him decreasing?

Rollin finally caught up with Qian Jin who slowed down intentionally to wait. They started to jog around the field right next to each other. Rollin was a bit perplexed as well when they passed the mage meditation stage. “It’s the envious expression on his face again. Why does Qian Jin want to become a mage so badly? Is being a mage that great?” he thought.

“Eh?” Qian Jin felt the stare from his friend, so he asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing. I’m thinking about the epic response that you gave to Julius. Was it because you know I like Julius that you gave up on her? Buddy, I’m deeply touched by your self-sacrificial attitude.” Rollin bullsh*ted. He grew up in a merchant family, therefore, he was very sensitive. He could tell that there was more than just envy; there was also some loneliness in Qian Jin’s eyes. He knew that it might be something that Qian Jin didn’t want be reminded of again.

“Friend, I’m glad that you are moved by this. But as your roommate, I have to remind you that your standards are pretty low. Now, I’m really doubting your little sister’s looks.”

“Hey man, do you think there is anyone who is prettier than Julius in the academy? I think you … huh… you…” Rollin breathed heavily as they went past the meditation stage again, but he did speak his mind. “You know that you can’t capture her heart, so you are saying this to feel better. Otherwise, prove me wrong by pointing out someone you think is prettier than her.”

“This is too easy.” Qian Jin looked up at the mediation stage and glanced through all the female mage students who were disturbed and had their eyes opened because of Qian Jin and Rollin’s loud conversation. “For example…”

Qian Jin suddenly saw someone familiar sitting at an unnoticeable corner on the stage. This person was in a large black mage cloak and had a huge wizard hat on her head. “For example, Gabriella is way prettier than Julius.”

A dozen mage students who were meditating almost hit their heads on the ground, and the warrior students who were behind Qian Jin felt their legs getting weak. Laughter exploded from the meditation stage and the field, and Gabriella, who was sitting at the corner, lowered her head even more and shrunk into her cloak.

“Man, I feel sad for you now; the beauty in your eyes is truly different. It looks like I have to introduce my sister to you and let you know what real beauty is.” Rollin wiped the sweat off of his forehead and said while panting, “Are you saying that Gabriella, the girl who has the most mediocre appearance since Oakland Academy opened its door, is a beauty?”

“Eh?” Qian Jin looked at Rollin in surprise. “You know Gabriella as well?”

Rollin sighed three times in a row. He looked at his roommate who had never paid attention to hot girls disappointedly as he cleaned his throat and whispered, “Buddy, at the academy, Gabriella is one of the famous girls as well; her fame is comparable with Julius’. However, it isn’t because she has a stunning face. She is famous because of her talent at casting spells as a mage. You could say that she has the worst talent in the novice academy; it is unprecedented.”

“She is currently in Grade Two in the Mage Branch, but her spiritual power and magic power are the same as when she just got into the academy in Grade One. She barely made the cut. No one is willing to partner with her to complete the exam.” Rollin took a few deep breaths and explained everything to Qian Jin.