Chapter 26 Part 2

Kelly marched right up to him and grabbed him by the collar. “Kangsi, you idiot! How many more scenes do you have to cause before you’ll stop?”

The plump female teacher scolded her sharply, and Kelly shoved the boy away in frustration before stepping aside with a sour expression.

Ling Ze stepped forward. “Teacher Liya.”

Teacher Liya nodded with a warm smile, her eyes narrowing into amiable slits. “You’re all here.” She looked over the group, her gaze lingering longest on Meng Yiran. “I’m glad you’re all safe. That’s what matters.”

Ling Ge bounced over to her side affectionately and peered past her at the captured boy. “So he’s the one who created the Illusion Realm?”

Teacher Liya nodded. “Yes.” She added reassuringly, “Don’t worry—he’s under control now.”

Ling Ge murmured in acknowledgment, her courage bolstered.

She studied the boy and pointed at him accusingly, brimming with a sense of justice. “You’re going way too far, you know? In the Illusion Realm, you were the one telling us to follow your instructions. By that logic, that other guy was actually the one who listened to you the most.

“But no—you targeted the person who trusted you the deepest, beating him half to death like that.”

The boy suddenly let out a self-mocking laugh.

He looked up at Ling Ge, his eyes filled with confusion. “But at the beginning, I never intended to hurt him.”

Ling Ge’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

The boy called Kangsi’s gaze brimmed with bewilderment. “Was I wrong?

“He trusted me so completely. He loved me. All along the way, just like before, he accepted my overtures and help without a hint of suspicion. He was even willing to blindfold his eyes and cover his ears for me, shutting out all the external temptations…

“So why, why—right there in the Art Studio at the end—did he refuse to form a Mate Contract with me?”

Ling Ge’s face was a perfect picture of bewilderment, her mind short-circuiting. “…Huh?”

Kelly took one look at him and her anger flared up once more. “Why? Why are you still asking why? From the moment he dumped you without a second thought to be with me, you should have known he was nothing but a social climber. You helped him out time and again, but what could you offer him in the end? The two of you are both men—what kind of status could that possibly be? All it took was a wave of my hand, and he came scampering over like a dog, fawning all over me.”

Kangsi turned to her, his gaze filled with complicated emotions.

“What are you staring at? Keep it up, and I’ll gouge out those useless eyeballs of yours.” Kelly was so furious she looked ready to erupt in flames. “For a guy like that, you actually wanted to form a Mate Contract with him? And he turned you down flat, didn’t he? Hahaha!”

She let out a long sigh. “The only good thing he ever did was let you go. And the one smart thing you did was use the Illusion Realm to give him the thrashing he deserved.”

Kangsi’s footing slipped, and his whole body swayed unsteadily. But once he caught his balance, he nodded—actually agreeing with Kelly.

“He claimed we were just ordinary friends and that it was all my one-sided delusion. I refused to believe it, so I used the Illusion Realm to see the truth for myself. But in the end, just when I thought I’d proven our bond was real love, his rejection slapped me awake.”

He raised his head and faced the group before him, offering a sincere apology. “I’m truly sorry. I never intended to drag you into this. But that Magic Item was far too powerful. I’d only grasped a fraction of its functions and couldn’t tweak or control it at will. All I could do was watch helplessly as you endured the trials alongside him.”

Ling Ge scoffed with a sharp “Tch.”

Her arm wound still throbbed faintly, so she whipped her face away and sulked in silence.

Kangsi managed a faint smile. “I know it’s all hindsight talking… but the truth is, you weren’t the ones I was after. If you’d trusted the hints from the start and made your way straight to the Art Studio, I would have let you go the moment I laid eyes on you.”

Ling Ge bristled. “So it’s still our fault, then?”

Kangsi bowed deeply. “I’m sorry.”

“Is a simple ‘sorry’ enough?” Kelly shot him a sidelong glare. “You’ve dragged the entire Nobility’s reputation through the mud.”

She fixed Kangsi with a cold sneer. “This same-sex nonsense is fine for fooling around in private, but you’re the first one bold enough to try parading a plaything in public. He’s rejected you now, thank goodness—but tell me, what if he’d actually agreed to the Mate Contract? Were you planning to live the rest of your life as a laughingstock?”

Kangsi’s lips paled, and he pressed them into a thin line, falling silent for a long moment.

At last, he spoke. “I don’t care if he’s a man or a woman.”

“Bullshit,” Kelly spat. “You’re an idiot. One man had you wrapped around his finger.”

“What’s wrong with same-sex love? Does a lack of acceptance make it inherently wrong?”

Meng Yiran’s voice cut suddenly through the tension, drawing every eye in the Gallery to her.

She drew a deep breath. “You see only his foolishness and frailty. But his utter devotion to that relationship proves the other man gave him a depth of care and hope no one else ever could. It might all have been a fabrication—an illusion and a web of lies woven deliberately by that person. Yet in those harmonious days, the beauty and the emotion they shared were utterly real.

“He wasn’t toyed with by some same-sex lover. He was simply blinded by the rare, wondrous feelings this world can offer.”

Kelly frowned. “What would you know about it?”

Meng Yiran met her gaze. “If I may venture a guess, your own romantic history must be far more extensive than his. You’ve encountered all sorts of people and fancy yourself an expert on the human heart.

“So tell me this: out of all those affairs, was there even one person who made you willing to stake everything on them, just as he did?”

Kelly froze, her expression going blank for a split second.

She recovered quickly, snapping back, “I’d never be that stupid.”

“Indeed, madam. You’re nothing if not rational.” Meng Yiran’s tone softened. “But I’ll wager everything I have that the sum total of your romantic lessons—the full measure of emotional insight you’ve gleaned—doesn’t amount to even a tenth, or perhaps a hundredth, of what he gained from that illusory bond.

“No one ever hauled you from the muck. No one ever left you pining in agony. No one ever inspired you to lay the whole world at their feet. You can’t comprehend that kind of devotion, yet here you stand atop your barren pedestal, wagging your finger at him and mocking the man who once knew true abundance as some pathetic fool.”

Kelly gaped at her in shock, words failing her.

Meng Yiran turned to Kangsi.

Kangsi was gazing at her too, his eyes glistening with moisture, his expression utterly focused.

“No one can deny the experience you went through,” Meng Yiran said with a gentle smile. “The only thing you did wrong was letting yourself be deceived for far too long. Even after you sensed something was off, you stayed immersed in it instead of choosing the right way to end that relationship.”

Kangsi tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Sorry…”

“But that’s okay,” Meng Yiran continued. “No one handles a situation perfectly the first time around. You’re a first-time offender—you have the right to mess up.”

She paused for a moment, then asked timidly, “Uh… you didn’t actually kill that person, did you?”

Kangsi blinked in surprise, then burst out laughing. “No, he won’t die.”

Meng Yiran let out a quiet sigh of relief. “That’s good… You’ll still have to cover his medical bills afterward, though.”

Kangsi nodded, a sincere smile breaking across his face.

Meng Yiran coughed twice to mask her awkwardness. “I-I’m not saying you should go around getting revenge like that. You have to be ready and able to deal with all the consequences.” She drew in a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is… no one can completely write you off. Your life is still so long ahead of you. That relationship was just a little mishap—it doesn’t define anything. It’s like that Illusion Realm: you made a mistake right at the start by dragging other people into it, but that didn’t stop it from achieving the outcome you wanted. I just hope you learn from this so that next time… well, you can see through people faster and handle things in a more level-headed way.”

“Whether it’s with someone of the same sex or the opposite sex, what we’re really after is that genuine emotional connection.” Meng Yiran clenched her fist dramatically against her chest. “For true love, unwavering until death!”

Kangsi grinned widely as the tears finally welled up and spilled down his cheeks.

But his smile was one of pure joy. He raised his shackled hands to his chest and echoed her words: “For true love, unwavering until death!”

Ling Ge stared in slack-jawed astonishment from the sidelines, her gaze toward Meng Yiran filled with admiration. Kelly said nothing—her sour expression was enough to ward off anyone who might approach. Only Ming Yi, standing behind Meng Yiran, let out an ambiguous “tsk.”

Meng Yiran paid none of them any mind. As she turned, she stole a glance at Tong Yuwu out of the corner of her eye.

The beautiful noble young lady kept her head bowed, yet she stood out as the most striking figure in the crowd. By some coincidence, just as Meng Yiran peeked at her, Tong Yuwu lifted her gaze.

Their eyes met for the briefest instant before darting away. Tong Yuwu’s face betrayed no extra emotion.

Meng Yiran exhaled a long breath, unable to tell if she felt more relaxed or even tenser than before.

Teacher Liya was preparing to escort Kangsi away. He looked at Meng Yiran. “It’s a shame—I’ll probably get expelled from Clarity Magic Academy. Otherwise, I’d really love to be friends with you.”

Meng Yiran gave an awkward smile and glanced at Ling Ze and Ling Ge. “Ah… actually, I’m not a student at Clarity.”

Kangsi looked surprised.

He didn’t have a chance to respond before Teacher Liya led him toward the School Tribunal.

Before departing, however, Teacher Liya handed Ling Ze two items. Ling Ze hadn’t said what they were, but Meng Yiran suspected they were probably documents or something to legitimize her identity. Ever since she’d learned that the teacher was Liya—their patron at school—Meng Yiran had wondered if Ling Ze had already sent word to her through some special channel.

Once Kangsi and Teacher Liya were gone, the Inspection Team wrapped things up. Outside the Art Studio, the only people left were the six who had entered the Illusion Realm—plus Ming Ke.

Kelly shot Meng Yiran a glare but said nothing as she strode toward the exit.

Ming Yi followed close behind her, turning back to add, “Once the trial results come in, the school will give everyone a proper explanation and some compensation.”

Kelly huffed.

Ming Yi grinned. “Still mad, huh?”

Kelly turned her face away. “Don’t worry about me. Save your breath for sweet-talking Dilin.”

She let out a cold laugh and glanced back at Ling Ze and Ling Ge. “You think this is some scheme from their Commoner Guild? Swapping out a second-year noble top student like Kangsi for some no-talent scumbag.”

Ming Yi’s smile turned infuriatingly smug. “Ah, who knows…”

“What’s that supposed to mean, throwing shade like that? There’s no Commoner Guild here!” Ling Ge shot them a fierce glare.

Kelly shrugged. “Whatever. If you say it’s not, then it’s not.”

With that, she whipped around to face Ling Ze. “Tch. Actually, if you tried to seduce me, I might just fall for it.” She flashed a sly grin. “What do you say, Ling Ze? Wanna give it a shot? I’m a solid mid-tier player in fourth year—you wouldn’t be losing out on the trade.”

Ling Ze kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, ignoring her completely.

Kelly didn’t mind in the slightest. On the contrary, teasing the Ling Family siblings had lifted her spirits considerably, and her steps felt much lighter as she walked.