Chapter 203: Chapter 200: Take a Step Forward, The Relationship Becomes Distanter._1
"Hey!"
Bai Qi saw that he didn't even bother to ask a question before deciding to take her to see Brother Song, and she immediately felt uneasy.
"What's wrong?" Fang Ren was taken aback.
All he was doing was using his True Qi to grab her arm; there was no other physical contact between them. Even if Song Mobei saw them, there would be no misunderstanding. He truly didn't understand what this girl was thinking now.
"Let's, let's go eat," Bai Qi stammered.
"...What's the fuss?" Fang Ren spoke with a bit more force.
"Suddenly got a bit hungry," Bai Qi said.
"Nonsense, we just ate less than two hours ago, and nobody ate more than you did."
As he spoke, Fang Ren continued to carry her toward the direction of the Alchemist Guild.
Seeing this, Bai Qi felt even more troubled. Her suggestion to go eat was just a temporary excuse to avoid seeing Song Mobei; she just didn't want to see Fang Ren with a look of sour sadness.
However, Fang Ren was completely oblivious to the thoughts she had concocted in her head.
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As they got closer to the Alchemist Guild, Bai Qi suddenly said, "Do you think... after I see Brother Song, our relationship will change?"
In her view, Fang Ren suddenly deciding to take her to see Song Mobei at this time meant he wanted to sever the relationship between them completely. After helping her, he would choose not to have any further contact with her.
This feeling is known as... the act of letting go before breaking off ties.
This behavior usually takes place when a person decides to forget someone or cut off thoughts about someone. They might choose to help the other in one last instance, creating a deeper wound for themselves.
It is a kind of self-harm in emotions, causing oneself pain, then fear, and finally dread at the prospect of further contact, achieving the purpose of cutting off thoughts about a person.
After listening to Bai Qi, Fang Ren thought for a moment and said, "Maybe."
Because in his eyes, after Bai Qi interacted with Song Mobei, she would certainly distance herself from him due to her consideration of the pursuit of Song Mobei.
Although the two of them did not have any romantic relationship now, in the eyes of others, they were still fiancés. If they were seen together too often, it would definitely make people think Bai Qi and he had a close relationship.
Therefore, Bai Qi would likely choose to significantly reduce her contact with him, considering Song Mobei's feelings, and effectively distance their relationship in silence.
When Bai Qi heard Fang Ren speak, her complex feelings suddenly entwined like countless threads, forming a heavy stone in her heart.
Indeed, his actions were exactly as she had guessed. This was the final break before letting go.
After hearing his words, her mood suddenly turned sour, and the heavy stone weighing on her heart made her not even want to see Brother Song, whom she once admired. Now she wanted to understand the source of this stone and how to remove it from her heart.
During this contemplation, one thing she had to admit was that she cared about Fang Ren's feelings more than she wanted to see Brother Song.
She truly did not want to admit that she liked her nominal fiancé, because she couldn't find a reason why she had fallen for him. Moreover, admitting it would seem to suggest that she was a fickle woman, wouldn't it?
No acknowledgment!
However, in the blink of an eye, Fang Ren had already landed with Bai Qi at the entrance of the Bamboo Alchemist Guild.
The guild was overcrowded, and if they flew directly inside, there would be no place to land except the central area of the examination grounds, so they had no choice but to land at the entrance and squeeze in little by little.
As Fang Ren dispersed his True Qi, Lin Bozhong and Chen Cheng, floating nearby in the sky, stared dumbfounded at Fang Ren. Disbelief was written all over their aged faces.
"Brother... did I just see that right?" Chen Cheng's old eyes were wide as he looked at Fang Ren on the ground, "He's actually... at the Early Stage of Xianyun Realm!"
"Damn..."
Lin Bozhong's head buzzed in confusion as he instinctively cursed. The young master had once again broken through in just over two months!
This was the Xianyun Realm! Already among the more talented students of the Aristocrat Cultivation Academy!
Just over two months and he's caught up with the aristocratic students!
If this continues, what then? Not to mention Song Mobei, even Madame Xuan would soon be surpassed! By then, would the Central Area still think that Song Mobei was the appropriate match for Madame Xuan? That would definitely not be the case.
Even though the two elders in the sky were no less shocked by his Realm, Bai Qi, with her head full of emotional concerns, hadn't noticed Fang Ren's change in Realm at all.
The crowd at the entrance of the Alchemist Guild was too dense, they couldn't even find a spot to land near the wall.
"Excuse me, please make way."
Fang Ren patted the shoulder of the person in front, speaking in a voice that wasn't very loud.
"Who is it?"
The person in front turned around impatiently. At a time like this, someone was still trying to cut in line—absolutely without any manners. He turned with the intention to punch the rude individual and let him know just how explosive a fan of Song Mobei could be.
However, as the person turned around and saw Fang Ren wearing the Yangming University uniform, his expression turned to shock. He then immediately squeezed through the people next to him and shouted, "Make way! Make way for Young Master Fang!"
Fang Ren was after all the main character at the end of today's event, and with the award ceremony for the top five competitors coming up, he, the first-place winner, rightfully belonged inside. Given his importance at today's venue, all other spectators seemed rather secondary.
Following the man's shout, the crowd in front began to turn around. Spotting Fang Ren in his Yangming University uniform, they quickly pushed aside to make a narrow path one person could pass through.
Bai Qi, wearing a hat, watched Fang Ren walk into the crowd but stood still, not following him inside.
Fang Ren felt something amiss behind him, turned his head to look at her, and casually said, "What are you spacing out for, let's go."
"I..."
Bai Qi lifted her head to look at him but still didn't move forward.
She felt that with each step further she took, she would become even more distant from Fang Ren in front of her. Once she and Song Mobei started talking, their relationship would be completely over.
Seeing that she still didn't come over, Fang Ren glanced at the clothes she had specially changed into today, then turned and headed inside.
She had changed her clothes, probably afraid of exposing her identity. She didn't come over with him, probably not wanting Song Mobei to see her getting too close to another man... That's what Fang Ren thought.
But since he had already made a way for Bai Qi, if she didn't want to come through, that was her own business. He still had to go in.
Song Mobei, Xia Fu Lan, and the matter of the Void beast, these were all reasons he must enter the venue.
Watching Fang Ren suddenly turn and walk toward the venue on his own, Bai Qi unexpectedly began to feel sad.
Did he really want to cut ties with her that much?
Seeing the path Fang Ren walked through was about to be closed off by the crowd, Bai Qi immediately followed in Fang Ren's footsteps, grabbing his arm with one hand.
As her hand clutched Fang Ren's arm, he immediately froze in his tracks.
What was wrong with this girl? Hadn't she just been reluctant to walk with him? Why was she now grabbing his arm?
Wasn't she afraid of revealing her identity? Wasn't she worried about being seen by Song Mobei and causing a misunderstanding?
A series of questions jumbled in Fang Ren's mind.
"Is there something I haven't made clear?" Bai Qi suddenly asked.
"What are you talking about?" Fang Ren was puzzled.
"I said I could avoid meeting him, I've said it many times." Bai Qi spoke with a serious tone, "Why do you still act like this? Do I really disgust you that much?"
"What?"
Fang Ren was even more baffled; he couldn't understand the sudden remark coming from her.
But upon glancing at the expressions of the people around, it was clear they had guessed Bai Qi's identity. Fang Ren didn't bother to talk more with her and hurriedly brought her into the venue.
However, as they continued toward the venue, Fang Ren gently pried Bai Qi's hand off his arm and let it go.
Bai Qi watched her hand being pried off and let go. For some reason, her heart suddenly filled with even more sadness.
As Fang Ren kept moving toward the venue, the buzz of the surrounding people also grew louder. The conversation shifted from being 100% about Song Mobei to now 80% being about him.
"Hey! It's Young Master Fang! My heavens! He really came!"
"Where? Where! I thought he had already left! To personally see the Unparalleled Alchemist, I hadn't missed a single alchemy competition in the past few days!"
"Damn! When I heard about Young Master Fang, I instantly switched allegiances! An unrivaled genius, neither arrogant nor haughty, he didn't respond when so many mocked him that day! And he didn't use his power to settle scores! Such demeanor! Such composure!
Truly badass!"
"Coming here today was worth it! I heard about Young Master Fang suddenly emerging and came all the way from Tianjiang! I never expected to catch Song Mobei, and now Young Master Fang shows up too!"
"Once in a century, a Cultivation Level against the heavens, a Sword Dao prodigy! Silent for twenty-two years, then overnight overturning the Elixir Field! These two men... are invincible."
"Key point is, both of them are beyond reach when it comes to their character."
"Honestly, I came here just to see the Elixir Field's prodigy, seeing Song Mobei was an unexpected delight. But speaking of character, Song Mobei is undeniably virtuous and uncorrupted, truly admirable. However, I prefer Young Master Fang even more. You can look up his past performance in school, and you'll know just how low-key and formidable the once abandoned Young Master had been."
"Right, twenty-two years of hidden sharpness! How terrifying must be his disposition?"
"I'm not really into people from the Elixir Field, I still think Brother Song is awesome!"