Silent Crown

Bai Xi rolled her eyes. “But I still think he’s unreliable. Musicians are all rich, but his clothes are so old, and he only has one hand. It seems weird. What if he can’t even play a complete piece? A musician like that is basically trash. You’re going to live a hard life with him!”

“Bai Xi, didn’t you promise to respect other people?”

Grudgingly, Bai Xi said, “Okay, fine, I won’t say anything else.”

After a long time, Abraham finally came back, trying to catch his breath. There was something in his hand.

“I’m back. Thank you for waiting. This is for you…” He handed them three ice cream cones. “This is the academy’s specialty. It’s very famous. Try it!”

He seemed to have run for a long time. Panting, there was sweat on his forehead too. But when he gave them the cones, his eyes were smiling.

Ye Qingxuan looked at the cones decorated with fruits, honey and cream and felt a little bad. “Sorry, it must have been expensive.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” The stiff man smiled, full of happiness. “Congratulations on joining the School of History. It’s been a long time since anyone was willing to come.”

“Did you poison this?” Despite her words, Bai Xi began eating without shame. Ye Qingxuan knocked the side of her head, reminding her about manners before she remembered to say, “thank you.” Ye Qingxuan felt speechless.

“Bai Xi, when will you become a good girl?” he thought.

In the long afternoon, Ye Qingxuan and the old man sat by the square, quietly watching those passing by. Sometimes there would be an awkward silence, but he felt comfortable.

Silences when they ran out of things to say could be joyful too, he realized. But if they did think of something, they could easily strike up a conversation.

“Teacher, they don’t seem to want me to enter the academy. Would you get in trouble for accepting me?”

Abraham’s expression became unreadable at the youth’s question. After pausing, he shook his head. “I actually have a lot of trouble…they’ll give me trouble even without you.”

“Can I really enter if I didn’t go through the usual process?”

“No problem.” Abraham chuckled. “No one signed up for the School of History, so the principal gave me the power to accept students based on my own discretion this year. I can accept whoever I want, as long as I don’t go past the establishment.”

“Oh.” Ye Qingxuan nodded, but beside him, Bai Xi’s eyes brightened with a mischievous idea.

“Teacher, Teacher, do you still need students?” The girl scooted over to Abraham’s side. Fluttering her lashes, she said in an overly sweet voice, “I’m smart and talented. Why don’t you take me as the senior brother [1], and he can be the junior under me?”

“Uh, this…you need to pass the test.”

“No problem, I can still do it now.” Bai Xi took the aether ball from Ye Qingxuan’s pocket. “I just need to make this light up, right?”

“Well yes, but…” Before Abraham could even finish, the crystal in Bai Xi’s hand lit up with a piercing light.

She did not even need to make a sound, move, or create music…the clear aether ball suddenly shone silver just by being in her hand.

The rays of light were like soldiers under command, flashing and changing in the aether ball. They joined, creating Ye Qingxuan’s angry face, or Old Phil’s head, or at times, even a middle finger. Bai Xi looked as if she was playing with a toy.

Beside her, Ye Qingxuan’s eyes almost fell out of his sockets.

He had always thought that having a man run naked at night in Avalon was already illogical. But he never thought that there would be someone even weirder next to him. And so well-hidden too!

“Bai Xi, what did you eat when you grew up?” Ye Qingxuan asked dumbly.

On the other side, Abraham’s mouth was open wide enough to stuff two ice cream cones in.

“Strength, execution, spirituality, and sense all meet the qualifications. No, it’s above average…” he mumbled, not sure what to say.

“Hehe, then I guess there’s no problem.” Proudly, Bai Xi glanced at Ye Qingxuan and then fluttered her lashes at Abraham. “Teacher, Teacher, can I be the senior?”

“…”

After a long silence, Abraham finally collected hismself.

“Uh, my apologies. I’d love for you to join the School of History, but any school would want talent like you. There’s no reason for you to come here.”

“I don’t care. I want to be at the School of History! I want to be this guy’s senior!”

“But I already have a student before you.” Abraham scratched his head. “He’s not very reliable and always gets into trouble, but…he’s still a good person.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, you can be the second senior!” Ye Qingxuan tried to comfort Bai Xi. “That’s good too!”

“…Get out. I don’t want to be the second.” Bai Xi’s face changed, turning a bit angry. “Okay, I’ve decided that you’ll be the second and I’ll still be the senior! Where’s the original guy? Get him here and I’ll beat him up.”

“Uh, let’s not fight. That’s not good.” Distressed, Abraham urged quietly, “He’s suffering from insomnia these days and likes running around after getting drunk. But when you get to know him, you’ll see that he really is a good person.”

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan got a bad feeling. “Teacher, this senior…” Pushing down bad memories, he asked with twitching facial muscles, “What does he look like?”

“I look like this today! Attractive, right?” A bright voice sounded behind him, causing the hair on the back of Ye Qingxuan’s neck to stand up.

In Ye Qingxuan’s strange silence, a blonde youth popped up out of nowhere and sat down by Abraham.

This young man was probably two years older than Ye Qingxuan. When he saw them together, he smiled, bright like the sun.

It was hard to deny that he truly was attractive, with distinct features, and bright eyes. Unlike Hermes’s weird coldness, he seemed innocent and harmless.

“Ah, Teacher, why didn’t you call me for the cones?”

Seeing the ice cream cones, his eyes flashed and drool almost dripped from his mouth. “I haven’t eaten in so many days. Teacher, this isn’t fair!”

“Charles, calm down.” Abraham sighed and gave him the untouched cone. “Where did you go? I can never find you.”

“Ah, so many debtors are looking for me so I had to hide. Teacher, don’t tell them you saw me!” He had probably been starving for a long time. He stuffed his face with the ice cream. “I’m starving. Ah, this is delicious!”

“…” Abraham did not know what to say. “Since you’re here, just stay and eat dinner with everyone. Let me introduce you all. These are your juniors. You have to act like a senior.”

“Okay, okay, hello juniors!” He scooted over and shook Ye Qingxuan’s hand like a dumb chicken. “Please take care of me, take care of me!”

“…”

“Brother, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking? Is there something dirty on my face?” Charles rubbed at his face, a little embarrassed. “Don’t just stare at me. I’m shy.”

“…”

“Hey cousin, what’s wrong?” Bai Xi looked at how he was in a daze and nudged him. “You don’t have to be so hurt just because he’s more attractive than you.”

“…”

Ye Qingxuan could no longer hear anything. He was still wrapped in the pain of almost going crazy again.

He looked at this familiar man and finally remembered where they had met before!

In just a moment, that night came back! The strange feeling of his perspective on the entire world changing came flooded his mind once again.

The night, singing, running, vomiting, naked man…those keywords flashed through in his mind.

Finally, his thoughts turned into the naked backside of the drunkard running under the moon. He ran and ran, running under the moon.

“Hoho hoho!” The chime-like laughter came back, along with the smell of vomit in the wind.

“You’re that midnight psycho, the naked guy with bird nest hair! How dare you appear before me?!” Ye Qingxuan grabbed Charles’s collar, and yelled, “—Give me back my notebook!”

[1] In China, students of the same teacher call each other senior/junior brother/sister. The senior brother has the highest status.