Chapter Nineteen: A New Beginning

As evening slanted westward, the crowd in the Three-Tower Plaza of Leafnight Academy had already begun to thin. Only Third Highness still stood where she was, waiting.

Behind her, the academy refreshment in the glass tank had in fact been replaced several times over, yet the girl remained there steadfastly and never once left her post.

Because Third Highness did not allow anyone to freeload and come back for refills over and over, there were now very few people who dared come within ten meters of her.

And yet the girl remained entirely oblivious. She still stood in place, waiting for the next student to step before her. By now, however, almost everyone in the academy, including many instructors, had tried the novelty drink, and anyone who had not heard the news by now would most likely not come today at all.

Then, one after the other, two people crossed the sparsely populated plaza and came before Third Highness, holding out their hands.

Third Highness glanced up at them, then, without a word, turned back and calmly took out a tiny cup of dark brown drink, setting it before the first person.

“You’ve worked hard,” Su Ziye said quietly, looking at Third Highness. He reached out, took the cup, and drank it in one gulp.

Third Highness showed no reaction to Su Ziye’s thanks, but the young man himself suddenly felt an invisible, gentle force nudge him aside, making way for Liu Ru behind him to stand before Third Highness. The girl in the black cloak then handed the next cup of drink to the blond girl.

“Thank you,” Liu Ru said with a bow. When she lifted her head again, she found that Third Highness had already vanished.

Even the huge glass tank behind Third Highness had disappeared along with her. Liu Ru even wondered whether Third Highness had taken it back to her own residence, as though it were all part of the arrangement.

Liu Ru was deeply surprised. She turned to Su Ziye. “Was Third Highness standing here all this time just to wait for us?”

“And if that were the case?” Su Ziye asked in return, his tone calm.

“What if we hadn’t come?” Liu Ru could not help asking.

Would Third Highness have waited here the whole night?

Given Third Highness’s manner of doing things, that was not only possible, but frighteningly likely.

“That is why I came,” Su Ziye said succinctly.

Today Liu Ru had no important classes, so she had spent nearly the entire day trailing after Su Ziye as he wandered here and there. But at that moment, she suddenly remembered something. “I remember you promised Carlotes that you’d continue supplying him with concentrated syrup tomorrow. Are we still working on the seventy-ninth floor tonight?”

Whether they could still trick Third Highness tonight was hard to say, and from the looks of it, Third Highness had probably already gone back to sleep.

Though Liu Ru remained doubtful about whether Third Highness even needed sleep, the fact was that the girl really did go to bed on time like an ordinary person.

“Both yes and no,” Su Ziye said. “We need to go find someone.”

“Who?” Liu Ru asked at once.

“Senior Zhou Yi,” Su Ziye said with a smile.

...

...

Throughout the entire day, Senior Zhou Yi had been almost completely absent-minded.

At the Three-Tower Plaza, he had stood in line for nearly half the day, and it was not until after one o’clock in the afternoon that he finally received that cup of dark brown drink from before Third Highness, a beverage as exquisite as nectar from the heavens.

Of course, even if the cup had contained nothing but plain water, it would still have been enough to send Senior Zhou Yi into raptures; let alone the fact that it truly held a drink of wondrous flavor he had never tasted before.

After that, Senior Zhou Yi tried at least three times to get another cup from under Third Highness’s hand, but without exception, each time he was spotted from more than ten meters away and pushed out by Third Highness.

“I wonder whether Third Highness will still be standing there tomorrow,” Zhou Yi could not help thinking.

Although at first glance it had felt as though Third Highness had been forced into something against her will, now he desperately hoped that tomorrow she would still be there, carrying on business as usual and relieving the distressed masses.

Just then, a quiet knocking sounded at the dormitory door.

“Who is it?” Zhou Yi asked instinctively.

“It’s me,” Su Ziye replied with a smile.

His voice was recognizable enough that Zhou Yi immediately knew who it was. After the third trial, however, the two of them had not had much to do with each other, so Zhou Yi was actually rather curious what Su Ziye had come to see him about.

Zhou Yi stood and opened the door. Looking at the black-clad youth outside, he said irritably, “Do you have any idea what time it is...?”

Before Zhou Yi could finish, Su Ziye smiled and said, “A few days ago, someone placed an order with you for a set of items. I wonder whether Senior Zhou Yi has finished them yet.”

“Items?” Zhou Yi jolted instantly. “It was you who ordered them?”

“My young lady did,” Su Ziye said briefly.

At the mention of Liu Ru’s name, Zhou Yi immediately relaxed. “They’re done already, but they haven’t been assembled yet. It’s so late; let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

“My young lady is waiting in the Sun Tower. Why not come take a look and mention it while you’re at it?” Su Ziye said with a smile. “The reason Third Highness was at the Three-Tower Plaza today has everything to do with my young lady as well.”

“What!” Zhou Yi was instantly energized. He grabbed Su Ziye by the shoulders and nearly shouted, “We’re going right now.”

...

...

Sun Tower, fifty-sixth floor.

“I’ve put everything here,” Zhou Yi said, pointing at the large pile of oddly shaped objects wrapped in thick oiled paper before them. “Luckily, this is Leafnight Academy. If you’d gone to an outside blacksmith, these things might not have been finished even in a year or two.”

“Exactly because this is Leafnight Academy,” Su Ziye said calmly as he stepped forward and peeled back the dark brown paper from the first pile. What appeared before them was a gleaming metal shell, strange in shape and hollow within, giving no clue at all as to what it was for.

“Still, what do you need all this for? The senior brother in charge of making them said they sounded simple enough, but they turned out to be unexpectedly troublesome to build.”

“Once I put it together, you’ll understand,” Su Ziye said. He began tearing away the oiled paper from the metal pieces one by one, then started carefully assembling them from among the bizarre, indescribable parts.

Zhou Yi watched for a long time at his side, only to become dizzy from Su Ziye’s dazzling speed of hand and finally give up.

He had originally intended to leave at once, but then remembered that Su Ziye still had not told him the truth about today, so he could only grit his teeth and remain where he was.

The assembly took about an hour. Only when Su Ziye finally straightened up and wiped away nonexistent sweat from his brow did he say, “Truly worthy of the academy.”

Yes, truly worthy of the academy. Those parts that had seemed entirely unrelated had, in the end, been fitted together so seamlessly. Although Su Ziye had provided detailed specifications when placing the order, the senior brother responsible had not only satisfied every one of them, but had also completed the work on time and in full. One could only sigh and say: worthy indeed of the academy.

Zhou Yi stared at the machine that had now taken shape. Though he still had no idea what it was for, he could not help but feel a vague sense of awe. “What is this thing for?” he asked again.

“You can call it the all-in-one drink-forming machine!” Su Ziye said, gesturing grandly toward Zhou Yi. “If the test goes well, I may need to order fifteen more.”