flstandardbreds Chapter 116 Academic Competition (1)
Chapter 116 Academic Competition (1)
"Erhesen! This is extreme individualism!"
"Otherwise what? Like some pig-headed idiot who almost got swindled out of his entire fortune with just a few words?"
"you!"
"I don't have the habit of having the whole coffee shop staring at me. If you want to be the center of attention, please don't drag me down with you."
"Elheisen! Say that again!"
On an ordinary afternoon, at the Pusper Café in Sumeru City, the tea drinkers who were leisurely enjoying their afternoon tea turned their heads and watched with curiosity as two teenagers argued.
"Brother Mufeng, are you sure you shouldn't stop Brother Haisen and Brother Kavi?"
Xiao Nilu watched the two arguing more and more fiercely with concern, and quietly moved closer to Mu Feng's side.
Mu Feng, standing to the side, had a completely used expression on his face. He pushed the Patty Salan Pudding that had just been served in front of Nilu and thoughtfully poured flower petal syrup over it for her.
"Don't worry about the two of them, they'll stop arguing when they get tired of it."
It's no wonder he stood idly by; after all, when he first met Elhesen and Kavi, he had tried to mediate their conflict, but to no avail.
One is a loner and an egoist, while the other is a benevolent and compassionate idealist. Their conflicting views make these two future great scribes and great architects irreconcilable and prone to fighting whenever they meet.
It would be better if he didn't mediate; the real fear is that if he does, the argument between the two geniuses will become even more intense, and he might even be dragged into a friendly exchange as the peacemaker.
Could he also be part of this two-person game?
Feeling utterly disillusioned, Mu Feng finally gave up and opted for the least efficient, yet consistently effective, method:
Let things drift.
As we all know, arguing takes energy, and when you get tired of arguing, you'll naturally choose to take a temporary break.
The current argument stems from an incident on the way to the coffee shop where Kavi, moved by compassion, was nearly swindled out of all his pocket money by an unscrupulous vendor who was playing the victim.
Soon, under Elhesen's sharp verbal attack, Kavi, who had lost his temper, stormed off in anger once again, plopped down on the stool next to Mu Feng, and sulked alone.
"Hey, how about a sunset strawberry drink?"
Mu Feng suppressed a laugh and pushed a glass of chilled fruit drink in front of Kavi, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.
To be fair, Kavi, the great architect of Sumeru, has a real sense of humor. He's a classic example of a player who's both bad at the game and loves to have fun.
It's not that he didn't win any of his debates with Al-Hysen; it's more like he suffered a series of defeats, but he kept fighting despite the setbacks, which almost made him wonder if the guy had some strange alphabetic attributes.
"Brother Mufeng, you be the judge..."
After taking a big gulp of cold drink, Kavi, who had just been almost swindled out of all his money and ridiculed by his companions, was full of resentment. He grabbed Mu Feng beside him and prepared to pour out his grievances.
"If your only skill is talking about others behind their backs, I suggest you go home and play with building blocks and puzzles for a few more years."
Before Mu Feng could reply, Elhesen suddenly appeared behind him and calmly shut down Kavi's complaints with a single sentence.
Ignoring Kavi's angry glare, Elhesen pulled out the chair opposite Mu Feng as if nothing had happened, sat down, picked up his coffee, and leisurely began to read a book.
"Elheisen! I..."
"Ah... well, I heard that the Academy Championship is about to start soon."
As the tension in the air grew stronger, Mu Feng, caught between the two, changed the subject to prevent the conflict from reigniting and getting caught in the crossfire.
"In my view, academic competition tainted with power is meaningless."
Elhesen took a sip of coffee, continuing to turn the pages of his book without looking up, seemingly completely uninterested in this grand academic competition held by the Faculty of Education.
The Academic Competition is the most prestigious academic exchange event held annually by the Academy, where various academic schools of thought will compete within their departments to select the most outstanding scholars.
Within the Academy, another unwritten rule is that the winner of the Academic Competition will be closely related to the subsequent selection of the Six Academies' Sages.
"Elheisen, isn't such an absolute statement a bit of an exaggeration?"
Kavi frowned, seizing on a loophole in Elhesen's words to retort.
"Human reason is always swayed by emotions."
"Putting aside the fact that your father is a hot favorite to win the Minglun School, if your brain isn't really hollowed out by the beaked bird, I think you would come to the same conclusion as me."
Al-Hysen's casual remark clearly hit a nerve with Kavi, and so a new round of debate between the two began about whether academic competitions were meaningful at all.
"Brother Mufeng, they're arguing again."
Unable to join in their conversation, Nilu, listlessly fiddling with the remaining petals of the Patissara in her bowl, timidly glanced in the direction of the two arguing.
"Sigh... Nilu, let me tell you a secret, sometimes arguing isn't necessarily a sign of a bad relationship."
Mu, the master of life and emotions, quickly changed his expression from one of headache to one of mysterious smiles, and whispered in Nilu's ear.
"Huh? But Nilu has never argued with Brother Mufeng."
Little Nilu blinked her big blue eyes, looking at Mu Feng with a mysterious smile on his face, puzzled.
"Hmph, that's different."
Master Mu waved his hand with feigned profundity, secretly hiding a copy of "The Untold Story of the Sharp-Tongued Scholar and His Blonde Roommate" behind his back.
"What's different about it?"
Curious, Nilu persisted in asking.
Mu Feng's smile froze. He pinched Nilu's soft cheek fiercely and unleashed his ultimate move:
"Children shouldn't know so much."
Nilu pouted, unconvinced. "You're a child too."
"What are you talking about?"
As they talked, the second round of debate between Alhesen and Kavi also came to an end.
Once again enraged by Al-Hysen's sharp sarcasm, Kavi greeted everyone and stormed out of the café, intending to go home and continue designing his block building.
Meanwhile, Elhesen, who had the upper hand, finished his coffee without being affected at all, and looked at Mufeng and Nilu, who had been whispering to each other from the beginning, with a puzzled look.
"Nothing, let's go back."
Mu Feng calmly stored the light novel into his Eye of God space, quickly bribed the sulking Nile with a few Yalda candies, and then got up and left the cafe with Elhesen, who had gone ahead.
The sun had already sunk behind the mountains, and the evening wind howled through the quiet streets, carrying a chill in the air.
Strange... I have a bad feeling about this.
Mu Feng turned around curiously, looking at the seemingly normal coffee shop with a puzzled expression, searching for the source of his unease.
What is it?
"Brother Mufeng, hurry up!"
"Come here."
Never mind, maybe he's overthinking it.
Mu Feng shook his head, then pulled Nilu, who was eagerly anticipating dinner, along the path home.