Li Luo maintained his look of practiced indifference. He knew exactly why they were staring at him like that. It was because Jiang Qing’e, venerated almost like a G.o.ddess by both the male and female students of the Southwind Academy, had two other statuses. She had been trained by his parents since she was young… and she was his betrothed.
Or, to put it another way, she was his fiancée.
As far as Li Luo could recall, the first time he met Jiang Qing’e was when he was three. His parents had just returned from a long journey, and on their return they had brought back the five-year-old Jiang Qing’e. Later on, they had accepted her as their disciple.
From a certain perspective, it could be said that the two of them truly were inseparable childhood friends, and his parents had truly doted on her as well.
Unfortunately, ever since they were young the relations.h.i.+p between the two was rather complicated. Jiang Qing’e was simply too outstanding, even as a child, and she was also two years older than Li Luo. Whenever they fought as children, the end result was invariably Jiang Qing’e beating the snot out of him in a calm manner until he submitted.
Honestly, it was a friggin’ nightmare.
As for the reason why she became his fiancée? Supposedly, when she was roughly ten or so years old, Li Luo’s father had commented in a drunken stupor that it would be wonderful if she one day became his daughter-in-law. The very next day, the ten-year-old Jiang Qing’e had personally written up a marriage contract and handed it over to Li Luo’s speechless father.
That night, Li Luo’s old man had almost been beaten senseless by Li Luo’s enraged mother. Worse – Li Luo had been watching and laughing at all of this, and as a result his mother had spanked the c.r.a.p out of him as well.
Li Luo’s mother had asked Jiang Qing’e to annul the marriage contract. Unexpectedly, she put on a rare show of absolute stubbornness. Without saying a word, she simply knelt down before Li Luo’s mother and father and refused to rise.
In the end, Li Luo’s mother and father had no choice but to accede to her request. However, after doing so, they secreted away the marriage contract and never raised the topic again, pretending as though it had never existed.
As time had pa.s.sed, nothing further was said on the matter. Everyone, even Li Luo himself, had long since forgotten about it. However, one day when Jiang Qing’e was at the Southwind Academy, she told a particularly determined suitor that she and Li Luo had long ago betrothed to each other.
This news had stunned the entire Academy; no, it had shocked the entire Tianshu Province! Thankfully, at that time Li Luo had yet to enter the Southwind Academy; otherwise, if he had, he would’ve instantly become an absolute pariah.
Even now, after the pa.s.sage of so many years, Li Luo was still somewhat affected by the aftershocks of that announcement. From this, he keenly understood just how charismatic a figure Jiang Qing’e was.
“Pops, you really screwed me over,” Li Luo silently mumbled to himself.
“Yo, Li Luo! Why do you pause here every day? Are you enjoying the envious gazes of the crowds?” Just as Li Luo was sighing to himself, a girl’s voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
Li Luo turned, only to see an attractive young maiden standing behind him. Her hair was waist-long, and although she wasn’t quite up to par with Jiang Qing’e, she was definitely a natural beauty. The skin-tight school uniform she wore accentuated her lovely curves quite nicely.
At this moment, the young maiden was standing with arms folded across her chest, a rather mocking look on her face. Despite that, a calm look was on Li Luo’s face when he saw her. This was Difa Qing, one of his cla.s.smates. She was considered a beautiful golden flower of the Southwind Academy, and came from the Difa clan, one of the three great clans of the Tianshu Province.
She didn’t have anything against Li Luo. However, she was a diehard fan of Jiang Qing’e – the extremely over-zealous, almost obsessive type of diehard fan. In her eyes, Jiang Qing’e was as beautiful, flawless, and perfect as an Immortal fairy. There was no man in this world who was worthy of her – and of course, that included Li Luo as well.
Even though Difa Qing agreed that Li Luo was an exceedingly handsome fellow, she also felt that looks were superficial. Someone worthy of Jiang Qing’e had to be a dragon amongst men, both internally and externally. Li Luo, however, had only won a marriage contract with her thanks to his parents. In Difa Qing’s eyes, this was an absolute blemish on her G.o.ddess’ honor.
And so, ever since Li Luo had joined the Southwind Academy, whenever Difa Qing saw him she would first commence with a barrage of mocking words. After that? A series of endless questions.
“Li Luo, when are you going to annul the marriage contract between yourself and elder sister Jiang?”
Right on cue. She had repeated this question countless times by now. Even Li Luo couldn’t help but rub the bridge of his nose before responding irritably, “None of your d.a.m.n business.” He then turned and left.
A look of anger instantly appeared on Difa Qing’s face. She stubbornly followed behind him. “Li Luo, do you really want to be the proverbial toad that l.u.s.ts after a swan?”
Li Luo, however, simply continued to ignore her completely. This just further enraged her to the point where her veins started to pop out. She sped up her footsteps to chase him down, then continued, “Li Luo, if you refuse to annul the wedding contract, the only one who’s gonna be in trouble is you. The more talented elder sister Jiang is, the more trouble you’ll be in. Your parents have been missing for years now, and even House Luolan itself is at the verge of collapse. Your status as the young lord of the House isn’t going to be able to s.h.i.+eld you for much longer.”
“You have no idea how many incredibly talented young men of Xia, all of whom have powerful backgrounds, are all smitten by her.
“Just because your parents treated her well, doesn’t mean you can force her to repay you like this!
“Li Luo, if you refuse to annul the marriage contract with her, even here in the Academy there will be people who will cause you trouble!”
Finally, Li Luo came to a halt. “Oh? And who might that be?”