Chapter Eighty: Thirty Years of East River and West River…
“How did you fall asleep in the box?”
Yifu helped Umi move a whole box of ingredients inside. Despite her repeated refusals, Umi insisted on Yifu accepting them.
For some reason, Yifu felt that Umi seemed much brighter than when they last met.
Even her usually neglected, messy hair was tidied meticulously today.
Accustomed to wearing convenient work clothes, Umi also surprisingly donned a cute floral spaghetti strap dress, paired with white princess socks and round-toed leather shoes.
“I was just bored and resting on the box. But I didn’t expect to fall asleep without realizing it.”
“Maybe I’m too heavy; I accidentally fell into the box… Fortunately, nothing got squashed. Otherwise, Mom would have scolded me to death.”
Umi lowered her head shyly, as if feeling guilty for her oversleeping.
In fact, she didn’t want to oversleep, but after reading those magic books recommended by Yifu, she seemed to suddenly grasp the concepts of magic that she previously found confusing.
The once daunting magic now appeared to her as slowly becoming understandable.
So, instead of feeling a headache looking at the magic books, she could now stay up reading until dawn.
It was only because she hadn’t rested well last night that she accidentally fell asleep.
“You sent us so many things; is that really okay? I only recommended a few books to you.”
Yifu looked at the array of ingredients in the cardboard box; buying these at the market would definitely not be cheap.
The freshness of these items could perfectly supply the Imperial Royal Family.
“Please, Miss Yifu, you must accept them. I understand… It’s not something that just anyone can recommend such helpful books. You must have seriously researched for me.”
Umi said shyly, scratching her neck.
Originally, she didn’t believe Yifu could help her, but now it seemed that Yifu was truly her benefactor.
That’s the kind of person who could cultivate outstanding graduates from the Church Academy…
“And this isn’t just my idea; my mother asked me to bring it over. She has seen my progress and has been wanting to find a chance to thank you.”
“Too bad she’s too busy to come in person. Last night, she chatted and talked to herself for a long time.”
Umi’s words piqued Yifu’s curiosity.
“What did she say?”
“I didn’t hear clearly… But it seemed like she wanted to give you the shop.”
“The shop?”
Yifu felt somewhat baffled.
“Anyway, making progress is a good thing. I told you you’re talented; there are no silly children in this world, just some who haven’t found the right method.”
“Why don’t you stay for dinner? With so many fine ingredients, I must cook something special.”
…
“Long Shao? What should we do next… That Leia is indeed not easy to deal with; she has the Empress supporting her.”
In the dormitory building of the Church Academy, Long Aotian stood on the balcony, gazing at the distant sunset and the graduates gradually emerging from the graduation ceremony, his expression filled with worry.
He should have been among those graduates, even selected for the Outstanding Graduate list, and received a handsome reward.
With that qualification and his strong personal charm, he could gradually embed himself into the Imperial Royal Family, stepping into a position of power and perhaps even getting a chance to interact with the high and mighty Princess.
But now, he had become the most notorious figure in history.
The first student to be expelled from the Church Academy… The Church Academy had never expelled a student before, and as the first, Long Aotian would undoubtedly be nailed to the pillar of shame in history.
Perhaps no one would remember the second student that was expelled, but certainly, someone would remember the first expelled, Long Aotian.
At least from now on, everyone who interacts with Long Aotian will have to consider the label he carries.
Like a stain, an indelible mark that would forever define him…
“I know, I have my plans. Since I can’t graduate from the Church Academy, that’s fine; with my brains, I can still do business.”
Since the peak could not be retained…
Then he would give up on becoming a swift and decisive politician in the Imperial Royal Family and instead venture into business, building his own commercial empire!
Long Aotian firmly believed that with his abilities, engaging in business would be no problem at all.
This small setback was nothing to worry about.
However, doing business requires starting capital, and Long Aotian had long laid out his plans for that.
He had been eyeing a divorced lady with a child for some time, who was very committed to her child.
He once bragged, promising her that with just thirty gold coins, he could get her child into the Empire Academy or the Church Academy to study magic.
That lady seemed to trust him utterly and had been diligently saving money.
It should be about time she’s saved up; it was time to start collecting.
“I see, business could work… But could you please move out quickly? We need to vacate this dormitory today.”
One of Long Aotian’s former underlings harshly threw out Long Aotian’s belongings.
Initially wearing a somewhat respectful expression, he lost patience due to the long wait.
“Hey, we used to call each other brothers and suffered together; you can’t be so heartless and turn your back on me!”
Long Aotian watched as the former underling, who used to follow him around, now disregarded him completely, even adopting a condescending attitude.
This made him, who was used to being dominant, very displeased.
But the other party had no intention of acknowledging him, merely coldly shutting the door to the dormitory.
Leaving Long Aotian outside, yelling angrily, ranting about “Thirty years in the east river, thirty years in the west river; do not bully the poor youth!” like a circus opening act.
“Ungrateful guy!”
Long Aotian couldn’t help but clench his fists, looking at his belongings that had been thrown out, feeling an overwhelming anger with no way to vent.
All in all, provoking the Empress was indeed quite unexpected.
That once weak Leia was no longer someone to be bullied; her proactive return strikes were quite surprising as well.
This change had disrupted all of Long Aotian’s plans, even the person he considered the most loyal follower, Vivian, was treating him with indifference, completely cutting off contact today.
“Just wait; one day, I will take back everything that belongs to me!”
Long Aotian gritted his teeth!
Would he win?
He would win!
In any case, he must pursue business. No matter what… he needed to get the starting capital from that lady first.
No matter what method, whether deceiving or stealing, it didn’t matter!
However…
Currently, a more pressing problem lay before Long Aotian; he had been expelled from the academy and was without a dormitory. Where would he sleep tonight?
On a park bench?
And he had no dinner planned either, since all the money went to compensation.
He couldn’t possibly rummage through garbage bins, could he?
