Chapter 41 - Meteor

This was one of the few times Fang saw Valeria’s face turn so downcast. Her relationship with William’s family obviously wasn’t just a simple professional connection; it was much more complicated and evidently not positive. Since he had broached the topic, he decided to continue. “Well, I met William earlier today and exchanged some words with him. He told me to give his father’s regards to you.”

Valeria coldly muttered, “Give his regards? I’m fine without seeing his face again!”

Curious, Fang asked, “What happened between you and William’s father?”

“The current Chamber of Commerce and their family’s business used to be firm industrial partners. At least, that was when my father was elected as the head of the Chamber of Commerce!” She put down the food. “But everything changed after that event!”

The event she referred to could only be the raid that led to her family’s death.

“Before it happened, the relationship between our families was very good. My father and William’s father were close friends. They grew up together and became comrades, deeply trusting each other. Their company was based on transportation, which fit well with the needs of the Chamber of Commerce that Valeria’s father was in charge of. Eventually, they became the financial giants in Minuet City. An important, urgent delivery came up that could have catapulted their wealth even higher; however, it required transport across the Blue Sea. William’s father arranged the carriage for the goods, and although it was across the Blue Sea, my father trusted him and hastily assembled an escort of the strongest he could find.”

She paused for a moment, then continued. “Their team was very powerful, and the rewards seemed to outweigh the risks. There was some danger in the treacherous area, but the route chosen was known to be relatively safe, with only reports of minor pirates that they could easily deal with. Nevertheless, an accident occurred—they encountered a brutal pirate group that led to their deaths. That pirate group rarely appeared in that area, so I’ve always thought it was strange!”

“You think someone intentionally leaked information and lured the pirates there? And that person was from William’s family?”

“Yes. I didn’t suspect anything at first because my father was so friendly with him, but… after the event, he showed no remorse or consolation. He claimed there was no cooperation between his business and the Chamber of Commerce; our reputation plummeted, and all our old customers left, adding insult to injury. A new branch from his business appeared and competed for the former spot of goods and services. It was then that I discovered the route given to my father was ‘graciously’ plotted by his closest friend. However, he denied it all. Hypocrite, through and through—he only appeared to be my father’s trusted confidante, yet planned this from the very start to dominate the entire city with his company!”

At this moment, furious hatred rose on Valeria’s face. Her father and brother were killed, while the hypocrite responsible for it all was relaxing contentedly on top of his wealth.

“The company you keep can be more dangerous than the battlefield. You can’t trust even the best of friends; many ‘true’ friends are willing to turn to money and power for anything.” Sullenly, she stared at him. “Fang, remember what happened to my father. Carefully choose your friends and always be cautious, or you might be stabbed in the back!”

Uncomfortably, Fang nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Regardless of what Valeria said, he thought it was just misfortune; a single traumatic experience had made her so paranoid. Thinking of his friend, he was sure that Blue, although odd, was sincerely his friend.

However, Fang was wrong—his roommate hid a big secret from him as well.

Valeria asked again, “Fang, what else did William say?”

Fang hesitated slightly. “Two months from now, he said the Chamber of Commerce would be sponsoring a competition where a representative from each class would participate. He and I are both prefects of our respective classes, so there’s a chance we might be opponents in the tournament.”

Instantly, Valeria said, “No, absolutely don’t participate.”

“Why?”

“Although in name the competition is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, the actual sponsors are from William’s father’s connections. Judging by what I know, he already knows about my relationship with you. He’ll make sure to arrange it so that you and William are in the same bracket.” Valeria tightly grasped Fang’s hand worriedly. “Listen, you might have made a lot of progress now, but you’re no match for William. Promise me you won’t try to be brave. There’s no telling what might happen. He’ll likely arrange something to either cripple or kill you as an ‘accident.’ So, throw in the towel and don’t bother with this.”

Family takes after family; William was just like his father, acting as the perfect student while harboring malicious intents, with nothing standing in the way of his ambition.

“I understand.”

Nevertheless, a cold glint flashed in Fang’s eyes.

--- --- ---

After returning to the college, Fang’s plans completely changed.

On the Monday morning after the first class was over, Fang turned to Blue. “Blue, go to the next classes alone, okay?”

Blue frowned. “Why? Are you suddenly bored with me?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely don’t think that,” Fang tried to explain with difficulty, “I’m going to try learning something difficult, but I feel it’ll be a waste of time if you come along. So, I’ll go alone, and after the classes are over, we’ll meet again.”

Doubtfully, Blue agreed, and Fang rushed into a different hallway.

What’s he doing?

Blue felt something was off and, curious, didn’t go to her next class. Quietly, she quickly followed behind Fang.

Taking multiple twists and turns on the campus, Fang finally arrived at a certain place. This wasn’t a class that Blue had seen before; Fang had never visited this class as far as she knew.

But the most eerie thing was, even past the starting time for classes, there was no one inside the classroom—not even a single student!

A quiet teacher sat leisurely beside the podium. Of all the teachers in Garden College, he had taught the least. Most of his classes consisted of a lazy nap, as no one ever attended his classes, and he left after his allotted time was over.

Well, the teacher thought, it seems that today would be another day of dreams.

Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps, and a person walked into the classroom.

He looked like an inconspicuous teenager.

Frowning, the teacher looked at him closely. “Student, are you sure you didn’t come into the wrong class?”

“No, teacher, this is the right class,” Fang replied as he moved into the room. “If it’s fine with you, I’d like to learn Meteor.”