329: Friendly Competitions vs The Artist

Friendly Competitions vs The Artist

A friendly competition?2

Upon hearing this proposal, Yujia couldn't help but want to reject Han Shiche immediately. This was due to the fact that even though he apologized, her impression of him was still not very good. It wasn't like it would be easy to trust his words, when he could be lying about learning his lesson for all she knew. Earlier, she accepted his apology simply because it would be a hassle to have someone kneeling at the front of her room door all day. Originally, her plan was that after she got him to leave, she would just move on with her life and forget about his unpleasant existence.

Why did he even want a competition?

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she ended up telling him, "You may be a representative of your school, but I'm not a representative of my school, Lingxin. Due to that reason, I shall not be accepting your competition request. Have a good day." 

Once she said that, she went back to her room and closed the door solidly. She truly thought that would be all. She believed that it would be the last time she heard of such a matter or saw Han Shiche's face. 

It wasn't.

When Lingxin disciples all gathered at the front of the lodging, Yujia noticed that by the side of her white-robed group, there was another group, wearing the blue robes of Guozijian. They were murmuring amongst themselves. Amidst that group, she spotted the face of Han Shiche and his friends she saw before. Han Shiche was leading the group, standing at the front.

Why were they here? 

Yujia was about to ask that question when Ye Yunhe emerged to the very front. In a loud voice, he declared, "May I have everyone's attention for a second?" The crowds quieted down, and he went on, "As you may have noticed already, we have the presence of another school with us right now. These disciples from Guozijian have also traveled from the capital, like us. And so, in order to bolster the relationships between the schools, we will be participating in a friendly competition."

Her face paling, Yujia placed a hand on her forehead. She thought that after her rejection for the idea of a competition, that would be the end of those matters. How was she supposed to guess that Han Shiche was persistent enough to go find another disciple, like her Senior Brother Ye? And why, just why, did Ye Yunhe accept? 

A competition like this wasn't going to improve any relationships. At most, it would ignite more intense feelings of rivalry.

It didn't take much logic to figure that out.

As she listened to Yunhe speak, Yujia glanced over to the Guozijian crowd, noticing Han Shiche smirking. She made a face to herself and looked back at Yunhe. His gaze was not focused on her, but she drilled her eyes into him, waiting for him to just meet her gaze so that she could tell him how immensely disappointed she was with him. 

"The competition will go like such," Yunhe continued in his explanation, "We Lingxin disciples will approach the mountain from the east, while Guozijian disciples will approach from the west. Whichever group gets to the top first wins the first round of the competition. The trails from those two points to the top are of the same distance, so it will be fair. Once both reach the top, we will each send one person forward to paint a picture of the scenery, and whichever group comes up with the best painting, judged by an impartial guest, during the limited time, will win the second round. If there is a need for a tie-breaker, we will close off the competition with a game of luck. Sounds fun?"

No. Not fun. It sounded like a lot of work. 

Yujia was about to voice her objection, but then, Jiang Muyun did instead. Although his voice was quiet, it was clear against the crisp morning air. "We come to Huangshan to allow our minds to be of peace and to comprehend deeper values of art. If we make it a competition, it destroys this purpose. Must we compete? Would it not be better to take our times exploring the mountain, instead of rushing our ways up?"

Applauding, Yujia could not agree more with what Muyun said. He voiced everything she wanted to say, except for, well, the part about it being a lot of work and Yujia being a bit too lazy for that. 

Someone she didn't recognize from Guozijian yelled out, "Those sound like a whole lot of excuses to me. Just admit it: you all don't want to compete because Lingxin is afraid of losing to us! No shame in admitting that!" 

What an obvious attempt at instigating a fight. 

With a scoff, Yujia could not imagine how anyone would fall for such a basic, apparent trick. That Guozijian student didn't even attempt to be subtle about his words. There was no way any of the fellow Lingxin disciples here with her right now were that dumb.

"Haha, in what world is Lingxin, the greatest academy in all of Xiang, terrified of you all? If you want to compete, let's compete! We'll obliterate you all in this."

Yujia turned with horror to the person who just spoke. Rong Yuan.

She should've known.

Although she wanted to face palm again, she realized that at this point, she couldn't help but speak up. 

"Senior and Junior Brothers, I agree with what Senior Brother Jiang said. Let's not forget our original purpose of coming here. Why should we waste our time and difficult journey on a silly competition of speed?" she suggested.

Rong Yuan, who was close to her, said in reply, "Senior Sister, it's alright. The competition may be taxing on someone weak like you. If you don't wish to participate, no one will have any objections."

Someone weak like her? 

Yujia looked at Rong Yuan with a seething glare. Obvious attempts at agitation weren't good enough to get her, but when they were unintentional, like what Rong Yuan said…

"Let's do this damn competition," she declared.

She had been working out with Xie Yufeng weeks before, after all. Now would be a great time to test how far her cardio had actually improved.

And really, now that she thought about it, nothing would make her happier than winning first place and wiping that smug smile off of Han Shiche's face.

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