Dragons begin with courage

"Chen Wenwen".

Ye Sheng's voice came from the inner room, clear and steady.

"Good luck!" Lu Mingfei said in a low voice almost subconsciously as Chen Wenwen brushed past him.

Chen Wenwen paused, turned around, nodded slightly to him, a faint, emotionless smile playing on her lips, before turning and pushing the door open to go inside.

The door closed. Lu Mingfei's heart jumped. He was a little scared, afraid that when the door opened again, Chen Wenwen would have the same disappointment on her face as the other dejected classmates, perhaps even with tears in her eyes. That would hurt him more than his own failure.

Time ticked by, each second stretched out by silent anxiety. About fifteen minutes later, the door opened. Chen Wenwen walked out, her face expressionless, her gaze lowered as she looked at the tips of her gleaming black leather shoes. She walked back to her seat and quietly began packing her canvas bag.

"How is it? How is it?" Lu Mingfei couldn't contain himself and leaned over to ask in a low voice, his voice filled with an urgency he himself didn't realize.

Chen Wenwen paused for a moment, hesitated, and then quietly beckoned to him, signaling him to come closer.

Lu Mingfei was overjoyed and was about to lean closer to listen—

"Lu Mingfei." Ye Sheng's voice rang out again, carrying just the right amount of warmth.

Lu Mingfei was taken aback and turned to look. He saw Ye Sheng standing in front of the door, smiling and waving at him: "You're next."

For a fleeting moment, Lu Mingfei felt a very subtle sense of unease. He had never met Ye Sheng before, yet the other man could call out his name accurately at a glance among a room full of people, his demeanor as composed as if they were old friends. Could it be based solely on that lifeless two-inch photo on the application materials?

The thought flashed through his mind, only to be overwhelmed by an even stronger sense of tension. Perhaps there weren't many people left. He shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it, and got up to follow.

The conference room was more spacious than he had imagined. Around the huge circular conference table sat only one girl, wearing the same uniform as Ye Sheng, but in a skirt, with a rose-red lace scarf tied at the neckline, making her smile even sweeter.

"Hello, Lu Mingfei. My name is Shudeya, and I am also one of the interviewers." The girl stood up and bowed slightly with elegance, a standard Japanese manner.

"Oh, hello, hello," Lu Mingfei replied somewhat awkwardly.

Ye Sheng quietly slipped out, gently closed the door, and turned to push open the door to a small conference room next door.

Inside, a weary old man was practically pressed his face against the monitor screen, thick glasses perched on his nose, his white hair standing on end like dandelions, his suit wrinkled, and his trousers baggy. It was Professor Guderian.

"Look! Ye Sheng, come and see!" The old man pointed excitedly at the screen without turning his head, his voice low but unable to hide his excitement, "What a wonderful answer! Quick-witted, insightful, ah, that sincere look in his eyes, the potential revealed in his simple words... What an outstanding child! I'm almost moved by his sincerity!"

Ye Sheng walked to the screen, looked at Lu Mingfei scratching his head and stammering as he answered, and couldn't help but twitch his lips: "Professor, isn't your favoritism... a little too obvious?"

Professor Guderian paused, awkwardly withdrawing his finger that was almost poking the screen, and shrugged: "Well... a little bit."

"Since the academy has already made its decision, what's the point of this interview?" Ye Sheng asked, puzzled.

“You don’t understand, Ye Sheng.” Professor Guderian turned around, adjusted his slipping glasses, and his expression turned serious. “For decades, we’ve only just found one ‘S’ grade candidate. If our interview report gives us an ‘unqualified’ rating… the principal will hang me in the clock tower! Besides,” he lowered his voice, glancing at the slightly timid boy on the screen, “we must be extremely careful with this kind of bloodline. Their senses are often exceptionally sharp, and we cannot… provoke him.”

Ye Sheng was silent for a few seconds, then turned his gaze back to the monitor, his tone filled with disbelief and confirmation: "This Lu Mingfei... is he really an 'S' level?"

"Absolutely true." Professor Guderian nodded emphatically, his voice lowered as if revealing a shocking secret. "Before I came, I repeatedly confirmed with the principal that he is the only 'S' grade! This interview was essentially prepared for him alone. This is one of the academy's top secrets, which is why I didn't tell you the details before I left."

A brief silence fell over the room. Only Lu Mingfei's stammering answer to questions came from the monitor speakers. S-rank... those two words carried enough weight in Kassel College to make anyone in the know hold their breath.

As Ye Sheng processed this information, he suddenly asked, "But, Professor... what if he himself doesn't want to go to Kassel College?"

As if to prove his words, in the surveillance footage, Lu Mingfei suddenly stood up, bowed to Jiu Deya, then turned around, opened the door and walked out.

The entire "interview" process took one minute and thirty seconds.

The timer on the screen ticked silently.

Lu Mingfei practically fled the conference room, only to see Chen Wenwen still standing a short distance away in the corridor, carrying her bag, seemingly waiting for him. Seeing him come out, she jogged a few steps to greet him, her eyes filled with concern: "Why...did you come out so quickly?"

"The answers were a complete mess," Lu Mingfei said, his head drooping. He kicked the grout between the clean floor tiles, his voice muffled. "I have no idea what they were asking."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wenwen lowered her head slightly, her long eyelashes drooping, and said softly, "Me too... They said I... didn't pass."

"Huh?" Lu Mingfei suddenly looked up, stunned. He thought Chen Wenwen at least had some hope.

However, the next second, a strange, almost untimely joy, like tiny bubbles, secretly rose from the depths of his heart—she hadn't felt it either. She was just like him.

It felt like a secret resonance, a fateful "side by side". Almost without thinking, he reached out and gently patted Chen Wenwen's head, as if comforting a lost kitten.

"It's okay, it's okay!" His voice unconsciously brightened. "Those people set such weird questions, anyone who passes them would be a freak! If they don't pass, they just won't ask them!"

Chen Wenwen looked up, and a faint, genuine smile finally appeared on her dejected face thanks to his clumsy attempt at comfort.

Lu Mingfei felt a surge of joy; even the sunlight streaming in through the window seemed brighter. So what if they couldn't go abroad? Chen Wenwen wasn't going either! They were still in the same world.

This is probably the most unexpected and precious "reward" he received today.

Of course, the Regent Hotel's ubiquitous surveillance system simultaneously transmitted this brief scene in the corridor, along with the boy's undisguised joy and the girl's shy smile, to the small room next door.

Professor Guderian stroked his chin and smiled meaningfully. He seemed to be talking to himself, yet also to Ye Sheng:

"You know, in the dragon worldview, emotions are considered useless impurities, weaknesses. Pure dragons only pursue power and strength." He paused, turning his gaze from the two young men on the monitor screen to Ye Sheng. "You and Aki don't need to return to the academy yet. Come with me to the Three Gorges."

Ye Sheng was slightly surprised: "The Three Gorges?" He originally thought that the purpose of this trip was simple, but now it seems that there is much more to it than just recruitment.

"The academy has made new discoveries over there." Professor Guderian didn't elaborate, then, as if remembering something, added, "As for Lu Mingfei..."

"Isn't Nono here?" The professor had a "everything is under control" smile on his face. "The principal's original plan was for her to be in charge of the admissions work... We're just here to go through the motions and take care of some other things."

Even Nono didn't know that.