Gu Mingze was rather good-looking, with regular features, but he wasn't striking enough to stand out in a crowd. He could easily be lost among people.
Not only that, but his grades in all subjects were the absolute last. Gu Zitan understood that if it weren't for his sake, Gu Mingze would have been expelled from school long ago.
Gu Mingze had never allowed his family to rest easy since childhood, and he was a headache for his elder brother. Gu Mingze seemed to have been born for the word "unruly." Among so many subjects, only Chinese and English were top-notch. For other subjects, he could guess all the wrong answers. That was truly a skill.
Furthermore, he didn't study at all, constantly spacing out. He looked like a child with underdeveloped intellect.
However, there was an unexpected surprise. Gu Zitan discovered that his younger brother's physical functions were actually more than twice as good as those of ordinary people. Although it was still a bit short of a Dragon Knight, it was enough to meet the minimum requirements for a warrior.
If he couldn't achieve much, being able to hold onto a stable job for life would be good.
As expected, Gu Mingze's personality didn't appeal to any of the dragons, and he was the worst among the Junyao.
But it didn't matter. Gu Zitan felt he had done his best to support his brother, yet he didn't expect his brother to remain so troublesome.
On this particular noon, under the scorching sun, his slender brother Gu Mingze stood in the sunlight, about to leave with a woman? The Gu family had been neutral for generations. Wouldn't Gu Mingze's actions now be considered taking a side?
Not just Gu Zitan, but Bai Cha was also silent for a long time. Even if she didn't care about gossip, she had to consider the balance between factions. If Gu Mingze, representing the neutral faction, joined the Shadow faction, and the balance of the neutral faction was disrupted, it would be a big problem.
"Gu Mingze, your Gu family has been neutral for generations, and you are the second young master of the Gu family." Bai Cha sighed and patted Gu Mingze's shoulder.
As she patted him, Bai Cha paused again. There were fine beads of sweat on Gu Mingze's neck.
It was known that everyone admitted to the Dragon Knight Academy had top-tier physical conditions, except for Gu Zitan, whose physique was a bit round. Others wouldn't feel anything even if it was a bit hot or cold. Yet Gu Mingze was sweating from the heat?
With such a physique, let alone joining the Shadow faction, how did he even get into Junyao Academy? Did he use his brother's connections again?
"I can leave the family." To Bai Cha's surprise, Gu Mingze seemed determined, stiffening his neck with a stubborn look. "I can do menial tasks like serving tea and water... Or you can just beat me back into a normal person? I remember the Shadow faction has a right to choose."
Bai Cha: "..."
That right to choose was only before the age of twelve, and you're already twenty, old man.
"Aren't you embarrassing your brother by doing this?" Bai Cha glanced at Gu Zitan's expression, which was as dark and round as the bottom of a black pot, making Bai Cha twitch her eyes. "Even if I don't care about outsiders' opinions, we can't completely disregard the other major families."
Hearing this, Gu Zitan's face darkened further. Did her words imply that Bai Cha was not accepting Gu Mingze out of respect for him? Was it appropriate to say this in front of everyone?
It seemed like she was giving him face, but also not really.
She gave a little face, but not much.
"Moreover, even serving tea and water can be fatal. A hundred years ago, the Bai family's mansion was reduced to ruins by an enemy attack, and thirteen servants lost their lives together. That's why the Bai family no longer accepts servants." Bai Cha shook her head and sighed softly. "Someone like you wouldn't even be able to escape if danger struck."
"Mingze! Stop messing around and come back." Gu Zitan could no longer hold back, his face darkening as he reprimanded. This was truly embarrassing.
"I don't want to!" Gu Mingze ran his hand through his hair, looking dejected, and as if he had given up on himself, he shouted, "I don't want to be a Dragon Knight! I don't want to be a warrior, not at all!"
Silence descended.
The Gu family had been soldiers for generations, and suddenly one of them declared in public that he didn't want to be a warrior.
At this point, even Bai Cha felt awkward for Gu Zitan. She couldn't let Gu Zitan be put in an even more difficult position. If Gu Mingze asked her for help, she could certainly assist, but joining the Shadow faction...
Suddenly, Bai Cha felt a coolness in her ear. She turned her head and saw Cang Liu. Cang Liu's eyes seemed different from usual. Bai Cha rarely saw Cang Liu with an expression of urgency.
Everyone was silent, but Cang Liu whispered something into Bai Cha's ear. Bai Cha's expression immediately changed, and she turned her gaze back to Gu Mingze, then whispered something to Cang Liu.
After a few minutes, Bai Cha looked up again, and Gu Zitan's heart also tensed.
"Gu Mingze, what are you trying to do?" Bai Cha's gaze seemed to become more serious. "Or do you simply not know what you want to do, and are just trying to run away from home?"
Gu Mingze lowered his head, remaining silent.
He was actually quite simple. He didn't have a heroic complex or anything he was particularly passionate about. He missed the balcony where he often spent his childhood. He used to lean on the balcony, counting the climbing ivy opposite, feeling the breeze and the sun, thinking nothing.
He didn't want to be blamed by his parents for not being as good as his brother, didn't want to be stared at with his brother's blaming eyes, and didn't want to be ordered around by classmates.
Perhaps being a loser for life was also good. He didn't like anyone, only his small balcony, staying alone, and occasionally going downstairs to skim magazines.
Alright, he admitted it, he was a good-for-nothing, a standard slacker, incapable of doing anything.
"Alright, you can."
The pleasant voice was like a lark in the valley, meandering for a while before suddenly hitting Gu Mingze's eardrums, echoing and making Gu Mingze feel a bit dizzy.
He looked in surprise at the incredibly beautiful girl in front of him, whom he dared not look at directly. He lowered his head after just one glance.
"Mmm... forget it, I don't know how to do anything." Gu Mingze scratched his head, suddenly deflated. He had been as stubborn as a mule earlier, unwilling to give up until he hit a wall, but now that someone had taken a step back, Gu Mingze's frenzied mind calmed down.
He might just be an adolescent boy, wanting to fight to the death like a madman, but neglecting that everyone else was a normal person who wouldn't play such a childish game with him.
"I didn't say you could join. I said, I agree to let you stay here temporarily." Bai Cha crossed her arms and glanced at Gu Zitan. "At least here, no one will beat you up for fun."
Gu Mingze tugged at his hair, feeling like he was going to pull it all out. He wasn't stupid; he could tell Bai Cha was subtly mocking his brother for not taking care of him. But he felt that his brother bringing him to Junyao was already a great favor.
Although it wasn't what he wanted.
"Then, then I can cook." After a long while, Gu Mingze mumbled something he himself found embarrassing. He wished he could dig a hole and disappear. He felt like his entire life was spent embarrassing himself, from birth until now.
"That's perfect, Mr. Gu Mingze. If you can cook, I believe you will help us share the pressure." Lucifer smiled gently, his smile a bit insincere, like the smiling etiquette ladies at shop entrances whose smiles were all calculated and silent.
But Gu Mingze didn't care; he just wanted to escape.
This farce finally concluded with Gu Mingze leaving with Bai Cha. The crowd erupted in chatter. Gu Zitan's face was grim. No matter how magnanimous and amiable he was, today's events had caused him too much loss of face, and he left with a flick of his sleeve.
Dormitory area.
As Bai Cha and the others entered the small villa, Lucifer and Cang Liu quickly closed all doors and windows and drew the curtains.
"Cang Liu, is what you said true?" Upon entering the living room, Bai Cha looked at Cang Liu with a grim expression. "Resonates with the鲛珠? Isn't he human?"
鲛珠?
As soon as this was said, Meng Qinghuan suddenly understood why Bai Cha had so readily agreed.
The 鲛珠 is the contract pearl of the Sea Dragon, the power of the Sea Dragon. Only by resonating with the Sea Dragon can one possess the 鲛珠. It is said that when a merman sheds tears that form pearls, they are priceless, but only mermaids who resonate with a Sea Dragon and possess a 鲛珠 can shed tears that form pearls.
And Gu Mingze, no matter how you looked at him, didn't seem like a merman. Merfolk had lived underwater for thousands of years, unable to leave the water, except for the single one who resonated with a Sea Dragon every thousand years.
Cang Liu nodded, not saying much, and directly took Gu Mingze's hand.
Gu Mingze was startled. If a beautiful girl had shaken his hand, he might have been overjoyed, but what was this about two grown men shaking hands? Just as he was about to pull away, he was met with a calm glance from Cang Liu.
That glance seemed as unfathomable as the cold, deep sea, piercingly cold, oppressive, and calm, making Gu Mingze lose the thought of resisting for a moment.
When Gu Mingze came to his senses, he found Bai Cha's gaze had also become serious. At this moment, Cang Liu was holding his wrist and displaying his palm to everyone.
Gu Mingze's palm had no marks and was of a normal skin tone, which surprised everyone.
Cang Liu, as a merman, constantly emitted an aura of several degrees below zero, like a refrigerated room. Even Bai Cha, after holding Cang Liu's hand for a while, would have her hands turn pale from the cold.
Bai Cha sat on the sofa and looked at Gu Mingze intently. "Are you cold? Do you feel anything else?"
"Huh? Not cold." Gu Mingze was bewildered.
What other feelings? What feelings could there be between men shaking hands? It wasn't like shaking hands with a big-breasted girl, where his heart might flutter. Gu Mingze didn't understand.
Bai Cha picked up her teacup and took a sip of water, falling into thought.
Could her previous guess have been wrong? Perhaps the prophesied "flood dragon" wasn't a merman, but could it be a human? Bai Cha didn't believe Gu Mingze could be the prophesied "flood dragon" for a hundred reasons.
It wasn't that Bai Cha was prejudiced against Gu Mingze. Even if Gu Mingze were a beggar picking through trash, Bai Cha wouldn't feel any aversion. However, the few people mentioned in the prophecy were a bit chuunibyo, and they were all destined to save the world. Based on Gu Mingze, the world would probably be saved from him.
"The Gu family's totem is the Qilin. The gap between the Qilin and the flood dragon is too vast," Bai Cha mused.
If she couldn't contact the World Tree, she would definitely ask for clarification. Even if saving the world was urgent, they couldn't just pick someone to send to their death. If the chosen one of prophecy was truly Gu Mingze, that would be no different from sending him to his death.
"And isn't the flood dragon you?" Bai Cha looked at Cang Liu, frowning. "I remember when you first came to find me, didn't you say you were the flood dragon?"
"Yes, the flood dragon is me." Cang Liu nodded calmly. "Gu Mingze is not the flood dragon, but it's rare for him to have a connection with the 鲛珠. As long as I am here, he can move freely underwater because of the 鲛珠."
Therefore, even if he couldn't become the "flood dragon," he would be a useful tool for underwater investigations in the future. Cang Liu had already pledged allegiance to Bai Cha, so he wouldn't send talent to others.
Gu Mingze didn't understand. He could only stand there foolishly. The entire hall fell silent. Everyone frowned, as if deep in thought, especially Bai Cha, whose frowning gaze made him feel a chill down his spine.
Gu Mingze didn't know how long this silence lasted, only feeling incredibly awkward. As usual, he was like a piece of duckweed, aimlessly drifting with the current, unsure of where to go.
There was the scent of aromatherapy in the room, something Lucifer had lit at some point. Meng Qinghuan sat on a small sofa, holding a blue and white porcelain tea set. The porcelain spoon made a strange sound, scraping against the inner wall of the teacup with a bizarre rhythm.
"Gu Mingze, please sit down."
In a daze, Bai Cha's voice seemed to carry a distant spatial quality, causing Gu Mingze to lose the ability to think and mechanically sit opposite Bai Cha.