26

"The first place is Ruo Chen. Ruo Chen please down to the field!" The principal said with a lively tone as he scanned the crowds. He was a tall and slender man that looked to be around his early 30s. His hair was white and his grey eyes were sharp.

The principal's name as said in the earlier introduction was Liu Yu Chen and he is incredibly powerful even among the elites. His bright and cheery attitude was just a front to hide his true nature but that did not make him a bad principal. He does care about his students and was only a bit off at times.

Xiao Pang had told Ruo Chen about those facts of the principal before they had set for the journey to the school. Ruo Chen was excited to see him in person but unfortunately, he has landed himself in the hospital.

Everyone looked around eagerly to look for anyone standing up in the stands but even after a few more seconds, no one stood up. This would not have happened if Mu Yang, who was currently taking a nap after the investigation, did not forget to tell the principal that Ruo Chen was actually injured and in the hospital!

Liu Yu Chen had already sensed that something was wrong and a vein bulged on his forehead, he was going to teach Mu Yang a lesson this time. Like the saying all roads lead to Rome, all problems lead to Mu Yang. Yet they still entrusted him with important things as all the staff knew that he was reliable, just incredibly lazy and forgetful.

"I've just received a message and Ruo Chen is currently injured and is unable to make it so lets move on to the second place winner, Ye Ran!" Liu Yu Chen carried on the ceremony smoothly as he brought everyone's attention to the next winner.

Once again, heads turned and expectations rose as they looked around to see the other person who beat Ming Yue in the ranking. This Ming Yue was popular among a certain group of participants that lived in the same province as him and word eventually spread around as the trial went on. It was just that Ruo Chen and Ye Ran knew nobody else here and missed out on this. 

Sage was in the stands with a worried look on her face, she too was shocked like Ye Ran when she found out that Ruo Chen had gotten first but concern soon washed over her when she heard the principal say that he was in the hospital.

She decided to leave the stadium and go to the hospital to check on Ruo Chen was doing. After all, they were not total strangers and as a teenager with all those thoughts about finding their true love, her feelings had already sprouted for him.

The moment she stood up, everyone turned to look at her before they started to scoff. The name was obviously for a boy and yet a beautiful girl stood up instead. Sage put on an apologetic look on her face as she practically flew out of the exit.

"What's going on? Both of them are not here?" An impatient participant from the stands complained as he looked around. Others agreed and they started complaining louder and louder.

Liu Yu Chen bit his lip as another vein bulged on his forehead. He was going to make sure that Mu Yang won't be able to walk for a while after the 'talk' they would be having after this ceremony.

Said person who was napping in the break room sneezed twice before mumbling nonsense then going back to sleep.

"Eh hm... Since they both are absent, let's invite the third place winner, Ming Yue!" Liu Yu Chen gritted out as he clapped his hands, he knew of Ming Yue as he looked through the list of participants back in his office and had also expected him to get first.

Ming Yue stood up from the back stands of the stadium and everyone immediately flung their heads to his direction. What beheld them did not disappoint.

He had striking features and an effortless charm. His black hair was short and although not styled in any particular way, it did not make him look any less handsome. His black eyes were dark like the abyss yet it did not seem threatening due to his baby face. Just like Ye Ran, he still had baby fat on his face.

Ming Yue walked at a steady pace to the field while everyone clapped for him, his face expressionless but if one looked closely, there was displeasure in his dark eyes.

The prize was kept a secret from the crowd and it must have been good as Ming Yue's face lit up for a moment when the principal told him what the prize was. The ceremony continued until the 10th place before it ended with a dance performed by the local village girls.

Their movements were fluid and smooth, each movement captivated the audience and their expressions were clear and gentle. Some boys had faint blushes dusting their cheeks while the girls looked on in awe as each of the dancers turns and steps were like poetry in motion. 

While it was a lively atmosphere in the stadium, it was the complete opposite in the hospital.

Ye Ran felt his heart drop when he saw the mummy looking Ruo Chen. He was bandaged from the neck down and his face was pallid. Ye Ran's heart was in turmoil at this sight as he clenched his fists on the bedsheet, he wanted to find the culprit behind the collapse of the cave, the person who forced Ruo Chen into a corner.

But for now, Ye Ran felt weak in his legs and he slumped into the chair next to the bed. He slowly reached for Ruo Chen's hand that was covered in bandages, only for him to stop halfway before extending it again. This happened for a few more times before he finally steeled himself and held the cold, pale hand.

He had the urge to utter some words of comfort and before he could say something to the unconscious patient, he heard the door creak open and Ye Ran acted on instinct as he prepared a blast in his free hand.

"Who's there!" Ye Ran watched the person peeking their head through the small gap like a predator and saw that it was a familiar face.

"You?" He vaguely remembered her face and thus he dispelled the attack but he did not remove his gaze from the girl.

The girl was Sage who had abandoned the ceremony to make her way to the hospital and she meekly stepped into the room under the threatening gaze of Ye Ran. She recognized Ye Ran as the 'heartbroken lover' and let herself get a bit more bold.

"I'm Sage and when I just wanted to check up on him." Sage walked to the bed and when she was a few steps away, she was forced to stop as a barrier appeared in front of her. She frowned at this and before she could retort, the barrier increasingly grew in size and she was forced out of the room.

Sage stood outside in disbelief at the actions of Ye Ran. Ye Ran had done this as he was not sure who the culprit was and wanted to keep everyone away as a precaution. Sage did not have a summarised story of what happened and found Ye Ran's behaviour rude and uncalled for.

She was not going to back down just because of a barrier and although she did not know how to break it, she was going to try all the methods she knew. Ye Ran sensed Sage attacking his barrier and his eyebrows twitched despite himself as he supplied more energy into the barrier, making it thicker and more steady.

If the attacks from before could shake the barrier slightly, now the attacks was akin to a twig thrown at a great wall. Sage grew annoyed at this and hurried away to get an instructor but the barrier disappeared before she left. She thought that Ye Ran must have relented seeing her desperate attempts to see Ruo Chen and thus let her in, but to her surprise, she saw Ye Ran carrying the bandaged Ruo Chen in his arms jumping out of the window.

Sage was stunned for a moment before she ran to the window to see Ye Ran flying using his energy back to the dorms. 

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Sage screamed into the air as she watched Ye Ran fly further and further away. She turned her heel to find an instructor as that must not be safe for such a heavily injured person to be brought out of the hospital and she was worried sick even if she and Ruo Chen only met for a day.

Any stranger would be alarmed to see an injured patient flying in the air right after being treated!