Chapter 2:Blades And Blossoms.
Mei Xuan shushed everyone who had been murmuring in reaction to the new boy in the group. She introduced all the members to him one by one before getting into the agenda of the meeting.
"As you all know today we're starting a new book,Blades And Blossoms. It's a martial arts romance novel. I hope you've all read it,"she paused looking around at everyone to confirm her assumption,"Oh Xu Wen have you read the book?"
"Yes. Kai told me about it two days ago and I finished reading it last night,"he revealed with a smug smile.
"Huh?!" the other members gasped in shock.
"You finished all 1100 pages in two days ?"He Ling asked mesmerized by the revelation.
"Yes,"Xu Wen nodded still smiling smugly.
"Yuqi here is the fastest reader here but she finished it in five days."
Speaking of Chen Yuqi,Xu Wen shifted his gaze towards her but the girl kept looking down slightly fidgeting on her seat now that her crush's attention was on her. She didn't want others to find out but she could barely act normal around him.
"Xu Wen by the way,Yuqi is in the same class as you. Do you know her?"He Ling probed further oblivious to the others' glares.
"Let's have a look at the novel. He Ling you can ask him questions later ,"Mei Xuan cut her off to Chen Yuqi's relief. Thank God the attention had finally been shifted from her.
Blades and Blossom was a popular ancient Chinese oriented novel set in Dihuang Continent,a land of heros and heroines.The story revolved around Liu Yihan,the heroine in the story,the most beautiful girl as well as a skilled martial artist from Xiuhua Sect,Baili Ming,one of the male protagonists,a conventional hero from Jinyan Sect and Changsun Yue,the second male protagonist ,also from Jinyan Sect. Together with others they joined a quest to find the lost Imperial treasures. As they explored different places of the continent in search of the treasures ,they encountered all the vicissitudes revolving the life of mortals.
With their blossoming feelings, relationships were formed and bonds were strengthened but at the end of the day,love became the biggest trial in their lives where Liu Yihan is stuck in a dilemma to choose between Baili Ming and Changsun Yue. In the end she chose Baili Ming,the one everyone considered to be right for her.
"Baili Ming is such a good hero. He's kind and polite to everyone no wonder Liu Yihan ended up with him,"Rong Xin commented smiling dreamily.
"He's everyone's crush. Even the Imperial princess wanted to court him,"Sun Zhenzhen added squealing excitedly.
"But Changsun Yue is also popular,"He Ling argued.
"Changsun Yue is a villain. He loves scaring girls and always kills without giving a second thought . He usually demanded to be repayed everytime he helped someone. And also he was from that evil Xueying Sect ,"Rong Xin argued back.
"You're right,"He Ling agreed.
Everyone was given a chance to express their thoughts about the novel under discussion,to name their favourite characters and criticize the ones they didn't like. Up till now most of the girls were rooting for Baili Ming,the selfless hero who put the world's well being before his own being.
"Yuqi who are you rooting for?"Mei Xuan's voice broke her out of her trance. Chen Yuqi had been zoning out since her crush stepped in the room. She gulped hard realizing everyone's attention was on her.
"What were you asking?"Chen Yuqi asked pretending not to have heard the question just to buy enough time to compose herself.
"If you were the heroine who would you have chosen? Baili Ming or Changsun Yue?"Mei Xuan reframed the question.
"I prefer Changsun Yue. He's not necessarily a villain he's more like an antihero. We can't name him as a villain because he's from Xueying Sect ,we don't choose where we want to be born and when he learnt the Xueying Sect techniques it was to save those dear to him. When Liu Yihan was deemed the primary suspect in the massacre of Carefree Village,Baili Ming didn't hesitate to throw her in the dungeon and even tortured her to show others he was investigating..."
"But Yihan didn't blame him,"Zhao Lixue interrupted.
"Even if she didn't blame he should have shown even the little bit of trust in her. It was Changsun Yue who broke into the prison to save her and declared he'd burn the whole world for her. Although Changsun Yue wasn't a conventional hero he was a hero in his own. I don't want someone who'd sacrifice me to save the whole world. So I think the ending the writer gave to Changsun Yue was unfair to him,"Chen Yuqi spoke passionately.
"Wow,"Huang Kai cooed at Chen Yuqi's romantic explanation.
"I'm also rooting for Changsun Yue,"Xu Wen suddenly spoke up earning everyone's surprised look.
"Xu Wen are you saying that because perhaps you're a bad boy and not a conventional hero?"Huang Kai teased him and the others chuckled lightly in reaction.
"It's true. I'm not a good boy,"Xu Wen admitted in a low sultry voice,his lips curving into a mischievous smile .
"Xu Wen you're so handsome,"He Ling complimented him all of a sudden and the others groaned at her baby voice in annoyance.
"This is not a flirting session."
"It's the truth. If you were the Changsun Yue guy and I was the heroine I'd also change my mind and choose you,"She continued flirting shamelessly. The others made gagging sounds showing they were disgusted by her words.
Chen Yuqi was more than happy her crush sided with her. Her heart raced with each passing second, excitement blooming inside her. During the session she bit her lower lip to suppress her smiles. She felt like she had won the lottery. With Xu Wen around ,the bookclub session felt livelier than before. With the debate session between fans of Baili Ming and Changsun Yue,the members bickered at each other,none of them backing down from showing off the good qualities of their preferred characters.
Chen Yuqi couldn't remember the last time the members were active like that during their sessions. After the bookclub session,they headed out together when Huang Kai suggested a welcoming dinner for their new member. They walked to a nearby restaurant and settled down on one of the tables and ordered lots of delicacies.
"Ouch!"Chen Yuqi hissed in pain as the steam burnt her fingers while they were preparing the hotpot.
"Let me help,"Xu Wen who was seated beside her offered taking the chopsticks from her. Not only was she seated beside him but also had the opportunity to sniff his heavenly scent at a closer distance. She sneakily stared at his insane side profile while he was busy mixing the contents in the hotpot. After everything was ready,they all ate to their heart's content and drank a few drinks before leaving for home.
******
When Chen Yuqi returned to her apartment she was exhausted yet it was the best day of her life. Although she had been nervous the whole time,the giddy feeling she felt being in the same proximity as her crush was undeniably too good. Xu Wen kept them entertained throughout the dinner just like he did during the book club session. He and Huang Kai made the perfect source of entertainment duo.
Chen Yuqi kicked the shoes off her feet and locked the door. She threw her bag on the floor and plopped herself on the couch to take a rest before freshening up. Without knowing it she was in deep slumber.