My Years as the Pure Love Interest at the Noble Academy

Finally, with everyone's efforts, the goose was served on the table.

Murong Huan held a bowl of goose soup in her left hand, containing its most flapping wing, and strutted proudly toward the group of chickens, ducks, and geese.

She exuded confidence, like a triumphant general returning with the head of the enemy leader to flaunt her victory.

Watching Murong Huan's back, Song Yi's mind suddenly popped out a few words: "The queen is back, shining with confidence."

The next second, "Her Majesty" Murong Huan screamed, dropped the bowl in her hand, and ran back wailing. This time, her reaction was quick, as she swiftly closed the door behind her.

Laughter erupted in the room.

Even Hang Feng couldn't hold back, saying, "Can you stop provoking those geese?"

"It's not a goose," Murong Huan leaned against the door, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Then what is it?" Xu Che put down his chopsticks, stood up, and fetched a new bowl for Murong Huan, placing it on the table along with a serving of rice.

Murong Huan enunciated each word, "It's a duck."

"Ducks aren't that aggressive," Song Yi looked at Murong Huan and said, "Alright, come and eat."

Murong Huan quickly sat down next to Song Yi, clinging to her arm for a sense of security. Then she turned to Song Yi and asked curiously, "Yi Yi, you seem to know a lot about these things."

"Not really," Song Yi smiled. "I grew up with my grandparents, and the environment was similar to here. My grandpa used to raise a lot of chickens, ducks, and geese. He loved eating ducks. Every day, they would line up and go to the pond."

Murong Huan found this interesting and pressed, "And then? What happened next?"

Song Yi continued, "One day, the ducks lined up and went to the pond as usual. My grandpa was used to them coming back on their own, but they never returned."

Shen Yujing was also intrigued and asked, "Why?"

"Apparently, someone caught and ate them. Later, my grandpa went to confront the person, but they were poor and couldn't compensate us with money. Instead, they gave us a lot of dates and fish they caught from the pond as an apology." Song Yi's lips curled into a smile as she added, "Back then, I didn't realize how sad my grandpa was. I was just happy because the fish tasted really good."

Quan Le asked curiously, "Are there fish in the pond outside? Can we eat them?"

Before Song Yi could answer, Xu Che looked at her and said, "There's no pond outside, but I know there's a big pond at the village entrance. It's a few minutes' drive away. Do you want to check it out after lunch?"

Song Yi agreed immediately, "Sure."

The others also seemed interested.

Among the group, most of them usually spent their time shopping, gaming all night, or studying. Except for Song Yi, none of them had ever participated in fishing, an activity beloved by the elderly.

So after lunch, everyone pitched in to wash the dishes and clean the yard before preparing to go fishing.

Murong Huan, holding her phone, searched for "Outdoor Fishing Guide" and asked, "Do we need to find some long branches first? And then dig for worms?"

"No need for that trouble," Xu Che said, gesturing for Jiang Yiheng to follow him to the third floor. They returned with all the necessary fishing tools, one set for each person.

After distributing the fishing rods, Xu Che said, "As for buckets, just look around the kitchen and take whatever is suitable."

"Wow," Murong Huan looked at Xu Che with admiration. "You even prepared all this in advance. You're so thoughtful. If it weren't for the saying 'don't eat the grass near your nest,' I might have fallen for someone as considerate as you."

Quan Le's eyes widened in shock as he glanced at Murong Huan, then sarcastically remarked, "Yeah, right. Let's go fishing and maybe use the pond water to take a good look at yourself."

Murong Huan was instantly annoyed. She raised her fishing rod and chased after Quan Le, shouting, "What do you mean by that, Quan Le?"

Quan Le, running away, replied, "Be confident! You don't need to ask me—it's exactly what you're thinking!"

While fleeing, Quan Le bumped into Hang Feng, who was walking toward them, and quickly hid behind him.

Just as Murong Huan's fishing rod was about to swing toward Hang Feng's face, Hang Feng instinctively raised his hand to block it. In the process, the basin of water he was holding accidentally splashed onto Xu Che and Shen Yujing.

Most of the water landed on Xu Che, with just a bit splashing onto Shen Yujing.

But Shen Yujing dramatically spat out, "Pah! Pah! Pah!" and stepped back. As he was about to scold Hang Feng, his arm bumped into a clothesline nearby, causing a hanger to fall and hit Jiang Yiheng on the head. Before it hit the ground, it also struck a chicken nearby.

The chicken, being naturally aggressive (though aimlessly so), squawked and charged forward. In the end, it pecked at Murong Huan's leg.

Murong Huan screamed and immediately let go of her fishing rod, running away. But before she could take two steps, she accidentally stepped on a stone and ended up pulling Quan Le down with her. Both of them fell to the ground, clutching their backs and unable to get up due to the pain in their bottoms.

When Song Yi came out of the restroom, she was met with this chaotic scene.

Everyone looked quite disheveled, with a large rooster proudly strutting among them, its comb held high.

Of course, every time it got close to Murong Huan, it was met with another round of screams.

Song Yi rubbed her eyes and took another look to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Then she asked, "What the hell happened here?"

Everyone: "..."

They really couldn't explain how things had escalated to this point.

Some were holding their sore bottoms, others were changing clothes, and a few were washing their faces.

Half an hour later, the group finally regrouped.

Seeing Murong Huan sitting beside her with a pained expression, Song Yi asked, "Are you okay?"

"Not really," Murong Huan shook her head, one hand supporting the seat to keep her upper body slightly suspended, which made her feel... a little less pain.

As the car started, Quan Le followed behind on his electric scooter.

The entire journey was filled with his screams—

"Ouch! Ouch! This is killing me!"

Song Yi and Shen Yujing burst into laughter, while the others tried to maintain a straight face, though their lips couldn't help but twitch upward.

Compared to Quan Le, Murong Huan quickly forgot her own pain. She laughed heartily, "Quan Le's butt hurts, and he gets carsick too! Riding that scooter is making it even worse! Hahaha!"

After laughing, Murong Huan immediately reached for her phone. She had to record this memorable moment!

So focused on capturing Quan Le's misery, Murong Huan forgot that she was also suffering. When her bottom touched the seat again, she let out a cry, "Ouch! Ouch!"

For the entire ride, Murong Huan insisted on filming Quan Le, even though she was in pain herself. But the thought of Quan Le bouncing around on that scooter, in even more pain than her, made her feel like she could endure anything.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Perhaps this was the legendary "cutting off your nose to spite your face."

Luckily, the drive only took a few minutes. Murong Huan was the first to jump out of the car, clutching her fishing rod as she rushed toward the pond.

Even though she was clearly in pain, she was determined to fish.

If it weren't for fishing, she wouldn't have fallen in the first place, so today she was going to catch the most fish!

By the pond, apart from the group, there were also two elderly men. When they saw Song Yi and the others arriving, they stared intently and even started discussing loudly.

"These kids look quite handsome!"

"Yeah, they definitely look like they're from the city."

"Are they here to fish?"

"Can these youngsters even catch anything?"

...

Song Yi and Hang Feng were the first to get into the groove. After baiting their hooks, they each found a good spot to sit and fish.

Shen Yujing, who didn't know much about fishing, mimicked their actions and sat down about a meter away from Song Yi.

The others also chose their spots one after another.

The two old men's voices rang out again.

"They look like they know what they're doing. Do you think they'll catch anything?"

"It's not that hard. Let's see which kid catches the first fish."

"I bet it'll be that bald boy in black. He looks like my grandson, and my grandson is a great fisherman. He must be just as smart and capable."

Xu Che, who had a buzz cut: "?"

Quan Le shouted, "Bald! Bald! Xu Che is bald!"

Shen Yujing shouted, "Grandson, grandson! Xu Che is the grandson!"

Xu Che: "..."

His hand holding the fishing rod trembled slightly, but on the surface, he tried hard to maintain a calm demeanor.

From Xu Che's understanding of Shen Yujing, the more you engage with someone like him, the more they'll egg you on. It's better to pretend not to...

"Anyway, it can't be the one with the yellow hair. My granddaughter would never associate with someone who dyes their hair all messy like that. What's so good-looking about it?"

The old man's voice rang out again, this time with a hint of disdain, continuing, "And the one with the red hair is no good either. What are these kids even doing?"

Xu Che remained silent.

But compared to Shen Yujing and Murong Huan, at least he was being complimented.

The two old men continued chatting.

"The boy with yellow hair and the girl with red hair, both messing around with their hair like that—are they dating or something?"

"Who knows? I don't understand young people these days. They don't seem to be doing anything serious..."

Shen Yujing, the one with yellow (?) hair: "?"

Murong Huan, the one with red (?) hair: "..."

Shen Yujing asked Song Yi, "What does 'delinquent' mean?"

Song Yi replied, "You look like a troublemaker."

Shen Yujing then asked, "What about 'dating'?"

Song Yi continued to explain, "It means being in a romantic relationship."

"Whoosh—"

Shen Yujing stood up, looking at the two old men across from him, and shouted anxiously, "Hey! Can you stop talking nonsense? What are you even saying? I could call the police, you know? I'll sue you for... slander! Defamation!"

Murong Huan also got worked up, shouting, "Yeah! Can't you two open your eyes and see? I'm so beautiful—who here could possibly match up to me?"

Murong Huan, known for her fiery temper, grabbed her fishing rod and was about to confront the two old men to set the record straight.

Shen Yujing, Jiang Yiheng, Xu Che, and Hang Feng: "..."

Quan Le: "?"

What do you mean no one? What do you mean no one matches up?

The two old men exchanged glances, realizing that Murong Huan was serious about confronting them, and quickly got up to leave.

Of course, they continued muttering as they walked away.

"Kids these days have no respect for their elders."

"We've eaten more salt than they've walked roads. It's really something..."

"In our time, when someone older than you spoke, you listened. These kids nowadays have no manners at all."

"Yeah, they don't even know how to fish properly. Forget it, let's just go."

Murong Huan, furious, shouted after them, "Hey! Don't act all high and mighty just because you're old! What good is eating all that salt? Watch out for high blood pressure!"

After yelling, Murong Huan finally felt a bit better and sat back down to continue fishing.

Five minutes later.

Ten minutes later.

Half an hour later.

Looking at her motionless fishing rod, Murong Huan yawned, her eyes showing a hint of confusion.

She glanced at Quan Le and Jiang Yiheng's buckets, both empty, and breathed a sigh of relief. It's fine, as long as no one else is catching anything...

"I got one! I got one!"

Shen Yujing's cheerful voice rang out as he held up his bucket with a triumphant smile.

Murong Huan's eyes widened in disbelief. No way! Shen Yujing caught a fish before her?

Murong Huan didn't even bother with her own bucket anymore and rushed over to Shen Yujing, asking, "You caught that?"

Shen Yujing proudly replied, "Of course—

not."

He pointed to Song Yi's bucket.

It was one thing not to look, but once she did, Murong Huan was shocked. Song Yi's bucket already had two fish, and with the one in Shen Yujing's bucket, that made three.

Murong Huan then checked Xu Che and Hang Feng's buckets and found that they each had a fish too.

Murong Huan: "!!!"

So it was just the two useless ones sitting next to her!

Seeing Murong Huan's stunned expression, Song Yi explained, "Choosing the right fishing spot and technique is crucial. See how I'm near the water plants? That area has more oxygen, which attracts fish. Also, with the weather being so hot, if the bait is too close to the surface, the fish won't bite because they avoid the heat. So you need to find a shaded spot and cast the bait deeper."

Murong Huan frowned and said, "That sounds great, but I don't get it."

Shen Yujing, for once, sided with Murong Huan, saying, "I don't get it either."

"But it's so sunny," Murong Huan said, pulling her hat down further, feeling like staying out in the sun for so long was pure torture.

Song Yi also raised a hand to shield her eyes from the glaring sunlight.

Xu Che had just caught his second fish and stood up, saying, "This should be enough for us for a couple of days. Let's head back."

"Hooray!" Murong Huan was the first to run to the car.

Shen Yujing took the buckets from Song Yi, carrying one in each hand, and followed her to the car.

By the time they got back, it was still a while before dinner.

Shen Yujing and Xu Che spent some time on the third floor rummaging around and found a few net-like hammocks, which they tied between the trees at the back door.

Thanks to the shade from the trees, it was cool and comfortable, and lying in the hammocks with the breeze felt amazing.

Murong Huan was the first to climb into a hammock and started to relax.

Murong Huan: "Don't wake me up unless the sky is falling."

The others, equally exhausted, also climbed into their hammocks to rest.

Song Yi was no exception. She lay in her hammock, played with her phone for a bit, and soon fell into a peaceful sleep.

But when she woke up again, it was because of Murong Huan's scream.

What now?

Song Yi rubbed her tired eyes and looked in the direction of the noise. Murong Huan was sitting in her hammock, and beneath her, a chicken was pecking at her leg through the net.

Song Yi: "..."

Out of all the people here, the chickens seemed to know that Murong Huan was scared of them and decided to target her.

Song Yi got up, ready to rescue Murong Huan.

But Murong Huan had already jumped out of the hammock and started running. However, after just a few steps, she grabbed one end of another hammock tied to a tree, trying to shake it for help, but accidentally pulled the rope loose.

The unfortunate person in that hammock was Quan Le. As the rope came undone, he fell to the ground with a thud, instinctively reaching back to grab something, only to end up pulling on Shen Yujing's hammock.

Quan Le's hand pressed down uncontrollably, causing Shen Yujing's hammock to spin.

Shen Yujing, caught off guard in his sleep: "?"

"Thud—" Shen Yujing fell face-first onto the ground.

The scene was too brutal to watch, so Song Yi closed her eyes.

The next second, an angry voice erupted, "Who did this? Who's responsible?"

The blond-haired Shen Yujing lifted his head, spat out some dirt, and glared around, his face smeared with mud, looking utterly disheveled.

He immediately picked up a nearby rock and charged at Quan Le, ready to fight.

Quan Le, terrified, took off running, circling the area.

Then, halfway through, Shen Yujing bumped into Xu Che, who was just getting out of his hammock.

The chaos escalated.

Quan Le, running for his life, yelled, "I told you, it wasn't on purpose! Shen Yujing, don't take it so seriously!"

Shen Yujing, hot on his heels, shouted back, equally miserable, "If you'd just look back for a second, you'd see it's not me chasing you! It's Xu Che who won't let me go!!!"

In the midst of the chaos, someone even threw a clump of mud at them.

After some careful deduction, Shen Yujing reasonably suspected it was Jiang Yiheng.

Jiang Yiheng: "?"

His objection was ignored, and he was dragged into the fray, making the situation even more chaotic.

Meanwhile, Murong Huan remained trapped in a corner, surrounded by chickens, screaming for help to no avail.

Perhaps this is what they mean when they say human joys and sorrows are not interconnected.