Chapter 7

1

"So, is it really that difficult to find such a big forest?" I was curious, as the forest seemed somewhat familiar to me.

"Well, in the official competition, there will be hints, but for a quick resolution, we will give you a map for each team. The route will be different every day, but the destination will be the same. There are no other specific requirements, as long as there are no fatal injuries. You can do whatever you want. Alright, I will guide you for a while, I'm hungry. Let's go." Principal Gu Fei handed out the maps to our respective leaders and left us here, leisurely.

"Why did the principal leave? Who will be the witness?" Our principal is the most irresponsible.

"Yang, what do you think of this forest?" The president asked, breaking the silence.

"I just think it looks familiar, nothing particularly special about it," I replied.

"You may not feel it now, but this whole forest is within the boundary. Whatever we do, the principal's office knows about it," the president said.

"So, we have no privacy?" I asked.

"Do you have any secrets, Qin Yang?" Zi Si Rou smiled.

"Oh, the Minister of News is interested too?" The president stood in front of me, interrupting Zi Si Rou. His expression seemed a little off.

"Elena, what's with the nervousness? I'm not asking you," I said.

"Qin Yang is a member of our student council. All our secrets are within our protection," Elena said.

"Elena, you can be quite overbearing. I am his..." I started to say.

"Cough cough! It's not like I have any secrets. Let's go in quickly, end the match, and get some rest. Let's go, President," I said, cutting Elena off.

"Wait, what did she say? She is..." the president started.

"No, the president must have misheard," I said.

"That's right, I heard it too," Yao chimed in. You shouldn't have said anything, Yao.

"Yao, you must have misheard as well," I signaled Yao secretly, telling her to change her statement.

"Um, yeah, I must have misheard too," Yao obediently said. It's clear now, if the president keeps questioning, he will eventually discover the truth about my broken engagement with Zi Si Rou, and that will be trouble.

Taking a deep breath, I caught up with the group and entered the forest.

2

Whooosh... Whooosh... The sounds of birds filled the air. Under the dark trees, when I looked up, the lush branches concealed the sunlight, and it was almost impossible to see the path. Luckily, the map projected a three-dimensional image and provided its own light.

A group of ten people walked with the map for over an hour, and finally, we heard the sound of water.

Tesha compared the map and gestured, saying, "That should be the Nixu River ahead."

"Are you sure it's that river?" I approached Tesha and looked at the map in her hands.

"The entire forest is crossed by only one river, and the map clearly marks this river," Tesha pointed to the winding thick line on the map, confirming that there was only one river.

"Wow, then the school emblem should be on the other side of the river, right?"

"Yes, once we cross the river, we should be close to the destination," Tesha said.

"Should we rest by the riverbank and prepare ourselves? On another note, I really want to go fishing," I suggested.

"I object. We should find the school emblem quickly and bring it out before the News Department does," Qi Yong said, unwilling to stay here and showed impatience.

"It doesn't matter. The other side is also resting," the vice president said, gazing into the distance with her icy blue eyes.

"Can your eyes really see a thousand miles away?"

"You're just realizing that? Wherever you go, I can watch you!" The vice president said half-jokingly, with an air of elegance.

Wow, then my freedom is really in jeopardy.

"It's lunchtime, let's rest and replenish our energy," the president balanced the opinions and made the final decision.

"Alright then!" Since the president has spoken, Qi Yong didn't object anymore.

3

"Splash..." Water splashed.

I was quietly fishing by the riverside when suddenly a stone hit the water, scaring away the fish that I had just spotted and was about to catch.

"Lilith, my fish! "

"Yeah, the little fish ran away."

"You scared it away. It took me a while to catch one... Sigh..."

"Splash..." Another stone was thrown into the river.

"Lilith, go play somewhere else, don't scare away my fish."

"Fool, is it my fault that I couldn't catch any fish?"

"Don't blame yourself, then who should I blame?"

"..." The two stared at each other for five minutes and finally said, "I'm scared of you. I'll go downstream."

I picked up my fishing rod and walked to the downstream area, looking for a quieter spot to continue fishing.

"The water in this river is actually not too deep!" Suddenly, the vice president came out from the forest behind me and sat down next to me, looking at the flowing river with a nostalgic tone.

"Probably only about one and a half meters deep, three meters across from the riverbank."

"But back then, it was deep for us."

"Back then? Vice president..."

"Can you call me Li Liu?"

"Li...Li Liu."

"Perhaps you have forgotten, but this is where we first met!" The vice president pointed to the river and smiled.

"This river was here ten years ago? At first, I felt familiar with the entrance, and now I know why."

"Actually, I thought you would always live in this forest. Before you entered the Divine Intelligence, I came here to look for you."

"If I lived here, I would have become a wild person. But didn't you say you could see me wherever I go?"

"Just kidding, how could I see you from so far away? I can only see you because I'm nearby. I can't see beyond one kilometer."

"I see. Actually, you don't have to smile only at me, you can smile at others too."

"Remember our agreement, my smile can only belong to you. That's what we agreed upon, and I can't smile at anyone else."

"Don't you feel tired?"

"I've gotten used to it."

The vice president had gotten used to this kind of life, where not smiling or smiling less seemed more natural.

"I remember back then, you were taken away by a group of masked people. Are you and Zi Sirou okay afterwards?"

"We're fine, why would anything happen? They are part of the royal army, and the Emperor didn't do anything to me. They wouldn't dare; wait, do you know my sister's name?"

"What! No, I don't know." Oops, the vice president actually remembered that they didn't tell me their names back then. How is her brain functioning to remember all that?

"I actually mentioned my sister's name back then. They took us away before I had the chance to tell you her name." The vice president held my arm and asked.

"No, that's not possible. I remember, your sister actually told me her name back then."

"No, that's impossible. We were always together back then. It was you who passed out."

"Qin Yang, why don't you want to reveal our relationship?"

Perhaps the people here walk silently without making any noise, which startled me.

"Sister?"

"What? Zisu Rou, we are from opposing camps. Why are you here?"

"I'm here to visit my fiancé. Is that against the law? Sister, you have always known about Qin Yang and my engagement. He saved you before, and I have no problem sharing a husband with you. But he always hides everything, and that's what I have a problem with."

"Wait, even I just found out yesterday. I wasn't mentally prepared." This is so annoying.

"You weren't prepared in ten years?"

"In these ten years, I thought I had escaped, so I thought this engagement had nothing to do with me. But now that you have caught me, it feels surreal. I feel like everyone knows the truth, and I'm the only one clueless. It's really scary."

The reality proved many things, including the fact that secret love affairs aren't as fun as they seem.......