Chapter 230
Chapter 230
“If they were invited as guests, why should they be asked to leave the ball simply because of a few words from someone else?”
A woman’s voice suddenly came from the crowd.
Qin Nan had been about to speak up himself. Surprised that someone had beaten him to it, he turned toward the voice, as did everyone else instinctively.
It was Zhou Jingying.
She wore clothing covered in patches, yet her bearing made it impossible to associate her with some impoverished, pitiable girl.
“And who are you?” the Queen of the Kingdom of Gentlemen demanded. As she spoke, her gaze landed on the basket in Zhou Jingying’s hand, and she cried out, “The poor girl who sells matches?”
“Good heavens, what kind of dreadful ball is this?”
Zhou Jingying’s expression did not change. “If you find this ball so dreadful, then you should leave instead of driving others away.”
She turned to the Steward. “Since we were invited here and accepted that invitation, you have no right to ask us to leave unless we have caused offense. Otherwise, if any guest may have another expelled merely by expressing dislike, may I now demand that other guests leave as well?”
“I am the Queen of the Kingdom of Gentlemen. What are you?” the woman interrupted.
Zhou Jingying laughed softly. “Queens and princesses from many kingdoms are present. Your status may be nobler than mine, but it is not necessarily nobler than everyone’s. If someone of higher rank than you ordered you to leave right now, would you have to obey?”
Then Zhou Jingying addressed the surrounding guests. “Imagine arriving here in high spirits, only for a complete stranger to appear without warning, point at you, and demand that you leave. You have done nothing wrong, but their status happens to exceed yours. Would you accept that? Would you ever dare attend a ball like this again?”
Her words set the nearby guests whispering among themselves.
Qin Nan had already wanted to help. Seeing his opportunity, he remarked coolly from the side, “If you don’t want people to come, don’t invite them. Inviting guests only to throw them out afterward–is that any way to treat them? I think we should seriously reconsider whether we want to remain at such an unpleasant ball.”
The Steward was quickly persuaded.
He turned toward the Queen of the Kingdom of Gentlemen. “My apologies. They are our guests, and unless they have done something wrong, we cannot agree to ask them to leave.”
“You! If you refuse to throw them out, I will withdraw from this ball right now,” the woman persisted.
Mu Xin scoffed. “Who do you think you are? Is the whole world supposed to revolve around you? If you want to leave, hurry up and go. Stop wasting everyone’s time.”
The Steward continued smiling at the Queen. “My apologies, guest.”
“Fine! Very well!” She was clearly enraged. Whatever she truly thought, she swept her sleeve aside and stormed away.
Once the instigator left, the people who had been shouting along with her quickly dispersed. The Steward stepped in at the right moment to smooth things over, and everyone went their separate ways. The Steward soon departed as well.
Qin Weiyi walked over to Zhou Jingying.
He wanted to thank her, but he could not speak and did not know sign language. He could only pat Lu Jing, then point toward Zhou Jingying.
For once, Lu Jing’s mind was working. He immediately understood. “You want to thank her?”
Qin Weiyi nodded.
Lu Jing turned to Zhou Jingying. “Thank you for what you did just now. Something seems to have happened to our Xiao Qin. He isn’t mute, but he seems to have lost the ability to speak.”
Qin Weiyi: “…”
There had been no need to emphasize that last part.
Zhou Jingying smiled gently. “There’s no need. Since we’re all Players, we should help each other whenever it’s within our power.” Looking at Qin Weiyi, she added with a smile, “My son is about your age. Every time I look at you, I feel as though I’m seeing him.”
Qin Weiyi: “???”
First Lu Jing wanted to be his father, and now another woman wanted to be his mother?
Even if she was an internationally acclaimed actress, Qin Weiyi had no desire to accept that.
After speaking, Zhou Jingying turned to Lu Jing and reminded him, “His condition is probably an effect of the fairy tale. The Sea Princess traded his voice to regain his legs.”
“You doing okay?” Qin Nan had come over as well and patted Qin Weiyi on the shoulder.
Qin Weiyi turned and stared expressionlessly at him.
Could his current condition possibly qualify as okay?
Qin Nan did not know precisely what Qin Weiyi meant to convey, but he could more or less guess his mood. He patted Qin Weiyi’s shoulder sympathetically again. “You can only blame yourselves for having too many Points.”
Qin Weiyi’s face went numb.
So this was his fault?
Jian Fan did not waste time on such nonsense. He addressed Qin Weiyi directly. “From now on, stay with us.”
Qin Weiyi could not communicate with Lu Jing in his present state, and Lu Jing was not much of a thinker. If they encountered danger again, they could not count on someone else coincidentally appearing to rescue them.
Naturally, Qin Weiyi did not refuse.
He nodded.
“Looks like we may keep running into situations where someone tries to have us thrown out of the ball,” Yellow Hair said.
They had originally assumed this challenge concerned only clothing. Lu Jing had already fallen into that trap, so they expected few problems afterward. Yet Qin Weiyi and Lu Jing had done nothing before someone came after them. Similar incidents would probably occur again.
Of course, given the connection to Points, Qin Weiyi, Lu Jing, and the other high scorers would most likely be the ones targeted.
Qin Weiyi had reached the same conclusion, and his expression grew even more numb.
He regretted everything now.
He should have spent his Points earlier.
Before they understood enough about the Realm of Death, accumulating Points had indeed caused the difficulty of clearing worlds to soar. Take the present situation: he was not in danger for now, but if something else happened, he might be able to do nothing except depend on Jian Fan and the others.
Trusting one’s teammates was part of belonging to a team. Being capable of nothing but relying on them was absolutely unacceptable.
Qin Weiyi silently resolved that for the rest of this world, whenever Points could improve his circumstances, he would not begrudge the expense.
It might hurt, but staying alive mattered more.
He wondered how Qi Shuping had ever managed to accumulate ten thousand Points. Just thinking about it made Qin Weiyi envious.
Just then–
The lighting throughout the ballroom changed. Moments ago it had been bright enough for ordinary illumination, but now it dimmed and softened, shifting in time with the music.
The new lighting would make Qin Nan and the others’ investigation much more difficult.
At the same time, a young woman in a white princess gown stepped onto the raised platform.
She smiled at the assembled guests. “Welcome, everyone, to the ball I have arranged. Now, please enjoy this delightful evening. And please–don’t be the one person at the ball who refuses to fit in.”
Her tone was playful, but that final warning…
Qin Nan felt his scalp prickle.
Was the Realm of Death about to cause trouble again?