The Silly Prince Successfully Cancels the Engagement, But the Fiancée is His Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Bombing

After the Clear Snow Festival, the general mood was somewhat low, as many students were disappointed they hadn’t managed to exchange gifts with Bai Qing.

However, they also knew clearly that Bai Qing didn’t care about the festival at all; he hadn’t even prepared a gift.

Today’s morning class was a general education lecture. As expected, Xiang Zhuo made a high-profile return.

Many people gathered around him, asking questions and offering greetings. Xiang Zhuo remained polite, replying to everyone, but kept his responses cool, terminating the conversation within a sentence or two for each person.

Suddenly, the buzz of discussion quieted down. Xiang Zhuo subconsciously looked up and instantly held his breath.

Bai Qing was bundled up tightly, only exposing a pair of beautiful blue eyes that seemed to hold moisture and a reddish nose tip. He appeared silently at the classroom door.

Xiang Zhuo abandoned all concern for others, leaving the crowd behind. Like an excited large dog, he smiled and jogged toward Bai Qing.

“Morning, Bai Qing.”

As he ran over, he seemed to bring all the circulating heat with him. The ambient temperature around him rose by $0.5^circtext{C}$ with his arrival.

Bai Qing lifted his eyes: “Morning.”

It was then he noticed that Xiang Zhuo was not lightly injured.

When Xiang Zhuo ran over just now, he seemed hesitant to put weight on his left leg, and he avoided large movements with his right arm. A piece of gauze was taped to his cheek, still oozing blood underneath.

If even the Royal family, with their advanced medical resources, could only heal Xiang Zhuo’s injuries to this extent, then his latest venture must have been a near-death experience.

Bai Qing looked like he wanted to speak but paused: “Your injuries…”

Xiang Zhuo dismissed it casually: “It’s nothing, just minor injuries. Is the new communicator easy to use?”

Bai Qing untied his scarf as he spoke: “Thank you, it works very well.”

In the motion of unwrapping the scarf, Xiang Zhuo, with his incredibly sensitive sense of smell, instantly caught the cool, green scent of sandalwood. When he sniffed again carefully, the sandalwood scent had subtly changed to a creamy, sweet sandalwood.

Xiang Zhuo’s earlobes were slightly flushed. He uncomfortably touched his neck: “I’m glad you’re used to it…”

As Bai Qing moved, a faint, fragmented sparkle of light from his wrist peeked out from his sleeve.

Bai Qing was wearing the communicator and using it normally. The spot he had previously rubbed with his finger was now pressed tightly against Bai Qing’s skin…

Realizing this, Xiang Zhuo felt immense satisfaction.

Bai Qing slowly pulled out a small, exquisite box from his pocket: “Your Giant Forest Pioneer medal. His Majesty the King temporarily entrusted it to me. I’m returning it to you today.”

…

When Xiang Zhuo sat back down in his seat, still smiling, the people who had surrounded him looked strangely at each other. They gradually dispersed.

As they left, they huddled together, whispering:

“Didn’t they say the engagement was broken off? It doesn’t look like it…”

“Who knows? Doesn’t His Highness still have a ‘White Moonlight’ in his heart?”

“Yeah, he broke off the engagement specifically for that ‘White Moonlight’.”

“If he ends up with the ‘White Moonlight’, what will happen to our Bai Qing?”

In a flash, they reached a silent consensus. Their current silence seemed all the more loaded with meaning, and they all saw the capital letters “SCUMBAG” reflected in each other’s eyes.

Ye Sheng was the last to arrive, rushing into the classroom just minutes before class started. Panting heavily, he immediately saw Xiang Zhuo sitting diagonally behind Bai Qing, beaming with a smile, his eyes practically glued to Bai Qing.

Ye Sheng walked up to Bai Qing’s seat, instinctively teasing: “Your Highness, you’re back! Coming back at such a crucial time—was it to spend the Clear Snow Festival with your ‘White Moonlight’?”

The moment Ye Sheng’s words fell, the surrounding whispers instantly ceased. Everyone secretly perked up their ears, quietly waiting for Xiang Zhuo’s answer.

Since it was just before class, it was already quiet. Ye Sheng’s startling question made the huge classroom so silent that one could almost hear breathing.

Bai Qing’s hand, which was turning a page, suddenly stopped.

He wasn’t overly concerned with Xiang Zhuo’s answer. He quietly rubbed the Tear of Divine Compassion embedded in the center of his communicator and lowered his eyelids.

The unique love was right there on his wrist.

His eyelashes were so thick that when he lowered his lids, the silvery-white fringe almost obscured half of his eyes.

However, he was a little curious about how Xiang Zhuo would answer.

After all… even the maids at Stunken Palace knew that the Crown Prince had a certain “White Moonlight” he couldn’t have.

The smile on Xiang Zhuo’s face didn’t change. His eyes slowly fixed on Ye Sheng: “Where did you hear that rumor?”

Ye Sheng was confused: “How is that a rumor? Doesn’t everyone know that?”

Xiang Zhuo: “I do have someone I’ve always liked… I came back this time because I wanted to see him more, but he doesn’t know yet. You shouldn’t spread rumors.”

Ye Sheng didn’t take it seriously: “Who would I tell? I won’t go tell your ‘White Moonlight’ to his face, will I?”

Under Ye Sheng’s intense gaze, Xiang Zhuo slowly raised an eyebrow.

“Well, who knows? The person who is supposedly my ‘White Moonlight’ and the person I am currently pursuing might be the same person.”

Everyone around was confused by Xiang Zhuo’s cryptic words.

A thought instantly flashed through Ye Sheng’s mind. His eyes widened sharply. Under Xiang Zhuo’s look—which clearly signaled, “Yes, it’s what you think. Glad you figured it out. Now stop getting in our way”—he sat back down next to Bai Qing in a daze.

Swoosh, with a soft sound, Ye Sheng robotically turned his head and saw Bai Qing slowly turning a page of his book.

Meanwhile, the surrounding students, confused by the two’s cryptic conversation, became even more certain of one thing: the Crown Prince broke off his engagement with Bai Qing for his “White Moonlight,” but now he was coming back to woo Bai Qing. Pah, what a scumbag!

However, the event caused a huge shockwave for Ye Sheng. Everyone knew the Crown Prince had a “White Moonlight” he couldn’t have, and that “White Moonlight” was a Beta from an underground arena who could fight the Crown Prince’s mecha on equal footing.

Underground arena, Beta, equal footing…

Ye Sheng scrutinized Bai Qing from head to toe with an indescribable look, feeling that the whole thing was utterly ridiculous!

Underground arena, an Omega pretending to be a Beta, equal footing!

Sensing Ye Sheng’s look of disbelief, Bai Qing turned his head: “What’s wrong?”

Ye Sheng felt drained: “You two are something else.”

…

After the Clear Snow Festival, the weather rapidly cooled, and Bai Qing was soon bundled up in a heavy, temperature-regulating coat.

But for some unknown reason, a thick scent of gunpowder constantly permeated the air. Some people felt a tense string constantly pulled in their hearts, afraid to relax, though no one could pinpoint the reason.

Just when everyone thought the semester would pass without incident, the remnants of the Former Empire made their move.

On a peaceful afternoon, six interstellar missiles were launched from the nearest asteroid, XJ-001, aimed directly at the National Defense Military Academy.

This number was calculated by the Military Academy’s defense system after the fact.

The current capability of interstellar missiles was approaching that of a causality weapon. While not yet causing spacetime distortion, a key characteristic was that the result of a “hit” was guaranteed to occur.

The first missile hit the Administration Building. However, because the entire Military Academy was protected by the Bai family’s newly developed Tianji Interception System, which boasted excellent detection and interception capabilities, the system instantly responded in the millisecond before the first interstellar missile was about to hit. It deployed an energy barrier net and simultaneously released a huge absorption field, converting and absorbing most of the missile’s explosive energy.

But the sheer power of the interstellar missile’s explosion was unimaginable. The residual shockwave was still strong, causing the entire Administration Building to shake violently.

Fortunately, the Tianji Interception System reacted promptly, and personnel were evacuated quickly, preventing any casualties.

However, this clearly enraged the remnants of the Former Empire.

The second interstellar missile was immediately launched, this time targeting the Academic Building.

The Academic Building was the largest structure at the Military Academy. The Former Empire remnants clearly prioritized it; perhaps the bombing of the Academic Building was their main objective. In total, the Academic Building bore the brunt of four interstellar missiles.

The Tianji Interception System achieved a 100% interception rate, but the residual shockwaves, concentrated together, were still immensely powerful.

The southeast corner of the Academic Building was severely damaged and collapsed.

The remaining two missiles struck the training ground but were also successfully intercepted.

Clearly, the Academic Building was the epicenter of the attack.

When the four interstellar missiles struck the Academic Building, the earth and sky seemed to shake. The enormous sound waves from the explosions battered eardrums and brains. The higher a person’s mental power, the harder it was to withstand the impact.

And Xiang Zhuo, in the very first moment he stabilized his body, disregarded the severe throbbing pain in his head and stumbled toward the southeast corner.

He remembered that Bai Qing was having class there.

The southeast corner was heavily damaged. The medical department had already arrived, continuously transferring the injured to a temporary treatment area set up on the sports field in front of the Academic Building.

Many students were severely wounded, mutilated and barely alive, but the vast majority had lighter injuries—broken arms, broken legs, or injuries caused by sand and stones splashed up by the explosion.

Among the faces—some still in shock, some in agony—Xiang Zhuo did not see Bai Qing.

Where is Bai Qing?

Xiang Zhuo pressed down his constantly trembling right hand, forcing himself to remain calm. He turned and rushed back into the Academic Building. Someone tried to stop him halfway. The southeast corner of the Academic Building had been destroyed, and the entire building was at risk of collapse at any moment. Everyone was being evacuated, and entry was strictly forbidden.

Xiang Zhuo, however, could not remain calm. His eyes were bloodshot, and he roared: “Don’t stop me! I’m going in to save someone!”

Perhaps Xiang Zhuo looked too menacing at that moment, scaring the person off, or perhaps the person deeply understood the saying that good advice is useless against those determined to die. In the end, they didn’t stop him.

Just then, two medical personnel carrying a stretcher passed by him. A white-haired young man lay on the stretcher. His injuries were extremely severe; his entire body was bloody and mangled, his original appearance unrecognizable.

Xiang Zhuo’s throat tightened instantly. He whispered a disbelieving call: “Bai Qing?”

The enormous shockwave produced in that moment should have been enough to incapacitate the SSS+ mental power user Bai Qing. But why, why was it this severe?

Xiang Zhuo staggered after the stretcher, gently grasping the hand of the person lying there…

“It’s okay, you’re going to be fine.”

“Bai Qing, I’m telling you, I’ve decided it’s you for life. If you die, I won’t have a fiancé. I don’t care. I am pursuing you right now. You still don’t know that my ‘White Moonlight’ is you, do you? No, you have to compensate me with a fiancé. You have to give yourself to me.”

He then heard a weak, yet somewhat surprised voice from behind him: “Xiang Zhuo?”

The two medical department personnel carrying the stretcher exchanged knowing glances, their four eyes full of gleeful gossip.

But it was no time for gossip. The two medical staff quickly transferred the injured person.

Xiang Zhuo was startled, his voice still slightly hoarse. He struggled to control his emotions and turned to look.

He saw Bai Qing supporting a student with a sprained ankle, acting as a volunteer to help medical staff evacuate other students. Bai Qing was looking at him with surprise, and the incoherent nonsense Xiang Zhuo had just spoken had clearly registered in his mind.

Xiang Zhuo’s pupils constricted, and his eyes immediately reddened, “You’re here…”