Ch86 - How Did His Highness, the Crown Prince Wrong You?

Jian Mei had slept deeply this time, completely unaware of the world around him.

When he woke up, the room was empty. He sat up groggily and immediately noticed that the person who had been beside him was gone. As his eyes scanned the room, they landed on a small note on the nightstand nearby.

It was a message from Lu Xingwang: “I had to leave for the morning court session. There’s a cup of warm water on the table; remember to drink it when you wake up.”

Jian Mei glanced at the clock beside him and saw that it was already 8:00 AM.

8:00 AM…

Jian Mei stiffened, nearly tumbling out of bed in his rush. He had planned to head downstairs immediately but, after a second’s hesitation, went back to gulp down half the cup of warm water on the nightstand. Only then did he hurriedly get dressed and dash downstairs—he couldn’t be late for the 8:30 early study session.

By the time he reached the stairs, the students had already gathered.

Hearing the noise, Nanfeng looked up and waved at him. “Yo, you’re awake.”

After a night’s rest, most people had clearly recovered. Jian Mei’s gaze shifted to Ying, who was sitting on the sofa, rubbing her temples, clearly still suffering from a nasty hangover.

Jian Mei stepped down the last few stairs and said, “I made some hangover soup in the kitchen last night.”

Ying seemed a little surprised but smiled at Jian Mei gratefully. “Thanks, Meimei.”

Jian Mei shook his head.

“I think I went on another drunken rampage last night.” Ying had always been blunt, but even she could tell she had messed up this time. “Sorry, everyone. I caused trouble for you all.”

Nanfeng shot her an annoyed glare. “Oh, so you actually realize that? The forest outside is completely destroyed! Who’s going to replant all those trees? Me, of course! You’re not just making things difficult for everyone—you’re making things difficult for me!”

Instead of feeling guilty, Ying got even more upset. She snapped, “I don’t need you to deal with it! I’ll take responsibility myself!”

Nanfeng crossed his arms. “You think I want to deal with this?”

The two of them were clearly on the verge of starting another argument.

Jian Mei was starting to get a headache, but when gods fight, mortals suffer. He noticed Xiwu Heng standing nearby and, concerned that the innocent child might get caught in the crossfire, moved to pull him away.

However, Nanfeng’s gaze shifted to Jian Mei instead. “Hey, Meimei, how did you sleep last night?”

Jian Mei stiffened. He hadn’t expected the conversation to suddenly turn toward him.

Nanfeng flashed a sly smile. “It must’ve been great, huh? Sharing a bed with the Crown Prince… If it were me, I’d be over the moon.”

Jian Mei shrugged it off. “It was okay.”

“I’ve never even been inside the Crown Prince’s room.” Nanfeng leaned in with curiosity. “Is his bed big? Is it soft? Does he have any cool high-tech gadgets in there?”

Before Jian Mei could even respond, Ying shot back for him. “Are you stupid? This is confidential information—do you really think he’d just tell you? Besides, there’s only one bed in the Crown Prince’s room. How could two people sleep on it? Obviously, Meimei slept on the couch.”

Nanfeng scratched his head. “Oh, right… that makes sense.”

Jian Mei pressed his lips together, wisely keeping quiet to hide his guilt.

There was no way he could admit that the Crown Prince had intended to sleep on the couch—or, worse, that he had ended up taking the bed. That would definitely stir up unnecessary commotion.

……

After their casual chat wrapped up, the group finally made their way to the door.

Jian Mei, a bit slow to realize, said, “We’re almost late. Isn’t anyone worried?”

Nanfeng waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, there won’t be any classes today.”

Just as Jian Mei was about to ask why, he stepped outside the dorm—and sure enough, there was Aster, standing furiously outside with several other academy professors.

Aster said, “Ying, Jian Mei, Xiwu Heng—step forward, you three.”

Time to settle the score.

Jian Mei had no idea why he was being called out, but he still stood there obediently, like a good student.

Aster snapped, “You’ve got some nerve! Buying alcohol at the school supermarket was bad enough, but then you go and get drunk, setting the forest on fire? How many times has this happened already? What’s next—are you going to tear down the whole academy too, huh?!”

Jian Mei hung his head, listening quietly, his mind wandering to what he’d have for breakfast tomorrow.

Aster put her hands on her hips. “And, on top of that, the Crown Prince just happened to catch you in the act. If he hadn’t stepped in, who knows how bad it would’ve gotten? Do you really still think you haven’t embarrassed yourselves enough?”

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Aster said, “You three are responsible for restoring the forest within a week. If not, your credits will be deducted.”

Nanfeng couldn’t believe it. “Teacher, this doesn’t include us, does it?”

“Why wouldn’t it?” Aster snapped impatiently. “Aren’t you in the same class? The same dorm? You’re just as responsible for not stepping in to stop this.”

That was the final word.

Sure enough, there were no classes today. Jian Mei finally understood why no one had been in a rush earlier—they had known all along that they’d be spending the day planting trees.

After Aster and the other professors left, Nanfeng looked at the forest, now almost unrecognizable from the fire, and lamented, “Which one of you has earth-element divine powers? Am I really the only one doing this?”

Xiwu Heng raised his hand slowly.

There were only two students with earth-element divine powers—one could grow trees, and the other could reduce them to ash.

Nanfeng sighed in defeat. “Forget it. Just don’t make things worse.”

As harsh as reality was, they still had to take the task seriously. The forest had been burned beyond recognition, a patchwork of destruction.

Nanfeng said, “Yunshi.”

Yunshi, a freshman, stepped forward. Jian Mei had always known he possessed healing abilities, but he had only heard that Yunshi could transfer a patient’s injuries. This was the first time he had seen Yunshi use his power firsthand.

Yunshi walked over to a severely burned rabbit, near death, and placed his hand on it. A soft green light emanated from his touch, and in no time, the rabbit was hopping around, fully revived and full of energy.

After a moment, Yunshi stood up and said, “The damage spans about half the forest. Most of the animals have moved to the other half, so the casualties are minimal.”

Jian Mei was curious. “How can you tell?”

Nanfeng chuckled. “Yunshi can transfer injuries onto himself, and he can also share the nearby memories of those he heals.”

Jian Mei’s eyes widened in disbelief. “So… are you hurt?”

Yunshi smiled. “Just a small injury. Nothing to worry about.”

Nanfeng slapped Yunshi on the shoulder. “These little rabbit injuries are nothing. Yunshi usually practices on patients at the hospital who are on the brink of death.”

Jian Mei stammered. “Isn’t that too dangerous?”

Jian Mei and Yunshi hadn’t met much before, so he didn’t know him very well. He only had the impression that Yunshi preferred to be alone, often surrounded by small animals, and wasn’t much of a talker.

Yunshi maintained a calm expression as he subtly distanced himself from Nanfeng. His smile remained gentle and faint as he responded to Jian Mei, “It’s just about practicing repeatedly until you find the right balance.”

“……”

Why do you people speak of life and death so casually?

He had thought this was already shocking enough, but little did he know, the real shock was still to come.

This was his first time witnessing the SA class working together in perfect harmony, each demonstrating their unique powers. Some of the trees, already burned, would hinder the growth of new saplings. Xiwu Heng stood nearby, extended his hand to a towering tree, and watched as it gradually turned to ash. The ground was covered with scorched vines and broken branches, which Ying’s flames swiftly consumed, clearing everything within a hundred-mile radius.

Yunshi used the injured animals as scouts, checking ahead to make sure no creatures had been left behind.

As for Jian Mei… his task was to scatter seeds.

Nanfeng crouched down as the wind in the forest began to swirl. Centered around him, the newly sown seeds slowly began to sprout, their branches reaching outward to fill the empty space. Within five to six minutes, lush greenery spread across the area, and the newly grown trees were full of life once again.

It would get exhausting if they kept this up for too long.

It didn’t take long before most people couldn’t continue. The rapid drain on their powers was mentally exhausting—especially for Nanfeng, who was so fatigued that he collapsed on the ground, unable to move.

Jian Mei suggested, “I’ll go get some food for everyone.”

Nanfeng raised a finger. “I want two portions.”

Jian Mei nodded. “Alright.”

Everyone else was exhausted. Although scattering seeds was tiring, it wasn’t as mentally draining as controlling their powers. Plus, he could use a small electric four-wheeler to buy the food, so it wasn’t too difficult. Since the cafeteria had been burned down, he had to take a detour to the academy’s central area to get something to eat.

Beep beep.

His communication terminal showed a new message.

Jian Mei opened the message—it was from Shen Huai. “Meimei, I heard there was a fire near you last night. Is that true?”

Jian Mei replied, “Yeah, it’s true.”

“Was it bad?”

“It’s not that bad.”

Without realizing it, he had been influenced by those around him. What seemed like a huge disaster in others’ eyes was now something he could brush off as “not that bad.”

Shen Huai asked, “Are you still handling the aftermath?”

“No,” Jian Mei replied honestly. “I’m out getting food.”

Shen Huai said, “Are you in the Capital City? I’m here too.”

Jian Mei perked up. “Really? Where are you?”

After a brief exchange, they quickly agreed on a meeting spot and met up. Once Shen Huai understood the situation, he said, “I can help too. My power is in civil engineering.”

Jian Mei suddenly remembered and became a little excited. “Oh, right! With you here, you can relieve a lot of the pressure on Nanfeng.”

Shen Huai said modestly, “I’m just helping out a little. The SA students are all amazing—I’m not on their level.”

Jian Mei encouraged him, “Don’t sell yourself short! That forest is huge, and if you can help, it’ll be a big boost.”

Shen Huai smiled. “I’m just glad to be of help.”

After a quick discussion, Shen Huai followed Jian Mei to the SA section of the forest. The air was thick with the smell of smoke, a stark reminder of how fierce the battle had been the night before.

Jian Mei brought the food over and distributed it to everyone. “Food’s here!”

Nanfeng, who had been sprawled out on the ground just moments ago, suddenly sprang to his feet. “Thanks, Xiao-Meimei!”

As he got up, he finally noticed Shen Huai. Their eyes met, and Nanfeng asked in surprise, “Who’s this?”

Jian Mei explained, “This is my friend. He also has earth-elemental divine powers, so he can help out.”

After hearing this, Nanfeng broke into a smile. “Oh, perfect! Finally, an earth-elemental divine power user! Xiongdi, you’ve really saved my life.”

Shen Huai had always heard that SA students were dangerous and had assumed they’d be hard to get along with. But seeing how friendly everyone was, he felt much more at ease.

With the extra help, their progress sped up considerably, though it was still tiring.

Jian Mei took care of logistics from the sidelines, but the growth of plants still demanded an enormous amount of divine power and physical strength. Compared to Nanfeng, Shen Huai was nowhere near as capable. Before long, sweat began to form on his forehead, and he struggled to keep up. But when he looked up at Nanfeng in the distance, he saw that Nanfeng’s pace remained faster and steadier, his control over the plants’ growth more precise and effortless. It was hard to believe he had already been working non-stop all morning.

Faced with the sharp contrast, Shen Huai could only resign himself to the fact that he was outmatched.

Jian Mei asked from the side, “You okay?”

Suddenly, Shen Huai remembered Jian Mei’s ability. After a brief pause, he hesitantly asked, “Meimei, can you hold my hand?”

Jian Mei had never heard such a request before and looked at him suspiciously. “Huh?”

Shen Huai looked at him expectantly. “Can you?”

Jian Mei found it strange but nodded. “Alright.”

Shen Huai took Jian Mei’s hand and crouched down again. As he channeled his divine power, he noticed it felt a little easier than before, though not by much—the effect was minimal.

Still, he clearly remembered that Jian Mei’s power was supposed to be very strong. This left him feeling puzzled. “That’s strange…”

Jian Mei asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Huai paused, thinking for a moment, then asked, “Meimei, what do you feel when you hold my hand?”

Jian Mei didn’t feel much, but he didn’t want to say that outright. So, he honestly replied, “A little warm.”

“……”

Shen Huai fell silent for a moment.

This didn’t make sense. Jian Mei’s power had been much stronger before. Back then, when he used his divine power to accelerate plant growth, he didn’t even need direct contact—just drinking the water Jian Mei handed him had been enough. Could it be related to his thoughts?

Normally, when they used their divine powers, concentration was key. But Jian Mei clearly wasn’t used to focusing in that way.

Shen Huai hesitantly asked, “Can you think about me?”

Jian Mei’s eyes widened, and he stammered, “W-what do you mean?”

Realizing his words had come out awkwardly, Shen Huai quickly corrected himself, “What I mean is, just think about it in your mind—like imagining you’re cheering me on, giving me strength, something like that.”

Jian Mei didn’t really understand why, but he nodded anyway. “Okay.”

Shen Huai took a deep breath and activated his divine power once again. On a new patch of empty land, as he channeled his energy, the green glow beneath his hands became more vibrant. One sapling after another rapidly sprouted, taking root and growing anew. The speed was more than twice as fast as before, and he was even beginning to catch up to Nanfeng’s pace.

Shen Huai’s eyes brightened. “It worked!”

Not far away, Nanfeng also noticed. He quickly walked over and exclaimed excitedly, “Shen-xiong, you’re incredible!”

Shen Huai waved it off humbly. “No, no, it’s all Meimei’s credit.”

Jian Mei was still completely baffled.

Shen Huai hesitated for a moment before explaining his understanding of Jian Mei’s ability. He knew it might sound somewhat shocking, but the truth couldn’t stay hidden forever. Besides, everyone here seemed friendly enough, so he felt comfortable enough to speak up.

After hearing him, Nanfeng’s eyes widened in surprise. He quickly said, “I’m about to collapse from exhaustion! Xiao-Meimei, you’ve had this ability all along, and you didn’t mention it? Hurry up, hurry up—hold my hand!”

Jian Mei: “……”

No way. Nanfeng’s hands were all covered in mud.

But Nanfeng wasn’t at all discouraged. In fact, he shamelessly moved closer. “Come on, hurry up! Let’s try it out! If it works, we can finish early and go for a feast!”

Jian Mei forced himself to overcome his reluctance and reluctantly nodded. “Alright.”

……

At the same time, elsewhere—

Suspicious and unsettled, the Emperor and Imperial Concubine Xi certainly weren’t about to sit idly by. Driven by curiosity about his future daughter-in-law, the Emperor had already dispatched people to investigate secretly, eager to discover who this person was that could control his son. The fire earlier that day had caused slight damage to the barrier surrounding the SA class’s forest, giving the investigators the perfect opportunity to sneak in unnoticed.

Initially, the investigators had planned to take a few photos and leave. But just moments after they arrived, they spotted Jian Mei—playfully interacting with his male classmates, even holding hands.

And the worst part?

Not just one, but two!

The investigator was utterly stunned.

Never in his life had he imagined encountering someone so shameless—eating from one pot while eyeing another, completely ungrateful! What had His Highness the Crown Prince done to deserve such treatment?

Watching the rather indecent scene not far away, he fell into deep thought. Should he take the photo or not?

Would His Majesty have a stroke if he saw this?

Wait—at this point, whether His Majesty would approve wasn’t even the biggest concern anymore.

The real issue was—

Your Highness, do you seriously not feel the green hat settling on your head?

Translator’s Notes:

Here’s an advanced chapter again, but this is the last update for April. I’ve got an appointment scheduled for the next few days, so the next update will be on May 5. Also, I’ll be posting 3 chapters a week throughout May!