Chapter 44: The Banquet

Page 1 of 3

“It’s quite different from what I imagined.” Standing off to one side inside Amber Hall, Lin Nian watched the bustling scenes unfold and smiled wryly.

Calling it a party would be something of an understatement. It was more like a banquet. Everyone moved through the hall wearing a mask of impeccable courtesy. Whenever they crossed paths, they would raise their champagne glasses in greeting. If they took a liking to one another, they would draw closer, exchange pleasantries, and chat about recent happenings or amusing anecdotes. The men were equally polished and witty, while the women carried themselves with restraint and elegance. Beneath the music of the cello ensemble, the guests mingled and separated with measured grace, everything orderly and precise.

“It’s not all that different, really. Banquets and parties are both meant for eating, drinking, and having fun. The Student Union’s party is fairly decent, anyway. See over there?” Mandy, standing beside Lin Nian, pointed farther into the hall. Long banquet tables had been arranged in a staggered formation. They were covered with perfectly prepared Boston lobsters, while colorful hors d’oeuvres clustered around a champagne tower. Martinis and margaritas were being served without limit from the waiters’ trays.

“Oh. So it does have a bit of a party atmosphere after all.” The sight immediately lifted Lin Nian’s spirits.

“The number of lobsters matches the number of guests, but there’s no limit on how much anyone can eat. I doubt many people will take much interest in them tonight, but I’m guessing you’ll be the exception, Junior. Judging by the way you look, you came without eating dinner, didn’t you?” Mandy took a martini from a passing waiter and sipped it, leaving a faint lipstick mark on the rim.

“I came because I hadn’t eaten. The way you put it makes me sound like I was reincarnated as a starving ghost.” Lin Nian corrected her logic. “I haven’t reached the point where I’d starve myself for an entire day just to eat at a buffet. I can count on one hand the people I know who would do something like that. One of them was in my high school, and there’s another one at the university now.”

“I know the one at the university. Fingel, right? But wasn’t Shilan High School an elite school?”

“Strange people can come from anywhere. Cassell College is an academy for elites, too.”

With that single remark, Lin Nian left Mandy speechless.

“Junior, want to make a bet? You won’t get a single lobster tonight. Most likely, you’ll end up going back to the dorm hungry and filling your stomach with the crusts left in Fingel and the others’ pizza boxes.” Mandy pouted.

“You’re betting that, in an environment where everyone treats everyone else with such courtesy, I’ll insist on maintaining proper decorum? Then you’ve placed your wager badly. I was notorious for being completely tone-deaf in the past.”

Lin Nian glanced at the dining tables, no more than twenty or thirty meters away. At that distance, he would not even need a running start. Two or three strides would be enough.

“Then by all means, give it a try.” Mandy shrugged indifferently.

Lin Nian shot her a glance. She had clasped her hands behind her back and leaned against a pillar, whistling toward the crystal chandelier with an utterly unhurried air, as though everything was already under control. He had no idea where her confidence came from. Forget one lobster— even in a setting like this, he could easily manage five to start with.

So Lin Nian turned and prepared to take his first step.

Before his foot could truly leave the ground, however, he abruptly drew it back. Someone had stepped in front of him.

Beneath a white, deep-V women’s suit was healthy, sun-kissed skin. Long flaxen hair fell smoothly over her shoulders. Under the hazy glow of the lights, her face revealed an unmistakably South Asian beauty. She held a champagne glass in one hand and was calmly regarding Lin Nian.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Lin Nian paused.

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

“Are you Lin Nian, the freshman transfer student? I’ve heard quite a lot about you. Caesar said there might be a chance to meet you tonight, and I thought he was joking. But it seems our presidential candidate is not the sort of man who makes empty boasts.” The woman raised her glass. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Karsa, captain of the Student Union Sailing Club—and a citizen of the Maldives.”

Lin Nian was not holding a drink. Mandy happened to pass by at that moment, casually slipped her margarita into his hand, and gave him a look that clearly meant good luck before disappearing into the crowd on the dance floor.

“Lin Nian. Freshman.” Left with no alternative, Lin Nian raised the glass and took a small sip to acknowledge her greeting.

“Is she your girlfriend? She’s very beautiful. Finding such an outstanding girl the moment you entered the academy only further demonstrates how exceptional you are as an S-rank student.” Karsa flicked her long hair aside and glanced toward the direction in which Mandy had vanished.

“No, she’s just my senior.” Lin Nian waved a hand in explanation.

“Is that so?” Karsa looked at the glass in Lin Nian’s hand.

Lin Nian lowered his gaze as well and immediately noticed the red-lipstick mark still left on the rim. His expression turned awkwardly dark as he wiped it away.

“It’s a misunderstanding. She’s a little scatterbrained and rather careless about these things… May I ask why you wanted to speak with me?”

“It seems you haven’t attended many banquets like this.” Karsa looked him up and down, taking in his school uniform, and shook her head with a smile. “When someone approaches you under ordinary circumstances, you shouldn’t ask what they want. You’re supposed to engage them in easy conversation about subjects that interest you both. Once the exchange has reached its natural end, you smile, nod, and part ways.”

“This is my first time attending one. I even forgot to bring my invitation.” Lin Nian shook his head. “There are too many people I don’t know, yet everyone seems to know me. It feels strange.”

“That’s perfectly normal. Someone destined to shine has no need to remember the names of every grain of sand.” Karsa nodded. “I can tell you still need time to adjust to all this. Everything happening right now is moving too quickly for you, isn’t it?”

“It’s a little dazzling. I feel as though I can barely keep up.”

“I originally came to invite you to join the Sailing Club. I heard that you live near the coast, so I assumed you must feel a certain kinship with the sea and the waves. I had planned to open with, ‘Do you like sailing?’ But after talking with you for a few moments, I suspect you would simply give me a crisp answer: no.” Karsa smiled. “It seems I misunderstood something. Your attendance at the Student Union banquet tonight carries no hidden meaning. You haven’t reached the point where you need to decide which side to take.”

“Does choosing a side really matter that much? The Student Union or the Lionheart Society—must one really choose between them at this school?” Lin Nian asked, sweeping his gaze over the guests moving through Amber Hall.

“For an ordinary student, it doesn’t matter. But for you, it matters enormously. Perhaps you still don’t understand what being an S-rank student means.” Karsa reached out and pressed a hand against Lin Nian’s shoulder. “Can you feel it?”

“Feel what?” Lin Nian asked instinctively.

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

“Weight.” Karsa withdrew her hand with a light laugh, raised her glass, and turned away. “Perhaps one day you should learn from Caesar Gattuso. He understands exactly where he stands. But for now, enjoy the banquet, S-rank student. Even if the Student Union’s party is different from what you imagined, it’s still far better than the Lionheart Society’s.”

Before Lin Nian could say anything more, Karsa had already disappeared. He shook his head. Everyone at this academy—professors and students alike—seemed eccentric and incapable of speaking plainly. They loved making everything vague and mysterious.

At least Lin Nian had not forgotten his original purpose. Choosing sides between the Lionheart Society and the Student Union? No. He had come to Amber Hall for the party, intending to eat enough to fill his stomach. And now his target—the Boston lobster—was still more than twenty meters away.

With his objective firmly in mind, Lin Nian once again rallied his spirits. He took a step forward—

Then immediately drew back.

He looked up helplessly. Someone else had blocked his path.

This time, the obstruction was a man with heavily styled hair and a cheap suit. A camera hung from his chest, and he was rubbing his hands together with suspicious enthusiasm as he stared at Lin Nian.

“What can I do for you?” Lin Nian asked. The man reminded him of the talent scouts he had occasionally encountered on the street—every gesture practically radiating ulterior motives. He had not expected the Student Union to contain this sort of character as well.

“Lester, from the News Department. I’d like to ask you a few questions for an interview, if you have the time.” The man held up his camera with both hands and mimed taking a photograph as he cautiously made the request.

“The News Department… The Student Union has a News Department?”

Lin Nian vaguely recalled that the school had some kind of news organization.

“No, we’re an independent group. But our director is a member of the Student Union, which is why I was able to appear here tonight,” the man explained.

“May I ask who your director is?” Lin Nian narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Fingel von Frings.”

“Sorry, I don’t have time.”

Lin Nian’s expression darkened at once. He slipped past the man and hurried toward the dining tables in the distance.

Page 3 of 3