217 For Wha

A bored youth sat in a quiet little courtyard in the corner of the academy. He sat on the bench where the two first met, lazily basking in the sun, humming softly and waiting silently. Hearing the footsteps in the distance, he raised his head and smiled.

"Did you finish educating the kid?" Ye Qingxuan, looking at the newcomer, expression sympathetic. "You must be tired."

Gavin sat beside him, sighing wearily as if he was tired. After a long time, he asked quietly, "Did you guess it?"

The youth nodded. He raised his finger and gesticulated. "Just a little bit, like the bench you pretended to be."

"I...What’s the flaw? I paid so much attention to everything."

"No, your disguise was perfect from beginning to end. I could not figure out your true identity until you uncovered your head. Unfortunately, you’re too strong. Sometimes I couldn’t see through you at all. There are few people in this school who can give me such feeling."

"Just because of that?"

"Moreover, I can tell that you have brilliant attainments in Modifications, but there’s no one like you in Modifications. Therefore I thought that maybe you just minored in it. The majority of the people who minor in Modifications are from the School of Royalty. Only they study two departments before becoming a musician..."

Hearing this, Gavin looked bitter. "And I’m the most famous one among them."

"Yes, you haven't appeared all along, right? They said that you’re too proud to compete with other students, but I thought...there must be another reason."

Gavin sighed. The two of them basked in the sun without speaking. It was a long silence, but it was made from tacit agreement.

-

After a long time, Ye Qingxuan had enough of sunbathing and asked, "The second day, was it you who made us come up empty? The student council has this right, but, generally speaking, shouldn’t the student council’s president be the school board's pet?"

"You should always set your sights further. Sometimes if you see far enough, you’ll find that it’s very stupid for the school board to only put their efforts into the school. "

Ye Qingxuan was amused, "You aren’t afraid that they’ll give you a hard time?"

Gavin shrugged. "I’ve already graduated. What could the school board do to me?"

"Did you sneak into the history department just to slap your brother?"

"I just want to know more about you."

"...Me?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "How am I worthy of the student council president’s interest?"

"Don't underestimate yourself. It’s only been three or four months since you started school, isn't it? But you’ve become everyone’s nightmare, the Eastern demon, the disgrace of the academy...As a good brother, I have to at least make some preparations for my brother when he enters the school after I leave."

"So you came to me just to be a good brother?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head, totally not believing it. "There must be another reason, right? Is it necessary for you to lie in front of the disgrace of the academy? Or did you really do all this for your brother?"

Gavin was silent. His steel gray eyes were troubled and filled with self-deprecation. "If there's any other reason, it's probably because...you live freely?" Gavin looked up at him. "To tell you the truth, when I first saw you from the podium, I was very envious...because sometimes I really want to live like you."

"What's so good about this kind of life?" Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "You said before that, as the disgrace of the academy college, the Eastern demon, I would be challenged wherever I go. Moreover, the school board sees me as an eyesore...It’s horrible, alright?"

"Would you like to switch with me then?"

"No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head resolutely without any hesitation.

"Exactly." Gavin arched an eyebrow and chuckled. "There’s nothing good about being the student council’s president, right?"

"No, no, no. You’ve done well as the student council’s president. Everyone can see that. Unfortunately, you may not be able to be a ‘good brother’ anymore."

Hearing his words, Gavin's expression immediately became melancholy. "You and Banner actually could have been friends. I've arranged so many opportunities...if only he was friendlier..."

"To be honest, you overthink."

"Perhaps." Gavin smiled bitterly. "At least, don't hate him. Banner isn’t bad in nature...He's just stupid."

"I know." Ye Qingxuan nodded, "A priest once told me that no one wants to be bad. That's true, isn't it?"

Gavin nodded. "But if everyone in the world wants to be a good person, then why is there so much misery?"

Ye Qingxuan understood Gavin, so he asked directly, "The promise you want from me is that you hope I won’t make things harder for your brother, isn’t it?"

Gavin nodded. His expression grew powerless. "But now, I’m ashamed to say so."

"Rest assured, I promise you," Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "His IQ is so low. He won’t make me feel threatened."

"...Thanks." Although he felt many emotions, Gavin still thanked him politely.

"You’re welcome. You know what, your brother sometimes reminds me of a friend."

"Friend?"

"Yes, my friend." Ye Qingxuan recalled the figure of that young man and smiled. "He’s also the kind of guy who shouts all day, ‘In the future, no one will dare to look down upon me!' but he’s actually totally different from Banner. He knew why he was being looked down on, although what he thought might not necessarily be right. To be honest, that guy has a lot of flaws, many of which…I couldn’t stand, but he probably saw me in the same way."

Gavin sank in thought. "In this case, there must have been many conflicts between you two, right?"

"Yes, but that’s what so-called friends are like, right? To tolerate each other, and tolerate and tolerate until there’s no bottom line to speak of between friends ... Luckily, he never made me give up my bottom line. I think that’s what a good friend is like, right?"

"Yes." Gavin was a bit dejected. "That’s a good friend."

Ye Qingxuan laughed gleefully. "Are you jealous?"

For some reason, Gavin wanted to hit him. "It's getting late, I'm leaving." Shaking his head, he got up to leave, "The school board asked me to attend a meeting to deal with the mess you guys left behind. Meetings are always annoying."

Ye Qingxuan waved goodbye lazily and said, "Remember to say some good things about me to those respectable old people, Mr. President."

Gavin looked back at him, speechless.

Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Well, please, Bench Guy."

"This sounds better than Mr. President." Gavin smiled, and turned away, disappearing in the afternoon sun.

Ye Qingxuan sat on the bench in the warm sunshine. He yawned tiredly and almost fell asleep. Half asleep, he could not help but recall the figure of that youth. How was Victor now? Was he successful now? Was he all right? Ye Qingxuan sighed. He kind of missed him.

-

The First National University of Burgundy was known as the cradle of future statesmen and elites, was under the same afternoon sun. People crowded into the auditorium. They feverishly looked to the podium and raised their voices with the young man's speech, shouting in response. The speech was nearing the end.

"My friends, don't you understand? Our motherland is in a crisis!" The young man clenched his fists. His voice was loud and strong, full of anger and pain. "The administrative system is bloated; the ruling party is irresponsible; the fatuous royal family only knows how to exploit people. And that group of socialists who occupy the Parliament can do nothing but blow their horns.

"Spit on the fat bureaucrats who neglect their duties! Spit on those incompetent bastards who can only escape from the reality! Spit on the defeatists, the anarchists! Because of them, the economic is getting bleaker and bleaker; the border patrol is morally deficient; farmers have lost their own land and become slaves…Our motherland is humiliated and our sun is about to be quenched.

"Tell me, my friends, what should we do? What’s the fate of our motherland? Should we put our hopes on those high and mighty musicians? Should we wait for a savior to fall from the sky? Should we wait for those greedy foreign capitalists to squeeze enough profit from us then turn away while wiping their mouths, and push the country into the abyss of misery?

"No. Absolutely not! Those musicians never care about the miseries of the regular people! There's never been a savior! Those capitalists would never stop their greedy plundering!

"We can’t wait for others to show their mercy to us, to save us. If we want to let our motherland rise, we must rely on our own power! Rely on you, on our advanced policy agenda and on the people's strength! We can’t keep silent anymore! We can’t let this country fall and cry! Everyone present is the best of the best. You are the future of this country...Should we stand by and be silent?

"No, absolutely not! Friends, we must stand up. We must be responsible for this country! Who would love our motherland, other than us? Who can save it, other than us? We must unite, my friends—we need each other's strength! I believe that with the help of our strength, our motherland will rise and walk out of the shadow of recession! I believe that our days of glory will soon arrive.

"At that time, I will take the flag of Joan of Arc and charge the frontline for this great country! Just as she once led fearless warriors to kill the enemy, I will fight until my last breath for this great country. If I die, I’ll be worthy of the ancestors; if I die, then there must be the next hero to stand up and carry my flag!"

In the large auditorium, the young man's emaciated figure was like a giant. He cried out in the eyes of countless fanatics, "God bless Burgundy! God bless the National University! God Bless the great people! Long Live Burgundy! "

"Long live Burgundy!" There was a roar like thunder.

It was applause, it was the cheering, it was the frantic shouts and praises. All the students shouted his name, raised their hands, and waved vigorously, responding to his gaze. The young man stepped down, and the students rushed to embrace him, feverishly roaring, "Long live Burgundy! Long live Burgundy!"

"It was a perfect inaugural address, distinguished Mr. Don Juan!"

Under the podium, the student council’s secretary came forward, holding his hand strongly with an overly excited expression. "You’re the first to give such an inspiring speech among all the student council presidents…"

"I just expressed everyone’s thoughts." The youth who was called Don Juan hugged him with grace and said sincerely, "From now on, I hope that everyone in the student council will support me as we work hard together."

The secretary nodded excitedly. "For Burgundy!"

"Yes." The young man named Don Juan smiled meaningfully. "For the motherland."

And for myself.