“Are you itching for a beating?” Shen Yanxiao raised her eyebrows and looked as if she wanted to strangle him.
Tang Nazhi felt like he would faint.
“You’ve got to let me finish talking first!”
“Speak then!”
“This is a rather embarrassing thing, but Li Xiaowei is my half-brother. When my father was young, he had a lover. However, my grandfather did not approve of their relationship, and so, he broke them up by pushing my mother and father together. And then, I was born. My father only told me about this two years ago, and I found out that I had a brother not too long ago.” Tang Nazhi recounted honestly.
Tang Nazhi’s father felt so guilty about that, and he had wanted to compensate her several times. However, he found out that the woman had passed away, and he learned about Li Xiaowei’s existence soon after that.
Li Xiaowei was the child that the woman had with Tang Nazhi’s father. She only found out about her pregnancy after she was forced to leave her lover, and she decided to have the baby by herself. She did not inform the Black Tortoise family, and she brought the child up by herself until her death from a plague several years ago.
Li Xiaowei had survived, and Tang Nazhi’s father felt guilty about that. He had wanted Li Xiaowei to return to the Black Tortoise family and acknowledge his ancestors, but he was mercilessly rejected.
Tang Nazhi did not expect to meet his brother at the Inter-academy Tournament. When he thought about how his mother had snatched another woman’s lover, and he had taken someone else’s father, he felt so guilty that he could not attack Li Xiaowei. As a result, he had ended up looking like a porcupine.
“This is what I owed him, so I have nothing to say about it. Xiaoxiao, this is my problem, so you don’t have to pay any heed to that. Do what you need to do in this afternoon’s match, but please don’t push your anger on him because of me. He has lived quite a pitiful life.” Tang Nazhi scratched his head because he was vexed.
He was not a shrewd person, so he had no idea how to deal with it.
He felt as if he owed it to his opponent, but he did not know how to express himself. So, he decided to concede defeat and let himself be the target in the match.
The four other people in the room quietly listened to his story; they did not expect to hear some gossip about the Black Tortoise family.
“I won’t do anything rash; you can rest assured about that.” Shen Yanxiao understood Tang Nazhi’s conflicted emotions.
Since he was unwilling to continue on the topic, they did not probe further about it.
The topic shifted to Shen Yanxiao.
Her astonishing appearance that day had practically blinded everyone in the stadium.
Even the four friends were shocked when they saw her unfamiliar appearance.
They were so astonished that they did not notice the red flame mark between her brows; it was the brand when one signed a contract with the mythical beast, the Vermilion Bird.
“I was already shocked when we found out that you are a girl. I didn’t expect you’d have so many cards hidden under your sleeves. It’s really unbelievable.” Yan Yu smiled as he looked at Shen Yanxiao.
Shen Yanxiao touched her nose and embarrassingly explained, “I didn’t mean to hide it, but my appearance is simply a magnet for trouble. I only wanted to learn peacefully in the academy. So, I had to conceal my identity and appearance. As for the Vermilion Bird, it concerns the Vermilion Bird family, and so, I didn’t tell you about it.” She felt guilty because the four of them had treated her as one of their own.
It was easy to get gold and riches, but bosom friends were hard to come by; it was a principle she understood.