Versatile Mage (Web Novel)
chapter-543

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

"Drinking won't be of any help," Mo Fan secretly enjoyed the pleasant scent of the girl's lips he captured off the edge of the glass.

"I was just resting, the wine helps me sleep," Mu Nujiao was still feeling embarrassed, asking herself why she had to stay in the same apartment as a shameless jerk like him.

"Oh, oh, I thought you were feeling down, I was trying to give you a motivational speech..." said Mo Fan with an awkward smile.

Mu Nujiao twisted her lips. It was rare to see such a reaction from her, perhaps she had already had a few glasses of wine before Mo Fan came home.

"Then say something motivational, I want to hear it." Mu Nujiao sank into the couch, seeming to have slightly lowered her guard. She simply laid there comfortably.

The girl had a charming aura under the effects of alcohol. Mo Fan almost started drooling when he saw the cleavage through her slightly opened collar.

Damn, since he started living with the two girls, his usage of toilet rolls had been increasing a lot. When could he actually be a man and not sacrifice his millions of children all the time?!

"Why aren't you talking?" Mu Nujiao slightly raised her head and looked at Mo Fan with a sleepy look.

However, she just happened to see Mo Fan who was like a wolf drooling at a little lamb. She immediately realized her inappropriate posture. It instantly woke her up, and she quickly sat upright and glared at Mo Fan!

"Pervert!" cursed Mu Nujiao.

"Hehe..." Mo Fan wore an eerie grin.

Mu Nujiao was just about to leave when Mo Fan stopped her.

The truth was, Mo Fan could tell that Mu Nujiao was bothered by the World College Tournament. Otherwise, she would not be drinking, or ask for some motivation. Mo Fan knew the girl was a lot more hardworking than he was every day.

"Is the World College Tournament so important to you?" asked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had not seen Mu Nujiao a lot for the past few months, which implied that she had pretty much spent all her time on training and cultivation.

"Mm..." Mu Nujiao glanced at Mo Fan and saw the confused look on the guy's face. She let out a wry smile and said, "You're not from any of the renowned families, so you might not understand the details."

"I'm free tonight," Mo Fan lobbed back.

"There are two kinds of disciples in a renowned family, one of which usually goes around fooling around aimlessly, with no goals whatsoever. Those are often looked down upon by the people in the families, but whenever the family is at stake, they are the ones sacrificed. They have no choice but to do anything that the family asks them to, be it marriage, or relocated to somewhere, they won't dare to disobey the orders given to them… In simpler words, the family is giving you food and shelter, hence you must listen to their order, no matter what!" Mu Nujiao emphasized the last few words.

Mo Fan opened his mouth tried to say something, but he could not find the words.

"The other type is those who utilize the resources provided by the family to improve their cultivation. It works like a loan; to become better than everyone else, you'll ask for the resources you need. It does give you a head start, but in return, you have to pay the price by having impressive achievements in the future. Otherwise, they will take control of everything… making you do all kinds of things for them. Most of them are barely acceptable, but the most common, yet worst thing, is arranged marriage. It's common for the renowned families to work together sometimes, yet they won't trust each other, so they will use marriage to tie the bonds, pretty much the arranged marriage you've seen a lot in movies and novels," Mu Nujiao did drink quite a lot today. She would not normally have describes the renowned families like she did today.

Mo Fan paid full attention when he listened, as it was true that he had not looked at the disciples of the renowned families from a different view. He initially thought they were just proud and arrogant people to the commoners.

"So you mean, those disciples are forced into an arranged marriage because of their own fault?" said Mo Fan.

"It applies to most of them, yet there's still exception, like Ai Tutu," said Mu Nujiao with a hint of envy.

Mo Fan was always curious why a girl like Mu Nujiao would be close friends with that lunatic Ai Tutu. It turned out that there were other reasons behind it.

Ai Tutu was always jealous of Mu Nujiao's appearance and physique, as she had the temperament of a goddess. All men would lose their minds when they saw her...

"And clearly, Mu Ningxue is in the same situation as me," Mu Nujiao suddenly locked her gaze onto Mo Fan, as if she could read his mind.

Mo Fan never thought Mu Nujiao would suddenly mention his wife. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Why are you talking about her now?"

"Weren't you concerned about her?" asked Mu Nujiao.

"About what?" asked Mo Fan, confused.

"She won the nomination of the Imperial College, the news only came out today," said Mu Nujiao.

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide in bewilderment.

Seriously, that Mu Ningxue?

The Nomination Preliminaries at the capital was assumed to be more intense than here, but she managed to secure the nomination despite being a new student. It seemed like her strength had vastly improved over the days since he last saw her...

Oh...

No wonder Mu Nujiao was feeling down today, and looked in need of some comfort. It was because she had learned that Mu Ningxue, who was in the same batch as her, had secured the nomination!

They were both proud women with glamorous looks, from renowned families, and treated as goddesses in their schools. However, Mu Ningxue had secured the nomination, while Mu Nujiao was facing elimination!

Mo Fan was planning to comfort her by saying that she was only a new student this year, but the words stuck in his throat.

Mu Nujiao was comparing herself to a maniac like Mu Ningxue.

"I can still ask for more resources from the family, so I can improve my strength during the preliminaries, but… I'm a bit scared," Mu Nujiao went back to the topic, revealing her biggest worry.

"You're afraid that if you ask again and fail to reach their expectations, you'll lose your freedom, too?" said Mo Fan.

Mu Nujiao bit her lips and nodded.

She would not admit defeat. If Mu Ningxue was able to do it, she felt like she could do it too, yet she was afraid. If she asked again, she would become a puppet to the family. She would normally not mind obeying their orders, but what if they told her to marry someone she didn't even like?

Since Mu Nujiao was seriously asking for his opinion, Mo Fan would try his best to help her. He replied after a slight pause, "If you're scared, just give up."

"Why?" Mu Nujiao was stunned, wanting to hear his answer.

"You don't have to try so hard..." said Mo Fan with a blossoming smile. "I can afford to take care of you."

Mu Nujiao rose to her feet and left angrily.

That scum, that piece of shit, she should have known that it was stupid to ask that guy hoping he would give her some guidance! What a waste of her anticipation!

Mu Nujiao stomped up the stairs as she headed up, trying to vent her anger.

She soon heard Mo Fan's voice coming from behind her. "I'm being serious, Jiao Jiao."