“Ha! I never would’ve guessed. The General can say things like that?”
Lili’an and Faan sat cross-legged on soft floor cushions while Xiweier arranged the tea utensils they would need for class on the small wooden table beside them.
The three days of freely exploring the new campus passed quickly. Students were divided into classes and given schedules according to the course groups they had chosen, and their very first class at Lian was tea arts. The instructor had not arrived yet, so the class was scattered throughout the enormous tea-arts room, Omegas who knew each other well gathering in twos and threes.
“That’s just how he is.”
Having just finished his routine display of how wonderful his General was, Faan lightly bit his lip and smiled in embarrassment. His words were obviously full of smug pride, yet he deliberately adopted an aggrieved expression and pretended to be troubled.
“Why is he so good at saying things like that? It makes him sound like he’s had lots of experience before…”
“Oh, give it a rest.” Lili’an exposed him mercilessly. “Stop pretending. Didn’t you practically throw yourself on the floor demanding to get engaged to him when the General was still a teenager? Who could he possibly have gotten ‘experience’ with?”
That was exactly what Faan had been waiting for her to say. He immediately smiled in delight.
Xiweier shook his head and sighed at his completely undisguised expression. Lili’an could not stand him either and said coolly,
“—Still, having no experience isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
“When an Alpha falls in love for the first time, his possessiveness toward his Omega is usually very strong. He gets used to treating the other person like his property and casually ordering them around.” She deliberately reached out and lifted a strand of Faan’s straight golden hair. “Only Alphas with experience know how to restrain themselves and give each other independent space.”
Faan looked at her and blinked his huge eyes.
“Oh, I understand what you mean…”
“But André isn’t like that. He was born an Alpha chauvinist. Even a hundred relationships wouldn’t change him!” Faan smiled sweetly. “I’m the only one who can put up with him.”
Lili’an: …
“Ahem.” Xiweier coughed softly and stretched an arm past Faan to tug gently at his sister’s clothes.
Lili’an glanced at her brother, understood his look, and could not help sighing inwardly.
True. She suspected the person who did not understand giving a partner independent space in a first relationship was not the severe-looking General, but this one…
Lili’an gave Faan beside her an indescribable look.
This love-addled fool who had been like this since he was five.
Whether the General could endure it, she did not know. She and Xiweier were already reaching their limit. Fortunately, at that moment the door to the large classroom opened and the tea-arts instructor entered.
The teacher responsible for their tea-arts classes was a highly respected Omega in the field—all instructors at Lian were Omegas, and the overwhelming majority were famous figures. She had published many books, and one of her papers discussing the origins and spirit of the Way of Tea still stood at the pinnacle of the field and was treated by many as authoritative doctrine.
Of course, most importantly, she controlled the largest tea plantation in the Empire, whose finest annual harvests went directly to the imperial family. The wealth in her hands was the greatest foundation supporting her expansion into the realm of art.
“I believe most of you already know who I am, but I will introduce myself anyway.”
“My name is Qian Lixiu, and I will be responsible for every tea-arts course you take at Lian from today onward.” Qian Lixiu spoke coolly. “You may address me as Instructor Qian.”
Qian Lixiu was a female Omega around sixty years old who dressed with great solemnity. She had a pair of sharp, hawklike eyes that reminded Faan somewhat of the governess who had taught him as a child. She wore a fitted black dress that reached the floor. Yet it was not a stiff, old-fashioned design. Its structure balanced looseness and tailoring, following the elegant curves of a woman’s body, with her family crest outlined in silver thread at the cuffs and hem.
In the imperial age, where people generally lived long lives, sixty was squarely middle-aged. If one ignored Qian Lixiu’s somewhat harsh face, she could certainly still be described as being in the prime of life.
The instant she entered, Faan had already shifted rapidly from sitting cross-legged to kneeling properly. Xiweier and Lili’an moved at the same time. As Qian Lixiu finished introducing herself, the three of them performed the Empire’s standard disciple salute in perfect unison and called almost together,
“—Instructor Qian.”
The other Omegas, still not entirely accustomed to beginning their first formal Lian course, saw their reaction and immediately adjusted their posture as well, respectfully giving the disciple salute and addressing her as “Instructor Qian.”
In terms of status, Faan, Xiweier, and Lili’an were no lower than Qian Lixiu. Many other students in the room also had fathers or older brothers who held immense imperial power. Qian Lixiu’s expression eased somewhat and became less severe.
After all, in previous years plenty of Omegas had considered themselves too important for ordinary rules and had come to Lian merely to add a prestigious credential to their names before leaving. Such people naturally showed little respect toward teachers like them.
“Very good.” She cleared her throat and looked at Faan and the others seated near the front. “I know all of you are the ‘princesses’ and ‘princes’ of your families, but here at Lian, you are merely ordinary students. I hope you maintain this attitude. If you can understand your proper position, I will naturally teach you everything I know.”
“Enough talk. We will begin class now.”
She clapped her hands. Her palms were well cared for, though a dense layer of calluses covered all ten fingers.
“The Way of Tea originated in the ancient East. Its meaning and spirit…”
Standing at the front, Qian Lixiu explained patiently. As she finished the point, her fingertip wrote the title of her paper on the digital board behind her.
“You all know at least something about this. I require you to read this paper in full after class—of course, you may freely copy, consult, and compare other articles and authoritative works. You may disagree. I will set aside time next lesson to take questions.”
Although she said so, pride showed clearly in her brows and eyes, because in this field, she was confident that she was the authority.
“In the present age of increasingly advanced technology and complete digitization, many people in the Empire who do not understand the true essence of tea simply regard what we do as ‘art’…”
Qian Lixiu gave a cold laugh. “That is, of course, incorrect.”
“At Lian, tea arts are taught as an independent professional course rather than grouped with flower arranging, embroidery, and similar subjects as electives. Naturally, that is because tea arts have practical utility.”
“Tranquility, stillness, harmony, and balance—these are the principles of the Way of Tea. A person who prepares tea with a calm and peaceful mind naturally gives off an aura that calms others, and the tea they brew will possess lasting depth. Now that humanity has completed its evolution, the pheromones created by ABO sex differentiation mean that the ‘aura’ spoken of in the ancient Way of Tea is no longer merely figurative.”
“Once you complete this course, you will be able to apply your own pheromones to tea arts, using pheromones to stimulate—”
An enormous crash rang out!
Qian Lixiu’s next words stopped abruptly!
Faan and the others, who had been listening intently, were startled badly. Every Omega in the classroom turned toward the source of the sound—
The beautifully crafted wooden classroom doors had been rammed open with tremendous force. They had not been locked, and both heavy panels had slammed inward against the walls on either side. Now they continued trembling back and forth from the momentum.
The Alpha bodyguard who had been restraining his struggling young master had accidentally crashed into the door while trying to overcome the excessive resistance. He wore an awkward expression. The other bodyguard saw the situation inside the classroom and immediately bent at the waist toward Qian Lixiu in apology.
“We’re terribly sorry, Madam Qian Lixiu! We interrupted your class!”
He signaled his companion to put Anglia down and said sincerely, “Our young master was unwell this morning and arrived late. We will take him to his seat immediately so he can attend class.”
Faan looked at the bodyguard’s incredibly sincere expression and could not help feeling a kind of solemn respect. He glanced at Lili’an beside him and, sure enough, saw her roll her eyes.
When she noticed Faan looking, Lili’an lowered her voice and whispered,
“Look at that expression. If I didn’t know what kind of temper their young master has, I might actually believe that nonsense about him being ‘unwell’!”
Faan smiled silently.
Sure enough, after hearing the bodyguard’s explanation, Qian Lixiu’s previously awful expression softened somewhat. But before she could speak, Anglia began shouting loudly.
His bodyguard had already put him on the floor. Perhaps because so many people were watching, he did not make any more indecorous movements and even straightened his disordered clothes. But there was not the slightest trace of decorum in the words that came out of his mouth.
“Tea arts!” he cried. “Oh my god, spending a fortune in crystal ore for one tiny brick of tea, then pairing it with priceless tea ware and pouring boiling water over it a few times—this needs to be studied? I can do it right now!”
“Besides, I don’t even like drinking tea. The money my family saves on tea leaves could be donated to the slums instead!”
The two bodyguards’ faces twitched. Xiweier sighed, “Oh my god,” while Qian Lixiu on the platform instantly looked furious.
“Good… Very good…”
Seeing that even Qian Lixiu, famous for cold composure, was so angry her voice trembled, the Omegas watching the scene no longer even had the attention to spare for being offended by Anglia. Instead, they silently broke into a nervous sweat on his behalf.
What astonishing courage!
“Madam, we can explain…”
One bodyguard stepped forward twice, attempting to rescue the situation, only to be swept aside by Qian Lixiu as she strode down from the platform.
The Alpha bodyguards wore special collars that prevented them from leaking even the slightest trace of pheromones while inside Lian. Although this one had a tall, powerful body and strength no Omega could match, he did not dare lay a hand on a professor within the academy. He could only be brushed aside like a chick flung away by an eagle.
“You know how to make tea?” Qian Lixiu stopped in front of Anglia and said coldly. “Everything you just described… would produce nothing but rubbish and waste.”
Even while furious, her posture remained elegant and upright. Anglia somehow seemed a head shorter beneath her presence, though he stubbornly raised his neck and confronted her.
“Who cares whether what I make is good or bad? Isn’t it all meant to be drunk? At worst, it’ll just taste worse!”
Qian Lixiu looked at him as though observing pure ignorance. Finally, she suppressed the anger on her face and smiled calmly.
“Since that is what you believe…”
She turned, returned to the platform, took a canister of tea leaves from a drawer beneath the lectern, and quickly brewed a cup using the tea set already arranged there.
The tea in the white porcelain cup was a beautiful jade green, leaves floating up and down within it. Steam curled into the air carrying a delicate fragrance. Qian Lixiu braced both hands on the lectern and tilted her head toward Anglia.
“Then do you have the courage to taste a cup of tea brewed by me?”
