As expected, Zhou Guiying initiated a very inappropriate topic, which was unfortunately very alpha-like.
"Say, Crown Prince," he snickered. "Is there any omega that interests you? I can help to crown him or her as Ethereal Beauty, should it please you."
Xie Jianyu stared at him.
"You are supposed to give your flower to an omega of your liking. No need to root for mine."
"I don't have any that attracts my eyes yet, so I will give you my vote."
"None? Zhou Guiying, that is an insult," the other alphas from noble families started to complain. They had omega relatives who attended the hunt in hope of becoming the Ethereal Beauty this year.
"If you really don't know who to vote for, just vote for my sister."
"Or my cousin."
"Or my younger brother. He is the one with the fox fur cape."
Zhou Guiying scoffed.
"Sorry, I am only making the offer to the Crown Prince. My approval is otherwise very hard to obtain."
"How arrogant!"
"Zhou Guiying, you should watch your mouth!"
"You are going to be single forever!"
Zhou Guiying merely laughed the angry comments off.
Xie Jianyu shook his head at the noisy alphas. He was not willing to say any more words about voting for a particular omega.
Truthfully, most of the alphas knew who they wanted to vote for. Some omegas joined the hunt in their second year already, hoping to attract prospective husbands. There were not many of those. The majority were those who completed their Initiation Day in the past months.
All of them were very beautiful and alluringly innocent. It was thus a mystery why Zhou Guiying acted like he was not interested at all.
"What about you, Brother Fengxi?"
Before Zhang Fengxi knew it, Zhou Guiying already put an arm around his shoulder while grinning widely.
"Who are you going to give your flower to?"
"You will see," Zhang Fengxi sneered.
Who else but Liu Wenyuan?
Xie Jianyu looked at Zhang Fengxi and their eyes met again. Before he looked away again, Zhang Fengxi decided to talk to him.
"Crown Prince, I apologize for my childish behavior last time. I hope that we can get along with each other in the future."
Xie Jianyu was startled, and he was not the only one. Where did that brat who portrayed him as an ugly dog go to? Did he mature overnight?
Gracefully, Xie Jianyu gave a subtle nod and replied, "I also apologize for my attitude. Let's not dwell in the past anymore."
Yeah.
The past was the past.
"Attention, all hunt participants!!!" Shuiran Palace Master shouted from the top of a makeshift tower. "We will begin this hunt soon! You are allowed to hunt whatever you want! With or without a catch, you are all required to be back here within a shichen*'s time!
The one with the most impressive catch and shortest hunting time will receive a bountiful award from the Heavenly Emperor himself!!!"
"OOOOOOOOH!!!" All the alphas shouted to indicate that they understood the rule.
The award itself was not very important. The most important thing was an audience with the Heavenly Emperor.
It was a chance for any alpha to rise, no matter the inferior familial background or lacking connections.
"On the count of three! One... Two... THREE!!!"
The Shuiran Palace Master then shot a colorful firework into the sky. It exploded into a bright display made of a thousand colors. At the same time, all alphas entered the hunting ground.
Xie Jianyu with his steed was left behind fairly quickly. Unhurriedly, he trotted with his steed into the hunting ground.
Zhang Fengxi turned his head around to look at the crown prince. He wondered whether Xie Jianyu did it out of modesty. After all, he, the crown prince, was entitled to meet his father at any time. He might want to grant this chance to other alphas.
Just when Zhang Fengxi thought about slowing down as well, the crown prince gave his mount a slight kick and a pair of wings sprouted out of the horse's sides.
The winged horse then rose into the air valiantly, overtaking all the other mounts in a flash.
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Author's note:
*A shichen = two hours.