Chapter 825: Chapter 634: Dance of Sword and Dragon (Part 1) Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by noᴠelfire.net
Kingdom of Stars, Sword Flower University.
As night fell, the stars twinkled, and the school’s grand courtyard was adorned with lights and dazzling decorations. The stage featured a masked songstress passionately singing, with a sound master providing musical accompaniment. The central area was a starlit dance floor, surrounded by outdoor bars and buffet tables. Students dressed in formal attire and masks danced, chatted, played, or indulged in food, filling the entire school with a lively and youthful atmosphere as the music flowed.
July and August are the break months for self-study in universities, and also the peak period for various intercollegiate entertainment activities. Trajectory University’s “Dream Summer Frenzy Festival,” Ark University’s “Scarlet Theater,” Truth University’s “Great Debate,” Illusory Sound University’s “Campus Song King,” and other such events are all designed for students to unwind and are concentrated in these two months.
The most anticipated event among them is undoubtedly Sword Flower University’s “Sword and Dragon Dance” masquerade ball!
All these activities are open to all university students as cross-college events, and Sword Flower University is famous for its students’ outstanding looks in Jiale City, with wealthy and noble family backgrounds. The atmosphere of romance is strong on campus, so every year the masquerade ball draws countless students from other schools to Sword Flower University, hoping for a chance to start a new chapter in their youthful love story. Even students from Truth University are no exception—in fact, the rate of cross-school couples between Truth University and Sword Flower University is far higher than of those formed within Truth University.
Though many students vow ‘I’m going to focus on studying, not dating,’ the lack of coursework in July and August inevitably leads to some slack; and the approaching masquerade ball directly increases the love-seeking rate among all university students in Jiale City. Even if you’re the sort who can inadvertently complete several math tests, it’s hard not to be swept up in the fluttering feelings of spring.
Many Truth University students, known for their strict family upbringing and wholehearted commitment to mastering magic, find themselves inexplicably caught up and toyed with by outsiders at the masquerade ball, innocently committing to lifelong bonds, regardless of gender.
According to completely unreliable statistics, the number of successful matches at the masquerade ball each year reaches the four-digit mark, even though 70% of them fall apart within a month. It’s enough to keep love-struck youths eagerly anticipating.
However, even though Sword Flower students anticipated the popularity of the masquerade ball, they still didn’t expect so many people tonight, as if half of Jiale City’s students had squeezed in.
As for why there are so many people this year, everyone knows.
“Why are there so many red-haired people?”
Outside the dance floor, a young man in a wolf costume mask was bewildered.
Among the three girls walking past him, one had red hair. Although there were pink, wine-red, crimson, and other variations, along with short hair, medium length, layered, and ponytails, the number of red-haired girls was overwhelming!
“Hey, that’s perfectly normal.”
At the bar, a female bartender was mixing drinks with flair, laughing, “Ever since ‘Misaligned Blades’ aired, when you saw ten young women in Jiale City, at least eight had done their hair like Dedarose. Now the Red-haired Swordswoman is shining in Meteor Disaster, so why not follow the trend and dye your hair red?”
The young man in a wolf costume glanced over and saw that the female bartender had also dyed a streak of red in her hair. Helplessly, he accepted the cocktail, “But with so many red-haired girls, even if Miss Sword Maiden appeared in front of me, I wouldn’t be able to tell… ugh!”
As soon as he took a sip of the cocktail, he felt it was unbearably sour, and wanted to curse but refrained, seeing the bartender was cute and pretty. He swallowed his anger and said, “I ordered a Holiday Storm, what’s this?”
“Oh, sorry, sorry.” The female bartender pulled out a notebook to check, “Let me see… No wonder, turns out I made a mistake and accidentally added sour vinegar. Let me fix you a proper one right now.”
“Are you learning on the spot?!”
“There are too many people tonight; I was just pulled in for temp work,” the female bartender grumbled. “Who told me I flunked my finals…”
The young man in a wolf costume blinked, suddenly finding the bartender quite cute. Her chubby red cheeks resembled an apple, perfectly hitting his preference zone. He coughed and, in a magnetic voice, said, “Then, dear miss, may I invite you to dance later?”
“Thank you!” the bartender replied crisply, “But you can’t. I have a fiancé.”
“Can’t a person with a fiancé dance? It’s just the joy of dancing,” the wolf-costumed youth gently reasoned.
“If it’s just dancing, I can dance with my roommate. Why must I dance with a guy?” the bartender chuckled, “Besides, you’re not my type.”
“What’s your type then?”
“Why do all the girls I like belong to someone else?!” The wolf-costumed youth lamented to the heavens, “If it’s I who failed in pursuing them, I’d understand, but why have they all got someone they like already! Am I fated to be the type that hits on married women?!”
“I have two single roommates, also quite pretty, though not as pretty as me. When they come over later, shall I introduce you?”
“No,” the young man in the wolf costume firmly rejected, “I don’t like such heavily arranged meetings; I yearn for those unplanned heart-throbbing moments.”