NOVEL NEXT Chapter 98 - The Competition 6
As the captain of the Phantom Squad, Mai Dongzi would always sit in the audience to show her support whenever her three teammates were competing.
The preliminary matches were determined by a draw, and Wang Yiyi and Yu Lan had already competed yesterday, with Zhuang Huiya’s match scheduled for today.
Although today was Zhuang Huiya’s first match, his luck was not great. Right from the start, he faced an opponent who was a late-stage fourth-level fighter from the Combat Department.
Students from the Combat Department not only generally have higher cultivation levels than those from other departments, but their combat power is also superior. After all, combat is their primary focus.
In contrast, the Command Department, with its broad range of studies, provides the least training in individual combat.
Zhuang Huiya’s opponent was not only at a higher cultivation level but also physically stronger. In front of him, Zhuang Huiya looked like a bookish scholar.
Mai Dongzi knew immediately upon seeing Zhuang Huiya’s opponent that this match was a guaranteed loss for him. The only question was how long he could hold out.
What Mai Dongzi didn’t expect was that this seemingly silent and almost sullen boy had a tenacity beyond ordinary people. Despite being badly beaten and even suffering a broken left hand, he refused to give up, fighting fiercely and persistently against his opponent.
In the end, the venue fell into silence. Not only were the people from the Command Department subdued, but even those from the Combat Department had gone from cheering loudly at the beginning to being silent in awe later on.
Although in the end, Zhuang Huiya fell, he received a standing ovation and the respect of his opponent.
The medical staff carefully lifted Zhuang Huiya onto a stretcher and carried him off the arena. Mai Dongzi and Zhuang Huiya’s mentor went over to them.
As they got closer, Zhuang Huiya’s injuries looked even more shocking. Mentor Li couldn’t help but comment, “This child.”
Mai Dongzi understood Mentor Li’s sentiment. As a warrior, Zhuang Huiya’s fighting spirit was commendable. However, since Zhuang Huiya was her student, seeing him so badly injured over a single match inevitably made her feel heartbroken.
It seemed that Zhuang Huiya sensed their approach. He opened his eyes, which were swollen to mere slits, and looked at Mai Dongzi with an expression that sought praise. Through his swollen lips, he managed to say one word: “Sis…”
Mai Dongzi wasn’t surprised that Zhuang Huiya knew she was his “cheap” cousin. After all, although they couldn’t go outside, communication with the outside world was not cut off.
When Mai Dongzi had helped Zhuang Huiya that day, if he had mentioned it to his family, they would have learned who she was.
Her background was now widely known, and it was likely that the elders of the Zhuang family were already aware of her existence, but had not informed Zhuang Huiya.
Over the past half-month, there had been little progress in investigating Lucy’s parents. All traces had been thoroughly erased.
Mai Dongzi thought that, from another perspective, the cleaner the past traces were, the more suspicious it seemed.
After all, if Lucy’s mother had left because she didn’t want to raise Lucy, there should have been some traces left behind.
The investigation results about the Zhuang family were much easier to obtain. Bodyguard Su had handed them over to Mai Dongzi ten days ago.
Although Atom Xi had always been an illegitimate child who was not acknowledged by the family and lacked notable abilities, he was a very straightforward person. He used the money given by his father to run a business diligently and ended up earning quite a lot.
Zhuang Huiya’s father, Zhuang Yanzhou, was a classmate of Atom. Through this connection, Atom had known Lucy’s mother, Zhuang Yuelan, for a long time.
Atom, due to his relationship with Zhuang Yuelan, helped Zhuang Yanzhou travel together, which contributed to the Zhuang family’s transition from an ordinary family to a relatively wealthy one.
If Atom hadn’t died suddenly, with the intentional or unintentional help of the previous Xi family head, Atom and the Zhuang family could have developed into a new prominent family in ten or twenty years.
However, Atom’s sudden death, followed by Zhuang Yuelan’s disappearance the day after his death for unknown reasons, left only the few-month-old Lucy to be taken away by the Xi family.
After that, the Zhuang family not only returned to their original state but also faced suppression from Zhao Fanni because they tried to get close to Erica.
Zhao Fanni was ruthless; she didn’t destroy the Zhuang family in one go but treated them like a cat playing with a mouse. Whenever the Zhuang family showed some improvement, she would have people suppress them, making them jump between hope and despair repeatedly.
If it hadn’t been for the revelation of the false and true daughters incident, which made Zhao Fanni hesitant to act against the Zhuang family, even if Zhuang Huiya had been admitted to the Imperial University, he might not have had the chance to attend.
After receiving this information, Mai Dongzi directly sent it to the Xi family’s family network, publicly punishing Zhao Fanni in front of all the Xi family members.
From private reports by Mira and Ren Guang, Mai Dongzi was well-informed about the current situation of the Negri couple.
Although the couple was involved in the false and true daughters incident, there was no conclusive evidence, and such matters were considered family issues, not legal offenses.
Therefore, even though Negri was removed from his position as the head of the Xi family, he still retained his title of viscount, and his government position remained unchanged.
After Mai Dongzi’s counterattack, Zhao Fanni remained quiet for a while.
However, Mai Dongzi was still just a newly adult student with little influence in society. As Mai Dongzi went back to school, people gradually “forgot” about the false and true daughters incident. Regardless of Zhao Fanni’s internal thoughts, she maintained a polite exterior.
Thus, over the past two months, Zhao Fanni, the viscountess, gradually regained her former elegance.
The information Mai Dongzi posted was akin to tearing off Zhao Fanni’s facade and trampling it on the ground.
Of course, the elders of the Xi family, who were set in their ways, were dissatisfied with this, but no one else voiced complaints to Mai Dongzi. Only the Fifth Elder, maintaining his status, expressed discontent with her.
Mai Dongzi responded directly on the Xi family website with three points: Why Zhao Fanni suppressed the Zhuang family, whether Zhao Fanni was involved in Zhuang Yuelan’s disappearance, and how Zhao Fanni would compensate the Zhuang family for their property and emotional damages.
Although there was a general belief that the Negri couple had been involved in swapping Mai Dongzi and Alice’s identities, no concrete evidence existed.
Thus, after Mai Dongzi returned to the Xi family, she did not address the identity swap with the Negri couple but merely corrected her own background and severed ties with them.
Although bodyguard Su had only recently joined Mai Dongzi’s side, her strong workability and keen understanding of Mai Dongzi’s thoughts allowed her to thoroughly investigate the Zhuang family’s situation. She discovered traces of Zhao Fanni’s interference, delved deeply into these traces, and gathered all available evidence.
Therefore, anyone who saw this information knew that Zhao Fanni had been suppressing the Zhuang family since seventeen years ago.
By questioning Zhao Fanni in this manner, Mai Dongzi effectively exposed and condemned Zhao Fanni again.
The elders of the Xi family no longer dared to speak out against Mai Dongzi and instead turned their criticism toward Zhao Fanni.
The day before yesterday, Mai Dongzi received compensation from the Xi family head for the Negri couple, amounting to ten billion credit coins for Mai Dongzi and five billion for the Zhuang family.