Humiliation and the Many Faces of Life

It was nothing but a matter of who entered first, and Serena Feng didn’t care. She deliberately stepped back to let Wendy Summers go ahead, but Wendy refused to let it go. Though she could have entered first, she insisted on standing at the entrance, waiting for Serena.

The chess match hadn’t even begun, but the battle lines were already drawn.

“Miss Feng.” Wendy Summers wore a reserved smile, looking as if she’d recovered from yesterday’s blow—though only she knew the truth.

Seeing Wendy so polite, Serena found it amusing and nodded slightly, greeting her, “Miss Summers.”

“I heard your residence was quite lively yesterday, Miss Feng. I was worried you might not have rested well, but seeing you so refreshed today, I’m relieved. I’d hate for you to lose focus during chess and make me win unfairly.”

Wendy’s words dripped with sarcasm, and everyone behind them caught her meaning. But Serena acted as if she hadn’t noticed, nodding, “Thank you for your concern, Miss Summers. I slept wonderfully. Looking at you, even heavy makeup can’t hide your fatigue—clearly you didn’t rest well last night. Please take care; only by eating and sleeping well can you be at your best. If you misplace a chess piece, I’ll be blamed for bullying you.”

Serena’s eyes danced with mirth, her expression plainly saying, ‘I’m happy to see you doing poorly.’

Wendy’s smile stiffened for a moment before she returned to normal. “You’re joking, Miss Feng. I slept soundly, so how could I look tired? If anything, you seem much thinner than before.”

“Miss Summers, perhaps your eyesight isn’t great. Be sure to see a doctor.” Serena couldn’t be bothered to waste words with Wendy and gestured, “Guests go first—please, Miss Summers.”

“You’re too kind, Miss Feng. Guests follow the host’s lead—it should be you first.” Politeness was part of noble etiquette, and Wendy was determined to walk ahead of Serena. But she forgot: Serena Feng was no traditional noble lady.

Serena Feng’s eyes shifted and she spotted Chancellor Gregory Yan and his party approaching. Knowing that today’s judge was the Royal Academy’s chancellor, she stepped back three paces and said softly, “Miss Summers is right. We are both guests, so let the host go first. Chancellor, please.”

The chancellor of the Royal Academy was a renowned scholar across the Nine Provinces, from the prestigious Yan family, with roots in Jixia Academy.

The Yan family held great influence at Jixia Academy and was a leading literary clan, respected across the continent. Even the Emperor would defer to them. Incidentally, Chancellor Gregory Yan was among those drinking with Master Marcus Wynn yesterday.

“Chancellor Yan.” Serena and Wendy both bowed, inviting him to enter. But Old Master Yan didn’t oblige—he stopped, causing a traffic jam at the gate as no one dared move forward.

Old Master Yan’s beard was white, his face upright and dignified, exuding scholarly aura—he was the very image of a great scholar. He nodded to Wendy, then turned to Serena, asking skeptically, “Are you the Serena Feng who played ‘Boundless Azure Sea and Sky’ and left Master Marcus Wynn so obsessed?”

“Student Serena Feng greets Chancellor Yan. You flatter me, sir; I couldn’t possibly play anything to leave Master Marcus Wynn so obsessed.” She could tell he wasn’t friendly—literati are proud and clannish, and this Old Master Yan clearly thought she was unworthy, refusing Marcus Wynn. Besides, she and Marcus Wynn were worlds apart.

Chancellor Yan stroked his goatee and nodded. “It’s good for young people to have talent, but don’t be arrogant or conceited. Since you have musical gifts, don’t waste your talent.”

...She had no talent to be arrogant about! Serena cursed Marcus Wynn again in her heart, but outwardly smiled humbly: “Thank you for your guidance, sir. I will remember your advice.”

“Good. Since you call me ‘sir,’ come with me.” Old Master Yan walked inside, and Serena immediately followed.

She recalled that while literati are clannish and aloof, they fiercely protect their own. Within their circle, they are generous and always willing to help.

Serena Feng strolled leisurely behind Old Master Yan; to the uninformed, she looked like his personal disciple. Wendy Summers trailed behind, her mouth twisted in anger.

Had she known it would turn out like this, Wendy wouldn’t have wasted time chatting outside with Serena. She’d hoped to catch Old Master Yan’s eye, but he ignored her completely. The great scholars with him, whether by design or accident, all approached Serena, leaving Wendy out in the cold.

Wendy, always the center of attention, was ignored to an unprecedented degree. For a moment, she truly couldn’t process it.

Being ostracized was unbearable. Wendy and her maid walked alone at the back of the crowd; no matter how high she held herself, she couldn’t hide her loneliness.

Wendy cursed Serena from head to toe in her heart, and blamed Master Marcus Wynn for stirring things up for Serena. Still, if Marcus Wynn hadn’t boosted Serena’s reputation, Wendy wouldn’t have found it so easy to incite trouble at Serena’s residence yesterday.

Besides, though Old Master Yan came from Jixia Academy, he currently served at Eastlyn’s Royal Academy, so of course he favored Eastlyn. Wendy, as a challenger from Southlyn, was naïve to expect Eastlyn’s scholars to elevate her above an Eastlyn woman.

Yesterday’s zither duel was in the Imperial Garden, which most people couldn’t enter. Today’s chess match was at the Royal Academy—still hard to access, but students and scholars with some status could get in. Because yesterday’s duel was so sensational, twice as many came to watch today.

The Royal Academy responded quickly, moving the match to the academy plaza, which was spacious enough for tens of thousands.

When Old Master Yan and his party arrived, they caused a sensation.

“Which one is Serena Feng? I’ve heard her qin skill is extraordinary and her beauty unrivaled—even Master Marcus Wynn is smitten, vowing to marry no one but her.”

“See her? The woman in the lilac dress is Serena Feng—graceful, radiant, no wonder even Master Marcus Wynn is smitten.”

“She moves with poise, elegant and well-mannered. Walking beside Chancellor Yan, she doesn’t seem meek at all—truly a fine Eastlyn woman.”

“Her bearing is natural, noble, and graceful—what a true scholar’s style.”

A woman who can captivate both the Grand Heir and Master Marcus Wynn is hardly ordinary.

People are strange. Back when Serena Feng struggled in the capital, despised by all, not one person spared her a glance or spoke up for her.

Her beauty was called seductive, her elegance labeled affected, and her minor poetic success at the salon twisted into scandal.

Her virtues were ignored, her flaws magnified. Everyone fixated on her supposed premarital disgrace, never mind how she restored William Wang Jinling’s sight or saved lives at the salon.

But today, thanks to one word from Master Marcus Wynn, everyone takes back their venomous comments—no one dares mention her past “stain.”

This is human nature! Serena Feng smiled, tears in her eyes…

She understood with bitter clarity: the world tramples the weak and flatters the acclaimed. Where once she was slandered and isolated, now a few words from a powerful man have rewritten her reputation. She resolved to rely on her own strength, never forgetting how cheaply the crowd’s admiration is bought and how quickly it can turn.