I Became the Eye Candy: Four Bigshots Claimed to be My Dad?-Chapter 119: Addressing by Seniority

The thought of Master Zhang’s usually stern, unsmiling face, coupled with the timid look he had just seen on Miss Xiang, made him want to laugh.

"Let’s go, Grandmaster. The Dean is still waiting for you," the young man urged.

"Tell the Dean I’ll come over with the Eighth Prince after we finish eating."

"Alright then." The young man departed.

Ye Qianning sighed inwardly. When she turned her head, she saw a strange expression on Sang Zhi’s face, while Qian Zhuye stood beside them with a goofy grin, though she couldn’t tell what he was laughing about.

"The Dean took you on as his Direct Disciple?" Sang Zhi asked.

"Mhm." Ye Qianning nodded.

Hearing her confirmation, Sang Zhi’s expression grew even more peculiar. He pulled his arm from Ye Qianning’s grasp and pressed his lips together tightly, then pressed them again.

"Not going to eat anymore?"

Sang Zhi looked like he wanted to say something, but though he opened his mouth several times, no sound came out.

"Grandmaster."

Qian Zhuye’s voice boomed as he rushed to Ye Qianning’s side, so excited he looked ready to grab her by the leg.

Sang Zhi: "..."

Ye Qianning: "...You’re asking for a beating, aren’t you."

"Go ahead and hit me, Grandmaster." Qian Zhuye didn’t object in the slightest; on the contrary, he just laughed with delight.

’He must have a screw loose,’ Ye Qianning thought.

"You are the Dean’s Direct Disciple, so that means I also have to call you Grandmaster," Sang Zhi finally said after a long, conflicted pause.

"Well, do you want to call me Grandmaster?" Ye Qianning asked, finally understanding. ’So that’s what this little stick-in-the-mud’s complicated expression was all about.’

"According to the academy’s rules of seniority, that’s what I should call you." In his heart, however, Sang Zhi was reluctant.

It wasn’t because she was a little girl, but because if he called her Grandmaster, he felt like they wouldn’t just be friends anymore.

"If you don’t want to, then don’t," Ye Qianning said, seeing his reluctance.

Sang Zhi remained deeply conflicted.

"Come on, let’s go eat first. We can think about everything else after we’re done." Ye Qianning didn’t want Sang Zhi to call her Grandmaster either; it would create too much distance between them.

It was the peak of mealtime, and the academy’s dining hall was packed. From teenagers of sixteen and seventeen down to children as young as six, everyone, big and small, ate together.

The academy’s teachers and instructors were sitting at the tables nearest the entrance. They spotted the little girl before she even came in. The group exchanged peculiar looks and rose to their feet.

As Ye Qianning walked through the door, they all called out in unison, a mixture of "Senior Sister" and "Grandmaster..."

The booming voices stunned everyone in the dining hall into silence. All movement ceased as every head turned toward the entrance. ’Grandmaster? Senior Sister? Are they talking to that little girl?’

Ye Qianning was mortified. A few of the teachers who had seemed to look down on her just yesterday were now obediently calling her Senior Sister. ’What in the world happened?’

’If I’d known this was going to happen, I would have just eaten in Master’s courtyard!’

She ate her lunch as the center of everyone’s attention. And though Ye Qianning was embarrassed, she was also genuinely hungry, so it didn’t affect her appetite in the slightest. She ate with great relish.

Ever since enrolling in the academy, Qian Zhuye had been practically invisible. He didn’t like talking to people and had never received this much attention. He was suddenly on top of the world; even his food tasted more delicious.

Sang Zhi, on the other hand, had completely lost his appetite. It felt as if something was lodged in his chest; all of a sudden, his status before her had dropped abysmally low.

Within a couple of hours, the news had spread throughout the entire Lou Mountain Academy: Dean Chen had taken on a Direct Disciple. Not only that, but she was a six-year-old girl fresh from the countryside—the long-lost child of the General’s household, or so the rumors claimed.

Everyone was buzzing with curiosity. Why would Dean Chen choose a child raised in the countryside as his Direct Disciple?

The students from noble and aristocratic families were particularly baffled. ’Call some little girl from the countryside "Grandmaster"? Not a chance in hell!’

「Beili Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study」

The Beili Emperor’s expression was thunderous. His guards had relayed the news from Lou Mountain Academy at the first possible moment, and his anger was so intense it gave him a splitting headache.