By the late afternoon, Magister Roslyn-Marie Wen returned.

Petra ceased her delivery of Gwen's bridging course and moved to aid her Master in rearranging newly arrived magical materials into the central laboratory.

Gwen moved to help, though all she could do was watch. In the aftermath, Magister Wen turned to Gwen with the same curiosity of a scholar examining a rare and unusual specimen.

"So, you're Gwen Song." The bookish Magister shook Gwen's hand with cold, skeletal fingers.

"It's good to meet you, Ma'am." Gwen bowed after they shook. "Petra has had nothing but praise for your expertise and your care."

"She's an able student." Wen glanced at Petra with amusement, drawing a rare blush from the laconic Mineral Mage. "Though I did not know she was also a flatterer."

Gwen nodded, reading from Wen that the scholar was likely not built for humour.

"At any rate, we're not big on formality here. Just call me Wen, no need for Mage titles."

"Thank you, Ms Wen." Gwen curtsied expertly, taking on the offer of intimacy but maintaining a respectful distance.

To her eyes, Magister Marie-Roslyn Wen appeared a bookish Enchanter-Transmuter who, like Petra, had a rare affiliation with the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Mineral. She was ethnically Chinese, but her Affinity with the Mineral arts had tinted her once dark eyes with the likeness of clear crystals, giving her classically Han facial structure an alien appearance. Starkly, the Magister stood a head shorter than Petra, accentuated with a slight stoop to her spine in a rigid, compact body.

According to her introduction, Wen was also an expatriated scholar, having grown up in London as a child, and then arrived in her "home" country to teach, hoping to return to London with enough clout to work under Cambridge or Oxford.

When the polite small talk had ceased, the trio sat down to some tea, with Magister Wen combing over Gwen's file with an expression of delight.

"Klavdiya's right. Your cousin does appear as though four Acolytes crammed into one," Wen mused as she scrutinised the thickly annotated bundle of Gwen's admission papers. "Petra has her work cut out for her. Did your grandmother explain the cost of your tuition?"

"Yes," Gwen replied. "You wanted to study my Void Element?"

"'We' wish to, dear. Petra and I, and you as well, I'd imagine." Wen sipped her camomile gingerly. "You are not averse to exercising your affinity, I presume?"

"No, it'll be my pleasure to assist you, Ma'am," Gwen said demurely, choosing a display of modesty. "So long as my health can keep up."

"Good, though no one ever said the academics was easy—" Wen's assurance was ambiguous. "Of course, we shall endeavour to err on the side of your preservation and safety. Numbers aside, I am interested in how Void manifests in consuming Affinity. The fact that you're well-versed in Conjuration, Evocation, Transmutation and Abjuration makes this beyond perfect. Say, you're not interested in taking on some Enchanting, are you?"

"Not at the moment, Ms Wen." Gwen felt a tingle of premonition tickling the base of her spine. If she were to covet the talent, it would mean feeding Caliban an Enchanter. In that regard, she had no desire to become another Elizabeth Sobel.

The trio took their time having tea until Petra professed that she had to return to her laboratory work. Knowing that she had overstayed her welcome, Gwen bid the two Mineral Enchanters goodbye with the promise of daily lessons and the satisfaction of Wen's curiosity.

The moment she exited the labs, she ran almost head-first into a young man who looked to be in his twenties, holding a bouquet of springtime flowers in the corridor.

"Is… Ms Kuznetsova in?" The young man asked nervously, his eyes widening with panic as his gaze fell upon Gwen. "Oh, S-sorry! My name is Baili. Has her lab work finished for the day?"

"Pats!" Gwen called out into the lab, her mouth grinning broadly. "You have an admirer here!"

"A-admirer?!" Baili looked stunned. "I suppose… yeah. That's it exactly! I am an ardent admirer!”

Petra came stomping from the lab in her white coat, her face more annoyed than happy.

Oh no, Gwen winced.

Her cousin confronted the young man quaking in the girls' presence.

"Bai, I told you."

"Petra..."

"No. I don't date."

"But… I am just an admirer!" Baili seemed to relish the new moniker he'd acquired. "Please accept this gift. That's all I desire. From your admirer!"

Petra reached out and plucked the bouquet from Baili's hands.

The vibrant flowers passed under her nose.

Petra regarded the flowers coldly, her eyes as hard as the crystals that made up her element. And there it is, Gwen winced again. A second later, Petra pulled her face away from Baili's gift with a look of annoyance.

"Are the flowers not to your liking?" Baili gulped. "I can get more expensive ones."

With a thump that might as well have left a trail of blood on the wall, Petra threw the bouquet against the top of an open bin in the corridor. The flowers lingered for a vertical moment, then slid home into the darkness.

"Don't bother me again," her cousin stated coldly before turning to Gwen. "Gwen, check your Message device. Babs said that she's organising a banquet tonight and has invited everyone. She'd gone home now to prepare. I'll meet you here at 1800, and we'll go together."

"Okay, thanks, Pats. Is Babulya not meeting your Master?"

"They'll catch up later, likely to discuss you."

Nodding, Gwen checked her Message device. Sure enough, a recording had just come through.

"See you in a few hours," Petra said to Gwen. "Don't interrupt me with trivial stuff like this next time."

Petra closed the door as though her admirer was nought but air. Gwen breathed out and turned to regard the stricken Baili. Ah, she waxed sentimentally. The sorrows of youth and love; won and lost.

"I should go." Baili looked as though someone had pulled out his spine and beat him bloody with it. "Goodbye."

Gwen followed the young man as he descended the stairs with a Prufrockian air. She felt such sympathy for the love-struck fellow while feeling nostalgic for the university life she once had. Unlike her horrid high school days, Sydney U was a highlight. On its ancient campus, she had made friends, attended classes with the best and the brightest, partied hard and studied harder. She found her earliest taste of love there as well, meeting a bevvy of admirers ranging from adventurous to academic, lads to lasses.

But those Halcyon days were now as far away as a dream. Sometimes, Gwen began to wonder if her old life was just that—a pleasant, midsummer night fantasy.

It was crazy to think that now, in her new life, her five-year plan involved the best way to approach the cold-blooded execution of her Master's ex-wife, carefully coordinated with a thirty-something woman who summoned meteors from the sky and a man who was the avatar of the Sun God Apollo.

And yet—things could have been worse.

Feeling great sympathy for the young man, Gwen thus took the courage to tap the stranger on the shoulder.

"Yes?" the man turned to her with swollen, reddened eyes.

"Say, wanna grab a coffee?" Gwen smiled at the young man, blinding him with her dazzling teeth. "I want you to tell me all about Petra."

[https://i.imgur.com/WZkxC3a.png]

"… and that's about all I have to say," Gwen concluded her sagacious advice to Baili. 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,' she had told him, a point the man appeared to have taken to heart.

Since the man was kind enough to shout her desert, she had used the temporary companionship to glean information about Petra's social life and life on campus in general.

According to Baili, Petra stood as the top belle of the school since she arrived two years ago. Her looks, her talent, and her unique magic all caught the attention of the university's Student Committee, who wanted her as a poster-child for promoting Fudan.

Yet, to the surprise of all involved, Petra refused, citing her work at the laboratory. Nonetheless, the lumen-pics of her visage had already become famous around the campus. Since then, Pats had endured an endless stream of pursuers, ranging from delightful to forceful to outright possessive, becoming unbidden prize of many a manly duel.

Concurrently, her conversation with Baili also provided much insight into the student body of Fudan; chiefly split into several sub-groups:

The Little Gong-zi, or Gong-zhu, were the privileged "young masters" of Clans and notable houses, typically equipped with an entourage of lackeys. These pupils often knew one another from Clan gatherings outside the university, forming their little cliques based on their Sects. Of the men she had beaten up, Frederick Lin, Tao' nemesis, was one of these.

Conversely, an equally dangerous group was the Guan-er-dai, more accurately known by the officious moniker of the Political Progeny—descendants of officials in the PLA. These men and women, typically sons and daughters of the officials that ruled Shanghai and its surrounding Frontiers, were afforded special privileges by their parents' power. Her old nemesis, Dai Fung, was one such member of this austere group.

Finally, these were joined by the Fu-er-dai, the Progenies of Prosperity, referring to the sons and daughters of influential business leaders, who are similarly afforded great opportunities. Comparatively, these were the most harmless. Tao and Mina belonged to this group, though they were wealthier and more influential than most.

Below the triad of the well-inherited, the politically advantaged, and the resource-rich were the regular students like Baili. As invisible as these students may be, it was they who would form the backbone of Chinese society, becoming its Administrators, District Officials, Fabricators, Army Lieutenants and the glue that held the rare few at the top and the burgeoning bottom together.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Finally, Fudan's creme de la creme was the Scholarship students—commoners who had risen above the masses and whose ambition made them perfect Tower Mages. Petra was technically one of these, as well as herself and Richard.

According to Baili, life on the campus was incident-free as long as one did not involve oneself with the "entitled" triad. For someone like Gwen, a general summation of the social stratum was that the Clans were wary of the Officials, the Officials were suspicious of the Industrialists, and the Industrialists loathed the Clans.

A more discerning observation was that all three were all ferrets of the same den, and all of them saw commoners as egg-hens inevitably destined for the plucking. Unlike during the Second Beast Tide, intermarriages and shared interests had made relations ambiguous indeed, causing no ends of headaches for the Community Party's desire for unchallenged power.

To Gwen's delight, Baili also volunteered his observations on the world outside Shanghai, speaking of his longing for a scenic holiday in the Frontier.

The 'Scenic Frontier'! Gwen had laughed uproariously when the man delivered his rose-tinted view of the Wildlands. She was just about to tell him of the milling millions of Mermen baying for human blood when a call came through on her Message device.

"Hello? Babulya? It's Gwen," she answered the call. "Okay. Yes, I know, Petra told me. Alright, see you soon!"

Apologising, Gwen exchanged Glyphs with the now spirited young man, to whom she'd promised to deliver a good word with Petra, then set off to find her cousin.

When they met at the bottom of Henglong Laboratory, Petra suggested they take the public transport so that Gwen would later know how to get home herself.

Perhaps influenced by Gwen's choice of attire, her cousin now sported a thin fleece and contoured pantaloons, all of which accentuated her height and slimness. Combined with her tall ponytail and military-issue boots, her cousin appeared intimidatingly attractive and aggressively eye-catching.

Was Petra good or bad at choosing her clothes? Gwen began to wonder if her cousin's appearance was intentional. After all, wasn't Petra trained for espionage at Moscow Tower?

As they made their way down Fudan's shaded lanes, Petra showed not a single sliver of skin beyond her face and hands and yet, had attracted so much attention that Gwen was sure Baili would have fallen to his knees and wept like a child, becoming the first of many disciples under the queenly rule of Saint yoga-pants Kuznetsova.

[https://i.imgur.com/WZkxC3a.png]

Plum-blossom Village.

The Song Compound.

The banquet was set as before, with her grandfather presiding at the head of the twelve-strong table.

Clockwise from her babulya sat Jun, followed by her father, who'd returned from his mysterious 're-education', followed by aunty Nen. Besides them, there was a new face Gwen had never seen before next to Nen, whom she could only guess as Tao and Mina's father, beside which sat his children. Uncomfortable for Gwen, Percy sat next to Guo, which meant she had to sit next to Percy, nearer to the head than she'd like.

"... Dad." Gwen hailed her father, unsure if she should still be upset.

Morye looked to be in one piece but had taken on a dark tan. He also looked leaner, tighter, his body more sinuous and trained than she had ever seen in the past.

According to babulya, her father had pilgrimaged to their ancestral village in Hebei. If so, the ancestors must have been quite harsh on her father, for Gwen could see that there were now visible wrinkles around his eyes and across his forehead.

"Gwen. Your grandmother has told me all about your adventures. You've been a busy girl!" her father greeted her, his tone no less casual than before.

"Well—" Gwen kept her voice level. Previously, they hadn't exactly parted under the best of circumstances. To think that if it wasn't for him, she might be in Sydney still, training under Gunther and Alesia with her friends Yue and Elvia. But for his little escapade from the House of Song, her life had undergone an irreversible change. "You know how it is."

"Well, it's good to see you looking strong."

"Thanks, dad. How are you doing?"

"Ha!" her father glanced toward the head of the table, where Guo sat stoically. "I am surviving."

Gwen allowed her more sympathetic feelings for Morye to trump her curiosity.

"Alright, take care. I might be in Shanghai for a while; let's have a coffee."

"Sure thing, Dad."

She turned her attention away from her father and toward Mina and Tao's father, her Uncle Wang. "Hello, Uncle, it's good to meet you finally."

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Gwen. Thank you for what you've done for my children," Tao's father replied with an expression of earnestness.

"That's what family's for, Sir," Gwen returned politely. The man's handshake was firm and robust as they exchanged the greeting. Gwen clasped the man's palm with confidence, offering a gesture of equal friendliness.

The Patriarch Wang laughed. "I hope that if there are opportunities, you will take care of these two rascals again."

"I shall, Sir. Thank you for the gift."

"It was nothing. Call Mina if you need anything."

The two parted, watched by an uncertain Mina and a thoroughly impressed Tao. Gwen hailed her cousins, then turned finally to Richard.

"Dick, how was your day?"

"Fruitful, though I'll refrain from telling it for now." Richard gave her a wink.

Gwen agreed, for rare Wildland ingredients now overflowed the table with their deliciousness.

"Before we begin, there's something I would like to announce." Her babulya stood from her head of the table, her well-loved eyes surveying her closest family members.

She produced from her Storage Ring a letter embossed with the distinctive crest of Fudan University.

Gwen felt her breath catching as the familiar symbol appeared. Richard reached over and squeezed her hand underneath the table, which made Gwen realise how silly it was for her to freak. Her babulya arranged a banquet: they were in public, in front of the whole family; it was cruel and unthinkable to deliver the news of her "rejection" under these circumstances.

Babulya slipped a piece of linen-like paper from the envelope and began to read.

"'Dear Gwen Song, congratulations on your Full Scholarship Admission to Fudan University under the LCSS program! For nearly 100 years, Fudan has proudly welcomed new Mages into its fold, and we are excited for you to be part of this great tradition. As a member of the cohort of 2003, you will join a dynamic Spellcraft community in a place of endless magical opportunities—'"

The speech continued for a minute.

"—Yours Sincerely, Luo Jiang, Dean.'"

"OH MAO!" Tao let loose a cry of jubilation. "Cousin! You did it! Mao's balls! You did it!"

"That's wonderful news! Gwen!" Mina walked over and hugged her tightly, pressing her cheeks to Gwen's astonished face.

"Congratulations." Richard and Petra held their emotions in check, with the latter showing no surprise at all.

"I knew you could do it." Her babulya walked around the table and offered her the letter.

"Dean Luo personally thanked me when I met with him. You should know," her grandmother continued. "He was ecstatic. To think that in calling in a favour, he now owes us more favours, hahaha."

A round of 'woos' and 'wows' resounded across the table, with Nen and her family clapping loudly.

"Tao, sit down!" Patriarch Wang, Tao's father, slapped his son on the head before Guo could speak. "Why can't you be more like Gwen? She's from the Frontier, and she's a hundred times more talented than you."

He turned to Gwen.

"Please continue to take care of my son," Wang stated thoughtfully. "He's going to need it..."

"Oh, it's nothing," Gwen replied. Turning away from Tao's father, she opened the letter delivered by her smiling babulya and scanned the first few lines.

Gwen's eyes scanned the happy table but then stopped when she realised that at its head, Guo had grown completely expressionless and silent.

A part of her felt impossibly happy. It was finally here—her new beginning! Now, she had finally taken a step into the Path her Master had planned.

Another part of her noticed Percy's eyes flitter between his stoic grandfather and herself. Having spent enough time with Guo over the last two weeks, she knew that there was something here her grandfather did not like but couldn't understand why Guo would be displeased at her admission into Fudan.

Nonetheless, despite Guo's disapproval, her lovely brother rose from his seat and joined the celebratory hug.

"Congrats, Sis." Percy's voice carried over a wealth of emotions.

"Thanks, champ." Gwen pulled her brother in and hugged him tightly. "You'll be in university soon as well! I look forward to seeing you there in two years!"

"I am sure it'll be awesome." Percy parted from his sister, then appeared lost for words. Behind the boy, his grandfather's eyes felt like a pair of spell-wands with the crystal-ends pointed at Gwen's face.

Finally, Gwen embraced Petra.

"You knew!" Gwen accused her cousin.

"Of course, I knew." Petra chuckled. Her smiling eyes were twin pools of crystalline water. "Now, you better study twice as hard!"

A gentle cough interrupted the girls' happiness.

"Good work," Morye said proudly before opening his arms.

Gwen hesitated for a moment before allowing her jubilation to overcome her prejudice, permitting herself to fall into the rare indulgence of her father's arms. Morye's arms wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her closer, squeezing her against his chest. Gwen smelled the familiar whiff of tobacco on his neck and something else, something floral, pleasing and feminine. Suddenly, Gwen didn't know whether to laugh or cry—even in re-education, her father somehow managed to snag a woman.

Gently, her father's lips rested close to her ear.

"Your grandfather's up to something. Whatever it may be, keep your cool and give him what he wants. Mother will take care of you no matter what happens."

"What do you mean—" Gwen began.

"I am so proud!" Morye intoned loudly, enough for all to hear. "You make me very happy indeed."

The rest of the congratulatory greetings became static as Gwen stole glimpses at her grandfather. It was true, she realised. His throbbing temple veins had the look of a steam engine about to pop a gasket.

Klavdiya then turned to Richard and produced another letter.

"Oh, Richard! Your turn!" Gwen gushed.

"For Mr Richard Huang… a Half-Scholarship award from the Lim-Chanrol Student Scholarship prize!"

"Incredible!" Mina applauded and gave Richard a tippy-toed embrace.

"I am happy for you." Petra shook Richard's hands.

"Aw—bro! You are making me look bad!" Tao expressed his honest feelings of injustice without reserve.

But if Richard was disappointed with only the half-prize, he did not show it.

"Thank you, thank you," Richard thanked Klavdiya, making a respectful ninety-degree bow. "I am afforded this opportunity only because of you, Klavdiya. I am greatly in your debt."

He then turned to Gwen and likewise bowed.

"You as well, Gwen. Thank you for allowing me to accompany you on your journey," the young man announced earnestly.

"Richard, it was all you! I had nothing to do with it. The true gem's lustre shines unbidden. You're the one who I should thank," Gwen replied with a flustered expression, mindful that Guo was still silent.

Next, she bowed toward Klavdiya with all her mustered feelings of gratefulness. "Thank you, babulya. None of this would have been possible without you."

The gathering bathed in the mutual exchange of gratitude and congratulations.

Her grandmother watched her and Richard with eyes full of selfless kindness, holding the moment intact until their grandfather finally said his piece.

"The food is getting cold." Guo's baritone voice cut through the air like a sledgehammer.

The celebratory air hung itself as the Patriarch stood.

"Start eating," he commanded.

"Alright, alright, we can all celebrate later. Let's not waste the wonderful food the servants have spent hours on." Klavdiya urged them all to sit.

By now, Gwen knew that Guo wasn't too thrilled with her grandmother's intervention in her and Richard's affairs. Maybe the matter wasn't so bad? She wondered. She also knew Guo wasn't one for hugs and kisses. In fact, her stoic and loyal Patriarch detested all forms of emotional display.

The family returned to their seats and proceeded to work through the dozen or so dishes with polite chit-chatter. Recipes of exotic games passed to and from the Lazy Susan, diminishing until only soups and sauces remained.

Finally, after an agonising hour, Guo stood from the head of the table.

The rest of the family rested their spoons and chopsticks.

"Gwen, Percy, I need to speak to you. Come see me in my Meeting Room."

Without ceremony and with the usual laconicism of his usual self, Guo left the room. Gwen met the eyes of her family and communicated an apologetic look with her eyes before she too left the table. Percy nervously threw his napkin onto the chair for the servants to collect and followed Guo closely.

Klavdiya left her seat to escort Gwen.

"I suspect I know what he wants." Klavdiya had by now lost all of the joy she'd acquired since delivering the good news. Alarmingly, her grandmother's hand gripped Gwen's arm. "Gwen, whatever happens, it's not your fault. It's mine. I pushed for your admission to Fudan..."

Gwen held her babulya's hand and looked across the courtyard, where the entrance of the Meeting Room stood like a gaping maw.

"It's alright," Gwen spoke with untainted compassion. Her mind might be a jumble, but she could never blame Klavdiya. "Even if I have to leave, the fault, dearest babulya, is not in ourselves, but the stars."