great-warnovel Chapter 52. The gold-rimmed glasses, the seemingly refined but actually scoundrel second brother sai
Chapter 52. The gold-rimmed glasses, the seemingly refined but actually scoundrel second brother sai
Guigu Academy, Minglun Hall.
This is the most solemn place in the academy, and also the "battleground" that determines whether new students can enroll.
In the center of the hall sat an old man with white hair and beard, who was none other than the legendary eccentric headmaster—Guiguzi (of course, he was self-proclaimed).
However, this highly respected old scholar was currently lying on the table without any regard for his image, his face almost touching the bamboo slips.
"What is this? What is this?!" The headmaster squinted, a fly trapped between the crow's feet at the corner of his eye.
He held the gold-inlaid calligraphy and painting that the young master Zhang had just given him in his hand, and after looking at it for a long time, he still couldn't tell whether it was an eagle or a chicken.
"Master, this is the painting 'Eagle Catching a Rabbit' by the painting master of the previous dynasty!" Young Master Zhang knelt below, sweating profusely, still holding the Hetian jade brush washer in his hands, trying to illuminate the master's cloudy eyes with the glint of money: "It's worth a thousand gold pieces! A thousand gold pieces!"
"Take it away! Take it away!" The headmaster waved his hand impatiently, like shooing away flies: "It's hurting my eyes! Next!"
Young Master Zhang retreated, looking dejected, but before leaving, he glared fiercely at Qin Mo.
The look in his eyes clearly said: I offered mountains of gold and silver and they were all turned away, and you, a poor scholar, can still offer flowers?
"Next, Qin Mo."
Qin Mo straightened his clothes. The faded blue robe he wore somehow exuded an indescribable air of elegance and nobility.
Instead of taking the stunning glass ornament (which was saved for the grand finale), he took out a slender box wrapped in black velvet from his sleeve.
Su Wan stood at the back of the crowd, clutching a handkerchief in her hand, her heart pounding in her chest.
It's a set of blueprints redeemed from the system store, gold wire bought by the fourth brother, crystal pieces polished by the fifth and sixth brothers, and the whole family worked together to make it—the [Reading Glasses].
Whether it works or not depends on this one shot!
"Student Qin Mo, seeing that the headmaster's eyesight is impaired, specially presents an item called the 'Mirror of Investigation'."
Qin Mo's voice was clear and cold, neither humble nor arrogant.
"A mirror for examining objects?" The headmaster looked up, his cloudy old eyes sweeping over the black box, his interest waning: "A mirror again? Last time a merchant from the Western Regions gave me a bronze mirror, and it made the wrinkles on my face look deeper than ravines. What bad luck! I'm not looking!"
A low, gloating laugh rippled through the crowd.
Young Master Zhang, fanning himself, laughed heartily: "Oh, Brother Qin, are you trying to make the Headmaster straighten his clothes in front of a mirror right here? How... ingenious!"
Qin Mo's expression remained unchanged.
His slender fingers gently unfastened the clasp on the box. "Click." A crisp sound.
He took out the glasses. The thin, hair-like gold frames shimmered with a cold, ascetic light in the sunlight.
Two gold chains hung down, swaying slightly with his movements. This look was unlike anything he had ever seen before, yet it exuded a chilling blend of exquisite beauty and danger.
"This mirror does not reflect one's appearance, but... it reflects one's heart." Qin Mo spoke calmly, then made a gesture that silenced the entire room—
He did not present it directly to the headmaster.
Instead, he put it on himself first.
His slender fingers held the gold-rimmed glasses and slowly rested them on the bridge of his nose.
The two gold chains dangled down beside his ears, gently brushing against his pale neck.
His originally aloof, scholarly demeanor changed abruptly the moment he put on his glasses. He became refined. He became a scoundrel. He became… someone who made your legs go weak.
Those phoenix eyes hidden behind the lenses seemed to be covered by a layer of icy coldness, so deep they were like a black hole that could suck people in.
"Second Brother..." Su Wan stood in the corner, her breath caught in her throat.
The usually gentle and cunning second brother, why does he seem so... seductive when he puts on glasses?
Qin Mo turned his head.
Through the crowd, through that thin layer of crystal, his gaze precisely pierced the noise and landed on Su Wan.
It's crystal clear. The prescription was chosen by Su Wan based on the elderly man's vision, and for him, a young man, it actually had a somewhat dizzying magnifying effect.
But because of this magnification... he saw the fine, pink downy hairs on Su Wan's earlobe, trembling slightly in the sunlight.
I saw her red lips pursed up with nervousness, her full lips still damp from where she had been in the cell.
He even caught a glimpse of her snow-white collarbone, barely visible beneath her neckline, rising and falling with her breath.
"Gulp." Qin Mo's Adam's apple bobbed violently at the collar of his blue robe.
He strode towards Su Wan.
Every step felt like stepping on the heartbeats of everyone present.
"Sister-in-law." He stopped in front of her, getting a little too close.
Using the feigned act of "tidying up his appearance," he leaned forward slightly, and the cool fragrance of ink instantly enveloped Su Wan.
"This mirror...it's amazing." Qin Mo's voice was low, with a husky tone that only the two of them could understand, and a hint of barely perceptible danger: "Wearing it, I can see my sister-in-law...it's too clear."
Su Wan's cheeks flushed bright red, and she instinctively tried to back away: "What...what are you looking at?"
Qin Mo stretched out his hand, his fingertips tracing her outline faintly through the air. The gaze behind his glasses was like a tangible tentacle, slowly "seeing through" every inch of her skin.
"Look at how you're blushing."
"Look at your sideburns... they were messed up by the fourth brother in the cell just now."
"And..." He leaned close to her ear, his breath warm through the gold chain, the extreme contrast of coolness and heat: "The frequency with which your eyelashes flutter when you're shy."
"Second Brother!" Su Wan was so embarrassed she almost stomped on his foot. What kind of indecent things was he saying in public!
Is this the legendary... hypocrite?!
Just as Su Wan was about to lose her strength, Qin Mo straightened up.
He took off his glasses and instantly reverted to his aloof and polite scholarly demeanor, as if the man with the drooling gaze just moments before was not him at all.
He turned around, held the glasses in both hands, and respectfully handed them to the old man behind the desk: "Headmaster, please try them on."
The entire audience held their breath.
What exactly is this thing?
The headmaster took it with some skepticism and, imitating Qin Mo, awkwardly placed it on the bridge of his nose.
The world stood still for a second.
Then--
"Holy crap!!!" This well-read scholar, who was full of classical Chinese phrases, actually swore on the spot!
He jumped up from his seat and stared wide-eyed at his surroundings.
This moment.
Originally a blurry mosaic,
It transformed into a high-definition 4K world! He saw the spiderwebs on the roof beams! He saw the tiny ink stains on the bamboo slips! He even saw the piece of vegetable stuck between Young Master Zhang's teeth!
"I can see it! I can see it!" The headmaster was so excited that he danced with joy, tears welling up in his eyes: "This is clairvoyance! This is super hearing! This is... a miracle!"
His hands trembled as he held the gold-rimmed glasses as if they were his own father: "Qin Mo! This... what kind of celestial treasure is this?!"
Qin Mo smiled slightly: "Replying to the Headmaster, this is the way of 'investigating things to acquire knowledge'."
"With sincerity, even a stubborn stone can be blessed."
"What a fine example of investigating things to acquire knowledge! What a sincere heart!" The headmaster waved his hand, sweeping Zhang Gongzi's priceless calligraphy and painting to the ground: "This is what a scholar should possess!"
"Qin Mo! From this day forward, you are my last disciple! Anyone who dares to stop you, I will glare at them to death with these 'Thousand-Mile Eyes'!"
Boom! The entire arena erupted in uproar. Everyone stared at Qin Mo with the eyes of someone looking at a god.
This isn't just enrollment; it's like reaching the very top!
Young Master Zhang collapsed to the ground, staring at the calligraphy and painting that had been thrown there, tears welling up in his eyes.
Lost to a pair of...broken glasses?
Behind the crowd, Su Wan looked at the figure standing in the center of the hall, receiving the worship of the crowd, yet remaining calm and composed.
Only she knew what kind of wolf was lurking in the heart of that seemingly indifferent man the moment he put on his glasses.
Qin Mo seemed to sense her gaze. He turned around. Although he wasn't wearing his glasses, he accurately spotted her in the crowd. A meaningful smile curved his lips, and he silently mouthed a sentence to her:
"Sister-in-law."
"Leave the glasses with me tonight."
"I want to... see it more clearly."
Su Wan: "..." Help! Can I even go to school?! This academy feels even more dangerous than home?!