Zheng Qing was naturally unaware of the conversations happening in the dean’s office after he left.

He had more than enough worries of his own.

Entering the fourth week of the second semester of his sophomore year, the weather grew increasingly warm. After the cycle of cold spells and warm days, spring had quietly fully arrived. The warm weather was perfect for hunting, and the essence of spring invigorated the hormones in young wizards. Moreover, for most second-year students, it was a period where they didn’t need to worry about the registered wizard assessments or overly concern themselves with the level-up exams, so naturally, spontaneous hunting activities organized among students gradually increased. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

On Wednesday evening, the Atonement Hunting Team held a ’full’ meeting for the first time in ages.

The reason for the quotes around ’full’ was that Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu were absent for well-known reasons, replaced by Xiao Xiao and Li Meng, so it was only a full attendance in theory.

It wasn’t until he returned to the dormitory that Zheng Qing learned about the specifics approved in the meeting.

"How come I didn’t know the team was participating in some private competition?" This was the first thing he blurted out after skimming through the meeting minutes he received from Xiao Xiao.

"Now you know." The Doctor replied calmly.

Zheng Qing sniffed.

Perhaps due to the increased pollen in spring, he felt his nose was always uncomfortable lately. Of course, it might also be due to stress-induced allergic rhinitis.

He accepted the hot towel handed over by the sprites, placed it on his face, and instantly felt the congestion in his nose ease. Along with it, the fatigue around his eyes diminished, clearing his thoughts significantly.

"Is this private hunting competition organized by Jiang Hua from Starry Sky Academy?" Immediately, he recalled the chatty blue-robed person who sat next to him every Monday morning.

"Yes."

"When is it supposed to start?" As Zheng Qing asked, he was already calculating his available time, considering that if the event were scheduled for Sunday, he might be able to squeeze in participation.

"This Saturday." Xiao Xiao’s answers were always concise.

Zheng Qing yanked the towel off his face.

"Saturday?"

He widened his eyes, glanced at his two busy roommates by the desk — the Doctor was oiling his Bamboo Slip Law Book, and the Fat Man was reviewing campus newspaper submissions — and immediately remembered why he couldn’t attend. The feeling of being ’abandoned’ quickly dissipated. He mumbled, "...I mean, if the competition is on Saturday, Jiang Yu and I might not be able to participate..."

"It’s already noted in the application," Xiao Xiao lifted his eyelids, looking over his glasses at Zheng Qing: "You two will be on the hunting team’s substitute bench this time...your spots are even behind Lin Guo and Li Meng."

"That girl must be ecstatic." The Atonement Hunting Team leader grumbled, accepting another hot towel from the sprites.

"More than ecstatic, she almost jumped onto the conference table to tap dance," the Fat Wizard added with a grin.

Zheng Qing felt that as the hunting team leader, he shouldn’t behave worse than a certain underage little witch.

"Although I can’t participate in the competition," he racked his brains for something he could do, his voice somewhat muffled by the towel barrier: "If there’s any writing work, I can still help a bit."

It took a lot of determination for him to say that.

He hadn’t been this enthusiastic during the campus hunting competition.

Unfortunately, his statement received no enthusiastic praise; the 403 dorm room fell silent. If it weren’t for the rustling sound of a feather pen on parchment, Zheng Qing would have thought he was the only one in the room.

He pulled off the cooling towel again, tossing it toward the floating sprites, and stared at Xin Fat Man.

"What did you just say?" The Fat Wizard belatedly looked up at the hunting team leader.

"Writing work!" Zheng Qing repeated word by word.

"Uh," the Fat Wizard hesitated and glanced at Xiao Xiao: "Isn’t this usually handled by the Doctor? Besides, this is just a student-organized private event..."

"Private hunting competitions don’t involve much paperwork."

Xiao Xiao removed his glasses, rubbed his eye sockets, and lazily replied: "So, this time we don’t need to submit a lengthy application form, don’t need to fill in each hunter’s three generations of direct relatives’ occupations, and don’t need, like the school’s Spring or Winter Hunting, to undergo the student council’s moral scrutiny... even though most of the time, those so-called inspections are just a formality."

Zheng Qing was silent for a few seconds.

He wasn’t sure which was worse: ’a hunting team leader being clueless about private event procedures’ or ’rarely being proactive only to be thrown cold water’ — or maybe, both were equally bothersome.

"Oh, is that so?"

After a while, he remembered he should probably say something, averted his gaze from his two roommates, and landed on a sprite dancing in mid-air. "Hm, very good, very good... Then I’ll write to Fox Five to pre-approve some participation funds, so everyone doesn’t have to skimp..."

"Fat Man..." The Doctor dragged out his voice, continuing with his infuriatingly lazy tone.

"Ahem, Jiang Hua’s advance payment has already arrived, and they will also provide sources for commonly used materials at insider prices." The Fat Wizard raised his feather pen, making a couple of phantom points with it, and grinningly said: "...Private hunting competitions can sell tickets, and there are also other revenue streams like game proceeds, sponsorships, merchandise, and betting. Officially registered hunting teams like Atonement can secure a participation fee in advance, which is enough to cover basic expenses. If the event’s revenue exceeds expectations, we can receive more gold afterward, so no need for common funds this time."

Zheng Qing took a deep breath.

Being continuously proactive but repeatedly drenched in cold water, even in this increasingly warm season, inevitably left one feeling uncomfortable.

"Wow... this feeling... like being inexplicably excluded, what’s the deal with that?"

The Atonement Hunting Team leader chuckled awkwardly, using a very inappropriate example: "It’s as if you’re all in a meeting, and I’m hanging on the wall... heh... it feels oddly fresh, haha, it’s my first time experiencing this."

The Fat Man blinked: "Hm, you can still say ’good job’ to everyone."

Zheng Qing tugged at the corners of his mouth, striving not to reveal that sense of dejection: "Even the portrait on the wall can say those words... You all make me look like a pretty useless leader."

Doctor Xiao had no qualms about his self-deprecation.

"Isn’t that the case?"

Xiao Xiao put his glasses back on, sat up straight, and looked directly at the certain individual: "You don’t need to speak, don’t need to think, don’t need to breathe. You just need to hang there like an ugly painting, signifying our hunting team still has a leader. Other matters, the team will handle them themselves."