9 Painted Face

The selected students sat in a row before their HOD Si Cao, and Vice Head Mr Jin. There were sixteen of them. Two boys and two girls from each year.

The sweet smell of jasmine floated through the air as a beautiful woman in her late thirties came in. She wore a red cardigan and high heels, her hair flowing. Behind her came two boys around Cheng Xiu's age. One was round, with a potbelly and neatly cut hair while the other was thinner, with windblown hair and an arrogant smile that seemed to indicate that he was superior.

Cheng Xiu was impressed by the gait of the woman. She looked powerful and authoritative.

Mr Si Cao smiled and shook hands with the woman. He gave the two boys a speculative look and turned to the rest of the student body.

"Students, this is Ms Bo Ling from the Mathematics Department. She was an honour student during her time here at St Andre and now she is a faculty member of our school. She will be the main coordinator of the Seminar Programs. She will be working with you all directly and only if there are issues that she cannot handle will either Mr Jin or I will intervene."

Ms Bo's red-painted lips gave them a strained smile. She then turned to the HOD again.

"Teacher Si, there is a problem."

Mr Si frowned. Ms Bo whispered something to him, pointing at the two boys behind her.

Mr Si tensed.

Mr Jin glared at the woman.

Many of the students ducked their heads while a few people looked at the short round boy with a malicious smile.

Cheng Xiu leaned towards Gu Shu.

"What did she say?" she whispered. She hated the fact that she did not have the heightened senses that most Blessed had. The fact that the woman whispered even when she knew that most of the people here could hear her meant she did it just to keep the Qiless out of the loop.

"Something very wrong," Gu Shu said through gritted teeth. Her nails dug into the hand rest of her chair.

Cheng Xiu observed Ms Bo and the two boys. Perhaps one of them was a Qiless and Ms Bo didn't want him to hear what she said.

Ms Bo called the boys forward and pushed the stout boy roughly to the front. She still had a polite smile on her face. "This is him."

Mr Jin looked pained. "Sister Bo, this is not done. Young San Zhu has been working hard for the past three years in that position. You can't just say you want to replace him as the student representative with Mr Liu, who is second to Mr San in academics."

Ms Bo lost her smile. Her face turned clod. "Mr Liu is far superior to San Zhu. Besides, Mr San has been enjoying this position for too long, especially as a Qiless."

She uttered Qiless like it was some disease that made her nauseous to even think about.

Cheng Xiu frowned. So she was another Qiless hater.

Cheng Xiu felt nauseous herself. To have thought this woman was inspiring in any way made her feel stupid.

"That is not a reason!" Mr Jin argued.

"Mr Liu is obviously better. Besides, I'm not suggesting this. It is up to the Mathematics Department to decide this and I have my HOD's approval. I am informing you of our collective choice."

Mr Si kept quiet as his eyes scanned the audience.

Cheng Xiu ducked her head, her arms curled into a fist.

Collective choice.

A Qiless got replaced just like that with a Blessed. An 'obviously better' candidate.

Cheng Xiu wanted to scream at the woman for her unfair assessment. At the HOD for keeping Quiet. For herself for being powerless. For the rest of them for not standing up for the boy, even though they had the power.

"You may leave," the woman said to San Zhu in a cold tone.

San Zhu slumped, bowed his head and walked away, occasionally wiping away his tears.

After the boy left everyone's view the teachers started their presentation.

"Look at the people around you," the HOD said. His eyes kept returning to Cheng Xiu making her uncomfortable. Did he want to pull a Ms Bo on her? "These people will be the class representatives of their year. If you want to get any information regarding their classes, you should turn to them. A detailed file has been sent to your student profile. You may look through it in your own time."

Mr Jin opened a glowing interface that had sixteen names on it. Mr Jin smiled at them all. "Now, I was hoping to select a captain from among you who will be in charge of the rest of the students. You may cast your vote through the touch screen attached to the hands of your seats."

Cheng Xiu pressed the button under the armrest. A Fold attachment slid out from the side. The screen turned on and the sixteen names were listed.

Cheng Xiu frowned.

"Is something the matter, Ms Cheng?" the HOD asked.

Cheng Xiu looked up in shock. Everyone stared at her, curious. She quickly shook her head.

Ms Bo gave her a kind smile. "Don't hesitate to say what's on your mind dear."

Mr Si Cao grinned. "Yes, do speak your mind."

Cheng Xiu side-eyed him. She couldn't understand the man's game.

"I-I," she cleared her throat. "I think this voting ballot is unnecessary."

Ms Bo frowned. "What?"

"Why is that Ms Cheng?" Mr Jin asked.

She smiled at him. He was the only one who spoke for that boy. "None of us know each other to make such a decision. I think, if we must have a representative today, then we choose the president from the Fourth year."

"And why fourth?" Mr Si Cao asked, his eyes sparkling in happiness.

Cheng Xiu squirmed. "Because they are the senior-most among us? Or if it seems like a big burden to them, then the third years."

Ms Bo nodded at her proudly like a proud mother. "Well said!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Is everyone in agreement?" asked Mr Jin. They all nodded. "Then, fourth years, decide."

The four fourth years excitedly discussed who it would be among them.

One of the girls nodded. "Teachers, we are ready. It should be Brother Lan who becomes the president. He is the best among us in terms of academics and overall performance."

"Yes! We should always choose the one with the highest scores," Ms Bo said.

"Yes, we should," Mr Si Cao said with a satisfied smile.

Unless they are Qiless, Cheng Xiu wanted to sneer at the woman. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. There would come a day when the woman would regret hr words. She would stand at the top and the woman would understand that Qiless does not mean talentless.

They began to compile a list of topics to be discussed. From the latest discoveries in engineering and mathematics to the historical development of various fields in the modern-day. Soon the servers brought in lunchboxes for them.

They all finished and were dispersed.

"Miss Cheng!" the HOD called. Cheng Xiu stopped and looked at him suspiciously. "A moment of your time, please. Ms Gu, you may leave."

Gu Shu reluctantly left.

Cheng Xiu dragged her feet towards the man. Beside him stood Mr Jin, Ms Bo and senior Lan.

Mr Si Cao talked to Mr Jin, ignoring her presence after that, like he hadn't called her.

Cheng Xiu shifted on her feet. Was this some new form of bullying that these people were trying on the Qiless?

Ms Bo came up to her and smiled. "Hello, Ms Cheng. I'm Bo Ling. I teach Calculus for the Third and fourth years in both the mathematics and engineering departments."

Cheng Xiu nodded awkwardly. "Cheng Xiu, ma'am. First-year Geoenergy engineering student."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Ms Bo said with a kind smile. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your Qi manifestation? You seemed to be highly regarded by your teachers and from the little I have seen and heard I must say you are a captivating person."

Qi Manifestation was the outlet of the Qi in their body when the centre was full. Some had fire outlets, some had water or ice, some had poison and others had puppetry. It all depended on the family you were born into, the kind of childhood you had, the food you ate and the mental capacity you had and many other minor factors that people couldn't identify. The more power you had, the stronger your manifestation.

Some Blessed was also born without a manifestation, like Gu Shu and could only use ancient techniques to power themselves. Many of them did not do that though. They were content living a normal civilian life.

Cheng Xiu desperately wanted to run away. She looked at the HOD who had his back to them. Everyone here could hear their talk so why were they pretending to be dumb.

Senior Lan seemed engrossed in the data in the Fold in his hand and Cheng Xiu couldn't determine whether he was faking it.

"I...I don't have any Qi manifestation, Ma'am," Cheng Xiu said.

The woman looked surprised but then gave her a kind smile. "Some Qi Manifestations are not as obvious as others. Maybe intelligence or beauty is yours."

Cheng Xiu wanted to cry. Why was this woman so obsessed with her face? Did she want to steal it? Was that this woman's manifestation?

"I am Qiless, Ma'am."

The woman flung herself away from her, horrified. "Wha? What did you say?"

Cheng Xiu rolled her eyes at the woman. "I am Qiless."

The woman's face turned glacial. "Oh. I see."

Someone cleared their throat.

A frown flitted through Cheng Xiu's face as Mr Si Cao walked towards them.

"Ms Cheng, you will be the announcer for the program," he said.

"What!" Ms Bo said. "But...but she is...she is a...she...surely someone more capable in the first years..."

The HOD gave the woman an indulgent smile. "Ms Bo, Ms Cheng was the one who got 9.9 in the university entrance exams. In fact, the only reason our St Andre was able to gain her as our student instead of the other more prestigious Colleges is that we offered a full scholarship and housing arrangement to her family. The student with the highest score in all our first years is Ms Cheng and the second-place student's score is 9. 4. If you can find someone more capable than her do tell me."

The woman looked shocked and disbelieving. "That...surely you are joking Teacher Si. She is a..."

The HOD ignored the stuttering woman and turned to Cheng Xiu. "You will have to do a bit more extra hours than usual, Ms Cheng. Will that be inconvenient to you?"

Cheng Xiu shook her head in a daze.

The man nodded and went away.

Mr Jin patted Cheng Xiu's shoulder, pride in his eyes and followed after the HOD.

Cheng Xiu moved to the door, her mind still on the HOD's words. Did that just happen?

"You! Stop there!" Ms Bo called.

Cheng Xiu stopped and looked at the woman.

Ms Bo stood in front of her. "I think all Qiless are useless."

Cheng Xiu tensed. She glared at the woman.

"I think anything a Qiless can do, a blessed can do better."

Cheng Xiu clenched her fist.

"I think a Qiless is replaceable."

Cheng Xiu stared at the woman's hateful eyes, wishing she could gouge it out.

"And you are no exception to that thought. Sure, you have better grades but in the end, there will always be a Blessed that can replace you. Don't expect kindness from me. If you think you can take the place of a blessed, then you will have to prove you can do the job as much as a blessed. Teacher Si is blind to the likes of you but I will show him the difference between Iron and steel."

The woman walked away.

Cheng Xiu returned to her Dorm in anger and frustration. She screamed and kicked the table and hurt her toe. Cursing at the pain, she lay on her bed.

Stupid woman. She wasn't replaceable. Cheng Xiu knew from experience that arguing with her kind of people was useless. She had endured throughout high school to know that.

Cheng Xiu took a deep breath and suppressed the anger that formed in her. Crying and complaining would not get her anywhere, except depression.

She laid there, unmoving for some time.

The quietness of the room was comforting at first but soon it became suffocating to endure.

She blinked and searched the room with her eyes for her pink-haired friend.

Her eyes fell on the Black Gaming Pod. A sliver lighted circle glowed on its sides.

Gu Shu had returned to The Other World.

Cheng Xiu's eyes fell on the Golden Gaming Pod next to it and became aware of the emptiness again. She turned away from it and laid on her side but her mind kept replaying what it felt to have Qi. She felt a yearning for it like never before.

Cheng Xiu shook her head. No. She needed to prove that being a Qiless did not hurt her and she would not be able to do that if she yearned for Qi.

But it's just a game, a part of her whispered. Maybe playing the game and still being a functional Qiless could make her prove herself that she was better than what others thought of her.

Cheng Xiu got up and walked up to the Pod. Something seemed to call out to her from it.

Cheng Xiu pressed open the lid to the Pod and laid down.

A/N: I feel like I should explain. The game is not bad in itself. Being blessed or Qiless is not necessarily bad. It's all labelling. Wanting to awaken your Qi centre is not bad and being okay with being a Qiless is also okay. But the society Cheng Xiu is in is very much factioned.

Thank you all for reading this chapter! I hope you will come to love the story.

Thank you for the collections, comments and votes, they mean a lot. It keeps me motivated.

Thank you again!!!