Chapter 634: Calix
Lana frowned even more deeply. "Then why can they not simply buy an apartment here?"
Axel laughed. "Because the apartments here are not for sale at all. They are all under the name of the Mystic Cultivation Competition organisers."
He paused before adding, "Only the winners can receive an apartment here."
Lana nodded slowly. "Oh, so that is how it works."
Axel nodded.
Lana thought for a moment before saying seriously, "So rather than wasting my time sharing a room with strangers, it is better for me to stay at the apartment."
"Exactly."
Lana nodded. "All right, then."
Just as the two of them got into the car, Lana glanced outside the window and happened to catch sight of a very strange scene unfolding nearby.
A beautiful woman with long purple hair stood on the pavement.
Her skin was fair and almost as white as a fairy’s, and she was wearing a purple dress that reached just above her knees.
A layer of delicate white mesh covered her shoulders, while various elegant accessories adorned her ears, neck, and wrists.
Even from a distance, she looked remarkably beautiful.
She was holding the hand of a man who appeared to come from a highly formal and wealthy background.
He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit, and his black hair was neatly arranged.
His appearance and mannerisms immediately gave the impression of someone born into a wealthy family.
The purple-haired woman looked at him with tears gathering in her eyes.
"I truly cannot be with you. Otherwise, the royal prince will not leave me alone, and he will make things difficult for my family."
Her voice trembled as she tightened her grip on his hand.
"Please, please do not make me feel like a loser when I already feel like one."
With that, she lowered her head and began to sob. Lana stared through the car window, her curiosity immediately piqued.
’This is certainly an unusual situation.’
Meanwhile, the wealthy man, or rather, Danny, looked at the purple-haired woman, Julia, and sighed helplessly.
"Julia, I truly do not know what I am supposed to do with you. Why can you not simply reject him formally?"
Julia held his hand even tighter. Her crying became so intense that she seemed almost unable to stand properly.
Seeing her like that, Danny finally softened. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.
"Watch out. You are going to make yourself sick."
Julia immediately wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his chest. "I cannot. I truly cannot."
Her voice was muffled against his clothes.
"I have been starving myself for two days just to resist that day, that noble prince. And now you are standing here telling me that you do not even see my efforts or understand how much I have sacrificed for you. Honestly, I feel as though I have wasted all these years giving my affection to a dog."
With that, Julia began sobbing again, her shoulders trembling as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Danny watched her for a moment before sighing helplessly.
"All right, all right, I understand. Please stop crying now. I will ask my father to give you a special medicinal herb that can help you recover. We have a competition coming up, do we not?"
Julia closed her eyes and pouted.
"I do not want to participate anymore. You have scolded me so much that I have completely lost my mood."
Danny looked at her with helpless affection in his eyes.
"Only you know how to throw tantrums like this."
Lana, who had been watching everything from inside the car, could not help but murmur, "Strange. Would this kind of couple really be participating in our International Mystic Cultivation Competition?"
The moment she said those words, Julia seemed to hear her.
She immediately turned her head and looked toward the car.
Danny also followed her gaze.
The moment Julia saw Lana, her eyes flickered with surprise.
She had only arrived two days ago with her coach before leaving to meet her childhood sweetheart. Her love life had always been complicated.
Julia had spent her entire childhood in Country K, where she had become acquainted with a young master whose father was practically the owner of half the country. At the time, she had genuinely believed that he was a good man.
However, when her father’s work was transferred to Country J, she had been forced to leave.
Once she arrived there, she attracted the attention of a noble royal prince.
Instead of rejecting him, she decided to keep him around, even after learning that he was only a candidate for the throne rather than the guaranteed future king.
She had continued stringing him along.
Now even her childhood sweetheart had caught up with her, and she was having a difficult time deciding whom she should choose.
’Why does choosing between two men have to be so difficult?’
Yet who would have thought that she would encounter Lana here?
Julia stared at her through the car window.
Honestly, she had to admit that Lana was beautiful.
Her black hair and black eyes were not particularly unusual, and there was nothing especially exotic about her appearance, yet there was something about her features that made her impossible to ignore.
However, instead of feeling admiration, Julia felt an inexplicable sense of threat.
’This woman cannot get close to the royal prince. What if he becomes interested in her? What if both of them fall for her at the same time?’
The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she became.
Before she could do anything, Danny noticed her expression and immediately became alert. He quickly reached out and gently patted Julia’s cheek.
"Julia, calm down."
Meanwhile, Lana’s car had already started moving away from the scene.
Axel glanced at Lana and calmly said, "Do not interfere with their relationship."
Lana shook her head.
"No, I was just watching a high-end drama unfold in front of me, and I became curious about how the story would develop. That is all."
Axel gave her a sceptical look but said nothing.
Soon, they arrived at the apartment building where Lana owned a luxurious apartment.
However, the moment they reached the entrance, they noticed several men standing outside.
Axel frowned and stepped forward.
"Yes, how may we help you?"
The men were all dressed like bodyguards, their expressions serious as they stood around the entrance.
Among them was a particularly cocky-looking young man who immediately caught Lana’s attention.
For a moment, she simply stared at him.
It was not because he was exceptionally handsome or anything of that sort.
Rather, his appearance was so striking that he looked completely out of place.
He had bright red hair and was dressed in an immaculate white suit, making him look like some kind of prince who had wandered straight out of a fantasy movie.
For a brief moment, Lana even wondered if he had mistaken the building for a film set and somehow stumbled onto the wrong shooting location.
The cocky-looking young man said in a calm voice, "I had already considered this apartment for myself. It is the only apartment here that is currently unoccupied, and I arrived two days before you."
Lana nodded thoughtfully.
"Oh, so whoever arrives here first gets the apartment."
The moment she said that, the young man frowned.
"I do not want it for free. I am willing to rent it. How much do you want?"
Lana raised an eyebrow.
The young man calmly continued, "Ten million dollars? I am ready to pay ten million dollars for every night."
Lana burst out laughing.
"If you want to joke around, you can do that somewhere else. Ten million dollars? Even an apartment in a hotel with a shared-room arrangement costs around thirty million dollars during this competition, and you are offering me ten million dollars for this luxurious penthouse?"
She folded her arms and looked at him with amusement. "Dream on."
The moment she said those words, the young man’s expression changed.
He stared at her with an offended look before asking, "Do you know who I am?"
Lana chuckled.
"Yes, I was waiting for you to use that line."
She walked toward him, stopping only a few steps away. Then, with a completely straight face, she shouted, "Are you, my illegitimate father?"
For an entire minute, everyone fell completely silent after hearing Lana’s words.
The atmosphere around them became so awkward that even the bodyguards exchanged uncertain glances, clearly wondering how she had managed to come up with such a ridiculous response.
Meanwhile, Calix’s expression changed dramatically. His face flushed with indignation as he pointed toward Lana.
"How can you be so improper? Shouldn’t you behave like a proper lady?"
Hearing those words, Lana chuckled.
"Why should I behave like a proper lady when I am already a lady? Not to mention, you are saying it as though you have a vagina!"