Reincarnated as a Scholar: But I only write Erotica-Chapter 18: History of getting rejected

Lin Mao's jaw dropped so fast that it could have hit the floor.

"Rejected me?" he sputtered, his voice cracking somewhere between disbelief and somewhat horror. His eyes darted back to the jade beauty walking through the hall like she owned the damn place.

"Her? That goddess over there? You're telling me I got shot down by her?"

Ti Xhin, still wheezing from laughter, barely managed to nod. He clutched his stomach, trying to catch his breath.

"Yes, Junior Brother. That's Jin Lina. The one who crushed your little poetic heart and left it bleeding on the floor."

Lin Mao blinked, his brain struggling to process this bombshell. He leaned forward, squinting at Jin Lina as if a closer look might clear some memory he didn't have. But no—nothing. Just a growing sense of humiliation.

Jin Lina was... unreal. She wasn't just beautiful—she was the kind of stunning that could start wars, destroy kingdoms, or at least make a guy like Lin Mao forget how to breathe.

Her green hanfu clung to her like a second skin, shimmering faintly under the canteen light. The dress accentuated every curve, moving with her like it had been made just for herself. Her silky, brown hair flowed like a river while her sharp, almond eyes glinted with an innocent glow.

Then there was her skin, flawless and smooth, radiating a warmth that made the air around her feel charged.

And apparently, he had somehow gotten close enough to get rejected by her?

"How?" he blurted, turning back to Ti Xhin. "How the hell did I even get close enough to get rejected by that? And why? What was I thinking?"

Ti Xhin's laughter finally calmed down to a smug grin. He leaned back, crossing his arms like he was about to drop the juiciest gossip in the sect. "Oh, this is the most fun part. You ready?"

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Lin Mao slammed his hands on the table, rattling the empty bowls in front of them. "What? Tell me already, you cryptic bastard!"

Ti Xhin's grin widened. "She's Jin Lina, Elder Yi's prized disciple. The golden child of philosophy, personally hand-picked by 'The Mind that Illuminates Shadows' herself. Apparently, she already had a fiancé—some hotshot scholar from another sect. But your dumb ass thought you could swoop in and challenge him."

Lin Mao froze, his brain short-circuiting again. "Challenge? What do you mean challenge?"

Ti Xhin slapped the table so hard that the sound rang through out the canteen. "You challenged her fiancé to a poem battle, you absolute moron! A full-on, public throwdown. And guess what? You lost. Spectacularly."

Lin Mao's face went pale, a mix of horror and disbelief washing over him. "A poem battle? Me? I can barely rhyme 'cat' with 'hat,' and I went up against some fiancé guy in a poetry duel?"

He pointed at Jin Lina, who was now chatting with her friends, oblivious to the chaos unfolding at his table. "What was I smoking? Was I drunk? Did someone poison my tea?"

Ti Xhin wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh, it gets better. You didn't just lose—you crashed and burned so hard the whole sect was talking about it for weeks. They say you stood there, stammering through half a verse, while her fiancé recited something so flawless it made the elders weep. He didn't just defeat you—he annihilated you. It was like watching a scholar duel a chicken."

Lin Mao laughed awkwardly, burying his face in his hands. "Oh, great. So not only did I get rejected, I made myself the sect's laughingstock. Perfect. Just perfect."

He peeked through his fingers at Jin Lina again, but now, her beauty carried the sting of humiliation. "Why would I even do that? What possessed me to think I had a shot?"

Ti Xhin shrugged, picking up a dumpling from the tray that had just arrived. "Who knows? Maybe you were in love. Maybe you were just arrogant. Or maybe you thought your 'prodigious disciple' status meant you could take on anyone. Either way, you aimed for the moon and landed face-first in the mud."

Lin Mao fell back in his seat, staring at the ceiling. "Poem battle. Fiancé. Elder Yi's disciple. This is some next-level drama bullshit."

He exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples before sitting straighter. "Okay, but why her? What's her deal? Why's she so untouchable?"

Ti Xhin leaned back, chewing thoughtfully before responding.

"Jin Lina isn't just some pretty face. She's brilliant—philosophy runs in her veins. Elder Yi saw her potential when she was just an outer disciple and pulled her straight into the core ranks. She's got a mind sharper than a sword and a tongue that cuts even deeper. Her fiancé? Some prodigy from the Jade Harmony Sect, a poet so skilled they say his words can charm spirits. Together, they're a power couple, Lin Mao. You never stood a chance."

Lin Mao snorted, crossing his arms. Yeah, well, maybe old Lin Mao didn't. But new Lin Mao's got tricks up his sleeve. I'm not about to let some poetry pretty boy and his goddess fiancée keep me down.