The Detective at Noble Male Academy 13 13 The moment the words fell, System froze.

Ji Yue froze too.

From the very beginning, he had been mentally prepared to get caught. According to how the original story went, the detective was bound to be discovered and thrown out. But he had never imagined he would be misunderstood like this.

【..................F2 thinks you like him so much you followed and spied on him? What an imagination! Our mission is to be a detective, not the male lead of a boys' love novel!】

'I don't like him.'

【I know, but if you deny it, there'll be no way to explain things... He might really trace your identity as the detective. If your cover gets blown early, the mission will fail!】

【Wait, don't tell me the other F4 and the special admissions student will think that too?! Aaaaahhhhhh—】

'...'

'Not talking now, either?'

Yuwen Qing stared at his expression.

At the instant his thoughts had been exposed, his eyelashes had very obviously trembled.

Ji Yue said nothing. He only silently moved his gaze away from Yuwen Qing's face and let it drift to some unknown speck of dust in the air.

So he was tacitly admitting it.

There was nothing left to say.

Let the world end.

#Ji Yue #Great Detective #Great Artist #Enduring in Silence #Stalker #Peeping Creep #Pervert#

--------- The next day, Ji Yue did not go out to class.

Before leaving yesterday, not only had Yuwen Qing pinched the back of his neck and demanded a way to contact him, he had even lost the tool he had been using.

That camera had a great many photos and videos of Yuwen Qing in it.

Now that it had been taken away, he had nothing left to hand over to the client.

Ever since transferring schools, all that work had gone to waste.

Ji Yue thought that later, he would have to make up for it.

【You've already been branded a stalker by F2. It'll only be harder to get close to him from now on! He'll guard against you like a thief!】

Ji Yue crouched by the flowerbed and watered the flowers.

Because he rarely tended it, there was nothing much worth looking at in his garden. Most of the time, it was the robot that weeded and watered for him. By the flowerbed, only a few crooked, half-dead unknown blossoms remained. The weeds, on the other hand, were growing in excellent health.

【F1 said he'd come help you tidy the flowerbed today. Why?】

'He said when he came here that day, seeing my garden made him uncomfortable.'

【Occupational hazard. Hurry up and investigate while you have the chance!】

The villa gate opened, and a black vehicle slowly drove in.

After getting out of the car, Yan Min greeted him and swept a glance over the barren garden.

He undid his cuff links, rolled up his sleeves, then carried several large boxes out of the trunk.

Yan Min looked over the little garden, considering how to arrange it. Then he suddenly realized Ji Yue had disappeared. Turning his head, he saw that the man had opened one of the boxes and was craning his head inside.

There was a great deal of soil inside, along with flowers prepared for transplanting, their roots still clotted with dirt.

Yan Min hauled him back out. 'Go stay upstairs.'

So Ji Yue sat by the window, propping his head on his hand as he watched Yan Min downstairs vigorously digging earth and pulling weeds. He secretly took many photos, planning to send them to the client.

【That's one sturdy gardener.】

'He's pretty nice.'

【Do you think he might be the one dating the special admissions student?】

'They don't interact much.'

A secret relationship?

Just as Ji Yue thought of that, several messages came through on his communicator.

Golden Hair: [Why didn't you come to class?] Golden Hair: [Didn't see you.] Golden Hair: [[Image]]

The image was of this morning's public lecture classroom.

Starting this month, Ji Yue and Yuwen Qing had begun sharing the same classes.

【If I remember right, this guy hardly ever goes to class. Why does he care whether you went or not?】

'Why is he asking me that?'

【So he can target you in class!】

Annoying.

Ji Yue tossed the communicator aside. After a while, when he looked downstairs again, there was already a new cluster of hydrangeas.

Perhaps because he was busy working, Yan Min did not seem quite so much like some gloomy male ghost today.

His hands stained with dirt, Yan Min stood by the flowers and smoked a cigarette. Yet there was no trace of fatigue on his face. He had worked in the garden for so long, but his expression remained unchanged, his brows easy and relaxed, as though digging and laboring cost him no effort at all.

【That means he's strong and enjoys manual work!】

As if sensing Ji Yue's gaze, Yan Min lifted his head and looked toward the second-floor window.

Ji Yue stood there with a camera in hand, the lens angled downward toward the garden. Indoor light fell across him from the side, laying a wash of warm color over his face. Whenever he was taking pictures, his expression was as serious as ever.

Was he documenting the garden's restoration?

Or was he trying to capture the person planting the flowers?

'Thank you for helping me take care of the garden.'

Naturally, Yan Min came upstairs afterward and received Ji Yue's thanks. As soon as he finished washing his hands and came out, the robot was already gliding over with a tray, and he was handed a cup of hot tea.

Two identical round-mouthed teacups sat side by side on the tray.

The robot handed one cup to him and the other to Ji Yue.

Yan Min accepted the teacup, took a sip, and began talking about how to care for hydrangeas and the techniques for growing roses.

Ji Yue sat opposite him. He looked as though he were listening seriously, but in truth his mind had wandered for some time. He was wondering whether this man was dating the special admissions student.

'You don't need to raise them too delicately,' Yan Min said.

Ji Yue nodded, as though he understood.

'You've been spending a lot of time with the special admissions student lately.' Yan Min abruptly changed the subject. 'Are you friends with him?'

'Yes.'

'What about us?'

'Of course we're friends too.'

The conversation felt a little strange. Before Ji Yue had time to think about it, he saw Yan Min set down his teacup and ask, 'Who else are you friends with? Li Xihé?'

'...I guess so.'

'Who else?'

'Why are you asking me that?'

Ji Yue did not understand.

I'm the detective here.

'I'm curious about your life lately. For a while, you used to follow me around often. Now I barely see you at all.'

That was because his collection of personal information on F1 Yan Min was more or less complete. The only section still missing was the part about Yan Min and the special admissions student. Since that was the case, he only needed to track the special admissions student. He was very busy. There were too many people in F4; he did not have the energy to keep his attention on all of them at all times.

【He called stalking 'following me around.' No wonder the mission hasn't failed!】 System scratched its head. 【Wait wait wait, maybe Yan Min also misunderstood and thinks you like him?】

'I don't know. If he did misunderstand... that's terrifying. But Yan Min didn't react with that violently disgusted expression Yuwen Qing had.'

【That's true. In theory, Yan Min should've kept his distance from you like Yuwen Qing did, not come help fix your garden. On the other hand, if he likes you, then he should've agreed on the spot.】

'...'

The second possibility sounded far too bizarre.

'I've been busy lately.'

Ji Yue chose the simplest explanation. He could hardly say he had been stalking Yuwen Qing.

'I heard. Your mural assignment still isn't finished.' Yan Min casually brought up the very thing that made Ji Yue's chest tighten.

...It was true, this month's assignment still wasn't done.

He became restless all at once.

'In that case, head back to the Art Studio early. If you need help with anything, you can contact me.' Yan Min rose to his feet. 'I won't disturb you any longer.'

It had only been a test. Yan Min did not continue, for example saying things like — you and Yuwen Qing seem to have an ambiguous relationship too; you're not busy with assignments, you're chasing after some wild man, but you ought to be working.

Very abruptly, a questioning sentence came from behind him.

'Are you dating anyone?'

Yan Min stopped in his tracks.

After a long moment, he finally replied, 'No.'

'I understand.'

'...'

'Goodbye. If the flowers die, I'll ask you for help again.'

Yan Min thought to himself that he really was good at luring men in — near yet far, half true and half false. He entangled himself ambiguously with many men, refused to admit he felt anything for him, acted as though he had already lost interest, and then tossed out a question this intimate and suggestive.

Very bad.

------------ For a while, Ji Yue did not want to see Yuwen Qing.

Perhaps the more one did not want something, the more it came. The moment Ji Yue stepped out of the Art Studio, he ran into the blond man downstairs.

Their eyes met, and Ji Yue immediately turned to leave.

'Why are you running?'

'...'

Being grabbed by the back of his collar was not a pleasant feeling.

He frowned and was forced to stop.

'Where are you going?'

'Lunch.'

Yuwen Qing was used to this man's cold face by now, so Ji Yue glaring at him like this did not bother him much.

Since what happened in the bedroom that day, this was the first time he had seen Ji Yue. Looking more closely, there was still a little paint on his face that he had not washed clean, a pale red. Softened by the sunlight, it looked like blush.

'Let. Go.'

Ji Yue's voice rose a little, each word bitten off one by one, like a machine lagging, though his expression did not change. He still wore that same cold face.

So this was what he looked like when he was angry. Kind of fun.

The corner of Yuwen Qing's mouth lifted.

The moment he let go, Ji Yue shot off like an angry bird.

【See? I told you Yuwen Qing was looking for you just to target you.】

'...'

【In a sense, our mission can still continue. You'll just have to endure humiliation and carry on!】

The moment Ji Yue thought about how all the information he had gathered on Yuwen Qing was gone, he felt a little unhappy.

Now that things had reached this point, he should keep taking pictures all the more.

Ji Yue pushed open the door and found an empty table to sit down at.

It was the same Restaurant as last time, and nearly the same spot too. He intended to eat first.

Not long after he sat down, he heard the wind chime stir. Before the people arrived, their voices did. Li Xihé's laughter as he spoke with someone carried over first, and the three of them sat down at the table opposite while chatting and smiling.

Ji Yue quietly observed them for a while. The leaves of a green plant by the table happened to hide his face, but he could not hear clearly what they were saying. Separated by several tables, he could only catch a few scattered syllables.

One of them was from the sailing team. Would they bring up the special admissions student?

【In today's original plot, Li Xihé goes to watch the special admissions student practice sailing. Judging by this, he probably isn't going.】

'What happens if the original plotline fails?'

【I've never run into that before. My past missions all went smoothly. Based on feedback from other Systems, this world will start operating under a new order, and characters may even disappear because of bugs. As for us, we'll be packed up and sent back to our superiors for reassignment to another world.】

'I understand.'

【What are you planning to do?】

'Of course I'll do everything I can to complete the mission.'

By the end of the meal, both sides had passed the time in peace.

Li Xihé seemed not to have noticed his presence. From beginning to end, not a single glance from that table drifted toward the corner behind the greenery.

After finishing his pasta, Ji Yue took a sip of lemon water and watched them rise to leave through the gap between two leaves.

His gaze followed the retreating figure in the high-collared shirt, wondering where Li Xihé was going. If he was on his way to watch the special admissions student train at sea, then the basic plot could still be put back on track.

The direction Li Xihé was heading... led to the beach training grounds.

The sky was very blue today, pure and clean, without a trace of cloud. The woodland path was dappled all over with shifting light and shadow. Ji Yue pretended to take a few scenic photos. In his composition, the young man in the high-collared shirt was framed by layers of green leaves and branches.

If he had not suddenly turned around, it would actually have been a rather good photo.

'Why are you taking candid photos of me?'

Li Xihé's voice came through the gaps in the leaves from not far away.

He was saying words of accusation, yet his tone was astonishingly gentle. There was even an easy smile on his face.

When Li Xihé turned back, Ji Yue's fingers were still resting on the miniature camera.

He said to Ji Yue, 'Did you follow me before too? I even came out specifically to check, and found you at the station. Did you also take my instant photo? It seems you're like this with other people too. Every one of them, more or less the same.'

'...'

How did Li Xihé know?

Ji Yue planned to say something casual first, but suddenly a violent burst of static exploded in his mind—

【Warning! Warning! Mission failure imminent!】

【—Triggered intense suspicion from original-story character [Li Xihé]—】

【Warning! Warning! Mission failure imminent!】

【Aaaahhh we're done for! F3 looks all smiles and no temper, but he's actually been on guard this whole time! No wonder, with his family having just gone through a business war! What do we do now?! The ultimate alert from higher-ups just came in!!】

Li Xihé sighed as he spoke. 'Little sister, why are you stalking several classmates like this? Don't tell me you like every single one of them? You took my photo, but not because you like me, right? I think I would absolutely not be your type. So you're really doing something else. Are you a reporter, or do you have some other identity?'

【Why is F3 so certain he isn't your type? So from that he deduced you aren't after F4 romantically, but have some other motive? Is he getting insecure now? Hm hm hm?? I get it now — an insecure, sensitive gong!!】

Li Xihé crossed the woodland path, lifted aside a branch that blocked his way, and came to a stop right in front of him. Behind his lenses, his eyes were utterly still.

【Warning! Warning! Mission failure imminent!】

【Warning! Warning! Mission failure imminent!】

In that case...

There was only one thing to do.

This time, Ji Yue did not avoid the other man's gaze.

'I wouldn't advise you to comment on what kind of people I like, because you are exactly the type I like very much. All this wild speculation of yours is really just you doubting that point. I'm tired. Think whatever you want.'

That was what he said to Li Xihé.