The Detective of Noble Boys' Academy — 26

26

Clouds drifted past the window like slow white turtles.

[Interesting content about you — could it be your old cosplay photos?]

Ji Yue did not consider himself interesting.

Not only was he uninteresting, he was an anomaly — he had been to the hospital several times over his lack of emotional fluctuation, and was periodically accused by men of the same sex: 'You're cold, you're heartless, why are you like this to me?'

Just by breathing, he attracted strange looks and the clinging arms of men who refused to let go.

The human world was far too complicated.

When a question stumped him and he couldn't think of an answer right away, the best policy was silence — don't panic, don't respond. That was the lesson he had learned in the first world.

The air conditioning was a little cold.

Ji Yue lowered his head and tucked his fingers into his long sleeves.

That reaction was a dead giveaway of guilt. He Yuanxi's smile spread wider across his face, though his voice grew even gentler: 'I don't mean anything by it — I'm just curious who sent it to me.'

'What was in the package?'

Who had sent something to He Yuanxi?

The employer?

'Something about your dirty little secret.'

He Yuanxi said it softly.

[WARNING! WARNING! Mission is on the verge of failure!]

[WARNING! WARNING! Mission is on the verge of failure!]

[Triggered: original character [He Yuanxi]'s intense suspicion!]

'...'

Evidence that his approach to the F4 had been driven by ulterior motives?

[Oh no — who on earth sent what?! Another warning triggered!]

This was precisely the moment he could not afford to answer carelessly.

...How was he supposed to put He Yuanxi's suspicions to rest?

Ji Yue turned the question back on him: 'Who do you think sent it?'

'Maybe a pigeon you offended carried it over in its beak. Did your cat-paws slap a pigeon at some point?'

[Don't you think he really enjoys teasing you? You're talking about something serious and he pulls this every single time!]

'Your reason for coming here isn't purely for the scenery, either.' He Yuanxi turned his gaze to the window — that dense, primordial island below, a place even the natives refused to inhabit. Ji Yue's presence there could only mean he was investigating something.

The alarm was still blaring, relentless and shrill, stabbing at his eardrums.

Ji Yue frowned, searching for a way to shut it off.

Based on what had happened with Li Xihe before, this alarm seemed to trigger the moment someone suspected him to his face — after all, Li Xihe must have harbored suspicions before he ever laid eyes on Ji Yue that day.

Maybe try to exploit a bug first?

He suddenly stood up, his gaze resolute, and as he moved to leave he knocked over the glass of lemonade on the table.

The glass toppled; water spread across the tabletop and soaked into the carpet. He Yuanxi let it flow wherever it pleased. He had assumed Ji Yue was about to come clean, so he propped his chin in his hand and said, 'Go ahead, then.'

What he hadn't expected was for Ji Yue to ignore him entirely — to slip past him and walk straight to the crew rest area at the front of the cabin, yank the curtain aside, and disappear behind it.

The crew members all startled, turning to look at him: 'What's wrong with you?'

All they saw was this long-haired beauty pressing his back flat against the wall, cautiously peeking half his head out through the curtain, stealing a glance, then immediately pulling back.

He was slight and slender, his skin pale, his clothes bright and vivid — hanging loose on his frame, the collar too wide, slipping down to bare one shoulder. He was breathing hard, his chest rising and falling.

Such beauty, such an expression — it was impossible not to let the imagination run wild.

The kind of scene where a wealthy man takes what he wants by force probably looked exactly like this. The crew members couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

Especially when the person outside strolled over at an unhurried pace, stopped just beyond the curtain, and asked with a quiet laugh: 'Why are you hiding?'

It was plain to see — the moment Ji Yue hid himself, He Yuanxi only grew more delighted.

Ji Yue neither made a sound nor left his hiding spot. He waited until He Yuanxi outside fell silent, and the alarm faded with him.

From this he could conclude — the higher System could not enter the F4's consciousness to determine whether they truly knew anything.

Therefore, the higher System could only judge based on the 'behavior' and 'words' of the F4 elite students and others.

[I see — this warning is just a warning. It triggers the moment 'suspicion' is expressed as an action. The actual condition for mission failure must be something else entirely.]

'My guess is that the real condition for mission failure is having the F4 elite students say my identity aloud.'

Like every detective anime he had ever watched — after the suspect breaks down and confesses, their true motive is always exposed in the end.

[Noble Boys' Academy novel has a few extra rules now?! Rule one: you cannot have your detective identity spoken aloud!!]

Ji Yue was a little displeased.

I am a detective to begin with...!

[Hahaha, what if someone already knows your identity but just hasn't said it out loud, and you're still performing every day — wouldn't that be mortifying?]

'Impossible. If the F4 found out they would definitely use it as leverage — exactly like right now.'

The words had barely finished forming in his mind when a white-gloved hand abruptly parted the curtain, reached in with unerring precision, seized Ji Yue by the shoulder, and hauled him out of the corner.

Ji Yue was lifted out like a plush doll plucked from a claw machine and deposited back into his seat.

He Yuanxi sat down as well, watching Ji Yue in silence, one hand still wrapped around Ji Yue's wrist.

The texture of the glove was not fine — slightly rough, chafing against his skin.

'I think I understand now,' He Yuanxi began, his voice light and airy. 'Actually, you don't genuinely like your boyfriend. You're only with him to hide your identity... to use him as cover?'

'You don't like the others either, do you? You only got close to them because the job required it.'

[Hey hey hey — this person figures out your detective identity and his first reaction is to confirm that you don't actually like the elite students, that you don't like anyone else?!]

[Shouldn't he be worried about what important information a private detective might have gotten close enough to steal???]

'...'

'What's this — every time you hit a question you can't answer, you go quiet.' He Yuanxi kneaded his hand with measured, unhurried pressure.

Ji Yue tried to pull free. He failed.

[This guy — he's not thinking of tying you up, is he?! Everyone here is his people. You'd be screaming into the void!] The System's processes flickered through a cascade of keywords: dark rooms, restraints, and the like.

Ji Yue had a bad feeling. He stared at that Mickey Mouse white glove and couldn't help his mind drifting to kidnapping cases from the news — those gloved hands, the image of a young heir being muffled and dragged into a car.

He also didn't want Mickey to keep asking questions, because the alarm blaring in his head was genuinely deafening — his brain was starting to ache.

He Yuanxi shifted, as if about to stand.

Was he going to pin him down?

Ji Yue moved fast — he flipped over in one fluid motion and threw a punch.

He Yuanxi was caught completely off guard, nearly knocked to the floor.

He had not anticipated that this seemingly frail, beautiful boy would suddenly erupt into violence.

Ji Yue straddled him, leaning down, his long dark hair spilling like ink — cascading over He Yuanxi's face in a cool, silken rush.

That pale, cold face was inches away, lashes lowered, breath faintly warm.

'Don't move. Or I'll kill you.'

A tone that brooked no argument.

He Yuanxi froze.

The weight pressing down on him...

Was soft.

Like two ripe, yielding halves of a honey peach.

The boy's body, separated only by an oversized T-shirt, fit against him with seamless, perfect pressure.

He was just about to say something when Ji Yue's hand covered his mouth.

The other hand rose to his own lips in a silencing gesture.

Cool blue eyes looked down at him from above.

'It's really very loud.'

Ji Yue's tone was flat — the tone of someone commanding an unruly thing to behave.

'Stop talking. And don't mention anything about me to anyone. Understood.'

His voice was cold, but his cheeks had gone faintly pink, lashes dipping down to veil his eyes.

As though he were desperately shy.

For reasons unknown, both Mickey and the alarm fell completely silent.

He Yuanxi curved his eyes at him in a smile — not a trace of offended irritation, only an indulgent, accommodating warmth. Perfectly docile, he let Ji Yue do as he pleased, blinking to signal his cooperation.

Every point where their skin touched burned; heat spread outward from the center of his palm, wave after wave of warmth scorching all the way to the tips of his ears.

Ji Yue felt the heat rising through his own body, his cheeks flushing at a pace he could not control.

...The allergy was acting up again.

He slowly lifted his hand away.

He returned to his seat and picked up a nearby newspaper, holding it upright in front of his face — occasionally lowering it just enough to steal a glance at the person beside him.

[Had no choice but to personally intervene and shut down that damned F4's suspicions... and in doing so, gave a rather emphatic demonstration of physical force!]

He Yuanxi settled back into the seat beside him, chin resting in his hand, very quiet, lost in some private thought.

'Have you been to this island before?'

Ji Yue asked out of nowhere.

Even if his identity had apparently been discovered, he still had to press the F4 for the truth.

'Which one? I don't know anything.'

He Yuanxi looked up, his expression genuinely puzzled.

'The small island I went to this afternoon. You know which one I mean,' Ji Yue said, his gaze unwavering. 'You definitely know.'

'Honestly, no. I only noticed you were here. I don't know anything — I'm not lying to you.'

Mickey spread his white-gloved hands with a look of perfect innocence.

After a long moment, Ji Yue finally looked away and began reading the magazine with a blank expression.

Unlike him, He Yuanxi was in high spirits.

While photographing the blue-and-white sky outside the window, the camera drifted slightly by accident and caught the edge of someone's face — the person beside him, flipping through a drone magazine, clearly absorbed in reading, right hand in the act of turning to the next page.

'Can I post this photo? Take a look — I accidentally got you in the frame just now, but the cloud is really beautiful.'

He called out to Ji Yue and showed him the photo.

Ji Yue glanced at it — a shot of the sky, with the edge of his own face appearing in the corner.

He said: 'Sure.'

He Yuanxi thanked him: 'Thanks — now I don't have to blur you out.'

With that, He Yuanxi tapped the screen and posted to his Moments.

The caption read: [Our little secret, just between us~ (^_-).]

The post had barely gone up before it drew a flurry of aggressive comments, and was soon reposted to the school's dedicated fan forum.

Ji Yue was completely oblivious and entirely unbothered, head down, studying an article about a new-model drone.

Campus BBS

HOT POSTS / HOT

Thread: Lol, off on an overseas trip and posting Moments to show off happiness... (furious)

0L: Sister-in-law addiction is real huh (nauseated) (nauseated)

1L: He [redacted] has some nerve — actually managed to trick the campus beauty into going on a trip? (sobbing) (losing it)

2L: Actually they ran into each other at the airport, totally 'by accident'... you all know what I mean, can't be bothered explaining these people

3L: Oh my god today's outfit is so pretty, even wearing earrings and rings, baby... wait how is this one showing a bare shoulder?! He [redacted] you're eating well I see (sobbing) (fists)

4L: He [redacted] definitely took a ton of beautiful photos of the campus beauty, right? Post them and we'll forgive you 20%!

5L: Does the campus beauty like drones? Same actually, I could buy you one to play with (crying)

6L: [image] He [redacted]'s Moments comments, I peed myself laughing...

7L: Not gonna lie, Yuwen [redacted] really does say whatever's on his mind — only a fellow top-tier lunatic can handle another top-tier lunatic...

8L: 'Has he ever looked you in the eye, idiot.' The thing is, the campus beauty hasn't exactly been looking Yuwen [redacted] in the eye lately either (stifled laughter) (stifled laughter)

9L: Wait who's at the airport... He [redacted] just landed and Yuwen [redacted] already punched him

10L: Offline brawl, nice! Please, just beat each other to death already (hands clasped)

11L: Don't fight in front of the campus beauty... he's so pure, he's never seen anything like this!! (furious)

12L: [image] While men are pulling each other's hair for him, what is the campus beauty doing .JPG

13L: Campus beauty backing away with zero expression on his face... I'm dead...

-------------

On the wide, empty Helipad, a private jet touched down slowly.

Ji Yue stepped off without a word, but He Yuanxi suddenly called out to him.

'I won't breathe a word of it, Ji Yue. Whatever you want to know, you can ask me directly.'

He meant it sincerely. He didn't care whether Ji Yue's profession made him a great villain or a great detective — as long as there was no boyfriend he actually cared about, that was enough.

And even if there were a boyfriend, it didn't really matter.

In fact, He Yuanxi felt he could actively support Ji Yue's detective work — something no one else could offer. Unconditional backing to investigate anyone at all.

The wind swept across Ji Yue's fringe, veiling his eyes. His expression was as unreadable as ever; there was no telling what he was thinking.

[Hmm hmm hmm? Is He Yuanxi saying he won't tell anyone your identity, or that he won't tell anyone you sat on top of him?]

Then He Yuanxi added one more line: 'I don't know whether your boyfriend will be upset that you rode my plane. I hope he's broad-minded about it — after all... he's only a fake boyfriend.'

There was no question about it — that was a threat.

Ji Yue's face went cold. He turned on his heel and walked away, sweeping past He Yuanxi and down the airstairs without a backward glance. The night wind hit him head-on, and one question kept turning over in his mind: how was he supposed to handle this F4 member who now knew his secret?

He really wanted to get rid of him.

A detective's only goal was to uncover the truth — no amount of physical intimidation from the F4 was going to stop him.

He had barely finished the thought when a bodyguard stepped into his path.

'Trouble! They're fighting!' Several crew members shouted.

Ji Yue looked up.

A blond man was walking over — Yuwen Qing. Whatever he had said to He Yuanxi, the next second the two of them were throwing punches —

The dull thud of fists against faces, curses, the crash of chairs and tables being knocked over... the scene was total chaos.

[The F4 really do have boundless energy — after a full day like this, aren't they even tired?]

Ji Yue watched the scene quietly. Several bodyguards rushed over to break it up; two stayed behind, flanking him, reminding him to keep his distance.

He gave a small nod.

Then, without any change in expression, he took a few steps back — looking for all the world as though he was simply moving away from the danger zone. In reality, the moment the two bodyguards' attention was drawn to the brawl across the way, he turned and slipped away without a trace.

In the departure lounge, Ji Yue found a quiet, out-of-the-way seat. The chaos behind him had been left far in the distance; all that remained was the gentle female voice on the PA system announcing flight information.

He put on his amber-tinted sunglasses, opened the magazine, and went back to passing the time.

The flight was delayed. Ji Yue waited a long while and started to feel hungry.

During this stretch of time — like every detective — he had been running at high intensity, traveling constantly, his days and nights inverted in pursuit of the truth, his body worn down.

He rubbed his eyes with both hands and was about to go buy something to eat when he noticed something off.

...A familiar man had appeared to his left.

Yan Min.

Their eyes met in the air between them, and both fell silent.

What was he doing here?

Yan Min greeted him, his face carrying little expression — seemingly no different from usual.

Yet Ji Yue had the distinct sense that he was being carefully observed.

...Did Yan Min know something?

The thought made him quietly take half a step back.

His back met a wall.

— Not a wall. A person.

Li Xihe's hands settled gently on his shoulders, and he smiled as he said Ji Yue's name, leaning down close to his ear.

'Ji Yue, do you often have men fighting over you? You must be used to it by now.'

His tone was impossible to read — impossible to tell whether he was serious or teasing.

[What are these two doing here?? Did they both see the Moments post and come running????]

Ji Yue pushed him away without expression and sat back down.

Li Xihe settled into the seat on his right as if nothing had happened, picking up a magazine of his own.

Yan Min sat on his left, his gaze unchanged — the look of a man conducting academic research.

'Why are you staring at me?'

Ji Yue tried to read something from that perfectly composed face.

He very much wanted to know whether Yan Min had also received some kind of package.

'Did you get a piercing?' Yan Min's gaze rested on the lower half of his face. 'Your tongue — are you wearing something?'

Ji Yue's look today was very much in the style of the trendy young people from the upper districts — the kind of outfit that gave you rheumatism just from looking at it. Bright clashing colors, jewelry everywhere: earrings, rings, and a tongue stud.

A tongue stud, of course, was invisible unless you opened your mouth.

'How do you even know about that?'

Ji Yue couldn't understand it — had Yan Min actually contacted the piercing studio he'd visited?

'You got a tongue stud? Doesn't it hurt? Can I see it?' Li Xihe leaned in a little closer, studying the boy's pressed-together lips, his exaggerated tone carrying a thread of genuine curiosity.

Both men looked at him at the same time, eyes fixed, waiting.

[I'm dying — are they imagining you'll just open your mouth for them?!]

Ji Yue refused, cold and flat: 'None of your business, and I'm not showing either of you.'

'A tongue stud is the kind of thing only someone who kisses you would ever notice,' Li Xihe mused. 'I'm sorry, sweetheart — I really shouldn't have asked here.'

Yan Min brought up a jewelry brand in an offhand tone: 'I know which style of tongue stud that is.'

Ji Yue frowned. 'You're both very loud. No more talking.'

So Yan Min said nothing more and picked up a magazine to read.

Simply sitting beside the two of them was enough to set off Ji Yue's detective instincts in full force; he began interrogating them in turn about why they were here.

Yan Min considered his words carefully: 'The green plant I gave you occasionally wraps itself around people. So far you're the only one I've ever seen it attach to. The sole example.'

Li Xihe pushed his glasses up. 'I'm just here to catch a flight, obviously. Why would I have any other motive? Trust me — I'm not that kind of person.'

[Neither of those sounds like the truth! Something definitely drew them both here!]

Ji Yue said nothing and offered no judgment on whether they were lying — he simply sat beside them and observed quietly.

Boarding time was approaching.

He and Yan Min were on the same flight, so he stood and headed for the gate.

But Li Xihe called out to him from behind.

'Sweetheart, if someone hit me, would you feel bad for me? I keep feeling like your affection for me has cooled considerably.'

[Here we go again — the smiling aggrieved husband routine. He saw the Moments post and couldn't sit still, could he? Staking out an airport in the middle of the night — he's a medical student, doesn't he have residency training and night shifts to worry about?!]

Li Xihe watched his retreating figure from a distance.

The boy had already started walking away, his steps light as a cat's. At those words, he finally stopped.

Then, expression perfectly blank, he raised his silver-ringed middle finger.

Li Xihe laughed softly: 'Fair enough.'

Whether it was a 'fuck you' or a declaration that this was the full extent of his sympathy — he accepted it all.

Just before boarding, Ji Yue dozed with his arm as a pillow, when several messages popped up on his screen.

Sj: I'm near your place — can we meet? Your little brother is being really scary toward me.

Attached was a [pitiful] emoji.

Ji Yue's thoughts drifted elsewhere: He Yuanxi was unpredictable. If he went and told Si Jing that Ji Yue was a detective, that would be a serious problem.

Beyond that — would the other F4 members and elite students also receive packages exposing his identity as a detective?

Speak of the devil: a sudden, urgent, rapid-fire ringtone cut through the air — Yuwen Qing calling.

Ji Yue considered it for a moment, then declined the call. A string of frantic messages followed immediately.

[Oh, not picking up?]

[How are you going to explain yourself to me?]

[So you never actually liked me?]

[What exactly are you trying to find out?]

[Getting ready to go home, are you. You'd better wait for me.]

Threatening me again?

These people probably didn't realize — in a novel, you don't just go around threatening the detective.

Ji Yue calmly called his mother: 'Mum, don't come home for a while.'

Then he called the housekeeper: 'Keep the doors locked. Don't let any mad dogs in.'

'Young master, which one are you referring to? The silver-haired one at the gate, or the second young master?' The housekeeper was thoroughly confused. 'What — there are more dogs?!'