Detective at the Noble Boys' School — 29

30

Without any warning, his face was cupped and a kiss was pressed down onto him.

Their breath tangled together — heavy, urgent. He reached up to push back, but his wrist was seized and pinned firmly against a chest.

Like a river clam pried open by force, its tongue toyed with inside.

'You really did get your tongue pierced,' Li Xihe laughed softly against his ear between ragged breaths. 'Am I the first one to find out?'

The world spun.

Ji Yue opened his eyes to find himself lying in an unfamiliar bed. Above him hung a crystal chandelier; beside him, the long cross necklace swaying on the other person's chest made his head swim even more.

He struggled to sit up, only to be pressed back down by a hand.

'Your face is burning. So is the rest of you.'

Li Xihe was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning over him, his flippant fingers roaming across Ji Yue's face — tracing it slowly, carefully, with something almost like reverence.

The boy's soft cheek had the colour of cream, now flushed a strawberry pink.

What would it feel like to take a bite?

Ji Yue clutched Li Xihe's shirt in a white-knuckled grip, squeezing his eyes shut, lashes fluttering like startled butterflies.

He was about to be kissed again.

'...Stop it!'

[Your man is already undressing you — isn't that a little late to say something?]

'...'

[This time I will truly pray for you. For the sake of the truth, the great detective has sacrificed his ass!] The System's tone was heavy with grief.

Before the words had even faded, an uppercut came flying out of nowhere!

No one could say exactly where it landed — only that there was a dull thud, the sharp sound of Li Xihe sucking in a breath, and underneath it, the faint trace of a laugh.

Ji Yue rolled nimbly off the bed, his movements as composed as if nothing had happened at all — only his face was still red.

Li Xihe covered one side of his face and stood up.

Beneath his half-open shirt, his torso was mapped with row upon row of neat scars, lying flat against the lines of his muscles — old ones layered over new, like a silent scream.

Seen like this, Li Xihe had most likely developed psychological problems from the temporal disorientation.

Some people turned to philosophy; others chose drinking or violence; some went to more extreme lengths.

So that was it.

This time, the detective had reached the core of the character's design.

Li Xihe turned the question back on him: 'Why refuse? Your body doesn't dislike me. Do you have some kind of faith?'

'I see you wearing a cross all the time.'

Ji Yue's gaze dropped to his chest, where the long necklace had been.

'You think I'm religious?'

Li Xihe said with a smile.

No premarital conduct.

Li Xihe covered his face with a sigh. 'I have no faith — just like you. You chose the religious arts track, but you're actually an atheist, so don't bother using that as an excuse.'

'...'

Li Xihe put his glasses back on, and his tone softened considerably. 'Do you remember giving me the middle finger at the airport? In the Earth era that gesture meant FUCK, and FUCK has many meanings.'

He added: 'Actually, besides that particular thing, there's a lot else we could do — like help each other?'

Please stop your FUCK lecture.

Before Ji Yue could get the words out, he was kissed again.

[Ugh, ugh, ugh — okay, so the ass is safe this time, but still...]

The System trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

—

Ji Yue showered and washed his hands.

He lay spread-eagled on the bed, face blank, mentally replaying every single thing about the F4 that had annoyed him recently.

[This is what the sage's hour feels like — even after pleasure, the spirit is hollow.]

The System had started talking nonsense again.

Li Xihe had his arm around him, murmuring something low; Ji Yue didn't catch a word of it.

He turned his attention to a conversation with the System about what came next.

[The world the Main God arranged really does have some issues. The key characters have already deviated from their original settings — both emotionally and in terms of plot direction — and now there's temporal disorientation on top of it all! I've already filed a report; it's currently working its way through the OA approval process!]

'Can we pull out of this world early?'

[Hard to say — depends on how the Main God rules!]

Ji Yue still wanted to know who the client was.

Before leaving, he had to track down this root of all evil.

He walked toward the door.

Li Xihe followed behind him, unhurried and at ease.

'What are you planning to do here?' Li Xihe's voice drifted over from behind.

'I want to go home.'

'It's late. Just stay.'

Absolutely baffling.

Ji Yue glanced up at the window, then pointed at the sky, gesturing for Li Xihe to look at the blazing afternoon sun outside — it had already wilted the leaves on the trees.

[Lunatic!]

The System cackled.

Li Xihe smiled faintly. 'I still want to spend a little more time with you. After all, once... that happens, you'll be going back to the Upper City, won't you? I'm reluctant to let you go.'

Ji Yue said nothing.

Questions he couldn't answer, he simply pretended not to hear.

Besides — it wasn't going back to the Upper City. It was leaving this world entirely.

[Li Xihe doesn't know that the disguises you're wearing aren't just 'detective' — you're not a native of this time and space at all. That's a truth they can never know!]

Ji Yue kept walking downstairs.

When he reached the entrance hall, he finally understood why Li Xihe had been so fearlessly confident.

The door leading outside was completely locked.

He tried pushing it. It didn't budge.

Ji Yue said nothing. He turned around and sat down on the sofa.

Li Xihe made no other move — he simply sat beside him. A rare quiet moment: no detective interrogation, no mutual suspicion.

...No, actually, an interrogation was still necessary.

Ji Yue looked around, then asked abruptly: 'The month I was gone — what happened between you lot and the honor student? Tell me.'

'Nothing.'

'You answered very fast. Is that the truth?'

'It is. You've always cared a great deal about the honor student — he ranks even higher on your priority list than I do. Anything I say about him, you won't believe anyway.'

Li Xihe pushed his glasses up and suddenly laughed. 'I think you probably don't like him in that way. There's another reason you keep watching him — the reason you won't let me say out loud.'

Seeing that nothing useful was going to come of this line of questioning, Ji Yue glanced at the screen and turned his face away, cool and indifferent. 'I want to watch a mystery film.'

[Forced romance has turned into the CCTV Movie Channel!]

So the System complained.

--------

Forum

HOT POSTS / HOT.....

Thread: The school beauty god's RETURN!! Everyone on your feet!! (sobbing)

0L: [pic] Ran into the school beauty in language class / at the pool — an absolute deity (hot) (hot)

1L: The school beauty seems like he was away for a while — he's back to his old Abby style.. thank goodness!! (sobbing) (sobbing)

2L: He really loves wearing earrings (hot)

3L: Earrings swaying, F4 spinning

4L: Ugh, a whole month without seeing him and the school beauty is still as obsessed with the F4 as ever... (sobbing)

5L: A Latin confession — way too romantic, absolutely not the kind of thing the school beauty's robot personality would do, I refuse to hear it!! (sobbing) (fist)

6L: The small group chat has already cracked the case — that handwriting isn't the school beauty's. His writing is super cursive and wild, very recognizable...

7L: It was Yan [redacted] who wrote it... (nauseated) (eye-roll)

8L: So scheming, I can't stand it — deliberately writing it on the school beauty's paper, just waiting for the Latin teacher to read out the school beauty's notes, openly provoking every guy there (nauseated) (nauseated) (fainting)

9L: Too bad — the school beauty was completely unmoved. He doesn't care about that kind of thing (hand over mouth laughing) (hand over mouth laughing)

10L: Does no one think he looked adorable standing at the edge of the pool? The school beauty seems a little scared of water? (hot) (hot)

11L: You guys are really something — you clearly knew where He [redacted] was and wouldn't tell the school beauty. If it were me... hehehe!

12L: If it were you, you'd drown He [redacted] underwater, is that it?? You think He [redacted]'s whole family is dead or something (hand over mouth laughing)

13L: Just mock them online — in real life, who doesn't bow and scrape when they see an F4 family member (hand over mouth laughing) (hand over mouth laughing)

14L: Speaking of which, how come the school beauty went to find Li [redacted] and then just disappeared? Give him back to me (fist)

15L: No way — back for five minutes and already in the black room? Can't you virgins show a little restraint?

16L: What's the point of restraint and clarity every single day .jpg

17L: Someone has already set out to go there... incoming...

--------

'You idiot — the real killer is the manservant.'

Ji Yue pointed at the elderly actor on the screen, his tone perfectly flat.

He leaned toward Li Xihe, his words coming noticeably faster.

'The manservant had shots of him getting up in the middle of the night before the victim was killed, but his alibi was too airtight. This kind of film loves to mislead the audience into suspecting the mistress of the house.'

Li Xihe was leaning back on the sofa, rolling a raisin between his fingers.

'Is that so?' He gave a genuine-sounding hum. 'I tend to lean toward the character with the strongest motive.'

Li Xihe had named a killer at random — he hadn't had a moment to pay attention to the film's details, having spent the entire time trying to feed Ji Yue little snacks.

Fairly amusing, really. With Ji Yue sitting right there beside him, who had any mind left for a film?

Ji Yue was completely serious, launching into another round of detailed deduction — tracing the evidence from the soles of the manservant's shoes all the way to the curtains on the windowsill.

He seemed to genuinely love playing detective.

...A great detective, utterly absorbed in the pursuit of truth.

Li Xihe listened and held a raisin up to Ji Yue's lips.

'Eat a little more,' he said, his gaze resting on Ji Yue's face. 'Little sister, you look like you've lost some weight.'

[Li Xihe says that like he's seen you before!]

'Ding-dong —'

The doorbell rang, jarring and abrupt.

Li Xihe didn't even lift his eyelids, as though he hadn't heard it.

Ji Yue had just confirmed the killer was the manservant when his attention snapped to the door.

Through the window, he could make out a young man standing by the gate downstairs.

Silver-white hair. Very tall. Standing there without moving.

[The honor student's greatest virtue is his patience — he's also remarkably good at standing outside other people's gates for a very, very long time.]

What was Si Jing doing here?

Ji Yue was a little curious.

Had he come for Ji Yue, or for Li Xihe?

'Can you let him in?' He turned and asked Li Xihe.

Li Xihe smiled, his meaning opaque. 'This isn't a shelter for strays. What are you thinking?'

'I want to talk to him.' Ji Yue said it seriously.

Li Xihe's expression cooled slightly. Behind his lenses, his eyes held a tangle of complicated emotions.

He was quiet for a few seconds, then asked: 'Will you come find me again?'

'Yes.'

For the sake of the truth, he would come back to the F4 again.

[Hmm... actually, what Li Xihe might be asking is whether you'll still come find him after the detective mission is over.]

That kind of question — the kind with no possible answer — Ji Yue chose to skip over entirely.

Si Jing stood outside the gate, his gaze passing through the iron bars. He caught sight of a figure first: Ji Yue came bounding down the steps, moving quickly, long hair flying out behind him with every leap.

Like a butterfly alighting from above.

Something in his chest went soft.

But there was another person following behind.

They reached the bottom of the steps, and then the man put his arm around Ji Yue's waist, drawing him back, bending down to murmur something in his ear.

Si Jing's expression darkened.

Enough.

Ji Yue shook off that hand and opened the gate.

'How did you know I was here?'

He walked over to Si Jing's side.

Si Jing still had a trace of the anger from a moment ago on his face, but facing Ji Yue, he didn't want to show it. He irritably raked a hand through his disheveled hair, glanced once more at the gate, and finally said: 'Asked someone on the street.'

The two of them went back to the dormitory. Si Jing poured him a glass of water, guessing he must have a lot of questions.

He had barely picked up the glass when he turned around to find the living room empty.

He blinked, then looked toward the bedroom.

Ji Yue was standing at the desk, head bowed over a photograph.

Si Jing's face grew warmer.

It was the photo he had picked up off the bulletin board.

Ji Yue had taken it not long after starting school — standing at the entrance of the Teaching Building, dressed all in black, wearing a great deal of jewelry, his gaze cold and unforgettable.

[Why do all these people collect photos of you?! I don't even want to imagine what they do with your photos in the middle of the night!]

Ji Yue turned his head, looked at him once, and said nothing.

Just that single glance was enough to make Si Jing feel as though he'd been put through a spiritual interrogation.

He sat down and listened to the sound of the other person flipping through a notebook.

'How do you explain it — the month that jumped forward in time?'

'It happens sometimes. Not everyone is affected. I thought you wouldn't get caught up in it.'

'You mean the F4 and the honor student all experience this kind of thing.'

'Yes.'

So why had the detective been caught up in it too — when he was clearly not one of the main characters?

Ji Yue turned his pen between his fingers.

'How do you make sense of a world like this? Don't you find it strange? Science can't explain any of it.'

'All I can say is — it'll be over soon.'

Si Jing closed the conversation with that.

Oh?

Si Jing seemed to know considerably more than the F4 did.

[That's a little odd. How did Si Jing arrive at the conclusion that it'll 'be over soon'? Who told him?]

Was the client someone who could foresee the future — and was that connected to Si Jing's answer?

What a tangled mess.

Ji Yue became a statue, chin resting in his hand, lost in thought.

Si Jing quietly watched him for a long time from the side, trying to figure out how to get him to stay for dinner.

By now it was nearly evening. Warm golden light poured in through the window — a wash of orange-red that baked the whole room into a gentle amber.

The light left something like brushstrokes of colour on the boy's pale face, like the highlights on a canvas.

The angels in oil paintings must look something like this.

He had barely finished that thought when, in the next second, the angel-statue moved of its own accord and said, expressionless: 'I have to go.'

'...Where are you going?'

'Don't ask.'

Ji Yue turned and left.

His long hair swept upward, tracing an arc through the air, and he didn't look back once.

[One F4 left — no telling what kind of answer Yuwen Qing will have.]

[I keep feeling like we're piecing together the novel's world as seen through the F4's eyes!]

That was, in fact, exactly right — after all, this world was itself constituted by the F4, the honor student, and people like them. Their consciousness would exert a powerful influence on the entire fabric of time and space.

This time, there were no dogs near the villa.

Ji Yue gripped his bag strap and walked with great caution — two steps forward, one look back, eyes sweeping left and right, carefully surveying his surroundings. He tested the lawn with his foot, felt along the shrubbery, peered around the corners of the walls, and confirmed one by one that there were no dogs before allowing himself to relax even slightly.

[The real vicious dog is inside the villa — the golden-haired kind!]

'Ding-dong —'

He pressed the doorbell.

He waited a minute. No answer.

Was Yuwen Qing not home?

[Maybe he's already dead?] The System cackled.

Ji Yue stepped back half a pace, weighing whether to keep waiting or simply come back tomorrow.

The door suddenly opened.

The first thing he felt was a wave of warm, damp air rushing toward him — carrying with it the faint scent of men's shampoo.

The blond man standing behind the door was wearing a bathrobe, as though he had just stepped out of the shower. Steam still clung to him; his hair was soaking wet, swept entirely back to expose his forehead and sharp brows, the tips still dripping.

He was much taller than Ji Yue. Ji Yue's gaze, level with the man's chest, landed directly on the open lapels of the bathrobe and the exposed pectoral muscles beneath.

[This hot mess is trying to seduce you!]

'...'

'Come in. I wasn't sure you'd actually show up here.'

Yuwen Qing leaned against the doorframe and said it with a cold smile.

Ji Yue stepped inside.

His wariness was far too obvious — every step came with a glance to either side — and Yuwen Qing caught it almost immediately, simply reaching out and hoisting him up, then dropping him onto the sofa.

'What's that look on your face?'

Even under interrogation, Ji Yue still had that same there's-a-ghost-in-here expression. He sat on the sofa and looked around again: 'Where's your dog?'

Yuwen Qing remembered the incident.

'The dog is at the stables. I usually only bring it home on weekends.'

'Oh.'

'You're scared of dogs.'

'...'

He was not scared — the dog was just very large.

Ji Yue had no interest in pursuing this topic.

'I want to ask you about what happened this past month.'

He quickly produced his little notebook, flipped to a fresh page, and began to write.

'Nothing happened.'

'I don't believe that. Answer again.'

Every time he said something like that with a perfectly straight face, it was somehow deeply entertaining — that cold, impassive expression paired with absolute seriousness, like a finicky cat extending its paw to bat at a human. Anyone who saw it would want to tease him.

Yuwen Qing laughed. 'What exactly do you want to hear? While you were gone, did the world end?'

'I just want to know what things were like for you all here.'

'Apart from a minor conflict or two, everything was normal.' Yuwen Qing could see Ji Yue was close to losing patience, so he dropped the teasing and said something genuine: 'Do you want the details?'

'You and He Yuanxi?'

'Mm.'

'Then never mind.' Ji Yue had no interest in their grudges. He drew a line through something in his notebook. 'Have you experienced temporal disorientation before?'

'Yes. Enough times that I've gotten used to it.'

'It doesn't bother you?'

'It did at first. Then you get used to it — what else can you do? Jump off a building? Aside from the time, nothing really changes.'

Yuwen Qing leaned back on the sofa, his tone carrying a faint edge of mockery.

[So Yuwen Qing is quite an optimistic person.]

Among the F4, that was a distinctly unusual answer.

Ji Yue thought: he could probably start drawing conclusions now.

What was currently known: both the F4 and the honor student had experienced temporal jumps, and some characters' personalities had been affected as a result.

The cause of the temporal disorientation was perhaps a collision between the original novel and reality.

Currently unknown:

1. The client's identity and motive — both unclear;

2. Whether what the honor student called 'the end' referred to the plot.

Looking at it this way, Si Jing's side had more information — was that because he was the main character?

Ji Yue cradled his notebook and sank into thought again.

The room was very quiet.

Yuwen Qing asked out of nowhere: 'Do you want to stay the night?'

[Hmm hmm hmm?? What is this guy trying to pull?!]

Ji Yue was baffled. He gave Yuwen Qing a sideways glance.

The man was wearing nothing but a bathrobe, lapels hanging open — looking extremely exposed. Tall and solidly built, arms all muscle, the perennial air of someone who never felt the cold. His face had the look of mixed heritage, but his eyes were something less than human — carrying a feral edge — and his behavior matched: the kind that made people think of wild animals.

When a vicious dog said 'stay the night,' maybe he didn't mean it that way?

[Now that you put it like that, it does sound indecent — an untamed dog with no sense of propriety and a long-haired, ethereal pretty boy.]

'?'

'Did you eat something you're allergic to?' Yuwen Qing, getting no answer, simply stood up and walked over, lifting Ji Yue's face with one hand, studying it closely.

Yuwen Qing's thumb brushed slowly across his lips, as though examining evidence.

'...'

'You kissed a guy, didn't you. Who was it this time?'

'What do you mean, this time?'

'Hah? Don't tell me I'm the only one you've ever kissed. Is your romantic history really that simple?'

[See — you didn't say a word, just echoed him, and Yuwen Qing is already thrilled, somehow spinning a whole fantasy about you having had loads of exes!]

[But then again, that's just what it's like when you like someone — you can't help yourself.]

[The F4 are all cooperating so nicely with your investigation now! Which proves my earlier calculations were correct!]

Ji Yue had no interest in the System's salacious subroutines. His only plan right now was to go home and write his deduction diary.

The communicator on his wrist buzzed — a rapid-fire stream of garbled incoming messages, popping up one after another like static.

He looked down. On the screen were photographs — photographs of himself, crouching by the roadside on a stakeout in his detective work.

Who had sent these?

He quickly traced the IP. It was, impossibly, the same primitive island as before.

[Now that is genuinely eerie!]

A suspenseful little tune played through Ji Yue's mind.

No time to keep sparring with Yuwen Qing!

He glanced toward the door, calculating an excuse to slip away.

Yuwen Qing noticed immediately. His expression darkened, distinctly displeased.

'Where are you in such a hurry to go? I've only said a few words to you — haven't done a thing — and you're already trying to flee.'

[This setup feels very familiar — it's almost identical to the Li Xihe black-room incident from earlier!!]

'What does Yuwen Qing actually want?'

[According to Freudian theory, he wants to fuck you.]

'...'

'I don't know what game you and that honor student are playing, or what your relationship is,' Yuwen Qing said with a cold smile. 'He'd better remember that the island police are useless. He can do his job as honor student — that's enough. He shouldn't do anything extra.'

[That sounds exactly like someone warning off a rival!]

[And speaking of which — the privilege of the elite class is on full display here!]

While the System was busy with its rapid-fire commentary, Ji Yue quietly stepped back half a pace, then another half.

Yuwen Qing blocked him anyway.

Ji Yue lost patience: 'My mommy doesn't let me spend the night out with boys.'

Yuwen Qing gave a short 'oh,' then said, provocatively: 'Your family probably has no idea what you've been doing at school — what you've done with so many guys, including me.'

[Excuse me, this person is making you sound like the school's most notorious easy catch — flirting with everyone, leading them all on, and then abandoning this cucumber-greenhouse boy after toying with his feelings!]