The Detective of the Noble Male Academy 3

03

Yan Min — the aloof, artistic young man of F4, with a mysterious family background, fond of philosophy, antiques, and growing flowers. The last hobby didn't suit his temperament at all; for a man like him, dirt on his hands looked less like gardening and more like he'd just murdered someone and buried the body. Polished and dazzling on the outside, but at heart a control freak. Or rather, the kind of person who, at a glance, was clearly a pretentious showoff. Faced with a stranger who'd intruded, what would he do? 'A moment ago you were paying attention to The Lady in the Lake on the bookshelf.' This was the second thing Yan Min said to him. He meant the detective mystery novel Ji Yue had glanced at a few extra times, sitting on the left side of the shelf. Just as the original work said, F1 was skilled at observing others. Ji Yue didn't want to discuss Raymond Chandler with Yan Min, because he'd already grown fond of other mystery writers — a matter of principle. Thinking this, he put his glasses back on. Yan Min closed his book and asked, 'Do you usually wear glasses too?' 【F1 is very alert.】 'No, I just wanted to see your face clearly. Got a problem with that?' 'Why do you want to see it clearly?' '......' Because these black-framed glasses were a new kind of AI Glasses for filming — put them on and they shot footage automatically. A detective could hardly whip out a camera all of a sudden and shout, keep giving me evidence. When faced with questions he couldn't answer, Ji Yue stayed silent. The robot handed Ji Yue the first cup of milk tea; he didn't drink it, instead lifting his head to gaze at the entire wall of towering bookshelves on the second floor, packed with all manner of books. Yan Min leaned against the second-floor railing, looking down at the first level from above, watching Ji Yue gasp in delight over an out-of-print book. His eyes were an inorganic gray, and being watched by them felt like being scrutinized. 'If you like it here, you're welcome to look around the house.' 'Oh, thank you.' I really will thank you for providing the material. 【I get it now!! This is F1's secret playground — the special student is probably hidden somewhere in here, and you've interrupted their date.】 The System began speaking to him in a thoroughly R-rated tone. 'I'm going to photograph them here. Don't even think about escaping.' Ji Yue pushed open the doors along the corridor one after another. There was nothing. He stuck his head into the wardrobe — no extra space there either. The mansions in horror films always gave the audience a few hints: a painting suddenly dropping off the wall, a doll appearing in another room. What kind of hints would show up in an R-rated forced-love novel? The master bedroom? He found a bedroom far larger than the others — unidentified flowers gave off a fresh fragrance, a few clusters of greenery stood in the corners, a great bed, floor-to-ceiling windows, dim lighting... a room well suited for sleeping. There was another door near the shelving unit. Ji Yue carefully pushed it open — and a huge face came crashing into view. It was a tall statue of Guanyin, its jade eyes gazing at him with sorrowful compassion. As far as the eye could see, it was like an ancient museum, utterly astonishing. Ji Yue grasped the situation — Yan Min's private collection room, used to house antiques, paintings and calligraphy, Buddhist statues, and one forcibly loved lover. Si Jing wasn't here; otherwise he'd have turned up in the collection room. ...Had the special student perhaps escaped the demon's claws? He really wanted to ask how he'd managed it. Ji Yue let out a breath. He removed the AI Glasses, bringing today's mission to a close. Yan Min held an open book in his hands; beyond the words, in the edge of his vision, the beautiful youth paced back and forth on the first floor. He walked quickly, his jet-black long hair bound and swaying behind him like an excited cat's tail. 'I should go now. Goodbye, and thank you for having me.' Ji Yue gave his thanks quickly, hurrying downstairs before the words had even left his mouth. He didn't notice that Yan Min closed his book and came down too, unhurried and leisurely. A sudden crack of thunder boomed outside the window — for a moment lightning split the sky, rain poured down in torrents, and the curtains danced as if possessed. Ji Yue froze. The Flower House's weather system was an AI simulation — how could it suddenly storm like this? 'The weather here has always been bad.' Yan Min offered this explanation, his tone bland, as though it were perfectly ordinary. Ji Yue had no choice but to go look at that out-of-print book after all. Half an hour later, the rain stopped, and a rainbow hung in the sky. As a thank-you for the filming, he finally spoke up, praising how beautiful Yan Min's roses were. 'I really like your flowers.' 'You can come again to see them. Besides the roses, there are other items in my collection.' Yan Min issued an enticing invitation. His gaze was calm, his tone courteous, as though there were no trap at all? The robots circled around him too, presenting him with a bouquet of Blue Rose, insisting he take it. On the way back, Ji Yue happened to notice the corner of a card peeking out from among the flowers. He pulled it out and looked — Yan Min's contact information was written on it. The trip to the Flower House had gone a little too smoothly. Just like that, he'd won F1's trust? Ji Yue couldn't help feeling suspicious — did this violate detective instinct? Surely it couldn't be that he wanted to lure him into a little dark room, confine him, and add him to the collection? 【Because you gave a flower-grower the highest compliment there is — your flowers are beautiful.】 The System delivered its verdict. Was that it? Ji Yue had never grown flowers. He glanced at the rearview mirror, and only then realized his hair ribbon was gone. - That day's hot thread on the BBS Forum was 《Vanished for a Whole Day and Night — the School Beauty Leaves the Flower House Wearing the Special Student's Coat...》, which was later deleted for unknown reasons. BBS Forum / Hot Threads / HOT / Topic: Come to this thread... 0F: ??? Can someone explain what happened 1F: Known facts: the special student went in wearing his Coat and came out without it, and the two left the Flower House one ahead of the other. Known: the school beauty has been perfectly normal so far, and the two are still doing their daily tailing play. 2F: I've been brainwashed — suddenly I feel the school beauty going to tail the special student is a really good thing... anything's better than getting locked in a little dark room by Yan【】 3F: What do we do if the special student and the school beauty fall in love (sobbing)(sobbing) 4F: poor scheming stray-dog attacker x rich-and-beautiful art-student school-beauty shou, #campus#attacker dotes on shou#match made in heaven#sweet fic#secret crush#forum-style# ? 5F: The person above nearly made me throw up (waving white flag)(waving white flag) 6F: Then what's Yan【】 — the dank, pretentious, homewrecking privileged-elite attacker? #realistic#adult love#seizing by force#devoted to one alone# 7F: I'm begging you all, stop talking (waving white flag)(waving white flag) 8F: ...case closed, someone asked the school beauty and he said he picked up the special student's Coat before coming out, and put it on because he was a bit cold 9F: oh well that's fine then, special student I'm honestly speechless, why go around dropping your stuff, look at the mess this caused?! 10F: I just feel something's off — does touring the Flower House really take a whole day and night? (sobbing)(sobbing) 11F: think about who else lives in there — it's obviously Yan【】 scheming his heart out to make the school beauty stay the night, while the special student got to crouch outside in the bitter cold 12F: oh, true too... school beauty, whatever you say I'll believe! (sobbing)(fist) 13F: the school beauty said he saw Blue Rose in the Flower House... mm... Blue Rose covering the hills as far as the eye could see 14F: ? Doesn't Yan【】 refuse to show that flower to anyone 15F: the school beauty isn't just anyone — of course you show your hidden treasures to your wife (licking)(licking) 16F: but the school beauty still likes the special student — if you want to blame someone, blame Yan【】 for being too rich and not poor enough (covering mouth laughing)(covering mouth laughing) - ----- 'You only asked for half a day off, and ended up out of contact for the entire day.' Fu Dao of the Photography Club studied a camera in his hands, mentioning the matter offhandedly. Ji Yue nodded: 'It was due to forces beyond my control. I'll make up a full day of activity filming over the weekend.' 'If you're willing to tell me, I won't say anything to the others.' '......' He had no obligation to explain. After leaving the Flower House, he'd discovered that Wednesday had turned into Thursday — it seemed the System's timeline had glitched, though he couldn't pinpoint where the problem came from. 【It's a problem on the special student's end — his timeline suddenly fast-forwarded.】 'Why?' 【No idea about that. Probably the power of the original plot? Novels often use that 'a few days later' kind of writing.】 The power of the original work? This might affect the special student's plotline. Ji Yue bought a telescope online because of it. The seller claimed you could see human footprints on the surface of the moon. 'Humanity's been emigrating to other star systems for over a hundred years now. I haven't heard the word 'moon' in ages.' Zhou Zhou — the male classmate from the group assignment — was free and keeping him company while he set up the telescope. He was a second-generation emigrant, so he still retained some impression of his parents' descriptions of the moon. The moon in the upper city's sky now was an artificial bit of scenery, not a satellite at all. Ji Yue read the instruction manual together with him. 'Are you using it to watch star trails?' 'No.' This telescope was for observing the special student. By coincidence, Si Jing had moved to a dorm building a kilometer away from him, so from now on he'd never have to tail him home in the dead of night again. Zhou Zhou let out an 'oh,' already guessing the telescope's purpose, but kept helping him install the base anyway. He didn't understand why Ji Yue was so singularly devoted to the special student, but he respected and accepted it. It was only that, having observed Ji Yue for a while, he found him to be a beautiful, mysterious classmate who brought a storm wherever he went. His relationships with most people were ordinary — or rather, thin as water, indifferent, neither cared for nor maintained. Spend enough time around him and you could faintly sense he was a bit neurotic, which stood in sharp contrast to his sickly air. Ji Yue always regarded the special student differently. No — Si Jing was no longer the only classmate to receive special treatment. Come to think of it, it was strange. Ji Yue only watched them from afar, with no further contact — he didn't even have their contact information? Ji Yue set up the telescope, immersing himself in aiming it at the distant first-floor dorm. A detective must never stop acting. So far, the files on F34 were still nearly blank; as long as he kept a close eye on the special student, he could assemble the full set of F34. A few photos on campus, plus a detailed address of their residence, some documents — that would just about do it. Si Jing was attending Horseback Riding Class this afternoon and wouldn't be back at the dorm for a while. Ji Yue suddenly remembered something — the Coat. The whole business of wearing the special student's Coat had been blown wildly out of proportion, but he'd simply put on a Coat he'd picked up, nothing more. The plot of land where he'd gotten out of the vehicle happened to be the high-latitude plant zone, where the temperature was noticeably lower. He'd tugged at the cuffs, though it hadn't been especially cold. The special student was nowhere to be seen — only a Coat left hanging on a tree, as though the man himself had been devoured by F1's flowers. Perhaps he'd been kidnapped by F1 and left a survival signal on purpose? Ji Yue took the Coat and walked on. Ten minutes later, he again spotted Si Jing — perfectly intact — at a corner, the man walking away from the gate. By then the Coat was already on his body, and returning it would have been as good as being caught tailing him. It was a very ordinary black Coat, made of waterproof material, and on Ji Yue's frame it was oversized. Ji Yue ran it through the washing machine once and sent it off as an anonymous package. 【Just how far along is their plot? Hasn't the forced love started yet? Hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry——】 'No idea.' 【Find a time and just ask him.】 'Ask who?' 【The special student, of course. Ask him whether he's dating F4, and watch his reaction. When necessary, you've got to push the plot forward yourself.】 'I don't want to interact with them.' 【You want to be the Noble Male Academy's armchair detective, don't you. Not happening!】 Ji Yue said nothing, changed into some light clothes, and went out again. He planned to go take a look at the special student's new dorm. Si Jing had only just moved; his things would surely be neatly organized. Maybe he could photograph some personal album photos, group shots, club application forms, that sort of thing? The Noble Male Academy's dorm buildings were practically for show — 99% of students had bought private mansions on the island and didn't live in the communal dorms. This building in fact had only one resident, the special student, so much so that Ji Yue slipped smoothly in through a window from the corridor without anyone noticing. The halo of his flashlight lit up the bedroom. Clean, tidy, scentless; the quilt on the blue bedsheet folded into a neat block. 【The special student really loves cleanliness — even the trash can is empty.】 'Is there a diary in here?' Ji Yue pulled open the desk drawer, feeling around everywhere. 【Oh no! Someone's coming! Maybe it's F4!】 There was a hint of excitement in the System's electronic voice. The footsteps were already close. Whoever was coming was damnable indeed — he didn't have time to get out the window. Hiding in the wardrobe was too easily discovered, so Ji Yue chose to hide under the bed. His first thought: the special student really did enjoy cleaning and housework — there wasn't a speck of dust under the bed. The light came on. A young man entered the bedroom. From Ji Yue's angle he could see the man's body but not his face — a tall young man dressed all in black, who shed his Coat upon entering, a black T-shirt underneath. The man said nothing and sat down on the sofa chair. Tousled silver hair, a calm expression, downturned eyes utterly harmless. Wasn't Si Jing supposed to be in Horseback Riding Class? Ji Yue glimpsed him setting something on the desk, like a delivery package. Picking up the small knife on the desk, Si Jing tore open the package and took out a black Coat. It was the Coat Ji Yue had worn once — the one Si Jing had lost. Keeping someone else's clothes was strange, so he'd mailed it back; if discovered, he'd just say he'd found it. The System praised him: 【You're a kind-hearted little baby.】 'I just want to leave this place.' Ji Yue's face was expressionless. Only if the special student hurried out or went to shower could he sneak away. Moonlight flowed like water across the carpet. Si Jing gazed at the Coat for a long while, then clutched the fabric in his hand, gently caressing it. Ji Yue thought he was about to put the clothes in the washing machine — good, hurry to the bathroom. But... the man lowered his head and breathed in the scent of the fabric. I washed it, it's not dirty, and it doesn't smell. Ji Yue was bewildered. And then came the sound of panting — the man's other hand reached down and unbuckled his belt.