The Detective of Noble Male Academy, Part 6

06

The moment the door swung open, Si Jing caught a faint, clean fragrance. His breath snagged for an instant — that scent... it was far too familiar. He had buried his face in that Coat before and breathed it in, deep and slow. On a rainy night like this, the same fragrance carried an extra layer of damp warmth, as though the mist itself had soaked into it.

The thought alone was enough to make Si Jing's body burn with a heat he couldn't suppress — like a fire kindled somewhere deep inside him — even as the rain outside stayed bitterly cold.

'It's you?'

Ji Yue's voice was thick with drowsiness. His eyes were barely open, long hair tumbling in loose, disheveled waves over his shoulders, which only made his face look smaller.

...He smells so good.

Si Jing had always known how to play the pitiful card, how to coax sympathy from people — yet right now he couldn't bring himself to look Ji Yue in the face. He dropped his gaze to Ji Yue's legs instead, and his thoughts ground to a halt. Ji Yue had padded to the door barefoot; his calves peeked out beneath cotton pajama pants, pale and luminous as polished pearl.

And on top of everything else — Ji Yue seemed to have a secret crush on him.

Si Jing's throat moved in a slow swallow. He lowered his head and said, 'Sorry. Could I come in and get out of the rain?'

-

[The top student has been bullied — the original novel mentioned it in passing. Just the other day he was cornered by a group of them. Those privileged kids thought he was an eyesore. Just because you're rich, you think you're untouchable?! ...Oh, right. I forgot you're one of those privileged kids too.]

'Can't be bothered with you.'

The door was already shut, yet Ji Yue could still feel the chill and damp that had drifted in from outside. When he'd handed over the towel a moment ago, his fingers had grazed Si Jing's hand — cold as ice. Si Jing stood in the entryway, soaked through, holding the towel Ji Yue had given him, stiffly and awkwardly dabbing at his arms.

He looked like a stray dog nobody wanted — anxious and uncertain, not daring to step any further inside.

'Don't just stand there in the entryway. Come in.'

'...'

Si Jing didn't move. He kept his head down, silent, the towel clenched tight in his fist.

[The top student must be injured somewhere — his legs, maybe? I noticed he was walking very slowly. Why don't you let him — oh, you're already checking him over?]

'Because I'm sleepy.'

A pair of feet had already crossed the distance toward him. In Si Jing's field of vision: rounded knees, thighs with a soft, yielding curve to them — the kind that looked like they'd yield like cream if you pressed them. Ji Yue drifted close the way a cat would, his face no bigger than a palm, fair and clean and faintly drowsy. There was no real clinical intent in his expression — only the lazy, unhurried curiosity that belongs to cats.

'Where are you hurt? Your face?'

His lashes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly, nearly brushing the tip of Si Jing's nose.

It just felt like a tickle.

'Here?'

Ji Yue's gaze traveled downward from Si Jing's forehead, sweeping across the bridge of his nose, skimming past his jaw, coming to rest on his shoulder and waist. There was no physical contact — only that look — yet the gaze felt almost tangible, and everywhere it passed began to burn. Enough... he was far too good at this.

[The top student got beaten up by those guys earlier, didn't he? An eye for an eye — when will it ever end? I just hope there aren't any lasting injuries!]

Ji Yue didn't actually care how badly Si Jing was hurt. In F4-style fiction, the top student always came through unscathed — far better odds than any side character.

He reached out and gave Si Jing's shoulder a light squeeze, and heard a sharp intake of breath. Si Jing stepped back, as though trying to hide something — pain, most likely.

[I bet the injury is around his waist. He looked so stiff bending over — it must be awful!]

Beneath the dripping silver hair, a pair of downturned eyes flickered — the eyes of someone who had endured too much pain and refused to meet his gaze.

'...I'm fine. Could I use your bathroom?'

Si Jing kept his head bowed. Rainwater trickled slowly down the taut line of his jaw. He was barely holding the performance together.

'Go ahead.'

'Thank you. Truly, for tonight.'

[Aww, poor top student — he scored first in the entire lower city to get into this school. High self-esteem, high intelligence, and yet here he is, looking like a slipper someone threw out in the rain! And he still has to be examined by that annoying detective!]

In Ji Yue's memory, the original novel did have a scene like this: the top student gets roughed up by a group of privileged students, ends up wandering in the rain, soaked to the bone, and is rescued by Li Xihé — one of the F4 — and taken to stay in his mansion.

[Right, so why didn't he go to F3 tonight? Ask him!]

'He's in the shower.'

[Fine, let him shower!]

What a nuisance. Ji Yue rubbed his eyes.

Sleepy.

Si Jing came out of the bathroom and stepped through the balcony door to hang his clothes out to dry.

When he returned to the living room, a warm-toned desk lamp cast a soft, almost sacred glow — like an angel sleeping inside a halo of light.

The boy was dozing cross-legged on the sofa, swaying gently, on the verge of curling up into a ball like a cat.

Si Jing walked over to the sofa and steadied his shoulders. Ji Yue stirred awake.

'I'm sleepy. Make yourself at home.'

He yawned.

'Get some sleep. I'll leave once the rain stops.'

Si Jing lowered his eyes and stepped back half a pace. He watched Ji Yue push aside the curtain and disappear into the bedroom. Only then did the tension ease from his body — though his face burned hotter than ever.

The rain kept falling through the night and into the next day.

The soft patter of morning rain woke him.

The moment Ji Yue opened his bedroom door, he found Si Jing setting breakfast on the table. He had swept his fringe back, baring sharp, clean brows and eyes, his whole manner quietly deferential.

'I made breakfast. I don't know if it suits your taste... it's just my way of thanking you for your kindness. Nothing more.'

'Thank you.'

[Why does the top student look like a devoted newlywed husband — setting out the chopsticks and bowls and standing there to wait on you while you eat?]

'No idea.'

Ji Yue remembered the question he'd been meaning to ask: 'Who was it that roughed you up last night?'

'The same people as before.'

'Last night — why didn't you go to someone else for help? Yan Min and the others, I mean.'

'I'm not close with them.'

Si Jing said it flatly.

[That's strange! Are they genuinely not close yet, or have they already been secretly meeting behind the scenes?]

'I'll go check the top student's place again sometime — see if there are any signs that those two have been visiting.'

'Your clothes from last night — I've already washed them and hung them on the balcony. Is there anything else you need me to do?' Si Jing dried his hands and bent down to straighten Ji Yue's slippers.

(Ai Kan Shu — Novel Relay Station — Weibo @LuBingYiYi — Let's read together)

[Hmm hmm hmm? Did the top student wash your underwear too? Was he in the bathroom that long because he was hand-washing your underwear?]

'Some people are just good at housework, I suppose.'

[And you're just used to having someone else wash your underwear? You're something else.]

'Mind your own business.'

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BBS Forum...

HOT POSTS

Topic: Can someone explain why the top student is going to class with the school belle?

Reply 0: Is this acceptable?? Hm??

Reply 1: The top student has some nerve! (angry) (angry)

Reply 2: And apparently the top student and the school belle came out of the little villa together first thing this morning... the top student looked absolutely thrilled with himself... (sobbing) (fist)

Reply 3: How many people this morning completely lost it and screamed 'top student I will ____'? With that kind of attitude the school belle is never going to like you (lol) (lol) (sobbing) (fist)

Reply 4: I give up. He definitely took advantage of the school belle's kindness — probably got down on his knees and groveled until the school belle let him stay in the mansion! School belle, don't let that scheming blond fool you (sobbing) (fist)

Reply 5: I can't even imagine what kind of luck he has — did he sleep on the floor or the sofa last night... he must be internally smug right now?! (angry)

Reply 6: What if he snuck into the bedroom while the school belle was asleep... (sobbing) (fist)

Reply 7: I have a feeling he stole the school belle's clothes... just a feeling...

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'You work at the school clinic? As a resident?' It was rare — genuinely rare — for Ji Yue to look puzzled. He tilted his head, which might have seemed like an affectation of cuteness, but was actually because he'd spotted the supervising doctor standing nearby during the examination.

[Even the privileged kids in this world have to do residency training?]

Li Xihé swept Ji Yue's long hair aside and had him sit up straight. 'Does my little sister care about me this much? Are you planning to visit more often?'

'I have no interest in you.'

'Oh? By the way — remember to come back for your follow-up.'

'Mm.'

'Is this from the fall last time? That dog really was quite vicious.' Li Xihé pushed his glasses up and turned his attention to the scrape on Ji Yue's hand.

Li Xihé pressed a stethoscope to Ji Yue's chest to listen to his heartbeat. Neither of them spoke.

Ji Yue noticed what Li Xihé was wearing. Beneath the white coat: a fine-striped turtleneck shirt, the fabric expensive, enamel buttons fastened all the way to the top without a single one undone.

The original novel had explained why he always wore turtlenecks: a history of self-harm.

'Did Yuwen Qing transfer the compensation to you? I'd advise you to take him to court.' Li Xihé was still smiling.

Ji Yue: 'Forget about him. What's your relationship with the top student?'

'Hm? We're not close — we shared one class before.' Li Xihé smiled and turned the question back: 'Why do you ask? Are you interested in his situation, or in me? I know you've been paying attention to him. And to Yuwen Qing.'

As a detective, Ji Yue listened quietly to his explanation.

Not close — really? No evidence either way.

Li Xihé's wariness was the first reflex of someone who senses they're being investigated. He had even picked up on the fact that Ji Yue was looking into the top student and Yuwen Qing. Sharp, Ji Yue thought. This one is sharp.

Ji Yue wasn't worried about being exposed. Most people found it nearly impossible to imagine that an ordinary Noble Male Academy student like him could be a private detective.

No piercing gaze that sees through killers. No imposing physique. Just an ordinary human face — the best disguise there is.

Whatever happened, the detective would get the evidence of the forced-love incident and leave this island. Nothing and no one could stop that.

'All right, everything looks fine. Don't forget your follow-up.'

'Goodbye.'

Ji Yue headed out with his textbooks on his back. By coincidence, he took the side exit — and spotted a familiar figure just outside the school clinic.

A head of naturally silver hair, bag on his back, looking as though he'd just come from class — black T-shirt, jeans, a tall frame that carried itself with easy composure. With his fringe swept back, the top student revealed a clean, striking face, and glanced down at his watch every now and then.

Was he waiting for Li Xihé to finish his shift?

Ji Yue slipped behind the wall and watched to see whether Si Jing would speak with Li Xihé when he came off duty, or be brought inside to the break room.

A few lawn-trimming robots trundled past the clinic entrance. A gust of wind swept through, and Si Jing moved out of sight.

'What a coincidence, running into you here... what are you doing?'

Si Jing called out to him, surprised.

The boy was crouched in the corner, peering around the wall in a distinctly odd fashion. At the question, he turned his face around and said coolly, 'Bird-watching.' There were indeed two sparrows hopping about in the distance. Having said that, boy and birds alike promptly took their leave.

'Where are you going?'

'Art Studio.'

This month's assignment was a religious mural. Once he got busy with it, tailing the F4 would have to wait until evenings.

It was deep into the night by the time Li Xihé emerged from the school clinic. He had taken off his glasses and was cleaning them with unhurried deliberateness; the habitual smile was gone, and without it his refined face looked cold and remote.

By this hour the paths were empty of students — nothing left but the autumn wind and the soft rustle of falling leaves.

Tailing someone required patience: stay well behind, use the tree trunks as cover.

Walk. Stop. Walk again. Unhurried.

The occasional crunch of a dead leaf underfoot — nothing more than the soft paws of a stray cat passing through.

Li Xihé's residence was a traditional Chinese-style building. Two large red lanterns hung high at the entrance, casting the kind of eerie, foreboding impression that opens a horror film — a striking contrast to his name.

[According to the timeline, F3 and the top student should be walking home together right about now, exchanging those charged, ambiguous glances. Maybe it's because he spent last night at your place — a butterfly effect.]

The client's instructions were to investigate the forced-love incident and gather video evidence. So far, aside from one shared general-education course, there was no overlap in the movements of F3 and the top student.

Ji Yue's view: the AI's conclusions don't necessarily match reality.

A detective had to create opportunities for observation — for instance, by engineering a scene where the relevant parties appeared at the same time.

'Little sister, are you waiting for a car?'

Li Xihé's voice.

Ji Yue was killing time at the public transit stop. In this part of campus where sports cars clustered, students who actually took public transit were a rare sight; the self-driving vehicles, however, roamed tirelessly — perhaps written into the original plot for the top student's sake, since they only ever seemed to pick up the top student, or the detective tailing the top student.

Nearby, Li Xihé was taking in Ji Yue's outfit. He'd changed again — today's rain had brought a chill, and Ji Yue had put on a thin knit sweater, a soft, muted cream that draped gently around him, his pointed chin tucked into a plaid scarf as though he were trying to hide inside it. He had a large art history textbook pressed to his chest, and stood there gazing into the autumn wind, lost in thought. The moment Li Xihé appeared, Ji Yue shifted his gaze over and, without a word, fished a pair of black-framed glasses from somewhere and put them on.

The eyes behind the lenses were as cool as ever — he couldn't even be bothered to answer the question — yet the loose ends of his hair swayed behind him like a wagging tail, punctuating the silence with a question mark.

'Why are you here?'

'I go for a night run.'

'I see,' Ji Yue said, nodding, his tone perfectly even. 'Shall we get a coffee?'

[Sweetheart, you don't understand men! A man who goes for night runs is not going to sit with you for coffee at this hour. Do you know how many calories are in one cup of —] The System rattled on. [I get it, you want to get the top student and F4 in the same place — but you need to pick a better time.]

The next second, Li Xihé accepted with easy grace, smiling as he said: 'Let's go. The Café over there is still open.'

[What?! ...Something feels off. In the original novel he completely ignored you!]

Ji Yue didn't particularly care about Li Xihé's attitude — he just needed a way to put them in the same space and let the chemistry build. Worst case, he'd lure the top student out for a night run.

By the time the two of them arrived, the Café was nearly closing. There were hardly any customers left.

'Welcome —'

Ji Yue noticed it immediately: the instant Si Jing saw Li Xihé walk in alongside him, something shifted, almost imperceptibly, in Si Jing's expression.

[I knew something was going on between those two!] The System rubbed its hands together gleefully. [Look — neither of them will meet the other's eyes!]

The micro-camera, tucked behind a Doraemon coffee mug, quietly recorded the scene of F3 and the top student's encounter: Li Xihé placed his order; the top student said, 'We're out of that one, sir.' Li Xihé: 'I ordered the same thing as Ji Yue — how can you be out?' 'Because there's only one left.' 'Fine, give me something else.'

Li Xihé smiled.

[What a warm and lively scene!] The System was delighted. [You did the right thing — you should absolutely be steering them into the same space, letting them build familiarity.]

'They just don't cross paths enough.'

Ji Yue thought it over. Next time, maybe he could bring F2 along as well.

The two of them began discussing the art history professor's assignment. Si Jing came over carrying a tray and set down a glass of iced Americano.

'Your coffee...'

As he said it, his right hand gave an involuntary tremor. The iced coffee flew with unerring precision onto Li Xihé, a wide dark stain spreading across his shirt in all directions.

[Wow, a classic trope triggered — the scheming ingenue spills wine and coffee on the love interest!]

So the plot had gone this way? Ji Yue hadn't anticipated it. The original novel had no scene like this — the original top student was too proud to try to seduce the F4, which was precisely why things had escalated to forced love. Ji Yue bit into his sandwich. Li Xihé turned to him with concern: 'Did any get on you?' He looked down. Not a single drop.

Li Xihé went to the restroom. Si Jing lowered his eyes. 'I didn't do it on purpose. The way he was looking at me just now... I'm not saying there's anything wrong with him. It was my fault.'

Ji Yue: 'Oh.'

Si Jing wiped down the table and asked, as if in passing: 'By the way — did he invite you out tonight?'

-------

BBS Forum

HOT POSTS...

Topic: lmao a catfight at the Café...

Reply 0: The school belle and Li [redacted] are on a coffee date, and someone couldn't contain their rage and threw coffee everywhere!

Reply 1: The top student's day has been a complete rollercoaster... internal monologue: 'It's like the school belle loved me for just a moment...'

Reply 2: So the question is — why is the school belle on a late-night date with Li [redacted]? What did I miss (sobbing) (sobbing)

Reply 3: And that's not all — they went for a walk together... talked about everything from lower-city urban legends to the impact of current AI technology on the art industry... after [redacted] got coffee spilled on him, the school belle even went with him to his car to wait while he changed... hmm...

Reply 4: When you put it that way, it kind of feels like the top student actually came out worse in this (confused) (confused) (confused)

Reply 5: Hard to say — the school belle believes the top student didn't do it on purpose, so the top student gets another chance to play the soft, scheming card (angry) (angry)

Reply 6: The top student called Li [redacted] 'sir' — subtly implying he's too old... (lol) (lol)

Reply 7: [image] While the men were having their little catfight, what was Ji Yue doing.jpg

Reply 8: I don't fully understand how things got to this point, but I'll just eat my tomato sandwich first... the school belle is so cute (heart) (heart)

Reply 9: School belle, just tell us who you like already... (sobbing) (sobbing)