Lu Mingfei: What? They're all real!

"How can a private investigator compare to you, senior brother?" Lu Mingfei smiled kindly. "Besides, didn't you say that your news department members are all over the world? Where else can you find a private investigator with such a top-notch lineup?"

"That's right!" Fingel couldn't resist the praise and immediately started boasting, "Don't even mention the ends of the earth, even if you want to find something in the sky or at sea, you'll definitely find something in the news department."

“That’s right, so finding someone is even easier, right?” Lu Mingfei continued to flatter Fingel.

Fingel adopted an arrogant expression and loudly asked his good junior brother who he was looking for.

Lu Mingfei moved his stool closer, then lowered his voice and began to tell Fingel about the question he had never forgotten.

"Actually, it's quite easy to describe; she just looks a lot like Chen Motong—"

His words were interrupted by Fingel, who made a sound like a pig squealing.

"I knew it!" Fingel slapped his thigh. "I knew you were trying to steal someone else's girlfriend—"

"Listen to me, listen to me." Lu Mingfei knew he would get this reaction, and he had no choice but to defend himself.

"Senior brother, I sincerely advise you not to do this kind of thing. You'll be resented, and if someone shoots you in the back someday, you'll deserve it." Fingel said emotionally.

"If you keep saying that, I'll cancel the sponsorship." Lu Mingfei pulled out his trump card.

Suddenly, the dormitory fell silent. In the blink of an eye, Fingel shut his mouth and sat obediently with his legs together, as if he had never made a sound.

“Listen to me carefully,” Lu Mingfei began to reiterate his words, “I mean, there is a girl who looks a lot like Chen Motong, and she also has red hair, just a darker color. But, listen carefully, it’s not her. You’ll understand once you’ve seen her. The two of them have completely different temperaments.”

"Have you seen it?" Fingel asked, raising his hand.

Lu Mingfei was speechless for a moment, then shook his head and said no. Fingel became interested and asked with a grin, "You've never seen it, so how do you know about such things?"

“Never mind that, what detective has so much to say?” Lu Mingfei said. “Anyway, this is the girl. If you can find her before the principal, I’ll pay you double the reward… I mean, a sponsorship fee.”

"Wait, wait, wait..." Fingel felt overwhelmed by the amount of information. He gestured for a halt and asked the first question, "You actually asked the principal for help with something like this?"

"Otherwise what? This matter is very important to me, brother. Do you think I'm giving you money out of charity?" Lu Mingfei sighed.

He had only recently become wealthy. If you don't count the expenses of the club's activities, most of his assets were the $350,000 that Old Tang still held. That was a huge sum of money, which is why he was so extravagant now.

“Alright, I admit your devotion. You really are a womanizer; no wonder girls like you.” Fingel nodded solemnly. “So, what kind of girl is she?”

"Doesn't talk much, very quiet, that's it." Lu Mingfei couldn't offer any more clues.

If he had more information, he wouldn't need to search the world for help; he could just go find it himself.

"That's all?" Fingel frowned.

"That's all." Lu Mingfei nodded.

“Dude, this is tough.” Fingel started gesturing with his fingers, making a rubbing sound as if he were counting money. He implied, “Troublesome things usually need more incentive.”

“Let me remind you, the principal is happy to help me with this, but I’m worried that Norma isn’t smart enough,” Lu Mingfei said. “You’re just an option; there’s no room for negotiation.”

Fingel was in tears, lamenting whether this was the treatment one gets as a backup option. But then, as if possessed, he suddenly defended Norma, saying there was nothing she couldn't do.

"So, are you still going to take this order or not?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"Catch!" Fingel was full of confidence, but he seemed to trust Norma too much. A few seconds later, he shrank back and asked Lu Ming what would happen if Norma found him first.

“As long as you can provide information that Norma didn’t provide, it still counts, and it has always been so until I found her.” Lu Mingfei’s demeanor was different now. He patted Fingel’s shoulder heavily. “Let me remind you again, as long as you have information, you will receive a sponsorship fee of ten thousand US dollars. If you are faster than the principal, you will receive twenty thousand.”

"I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" Fingel's waist was as taut as a stretched rubber band.

Lu Mingfei nodded in satisfaction.

Actually, it wasn't that he didn't trust Angers, nor was he so sharp-tongued as to say such things to the big-mouthed Finger. But he had a vague feeling that the things Angers had given him, or the things that would be given to him in the future, might not be good. He couldn't put all his eggs in one basket; he had to have a backup plan.

Seeing Fingel's burning enthusiasm and assurances that he would definitely make a profit, Lu Mingfei was glad that he had made some money, and even planned to make more sometime...

……

Xia Mi hummed a tune as she walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. She was in a good mood today, and was even willing to smile at people she disliked.

"I'm done for," she said. "You're free to go ahead."

But Ling ignored her and didn't say a word. Usually, she would reply coldly or hum a couple of times, but today she didn't say a word and remained silent.

Xia Mi recalled that she had seen Ling sitting in front of the computer screen for a long time before she went into the bathroom, and she was still sitting there motionless. She didn't even care about the girl ignoring her; her heart was just curious about what had happened.

She tightened the towel around her body, jogged over, and quietly peeked out, holding her breath.

The screen displays the Night's Watch discussion forum.

Breaking news! The new king has someone else in his heart as his queen!

The post dominated the headlines, with the anonymous "Flame Demon Poet" recounting a story he had "secretly inquired about." He claimed that the highly popular S-class star Lu Mingfei was very likely to harbor extraordinary feelings for the red-haired witch Chen Motong. Although there was absolutely no evidence to prove this, the "Flame Demon Poet's" unwavering conviction made his post seem like an "ironclad" conclusion.

However, he did not have any evidence. He just made some empty, cryptic remarks like "You'll understand when the truth is revealed." He spent the rest of the time mocking two infatuated girls, and his words were indeed sarcastic, suggesting that they may have had a past conflict.

"Who are you! Talking nonsense!" Xia Mi complained, then added, "Why did you drag me along? It's so ridiculous!"

Zero still didn't react, and Xia Mi finally showed some concern, so she gently nudged her shoulder, and then suddenly a crisp cracking sound rang out—

Zero's tightly gripped mouse shattered on the floor, but she remained staring at the title and the picture of the red-haired girl that had been posted, lost in thought.

Chapter 94 The person he likes is me

In fact, Zero often thought about what kind of girl the person she liked would like. She wasn't a narcissistic person, so of course she didn't think that he was born liking her type.

She still remembered a girl named Khorkina from a long time ago.

Khorkina was very tall, a head taller than Zero, and also had light blonde hair, which was a little longer than Zero's or Renata's hair at that time. She always wore her hair in a long braid, letting it swing back and forth.

What's even more striking is Khorkina's figure. She developed very quickly and was more like a woman than Zero was at that time. She was curvaceous and always wore a white robe, which made the boys unable to take their eyes off her. They kept staring at the clear cleavage on her chest.

However, Zero was never jealous of this girl; she would never be jealous of such a vulgar person.

But she still remembers Khorkina to this day, because she always remembers... someone saying, "My favorite girl here is Khorkina," and also saying, "It's because Khorkina has such beautiful long legs..."

Although he's a guy who loves to play pranks and tease people, there's probably some truth to that... After all, he's a boy, and it's perfectly normal for him to be influenced by physical urges... If someone insists that they only like short, underdeveloped girls, then they should probably be put in an electric chair for some serious treatment.

Zero finally snapped out of her daze, then suddenly stood up, almost bumping into Xia Mi who was leaning on her shoulder. Ignoring the protests behind her, she looked down at her legs...

Proportionally speaking, she doesn't think there's anything wrong with her current appearance. However, in absolute terms, she feels that there are indeed things she should regret. She missed the most important developmental process of adolescence, stopping at the age of fourteen. No matter how good the proportions are, she will always look somewhat like a little girl.

She sighed softly, unhappy with the current situation.

Thankfully, Khorkina is dead. Zero sighs.

But a new "Khorkina" has emerged...

Zero turned her gaze back to the computer screen, looking at the paparazzi's photo. The red-haired girl stood gracefully in it. Zero didn't care about the girl's identity or behavior, which were often the subject of gossip on campus; all she noticed was… this girl's legs were really long…

And the image of red hair... it made Zero feel uneasy, reminding her of something from a long time ago...

Xia Mi protested for a long time, but still received no response. Her roommate's strange behavior made her feel that something was wrong.

She leaned closer, her tone much gentler, and asked, "What's wrong with you today?" She followed Zero's gaze, her focus also falling on Chen Motong in the photo.

"Oh—" Xia Mi drawled, "So you've gotten into a conflict with your imagined enemy. You should have said so earlier. I thought you'd gone insane and your bloodline had gone berserk~"

Zero snapped out of her daze and noticed her roommate standing too close to her. She didn't even have the energy to express her disgust as usual; she just looked the pretty girl up and down.

"W-What are you doing..." Xia Mi felt a little flustered by the beast-like gaze. She pulled the towel wrapped around her body and quickly backed away.

This made it easier for Zero to observe. Zero looked straight up from head to toe, her gaze fixed on the area. At certain points, she would pause briefly to observe more closely.

Xia Mi felt a chill run down her spine.

"You...have quite long legs." Zero finally spoke, and it was an unprecedented compliment.

"So, what's the matter?" Xia Mi asked back.

“It’s just that her chest is very flat,” Zero said seriously, “flatter than mine.”

She didn't mean anything by it; she just happened to notice this at this moment. She felt that she and this guy were somewhat in the same boat. After all, human development can always go wrong for various reasons. She herself had simply stopped developing, while the girl in front of her was probably... underdeveloped.

"what?"

Xia Mi thought about the sentence carefully and found that there was no hidden meaning. It was just a simple comment on her figure. Her fear completely disappeared and she was filled with anger. She felt that her dignity had been offended!

Zero had no intention of saying anything more. She stopped talking, neither saying anything provocative as Xia Mi had expected, nor looking in their direction again. She turned around and quietly and carefully tidied up the mouse she had crushed into pieces. She hung her head, looking inexplicably lonely.

This left Xia Mi completely baffled.

"You..." she asked hesitantly, "Have you suffered some kind of trauma?"

Xia Mi thinks this is probably the reason... Maybe Miss Ling was never a confident girl from the beginning. After reading other people's nonsense posts in the discussion forum, she finally lost her confidence and had a mental breakdown. More likely, she is very dissatisfied with her body. That makes sense. Anyone who looks like a little girl at this age would definitely feel uncomfortable.

Thinking about it this way, Xia Mi felt sorry for Ling; she understood his distress.

She composed herself, composed her expression, and slowly approached Zero, wanting to say something comforting, but found that whatever she said sounded like mockery. So she gave up speaking and simply patted Zero's shoulder silently to encourage her.

"No," Zero shook his head. "I was just thinking about some things from the past."

"past?"

Xia Mi became interested. She was very concerned about the past that Ling mentioned. Of course, she wasn't concerned about the girl herself; she just guessed that someone must be involved in these past events...

So she moved closer, her expression softening even more. She adopted a kinder demeanor she had never shown to Zero before, and spoke gently, "Then tell me, what's bothering you or what's bothering you? Tell me and let me give you some advice."

Zero ignored her.

"Hmph~" Xia Mi laughed confidently, "Even if you don't say it, I know. It must be because of someone, right? Seeing that someone might like another girl, and one who is completely opposite to you, will definitely make you feel bad. I understand."

"No," Zero denied.

"Then tell me, what past events have made you so down? You usually seem cold enough, but you've never looked this dejected before." Xia Mi slowly guided the girl into her rhythm. "Tell me, even if there are some things you don't want to talk about, you can be bold and speak out about other things. For example, if you knew him before, you can talk about what type of girl he used to like—"

These words struck a nerve with Zero. She suddenly nodded, interrupting Xia Mi, and then solemnly said, "He likes me."

"Huh?" Xia Mi blinked blankly, completely unprepared for such a straightforward statement.

“He likes me,” Zero repeated.

"Hmm?" Xia Mi blinked again.

Chapter 95 So you like him, right?

“I’m genuinely trying to help you analyze this,” Xia Mi reiterated her stance.

"I answered very seriously," Zero reiterated his stance.

Ling paused for a moment, then sat up straight and spoke her mind for the first time in front of others. She quietly began, "These are his exact words. He said that when I grow up and become beautiful, he will like me."

She always remembered those words, never forgot them. She also remembered him saying that when the time came, they would do what boys and girls do together, and she would have to wear a pretty dress... That was their first meeting, how could she forget?

But people's joys and sorrows are not always shared. Xia Mi was completely unaware of the turbulent emotions beneath the cold girl's surface. She quietly observed Ling's body and suddenly a feeling of sorrow welled up from the bottom of her heart...

Doesn't saying that mean I'll never like you in this lifetime?

No wonder he felt so sad looking at Chen Motong's photo...

"Keep it up." Xia Mi gave a thumbs-up in encouragement, then belatedly realized how could she have been so soft-hearted at a time like this!

She shook her head, then changed her words: "He really is awful. I heard him say before—"

She deliberately dragged out her words to whet the girl's appetite; she had never seen this ice queen show such an expectant expression before.

Xia Mi smiled faintly and then said, "I heard him say that he doesn't like loli-type girls; he says he likes mature women!"

As he spoke, Xia Mi deliberately raised the towel tied around his chest, hoping to show the girl in front of him what a "mature" body was, and hopefully shatter her Dao heart so that she would never dream of something impossible again!

Zero showed no reaction whatsoever. To be precise, she was completely unmoved by the person's display; she was simply pondering the statement. After a few seconds of pause, she gently shook her head, denying the claim.

"Why would I lie to you?" Xia Mi felt that Ling was showing signs of not being able to accept reality, so she continued, "It was during the time before you entered the school, when we were chatting after you fainted, that he told me. You can ask him yourself if you don't believe me~"

"Then why didn't you faint?" Zero seized on the blind spot that had been overlooked before, and her whole demeanor changed drastically. She looked into Xia Mi's eyes with a complicated expression.

She should have paid attention to this a long time ago, but her heart was always occupied by love, so much so that she couldn't give any attention to anything else. But now that the old story has been brought up again, Zero suddenly feels that something is wrong.

If the dragon script he recited back then could make even her, whom he had personally bestowed and transformed, faint, then who exactly is Xia Mi, who was already awake before she woke up—or perhaps she hadn't even fainted at all?

The words of the potato chips rang in Zero's ears again at this moment, and she finally understood the assessment that "there must be something strange about this guy".

"Because I'm better than others~" Xia Mi didn't seem to notice the problem she had just revealed. She continued, "But don't be discouraged, people are naturally different, just like with body shape, what you're born with is what you're born with, there's nothing you can do about it~"

Zero couldn't figure out what secret this guy was hiding, but those boastful words still reached her ears.

She temporarily set aside what she couldn't investigate and spoke up to refute something more important: "I don't believe you. There's no evidence to prove that he likes older women."

Xia Mi pointed to the computer screen that was still on, where a girl's red hair was flowing freely.

"You don't know, do you?" she said mysteriously. "He always tells me that he wants to find a girl who looks a lot like Chen Motong, and he especially emphasizes that she has the same striking red hair. He keeps telling me this, and it's getting to the point where my ears are tired of hearing it! I don't think there's any other reason besides liking her, right?"

Zero's face finally showed some emotion; her eyes suddenly became empty, as if she had suddenly thought of something from a long time ago.