Lu Mingfei: What? They're all real!

The mighty Earth and the King of the Mountains felt her dignity had been offended, even though she always traded her dignity for food, and would always use honor and dignity as collateral to get Lu Mingfei's late-night snacks, which had long since turned her dignity into a negative number.

She sat at the table, which had been patched back together with tape, and flipped through a copy of Marguerite Duras's *The Lover*. She had heard rumors that Lu Mingfei's crush from high school always seemed to carry this book, so she had inexplicably borrowed it from the reading room, intending to study it a bit. But after reading only a couple of pages, she felt a little sleepy.

I really admire that girl named Chen Wenwen; even if she's just pretending, it must be quite a struggle...

"Because you were mentioned in the Three Gorges Project report, and ultimately became a burden due to falling into the water and drowning, this is a major drawback," Zero replied quietly while flipping through a romance novel.

Xia Mi didn't comment, tossed the book aside, rested her chin on the table, opened and closed her mouth, and mechanically moved her little head up and down.

"Stop reading. Reading Mary Sue romance novels won't improve your skills in the war of love," she called to Zero at the other end of the long table.

"This isn't a Mary Sue romance novel; it's study material. I'm studying." Zero completely disagreed with this idea.

"I saw the title, 'The Overbearing Crown Prince's Pampered Me,' right?" Xia Mi exclaimed. "What kind of lousy book is this? What are you going to learn? To become a favored concubine? I read this kind of novel when I was in junior high school, it was so bad."

"It's not bad, it's very constructive," Ling said, defending what she considered to be excellent learning materials.

"You're hopeless. I bet when someone and some rich girl from Tokyo are all lovey-dovey watching the sunset, you'll be shining brighter than the sun itself," Xia Mi said resentfully, making one wonder if the "you" she was referring to was actually "me." She grumbled, "Do you know what that's called? It's called a third wheel~"

"That was just for the mission." Ling turned the page quickly, her eyes still fixed on the paper.

"It's okay to fool your girlfriends with these kinds of words, but don't fool yourself too."

After Xia Mi finished speaking, she changed her posture again. She leaned back in her chair and covered her face with "The Lover". It was noon with the sun blazing down, and even if she were to take a nap, she would have to wear an eye mask. But the poor person had to run around outside with the rough men of the executive department. It was quite heartbreaking to think about.

The sun was too bright, even with her eyes closed, it was dazzling. She couldn't sleep, so she changed her position, turning to the shaded side, and continued to think about her worries.

Lost in thought, she suddenly heard the door open. She sprang to her feet, removed the book from her face, and saw—

"Chen Motong?"

Xia Mi exclaimed in disappointment, and even a little angry.

She already disliked this guy, and seeing his face made her even angrier.

"Hello everyone," Chen Motong greeted casually, then turned and looked around the room. "Is Lu Mingfei not here?"

"Not here." Xia Mi shook her head bluntly.

Ling didn't say anything, just stared at the door. It was the middle of the day, but the atmosphere suddenly turned cold. However, this did not diminish the smile on Chen Motong's face at all. She seemed completely unconcerned about the hostility and unwelcomeness directed at her. She just sighed to herself that busy people are getting busier and busier these days. Then she found a seat and sat down.

"Then let's wait a bit." Chen Motong glanced at the bookshelves in the room. "This really is a book club. I thought it was just talk. Does he really enjoy reading with pretty girls?"

"Stop, stop, stop—" Xia Mi shouted repeatedly, "I don't recall saying anything like 'Welcome to sit down' or 'Just wait here,' did I? This is very ill-mannered!"

"There's nothing I can do, I'm a little girl who lost her parents, no one taught me this." The red-haired girl shrugged and pouted, uttering such rebellious words with a sly smile.

Then she noticed an ancient book lying diagonally on the shelf, which looked like it had been half-read by someone, probably Lu Mingfei. She reached out to take it, but was slapped aside by another hand.

"Do not move unless absolutely necessary." Xia Mi stepped in front of her, blocking her way.

"Alright then, I just want to see what books Chairman Lu usually reads, so I can learn something." The girl turned around and sat down again, determined to wait for someone to appear today.

"What do you want from him? I can pass on your message. He's been very busy lately and probably doesn't have time to deal with harassers," Xia Mi said in a host's tone, almost as if she were telling him to leave.

"That probably won't work, and it's not a harasser." Chen Motong shook his head with a faint smile, confidently pulling out a casually folded document from his pocket, which contained something like a transfer order and permitted permissions.

She solemnly stated, "Lu Mingfei and I have now been assigned to the same group to investigate the continuation of the previous operation."

"The last operation... was the Three Gorges Dam?" Xia Mi's eyes gradually sharpened.

“That’s right. In North America, we’ve discovered what appears to be activity of the King of Bronze and Fire.” Chen Motong said, then put away the documents and sat down again.

She said, "We need to investigate this."

Chapter 160 Was this guy being friend-zoned?

"In short, that's how it is. We have official duties to attend to now, and we must work together."

Chen Motong had an expression on her face that said, "Ugh, this is so troublesome, I really don't want to go." If she hadn't been smiling, Xia Mi might have actually believed that she thought it was troublesome.

But she clearly had that smile that was hard to describe as either cute or annoying, with a smug look on her face, which made Xia Mi even less willing to see that face.

"Humph!"

Xia Mi exhaled heavily through her nose, then picked up the copy of "The Lover" that had been placed face down on the table. She pulled out a chair to keep a safe distance from the uninvited guest, then sat down quietly, like a literary girl who would lean against a window to read, carefully studying how Duras could have written such boring content.

“Um—” Chen Motong opened his mouth.

"Please keep quiet, like you would in a library," Zero said, raising his hand to interrupt her.

Chen Motong's words froze in mid-air, and she reluctantly shut her mouth.

The atmosphere turned icy; this place was completely unwelcoming to a girl named Chen Motong… As the person involved, she certainly knew this, and she knew even better why.

But she didn't feel embarrassed. In fact, she enjoyed the atmosphere. Even though she was being glared at by two girls, it was still a kind of proof. She knew she had always been a somewhat strange girl.

"Mmm, mmm~"

She nodded lightly in response, waved her hand, then got up from the chair and wandered around the room.

The place was small, even a bit cramped. Compared to the spacious and magnificent Norton Building, it was rather shabby. The bookshelves were probably made of wooden planks pieced together by hand, with crooked nails that looked like they were hammered by a careless fellow. The only thing that could be considered an "asset" was the long table where the two girls were now lying, and the table was covered with tape and looked like it was about to collapse. She was even afraid that the table would suddenly collapse and throw them off.

It's so shabby that it makes you want to laugh.

But compared to the huge Norton Building of the Student Council, this place has a quiet and peaceful atmosphere. The paulownia trees outside the door rustle in the wind, and sparse sunlight is scattered on the table, making the white pages of the books shine. The whole room is warm.

Chen Motong tried to profile him again, hoping to see what he usually did here, but as she always failed, she still couldn't get any information.

So she could only imagine: on a quiet afternoon, a few people were idly sitting in the room, perhaps chatting about trivial things, perhaps two girls suddenly started bickering over something small, or perhaps everyone was too tired to speak, so they just sat around the table doing their own thing, with only the rustling of pages making the environment more peaceful.

This place is very nice, cozy, and feels more like home... Chen Motong thought to herself, and then she saw several small flowers of different colors.

She reached out and touched the potted plants in the corner. One pot was cosmos, and the other was zinnia. The two flowers were growing equally robustly, probably planted at the same time. However, there was a cornflower between the two flowers, which looked much smaller, but it grew beautifully and stubbornly. It must have been someone who saw that the flowers of the other two were blooming well together, so they clamored to squeeze the flowerpot in.

Chen Motong pursed her lips and shifted her gaze, precisely catching Xia Mi peeking. She smiled meaningfully, while the arrested girl hummed and looked away.

"What a simple and happy life," the red-haired girl couldn't help but remark.

It's somewhat enticing...

She crouched down, cupped her face in her hands, and tried to guess which flower Lu Mingfei had planted...

The cosmos symbolizes a girl's first love and true feelings, while the zinnia symbolizes everlasting friendship. Although she doubted that Lu Mingfei seemed like someone who didn't understand flower language at all, she guessed that Ling was definitely not the kind of girl who didn't understand flower language. She was already reading Mary Sue romance novels, so how could she not understand such popular romance elements?

This cosmos flower perfectly suits the tastes of a girl like Zero.

Conversely, this zinnia should have been planted by him... What a pity, Miss Zero might have been friend-zoned~

"Hmph~" The red-haired girl grinned, revealing her white teeth, and reached out to fiddle with the somewhat inexplicably docile zinnia.

With a click, the door was gently pushed open, and a breeze rushed in, causing the flowers to sway. A man's tired voice followed, groaning as he entered the room.

"Damn, I almost died today." Lu Mingfei started yelling as soon as he walked in. "Why is things so unsettled lately? There are dead servants everywhere, contaminated with dragon blood. Just yesterday I heard that Chu Zihang hanged some kind of 'Night Wanderer' in front of Stockholm City Hall, and the entire Executive Department was shaken. And today another one appeared in San Francisco, it's ferocious to death. Is some female dragon king on her period? Why is there so much dragon blood appearing out of nowhere?!"

He continued talking to himself, head down, his steps heavy, looking so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. Relying on countless physical memories, he slumped headfirst into his chair, only to suddenly realize something was wrong. His chair, harder than a rock, had suddenly become soft, ruling out the possibility that someone had taken pity on him and was willing to buy new chairs for the activity room—

Lu Mingfei turned his head and found himself nestled in Xia Mi's arms.

"Ah!" he screamed, trying to get up.

"What are you afraid of? It's not like I'm going to eat you up. If you're tired, just rest for a while." Xia Mi grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to sit.

Her tone was so gentle that Lu Mingfei felt a little strange. He wondered if he had simply walked through a door and transmigrated into a different world where everyone was gentle.

"Are you alright...?" Lu Mingfei felt a chill run down his spine, but then realized he hadn't sat in the wrong seat. He asked, "Why are you sitting in my chair?"

"Look carefully, this is my chair. Your chair is over there, but someone else has taken it. I was pushed over here." Xia Mi pointed to the other side.

Lu Mingfei then noticed that there was a fourth person in the room, who was blinking and waving in his direction. He instinctively tried to stand up, but Xia Mi, who had already completed her binding technique on him, showed no sign of weakening her grip and was determined to keep him pinned to her.

There must be something unpleasant between these two girls... Lu Mingfei keenly sensed this.

But Xia Mi was locked up too tightly, so he could only greet her in this strange posture, "Hello, Senior Sister Chen, what brings you to our place..."

"Of course, it's because something's come up." Chen Motong stood up and took out the document again. "This is the academy's authorization letter. We're setting off immediately to New York to investigate the traces of the King of Bronze and Fire."

"What? The King of Bronze and Fire?" Lu Mingfei could no longer sit still. He broke free from Xia Mi's restraints and sprang up from her lap, his eyes wide with shock.

He never expected to hear this news.

Chapter 161 Let's Set Off Immediately

"Is it really... the King of Bronze and Fire?"

The weariness in Lu Mingfei was instantly dispelled. He seemed to have become a different person in an instant. All his frivolity and idleness disappeared, leaving only endless tension.

"It's not completely confirmed yet, but it's pretty close. High-risk fluctuations have been detected in about six locations in New York, accompanied by very large explosions," Chen Motong said. "We speculate that it's either the Word of Power released by the King of Bronze and Fire, or elemental fluctuations caused by him. In short, you can roughly assume it's the King of Bronze and Fire."

Although Lu Mingfei hadn't held out much hope, his heart still sank. Elemental fluctuations and suspected incantations didn't matter; the location was what mattered. New York… wasn't that where Old Tang was located?

It's almost certainly true...

And why did this mission come to me? Could it be...?

Lu Mingfei grew increasingly nervous, lowering his head with a serious expression.

"You seem quite worried?" Chen Motong walked over, bent down, and craned her neck to look at Lu Mingfei's face from below. "Are you worried about encountering the Dragon King? Don't worry, although we've confirmed his traces, we haven't found his whereabouts. The academy searched the elemental fluctuations in New York with all its might this morning and concluded that he's probably no longer in New York. We're just investigating."

"He's upset because he has to go on duty with you." Xia Mi suddenly blurted out, hiding Marguerite Duras's "The Lover" behind her back, shaking her head as she stepped forward. "It's not a big deal to encounter the Dragon King, but going on duty with a not-so-great colleague is a real headache, right?"

She nudged Lu Mingfei's waist and winked at him.

Lu Mingfei guessed that Xia Mi probably saw through his overthinking and was trying to excuse him, but her words were far too aggressive...it was practically the same as pointing her finger at Chen Motong and yelling at him...

“Attendance is indeed a real headache.” He changed his expression, pretending that he was just a little lazy. “I just got back. Can’t you find someone else to go? Your student council is full of elites, and the Lionheart Society is full of experts. If all else fails, the guys in the executive department can be sent out. Please leave me alone.”

“It has nothing to do with the Student Union Lionheart Society.” Chen Motong shook his head regretfully. “This is a specific designation, just the two of us, no more and no less. It’s a pity you can’t take leave.”

"Why?" Lu Mingfei feigned protest.

Chen Motong seemed to have taken Xia Mi's words to heart, and she began to explain herself, "Because I am the best at investigating this kind of thing. There is no one else in the entire academy who can be a detective, and it just so happens that I am the one who experienced the Kuimen incident firsthand, so it has to be me."

"No, I'm asking why I have to go?" Lu Mingfei shook his head vigorously.

"Because I need a bodyguard, I need you. You were the primary eyewitness to the Kuimen incident, and your combat skills are top-notch, so you're the most suitable candidate," Chen Motong said. "So you have to be my bodyguard~"

"The bodyguard you chose for yourself?" Xia Mi asked sullenly.

"No, that's not true. It was the principal's personal choice. Although I would have chosen it myself if I had the choice." Chen Motong just chuckled, completely unconcerned about the waves of hostility coming his way.

Or rather, this hostility actually made her quite happy.

Lu Mingfei breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had thought this kind of assignment was a loyalty test like the one in the movie "Infernal Affairs," where someone had to personally execute an undercover police officer. Fortunately, it was just a matter of finding out if he was suitable for this task...

He was relieved that he hadn't been discovered to be having an affair with a dragon king. Although he had achieved his goal of finding someone through Kassel, he now had to consider other factors...

A while ago, Xia Mi arranged to meet him at their secret hideout. She asked him very seriously what had been going on lately, why he was out on missions every day. She said that if he was short of money, she would stop eating late-night snacks. She also mentioned that she actually had a way to make money: the two of them could try privately refining gold and reselling it. As long as they were careful enough, the Camarilla wouldn't detect the gold of unknown origin...

Lu Mingfei didn't know how to answer the question for a moment. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said that it was related to his mother. Xia Mi's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She asked in a tone that sounded like the sky was falling, "You actually have a mother?" Then she grabbed his shoulder in even greater surprise and shouted, "Lu Mingfei, you're a mama's boy!"

Lu Mingfei himself felt a little embarrassed. Although he had suspected countless times that his parents were not his biological parents, he still wanted to see them... Lu Mingfei often reminisced about his childhood. It wasn't perfect, but it was warm. It was probably the most heartwarming scene in his long memory.

Compared to those scenes as dark and bloody as a sea of ​​blood, being able to sit in front of the TV at eight o'clock sharp every night, listening to my mother's nagging while watching cartoons, was like heaven.

Lu Mingfei longed to see his parents one last time, but for now, the only way he could contact them was through Angers…

"OK then."

He put aside his concerns and accepted the task.

Logically, he should have taken on this task; no one else could take it from him. But upon closer reflection, he was worried that his good friend might actually be exposed!

"It's really become Infernal Affairs now..." he couldn't help but sigh.

The red-haired girl beamed and clapped her hands, announcing that she would set off immediately.

"Let me tidy up a bit." Xia Mi put the book back in its place and started tying her hair with a hair tie.

"No, you can't go. I already said it's a top-secret operation, just the two of us, no more and no less." Chen Motong finally found an opportunity to turn the tables on him. She blinked and gave a mischievous smile.

"Who cares about you?" Xia Mi sneered as she continued tying her hair. She winked at Lu Mingfei, her tone strange. "This is a trip to deal with the King of Bronze and Fire, how dangerous is that? How can I not go?"

Lu Mingfei paused for two seconds, then realized what he meant and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, it's too dangerous, so we need to bring more people."

“Alright then.” Chen Motong seemed completely unaffected by this. She still wore a mischievous smile, no longer caring about the girl who was getting ready to leave. She simply shrugged at Lu Mingfei and suggested, “But we have to leave immediately. The CC1000 special train is already waiting.”

Her smile was overly confident.

……

And so, at O'Hare International Airport, Xia Mi finally understood why Chen Motong smiled so confidently—

The two of them set off in a hurry because they had tickets that Norma had already bought. Check-in, boarding, and takeoff would only take a short while. But when she and Ling rushed over, all they could hear was the counter clerk saying "sorry" in a completely emotionless voice.