Chapter 48 Part 1

“Will I look too much like a student?” Lin Juan muttered to himself. “I won’t blow my cover, will I?”

If Director Liu hadn’t told him that the Ability Users at the Anomalous Affairs Bureau all looked too mature and hadn’t offered him a hefty commission fee, he never would have agreed.

“Blow your cover on what?” Lu Yanzhou was lost in his own thoughts. “If Juan Juan wants to go to school, why not consider one near Lu Garden? Where is Upward Middle School located? Is it close to here?”

“It’s not a school I chose, and I’m not really going there to study,” Lin Juan finally realized that Lu Yanzhou had misunderstood and explained, “Director Liu’s side discovered something off about this school and asked me to check it out.”

Upward Middle School was located in the Capital Suburbs. It was a fully enclosed boarding school. Right in the middle of summer vacation—a time when students should have finished exams and been on break—parents reported that the school wouldn’t let the students go home.

Not only did they refuse to release the students for vacation, but they also wouldn’t let parents visit. Since the school had always been fully enclosed, parents weren’t used to seeing their kids anyway. At first, no one noticed anything wrong. It wasn’t until several parents couldn’t reach their children and checked in the parent group chat that they realized something was amiss.

Lin Juan first went with the Ability Users to talk to the parents and gather information.

“The school said it’s almost senior year and they need to start remedial classes. They claimed students advancing to senior year had always done this before. But in previous years, they at least let them have a few days off after exams. This year, they didn’t let anyone go at all.” The student’s mother looked haggard, on the verge of tears.

The student’s father handed her a piece of paper. “Xiao Ping did really well on the final exams this year. The school called to share the good news, then said they’d keep the top-performing students for extra classes to sprint toward the college entrance exam in the final year. Lots of schools do this, so we didn’t think twice and agreed. After that, we lost all contact with Xiao Ping.”

“How did you usually keep in touch?” an Ability User dressed as a police officer asked.

“The school has a public phone. Every week or so, Xiao Ping would call home. It’s been seventeen days total now with no contact. We tried to send some food over for the kid and contacted the teachers, but they refused. We even asked to speak to Xiao Ping, but they wouldn’t allow it.”

Xiao Ping’s mother added, “Even then, we didn’t suspect anything. One day, another parent reached out to me saying they couldn’t contact their kid either. We formed a group chat, and more than thirty parents all said the same thing—they couldn’t reach their children.”

It was summer vacation, after all. Even with remedial classes, there was no reason to cut off contact with parents entirely.

A few nearby parents discussed it and rushed to the school right away. The gate guard told them the students had already been dismissed for vacation, that it wasn’t remedial class time, and that the school was empty.

Parents knew better than anyone whether their kids had come home. They didn’t believe the guard and forced their way in. After searching around, they were horrified to find the school truly deserted.

The parents reported it to the police immediately.

The police came to investigate but couldn’t find the children. The case eventually made its way to the Anomalous Affairs Bureau. Director Liu sent people to check it out and detected abnormal Pollution Values at the school.

The Anomalous Affairs Bureau’s team searched the school for a long time but found neither Weird Phenomena nor the missing children.

Director Liu told Lin Juan that this Weird Phenomenon was different from the previous ones. They had to pass an assessment to enter the affected area. After trying various methods for a while, they discovered the assessment checked two things: grades and age.

Director Liu arranged a fake identity for Lin Juan.

A high school student from a small town, top of his class, who had come to the Imperial Capital with his parents for senior year and chosen Upward Middle School.

After leaving Xiao Ping’s house, Lin Juan saw Lu Yanzhou waiting outside.

Lu Yanzhou didn’t feel right about letting Lin Juan come alone. Director Liu’s side had been fretting over who to send as his fake parent, so Lu Yanzhou volunteered.

Lu Yanzhou rarely appeared in public, so the principal of Upward Middle School didn’t recognize him. After reviewing Lin Juan’s grades, the principal smiled warmly. “Brother Lin, this child Xiao Zhou’s scores are truly excellent. Rest assured entrusting him to our school. We won’t let you down and will ensure he achieves satisfactory results on next year’s college entrance exam.”

“Then we’ll have to trouble the principal and teachers.”

They put on a full act. Lu Yanzhou dressed simply that day, not flaunting his wealth, but his natural aura was unmistakable. The principal knew how to read people and unconsciously used honorifics when speaking to him.

Lu Yanzhou led Lin Juan out. Seeing the principal’s satisfied expression at the end, they both knew the first hurdle had been cleared.

Next, they needed to enter the area where the children were trapped. For now, they had to wait.

To make it realistic, the two of them didn’t return to Lu Garden over the next couple of days. Instead, they stayed at a hotel near the school.

That night, Lin Juan received an email from the school.

It stated that senior year studies were intense. Since he had chosen Upward Middle School, he was to report to the school at five a.m. the next morning.

That timing was blatantly abnormal.

The Ability Users sent by Director Liu were guarding the room across from theirs. They came over upon hearing the news and photographed the email to send back to headquarters.

“Is this the entry ticket?” Lin Juan asked, half-leaning on the table with a raised eyebrow.

“We’ll know tomorrow.” Lu Yanzhou sat in the chair next to where Lin Juan leaned.

“Five in the morning. It sure knows how to pick a time.” Lin Juan had just emerged from the previous illusion and finally enjoyed a few days of sleeping in. Now he had to start waking up early again.

To ensure he could get up in the morning, Lin Juan decided to turn in early.

A little after eight, he grabbed his clothes and went to wash up. Lu Yanzhou was handling work.

When Lin Juan came out of the bathroom, Lu Yanzhou hadn’t changed positions and was still working.

Lin Juan, still carrying the scent of steam, walked over. “Are you going to bed soon?”

He had just finished washing up, his body carrying the faint fragrance of body wash—the kind from Lu Garden. When the housekeeper learned they’d be staying out for a few days, he packed two full cars of belongings for them.

Lin Juan thought it was too conspicuous and selectively pared it down under the housekeeper’s disapproving gaze, leaving only half a car.

It included his usual bedding, the school uniform delivered by Director Liu’s people, Lu Yanzhou’s changes of clothes, and various daily essentials he was used to.

Among them were the body wash and shampoo that Lin Juan particularly liked.

Considering it inconvenient to bathe outside, Lin Juan hadn’t brought bath salts.

Lu Yanzhou closed his laptop. “Go ahead.”

By the time he emerged from the bathroom, Lin Juan was already in bed.

“Lu Yanzhou, when did you change the bedding?” Lin Juan recalled that when he went into the bathroom, the bed still had the hotel’s standard disposable white sheets and duvet cover.

With the air conditioning on, Lin Juan burrowed under the covers, poking out just his head like a fluffy little animal peeking around.

Lu Yanzhou walked to the bedside and sat down. “Just now.”

Lin Juan scooted over, making space. “This bed’s a bit harder than the one at home.”

Lin Juan felt like he was being corrupted by money. After getting used to Lu Garden’s plush king bed, the hotel bed felt lacking no matter how he lay.

“The mattress the housekeeper packed got left behind.” Lu Yanzhou lay down in the spot Lin Juan had made for him.

“Bringing a mattress on a trip is too much,” Lin Juan remembered that detail. “It’s fine, just one night. I don’t know how long I’ll be stuck at the school this time. Once I go in, you can head back—go to work or rest. No need to stay here waiting for me.”

Lu Yanzhou gave a noncommittal “Mm,” neither agreeing nor refusing.

Lin Juan took it as agreement and shifted to face the man, making small talk. “Are you sleepy?”

He had said he wanted to sleep early, but as everyone knew, the times you most needed to sleep early were when you least wanted to. That was exactly how Lin Juan felt now.

He didn’t want to sleep at all. He’d rather stay up until dawn.

To help himself fall asleep, Lin Juan turned off all the lights in the room. A sliver of moonlight filtered through the window, allowing Lu Yanzhou to vaguely make out Lin Juan’s face.

His eyes sparkled brighter than the clear moonlight, stirring the heart.

Hidden by the cover of night, Lu Yanzhou gazed freely at that face. The young man had a memorably striking visage, perfectly aligned with Lu Yanzhou’s tastes. Lu Yanzhou used to scoff at love at first sight—until he met Lin Juan.

One glance, and he was hooked.

Lu Yanzhou’s gaze softened, his voice gentler than the moonlight. “Not yet. This isn’t my bedtime. Isn’t Juan Juan sleepy?”

“Not sleepy.” Lin Juan answered honestly.

Lu Yanzhou didn’t urge him to sleep. Instead, they chatted.

Aimlessly, jumping from topic to topic. Mostly Lin Juan talked while Lu Yanzhou listened, occasionally taking over when Lin Juan paused.

Time slipped by unnoticed. Wrapped in a familiar scent, Lin Juan’s eyelids grew heavy, his voice softer and softer until it faded entirely.

Lu Yanzhou looked down at the person on the verge of burrowing into his arms. The moonlight was alluring, but the young man was even more beautiful.

Lu Yanzhou raised a hand and gently drew him close, closing his eyes.

His Juan Juan.

At five a.m., the sky was just beginning to lighten. To arrive on time, Lin Juan got up a little after four.

He sat up in a daze, mumbling, “This proves skipping school was the right choice.”

Lu Yanzhou fetched his school uniform and sat on the bed’s edge, steadying him. “Arms up.”

Lin Juan raised his arms.

Lu Yanzhou removed his pajamas and dressed him in the uniform.

Short-sleeved shirt, pants, socks.

Lin Juan was like a life-sized doll, eyes half-closed, letting Lu Yanzhou dress him.

In the car, Lin Juan yawned three times in a row. “Picking this time—does this Weird Phenomenon not want anyone to notice something’s wrong?”

“Lean on me and sleep a bit more?” Lu Yanzhou draped an arm around Lin Juan’s shoulders, letting him rest against him.

Lin Juan never denied himself comfort. He relaxed and leaned into Lu Yanzhou.

The hotel wasn’t far from Upward Middle School—less than ten minutes away.

When the car stopped, Lin Juan got out. Lu Yanzhou carried his backpack and walked toward the school with the Ability User acting as driver.

The school gates were shut tight. Peering inside from outside, it looked shrouded in a layer of gauze, white mist permeating everything in a hazy blur.

At the gate, a security guard stopped them. His movements were stiff, like a marionette.

“School hours only. Students only. Parents, please stay outside.”

Lin Juan grabbed the backpack from Lu Yanzhou’s hand. “Alright, you’ve brought me this far. I can go in myself.”

Too lazy to carry it properly, he slung the backpack over one shoulder and strode into the school.

Once inside, the mist was even thicker.

Lin Juan sensed something and paused, looking back.

Just one gate, yet it separated the school’s interior from the exterior like two different worlds.

In the fog, he couldn’t see clearly. He vaguely made out the two figures outside, waved to them, and turned away.

He didn’t look back again.

Lu Yanzhou stood outside for a long time.

So long that the Ability User had to remind him, “Mr. Lu, we should go.”

Lu Yanzhou withdrew his gaze. “Mm.”