Chapter 20
Xue Changyi watched Wu Mu and Dong Lan walk away, puzzled. The two shouldn’t have any connection, yet they seemed to have secrets to discuss, secrets they didn’t want him to hear.
Curious as he was, Xue Changyi still had his Chinese class to teach. He left the equipment room and returned to the Pangong building.
Lugong Dormitory, 5th floor.
Thump—
Wu Mu dragged Dong Lan into the dormitory, closing the door before releasing his grip.
“Hmph!” Dong Lan put his hands on his hips. “So you’re the Little Crow Hiding in the Dark, huh? Have the guts to say that to Little Ten’s face?”
Wu Mu said in a low voice, “Didn’t you want to organize your dormitory, Seventh Yama King? I’ll help you.”
Dong Lan had just moved into the academy and hadn’t unpacked yet. His dormitory was on the fifth floor, not on the same floor as Xue Changyi’s. He was the only occupant, and the room, having been vacant for a while, was covered in dust.
Dong Lan wrinkled his nose at the dust. “Fine, go ahead.”
He stood to the side with his arms crossed, watching as Wu Mu busied himself cleaning.
After his Chinese class, Xue Changyi collected the quiz papers and immediately went to find Dong Lan.
“Teacher, Teacher!” Lü Bu said enthusiastically. “Do you know the new chemistry teacher?”
“He’s so pretty!”
“Does Teacher Dong have a boyfriend? Is he married?”
Lü Bu bombarded him with questions, giggling. “Is Teacher Dong your younger sister?”
“Haha!” Xiang Yu chimed in. “Lü Bu, look at you!”
Xue Changyi raised an eyebrow, saying calmly, “Teacher Dong is not my younger sister.”
“Oh…” Lü Bu said. “Then you know him?”
Xue Changyi shook his head. “Teacher Dong is my older brother.”
“Oh, oh, I knew it, you must be related, so he’s your older bro—” Lü Bu’s voice trailed off, his eyes widening in realization. “Older brother???”
The chemistry teacher with the rabbit-ear buns, small white flowers in his hair, and a pretty pink dress, was actually—a man?!
Lü Bu’s face went blank, utterly devastated, frozen in place.
Xue Changyi shook his head, sighing. “Remember to hand in your homework tomorrow.”
He left the classroom.
“Lü Bu! Hey! Lü Bu!” Laughter echoed from the classroom. “Earth to Lü Bu!”
“Lü Bu’s soul has left his body!”
“Scared him off, didn’t he?”
“I think he’s heartbroken!”
“Hahaha…”
Amidst the laughter, Xue Changyi left the Pangong building and hurried to the Lugong dormitory, going straight to the fifth floor. Dong Lan’s door was locked, he wasn’t inside.
Xue Changyi frowned, taking out his phone and calling Dong Lan.
“Hello?” Dong Lan picked up instantly. “Little Ten! Class is over? Calling your big brother as soon as class ends, do you miss me that much?”
Xue Changyi got straight to the point. “Why aren’t you in the dormitory? I told you to wait for me there.”
“Oh, about that,” Dong Lan’s voice was sweet. “I’m in the chemistry lab! Teacher Wu just finished cleaning my dormitory, he’s so efficient! Since he had some free time, I asked him to help me clean the lab too. We’re in the lab now.”
Xue Changyi sighed deeply. The Director General of the Supervisory Department helping Dong Lan clean his dormitory and lab? Was that even possible?
He hung up and headed towards the science building, where he found Dong Lan and… Wu Mu.
Dong Lan was sitting like a lord, legs crossed, leisurely eating sunflower seeds!
And Wu Mu, in his crisp suit and a black and white apron, like a cafe worker, was mopping the lab floor.
The chemistry lab was spotless, the floor gleaming.
“Little Ten, over here!” Dong Lan waved.
Seeing Xue Changyi enter, Wu Mu glanced at his apron, quickly took it off, and tossed it aside, resuming his usual cold demeanor.
Xue Changyi nodded to Wu Mu. “Minister Wu, I apologize for troubling you.”
“Not at all!” Dong Lan winked at Wu Mu, his eyes full of unspoken threats. “We’re all teachers at the academy, and Teacher Wu is our senior. We should help each other, right?”
Wu Mu, his face still expressionless, nodded. “Of course, no trouble at all.”
Xue Changyi was even more puzzled. Wu Mu, a Director General, willingly cleaning for Dong Lan, not just his dormitory, but also the chemistry lab? If Wu Mu wasn’t addicted to cleaning, there had to be another reason.
Could it be…
Xue Changyi’s eyes flickered between Wu Mu and Dong Lan.
Could Minister Wu, like Lü Bu, find Dong Lan attractive?
Dong Lan was indeed beautiful, petite and delicate, looking like a cute girl at first glance, and he knew how to act coquettishly. Although he could be unreliable and eccentric at times, he was efficient and decisive when it came to work, making him the darling of the Ten Courts.
The cold and aloof Minister Wu being attracted to Dong Lan wasn’t entirely impossible…
Wu Mu, meeting Xue Changyi’s gaze, felt a shiver down his spine, sensing something he couldn’t quite decipher.
Wu Mu lowered his voice, speaking to Dong Lan. “I’ve cleaned your dormitory and the lab. I hope you haven’t forgotten your promise, Seventh Yama King.”
Dong Lan chuckled softly. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Little Ten that you like him! After all, I’m not going to help you confess. As his older brother, I hope Little Ten never finds out.”
Wu Mu breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart sank. The Supervisory Department and the Ten Yama Kings were rivals, this was common knowledge in the Underworld Central Office. How could he confess to his enemy? Never.
Besides…
Wu Mu was the three-legged Golden Crow, his true form the sun, while Xue Changyi’s true form was a spirit stone that endlessly absorbed energy until it exploded. They could never be together, absolutely incompatible.
Wu Mu’s face turned cold again. “I’ll return to the dormitory now. You two talk.”
“Old Seven,” Xue Changyi watched Wu Mu leave. “What were you whispering about? I didn’t know you and Minister Wu were so close.”
“Close?” Dong Lan looked indignant. “Little Ten, don’t talk nonsense! You know how much trouble the Supervisory Department has caused our Seventh Court! Which of the Ten Courts doesn’t hate them? I was just warning that Wu Mu to stay away from you!”
Wu Mu left the Pangong lab. He had no classes today, so he returned to the dormitory. Just as he opened his laptop to do some work for the Supervisory Department, his phone vibrated.
Buzz, buzz—
Wu Mu glanced at his phone, his expression turning serious. He immediately left the dormitory, even leaving Jixia Academy, and headed towards the Supervisory Department.
He entered the Director General’s office. A figure sat in the chair, back to the door, their face hidden.
Unsurprised, Wu Mu calmly closed the door and, without looking at the figure, bowed his head slightly. “Father.”
The figure didn’t turn around, speaking in an aged voice. “You still remember I’m your father.”
Wu Mu said formally, “Have I done something to displease you, Father?”
The figure scoffed. “Wu Mu, I took you in as my adopted son, let you succeed me as Director General, and this is how you repay me?”
The owner of the aged voice was the former Director General of the Supervisory Department.
“You know what you’ve done, what you’re thinking. Don’t think I don’t know.” The former Director General said softly, “You were the one who investigated the Second Yama King and cast him down from the Terrace of Forgetfulness, condemning him to eternal reincarnation and a miserable end! Wu Mu, whether you were right or wrong, Xue Changyi will never forgive you.”
At the mention of Xue Changyi’s name, the muscles in Wu Mu’s arms tensed.
“He will only hate you,” the former Director General said, each word heavy with meaning.
Wu Mu clenched his fists, his breath hitching.
“So…” the former Director General continued, “Don’t harbor unrealistic fantasies. You are from the Supervisory Department, he is the Tenth Yama King. You are destined to be enemies.”
Xue Changyi planned to return the quiz papers to the dormitory, then take Dong Lan to the academy cafeteria for lunch. It was Dong Lan’s first day, and he should show him around.
The dormitory door was unlocked. He pushed it open, but Wu Mu wasn’t inside. His laptop was on the desk, not even turned off, indicating a hasty departure.
Xue Changyi paused, his eyes narrowing, his expression turning serious. He quickly put down the papers, closed and locked the door, strode to Wu Mu’s desk, and clicked the mouse.
The laptop screen was dark, requiring a password to unlock.
This was Wu Mu’s computer. Xue Changyi’s eyes narrowed. It must contain confidential information from the Supervisory Department. If he could crack the password, he might be able to access the files related to his Second Brother’s demotion.
Back then, the Second Yama King, Xue Changyi’s older brother, had been investigated by the Supervisory Department and cast down from the Terrace of Forgetfulness. The specific charges against him were never revealed, only vague accusations of wrongdoing, and that he had confessed and accepted his punishment willingly.
Xue Changyi knew his brother. He was the most upright and gentle of them all, meticulous and principled, and would never commit such acts.
Xue Changyi wanted to know what had really happened, why his brother had been investigated. These were classified files, possibly stored on Wu Mu’s computer, since he was the Director General.
“Password…” Xue Changyi entered a series of numbers. “Could it be the Supervisory Department’s code?”
Beep, beep!
—Incorrect password, please try again.
Unable to think of any other numbers related to Wu Mu, Xue Changyi instinctively entered his own commonly used password, his birthday.
—1014.
Ding—
A chime sounded, and the blue password screen disappeared, revealing the desktop.
“Password…” Xue Changyi was stunned, his bright eyes flickering. “My birthday?”
