After bringing Sweet Water to Lu Yunze for a few days, Jiang Sui could clearly see that his mental state had improved a lot.
The dark circles under his eyes had faded, and his complexion looked rosier. Not only did Jiang Sui notice, even Luo Yao, while cleaning the room, couldn’t help but feel relieved.
“Looks like not bothering Brother Lu really was the right call. He’s gone back to being like he used to be lately.”
“Miss, you are wise.”
At times like this, Jiang Sui would stand to the side, wearing a professional smile.
“As long as we keep trusting Young Master, he’ll be able to rely on his own strength to get through tough times. That benefits both you and him, Miss.”
“Mhm, I guess that’s true.”
There were indeed benefits, but they were more for Jiang Sui.
With Luo Yao not coming to stir things up, she saved herself some effort. The farther Luo Yao stayed away, the more Jiang Sui could have Lu Yunze all to herself.
And this month, she even got a bonus. This week really was full of good things.
After leaving Luo Yao’s room, Jiang Sui felt like her whole life had become bright.
Of course, she couldn’t just deal with Luo Yao—she couldn’t slack off with Lu Yunze, either.
Almost every day, Jiang Sui would take advantage of school hours to visit Lu Yunze in the Music Club’s classroom. Not only did it help her grow closer to him, but it also let her indulge her craving to play the piano. Why not kill two birds with one stone?
“Why didn’t you bring Sweet Water today?”
The first thing Lu Yunze asked when they met was this, and Jiang Sui wasn’t surprised.
“There’s none left. Who would’ve thought Young Master liked my water so much?” Jiang Sui laughed, the strands of hair on her shoulder bouncing gently.
“Shh, don’t say things that could be misunderstood.”
Lu Yunze’s face showed obvious regret; he’d become completely addicted to Sweet Water.
Ever since drinking Jiang Sui’s Sweet Water, Lu Yunze had lost all interest in plain water. At home, it was fine, but when he couldn’t get Sweet Water outside, he’d look for other drinks to substitute.
At times like this, Jiang Sui would volunteer to buy him something from the school’s convenience store.
“Alright, be careful on the way.” Lu Yunze reimbursed her in advance and even gave her some extra for the trip.
It was hot, and a round trip would take over ten minutes—he’d feel bad if he didn’t give her anything.
“Young Master, you really are considerate.”
Jiang Sui left the Club Classroom with a mysterious smile. When she reached the Stairwell, she didn’t hurry downstairs, but leaned against the wall, waiting for something.
Not long after, accompanied by a soft meow, a bottle of Coke rolled to her feet.
“Thank you, Senior, you saved me a trip.”
Picking up the Coke, Jiang Sui wiped the dust from the bottle and smiled at the Black Cat.
“Feels like I’m about to turn into your relationship courier.”
The Black Cat jumped down from the corridor railing and stretched lazily.
“Don’t say that, Senior. For our common goal, I’ve even dedicated myself.” Jiang Sui spoke as if it were a tragic sacrifice.
“I want to make sure of something—are you sure your head is clear these days?”
The Black Cat’s golden eyes stared at Jiang Sui.
“It seems like you’re sticking to Lu Yunze more and more.”
“Senior, that’s not something I like to hear.” Jiang Sui raised an eyebrow. “I’m just a little better at controlling my expressions, and my acting is just a little more convincing, that’s all. Besides, pure-hearted kids like Lu Yunze aren’t my type at all.”
The Black Cat just smiled, saying nothing.
They stood at the Stairwell, letting the breeze blow for a while. When enough time had passed, Jiang Sui started walking back toward the classroom.
She’d barely taken two steps when someone in all black, wearing a baseball cap, came up from downstairs. The two nearly brushed past each other, but neither slowed down.
“Wait, Jiang Sui.”
It wasn’t until the person had disappeared upstairs that the Black Cat poked its head out from the girl’s arms.
“Senior, is there something wrong with that person?”
“You guessed it. I sensed Secret Art fluctuations on him.”
Jiang Sui glanced in the direction where the person had disappeared.
There was an unwritten rule in the Secret Arts World: never reveal secrets in front of ordinary people. For most, they’d live their whole lives not knowing Secret Arts existed.
Even if someone caused trouble on purpose, the Execution Division would handle it and keep things under wraps.
It wasn’t strange for other Secret Arts Practitioners to be hiding in this school, but for the Black Cat to warn her, and for someone to appear in the Science Building, Jiang Sui couldn’t help but pay attention.
It was too close to Lu Yunze—she had to check it out.
With that in mind, Jiang Sui held the Black Cat and went upstairs.
Though the other person’s trail was long gone, if she had to guess where someone would be up to no good, she didn’t need to think twice.
She climbed several flights at once before finally arriving at the Rusty Iron Door leading to the Rooftop of the Science Building.
The door wasn’t fully closed. After gently setting the Black Cat down, she carefully pushed the door open a crack and peeked out onto the Rooftop.
At the same time, she raised a hand and summoned a sharp scythe. Because its blade was curved like a blood-red crescent, Jiang Sui had named it the Remnant Moon Scythe.
If things got urgent, Jiang Sui would kick open the door and use the scythe to take off the suspicious person’s head.
“How’s the situation on your end? Still hiding?”
“Yeah, everyone’s laying low.”
Two people were talking, and Jiang Sui paused.
One tall, one short—their faces were completely covered, impossible to see. Judging by their voices, there was a big age gap.
The younger-sounding one spoke with sudden anger:
“How much longer are you all going to drag this out?”
The deeper-voiced one answered humbly, “We don’t want to either, but after Li Ren died, the Police Station and Execution Department of Arcane Arts have been searching everywhere for us. Everyone’s laying low, planning to wait a while before we move again.”
“Tch, what a waste of time. When will I finally get what I want?”
“Patience. Every perfect plan needs a long-term setup.” The deep voice chuckled. “They may look fierce, but the losses they’ve caused us are nothing compared to what that person did.”
“That person… You mean Lu Yunze? I still don’t believe it.”
“Me neither, but the brothers who escaped all said he killed Li Ren. Maybe there’s some expert helping him in secret.”
Hearing this, Jiang Sui could basically confirm their identities.
Black Star Cult…
Who would’ve thought there were Black Star Cult members in Lancheng Academy? Who were these two—students, teachers, or outsiders sneaking in?
And they mentioned Lu Yunze—were they planning to make a move here?
Jiang Sui pondered for a long time, then finally loosened her grip on the scythe.
Rushing in without knowing their strength wasn’t her style. Only someone as hot-headed as Lu Yunze would do something so reckless.
“So, I still have to keep waiting?”
“Don’t worry. What the Black Star Cult promised you, they’ll never go back on. I swear on the name of the King in Black Robes.”
The scythe vanished from her hand; Jiang Sui decided to take the long view.
But just then, the Coke the Black Cat had brought her accidentally slipped from her hand, making a crisp bang as it hit the ground, then rolled down the stairs.
“Who’s there?!”
The two on the Rooftop instantly went on alert, staring at the entrance.
“Meow~”
Two minutes later, a Black Cat darted out through the crack in the door, ignoring them as it ran to a corner at the back.
“So it was just a cat.” The deep voice let out a sigh of relief.
“No, it can’t be that simple.”
The younger voice still frowned.
“I didn’t see a cat on my way up.”
When he went to check, there was no sign of Jiang Sui behind the door—only a damp mark on the floor.
Meanwhile, Jiang Sui, having escaped the Rooftop, returned to the Music Club’s classroom entrance, just in time to bump right into Lu Yunze as he came out.
Lu Yunze took two steps back, grabbed her hand, “Are you alright? Why are you in such a hurry?”
Jiang Sui didn’t answer immediately, the conversation between those two still echoing in her mind.
“What is it? Did something happen?”
Lu Yunze instinctively looked in the direction she’d come from.