Chapter 49: Secret

Jin Shun being called to the office for a scolding stirred up quite the discussion among the first-year students, especially when everyone saw that obvious wound on his face—their eyes all widened in surprise.

However, most people only dared to gossip from the sidelines, not brave enough to ask directly, so soon all sorts of rumors began to spread.

“Lu Yunze, I heard you and Jin Shun fought over a girl and beat him to the ground?”

Lu Yunze, who was practicing piano, suddenly heard Club President Wu Xuan speak up, causing the piece he was playing to falter for a moment.

“Where did you hear that?” Lu Yunze stopped what he was doing and looked up at him.

“Lots of people are saying it.” Wu Xuan shrugged. “There are so many versions, I’ve lost track. I figured I might as well just ask you, the person involved.”

“No, it’s all slander.” Lu Yunze rolled his eyes.

“Really? I thought you really were fighting Jin Shun over a girl.”

“Who would I even fight him over?”

Wu Xuan glanced around, then lowered his voice:

“Jiang Sui.”

Hearing this, Lu Yunze nearly spat out the water he just drank: “No way! Jiang Sui isn’t my girl. I was just trying to protect her. You know what kind of scumbag Jin Shun is, don’t you?”

“You’re distancing yourself, but still worrying about her. Lu Yunze, you…” Wu Xuan gave a faint smile.

“She’s my Maid. It’d be bad if someone poached her away.”

“Sigh, Lu Yunze.”

Lu Yunze couldn’t be bothered to talk to him anymore. These guys turned into different people the moment his gossip came up. No matter what he said, it was pointless, so he might as well just shut up.

“But as long as you two are fine, that’s good. Just be careful these next few days.”

“Huh?”

Lu Yunze was stunned for a moment.

“Jin Shun doesn’t look like someone with a big heart. Now that you’ve made an enemy of him, there’s no way he’ll just let it go.”

“Anyone can see that.”

Why is it that all these wealthy families are so petty? Luo Yao is obviously gentle and doesn’t like to fuss over little things.

“Maybe it’s different upbringings. The world of you rich people is beyond my imagination,” Wu Xuan continued. “Take care of your hands these days. Don’t let anyone hurt them. You’ve worked so hard—can’t let anything happen before the Anniversary Celebration.”

Lu Yunze nodded slightly, indicating he understood.

But compared to worrying about himself, what Lu Yunze cared about more was Jiang Sui.

She was the first to be targeted by Jin Shun. If Lu Yunze was around, it might be alright, but he couldn’t always protect her.

At times like this, Lu Yunze remembered that “Jiang Sui’s Friend” she mentioned—maybe he could try letting her rely on that guy.

But Jiang Sui herself said they weren’t that close yet. Would he really offend Jin Shun for her?

Just like that, two days passed with nothing happening. To be safe, Lu Yunze still decided to do something.

That morning, using the excuse of going to the restroom, Lu Yunze slipped out of class right before the bell and headed to another floor of the classroom building.

He walked forward, checking the numbers on each classroom door, and finally stopped at one.

“This is it.”

He could see the classroom was full of students. There were less than five minutes until the end of class.

Lu Yunze waited outside, and when the bell finally rang, the restless students shot up and rushed out of the classroom.

“Strange, where is she?”

Lu Yunze had picked a conspicuous spot and didn’t miss anyone who came into view, but he still didn’t see the person he was looking for.

“Could something have happened already…”

“Classmate, waiting for someone?”

“Oh, I’m waiting for someone named Jiang Sui…” Lu Yunze turned his head and saw that familiar face.

“So you were waiting for me. I thought Young Master had asked some cute girl out and was getting ready for a date.”

She teased him again, but Lu Yunze wasn’t angry. Instead, he felt relieved to see her.

The two didn’t stay in place, but followed the crowd outside.

“Did Young Master come looking for me for something?”

“For the next little while, don’t come to the clubroom.”

“Why?” Jiang Sui’s expression didn’t change much.

“Uh…because the Anniversary Celebration is coming up, a lot of us need to practice more, and there are frequent meetings. It’s not good to have outsiders around all the time.”

“I see. I thought you were worried about me, Young Master.”

That was the truth, but Lu Yunze chose not to say it, instead continuing to urge her earnestly.

“I know you might not listen, but I’m serious this time. You’re my servant, so you have to listen to your boss…”

“Alright, I’ll listen.” Jiang Sui could see his flustered look, but only let out a soft laugh:

“Huh?”

That simple?

“Really?”

“Really.”

“You won’t sneak over?”

“I won’t.”

“You don’t have some backup plan, like installing cameras or something?”

“Young Master, you’re too much. Do I really seem like such a bad person to you?” Jiang Sui immediately put on a wronged face, pouting.

Whenever he saw her looking so pitiful, Lu Yunze couldn’t help but soften, but this time he held back. This was about her safety—no joking around.

“Just kidding. How could I blame you for something like this?”

Jiang Sui changed faces faster than flipping a page—in one moment she was wronged, the next she was all smiles.

The cheerful and adorable little Maid skipped along beside Lu Yunze, the blush from her earlier pout already replaced by a rosy, laughing glow.

Lu Yunze’s gaze occasionally met her light, amethyst-like eyes, and his mood improved before he even realized it.

“Since Young Master is working so hard, I can’t just do nothing either.”

“What do you mean?” Lu Yunze asked.

Jiang Sui narrowed her eyes, raised a finger to her cherry lips, and winked playfully.

“Secret~”

Jiang Sui’s secret?

He couldn’t shake the feeling it wouldn’t be anything good.

Since she wouldn’t say, Lu Yunze couldn’t press her, and could only hope she really listened to his words.

Letting Jiang Sui stay more at the Luo Family Manor, at least with Luo Yao around to protect her, was much safer than wandering outside.

After getting Jiang Sui’s promise, Lu Yunze still wasn’t at ease and kept thinking of other ways during afternoon classes.

“Brother Lu, want to hang out after class?”

“Maybe we shouldn’t let her go out shopping anymore.”

“Brother Lu, is your family having a banquet tonight?”

“That’s settled, I’ll let the Head Maid know when I get back.”

“Brother Lu, how many Maids do you have at home?”

Faced with Xiao Lin’s questions, Lu Yunze waved them off impatiently, telling them not to bother him.

“Sigh, ever since that Maid arrived, Brother Lu has changed.”

“He’s not the Brother Lu who cared about his bros anymore.”

“Hey Lin, where’s your Dragon Maid?”

“Scram.”

Their voices were so noisy that Lu Yunze just put on his headphones. Since this class was Yin Yu Old Man’s, he might as well watch more piano videos and work on improving.

As expected, Yin Yu Old Man started dragging out the class after the bell.

Thinking about the upcoming club meeting, Lu Yunze felt a headache coming on and messaged Wu Xuan to start without him.

How long Yin Yu Old Man would drag out class was a mysterious thing—no one had ever guessed it right.

Whenever class was about to end, students would gather to place bets, and the loser would treat the winner to milk tea.

Xiao Lin took part every time, but never once guessed right.

Since Yin Yu Old Man’s overtime kept getting longer, Xiao Lin bet on fifteen minutes this time. But the old man dragged it out for a full half hour. By the time he finally announced class was over, every student’s face was dark.

“Damn, that old man is unbeatable.”

“I’m starving, let’s eat.”

“One day he’s going to drag it out for an hour.”

Students flooded out of the classroom like a tide, and Lu Yunze was among them, hurrying to the clubroom.

Halfway there, he got a call from Wu Xuan. He thought it was to urge him to hurry, but was surprised to hear Jiang Sui’s name.

“What, you said Jiang Sui is in the classroom?”

Lu Yunze thought he misheard.

Didn’t he tell her not to come? What was going on?

Wu Xuan sounded flustered on the other end, completely unsure of the situation.

Lu Yunze hung up and quickened his pace.

If Jiang Sui really went to disrupt the meeting, even Lu Yunze wouldn’t cover for her this time.

That would be way out of line.

Arriving at the Science Building, Lu Yunze took a deep breath, and then—

A violent explosion pierced his eardrums.

Lu Yunze looked up in shock and saw flames blazing and thick smoke billowing.