“Ding ding ding ding……”
With the final bell of the day, Chu You finally let out a sigh of relief and slumped over her desk.
Math and biology—whoever invented these two subjects must be utterly wicked!
Chu You just couldn’t understand… In a world teeming with Oracles, Mutants, and Demons, what was the point of math and physics?
And biology.
Those tongue-twisting names for Mutants and the plants and animals that evolved their genes but never transitioned into Demons were driving her crazy.
For example, a low-rank elite-type Mutant—Sword Bearers usually called it a “Tyrant,” but in the biology textbook, its official name was something ridiculous like “Z01-K3 Special Mutant High-Energy Individual.”
How did she even manage to memorize so many abstract names back in high school?
“See you tomorrow, Youjie…” Xia Ji, who had been her deskmate all day, finally gathered the courage to greet her, “I’m heading off first; I have to work my part-time shift at the burger shop later.”
Chu You raised her head, waved, and yawned, replying, “Mm-hmm, see you tomorrow, Summer Treasure~”
Watching Xia Ji’s figure disappear around the corner of the classroom’s back door, Chu You wiped the exhaustion off her face and quickly straightened her back.
Beneath the sunset’s glow, a trace of puzzlement settled in her eyes.
Strange… Xia Ji clearly lived in the same neighborhood as her, so with the housing prices there, how could a family struggling enough to have a kid work part-time possibly afford that?
It seemed her poor little deskmate held more secrets worth digging into.
Thinking this, Chu You calmly pulled a palm-sized notebook from her backpack, took out a pen, and began jotting down thoughts—
- No mutant pollution detected on campus;
- The new teaching building has no underground structures; the old one remains unchecked;
- No campus legends exist yet at Binhai Lab;
- Xia Ji…
After mulling it over, Chu You added a note after Xia Ji’s name: [Suspicious target, pending further investigation].
With these records, her first day of undercover work was essentially complete.
After packing up, she left the school and immediately spotted the black vintage car parked by the roadside, reminiscent of a previous life’s Volkswagen Santana.
This was Lin Mo’s favorite private ride; unlike most young people, he seemed to have a soft spot for all kinds of old relics.
“Good job, senior.” Just as she got into the passenger seat, Lin Mo’s teasing voice rang out.
Chu You buckled her seatbelt and rolled her eyes, giving him a half-hearted smile, “Thanks a lot!”
That bastard had the nerve to make snide remarks?
She was grinding her teeth, remembering all the grudges she’d held against him all day—like the mortification of him suddenly pulling out a magical girl wand before a fight. That was all thanks to this jerk!
“You’re welcome…” Lin Mo’s lips curled in amusement as he pretended not to catch the sting behind her words, deliberately dragging out the tone, “After all, you’re—‘my person’~”
He bit off “my person” slowly and heavily, laced with obvious teasing.
Chu You instantly bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, snapping back, “Then I’m really unlucky.”
“Lucky, actually…” Lin Mo expertly steered the car through a turn, chuckling, “Who else’s boss would be so kind as to send their personal assistant to school?”
“Kind?” Chu You crossed her arms and scoffed coldly, “How can you shamelessly say that? Doesn’t your conscience hurt?”
“My conscience is very pleased to be providing you with valuable learning opportunities…” Lin Mo kept a straight face, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, “So, what actual gains do you have besides this?”
Mentioning that, Chu You toned down a bit, “It’s only the first day. How could I have any big results yet? But… I’ve roughly figured out the direction for the investigation.”
Raising his eyebrows, Lin Mo smiled, “Is that so? Then I look forward to you bringing back some valuable intel soon, senior~”
“Valuable?” Seizing the opportunity, Chu You immediately started bargaining, “We agreed that I’d be your assistant and you’d cover up my fake death, but now you want me to pretend to be a high school student too… That calls for compensation: mental damage fees, brain cell reimbursement, and possible acting challenge fees… Lin Mo, you need to pay me some salary.”
Her little financial reserves were already stretched thin—if she ever got a chance to escape Lin Mo’s control, she had to be well prepared.
“Salary?” Lin Mo glanced at her lazily, speaking slowly, “We’ll talk about pay once you have solid discoveries. For now… at most I’ll treat you to dinner.”
“One dinner and you think you can bribe me?”
Chu You glared incredulously. “…Fine, Binhai Grand Hotel it is!”
“That new ramen shop at the corner is supposed to be pretty good.”
“Lin Mo? You’re such a tightwad!”
“This is called reasonable budget control, senior.”
“…I demand overtime pay! Uh… calculated by the second!”
“Alright, from the moment you said that, but whether chit-chat counts as work time is up for debate.”
“You!!!”
Their banter continued as the car wove through the busy evening traffic, finally pulling smoothly into the residential complex and stopping beneath the apartment building.
Their quarrel remained unresolved as they got out; Chu You slammed the car door in frustration while Lin Mo locked the car with that infuriatingly familiar, teasing smile.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long, and Chu You hadn’t realized she hadn’t felt such strong emotions in a long time.
Back at home, Lin Mo expertly shrugged off his coat and lazily sank into the soft sofa with a satisfied sigh.
He looked at Chu You, who was yawning as she walked over, and bluntly commanded, “Assistant Chu, make me a cup of coffee and wash the strawberries in the fridge.”
Chu You froze, disbelief written all over her face.
She had been wrestling with math problems and official mutant names all day at school, utterly exhausted, and this guy not only offered no sympathy but dared to boss her around so matter-of-factly?
If Old Ma, the inventor of the ‘996 Blessing,’ saw him, he’d probably admit defeat.
How could this bastard even qualify as a novel’s male lead?
He had to be a reincarnation of some ruthless capitalist!
“Don’t you have hands?!” Chu You’s temper flared as she strode up and pointed sharply at his nose, “Lin Mo, don’t push your luck! Don’t you know it’s off-duty time?”
Before she could finish, a warm and strong hand grabbed her wrist.
Lin Mo’s reflexes were incredibly fast, his lips curling into a dangerous smile as he suddenly tugged hard.
“Ah!” Taken by surprise, Chu You cried out and instantly lost her balance, falling straight onto the sofa.
Before she could struggle to get up, a shadow swiftly descended.
Using the momentum from the pull, Lin Mo flipped, his sturdy arm propping beside her head, trapping her tightly in the narrow space between the sofa and his body.
A strong masculine scent mingled with a fresh lemon fragrance washed over her, filled with undeniable aggression.
Chu You could clearly feel the heat radiating from his chest and the muscle lines pressing against the fabric.
This overly intimate proximity made her heart race wildly, blood rushing to her head.
“Off-duty?” Lin Mo lowered his head, his nose almost brushing her lips, his hot breath caressing her mouth.
His voice was low and magnetic, laced with teasing, “Being my assistant means being on call twenty-four-seven, senior.”
His other hand was not idle—his fingertips lightly traced the strands of her hair scattered on the sofa, then gently pinched her ear lobe, which was slightly reddened from shock.
That subtle touch sent an electric jolt through Chu You’s body; she stiffened, her cheeks involuntarily burning.
“You… let go!” Chu You was both embarrassed and angry, trying to push him away with force, but their strength difference made her struggles look more like reluctant acceptance.
Just as the tension and ambiguous atmosphere thickened, an abrupt ringtone shattered the moment.
Lin Mo paused but the playful smile on his lips deepened.
He didn’t move away.
Instead, he looked down at the blushing Chu You with even more teasing eyes, then slowly pulled his still-ringing phone from his pocket.
He deliberately held the screen in front of Chu You’s eyes, which clearly displayed the caller ID—[Vice Minister Qin].
Chu You’s pupils constricted sharply!
Of course, she knew who this was—the Deputy Commander of the Sword Bearer Headquarters, Qin Xiangnan!
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