That aromatic spice filled the small room. Hua Li and Lan Jue felt covered in it.
âOooee⌠that hit the spot. Itâs been ages since Iâve eaten this much. If my agent found out Iâm eating like this sheâd kill me.â Hua Li pressed his hands to his head and stared at the ceiling in contentment. His eyes were half-lidded, his long lashes fluttering. In the fuzzy, indistinct lamplight he looked even more beautiful.
âYou owe me a favor,â Lan Jue reminded.
âHm,â Hua Li said. âLetâs head back to your place. Ah, by the way, how am I supposed to help you here anyway? You planning to go somewhere?â
They started towards the Jewelry Store.
Lan Jue shook his head. âNot planning to head anywhere.â
âNo? So whyâd you call me here? What place could be safer than the Avenue anyway? There wouldnât be any danger if you just stayed here.â
Lan Jue gave him a bitter smile. âBut I do need to teach classes, and I have my bodyguard duties. Xiuxiu and the other girls could do it, but itâd cause them no end of trouble. I also have no way to protect them if it comes to it. So youâre right, itâs safer in the Avenue. For them.â
âClasses? Bodyguard?â Hua Liâs eyes shot open. He looked lost.
âA-Jue, whatâs going on? You still need to go classes? And still acting as a bodyguard for someone? If youâre still so interested in guarding, why not guard me! But whatever you need, just let me know.â
Lan Jue waved his hand, strolling slowly ahead. âNah, listenâŚâ He stuffed his hands in his pockets. âItâs sort of a long story, actually. I owe somebody for something I did, and my payment is to ask as a bodyguard. Whatâs more, I decided to head out. People shouldnât always live in the past. I guess too, that if Hera was alive she wouldnât want to see me living like this. I want to start a new life. Iâll never forget Hera â sheâll always live in the most important part of my heart. But I have my own life. Maybe the future me will never fall in love with someone else⌠but life goes on. If I keep avoiding life, Iâm not worthy of the title Zeus.â
Hua Li stopped in his tracks. There was shock in his eyes, but joy as well as he stared at Lan Jue. âGo on. Iâm a good listener.â
So Lan Jue did. âIâm a teacher at National Eastern University. Teaching Etiquette. You should find a way to enroll as a student. Go with me to and from school, secretly, and help me recover. With you here it should only take about a month before Iâm more or less back to normal. And thereâs something else. In a few days representatives from the Dark Tower and the Pontiffâs Castle will be coming here. I was supposed to help handle the situation, but I canât now. Iâll need you to replace me.â
âThe Pontiffâs Castle? They still have the balls to come here?â Hua Liâs pretty eyes held violence in their depths.
Lan Jue went on. âWhat donât they have the balls to do. I heard the Keeper went over there as well, though I donât know what happened.â
âThe KeeperâŚ?â Hua Li trailed off in thought, but it didnât take long for him to come to the proper realization. âThe Arcane Magnate? The one the other Paragons call the Crazy Magnate?â
This brought a smile to Hua Liâs face. âInteresting. He deigns to rear his psychotic head for you. The Castleâs really gotten themselves in trouble now.â
Lan Jue chuckled. âIt is what it is. How could they know when they set their trap I was collaborating with the Keeper?â
âNone of this should be hard to deal with,â Hua Li assured. âIâll help you work all this out. Iâm also curious what youâre like as a teacher!â
âDashing, of course,â Lan Jue said, standing a little taller. He struck a dramatic pose.
Hua Li sneered in feigned disgust. âStanding next to me you still have the nerve to call yourself handsome? Pitiful.â
Lan Jue snorted. âWhat you are canât be called handsome. Youâre a beautiful flower!â
The rising sun always brought with it hope. Itâs faint golden rays washed over the NEU campus as though it awakened the scholarly spirit. Students living on campus were already roused from sleep by the morning bell, and after washing up were in the midst of their various morning routines.
Jin Yan had arrived early, and walked through the campus grounds. Her forehead was creased in worry.
Yesterday Jin Tao had returned home, once again beaten bloody. When she asked what had happened, he still steadfastly refused to tell her. Heâd even refused to eat. Luckily their parents were away on a trip and werenât home to see it.
If things continued like this what good could come of it! A bad student, but a good fighter â worrisome! Ugh, what can I do about this kid to make me stop worrying?
Suddenly, she couldnât help but think back to that transitory figure, the man whoâd arrived for just one class and then vanished. Still, heâd left quite the impression on her in that short time.
That one class had really got her thinking.
âWhat is nobility!â Jin Yan couldnât help but run that sentence over and over through her head. Were it not for his explanation, sheâs not sure she would have known what true nobility was. She even still remembered the change that had overcome her younger brother that day, after class â loudly proclaiming he would be a noble.
Unfortunately Professor Lan had only come for the one class, and his person had not been seen since. Reputedly heâd asked for leave, but how could he after his first class had gone so well? Not to mention he was so handsomeâŚ
âProfessor Jin!â Someone called from a short distance off. She turned her head towards the sound, and spied meticulously teased hair bobbing her way. Wang Hongyuan, the dance instructor.
âProfessor Wang, youâre also here early!â Jin Yan called out courteously.
Wang Hongyuan responded with a smile. âIâve got to keep training or I become rusty. Oh, did you hear? Professor Lan returned yesterday.â
âLan⌠you mean Lan Jue, that Professor?â She blinked, surprised at the news.
A mischievous light shone in the dance instructors eyes. âThatâs right. I heard he came yesterday to report in, thenâŚâ
âThen what?â Jin Yan asked impatiently.
Wang Hongyuan continued. âHe went to the post-graduated classes, I donât know what for, and did something that had him dragged to the teaching affairs office by Professor Tan Lingyun. A whole host of students saw the exchange, culminating with her pulling Lan Jue along behind her like a dog. At first he looked like someone with significant personal ability, but I guess thereâs nothing special about him after all.â
Jin Yan overcame her surprise to give her companion a cold look. âProfessor Wang, weâre all instructors here. It doesnât matter that he teaches etiquette and not combat. You really shouldnât be talking behind someoneâs back like this.â
She moved on without waiting for a response. There was no anger in her expression â on the contrary, there was joy. He was back!
As for this business with Professor Tan dragging him to the Director, could it have been some sort of misunderstanding? There were only a few in the school capable of beating on that tomboyish woman anyway.
âWhat? Planet Skyfire? When did this information surface?â The sound rang through a magnificent, palatial room. The questions had come from a thin, beautiful woman in white. She looked around twenty five or twenty six, with sharp eyes and an imposing bearing. Her long hair was tied in a bun atop her head. She seemed entirely confident and capable.
âYes, Miss Mo. We just received this from the intelligence department. They got it from a local police woman.â
âBastard!â Mo Xiao spat the word venomously. âWhat the hell is Hua Li doing all the way out there? Doesnât he know his damn album Poseidon, Sounds of Nature is dropping? He even had the gall to order all sales to the Pontiffâs Castle stopped! Was he raised by pigs? What did he say when he left?â
âHe sent a communication from a secure line, saying he wanted to go on holiday, but he didnât say where. He often grumbled earlier about how difficult work was, so we didnât pay any attention to it. He could have known heâd disappear an hour later, without taking anything.â
Mo Xiao stood with her hands on her hips, her well-endowed bosom rising and falling with her angry breaths.
âStart preparing. The launch event for the album will be held on Skyfire. Weâll start getting everything ready from there. And call an airship, Iâm leaving immediately.â
âAnd as for his blockade against the PontiffâsâŚâ
She stopped the assistant with a stare sharp as icicles. âWhat is this your first day? If he wants something do we ever ignore it? Do what he asked! Even if he wanted to sell you all off there better not be a one who dares do the contrary!â
Mo Xiaoâs ferocious voice arose again as she spoke to herself. âIf heâs off squandering his money, I swear Iâll murder him!â
As ever, Lan Jue was pedaling his way towards the NEU campus for work. Only this time, he had an extra passenger on the back of his bicycle.
A mask covered the bottom portion of Hua Liâs face, and heâd changed his hair to black. Close inspection would show it was a wig. His eyes had also changed, also black. They were covered by a pair of dark sunglasses. All to make him somewhat less recognizable.
âYour school is pretty obnoxious. It was hard as hell to get a visiting studentâs ID, and I still canât get in to the post-grad department. And by the way, are you sure itâs alright you wear that to teach a class, A-Jue?â
Today Lan Jue had chosen a dark blue three-piece suit, black tie, white kerchief and handmade Ferragamo leather shoes. He looked like he was dressed for a party.
Lan Jueâs reply was indifferent. âHave you forgotten what I teach? Your older brother teaches etiquette. If oneâs own tastes are less than superb, how can one teach young minds? Plus, today I plan to teach them the rules and simplicities of formal wear.â