The Master's Mask Unveiled Again

“You’ve improved a bit,” she said indifferently.

Pang Hao was overjoyed, covering his mouth to keep his voice down as he offered up his suggestion like a prized treasure, “Brother Mian, you can copy from me, I’ll just leave my test paper like this.”

As he spoke, he pulled his test paper to the edge of the desk, perfectly positioned so that Lu Mian seated behind could easily see and copy from it.

Lu Mian, supporting her forehead with her left hand, spoke in a light and somewhat helpless tone, “You should probably check this 1.2-point physics paper of yours again…”

“…” Pang Hao’s expression resembled the end of the world, “I wrote so much.”

“Yeah, so the 0.2 points are for effort.”

Pang Hao looked at his mostly filled test paper—in disbelief, last time he got 12 points, and now just 1.2?

With tearful eyes, he sought help, “Brother Mian, what do you think the answer to the first question is?”

“Choose B.”

While the two were exchanging words, the invigilator returned with a bashful demeanor, and the classroom instantly fell back into silence.

The examination room was filled with harmony.

——

After leaving the exam room, Pang Hao, carrying his backpack, followed Lu Mian.

“Brother Mian, where did you go before the exam?”

“I went to the next exam room.”

“Next door? The physics competition one?”

“Yeah.”

Pang Hao heard groundbreaking news, briskly taking a few steps before turning back to look at Lu Mian, his mind whirring non-stop: Could it be that he had encountered the legendary low-profile whiz, the one who seamlessly took two exams back-to-back…?

Whether he was a whiz or not didn’t matter; what mattered was his admirable Brother Mian.

“By the way, Brother Mian, there was a jewelry robbery in Wucheng yesterday. You must be careful on your way home from school. My dad said those people could harm hostages. If you see any suspicious characters, run away immediately!” Pang Hao advised earnestly.

Although Guo Zihao was just giving a friendly reminder, Lu Mian took it to heart.

“How many people were they? What did they look like? Which jewelry store did they rob? Where was their last seen location?”

Pang Hao was seeing Lu Mian take such an interest in a matter for the first time and scratched his head, “This case is being handled by my dad, and there are some details he can’t share. I only know there were three of them, and they were all in disguise. My dad and his team couldn’t catch them; they’re really cunning! They robbed the store in the north of the city, but I don’t know where they disappeared to last.”

“Thanks!”

As Lu Mian spoke, she quickened her pace.

——

Inside a bar in the north of the city.

Lu Mian had changed out of her school uniform, wearing black trousers and a short-sleeve shirt, and showed up at the bar.

Her striking and delicate appearance caught numerous eyes the moment she appeared.

Eager, intense, suggestive.

She settled herself at the bar with composure, ordering just a glass of ice water.

Absent-mindedly fiddling with her glass, she occasionally played a few games to pass the time.

When Xiao Qimo came down from the second-floor private room, her presence at the bar caught his eye immediately. The surroundings were noisy and lively, but she created a world of her own, blocking everything else out.

The refined man adjusted his glasses, the dim light of the bar casting a subtle glow on the lenses.

He walked down the stairs slowly, with a brooding gaze seemingly carelessly scanning the bar’s main hall.

It was too unsafe for a girl to be in such a place.

Especially a girl who attracted so much attention.

Especially when she wasn’t here for that, drinking ice water of all things!

His slender fingers pinched the bridge of his nose, his temper flaring up as he strode toward Lu Mian.

In the meantime, Ye Jinwen sent him a message.

“Qimo, they’re in the second-floor card room, looking for people to play cards with!”

“Wait,” Qimo replied coldly.

After a few strides, he reached Lu Mian and leaned against the counter with his distinguished and cold demeanor, reaching out to take the glass from her hand.

Lu Mian looked up in astonishment, and upon recognizing Xiao Qimo, her expression was beyond words.

Why was he everywhere?