X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the ServerOnline Users: 1,682
Random thought: If a student dates a teaching assistant, does that count as a legitimate relationship?
Original Post:
The teaching assistant for War History is ridiculously handsome. I asked around and found out he’s actually a fourth-year senior who’s already applied to leave the academy.
Obviously I don’t have any ulterior motives. I just suddenly thought of this question.
Any law students from the Military-Political Department willing to answer?
[So it’s “falling for your instructor during military training” upgraded to “falling for your teacher at school,” huh?]
[The War History TA… don’t tell me it’s…]
[One glance and I’ve decoded the post. Certified passive-aggressive.]
…
[LMAO, this question really hit some people where it hurts.]
[What are you all even talking about?]
[How are people still pretending they don’t browse the forum?]
…
[??? Why does everyone seem to know what’s going on except me?]
[Someone please enlighten me.]
[Reply: Poker and J.]
[Got it. Isn’t she also close with LM?]
…
[Looks like someone isn’t satisfied with just lemons. Apparently there are tastier fruits around. Better than the Military-Political Department’s baguette.]
[Wow, some people sound way more sour than the lemons they’re talking about.]
[+1. To be blunt, getting into this school from District 16 is way harder than making a forum post bragging about your ancestors receiving medals.]
[We get it, you’re a simp. Too bad even simps don’t rank high enough.]
…
[So she’s involved with Lemon and Hook?]
[Not just them. There’s ZF too. The two of them were sitting together in class.]
[No wonder somebody went all-out with the firepower today. I’m dying.]
[You’re starving. You’ll ship any garbage.]
[Power-worshipping social climbers probably love this kind of thing.]
[Reply: What if the person she’s dreaming about is someone else entirely?]
[In that case I apologize. That’s excellent taste.]
…
[Why is nobody mentioning there might be more than one baguette?]
[There’s more?!]
[Yep. She used to take attendance for X too. And not just in one class.]
[Wait, seriously? Can someone teach me? How does she keep collecting handsome guys like achievements?]
[Reply: If you’re willing to throw away your pride and flatter people, you can do it too.]
[Reply: I’m in the same class as her. She doesn’t act servile at all.]
[Reply: She just treats people differently based on status. Ask her and she’ll say she’s “pursuing excellence.” She competes in everything, pulls tricks at ceremonies, and if she’s going to fish for rich men, she’ll only go after the top of the pyramid. Her ambitions are sky-high.]
[Reply: Wow, you’re incredibly bitter. What happened, didn’t get invited to her secret party?]
[Based on the people associated with her, any guy who wasn’t invited must either be ugly, poor, or both.]
[She’s got a Central District noble detector. Talk to her and she probably thinks you’re some backwater peasant.]
[Damn. I talked to her before and she didn’t ask for my contact info. Official diagnosis: ugly outsider.]
…
[Stop going off-topic. Couldn’t she just be tutoring for money? Why is everyone’s mind so dirty?]
[Can tutoring include writing papers? If yes, someone give me her contact.]
[Why hire her specifically? Aren’t there plenty of people willing to be his lackey?]
…
[Feels like this is all speculation with no proof.]
[Actually there is. Someone’s academic records got transferred. Looks like they’re transferring schools.]
[This academy never gets tired of the old “lovers separated by force” storyline. Boring.]
[Though a District 16 duck paired with a flock of privileged swans is definitely a first.]
…
[So we can confirm four guys are connected to her now. Cinderella’s appetite is pretty impressive.]
[Only four? I don’t even read Mary Sue novels with fewer than four male leads.]
[Reply: …???]
[Reply: ??? Recommend some novels.]
[Reply: ??? Need an LZY substitute. She’s exactly my type.]
…
[I need a substitute too. It’s impossible not to pay attention to her.]
[Reply: People really say anything. Every tiny thing becomes a hundred-page discussion thread. This place sounds like a bunch of closeted people having breakdowns.]
[Resources maxed out. Privileges fully utilized. Bonus points stacked to the ceiling. Yet somehow still can’t beat her academic scores.]
[Professional speechwriters. Perfect resumes. Prestigious backgrounds. Glamorous identities. And then at the opening ceremony all of that lost to one toss of a playing card…]
…
[Wait. Why is nobody concerned about the tutoring issue?]
[Exactly. Can tutoring attendance fraud really be discussed openly?]
[What’s there to be surprised about? Since when have the academy’s nobles bothered hiding their privilege?]
[LMAO. The clowns are finally angry and have actually identified the real issue: just because you have privilege, does that mean you should use it?]
…
[This thread is definitely getting deleted.]
[Some people are getting their accounts banned. Wonder who… so hard to guess.]
[Censorship incoming!]
…
One by one, the replies disappeared.
Then the thread itself vanished.
In the end, only a message remained on the screen:
This webpage is no longer available. Return to homepage?
Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt.
The room was dark.
Soon, a shadow shifted and grabbed a terminal.
Lying on his bed, Lu Weixi kept his eyes closed. His platinum hair framed sharp, handsome features resting in apparent calm.
His voice, however, was anything but calm.
“Who is it?”
“You answered fast.”
The caller laughed lightly.
The voice was bright and teasing.
“If you fail another class this year, your father is going to hang you up with that copper-buckled belt and beat you senseless.”
Lu Weixi’s eyes snapped open.
Irritation filled his gray-blue gaze.
He sat up abruptly, switched on the lights, and raked a hand through his messy blond hair.
His mood was awful.
“I’ve already got enough on my plate running between military duty and school every day. Lu Suiyuan, can you stop messing with my head? Damn it, why don’t you just die?”
“Who’s messing with who?”
The other man was still laughing, as if he never got angry.
“I asked you to investigate something. You’ve been so busy that you’ve made zero progress.”
“Jiang Yi can’t find anything either,” Lu Weixi shot back.
“Except when I speak with him, I can tell he’s making progress. He plans to start with technical decryption.”
The voice paused.
“And you?”
“Then go ask Jiang Yi.”
Lu Weixi angrily threw back the blanket.
He had been in meetings until late the previous night and then endured extra training afterward.
Every bone in his body radiated resentment.
He yanked open the curtains.
Sunlight instantly flooded the room, sliding across his bare torso and sharply defined muscles.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
“You woke me up. Happy now?”
“Not particularly.”
Lu Suiyuan’s voice softened.
“A junior just told me you’ve been hiring someone to attend class for you.”
“So what?”
A dangerous glint flashed in Lu Weixi’s gray-blue eyes as he began dressing.
“Who actually has time for those theory classes?”
“You should’ve been more careful.”
There was helplessness in Lu Suiyuan’s tone.
“You couldn’t even be bothered to notify the professor. People are discussing it on the school forum. If this gets bigger, I won’t help you.”
He added,
“Getting extra courses arranged for you was already the limit of how much I could cover for you.”
Before Lu Weixi could respond, his terminal vibrated.
He checked it.
Forum screenshots.
Lots of them.
One eyebrow rose.
Disdain filled his eyes.
“A bunch of losers wasting time online every day. Why not just shut the whole forum down? Who even reads this stuff?”
“Really?”
Lu Suiyuan sounded remarkably sincere.
“Then please tell me: have you gotten rid of your gaming pod? Your game consoles? Deleted all your social media accounts? Removed your trash-talking posts from every platform?”
Lu Weixi paused.
His golden eyelashes cast shadows across his face.
With complete honesty he replied,
“Nope. I enjoy wasting time online. I enjoy being trash. And don’t ask me to help with the Subchain investigation anymore. Go ask Jiang Yi, that bastard.”
“Lu Weixi, stop dragging me into your nonsense.”
Lu Suiyuan sounded as though he were stretching lazily.
“Being a police commissioner isn’t any easier than being one of your military committee members.”
His voice remained cheerful.
“Anyway, that’s the decision. I want progress by next week. Otherwise I’ll come all the way from District Four and beat you up personally.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll investigate.”
Driven into a corner, Lu Weixi finally gave in.
He sighed.
Just as he was about to continue speaking, he heard quiet breathing from the other end.
His eyebrow rose.
“Lu Suiyuan… did you fall asleep?”
A few seconds later, a feather-light reply came.
“Hm? No. Just thinking with my eyes closed.”
“You can’t possibly be seri—”
Lu Weixi clicked his tongue.
“You’ve been a commissioner for long enough. When are you getting promoted to Chief Commissioner?”
“No idea. Depends on fate.”
Lu Suiyuan sounded carefree.
“District Four is great. Far away from you Central District crown princes. Too much work, too little pay, terrible career prospects. Busy enough that I don’t have time to play political games with you people.”
Lu Weixi snorted.
“And who could compete with you for the title of crown prince? You switched from the military to the police whenever you felt like it, then returned to your family’s territory whenever you wanted.”
“Not interested in arguing.”
Lu Suiyuan’s voice remained upbeat.
“I’ve got a command assignment. Hanging up.”
His final words, however, were firm.
“If you fail another class this semester, my fist will arrive at your face immediately.”
The call ended.
Probably for the best.
Otherwise they would have started arguing again.
Lu Suiyuan was from District Four.
His family had produced nine senior police officials.
His father had moved from law enforcement into politics, serving three terms as Prime Minister. He now led a political party and acted as a diplomatic advisor, seemingly preparing for a return to the cabinet.
His father had hoped he would join the military rather than the police.
Military credentials were a much better path into politics.
Instead, after studying for several years, Lu Suiyuan transferred into the Police Academy and returned to District Four.
Given the Lu family’s influence there, the move strengthened their political base and left his father with no grounds for complaint.
He was several years older than both Lu Weixi and Jiang Yi.
Although the two young men disliked each other, both got along well with Lu Suiyuan.
Partly because the Lu family belonged to the neutral faction.
Partly because Lu Suiyuan had known them since childhood and often looked after them.
That was why he could order these two rivals to investigate the Subchain matter simultaneously.
Unfortunately, unlike Jiang Yi’s meticulous approach, Lu Weixi was hopelessly casual.
For example, despite being warned moments ago, he still had no intention of reviewing the nearly expired Subchain file.
Instead, he called Lin Zhiyan.
He had decided to hold her accountable.
Logically, he knew it wasn’t really her fault.
But he’d paid money.
And when you paid money, you earned the right to make someone’s life miserable.
Meanwhile, the afternoon sunlight had softened into a warm golden glow.
Lin Zhiyan closed the lounge door, shutting the light outside, and turned toward Jiang Yi.
He had already changed into his military uniform.
His long legs were crossed.
His polished military boots gleamed.
Switching off his terminal, he looked at her.
“You have fifteen minutes to explain.”
After a pause, he added,
“My meeting won’t be delayed for you. So I’d like you to explain exactly what you meant by ‘there were circumstances.’”
Lin Zhiyan lowered her eyes.
Several seconds passed.
“He has leverage over me.”
Jiang Yi wasn’t surprised.
One eyebrow lifted.
He waited.
“Photos.”
She forced herself to continue.
“Photos of Li Siheng and me.”
Jiang Yi lowered his brow and exhaled deeply.
For a moment he seemed speechless.
“What kind of photos? How serious? What exactly did he say?”
“Hugging, mostly.”
Lin Zhiyan decided to be direct.
“He said if I didn’t help him with attendance, then he’d—”
“You don’t need to worry about that anymore.”
Jiang Yi interrupted her.
“Zephy already knows about your relationship with Li Siheng. And after today’s class, I doubt he’ll be entertaining any new ideas for a while.”
He looked at her.
“So stop taking attendance for Lu Weixi.”
“But…”
Her voice softened.
“He still has the photo.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“I don’t know when you’ll handle it.”
Lin Zhiyan pressed onward.
“I’m not trying to force you to help me. It’s just… I can’t guarantee nothing will go wrong.”
She paused.
“Ever since I enrolled here, it feels like people have constantly been watching me. I don’t know exactly what they’re saying, but I know the attention isn’t kind.”
Looking at Jiang Yi, she continued,
“Even you initially assumed I was trying to climb through Li Siheng. If the photo gets released, even if it’s only a hug, I don’t know what kinds of rumors will appear.”
Jiang Yi’s fingers twitched.
“So what? You’re planning to keep helping Lu Weixi forever? That won’t reduce the rumors. It’ll only create more.”
“At least they’re only rumors.”
She spoke seriously.
“One reason I wanted to resign as TA was because I was helping him with attendance. I think it’s extremely irresponsible.”
After a silence, Jiang Yi said,
“Being entangled with him won’t bring you anything except trouble.”
“But I don’t have another choice.”
She met his gaze.
“And you’ve already helped me deal with Zephy. I feel guilty about that. I don’t want to keep burdening you.”
She lowered her head while looking up through her lashes.
From Jiang Yi’s angle, she reminded him of one of the military dogs he had trained.
Whenever it did something wrong, it would lie on the ground and look up exactly like that.
The comparison immediately struck him as absurd.
What did she have to do with dogs?
The association made no sense.
His expression softened slightly.
“You actually feel guilty. That’s rare.”
Then, before he could stop himself, another sentence followed.
“Considering how much you seem to dislike my arrogance. You’re always trying to provoke me and then argue me into defeat.”
The moment he finished speaking, he frowned.
That had sounded strange.
“That’s true.”
Her voice interrupted his thoughts.
He looked up.
She was smiling.
Not her usual polite smile.
This one reached her eyes.
There was genuine amusement in it.
“But who would’ve thought?”
She laughed softly.
“That when your irritating arrogance is directed at people I dislike, it suddenly becomes extremely likable.”
Jiang Yi: “…”
For a moment he had no response.
His hand clenched.
His expression froze.
“Don’t misunderstand! I didn’t mean anything else!”
Lin Zhiyan immediately realized she’d misspoken.
A few seconds later she added lightly,
“I just suddenly understand why so many people become addicted to power. Borrowing a tiger’s authority really does feel good.”
Jiang Yi remained silent.
His normally precise mind was overloaded trying to analyze her words.
After several seconds, however, he understood.
“You don’t need to think so much. For me, this was merely a convenient thing to do.”
“Right.”
Lin Zhiyan smiled.
“To you it’s a casual conversation. To me it’s a clash of power that determines my fate. That’s pretty incredible.”
Jiang Yi looked at her.
“You got over your guilt awfully fast.”
“I’m not mocking you.”
She stepped closer.
Only one pace separated them.
“I’m just stating facts.”
Then she smiled again.
“At least for this moment, I changed my own fate. Even if the power came from you.”
Her eyes reflected light like glass beads.
Beautiful.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Jiang Yi looked away.
“Using power is also a skill.”
“You told me earlier today that anything gained through dependence on others can be taken away.”
She folded her arms and immediately seized upon the contradiction.
Jiang Yi frowned.
“How is this dependence?”
“Hm. Maybe it isn’t.”
She rested her chin in her hand as though genuinely considering it.
Jiang Yi suddenly realized something.
Whenever they talked, they always drifted off-topic.
And somehow she always managed to drag extra words out of him.
He forcefully steered the conversation back.
“If you don’t want me to handle this matter, I won’t. It’s your private business.”
His tone hardened.
“But in my class, I won’t allow attendance fraud.”
Lin Zhiyan’s heart skipped a beat.
“But if he holds a grudge—”
“Lin Zhiyan.”
Jiang Yi’s voice was calm.
“You’ve been circling around the real issue for too long.”
His chin lifted slightly.
Confidence filled his eyes.
“One photograph shouldn’t be enough to push you this far. Is there some other connection between you and him?”
He paused.
“You haven’t told me everything, have you?”
Lin Zhiyan: “…”
Oh no.
I’m finished.
She had known this wouldn’t be easy to fool him about.
The money…
The money was about to disappear.
And so was her carefully maintained image of not caring about wealth.
Just as she was mourning her impending exposure, her terminal suddenly vibrated.
The suffocating silence shattered.
Like a drowning person grabbing a lifeline, she immediately pulled it out.
“I’ll just take this call—”
“I don’t think my schedule allows time for you to have a phone conversation.”
Jiang Yi interrupted coldly.
“I believe I have the right to know what happened between you and him in my course.”
Lin Zhiyan looked down.
Then her ears started ringing.
Help.
Why is it Lu Weixi?!
She stared at the screen for too long.
Jiang Yi noticed immediately.
He stood up to take a look.
She covered the terminal at once.
Too late.
One hand braced against the desk.
The other extended toward her.
At this point…
Whatever.
Like a fish laid out on a chopping block, she handed over the terminal.
Jiang Yi accepted the call and switched on speaker mode.
Lu Weixi’s provocative voice instantly filled the room.
“Lin Zhiyan, the tutoring thing blew up so badly everyone knows about it. How exactly are you doing your job? Was my money wasted?”
Jiang Yi’s brows shifted slightly.
Slowly, he looked at her.
Lin Zhiyan closed her eyes in despair.
The silence only made Lu Weixi more impatient.
Though nobody could see his threatening expression, it was obvious in his voice.
“Why aren’t you talking? Once I release those photos, I won’t be interested in hearing anything you have to say.”
Jiang Yi finally spoke.
“Oh. This is Lin Zhiyan’s terminal.”
A pause.
Then:
“…Who are you?”
Lu Weixi sounded disgusted.
“Your voice is incredibly annoying. Can you stop talking?”
“You don’t need to know who I am.”
Jiang Yi’s voice turned icy.
“I know who you are, and that’s enough.”
He paused.
“You’re definitely failing War History. Don’t bother coming anymore. Don’t bother sending someone either. Good luck getting into my course next semester—or next year.”
“Holy shit.”
Lu Weixi exploded.
“Jiang Yi, I gave you face last time and—”
The call disconnected.
Jiang Yi had hung up.
He handed the terminal back.
His expression was cold.
Not quite angry.
Not quite calm.
After several seconds, he asked:
“So his money doesn’t damage your self-respect?”
“Tutoring is a job.”
“Call it whatever you want.”
He laughed once.
“Go back. I need to leave.”
“If you fire me over this, I won’t complain.”
The moment she said it, she knew she absolutely would complain.
Very loudly.
Very passionately.
Very much.
Trying to repair the situation, she added:
“You don’t seem very happy.”
“When have I ever been happy after talking to you?”
Jiang Yi replied calmly.
Picking up his coat, he said,
“I’ll send next week’s teaching plan in a few days.”
Lin Zhiyan blinked.
“You aren’t going to punish me?”
Jiang Yi slipped on his coat and walked several steps before turning back.
The expression on her face was unexpectedly cautious.
It wasn’t sarcasm.
It wasn’t self-mockery.
It wasn’t exhaustion.
It wasn’t obedience.
Actually…
It was the second time.
After all, she had smiled genuinely earlier.
The thought amused him.
A faint smile appeared.
His eyebrow rose once more.
That familiar mixture of coldness and arrogance returned.
“The person being punished isn’t you.”
He paused.
“It’s the one targeting you.”
Then he added,
“I’m leaving. Stay here if you want.”
Lin Zhiyan hurried after him.
“No need. I have class soon anyway.”
A few steps later she suddenly stopped.
“Wait. You go first. We need to avoid suspicion!”
Jiang Yi ignored the suggestion and continued walking.
Though he did nod.
Lin Zhiyan finally let out a long breath.
Then immediately sucked it back in.
Her terminal showed a long string of missed calls from Lu Weixi.
At that moment, she realized something profound.
Whenever she wasn’t online, life was actually pretty good.
Taking a deep breath, she shut off the terminal entirely and ran out of the lounge.
Class.
Class first.
Everything else tonight.
Like a snail retreating into its shell, Lin Zhiyan firmly encouraged herself and fled.
You’ve got to see this next! Not Me, The Fans will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : Not Me, The Fans
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂