The Master’s Mask Unveiled Again
Chapter 973 - 972: Team One to Team Two, I’m assigning you a task that you cannot refuse.

Chapter 973: Chapter 972: Team One to Team Two, I’m assigning you a task that you cannot refuse.

"Mianmian, who is that aimed at?"

Xiao Jianli asked, "Is it that girl named Sui Yuan? I remember she scored pretty well too."

"It’s her," Xiao Qimo nodded.

Xiao Jianli sighed deeply in worry, troubled over the thought that his grandson might not even be able to outdo a girl.

Speak of the devil and she appears.

Sui Yuan received Lu Mian’s text and promptly came to the dorm to find her.

As she appeared near the car downstairs, Jing Pei, sitting in the car behind them, suddenly craned his neck and let out a puzzled "tsk."

Su Luo glanced at Sui Yuan’s direction, then at his master. "Master, what’s wrong?"

"Nothing," Jing Pei shook his head. "She looks somewhat familiar."

Su Luo responded with an "oh" and kindly reminded, "Master, that girl is Lu Mian’s close friend, Sui Yuan. She’s practically her lifeline. She also graduated from Kunpeng High School and did very well academically."

"Oh? Then I’ll have to straighten up my attitude," Jing Pei nodded, immediately accepting his disciple’s well-intentioned advice.

——

Sui Yuan’s dorm is in the A8 building, the same one as Lu Yutian. It only takes a three-minute walk to get to Lu Mian’s dorm.

Although their teaching buildings are all in the new campus, the dorm buildings are connected.

The dorm buildings are conveniently located in the middle, making the distances to the new campus and the old campus relatively equal.

Xiao Qimo noticed Sui Yuan from inside the car window.

The girl was wearing a baseball cap that covered her short hair, paired with a simple outfit of short sleeves and long pants. On the chest area of her shirt, she had pinned an exquisite, sparkling diamond clip, which looked quite nice.

He stepped out of the car and blocked Sui Yuan’s path.

Sui Yuan froze for a moment and softly greeted him, "Director Qimo."

"Hmm, Lu Mian will be down shortly."

Sui Yuan nodded, "I got two water cards for Mianmian. She’s so carefree, she probably wouldn’t remember something like this."

Sui Yuan was thoughtful and considerate, always looking out for Lu Mian.

Xiao Qimo appreciated her gesture and nonchalantly hinted, "Mianmian is lucky to have a friend like you. When we get married, if you were to be her bridesmaid, she’d definitely be overjoyed."

"Married?"

"Yes, I just proposed a few days ago and she agreed. We’re engaged now, so the wedding shouldn’t be far off," Xiao Qimo declared, his tone carrying a subtle hint of asserting dominance as the rightful partner.

Sui Yuan saw through him but didn’t say anything, simply covering her mouth and laughing discreetly.

"Then congratulations in advance, Director Qimo!" she said cheerfully. If the two of them officially tied the knot, it would also mean her novel could have a perfect ending.

Sui Yuan thought to herself.

Xiao Qimo paused briefly before suddenly asking in a probing, almost negotiating tone, "Sui Yuan, could you write a novel with me and Lu Mian as your inspiration?"

"Hmm?" Sui Yuan didn’t quite understand.

"It’s just to make up for some regrets..." He had missed out on several opportunities to be with Lu Mian and never quite managed to clinch the male lead role...

Sui Yuan instantly understood, "Director Qimo, are you hoping to fulfill your wishes in the novel?"

Xiao Qimo: ... You could say that.

But he had more ambitious plans.

"Just write it first." Xiao Qimo emphasized cautiously, "Make sure to resolve every one of my regrets!"

"All right, I’ll try my best."

Sui Yuan reluctantly agreed to Xiao Qimo’s request. Her smile hadn’t even faded by the time Lu Mian came downstairs, backpack slung over her shoulder, casually strolling toward them.

The girl’s eyes lit up with a smile at the sight of Sui Yuan, even before she reached her.

Taking long strides, she quickly arrived in front of Sui Yuan, extended her hand, and tugged at the girl’s baseball cap. "Little Baldy, coming to find me so eagerly—did you miss me?"

Sui Yuan’s cheeks flushed scarlet in an instant.

Meanwhile, Xiao Qimo’s face turned a shade of green.

Lu Mian didn’t notice her fiancé’s expression, her gaze settling on the diamond clip on Sui Yuan’s shirt—a gift she had given to Little Baldy.

Having her keep it close was pretty neat.

"Come on, let’s grab something to eat." Lu Mian slung an arm around Sui Yuan’s neck and led her toward the car.

Passing by Xiao Qimo, she casually looped her arm through his, "Let’s go, Director Qimo."

Meanwhile, Wang Shiwei, who was peeking down from the fourth-floor windowsill, was stunned seeing Lu Mian climb into that infamous black car spread all over the forums. She quickly ran back to the dorm in shock, muttering to herself.

"No wonder she’s so cold—that girl’s got connections!" Wang Shiwei hugged herself timidly.

Shu Shu glanced at her, "I actually think she’s pretty friendly."

"You’re not local so you wouldn’t understand! Anyways, with people like them who have strong connections and backgrounds, it’s better to tread carefully!"

——

Lu Mian and her group picked a restaurant close to campus.

Once out of the car, Sui Yuan stayed close to Lu Mian’s side, but froze the moment she saw Jing Pei stepping out of the backseat of the other car.

Sui Yuan’s face turned pale as she nervously hid behind Lu Mian, pulling her cap down further.

No matter how hard she tried, there was no escaping his gaze.

Jing Pei stepped over to greet Lu Mian, "Mian-girl, I’ve been diligently teaching Luoluo chess lately!"

Su Luo twitched the corner of his mouth, casting a disdainful glance at his master.

Was his master trying to brag or seek credit?

So embarrassing...

Lu Mian nodded approvingly.

Jing Pei enthusiastically turned to greet Sui Yuan, "Little girl, I heard you’re Mian-girl’s close friend. If you ever run into any trouble, just come to me!"

Though it probably, maybe, wouldn’t fall to him to handle anything.

Sui Yuan quietly avoided him, mumbling an almost inaudible "Um."

Lu Mian took Sui Yuan’s hand, assuming she was just shy about strangers. She turned to Jing Pei, reminding him, "Old Jing, my friend is nervous around new people; keep some distance."

"...."

A metaphorical cold bucket of water poured over Jing Pei’s enthusiastic demeanor, leaving him sulking as he took a few steps back.

Kunyang seized the moment to squeeze in. "Mianmian, I’ve been seriously guiding La Ge lately. He’s planning to release an album, and I’ve already started helping him make arrangements."

Su Luo: Each and every one of them looked like they were reporting work updates to Lu Mian.

Who would believe that the three famous masters of Jinjing were not only close to Lu Mian but seemed to be actively buttering her up?

Kunyang didn’t forget to greet Sui Yuan either. Sui Yuan seemed more comfortable this time and even chatted with Kunyang for a couple of lines.

Jing Pei, baffled, shook his palm-leaf fan: Is my face too intimidating? Why won’t the little girl talk to me?

——

The group quickly moved to a private dining room.

Eating wasn’t the main event; bonding with Lu Mian was.

Throughout the meal, Sui Yuan avoided looking at Jing Pei, seemingly intentionally avoiding something.

No matter how Jing Pei tried to charm her, it couldn’t soothe her tension.

"By the way," Xiao Qimo casually brought up, turning to Jing Pei, "Old Jing, what’s the deal between your Chixia Sect and the Mercenary Alliance? You’ve been clashing for months now, haven’t you?"

"It’s a long story." Jing Pei put down his chopsticks, sighed deeply, and summarized, "But ultimately, it boils down to one sentence—the Mercenary Alliance suspects we’ve detained their leader and refuses to stop demanding his return."

"Their leader?"

Jing Pei spread his hands. "I’ve been wandering freely, so I’m not sure on the specifics. Chixia Sect hasn’t had peace for quite a while. Anyway, I’ve already assigned someone to deal with it. I don’t have the patience for all that bickering."

Perhaps Jing Pei mentioned the Chixia Sect too many times; Sui Yuan grew visibly uncomfortable, using the excuse of visiting the restroom to leave the private room.

Lu Mian frowned and immediately got up to check on her.

Reaching the restroom, Lu Mian grabbed Sui Yuan’s hand and pulled her toward her.

"Yuanyuan, what’s wrong?"

Sui Yuan opened her mouth but couldn’t articulate anything. Just then, Lu Mian’s phone buzzed twice from her pocket. Sui Yuan quickly urged, "I’ll tell you in a while; you go check that message first."

Lu Mian nodded, pulled out her phone, and saw it was a message from the IEG internal software.

Surprisingly, the message was sent by Team One.

[Here’s a mission for you; refusal is not an option.]