Translated by Crystal of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Two days later, the news that Thunderclap Academy’s archives had been broken into spread.
Although all of the files were intact and none were lost, the fact that it got broken into without anyone noticing, was enough for the leaders of the Academy to lose face, thus they went all out on the investigation.
When Qiao Sen heard of the news, a thought passed through his head, although he was quick to deny it. He admit that those two was really strong, but he knew what kind of a place the Thunderclap Academy was, and it was the archives at that. Even if they were strong, they couldn’t have fooled those old foxes. However, to prove that they hadn’t left the base that night, Qiao Sen looked into it and discovered that they never left, thus it clearly wasn’t them. Then, he called the two over.
There was a knock on the door, and he said, “Enter.”
You XiaoMo and Ling Xiao came in one after another, the first immediately asking, “Leader, what did you call us here for?”
Qiao Sen signalled them to sit down and then said, “I have a mission for you two.”
“Just us?” You XiaoMo asked in surprise.
Qiao Sen pulled out a file from his desk and handed it over, “No, the mission this time is pretty broad so there we need to split into teams and you’re one of them. The information is all here, you’ll know once you read it.”
You XiaoMo flipped through and he became so excited that he almost jumped out of his chair.
Ling Xiao took the files over and said with his brows raised, “You want us to protect the You Family in JinDu?”
“Correct.” Qiao Sen nodded, “You guys probably heard of the conflict between the You Family and the Li Family. Something happened half a year ago and the disagreement blew up causing a life and death fight between the families. They almost went at it in Jindu, which would’ve destroyed it…”
Both the Li and You Family were top families in the country and most importantly, they both had high level mages. Although the mages from the Li Family weren’t on par with the You Family, they still had a lot of followers. No families in Jindu wanted either to be destroyed and in turn break the power balance of the country.
During this half a year, the old families tried to mitigate the problem multiple times. Finally, both families agreed to talk, thus this meeting was crucial, no one wanted anything to happen. Thus, an order was sent for them to protect the Li and You family members until they arrived at the meeting, making this an incredibly important mission.
“Now I can openly get in touch with them!” Once they got back to their rooms, You XiaoMo told Ling Xiao excitedly. He had been worried about how to get close to them, but now that was not a problem anymore.
Ling Xiao was flipping through the files when he heard You XiaoMo’s comment and said, “Don’t get too excited, we need to figure out the beginning of this whole mess first.”
“What is there to find? It’s definitely the Li Family who got jealous of the You Family and did something shady. I know You Bo and You Lu’s personality, unless someone provoked them first, they wouldn’t be bothered with those kinds of people.” You XiaoMo said with confidence.
Ling Xiao looked at him with a raised brow in surprise, “You know them quite well, huh?”
You XiaoMo subconsciously felt guilty, even though he didn’t know what he was feeling guilty about and instantly replied awkwardly, “We…we are brothers and you know, we lived together for many years, so knowing them is normal.”
“But I remember you telling me that your position in the family was pretty low. From what I heard, your parents only cared for your brothers. The fact that you didn’t turn against each other is rare.” Ling Xiao looked at him with a critical eye.
With a guilty conscience, You XiaoMo rubbed his nose. He had the want but not the nerves. Both You Lu and You Bo were aggressive, once they got angry, he couldn’t say anything.
The meeting time between the You Family and the Li Family was the day after tomorrow. They only needed to protect them for a day, once they brought them to the meeting place, their job was over. Although it was just for a day, You XiaoMo was still very excited.
The two went to the You Family that very afternoon.
The luxury mansion of the You Family was huge, more than doubled the place they had in City A. You XiaoMo initially thought that it only looked luxurious but on the instead it would be warm and comfortable, but he was wrong.
You XiaoMo was astonished. His mother was a passionate and romantic person, the house in City A was slowly pieced together by her, so he thought it would be the same here.
“Please come in, both the Mister and Missus are here today.” The one who spoke was Butler Tan of the You Family and the adult who cared for You XiaoMo the most. He had been serving the You Family for three generations now, he had a lot experience and was a amiable old man.
You XiaoMo looked at him and started to remember the past. Once he saw this familiar face, his eyes started to become watery. He had thought that he had forgotten them, but the moment he saw Butler Tan, everything came back.
Seeing that he was looking over, Butler Tan smiled at him.
You XiaoMo came back to his senses and gave a big grin in return.
Now the butler was taken back, for a moment, he thought he had seen the Second Young Master, but he knew that the poor young master had died in an accident ten years ago. Remembering this, he couldn’t help but feel sorrowful.
Ever since the Second Young Master’s death, everyone in the You Family became weird. Whenever he saw them, he couldn’t help but want to say, ‘why do those things if only for things to turn out this way’.
Bringing the two inside, he told them to wait in the living room and went upstairs to call everyone. Seated on the sofa, You XiaoMo started to become nervous.
Holding his hand, Ling Xiao comforted him, “Don’t be so nervous, you’re not here to be recognized as part of the family.” Just as he finished, he received a major eye roll.
After a while, a pair of footsteps came from the staircase, but only of two people, one of them being Butler Tan. You XiaoMo raised his head and saw a man with a slender figure and a young yet mature face. Ten years passed and he’s still that young and handsome looking. He should’ve figured out something was amiss long ago.
Even though their oldest child was already twenty, his parents still looked as if they themselves were in their twenties. His skin was also smooth as a boiled egg. He had always credited that to good skincare and his mom did buy a lot of makeup, but now he knew, that was all just a cover. Now without him dragging them down, they could finally let everyone in Jindu know of their true identity, either as a mage or practitioner without hiding it.
“I assume you guys are members of White Shark, I’m You Rong, hello.” Father You sat facing them, he moved like a true gentlemen, his smile was also perfect.
You XiaoMo became more and more depressed. This perfect attitude was only for outsiders, only with family would he be stripped of all facades and return to the true You Rong. Now, he was also an outsider.
“Is something wrong?” You Rong noticed that he kept looking at him with hidden bitterness. He was a bit confused, it was the first time they had seen each other, but the young man gave him a familiar feeling and his gaze was also weird.
Ling Xiao replied with a smile, “Mr.You, you can ignore him, his still in his rebellious phase.” Rebellious phase was something he learned once he came here but he found that this word suited his wife very well.
You XiaoMo rolled his eyes, you’re the one in a rebellious phase.
Father You chuckled, he thought White Shark had sent someone much more serious, he didn’t expect them to be so interesting. Then he asked, “How should I call you?”
“My surname’s Ling, his is Fang.” Ling Xiao said.
Father You nodded, “Mr.Ling, Mr.Fang, please stay for the night here. I have already told the butler to make two rooms for you. He will bring you up later, I need to tend to my wife, so I’ll be taking my leave first.”
“Mo…eh, did something happen to your wife?” You XiaoMo almost said mom, but he stopped in time. However, when Father You looked at him in astonishment, he knew he said something he shouldn’t have. He was just an outsider.
Although Father You thought it was weird, he still replied with grace, “Thank you for your concern, she just feeling under the weather that’s all.”
Why was she under the weather?
You XiaoMo didn’t dare ask again. In his mind, Mother MingJing was someone with little worries because his father wouldn’t let her be distressed over anything. If she was feeling down, it must have been something major.
Once Father You left, Butler Tan arrived with a delicate plate of fruits.
With one look he could tell that Butler Tan made it himself. He was very good with his hands and every time he made a fruit platter, it was always so detailed that he felt bad eating it.
You XiaoMo couldn’t help but feel as if he was back to the past and said, “Thank you Uncle Tan.” Just as the words left his mouth, he froze. When he raised his head, he saw, without surprise, Butler Tan looking at him with a surprised expression.
“Mr.Fang…How did you know my surname?” Butler Tan asked with some hesitation. That weird feeling appeared once again, now he felt even the young man looked more and more like the deceased Second Young Master. Especially his thanks earlier, it was exactly in the same tone as the Second Young Master.
With a guilty consciences, You XiaoMo said, “About that, I saw the You Family’s information so I knew your surname and you look very amiable, eh…there’s someone in my family the same age as you, that’s why I couldn’t help it back then, calling you that.”
Even though he make up the excuse on the spot, it was pretty good.
Ling Xiao gave him a ‘thumbs up’ expression.
Butler Tan smiled, seemingly believing his words and didn’t question further.