Chapter 29: The Supporting Actor Who Fled the Stage

"The academy has discovered a candidate in Russia with an exceptional bloodline. I must depart immediately; I’ll leave Lu Mingfei’s enrollment to you!"

"Me?" Nono frowned at the thought of having to deal with that stubborn, indifferent guy alone. "What about Ye Sheng and Aki?"

"The 'Kui Gate Project' has been moved up. The Principal is heading to China personally, and Professor Manstein has ordered us to report to Sichuan immediately."

Ye Sheng and Aki shrugged helplessly, indicating that the situation was sudden and beyond their control.

"Is it really that urgent?" Nono pouted, looking like a child left behind.

"You’ll understand once you start executing missions. Some moments, if missed, are missed for a lifetime," Ye Sheng patted her shoulder.

"You should tell that to Aki, preferably on one knee with a ring in your hand," Nono retorted, leaning against the slightly blushing Aki. "How should I handle Lu Mingfei? Can I have the operations department kidnap him to the United States if necessary?"

Lu Mingfei was so thin, as delicate as a girl. Without his bloodline awakened, he could never stand a chance against the retired special forces personnel in the school's operations department. Once he left his uncle’s house, he would have no one to rely on. If he were truly locked in a shipping container and sent across the ocean to America, perhaps no one would even notice he was missing.

This proposal clearly suited Professor Guderian’s tastes; after all, ever since its founding, Cassel College had always danced on the edge of the law. However, this was merely a last resort. For now, it depended on Nono’s performance.

But clearly, her performance was not going well.

For two consecutive days, Lu Mingfei had either been holed up at an e-sports club working as a guest coach or running around the city, searching for something unknown. Nono couldn't find a suitable moment to speak with him alone.

Finally, on the day of the literary society’s gathering, she cornered him.

"I heard you used the excuse of getting an admission letter from Cassel College to ask for leave. So, when are you going to give us a definite answer?"

Under the sunset, the girl’s red hair fluttered, tinged with a faint golden glow. Her exquisite, picturesque face bore a hint of dissatisfaction. "Professor Guderian is flying to Russia tonight. If you want to enroll, today is the final deadline. Cassel College doesn't have many spots; miss this, and there is no second chance."

"Then should I wish him a safe flight, or call to ask if Chu Zihang has replied to him yet?"

Lu Mingfei stood across from the Lu Group’s office building, watching the suited, slick-looking elites climb into their BMWs and drive away. His voice was as calm as still water.

Passing by a high-end bar yesterday, he had seen two familiar luxury cars in the parking lot. He had originally intended to wait and see if he could catch Aunt Xiaoyan alone. Instead, he waited until nearly midnight, only to see several drunken, beautiful middle-aged women being helped into cars by waiters.

It was a scene he had never imagined. Aunt Xiaoyan and her friends had loved clubbing in their youth, but later they mostly just had small drinks at home; they had never been this heavily intoxicated.

Judging by the practiced movements of the waiters and the designated drivers, it was clearly not their first time here drowning their sorrows. Why were they so drunk? Why weren't their husbands there to pick them up? Why would they allow them to drink until midnight?

Lu Mingfei couldn't figure it out, so he decided to meet "Mr. Current Husband" today. The information he had gathered indicated that this man was a workaholic. Even as he got into his car just now, he didn't forget to schedule a dinner meeting with business partners. He was clearly a man who rarely stayed home.

So, what exactly had happened to make Aunt Xiaoyan become like this, and why was that guy, Chu Zihang, just watching?

"If you like Chu Zihang so much, why not just enroll and go find him? You're running around all day; you're not tired, but I'm exhausted just watching you," Nono said, her tone equally cold. "The professor relayed your friend request, but Chu Zihang just happened to leave... he’s away on an academic visit with his mentor. He can't contact you for the time being."

Lu Mingfei hadn't been to college, but he had read enough novels to know how the process worked. Just as he was about to ask if Nono was making up excuses to fool him, he quickly remembered that he was standing right in front of someone who was supposedly traveling with a professor.

"Looks like my luck is poor."

"What do you mean?" Nono had a bad feeling.

"Thank Professor Guderian for me." Lu Mingfei didn't answer directly. He just waved his hand, turned, and walked away in the direction of the setting sun.

"Just because I couldn't get you in touch with Chu Zihang? That's why you're refusing us?" Nono couldn't understand, and she was shocked. Professor Guderian had spoken so dramatically, claiming that Lu Mingfei knew he was an outlier and was doing everything possible to find his kind, and that dropping his facade would be his way of showing Cassel College his true colors. He had been so insistent and certain that she had almost believed him.

And this was the result?

Lu Mingfei walked away with his hands in his pockets, humming a song:

"I know what's right, I know what's wrong, I know what the General says isn't necessarily true. I know I can tell the difference between right and wrong. Please be quiet, please be quiet..."

"Fine, you're heartless! Goodbye!"

Watching him walk away so indifferently, Nono felt like she had nothing left to lose. She hopped into her flaming red Ferrari and roared off.

As the boy's thin silhouette grew smaller in the rearview mirror, the anger on the red-haired girl's face slowly faded. She spoke in a cold, clear tone: "Norma, notify the operations department. Use every means necessary to lure the S-class to the Wanda Cinema."

"You want him to witness the confession between Zhao Menghua and Chen Wenwen?" Norma’s gentle voice sounded through the car speakers.

The literary society's graduation party was at the Wanda Cinema. Someone had meticulously planned a grand confession ceremony, but Lu Mingfei, one of the main supporting characters, had refused to show up.

"As an S-class, he shouldn't be wallowing in these petty romances," Nono said coldly.

At this moment, she was like the Bodhisattva Guanyin from *A Chinese Odyssey*, conspiring with the Buddha on how to put the headband on the Monkey King, forcing him to become the "black monkey" destined to protect Tang Monk on the journey to the West.

She had prepared for a grand entrance and would not allow the lead actor to abandon the script.

"How do you intend to proceed?" Norma asked softly, needing to assess the risks.

...

"How are the preparations?"

At the Wanda Cinema, Zhao Menghua, dressed in a formal suit, looked at his two round-bellied lackeys with a serious expression, a trace of imperceptible nervousness lingering.

"Everything is ready." Xu Yanyan, one of the Xu brothers, made an "OK" gesture.

"It’s a pity Lu Mingfei didn't come." Xu Miaomiao tugged at his tight black suit. Standing together, the two brothers looked like a pair of basketballs. "Did he really get accepted by Cassel College?"

"Who knows? Fools belong in the madhouse." Zhao Menghua cursed Lu Mingfei and Cassel College in the same breath.

He had originally wanted to vent all the frustration he’d suffered at Cassel College on Lu Mingfei, specifically arranging for him to make a cameo as the clown in today’s confession ceremony. Who would have thought that the guy seemed to have sensed something and just ran off, not even giving Chen Wenwen any face.

The Xu brothers had tried to follow his instructions to get Lu Mingfei back, but that guy must have eaten gunpowder—he had crushed them with just a few sentences, making them so angry they almost wanted to jump off a building just to land on Lu Mingfei and crush him to death.

Helpless, Zhao Menghua had to find someone else to take Lu Mingfei's place. But with that, the dramatic effect and the spectacle were greatly diminished, and he couldn't satisfy his craving for achievement and vanity.

"Truly, fools have fool's luck. Bah!"

Spitting on the ground, Zhao Menghua waved his hand: "Let's go, showtime!"