We Are Innocent! (Thanks to rwxdx for the Alliance Leader)

"Ugh—"

In the silence, Ji Jue squirmed twice in his seat before swallowing hard.

He figured that since he was doomed whether he stood his ground or backed down, he might as well Die Quickly. After hemming and hawing for a long time, he finally spoke up: "I feel... it's passable?"

"It is indeed passable."

Professor Ye nodded, her expression blank: "It barely managed to upgrade from non-combustible trash to regular trash. I don't even know how you had the nerve to hand this in."

"When I received it a few days ago, I even checked the date to see if it was April Fool's Day."

"With your level of skill, how long did you spend on this thing?"

She asked: "Five days? Three?"

"About... that."

Ji Jue lowered his head and stammered for a long time. In the end, he didn't dare admit he'd only spent four hours on it, nor did he try to argue. He could only pull his medical records from his pocket and present them with both hands:

"Something came up in the middle. I got hit by a car and spent some time in the hospital."

To be honest, while he knew this pile of work was just 'passable,' it wasn't actually that terrible. With a little polishing, it could barely pass as a graduation project. But if Professor Ye only wanted that level of work, why bother with him?

There were so many college students out there—wild ones, free-range ones, captive ones—all plump and juicy, coming with their own coffee for all-nighters. Couldn't she just grab any one of them to get the job done?

The medical records sat on the desk, but Professor Ye didn't even glance at them.

She shot a look at Ji Jue to confirm his limbs were intact and he was in one piece, then pointed to the stack of papers on the table: "Rewrite everything except for the framework and the data. Especially the arguments and the thesis points—don't try to pad the count with your previous drivel. If I see any more of this 'the banana is big so the banana peel is big' nonsense, you can just pack up and get out."

"Huh? Oh, oh!"

Ji Jue froze, not expecting Professor Ye to Show Mercy this time. He had seen plenty of students in the group get chewed out until they were a bloody mess over a single symbol or font weight. Coming to his senses, he hurriedly grabbed his paper back.

However, the thickness of the stack was unexpected.

He hadn't written that much.

Opening it up, he saw dense annotations and questions marked all over the pages outside of his original text. There were plenty of judgments like "utter nonsense," "useless," and "no practical value," but there were even more questions and revision suggestions that made cold sweat trickle down Ji Jue's back.

Of course, the most eye-catching part was the cover.

In the position for the second author, the name circled in red ink, accompanied by a question mark that took up nearly half the page.

—[Ye Chun].

It was obvious she had seen through Ji Jue's devious scheme of trying to drag his senior sister down with him since he was doomed anyway.

Ji Jue wiped away his cold sweat: "Ah, this was just for fun, just a joke, a joke."

"I know."

Professor Ye sipped her tea and said calmly: "The second author on the piece of trash she handed in is also you."

"..."

For a moment, Ji Jue really wanted to call the police.

As expected, every Shao Mai, Pan-fried Dumpling, and Oat Bun that fate bought for him had its price secretly marked... Dragging someone into slacking off was one thing, but why drag them down to die with you?!

No wonder she was so enthusiastic today; sure enough, unprovoked favors are either deceitful or thieving!

"Alright, go on. Aren't you supposed to be showing your family around Tianmen?"

Professor Ye closed her teacup and waved her hand: "Remember to come back this afternoon. I have more things to hand over to you."

"..."

In the silence, Ji Jue hesitated, his mouth opening to speak.

Professor Ye looked up: "What is it?"

"Professor, this afternoon..."

He stammered, explaining: "I have something to do."

It wasn't that he wanted to slack off or avoid coming in, but Wen Wen had insisted days ago that he must clear his schedule this afternoon, or else. It seemed to be something very important, and he truly couldn't back out.

"Hmm?"

In the brief silence, Professor Ye looked at him, her eyebrows slightly raised in surprise. Soon, as if she had realized something, she nodded knowingly: "I see."

She suddenly asked: "Are you dating?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no!!!"

Ji Jue was so startled he nearly jumped out of his chair. He waved his hands frantically, terrified that Wen Wen might hear him from hundreds of kilometers away and punch him in the chest. "It's just a friend who needs my help. I owe them a huge favor, I really can't flake on this."

The professor didn't press further.

She simply waved her hand, no longer making demands.

After packing up his paper, Ji Jue ran off, drenched in sweat.

Naturally, he couldn't catch Ye Chun, that woman who had already fled. After searching several times, he could only send a few harsh words over his phone like "Don't let me run into you on Tianmen Street," just to vent his impotent rage.

He was even mocked back by a dog-head emoji from Ye Chun.

After spending the morning showing Lu Ling half of Tianmen and meeting with his counselor and classmates, he had just finished eating in the cafeteria when he received a call from Wen Wen.

"Where are you?"

The roar of a motorcycle engine came from the other end of the line: "Are you washed up and ready? Don't dawdle, get out here already."

"Where else would I be? At the Heavenly Gate," Ji Jue sighed. "Wen Jie, today is my first day of school."

"Fine, perfect. Just wait there."

The call ended.

Less than ten minutes later, Ji Jue heard the familiar roar of a motorcycle from the roadside. It had brazenly driven right onto campus, a streak of flame-orange speeding along the school road, drawing countless eyes.

Then, before Ji Jue could realize something was wrong and make a run for it, it screeched to a halt in front of him.

"Do you have to be so dramatic, Big Sister?"

Ji Jue was puzzled. "What is this all about, anyway?"

"Didn't I tell you I had a good opportunity to introduce to you? I found the path!"

Wen Wen took off her helmet, her face beaming. "Other Chosen Ones of Superior Virtue can survive in the wild and leave their fate to the heavens, but not Embers. Without a guide and a legacy, you won't get anywhere, and you wouldn't even know how to use the Matrix if it were given to you."

"I'm introducing you to one of the few alchemy grandmasters in the entire Yacheng. They only just let word out that they were looking for an apprentice, and I don't know how many people are desperate to get in line, yet can't even get a single meeting."

"I had to pull a lot of strings to get this meeting today. Keep your attitude respectful later—whether this works out or not is all up to you!"

"Huh?"

Ji Jue was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected that just as his thesis was sent back for a rewrite, Wen Wen would sign him up for some kind of Chosen One extracurricular tutoring class. He instinctively wanted to decline: "I haven't even finished my thesis yet..."

"You can write it tonight! Let's go, let's go!"

Wen Wen tossed a helmet at him and pointed to the back seat. "Get on!"

With a single tug, Ji Jue found himself helplessly seated on the motorcycle. He scrambled to put on the helmet, not even noticing the familiar scent of perfume inside, before the bike roared forward.

He could only instinctively hold on tight. "Where are we even going?"

"Not far! Just around the corner."

The motorcycle skirted the lake, crossed the main road, and climbed a slope, weaving through the lush greenery on both sides.

However, the further they went, the more Ji Jue felt a sense of impending doom, his scalp tingling.

This direction...

"Wait a second, Wen Jie."

Ji Jue tried to protest as he followed her into the elevator in the lobby.

"Hey, don't be scared. Just watch me," Wen Wen said with a playful arch of her brow.

"No, I..."

"Don't worry."

She waved her hand, signaling him to say no more. "Just wait for the good news from your big sister!"

With that, she strode forward, head held high as she marched down the hallway, and to Ji Jue's horror, pushed open... the door to Professor Ye's office!

Ji Jue froze in place.

His vision blackened.

Uh... is it too late to run for it now?

From his state of shock and stupor, he heard voices from behind the slightly ajar door—voices that were all too familiar.

"Ms. Wen, I apologize for the trouble. To be honest, I have already decided on an apprentice. Although they are barely satisfactory, I do not intend to change my choice for the time being."

"Oh, Grandmaster Ye, it wouldn't hurt to take a look. I've already brought the person here—a very bright and capable young man. He's overflowing with talent, and he's willing to work like a horse or an ox; you could even tie him to a millstone and use him like livestock if you wanted. Why not just take a look?"

As she spoke, as if afraid she might change her mind, Wen Wen pushed the door open, grabbed Ji Jue—who was trying to turn and bolt—and hauled him inside, shoving him in front of Professor Ye's desk. She gave his shoulder a heavy pat.

"Look, what do you think?

Ji Jue, go ahead, introduce yourself."

Do something!

Damn it! Run! Ignore this!

"Ah... uh... um..."

In the silence, Ji Jue stammered for a long time. He didn't dare look up, let alone perform a backflip. He just offered a weak greeting: "...Hello, Professor Ye."

Wen Wen couldn't help but kick him under the table. You're such a fine young man, why are you getting stage fright now? Show off that smooth-talking, cocky attitude you usually have!

If looks could speak, Ji Jue would have handed her a fifty-thousand-word essay. He knew how to talk smooth, but he didn't dare!

Especially since Professor Ye's gaze was gradually shifting from astonishment to amusement.

She looked at Ji Jue, then at the exasperated Wen Wen beside him, and suddenly asked, "So this is... the 'something to do' this afternoon?"

"Yes."

Ji Jue nodded obediently, his face nearly buried in his chest.

"...You didn't talk?" Professor Ye asked again.

Ji Jue shook his head frantically, "I really don't, I'm as bright as the wind and moon, as pure as water!"

Professor Ye did not speak again.

Or rather, in her forty-plus years of life, she found herself at a loss for a moment on how to handle such an absurd and awkward scene. The research animal she had earmarked for her own lab had just gone out for a stroll under a pretext, only to suddenly be exported and then re-imported, led back by someone else.

It wasn't until Wen Wen's thick-skinned nerves finally sensed something was wrong that she glanced at the two of them in confusion, her expression gradually turning blank.

"The two of you are..."

"..."

In the brief silence, Professor Ye coughed twice. Her usually stern and cold face twitched as she said as calmly as possible, "Miss Wen, let me introduce you... the person beside you is a research member of my New Type Combustion Element Power Structure project team at Tianmen University, and also an apprentice I am preparing to recruit into my Workshop, Ji Jue."

Wen Wen turned her head in a delayed motion, looking at Ji Jue, then back at Professor Ye. The scent of an overloaded brain filled the air.

"In other words..."

"Yes, that's right."

Professor Ye nodded and said bluntly, "You introduced my apprentice to become my apprentice; I must say, you have a good eye."

And so, a long silence descended.

In the awkward, deathly silence, Ji Jue stared at the dust falling from the corner of the wall, trying his best to shrink his presence until it was almost non-existent.

He could hear the sound of a three-bedroom apartment being excavated beneath the office floor.

After the three-bedroom apartment was finished, he even threw in a six-hundred-square-meter backyard, plus a soccer field and a gymnasium to accommodate the misplaced awkwardness and suicidal impulses, and perhaps, the grave of someone named Ji Jue!

"...Excuse me."

Wen Wen lowered her head and politely crawled out of the crack in the floor she had just dug.

Soon, she pushed the door open again, ducked her head back in, grabbed Ji Jue, nodded to Professor Ye, and said a polite farewell: "Excuse me, I'll borrow him for a moment."

"Remember to close the door."

Professor Ye turned her head away, ignoring Ji Jue's pleading gaze, and looked outside the window.

The weather was fine and the sky was cloudless.

This weather was truly becoming more and more interesting.

She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then, unable to hold it back any longer, burst into laughter.