Oh, Isn't This Senior Lu Mu?

Not far ahead, at a jewelry stall, Xiao Yu was holding a uniquely shaped wooden hairpin, trying it on in her hair in front of the mirror provided by the stall owner. Beside her, a tall and handsome male student wearing the Jia Nan Academy uniform was smiling obsequiously, seemingly saying something.

"Xian'er, look!" Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and gently patted the Xiao Yi Xian beside him who was focused on eating a skewer of grilled squid.

"Hey! Isn't that Cousin Xiao Yu? Who's that person next to her?" The moment she saw Xiao Yu and the male student, Xiao Yi Xian's eyes lit up, her voice filled with a thirst for gossip.

Xiao Yi Xian ate the whole skewer of squid in one bite, swallowed it without even chewing, quickly took out a tissue to wipe her mouth, and eagerly pulled Huo Yuhao to follow her.

"Let's hurry and follow them to see what's going on. Maybe it's Cousin Xiao Yu's peach blossoms!"

Out of curiosity, Huo Yuhao agreed to Xiao Yi Xian's idea and, under the cover of the crowd, followed the two people stealthily with her.

"Xiao Yu —classmate, could you take me to the lakeside?" Lu Mu deliberately maintained a suitable distance from Xiao Yu, so as not to make her feel abrupt, while also giving unsuspecting onlookers the illusion that the two were very close.

At the night market, many students tried to strike up a conversation with Xiao Yu because of her beauty. However, when they saw the two who seemed very close, and especially after recognizing Lu Mu's distinctive face, they could only shake their heads in disappointment and give up with a sigh.

Xiao Yu was completely unaware of Lu Mu's ulterior motives and continued to act as his guide, introducing the unfamiliar campus to this "freshman".

Just then, Lu Mu seemed to sense something was amiss. He stopped walking and looked back suspiciously.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Yu asked.

"It's nothing." Lu Mu's gaze swept across the crowd, only noticing a few passersby with newspapers and magazines, and he didn't notice anything unusual. He muttered something to himself, then turned back to continue talking to Xiao Yu.

The moment Lu Mu turned around, Huo Yuhao quickly unfolded the Canaan Times in his hand, casually put his arm around Xiao Yi Xian Xiao Yi Xian, and sat down together at the beverage stall next to them, looking like a young couple reading a magazine together. The unfolded Canaan Times conveniently blocked most of their figures.

When Lu Mu turned around, Xiao Yi Xian hooked her finger on the top edge of the Canaan Times, gently pulled it down to reveal her view, and continued to observe Xiao Yu and Lu Mu.

"Is Cousin Xiao Yu showing the new students around the academy?" Xiao Yi Xian nudged Huo Yuhao with her shoulder. "Isn't this her first time here too? She might get lost and fall into a pit!"

"Not a freshman." Huo Yuhao's gaze fell on the page that Canaan Times had opened to.

A striking headline immediately catches the eye: <Alchemy Department? King of Furnace Explosions? - Lu Mu's Furnace Explosion Yet Again! Elder Huo: He's Got No Shame at All!>

Below is a candid photo: a young man, covered in soot, his hair standing on end, his clothes charred black, is facing a smoking alchemy furnace, looking utterly dejected. The small caption next to him reads: Lu Mu, second-year student in the Alchemy Department.

"Lu Mu— " Huo Yuhao murmured the name, his obsequious face before Xiao Yu mirroring the disheveled image in the photograph, "The disciple of Elder Huo of the Alchemy Department— "

Staring at the name, Huo Yuhao felt it looked familiar, and his finger subconsciously flipped back to the page of that "perverted" report.

Written by: Lu Mu, intern reporter.

Huo Yuhao's icy blue eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous flame burning within them. So it was you—daring to spread rumors about me? And now you're pretending to be a freshman to deceive Cousin Xiao Yu?

The subsequent tracking took on a slightly peculiar flavor.

Lu Mu seems to be starting to have some bad luck.

He and Xiao Yu stood under a tree, observing a peculiar luminescent plant. The unmelted snow on the treetop fell "just in time," precisely soaking his neck. He was so cold that he accidentally bumped into the tree.

As he walked, rubbing his head, his vision seemed to be obstructed, and he "accidentally" stepped on a banana peel covered in ice crystals that someone had thrown away. He immediately lost his balance and fell backward in an extremely awkward posture. Although he managed to brace himself with his hands and hold the back of his head at the last moment, the hem of his newly changed clothes was already covered in dirt.

He scrambled to his feet, reaching into his Storage Ring ring for a drink to calm his nerves. But as soon as he unscrewed the cap, his elbow "accidentally" bumped into a wooden pole propped up by a nearby stall. The bottle tilted, and not a drop of juice was wasted; it all spilled onto his own face.

Looking at this "clumsy classmate," Xiao Yu was not impatient. Instead, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her eyes revealed a hint of concern and a sense of responsibility as the "big sister."

"Are you alright?" Xiao Yu stepped forward, her voice tinged with helplessness, and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, tossing it to Lu Mu.

"Looking at you like this, I really doubt how you even got into the Jia Nan Academy. Hurry up and wipe yourself clean, and be more careful next time."

Lu Mu took the handkerchief, wiped the juice off his face and collar, and then put Xiao Yu's handkerchief into his Storage Ring.

"Thank you, classmate—uh, Xiao Yu, I will definitely be more careful in the future." Lu Mu's tone was somewhat aggrieved, and he felt even worse. He felt that today was really strange. Not only did the oven explode in the afternoon, but he also made a fool of himself in front of his junior.

Just then, Huo Yuhao, accompanied by Xiao Yi Xian, "happened" to pass by. They walked towards them from another path by the lake, their faces showing just the right amount of "surprise," and their gazes landed precisely on the disheveled Lu Mu.

"Hey? Isn't this Senior Lu Mu? My cousin's here too, what a coincidence."

The words "senior" were like two thunderclaps, instantly exploding in Lu Mu and Xiao Yu's ears.

Lu Mu's smile froze, his hand hovered in mid-air, and he stood frozen in place, the fear in his eyes even visible to Xiao Yu.

"Senior?" Xiao Yu's concern vanished, replaced by a sharp look as she stared intently into Lu Mu's eyes. Her voice rose, tinged with the anger of someone who had been fooled. "Lu Mu —Senior, can you explain this?"

Listening to Lu Mu's rambling, incoherent ramblings, Xiao Yu understood: Why did this "freshman" seem so familiar with certain parts of the academy? Why was his action of putting away his handkerchief so practiced just now? Why did he almost call her "junior sister" just now?

It turns out he wasn't a freshman at all! He was an old pervert pretending to be young, deceiving her feelings and sympathy! All those previous "accidents" were now, in Xiao Yu's eyes, deliberately staged to deceive her.

"No! Xiao Yu, let me explain! I—" Lu Mu was so anxious that he became incoherent, trying to explain himself.

"Explain?! Save your explanation for the lake!" Xiao Yu didn't give him a chance to finish speaking. She stomped her right foot on the ground and rushed towards Lu Mu like an arrow. In Lu Mu's terrified and widened pupils, a side kick filled with all her anger landed hard on Lu Mu's chest!