Chapter 59: Delaying
Yang Zhou's relatives didn't dare to make trouble at the academy. This was the Royal Military Academy. Causing trouble inside, or even around the vicinity, would result in being arrested and taken away immediately, no questions asked.
As for whether they really had a reason or not, that could be discussed after they were brought in.
So the only remaining issue was housing.
Yang Zhou couldn't stay in Nan Yu's home forever. Although it was safe, no matter how safe it was, it was still someone else's house.
Staying temporarily was fine, but after a long time, even he himself would think he was shameless.
Yang Zhou lay down on the bed and pulled Nan Yu down beside him. The two chatted softly while lying there.
"Nan Yu, your luck is really terrible. How did you end up with an Ability User like Bai Zhouyun? If it were me, I'd be coughing blood."
Nan Yu smiled bitterly.
"There was nothing I could do. Back then I was immature. I thought the little brother who grew up with me was really good. Being with him felt like the natural thing to do."
"Ever since I was little, there were always people telling me that he was my fiancé, that we would marry when we grew up, that we liked each other. I believed it all and treated him very well, always tolerated him."
"But I think no matter how tolerant a person is, there's a limit. What happened in Black Night Forest was probably the final straw that crushed the camel in my mind."
Yang Zhou nodded vaguely.
"I see. Then you're finally escaping from suffering."
He paused.
"Wait, not really. Your engagement hasn't been canceled yet."
Nan Yu sighed.
"After everything I've done now, it's absolutely impossible for the Bai family to willingly give up the engagement."
"If possible, they'll probably drag me down with them no matter what."
Yang Zhou frowned.
"What are you going to do? You can't let them control you forever."
Nan Yu laughed.
"Don't say it like that. How could they control me? I have Dad and my brothers. They'll protect me."
"Besides... with someone like Bai Zhouyun, who knows when he'll destroy himself."
"Just look at what happened at Floating Colors and you'll know what kind of person he is. I heard Old Master Bai locked him at home, but I don't think even locking him up for a lifetime can change him."
Yang Zhou recalled the Bai Zhouyun he had seen before and suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! It's really funny."
"Whenever I used to see Bai Zhouyun, nine times out of ten you were following behind him."
"Now seeing you treat him with complete disdain feels really refreshing."
Nan Yu rolled his eyes.
"What's so refreshing about that?"
Yang Zhou scrolled through StarNet and finally found a post he had saved. He opened the latest update from the original poster.
"Look at this."
Nan Yu read the line.
Already departed. Will probably arrive at Capital Star in about three weeks!
He blinked.
"What is this?"
Yang Zhou explained.
"I saw someone on this forum saying that your reputation is undeserved and that they were specially coming to Capital Star to challenge you."
Nan Yu froze.
"I haven't received a challenge letter."
Yang Zhou was startled.
"Huh? They still haven't sent one?"
"Maybe they'll challenge you after arriving at Capital Star."
"This person seems very confident in their own strength. I just don't know if their mental power is really that impressive."
Speaking of mental power, Yang Zhou wilted again.
His mental power was ordinary. He was merely a Low-Tier Mental Power User.
He probably wouldn't become a Mid-Tier Mental Power User in this lifetime.
So whenever he saw Nan Yu, he couldn't help feeling envy.
Even jealousy.
But he couldn't think that way.
Nan Yu was his best friend and the person who had helped him the most.
Yang Zhou sat up.
"Alright, I just came to see you. I won't disturb your rest."
"Sleep well, sweetheart."
Huh?
Sweetheart?
Was he talking about him?
By the time Nan Yu reacted, Yang Zhou had already left the room.
Nan Yu shook his head with a smile, took a bath, and enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep.
Early the next morning, he personally went to the gate to welcome Fu Yu'ang, who arrived exactly on time.
Nan Yun and Nan Zhen were stunned when they saw him.
"Huh?!"
Nan Yun asked in disbelief.
"Old Fu, what are you doing here?"
Fu Yu'ang glanced at him expressionlessly, his disgust plainly visible. He said nothing.
Then his face instantly changed, and he smiled warmly at Nan Yu.
"I'm here on time."
Nan Yu smiled brightly.
"Brother Fu, come in quickly. Uncle Nan prepared lots of delicious food especially to entertain you."
Fu Yu'ang's smile deepened.
"Really? Thank you, Xiao Yu. I'm not picky."
The two chatted and laughed while walking inside, leaving Nan Yun and Nan Zhen standing there in confusion.
They exchanged glances.
Fu Yu'ang was far too scheming.
When had he arranged to visit the house?
As elder brothers, they hadn't even known.
Fortunately, they knew that Fu Yu'ang genuinely treated Nan Yu as his own younger brother.
Otherwise, they would already have become anxious.
The two hurried after them.
"Little Brother, when did you arrange this with Old Fu? We didn't know anything about it."
Only then did Nan Yu remember that he had forgotten to tell them.
He had informed Uncle Nan, but forgotten his brothers.
Though that didn't seem like a huge matter.
"Sorry, Big Brother. I forgot."
Nan Yun instantly turned gloomy.
Forgot?
Forgot what?
Forgot to tell him?
Or had he become unimportant?
Nan Yu stared at his suddenly colorless older brother and felt puzzled.
"Big Brother, what's wrong?"
"We agreed last night, but it was already time to sleep, so I didn't tell you. This morning I woke up late, told Uncle Nan to prepare some things, and then I couldn't find you guys, so I went to the gate to pick up Brother Fu."
Nan Yun instantly revived at full health.
So it wasn't that he had forgotten him.
He simply hadn't had a chance to say it.
As Fu Yu'ang passed by them, he sneered softly.
"Pathetic."
Veins bulged on Nan Yun and Nan Zhen's foreheads.
They looked at each other and immediately understood.
They had to teach him a lesson.
Just not in front of their little brother.
They could do it after he left.
Nan Yu happily introduced Fu Yu'ang to Yang Zhou.
Yang Zhou blinked.
He had seen Fu Yu'ang several times before, but they weren't familiar. They merely recognized each other's faces.
However, for Fu Yu'ang, Yang Zhou was someone he knew quite well.
Because everyone around Nan Yu, especially anyone who could become his friend, had been secretly investigated by him.
If they had poor character, he would inform Nan Yun and Nan Zhen.
The three brothers would work together to make such people retreat.
As for someone like Yang Zhou, whose relatives were troublesome but who himself had a good personality, they wouldn't interfere.
And honestly, this method had been incredibly effective.
The people around Nan Yu were all decent.
But perhaps because these three elder brothers protected him too well, Nan Yu had remained naïvely devoted to Bai Zhouyun in his previous life.
Even now, he still had no idea how much they had done for him behind the scenes.
Nan Yu brought up Yang Zhou's housing issue.
"I've already established some connections with the legion. Maybe I can introduce Yang Zhou there?"
Fu Yu'ang opened his optical computer and checked.
"That villa district might not work."
Nan Yu was surprised.
"Why?"
"Although it is publicly available, the requirements are extremely strict."
"First, you must be family or relatives of someone who joined that legion, and that person can't have a low position."
"Second, the villas are unbelievably expensive."
Nan Yu sighed.
"I haven't officially joined yet. Then forget it."
He looked apologetically at Yang Zhou.
Yang Zhou also found it [N O V E L I G H T] regrettable.
"If it won't work, then forget it."
Nan Yu secretly cast a pleading look at Fu Yu'ang.
Receiving it, Fu Yu'ang gave him a reassuring gesture.
"Even if you can't buy there, there are many other secure places on Capital Star."
"The best among them is Qinghe Residential District near the academy. You know it, right?"
Nan Yu's eyes widened.
"That's right!"
"How did I forget?"
"Who would dare make trouble near the Royal Military Academy?"
"And the prices aren't nearly as terrifying."
"There are identity requirements, but Yang Zhou meets them."
Indeed, to buy a house in Qinghe Residential District, one only needed proof of enrollment, current attendance, or graduation from the Royal Military Academy.
As long as the identity was verified, purchasing was possible.
The authority of the Royal Military Academy could not be challenged.
Anyone causing trouble around the academy would be arrested first.
Yang Zhou laughed.
"This makes attending school convenient and it's very safe."
"I really overlooked something right in front of me."
"That's what they call being blind under the lamp."
Nan Yu nodded seriously.
"Then let's go look right now."
"Yang Zhou, you've got plenty of credits. Buying a house should be fast."
"Maybe we'll even be back in time for lunch."
Yang Zhou also wanted to settle the matter as quickly as possible.
"Then let's go."
Within minutes, the two youngsters had already decided to visit Qinghe Residential District.
Everyone watched them dotingly.
Especially Nan Yu.
Since they were only looking at houses, there was no need to worry.
They had plenty of protection, and there were people guarding them secretly as well.
Nan Yu boarded the hovercraft with Yang Zhou.
Nan Yun and Nan Zhen followed them.
Soon, only Nan Ming and the butler remained at home.
The butler was supervising lunch preparations and took a moment to come outside.
He placed a cup of tea before Nan Ming.
"They're really energetic."
Nan Ming sighed.
"Things aren't nearly that simple."
"If Xiao Yu could become a High-Tier Mental Power User, all these problems would disappear."
Although Bai Zhouyun was useless and disgraceful, the scandal at Floating Colors was ultimately exaggerated rumors.
The engagement between Nan Yu and Bai Zhouyun had been arranged by Old Master Bai and Nan Ming's father.
Even the Emperor had been a witness.
Those two facts alone made things extremely difficult.
And many people knew about it.
Although the Emperor wouldn't usually intervene for the Bai family, if Old Master Bai personally asked for help, he would gladly repay that favor.
At that point, the Bai family would consume the debt owed by the Emperor and never be able to ask him for anything again.
Nan Ming had always been depressed about this.
His own father had truly left the younger generation with an enormous problem.
The butler smiled.
"I think Young Master has a real chance of succeeding."
Nan Ming remained pessimistic.
"How could it be that easy?"
"If becoming a High-Tier Mental Power User were easy, there wouldn't only be several dozen of them in the entire Empire."
"The youngest High-Tier Mental Power User is already over one hundred and fifty years old."
"If no new High-Tier Mental Power Users appear, the entire Empire may fall into panic."
The butler still smiled.
"You're overthinking."
"Young Master is your son. You should trust him."
Nan Ming sighed.
"Of course I trust him."
"The only thing I can do is buy him more time."
He would drag out the marriage indefinitely.
Even if the Bai family wanted to exhaust themselves, so be it.
The Nan family could afford it.
And during this time, he could earn more military merits through missions.
If luck favored him, perhaps he could even advance.
Drinking his tea leisurely, Nan Ming browsed the military mission list.
The Bai family wasn't as inactive as Nan Yu believed.
Nan Ming had simply hidden it from him.
Privately, the Bai family had repeatedly contacted Nan Ming, hoping to arrange Nan Yu and Bai Zhouyun's marriage as quickly as possible.
What a joke.
Nan Ming ignored every single call.
At this point, only a thin sheet of paper separated the two families.
And that paper could be torn apart at any moment.
There was no longer any need to maintain appearances.
Just then, another communication request appeared.
Unlike before, this one came directly from Old Master Bai's personal optical computer.
Nan Ming hesitated.
Seeing that the call still hadn't disconnected, he finally answered.
Old Master Bai appeared on the screen.
"Uncle Bai."
Calling him uncle was only proper.
Old Master Bai's expression wasn't pleasant.
This was the first time Nan Ming had delayed so long before answering.
It was obvious he had intended to wait until the call ended.
But this matter was too important.
"Nan Ming, I have something to discuss with you."
Nan Ming frowned.
"Uncle Bai, I've been very busy recently."
"I'm heading out on another mission soon."
"You know the Ability Beasts at the border have been unusually active."
"It's already fortunate that I have a few days of rest."
Old Master Bai was momentarily speechless.
How could he say military duties weren't important?
In the Empire, border missions involving Ability Beasts outweighed everything else.
Even an imperial funeral couldn't delay the fighting.
Thus, he could only suppress his frustration.
"Then carry out your mission well and return as early as possible."
"We should discuss the children's marriage."
Nan Ming smiled faintly.
"Uncle Bai, they're still young."
"They'll only be sixteen after the New Year."
"People who marry at that age are rare."
"I don't think there's any need to rush."
"Let's discuss it after Xiao Yu graduates."
"Getting married while still attending school isn't a good influence."
For Bai Zhouyun, marriage would be wonderful.
For Nan Yu, it would only limit his future.
Naturally, Nan Ming opposed it.
Old Master Bai grew anxious.
He had originally thought there was plenty of time.
But now...
He felt time was running out.
Didn't he see how extraordinary Nan Yu had become?
Every time Nan Yu completed a commission, news reached him immediately.
How could he willingly give up such a talented and valuable child?
Bai Zhouyun truly disappointed him!
After thinking for a long time, Old Master Bai knew he couldn't force the issue.
He would have to wait for another opportunity.
What he didn't know was that after this departure, Nan Ming wouldn't return for a very long time.
Even without emergency missions, there would still be easier stationed assignments.
Who knew when he would come back again?
Realizing his purpose couldn't be achieved, Old Master Bai lost interest and ended the call after a few more words.
Nan Ming looked at the disconnected screen and sneered.
"While I'm away, I'll have to trouble you to take good care of Xiao Yu."
The butler smiled.
"No problem."
"Young Master will be fine."
Nan Ming reopened his legion permissions and browsed the mission list.
Mission selection had time limits.
Many were urgent.
If nobody selected them in time, the system would randomly assign them to someone qualified.
To avoid random assignments, one had to choose early.
Finally, Nan Ming selected a mission he had been examining for some time.
"This one isn't bad."
"Leaving tomorrow evening will work."
The military merits were high.
The mission was troublesome.
And most importantly—
It would take a long time.
Exactly what he needed.