“Do you have an idea, Junior Brother?” Fingel raised an eyebrow, “That girl is truly expressing her feelings for you, she even mentioned whether or not to team up.”
“It’s not the kind of team-up you’re thinking of,” Lu Mingfei said, “And I don’t feel that way about her.”
“Well, that’s truly a sad thing. Not only did I lose a big scoop, but you also lost a chance to date a beautiful girl,” Fingel said, “By the way, why not give it a try?”
“Wow, Senior Brother, your scumbag mindset, I’m starting to doubt if you’re a pure love type.”
“This is also scumbag? How can there be so many cases of love at first sight in the world? Two people don't even meet, don't even talk, who knows if you're compatible? If you just wait around, all you'll get is air and the north wind,” Fingel spoke eloquently, “If you don't fall in love in college, you'll be done for when you get to the Execution Department.”
“Senior Brother, your internet speed is really fast,” Lu Mingfei grumbled, thinking that he could really learn about domestic trends from Tieba.
“By the way, I didn’t expect Miss Zero to be this type. On the surface, she seems cold, but secretly she’ll take the initiative,” Fingel said, stroking his chin.
“There’s also a possibility that we’re overthinking it,” Lu Mingfei said perfunctorily.
“Do you believe I can use your phone right now to contact Zero and get her to come out?” Fingel teased.
“Why waste her time?” Lu Mingfei said, “It’s still unclear if I’ll come back alive after the Kui Men Plan. What’s the rush with something like this?”
“You’re really pessimistic, Junior Brother. The Principal is personally taking action this time. Everyone else might die, but you won’t, Junior Brother—you’re the Principal’s treasure,” Fingel sighed.
“Then all the more reason not to string along a good girl,” Lu Mingfei said, “I can still see a bit of the Principal’s thoughts. He treats me like a treasure because of my bloodline. I have the potential to become a dragon-slaying weapon, which is why he treats me so well.”
“Why does a weapon think so much?”
Fingel was stunned, “Junior Brother, if you think the Principal treats you as a weapon, then why do you still listen to the Principal?” He scratched his eyebrows and added, “Junior Brother, you’re not thinking straight. How could the Principal treat you as a weapon? Aren’t you his… his old friend’s junior?”
“Intuition,” Lu Mingfei shook his head, took a sip of wine, and sighed, “I’m willing to listen to the Principal because he needs me. Before I was 18, I was never needed by anyone. This time, I felt a strong need from the Principal, Senior Brother. The Principal said that hatred is the driving force for moving forward, but I don’t have hatred.”
“I just never felt needed like this before, that’s why I stood up and became an S-rank.”
“So that’s the kind of Junior Brother you are. It seems your early life had quite an impact on you. There’s a good saying on Tieba: Some people spend their whole lives making up for their childhood,” Fingel commented.
“Senior Brother, have you fallen so low that you have to quote from Tieba?” Lu Mingfei retorted, “That’s what I said, but I’m actually still looking for a driving force. A person needs a goal to live, doesn’t he?”
Fingel nodded thoughtfully, “You’re right.”
He nodded earnestly, then looked earnestly at Lu Mingfei, “Junior Brother, if you really can’t find a goal, why not promise Senior Brother to come back alive from the Three Gorges?”
Seeing Fingel’s serious expression, something in Lu Mingfei’s heart suddenly stirred, and he felt a lump in his throat. He waved his hand and teased:
“Senior Brother just said the Principal would protect me, so why are you starting to worry about my safety now? What, you can’t bear to part with Junior Brother’s late-night snack?”
“Lu Mingfei, I want to give you a goal, to make you accountable to yourself. Let fulfilling my entrustment be your motivation, even if it’s only temporary, but at least it can make you feel what it’s like to have motivation in your heart,” Fingel said seriously.
“Those without motivation cannot comprehend the resolve in the hearts of those who have it.”
“Just like moths who have never seen light, they will only hide in corners and live out their remaining lives. But moths who have seen firelight, they will think it is the most beautiful thing in the world, so even if it means death, they will fly towards it, their hope for light never extinguishing, so they forever fly towards the flames,” Fingel said, opening another bottle of wine.
“Perhaps my analogy isn’t perfect, but I just want to express this meaning, Junior Brother. When you find your motivation, you will understand that it is something worth fighting for your entire life.”
“Even if that motivation comes from hatred.”
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Fingel’s eyes, and he raised his hand, downing the wine in one gulp, blocking Lu Mingfei’s gaze.
“Senior Brother, what you said makes so much sense. I think I might never forget your description of moths flying into a flame,” Lu Mingfei said, “But how did we get onto such a heavy topic?”
He looked down at his phone and noticed that besides Zero’s message, there was another person’s message listed before Zero’s.
The time displayed was half an hour ago.
“Chu Zihang?” Fingel continued to peek at the screen. “I didn’t expect the Lionheart Society to be so persistent about you, Junior Brother. Do you have the potential to serve two masters?”
Lu Mingfei also felt a murmur in his heart, but unlike what Fingel was muttering about, he was just curious why one or two people with cold personas would suddenly become so proactive with him?
He clicked on Chu Zihang’s message and then realized.
“The Principal said you would come to the Lionheart Society. I’ll be waiting for you at the Lionheart Society.”
“I was wrong about you, Junior Brother. If the Principal put in the effort to swap me, I’d join the Lionheart Society too,” Fingel’s eyes widened, “But being the head of the news department in both the Lionheart Society and the Student Union sounds pretty good.”
“The Lionheart Society doesn’t have a news department,” Lu Mingfei said faintly, “I’m just going to the Lionheart Society to look at some things, to lay the groundwork for the upcoming Kui Men Plan.”
“The Student Union didn’t originally have a news department either!” Fingel retorted righteously.
“That’s not the point!” Lu Mingfei rubbed his forehead, “I’m just going to the Lionheart Society to look at something that isn’t in the library. The Principal said that only the current Lionheart Society President has access to that file.”
“The Principal asked you for tea just for this, to urge you to study the ancient history of the Lionheart Society?” Fingel was shocked, “Then you probably won’t be able to come back tonight. Order me some late-night snack in advance.”
“So you were waiting for me here, huh?” Lu Mingfei said, “Is the information that complicated? I can’t finish it in an afternoon?”
“I’m just reasonably questioning your intelligence, Junior Brother,” Fingel said bluntly.
“Alright, alright, I’ll eat your late-night snack tomorrow,” Lu Mingfei’s fists clenched.
“No, don’t! Junior Brother, your intelligence is even better than Aristotle, isn’t it?” Fingel immediately knelt down.
“Senior Brother, where’s your integrity?”
“Junior Brother, you can’t say that about me,” Fingel reverted to a serious expression.
Lu Mingfei was startled, thinking that his Senior Brother had once again grasped some profound truth, but Fingel’s next sentence immediately made him break character.
“A long time ago, I said that a person must have a bottom line, and my bottom line is six meters underground.”