Chapter 129

Chapter 129

Looking at Bai Xingshu's face, Lin Lie found it hard to stay angry. His stern expression soon softened into a faint smile.

"Is this the 'surprise' you mentioned?" Lin Lie tried to sound casual despite his excitement as he asked Bai Xingshu.

Bai Xingshu thought for a moment before recalling that he had casually mentioned a "surprise" to Lin Lie two months ago. Back then, he had assumed it would be about confirming his relationship with Song Xiyan and sharing the good news with his best friend.

But now…

"Uh-huh!" Bai Xingshu quickly changed the meaning of his so-called "surprise." "You can take a look at it during vacation."

To Lin Lie, those words sounded like…

Whenever he missed Bai Xingshu during vacation, he could just open this gift—as if Bai Xingshu were right there with him.

Cough. Lin Lie knew this was just wishful thinking, but… it’s not illegal to dream!

Lin Lie gleefully accepted the file Bai Xingshu had sent him and automatically opened his tablet—

Only to freeze completely.

231 pages.

—Bai Xingshu had continued refining it, adding over a dozen more pages.

"Did you write all of this?" Lin Lie couldn’t quite believe it.

Bai Xingshu laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, it’s kind of excessive… Just pick out whatever you find useful. I mainly took the chance to organize my own thoughts."

Lin Lie scrolled through the file on his tablet.

The content was filled with detailed notes, each section carefully explained to ensure the reader could understand.

Anyone who had ever compiled study materials or taken detailed notes knew just how much effort this required.

And this wasn’t just a few pages—or even a dozen. It was 231 pages of hard work.

Lin Lie knew Bai Xingshu had only started working on this late in the semester.

The entire semester had lasted just over four months, meaning Bai Xingshu had less than 100 days to complete it.

Two-plus pages a day wasn’t crazy, but considering Bai Xingshu’s busy schedule, the only way he could have managed this was by using all his free time.

No wonder Lin Lie had noticed Bai Xingshu spending much less time on the mecha combat platform this semester.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Lie said seriously, "I’ll… read all of it."

"Aww, Class Rep, you’re seriously the best!" Bai Xingshu faked an overly emotional look.

Lin Lie: "…"

Somehow, it felt like the roles of gift-giver and receiver had been reversed between them.

In the end, the Combat Department’s final exams went smoothly.

The results were posted quickly—Bai Xingshu moved up one spot, landing in fourth place.

His grades in cultural studies improved again!

Bai Xingshu was quite satisfied with this result and happily began preparing for his temporary job during the long vacation.

Of course, this time he would be at the Wuhe Branch, not the former Yonghe Branch.

Over this, the police leadership from Shangqing had even contacted Bai Xingshu to lament.

If all they wanted was to assign other students from Capital Military University to work as temporary staff like him, they could help arrange that too!

Why go?!

In response, Bai Xingshu thumped his chest and assured the leader that during the next long vacation, he would definitely... try another police station in a different area for the experience.

Capital Star is huge—he wants to explore it all!

This flawless reason shut the Shangqing leader up.

However, this time they would be at the Wuhe District, which was pretty close to Capital Military University but a bit far from Shen Geng's home.

So...

While Bai Xingshu was figuring out housing, Shen Geng cut in casually: "My family has a house in Wuhe too."

After saying this, Shen Geng saw Bai Xingshu glance away, instantly reminding him of the mix-up with that place during the last long vacation.

"The house in Wuhe has four bedrooms—definitely enough space to sleep!!"

Looking like he was making a solemn vow, Shen Geng saw Bai Xingshu laugh awkwardly: "It's not that... I just kind of want to experience the feeling of a shared dorm..."

The police station had arranged bunk rooms for them, but like at Capital Military University, they were six-person rooms.

Primarily meant for new officers adjusting to the job or for temporary rest when officers worked late and going home was inconvenient.

Bai Xingshu had also heard plenty of dorm antics from the class group chat, which piqued his curiosity.

With that rosy picture in mind, Bai Xingshu genuinely wanted to experience this more communal lifestyle.

Shen Geng thought about it and found nothing wrong with Bai Xingshu's idea.

Originally, when he first came to the university, he hadn't planned to spend money on a premium double dormitory either—it was all because of the misunderstanding on the first day of freshman year.

"Fine." Shen Geng nodded, glancing at the half-packed bags. "But we'll need to figure out what to bring."

"Wait, you're staying too?" Bai Xingshu was surprised.

"Why not?" Shen Geng was puzzled by Bai Xingshu's reaction.

"What about your folks?" Bai Xingshu was, of course, referring to Shen Geng's mom and dad.

Last semester, the two of them would occasionally stay at the house for a night or two, sometimes even returning later than the students.

It was only during those times that Bai Xingshu really understood Shen Geng's remark about his family being very busy.

To Bai Xingshu's confusion, Shen Geng replied calmly: "My parents are adults. They should learn to live without their child around."

Bai Xingshu: "...Pfft."

The lodging arrangements for the extended break were finalized, and both Bai Xingshu and Shen Geng began packing their things again. However, as Bai Xingshu went about his preparations, his lingering doubts grew louder. He wasn’t one to hold back anyway.

After all, he had every right to ask, and whether Shen Geng answered was up to him.

If he didn’t ask, how would he know if Shen Geng could even respond to the question?

Bai Xingshu had his own way of thinking, so he just came out and asked.

"Your family must be loaded..."

"You’ve got a huge place in Yonghe, and another big one here in Wuhe." After a month and a half as a temp cop, Bai Xingshu had a decent grasp of the living conditions of ordinary people in this world.

"So what’s your family really like?"

It was already known that Shen Geng’s identity was probably fake.

In this world, achieving something like that was no small feat.

What kind of high-society family did his roommate come from? Even the system was clueless.

In truth, Shen Geng had braced for this question ever since he revealed a series of privileges at the Junqian Factory.

Yet... Bai Xingshu had never once asked him about it.

While relieved, Shen Geng also felt a pang of frustration.

If he wasn’t an Alpha, Bai Xingshu had no interest at all in finding out whether he came from a wealthy family.

Now, after more than half a year had passed... at least he’d finally asked.

Shen Geng coolly delivered the answer he had long prepared.

"My surname is Shen—same as the empress’s," Shen Geng replied.

As for being crown prince, though Shen Geng trusted Bai Xingshu deeply, it wasn’t something he could outright disclose.

Mainly because...

Bai Xingshu couldn’t hide a thing.

Shen Geng didn’t want others catching wind of it and messing up his college life.

Still, a little hint couldn’t hurt.

Being related to the imperial family, even distantly, should at least qualify as a solidly wealthy background, right?

With many selfish thoughts surfacing, Shen Geng made an effort to sneak his name up on Bai Xingshu’s list of potential partners.

This answer, however, was unexpected for Bai Xingshu.

After some thought, Bai Xingshu shook his reclusive system awake and requested information on the empress’s family, as Shen Geng had mentioned.

Yet...

Nada. Zip. Nothing.

Online, details about the current empress’s family members were tightly protected.

But...

In a way, this actually indicates that the queen's family is not some aristocratic powerhouse.

Having made this judgment, Bai Xingshu told the system to search differently and directly looked up information about the current queen.

Basic details about the queen were a matter of public record.

Her name, gender, age, appearance—all listed clearly.

Her background, of course, was not concealed either.

She came from a commoner family.

During what became a legendary meet-cute, she met the current emperor on a blind date.

Bai Xingshu quickly put together Shen Geng’s family situation.

As relatives of a commoner who became queen, they had shot up several social classes, but this also brought more troubles and duties to juggle.

No wonder Shen Geng’s parents were so busy, and Shen Geng himself pushed himself to be perfect to keep up appearances.

It all clicked into place.

Shen Geng’s family had it really tough!

Once he figured it out, Bai Xingshu patted Shen Geng’s shoulder with a solemn expression and said, "Stay strong!"

Shen Geng: "?"

What crazy idea had Bai Xingshu gotten now? Shen Geng hesitated, unsure how to respond.

After the messy but weirdly satisfying task of organizing their belongings, the two headed to the Wuhe Branch to report, where they were quickly assigned to a local substation—Shunwang.

Shunwang Police Substation.

Once again, they were paired with a senior officer.

However, unlike Wu Jigao, who was a chill, by-the-book mentor, this time their supervising officer was far more no-nonsense and tough.

Back in Yonghe, Director Yan’s initial intention had been for them to safely experience beat cop work.

But in Wuhe, the expectation was to get the most out of them.

Thus… Shunwang was actually one of the more complex areas under Wuhe’s jurisdiction, located at a transportation hub where major cases popped up constantly.

Bai Xingshu was right at home.

Unlike in Shangqing, where he sometimes had to rely on the system to uncover cases, here in Shunwang, he could handle things solo!

Moreover, since everyone expected him to uncover and handle more cases, even if he resorted to the same brute-force approach he’d used in Shangqing—like flying kicks and punches—no one would reprimand him.

After all…

Every officer working in Shunwang was, without exception, a hardass.

There were plenty who were scarier than Bai Xingshu.

The only thing Bai Xingshu was bummed about was…

"Why is it still just the two of us in a six-person room?!" Bai Xingshu exclaimed in exasperation.

To be precise, only Bai Xingshu and Shen Geng were regular occupants. Other officers occasionally stopped by to rest.

But they would pass out as soon as they got there—completely different from the communal life Bai Xingshu had hoped for!

However, to Bai Xingshu's shock, shortly after his complaint, a new regular occupant moved into their dorm—exactly the kind he had wished for.

A tall, nearly 1.9-meter guy with little tiger teeth and a surprisingly cute vibe walked in.

Beaming, he greeted them.

"Hello, seniors! I'm Luo Yu, just graduated high school this year. I'll be a student at Capital Military University next semester!"