Chapter 154

Chapter 154

Luo Yu's first reaction was that Bai Xingshu was still pretending.

But looking at the completely confused look on Bai Xingshu's face—so genuine it clearly wasn't an act—

Again: Bai Xingshu’s face had never been good at hiding things.

Vaguely sensing that he might have made a huge mistake, Luo Yu, still trying to save face, opened his mouth to speak, only for all his words to come out as just a sigh.

Thinking Luo Yu was about to say something shocking, but getting nothing, Bai Xingshu gave him a questioning look: "What were you going to say?"

Luo Yu let out a nervous laugh and quietly pulled his right foot, which had been under the table, back under his chair.

That foot had been stomped on hard.

Thanks to the instincts he’d honed from taking hits ever since the long vacation, Luo Yu stopped himself from yelling out, choking back his question instead.

The three of them were seated at a round table, with Luo Yu to Bai Xingshu’s right. So, without a doubt, the person to Luo Yu’s right was Shen Geng.

From this angle and direction, with his experience as a temporary officer, Luo Yu could easily deduce the origin of that one well-placed stomp.

It was Shen Geng.

That single stomp meant to silence him instantly short-circuited Luo Yu’s thoughts.

The meaning was crystal clear.

No freaking way!

You? Me? Him? What the??

Luo Yu thought hard, Luo Yu went quiet.

So… Shen Geng was his target?!

Luo Yu couldn’t accept it.

It made no sense! How could he have misjudged this?

Yet the proof was staring him in the face. No matter how much his emotions resisted, his mind couldn’t help but chew on that thought.

Undoubtedly, the rumors describing the Crown Prince fit Shen Geng perfectly.

In fact, upon closer interaction, they fit Shen Geng even better than Bai Xingshu.

Bai Xingshu’s face couldn’t hide things, and Luo Yu’s wasn’t much different.

Bai Xingshu easily caught Luo Yu’s mistake from his expression and asked, amused, "Who did you mistake me for?"

Luo Yu was at a total loss.

He wanted to glance over and check Shen Geng’s expression.

But Luo Yu wasn’t stupid. Simple-minded as he was, he had worked as a temporary officer and handled cases. He knew full well that a single glance now would give Shen Geng away completely.

Previously, Luo Yu hadn’t been too concerned about the royal family member hiding their identity.

That’s why he’d casually brought up the current Emperor’s legendary command abilities at the dinner table earlier.

From his perspective, although Bai Xingshu was hiding his identity, the three of them were actually all in on the secret—both he and Shen Geng were sucking up to Bai Xingshu, the royal family member.

But now things were different.

There was no doubt that Bai Xingshu was completely in the dark about Shen Geng’s situation.

A cold sweat broke out on Luo Yu’s back.

Luo Yu's expression left Shen Geng at a loss, but he suddenly counted his blessings for having followed these two here.

Given Bai Xingshu’s intelligence, sooner or later, if they continued interacting with Luo Yu, Bai Xingshu would figure out who Luo Yu had mistaken him for.

So Shen Geng didn’t wait for Luo Yu to speak and calmly answered Bai Xingshu’s question himself: “It should be me.”

“Xiao Luo’s family is on good terms with mine, so it’s not strange that he knows about my situation.”

The penny dropped for Bai Xingshu.

Shen Geng had come clean about his status as a royal in-law. It was normal for wealthy families to seek connections with the royal family by befriending relatives and leveraging influence.

However, Bai Xingshu had never paid much attention to Shen Geng’s identity, so it hadn’t crossed his mind at first.

Luo Yu hadn’t expected Shen Geng to take the blame so directly, and his shoulders sagged in relief. Only then did he dare to glance at Shen Geng with grateful tears welling up inside him.

And then he froze.

Luo Yu saw Shen Geng looking at Bai Xingshu with heart eyes, his expression gentle and focused.

In the past, Luo Yu had never thought much of it—just another person trying to ingratiate themselves with royalty, nothing unusual!

But now that Shen Geng’s identity was out in the open now, Luo Yu’s gut told him something wasn't right.

A royal family member wouldn’t need to go to such lengths for someone else.

Perhaps because his stare was too obvious, Luo Yu saw Shen Geng tear his eyes away from Bai Xingshu and look back at him instead.

Shen Geng’s expression remained gentle, reassuring him without words as he smiled at him.

The message he conveyed to Luo Yu—"There’s nothing to worry about"—was unmistakably clear.

Luo Yu went quiet for a beat. Maybe he was overthinking it.

Recalling all his past interactions with Shen Geng, even during police duties, Shen Geng was the same sweet guy toward everyone in need.

That was just Shen Geng’s nature.

Luo Yu convinced himself.

Meanwhile, Bai Xingshu smelled drama and was all ears.

Bai Xingshu had always found Luo Yu’s sudden appearance at the police station kinda sketchy.

“So when you came to the station back then, you were actually calling him out?” Bai Xingshu bluntly asked Luo Yu.

Luo Yu let out a nervous laugh and nodded.

Bai Xingshu cracked up and patted Shen Geng on the shoulder. “Do we look anything alike to you? Had you never seen him before? You came in flying blind!”

He hasn’t even started university yet, and already he’s giving off major clueless himbo energy?

Luo Yu was at a loss for words.

Shen Geng, however, smoothly stepped in, looking perfectly unruffled, as if he hadn’t just been anxiously stomping on Luo Yu’s foot moments ago.

“I’m still pretty good at keeping a low profile,” Shen Geng remarked.

Seeing that Shen Geng didn’t make a big deal out of it, Bai Xingshu didn’t either.

Amused, he joined Shen Geng, ribbing Luo Yu and relishing his flustered look.

Luo Yu held his own for a bit, but finally cracked and defended himself.

“We’re not totally different!!”

“What I heard was that Shen Geng’s super friendly, aces everything, goes out of his way for others, and excels at everything he does.”

“These traits are identical!!” The more Luo Yu talked, the more wronged he felt.

Honestly, his mix-up made total sense.

As for the differences in personality, Bai Xingshu didn’t quite match the rumors. But with so many rules in the palace, it’s no surprise someone would act all prim in the palace but cut loose outside.

And in disguise? Acting totally unlike your palace self to avoid associations—perfectly normal!

But Shen Geng? Acting just like the crown prince—and overly particular about etiquette without the slightest reservation—that’s what was strange!

Bai Xingshu paused and suddenly felt puzzled. Was Luo Yu really describing him?

Friendly? Considerate? Him?

Okay, fine, he might see the good in people, but the other two points…

Bai Xingshu gave Luo Yu a look—was this guy seeing him through some fantasy filter?

He’d never held back from wrestling with classmates, pulling pranks, or bullying others—hadn’t he done plenty of that?!

This description clearly fit Shen Geng!

Bai Xingshu had no words. If Luo Yu wanted to die on this hill, whatever. Still…

He bluntly asked Luo Yu, “Even so, given a choice between two, why did you think it was me?” And he had seemed so certain, too.

Luo Yu laughed awkwardly but didn’t mention the weird vibe he’d gotten from Shen Geng when he first entered the dorm.

That had been the main reason his thoughts had veered off track initially.

But now that their identities were completely clear, Luo Yu started retroactively making excuses.

Shen Geng and Bai Xingshu had lived together for a long time. In such a situation, Luo Yu—an outsider abruptly joining them—would naturally make Shen Geng uncomfortable, leading to reflexive hostility.

What did this mean?

It meant Shen Geng had grown accustomed to being "supreme and unchallenged" in the palace, where no one dared to defy him. He wasn’t used to people barging into his space uninvited.

That’s totally normal.

That’s what happens when you’re spoiled!

Of course, Luo Yu wasn’t dumb enough to say such things—whether to Bai Xingshu or Shen Geng—as it wouldn’t be appropriate.

So, after thinking it over, Luo Yu recalled the dynamic he had just observed between Bai Xingshu and Shen Geng and came up with a plausible excuse to dodge the question.

"...Well, it’s probably because Bro Shen looks out for you more."

"I just got the impression that you weren’t very used to the... bare-bones living conditions at the police station, like it’s all new to you."

"Bro Shen, though, seems to know a lot more about it."

In other words, Bai Xingshu came across as totally out of his depth, with an air of "let them eat cake"—so much so that Luo Yu misunderstood.

Bai Xingshu choked.

Alright, that excuse did kinda make sense.

But was there a possibility that the conditions where he had lived before were just that terrible?

The so-called "bare-bones" life Luo Yu was talking about was, to him, downright lavish!

But that rebuttal wasn’t something he could easily explain to Luo Yu.

So, letting it slide for now, Bai Xingshu didn’t argue and simply let it go.

Then, he went back to the ridiculous mix-up caused by this whole mess.

With a teasing look, Bai Xingshu joked with Luo Yu, "So, what’s next? Do you want me to keep teaching you, or should Bro Shen take over?"

"Doubt he’d say no."

"After all, Bro Shen is 'aces at everything, considerate, and never hesitates to be good to people'!" Bai Xingshu repeated Luo Yu’s earlier praise word for word.

It was a good question.

With everything going on, Luo Yu hadn’t actually given this any thought yet.

But now, he had no choice.

Luo Yu didn’t feel backed into a corner. He knew full well that the teasing tone was Bai Xingshu’s way of easing the tension, making it easier for him to change his mind later without awkwardness or complications.

This was undoubtedly Bai Xingshu having his back—even if he’d never admit to it.

But for Luo Yu, this was a difficult decision.

No question, whether it was being assigned as temporary staff at the police station or now studying at the Capital Military University and living next to these two, Luo Yu’s goal had always been to get in good with the royal family.

So, in theory, he should take the out Bai Xingshu gave him and switch to Shen Geng without hesitation.

Yet Luo Yu glanced at Bai Xingshu, then at Shen Geng, his gaze shifting between them, his hesitation written all over his face.

On paper, it made sense, but his heart kept telling him something entirely different.

He didn’t want to change.

After more than a minute, Luo Yu finally spoke up under Bai Xingshu's encouraging gaze.

"I'd... still rather have you teach me, senior."

Bai Xingshu was completely taken aback.

He never expected Luo Yu to choose this.

For some reason, Bai Xingshu found himself checking Shen Geng's reaction.

Shen Geng's face remained calm, not batting an eye at Luo Yu's choice.