novelraw 059 Sugar Coating and Poison
059 Sugar Coating and Poison
Portofino, Italy. A sea breeze ripples across the terrace of the Gattuso family estate. Frost leans back in a velvet armchair, raises his wine glass, and gazes at the distant coastline.
Percy walked over and handed a paper file to the round table in front of him.
"This is the complete life trajectory of our S-class freshman over the past eighteen years, as recorded in Norma's database at Kassel College," Percy reported, "along with the intelligence I've gathered at Kassel College over the past month."
Frost opened the file. The photo showed a boy in a Shilan Middle School uniform playing games in an internet cafe. Several bottles of energy drinks were on the computer desk, surrounded by smoke, and a group of spirited teenagers were gathered behind him.
"Do you like playing video games?"
"I used to like it, but I stopped playing after starting school," Percy said.
"Hmph, having a girlfriend means I won't have time to play games anymore."
Turning to the second page of the file, there was a photo of a girl wearing a white cotton dress, sitting on a bench on campus, looking down at a book.
"Chen Wenwen," Frost murmured. "This is what that S-class has been yearning for for the past three years. Barren, shabby, exuding the dry, cheap atmosphere of a small town. Angers locked him in the basement for so long that he mistook any sliver of light from a flashlight seeping through the crack in the door for the sun."
Percy, standing to the side, bowed slightly: "According to the investigation, Lu Mingfei once refused to join Kassel College. After the interview, he even acted as a backdrop for a confession in the screening room for this girl."
"Ha." Frost chuckled, but quickly stopped. As an elegant nobleman, he didn't have the habit of making fun of others unless he really couldn't help it.
The third page contains photos of Nono and Lu Mingfei in Hakone.
Upon seeing Nono feeding Lu Mingfei eggs, Frost's smile instantly froze. He looked up at Percy and asked, "What's going on? What are he and Chen Motong doing?"
"According to Lu Mingfei's high school classmates, when Lu Mingfei was standing in the background in the screening room, Ms. Chen Motong barged into the movie theater and took him away. Afterwards, she applied to the college for funding to travel to Hakone under the guise of a psychological evaluation," Passy said.
"How was such an absurd reason approved?" Frost asked, frowning.
"It was approved by Professor Guderian; he's an S-level mentor," Percy replied.
"What is Chen Motong's attitude towards him?" Frost asked.
"Miss Chen Motong seems to have an unusual interest in and attention towards Lu Mingfei, and there are rumors about the two of them on campus."
"What's going on now?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know," Percy said, bowing slightly.
"Never mind all that for now. In the name of the Gattuso family, directly link a Centurion Black Card to his student account." Frost tapped his fingers lightly on his knee. "No reason needed, no signature required."
Percy jotted down the instructions and awaited further instructions.
"Chen Wenwen, Ling, Chen Motong, he doesn't seem to be very guarded around girls," Frost stood up and walked to the edge of the terrace, overlooking the azure Mediterranean Sea. "Find girls who have already enrolled in Kassel from within the family and its affiliated families. I want them to appear in Lu Mingfei's elective classes, in the cafeteria, and even downstairs in the dormitory. At the same time, select a group of girls who will enroll next year, and start targeted training on S-class preferences now."
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Kassel College, Room 303.
Fingel was typing on his computer, the screen displaying a news article from the Night Watchers forum: [Drill or Date—Why Did an S-Rank Disappear in the Middle of the Night?]
Suddenly, the landline on the table rang.
Fingel grabbed the receiver: "Hey? This is the News Department Chairman's office. For gossip, press 1; for photo transactions, press 2; for loans, just hang up."
The person on the other end of the phone chuckled softly, and accompanied by the clinking of porcelain, an elegant female voice came from the receiver.
"Fingal von Frings, this is Elizabeth, do you remember me?"
Fingel shuddered. "Duchess Laurent! You still remember me? What have I done to deserve the attention of someone as important as you?"
Elizabeth said, "The first time I came to Kassel College for a board meeting, I was rumored to be Angers's girlfriend, a woman dating a much younger man. How could that not leave a deep impression on me? The Minister of Information, Chairman Fingel?"
"It's all my fault for not disciplining him properly. Actually, it was one of my temporary workers who did it. I knew nothing about it. Please, Your Excellency, see the truth!" Over the phone, Fingel knelt down and cried out his innocence.
"Alright, I can give you a chance to redeem yourself. It all depends on whether you can seize it."
Fingel scrambled to his feet and sat up straight, his tone instantly becoming as solemn as a priest in a church: "Your Excellency Lady Laurent, even if you asked me to paint the principal's Maserati pink right now, I would absolutely complete the task within an hour."
"The sports car is for Angers to drive himself," Elizabeth chuckled. "I want you to keep a close eye on your roommate, Lu Mingfei."
Fingel's eyes darted around, and he immediately lowered his voice: "You want to buy his exclusive information?"
"I need you to protect him."
Fingel was stunned: "Big sister... no, sir, are you joking? He needs my protection?"
"Finger, listen up," Elizabeth's voice became authoritative, "What I want you to do is simple: from now on, send out all the paparazzi from the news department to block any girl who tries to get close to him."
Fingel's gaze swept over Lu Mingfei's empty bed, and he said, "But, Your Excellency, this is not a good matter. Lu Mingfei and Zero left school in the middle of the night a few days ago and haven't returned yet. They've most likely already slept together. If I were to break them up now, I'd be struck by lightning."
"Don't worry about Zero. I'll send you a list. No one on this list, and no woman connected to the Gattuso family, can have a relationship with Lu Mingfei. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand! So that's what you meant by protection. Don't worry, I will definitely not let Lu Mingfei be attacked by those corrupt and evil sugar-coated bullets!"
Elizabeth said with satisfaction, "It's been a pleasure working with you, Mr. Fingel."
The phone hangs up.
Subsequently, a notification email appeared on my computer indicating a bank card transaction: $100000 had been deposited into my account.
Fingel exclaimed in delight, "There's even money to be made! From now on, I'm Miss Elizabeth Laurent's paparazzi!"
"Junior brother..." Fingel rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming with a ghostly green light, "It seems someone outside is trying to corrupt your pure soul with the sugar-coated bullets of capitalism. As your roommate, close friend, and head of the news department, I must shoulder the heavy responsibility of protecting you!"