“This is your mission objective.”
In a dimly lit small room, a silvery-white metal sphere floated suspended in mid-air as a mechanical voice rang out.
Aside from the metal sphere, a black-haired young man sat quietly on a chair, looking at a virtual light screen in front of him. On the screen was a photograph of a news broadcast.
“His name is Bai Lin, the Crown Prince of the Ater Empire. He is nineteen years old.” The cold mechanical voice sounded once more.
The black-haired young man examined the photo on the screen and asked, “No face shown?”
In the photo, the Crown Prince was dressed in a platinum-gold robe with a wide hood concealing his head, and a white mask covering his face. His entire body was wrapped up so tightly that only a human silhouette could be made out.
The metal sphere explained, “The Crown Prince will only officially remove his mask at his twentieth inheritance ceremony. There is still one year left.”
“The Crown Prince visits the academy once a month. We will send you into the academy, and you must find a way to obtain his biological information.”
“As long as it’s something the Crown Prince has used, or clothes he has worn, collect all of it—the more, the better.”
The metal sphere rattled off a lot of information in one breath, but the black-haired young man showed little reaction, acting as though he hadn’t heard a thing.
After a long while, the black-haired young man let out a sigh and tried to negotiate, “Can we change to a different mission? I really can’t do this, I’m no good at being an undercover agent.”
The metal sphere ignored him and stated, “This is your new identity. You are Xie Shian, the illegitimate son of the Xie family.”
The light screen flashed, instantly replacing the display with the Xie family’s files.
The Xie family were upstarts who had recently obtained temporary residency rights on Planet Ater, prompting them to pack up their entire household and move to the capital city of the Ater Empire.
The current head of the Xie family had a notoriously chaotic personal life. Although he had reined it in somewhat over recent years, he had been quite romantic in his early years, inevitably leaving behind a few illegitimate children scattered about—making this an ideal background for a forged identity.
“The academy has many strict rules and monitors every move of its students. You must play your fake identity well.”
After a long pause, the black-haired young man finally agreed, “I understand.”
Planet Ater was one of the most mysterious planets in the entire universe, ruled by the ancient Ater Empire.
On this planet, it was eternally warm spring. The capital city was built upon a massive floating island filled with luxurious palaces and aerial pavilions where the imperial family and nobles resided.
Every year, countless wealthy tycoons poured fortunes into securing permanent residency in the capital.
However, the residency review process for the capital was extremely strict, and money alone could not buy a spot. Consequently, wealthy families had to resort to other methods: sending their children to the capital’s premier school first—
Luoxi Academy.
This was the most luxurious noble academy in the Ater Empire, where even members of the imperial family went to learn etiquette.
The application process for Luoxi Academy was notoriously cumbersome, but fortunately, the Xie family successfully managed to secure a single admission quota.
As upstarts who had recently moved to the Ater Empire, the Xie family only held temporary residency permits for the capital. Nevertheless, securing an admission qualification to Luoxi Academy and gaining access to the children of imperial nobles offered immense benefits for the Xie family’s future.
Luoxi Academy operated on a closed management system, admitting only male students. New students had to be at least seventeen years old, and no older than twenty-three.
Yet, none of the children of the Xie family head met the age requirement; even the youngest child was already twenty-five years old.
Thus, the head of the Xie family acknowledged an illegitimate son who happened to be eighteen years old and sent him into Luoxi Academy.
At this very moment, a white flyer was speeding through the skies above the capital city, finally coming to a halt near the gates of Luoxi Academy.
A black-haired young man dressed in a black suit stepped out of the flyer. Looking ahead, he spotted a middle-aged man waiting early by the roadside.
“Young Master Shian, hello.” The middle-aged man stepped forward, respectfully greeting him, “I am Owen, the residential steward of Luoxi Academy.”
The middle-aged man wore a black swallow-tailed coat and a pair of white gloves, his expression kind and amiable.
“Since this is your first time at the school, allow me to first show you around the environment.”
“Thank you for the trouble.” Xie Shian nodded, following closely beside the middle-aged man as they entered the school grounds.
Upon entering through the school gates, the first sight was a central plaza garden featuring a fountain with a white snake sculpture in the very center, the sound of flowing water endlessly echoing. Looking off into the distance, one could see rows of silvery-white palaces and floating garden pavilions suspended in mid-air.
It happened to be passing-period time between classes, and along the pathways, students dressed in formal attire could be seen walking together, their every movement graceful, composed, and carrying an air of gentlemanly refinement, almost as if they were attending an evening banquet.
Even in the adjacent small gardens, numerous students in formal wear could be spotted sitting together, sipping tea and chatting leisurely.
“This is the academy’s central garden. Students come here to stroll, chat, and unwind after classes.”
“The semester is already two months underway. Since you are transferring in mid-term, you will need to catch up on the previous two months of coursework.”
“First-year courses are relatively relaxed, consisting mostly of foundational content. You can also select elective courses that interest you.”
The steward patiently explained along the way. Noting that young Master Shian was visiting the academy for the first time and needed a change of clothes, the steward first led him to the changing rooms.
Luoxi Academy enforced strict dress codes with different styles of formal wear required for every occasion, down to minimalist formal wear for everyday classes.
Xie Shian changed into his formal attire, though as he fastened the buttons on his shirt, he ran into a minor issue.
The shirt was a high-collared design. If all the buttons were fastened, his neck felt rather uncomfortable; and upon putting on the tailored vest and outer jacket, he felt a general sense of restriction from the fabric, making movement somewhat inconvenient.
Stepping out of the changing room while adjusting his cuffs, Xie Shian said to the steward, “Steward Owen, the sizing seems a bit small.”
“The formal wear is custom-tailored to your measurements to avoid overly large movements.” The steward walked over holding a wooden tray, upon which lay a pair of black gloves and a silvery-white mechanical wristband.
The steward continued, “This is your wristband system, which is bound to your profile information. You can use it to check your courses or log into the campus forum.”
Luoxi Academy maintained a closed-door management policy where students were forbidden from carrying any personal communication devices. However, every student was issued a bound wristband system, functioning similarly to an optical brain.
Xie Shian fastened the wristband onto his left wrist, put on the gloves, and stood before the full-length mirror to adjust his clothing.
The academy’s gloves appeared to be made of a special leather material; they felt lightweight when worn, devoid of the stuffiness he had anticipated.
Setting the empty tray aside, the steward turned around, his gaze falling upon the young master’s neckline before he offered a tactful reminder, “Here at the academy, dress etiquette is an extremely important part of life, including every single button.”
Left with no other choice, Xie Shian fastened the topmost button of his shirt as well, wrapping his entire body up tightly.
Finally, the steward led Xie Shian to a castle-like estate that served as the dormitory for first-year students.
Making his way to the third floor, the steward walked down a long corridor, opened a door, and announced, “This is your room. Your clothing and daily necessities have already been prepared.”
Dormitories at Luoxi Academy were single-person suites complete with a central living room, a balcony, a bedroom, and even a separate dressing room effectively a small apartment.
The dressing room was located right next to the bedroom. Leading the way inside, the steward introduced, “This side holds the basic everyday formal wear, which is suitable for both classes and gatherings. The garments next to them are formal wear designated for important occasions, such as banquets.”
The basic formal wear came in darker color palettes, allowing for casual pairing of inner shirts and accessories, whereas the banquet wear looked significantly more flamboyant.
“The academy holds a banquet every week. You can match them with your favorite accessories, or head over to the workshop to have custom pieces made. The academy workshop is marked on your map.”
Aside from formal wear, the academy had also prepared over a dozen sets of sleepwear, which similarly featured high collars, long sleeves, and long trousers.
Even the accessories had their own dedicated display cabinet, where ornate cufflinks and gemstone brooches sat neatly arranged on velvet trays, gleaming brightly.
Having finished introducing the dormitory room, the steward pulled out a thick little booklet and handed it to Xie Shian, saying, “These are the academy rules. You are expected to abide by these regulations while on campus.”
Xie Shian nodded in acknowledgment and accepted the booklet.
The steward kindly added, “Please take a good rest today, Young Master. Tomorrow morning, there will be an entrance assessment, after which a curriculum will be tailored for you based on your scores.”
Having wrapped up his instructions, Steward Owen cast one final glance at the young master before him before taking his leave.
According to the profile records, Young Master Xie Shian was an illegitimate child of the Xie family who had lived on a remote fringe planet all his life without any formal etiquette training, only recently being welcomed back by the Xie family.
The head of the Xie family had even given advance notice to the academy teachers, warning them that the young master had an eccentric personality, had grown up lacking discipline, and might act rather rebellious at school.
Yet, based on today’s interactions, the young master had been well-behaved and quiet, nothing like the rebellious description provided by the family head. As long as the young master studied diligently at the academy and graduated smoothly, he would secure a solid foothold in the capital city for the future.
Quietly closing the door behind him, the steward turned and walked away.
Inside the room, Xie Shian stood holding the booklet until he was certain the footsteps in the hallway outside had faded away. Only then did his whole posture relax. Tossing the booklet aside onto a nearby surface, he slumped lazily onto the sofa, leaning back against a plush pillow without moving an inch.
After resting for a short while, Xie Shian picked up the booklet again and flipped to the first page.
[Academy Rule 1: Every student must maintain their posture at all times and properly wear their gloves.]
[Academy Rule 2: Everyday formal wear must comply with etiquette regulations, and shirts must have every single button fastened.]
Flipping through a few more pages, Xie Shian found them packed entirely with one etiquette rule after another. All students were required to wear formal attire and gloves, and maintain appropriate social distance during everyday interactions.
Even students who wished to pursue romantic relationships were required to submit a dating application to the school and subsequently take specialized courses on romance-related etiquette.
While Xie Shian was studying the booklet, an ancient chime rang out from outside it was the school’s bell signaling the end of class.
Xie Shian got up, walked over to the window, and looked out. Before long, he saw streams of students returning from outside.
Those students looked as though they had all been carved from the exact same mold; every single one of them wore uniform black formal wear, walking side by side while conversing, refined and gentle.
Xie Shian observed the students down below. Whether it was due to the room’s closed window or the ill-fitting high-collared shirt, he once again felt a slight restriction in his breathing.
Lifting a hand to adjust his collar, Xie Shian decisively unbuttoned the very top button of his shirt, finally feeling his entire body come back to life with a smooth, unobstructed breath.