The Cannon Fodder Real Young Master is a Slime?! - Chapter 10

Very soft.

This was Lu Que’s very first thought the moment his hand brushed against the youth’s hair.

As if completely by accident, his fingers gently rubbed and twirled the smooth, soft strands of hair before he bent his arm and stepped back.

By the time Shi Yunmu snapped out of his daze, the man had already pulled his hand away.

What on earth did he just do?

His face wrinkling into a confused frown, Shi Yunmu lifted his own wrist and vigorously ruffled his messy mop of hair a couple of times.

He didn’t understand the meaning behind that gesture. Unable to figure it out, he simply chose to mimic it.

But with this mimicking, the stubborn ahoge the stray lock of hair that had just been smoothed down.

poked right back up, standing proudly erect once more.

“Your hair was messy,” Lu Que explained, letting out what felt like his umpteenth sigh of the morning.

Shi Yunmu finally understood Lu Que’s actions from a moment ago: Oh, so he just thought my hair looked messy! Phew, and here I thought it was some other human custom I didn’t know about.

After all, social interactions in human society were vastly different from those among monsters. Even a slime couldn’t possibly understand everything.

Glancing at the stray lock of hair that had popped up yet again, and then at the hair’s owner who couldn’t care less about it, Lu Que ultimately chose to give up.

Changing the subject, he asked, “I’m heading out to work in a bit. Are you staying at home?”

“Nope,” Shi Yunmu said, swallowing the very last bite of his bread pudding and wiping his mouth before continuing. “I won’t be home today.”

Not home?

Lu Que instantly grew alert. “Where are you going?”

Shi Yunmu replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world: “Back to school, of course!”

He hadn’t forgotten that he was a student at C University!

It was currently the end of August, and universities were reopening one after another. Naturally, C University was no exception. Shi Yunmu was heading back a little early because his class had orientation activities to prepare for.

As a slime who had never attended a human school before, he had no idea what a university looked like, and his heart swelled with a bit of anticipation.

Looking into those eyes brimming with excitement, Lu Que didn’t share the enthusiasm. In fact, he had a distinctly bad feeling about this.

A sudden headache began to throb in his temples: A literal monster is actually living a human life with absolute gusto, and now he’s even going to college!

Tapping his knuckles lightly against the table, the man asked in a seemingly casual tone, “What do you need to do back at school?”

Opening the schedule on his phone, Shi Yunmu counted down the tasks on his fingers for Lu Que: “I have to help with orientation this afternoon, and I also need to ask my counselor about checking out of the dorms.”

Before the original owner of the body was brought back to the wealthy family, he had been studying at C University. Since he had very little money, he had to work part-time jobs and live in the school dorms. Even for a period after being brought back by the Shi family, he continued living in the dorms and practically refused to take any money from them.

But things were different now.

“Checking out of the dorms?”

The youth replied with that same casual matter-of-factness: “We’re living together now, so I can’t keep staying in the dorms forever.”

He was a slime with a mate now. Why would he keep living in a school dormitory?

Lu Que: “……Alright.”

He didn’t object. After all, this made it much easier to keep the monster right under his nose where he could watch him.

After obediently putting his plate in the kitchen, Shi Yunmu immediately rushed back to the bedroom to pack a few things.

He had just messaged his counselor on WeChat to ask about checking out of the dorms, but to his surprise, the counselor was away on a business trip. He would have to wait a week before the matter could be handled.

Well, since he had to wait, it would be a waste not to stay there. Besides, the slime really wanted to experience human university life, so he decided he might as well stay in the dorms for one more week.

Packing light was incredibly easy; a single backpack was enough to hold everything he needed.

Remembering to grab the Dust Demon that was rolling around on the bay window sill, the youth stuffed it straight into his coat pocket. Shrugging the backpack onto one shoulder, he pushed open the door.

Just then, Lu Que finished washing the dishes and walked out of the kitchen. Glancing at the youth with the backpack slung over his shoulder, Lu Que said, “I’ll drive you.”

Shi Yunmu certainly wouldn’t refuse a free chauffeur: “Great, thank you!”

The two went downstairs together. Looking at the black car parked right below the apartment building, Shi Yunmu, who had been surfing the internet at high frequencies lately, looked a bit worried: “This isn’t a government-issued vehicle, right?”

He was deeply afraid that Lu Que, as a civil servant, might be misusing public property for personal use.

Lu Que: “?”

Heaven knew what kind of wild scenarios Shi Yunmu was cooking up in his head. Emphasizing his words, Lu Que explained, “This is a private car.”

“Oh, okay,” Shi Yunmu let out a sigh of relief. “Then I can rest easy.”

The undergraduate campus of C University was located in the suburbs of C City. Even without traffic, driving there took a solid half-hour.

Yet, despite its remote location, the campus didn’t lack any amenities. For instance, right outside the East Gate of C University was a bustling street packed with food stalls, and if one walked a bit further past the South Gate, they would even find a lavishly decorated shopping mall.

The car pulled up to the North Gate, which was closest to the male dormitories. Shi Yunmu nimbly opened the car door: “I’m heading in then!”

“Mm, stay safe.”

Watching Shi Yunmu walk through the school gates, the man lowered his gaze. His hand tapped against the steering wheel twice before he lifted it to pick up his phone.

He dialed a number, and Ming He’s booming voice immediately blared from the other end: “Captain Lu! What tasks do you have for me?”

Staring straight ahead at the pedestrians passing by, Lu Que asked in a calm voice, “You graduated from C University, right?”

Ming He had no idea why Lu Que was suddenly asking about this. He stood up from his desk, walked over to the office window, and mindlessly pinched the leaf of a spider plant. Puzzled, he replied, “Yeah, that’s right. When I’m free, I still occasionally head back to the campus to play basketball with the juniors… Did something happen, Captain Lu?”

Don’t tell me our department bans playing basketball now?

“Good,” his captain’s cold voice drifted through the receiver into his ear. “Pack up your things right now. Go back to the university, get close to Shi Yunmu, and closely observe whether he exhibits any abnormal behavior.”

Ming He: “?!”

Ah, me?!

How am I supposed to spy on my captain’s spouse?!

Completely oblivious to the fact that Ming He had just taken on a torturous surveillance mission, Shi Yunmu had already climbed his way up to the eighth floor of the dormitory.

There was no elevator; it was pure leg power.

The other students who climbed up with him were already panting heavily and completely exhausted. Not a single college student looked like Shi Yunmu, who reached the eighth floor in one go and still looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

With a pleasant expression, the youth pushed open the dorm door, only to be greeted by a sudden, jarring silence.

The dormitory, which had clearly been filled with laughter and chatter just a second before he opened the door, fell completely silent as his roommates exchanged a barrage of tense glances.

Without saying a single word, the three roommates lowered their heads and began busying themselves with whatever they were doing.

They had absolutely no intention of greeting Shi Yunmu.

It was as if the person who had just walked in wasn’t their roommate, but some kind of bringer of plagues.

In fact, before their sophomore year, the atmosphere in the dorm had been quite harmonious. However, ever since “Shi Yunmu” was recognized and taken back by a wealthy family, everything had turned sour. To make matters worse, a video of “the eldest young master of the Sheng family arguing with the second young master of the Shi family” had been circulating wildly on WeChat, causing the three roommates to avoid Shi Yunmu like the plague.

Nobody wanted to offend the eldest young master of the Shi family, Shi Yubai, or his fiancé, Sheng Jinghuai.

Sensing the underlying avoidance masked by the quiet room, Shi Yunmu scanned his surroundings. One of his roommates tried to sneak a cautious peek at him, but upon locking eyes with the youth’s half-smiling gaze, the roommate quickly and guiltily looked away.

Shi Yunmu was all too familiar with this kind of atmosphere. Back when he was in the Abyss, whenever he walked anywhere, the monsters there would play dead exactly like this, hoping to escape his notice.

Letting out a soft scoff, the youth hung his backpack onto the bed frame and pulled the black furry ball out of his pocket so it could catch its breath.

Xiao Wei finally saw the light of day again, but within the very first second of gaining its freedom, it realized it was in a completely new environment.

It hesitantly crept closer to Shi Yunmu’s neck, cautiously inspecting the surroundings, and asked in a tiny, breathy voice, “My Lord… where is this?”

“My school,” Shi Yunmu replied using his normal speaking voice.

The moment Shi Yunmu’s words fell, Xiao Wei could feel that all three human roommates instantly snapped their eyes over to them.

They didn’t know that Xiao Wei could speak, so in their eyes, Shi Yunmu’s sudden statement sounded incredibly abrupt and downright eerie.

The youth had his back turned to them, making it impossible to see his expression, which only added to the creepy vibe.

A chill spread through the hearts of the three roommates. While pretending to be busy with their own tasks, their hands were shaking uncontrollably.

Why does it feel like the person who came back isn’t actually ‘Shi Yunmu’ at all?

Xiao Wei shook its little body. Sigh, another bunch of ordinary humans scared out of their wits by its boss.

Paying no further attention to these cowardly humans, Shi Yunmu began diligently trying to make his bed based on the memories of the original owner.

However, a slime was clearly not cut out for housework. The blanket ended up completely disheveled and wrinkled, looking utterly messy without a single hint of neatness.

Shi Yunmu stared at the messy bed in contemplation for a second. Checking the time on his phone and seeing that he still had a while, he decided to personally experience what a cramped human dorm bed felt like.

Drawing the bed curtains closed, the youth transformed into a tiny, jelly-like slime, rolling back and forth across the mattress.

The ominous “creak, creak” sounds coming from the bed frame were bizarre, but the terrified roommates didn’t dare to turn around even once.

Having rolled around enough, Shi Yunmu pulled out his phone, preparing to play a game for a bit.

To ensure he was operating at full capacity for the game, he even forced out four or five transparent tentacles to make it easier to tap the screen.

But today, he found himself banned.

The reason provided: Cheating.

In utter disbelief, Shi Yunmu re-read the ban notice several times. Furious, he went to contact customer support, his transparent tentacles furiously tapping away at the screen: These match results were all achieved by my own hands. I did not cheat.

Customer Support: Dear player, our system has detected that you are using external third-party hardware~

Shi Yunmu: Impossible. I play entirely by hand.

Customer Support: Dear player, according to our system’s detection, from a theoretical standpoint, a human being cannot simultaneously click four or five different spots on the screen at once~ Rose.jpg]

At this point, he couldn’t care less about hiding his true identity; Shi Yunmu only wanted to prove his innocence. Rolling his body into a tight ball, he snapped a photo of himself. After making sure that only a round lump of green jelly and four or five tentacles were in the frame, Shi Yunmu sent it directly to customer support: Look, I really am playing by hand.

The other side showed “The user is typing…”, but for a long time, no message came through.

Shi Yunmu wondered: Did they finally believe me?

Unexpectedly, another message popped up: Dear player, please do not use AI-generated photos! If you believe there is an error with our anti-cheat detection, you are welcome to submit your valuable feedback~

The entire sentence read like a polite way of telling Shi Yunmu to stop being stubborn, or perhaps suggesting he check himself into a psychiatric hospital.

Shi Yunmu: “……”

So even if he proved that he was a slime, humans still wouldn’t believe him?

Staring at the devastating ten-year ban, Shi Yunmu gave up. He temporarily closed the game, deciding not to waste any more breath arguing with customer support, and headed downstairs with his phone.

He hadn’t forgotten that he still had to help with orientation.

Underneath the shade of the plane trees, rows of pull-up banners for various departments stood tall. Shi Yunmu accurately found his way to the banner for the School of Journalism and Communication and greeted, “Hi.”

A boy wearing glasses who was sitting there doing registrations looked up at the sound: “Shi Yunmu? You’re the last one we were waiting for.”

This was their class monitor, the most enthusiastic volunteer for any class activity.

Ever since “Shi Yunmu” was taken back by the Shi family, he had basically stopped interacting with his classmates, becoming increasingly isolated. Only the class monitor couldn’t bear to see him like this, actively sending him messages on WeChat every day to express his earnest hope that the original owner would participate in activities. It was only due to this persistent pushing that the original owner had agreed to join the orientation.

Adjusting his thick glasses, the class monitor patted the empty chair beside him: “Sit here next to me. At least we have a canopy to block the sun, so it’s a bit cooler.”

Once Shi Yunmu sat down, the class monitor even handed him a mini portable fan and a bottle of herbal tea: “Here, every volunteer gets one.”

Curving his eyes into a smile, Shi Yunmu said a warm “Thank you” to this human who was exuding genuine kindness.

The class monitor waved his hand dismissively and turned back to register the incoming freshmen.

“Hello, excuse me, is this the registration desk for the School of Journalism and Communication?”

A young male voice rang out. Shi Yunmu tilted his head up, locking eyes with a freshman whose gaze instantly flared with a look of pure captivation and awe.

Placing a slender, fair hand lightly against the sign-in sheet, Shi Yunmu answered him, “Yes, it is. You can just sign your name and register right here.”

The young freshman took the pen Shi Yunmu offered, his handwriting turning completely shaky from nervousness.

Xiao Wei chimed in like an old calligraphy expert critiquing a piece: Tsk tsk, this handwriting is truly hideous.

But there was a perfectly good reason for the hideous handwriting.

The freshly arrived freshman put down the pen, and just as Shi Yunmu was about to say “Welcome to college,” the boy rubbed the back of his neck in extreme embarrassment and said, “Senior, I… I have one more request—”

With his smile unchanged, Shi Yunmu nodded his head: “Mm, go ahead.”

The freshman stammered, “Can I… can I get your WeChat?”

The class monitor and another freshman girl nearby instantly snapped their heads over, their eyes practically boring holes into them! Registration was completely forgotten!

Shi Yunmu blinked. Having spent so much time surfing the web, he immediately caught the underlying meaning behind the freshman’s request.

Not wanting to add strangers to his list, and definitely not looking to take on another human partner, the youth smiled apologetically. He raised his hand slightly, the simple band on his finger catching the sunlight and reflecting a soft gleam: “I’m sorry, it’s not very convenient.”

The freshman froze: “Senior, you already have a partner…”

His tone deflated with disappointment. But just when everyone thought he was about to pack up and leave, the boy unexpectedly took a deep breath and said with utmost sincerity, “It’s okay! I can wait until you and your partner break up!”

Shi Yunmu: “?”

Xiao Wei: Wow, the way you humans define ethics is truly Schrödinger’s morality…

Maintaining his perfect smile, Shi Yunmu gave his ring another slight wiggle and said, “No, I am married.”

The class monitor’s pen dropped straight to the table. He looked significantly more shocked than the two freshmen present.

We haven’t seen each other for just one summer break, and my classmate suddenly turned into a married man?!

Shi Yunmu figured that the human in front of him would finally throw in the towel now, and prepared to urge him to move along.

To his utter surprise, the freshman scratched his head. Refusing to let go of his sudden, love-at-first-sight crush, he gathered his courage and spoke up once more with absolute, resounding conviction.

“Then… can I wait until you get divorced, Senior?”

Support