Futile Devices Scans

“Enough.”

The young man seated in the place of honor interrupted the servant beside Ning Xuan who was hurriedly trying to explain.

“Take them away and assign them their duties.”

The servant had just begun to relax when the man’s tone suddenly shifted.

“However…”

The servant instantly stiffened again.

“That boy looks far too… demonic and seductive. Arrange for him to work somewhere farther away. Don’t let these fox-like beauties wander around the master all the time.”

Following the direction of the man’s pointing finger, Ning Xuan lowered his gaze.

…Wait.

What the hell?

Me?!

Ning Xuan blinked his pair of clear, ink-black eyes—bright as water—and wore an innocent expression.

Inside, however, his inner volcano erupted again.

Uncle, just because you look a little younger and fresher than the others doesn’t mean you can run your mouth like that!

I’m a man—an honest-to-goodness man!

Demonic?

Damn it, even if you’re dazzled by my looks, that’s called handsome, alright?!

Of course, despite his fury, Ning Xuan still retained enough rationality not to shout those words out loud in front of everyone.

What he didn’t know, however, was that everyone present shared the exact same thought as that man—the one whom Ning Xuan had innocently labeled an “uncle.”

After leaving the steward’s quarters, the attendant led them along twisting corridors for what felt like forever before they finally reached the so-called servants’ quarters.

To Ning Xuan’s surprise, the place was not nearly as terrible as he had imagined.

There was no foul smell, and it was fairly clean.

Two people shared a room. Though the room was slightly smaller than the one they had seen earlier, everything else was nearly identical—even the arrangement of the furnishings.

Ning Xuan silently marveled.

Either the master of this residence was absurdly wealthy, wealthy enough to treat ordinary servants like stewards…

—or that steward was simply miserly, especially when it came to him.

Since they had entered the residence together, Ning Xuan naturally ended up sharing a room with the boy who had been bought along with him earlier.

Whether it was because Ning Xuan seemed too difficult to approach or because the boy himself was too reserved, it took quite a while before Ning Xuan finally managed to start a proper conversation with him.

Eventually he learned the boy’s name.

Mo Qi.

Ning Xuan sighed inwardly.

It seemed the steward had actually guessed correctly by sheer luck.

With such an elegant name, the boy must have come from either a scholarly family or a fairly wealthy household.

Thinking this, Ning Xuan cast the steward walking ahead a respectful—almost admiring—look.

The steward suddenly felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason. Pulling his collar tighter, he muttered under his breath:

“Seems like autumn’s come earlier this year…”

After being handed off from one steward to another, the young servants were led to their work assignment.

Watching the second steward strut arrogantly in front of them—yet bow and scrape the moment he faced that young master, nearly wagging his tail like a dog eager for approval—Ning Xuan gained a very clear understanding.

In ancient times, people truly lived under strict hierarchies.

There were ranks and classes everywhere.

“From now on, the three of you will be responsible for the library chamber.”

The steward gestured to the room filled with books.

“All the books here are your responsibility. And the corners, the shelves, the door frames—everything.”

“Although the master rarely comes here personally, people are often sent to retrieve books. So when you’re on duty, be careful and diligent. Don’t think that just because the master doesn’t come in person, your mistakes won’t be noticed!”

As he spoke, he strutted back and forth in front of them.

This man was named Xiao Tang, a servant appointed by the steward to supervise the three of them.

Stopping in front of another unfamiliar boy, Xiao Tang lowered his voice but hissed angrily:

“You’d better watch yourself! Always clumsy—knocking things over here and bumping into things there. One of these days you’ll lose your head through sheer carelessness!”

With that, Xiao Tang flicked his sleeve and left without another word.

The library chamber sounded refined and scholarly.

At first glance, the job didn’t seem particularly exhausting.

But anyone who had stayed in the residence for more than three months knew it was actually one of the most thankless assignments.

Since the master rarely appeared here, there were very few opportunities for promotion.

Normally the tasks were simple—dusting books, wiping shelves—but because no one liked working here, manpower was always scarce.

So the workload gradually piled up.

And with so little human traffic, dust accumulated easily.

If someone grew lazy and failed to clean properly—and the master happened to discover it—he might dismiss them immediately without even giving them a chance to explain.

The worst task came periodically: airing out the books to prevent mildew.

They had to carry mountains of books outside, spread them open page by page to dry in the sun, then bind them back exactly as before and move them back inside.

The most troublesome part was that not a single book could be misplaced.

If the master suddenly wanted a specific book and it couldn’t be found…

Well.

That would be disastrous.

After Xiao Tang left, Ning Xuan flashed what he believed to be his most warm and friendly smile and eagerly trotted over to speak with the unfamiliar boy.

Although he hadn’t figured out his future plans yet, the boy would still be his coworker for quite some time.

Building good relationships was important—especially if he wanted to conduct certain “secret activities” later on.

“Hello,” Ning Xuan said cheerfully.

“My name is Ning Xuan. What’s yours?”

His bright smile froze instantly.

The boy stared at him with a look of pure shock, as though he had just seen a ghost.

Why is it like this again?!

What on earth have I done to make everyone dislike me so much?!

Ning Xuan lamented silently.

What he didn’t realize was that people weren’t shocked because he had offended heaven and earth.

It was simply that his smile was far too dazzling.

It hit people like a sudden blow, leaving them momentarily unable to handle it.

To be precise, it wasn’t shock—it was stunned amazement.

But Ning Xuan’s misfortune didn’t end there.

The moment the boy recovered, he immediately turned around and faced away from him, which struck another heavy blow to Ning Xuan’s pride.

Ning Xuan blinked.

What kind of situation is this?

With his back turned, the boy’s youthful face quickly flushed bright red.

After a long moment, he finally forced out a reply.

“My name is Qing Zhu.”

Ning Xuan was bewildered.

Is it some strange custom of this dynasty to hold conversations back-to-back?

Standing nearby, Mo Qi had already begun wiping the bookshelves.

Seeing the scene unfold, he seemed completely unsurprised.

Instead, when he noticed the crimson flush on Qing Zhu’s face, he gave him a look full of understanding—and sympathy.

With nothing better to do, Ning Xuan started working as well.

But the more he thought about it, the more bothered he became.

Finally, he slammed the rag down with a loud smack and marched over to Qing Zhu and Mo Qi like a man seeking justice.

Both boys froze and looked up at him in confusion.

They exchanged puzzled, innocent glances.

Ning Xuan demanded indignantly:

“What exactly did I do to make you two dislike me so much?!”

This was his first time transmigrating, after all. Naturally he lacked experience when it came to interacting with people in ancient times.

But that didn’t mean they had to treat him like this!

He pointed accusingly at Mo Qi.

“You first! We were sold into this place together, yet it took me ages just to get you to talk!”

Then he turned to Qing Zhu.

“And you! I already learned my lesson from before and tried to be calm and polite. Sure, you answered me—but only after a long time! And you were facing away from me the whole time!”

The two boys visibly relaxed upon hearing this.

But seeing Ning Xuan’s stubborn determination—clearly unwilling to let the matter go—they grew awkward again.

After exchanging another glance, the more lively Qing Zhu finally spoke.

However, he carefully chose his words, mindful of Ning Xuan’s feelings.

“You… um…”

“Have you ever looked in a mirror?”

“Or heard what others say… about your appearance?”

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