The next day.
Shen Yuqing walked through the academy gates looking utterly exhausted. Though the weather was a bit warm today, the wounds on his arms and knees hadn’t fully healed yet, so he still wore a thin long-sleeved shirt to cover them up.
He hadn’t walked far before he started sweating slightly.
Shen Yuqing yawned, feeling both hot and drowsy.
When he arrived at the mecha department, the classroom was already filled with quite a few people—even Song Wangzhuo was there. He seemed to be in good spirits today, likely having fully recovered from his cold.
Shen Yuqing chose a seat in the back row, making it easier to sleep during class without the teacher noticing. Not that it would matter much even if he were caught—after all, the building donated by the Shen family was still standing right there.
With about ten minutes left before class started, Shen Yuqing muttered something to his system before resting his head on the desk for a quick nap.
However, he hadn’t been lying there long before he sensed someone sitting down beside him. He thought about lifting his head to see who it was, but then figured anyone could sit there—why bother overthinking it?
He closed his eyes again. Having slept too much during the day yesterday, he had tossed and turned all night, only finally falling asleep past three in the morning. The late night left him utterly exhausted now.
Shen Yuqing drifted off without a care—but soon, his system woke him up just as the teacher was organizing materials on the podium. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
He yawned again before finally turning his head to see who had sat beside him—
…Huh. Song Wangzhuo?
Shen Yuqing nearly failed to keep his expression neutral, looking as if he’d seen a ghost.
Why had Song Wangzhuo moved here?!
Hadn’t he been sitting in the front row earlier?
Song Wangzhuo noticed his gaze and, as if understanding his thoughts, briefly explained, “Someone wanted the front seat.”
Still half-asleep, Shen Yuqing glanced toward Song Wangzhuo’s original seat—sure enough, another student was sitting there.
The mecha department’s lecture hall was always packed. When Shen Yuqing had entered earlier, only two seats had been left in the back. That student must have arrived later and, unwilling to sit beside him, had gone to ask Song Wangzhuo to switch.
In this class, Song Wangzhuo was the only one who could be pushed around like that.
Song Wangzhuo sat bolt upright, the very picture of a diligent student ready to listen attentively.
Shen Yuqing lazily straightened up as well, pulling out his textbook and waiting for the lecture to begin.
Soon, the class was over. Shen Yuqing slumped onto the desk, utterly drained. Why was this knowledge so hard to grasp? He used to be a top student, but now he could barely follow along.
Seemed like he’d have to ask the teacher for extra tutoring.
He yawned again out of sheer boredom, closing his eyes to doze off—but then his communicator vibrated. He cracked one eye open to check.
A message from Lin Sui:
[The Song family’s young master has transferred here. Want to grab lunch together at noon?]
Only then did Shen Yuqing realize what he’d forgotten.
No wonder he’d felt like something was missing all morning but couldn’t put his finger on it—Song Lejin had transferred today.
Shen Yuqing was about to refuse. After all, Song Wangzhuo couldn’t return to the Song family now, so there was no real connection or storyline between him and Song Lejin. He couldn’t be bothered to deal with it.
He’d much rather go back to his dorm and nap at noon.
Shen Yuqing rejected Lin Sui outright and closed his eyes again, drifting back to sleep.
Every move he made was observed by Song Wangzhuo.
Including that message, Shen Yuqing made no attempt to hide it, openly reading it without reservation.
Song Wangzhuo had known about the new transfer student in the art department for a while. The Sterling Academy had a student forum, and there had been signs of it over the weekend. He had glanced at it out of boredom yesterday afternoon but found it uninteresting.
His gaze lingered on the back of Shen Yuqing’s head. Compared to the new student in the art department, Shen Yuqing was the one who surprised him more.
He had expected Shen Yuqing to be displeased when he sat beside him, but apart from a brief look of surprise at first, Shen Yuqing had been completely normal—even indifferent, as if he couldn’t be bothered with him.
That was, of course, a good thing—one less problem for him.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Song Wangzhuo couldn’t help but feel a momentary daze whenever he caught sight of Shen Yuqing’s back. His silhouette bore an uncanny resemblance to the person who had bailed him out of the police station the other day.
But soon, he smirked and dismissed the thought.
There was no way it could be Shen Yuqing. Leaving everything else aside, the timing alone made it impossible for Shen Yuqing to have been there.
These past two days, Song Wangzhuo had been troubled by his so-called “friend.” This friend had helped him but showed no intention of revealing themselves, as if they didn’t want him to know. Why?
They had helped him, yet refused to show their face—not even allowing him the chance to say thank you.
What was even more crucial was that this person had been able to enter his home.
After recovering yesterday, he had carefully retraced his steps. The first thing he had done upon returning home was lock the door. Moreover, he had replaced the lock the day after moving in—only his key could open it, not even the landlord’s.
After all, in a place where deception ran rampant, keeping the door locked and avoiding unnecessary trouble was the key to survival.
Yet his friend had not only entered but also cooked for him, bought medicine, and taken care of him.
Could it be, as the old tale went, a spirit of the river mussel?
Had a mussel spirit friend moved into his home?
Lost in thought, Song Wangzhuo didn’t even realize his gaze had remained fixed on Shen Yuqing.
Shen Yuqing had dozed off briefly and was awakened by the system just before the teacher arrived. Yawning, he instinctively turned his head—only to meet Song Wangzhuo’s eyes.
Both of them froze for a moment before calmly looking away.
Shen Yuqing’s alarm bells rang: What’s he staring at me for? Did he figure something out?
The system was equally puzzled: No way. I checked his condition—he shouldn’t be able to recognize you.
Even if he tried checking surveillance footage, it wouldn’t help. In that area, the cameras had long been nothing more than decorations, broken for who knew how long.
Only after repeatedly confirming with the system did Shen Yuqing finally relax.
As long as he wasn’t recognized, Song Wangzhuo could stare all he wanted.
After that brief eye contact, Song Wangzhuo also felt somewhat uneasy. He braced himself for Shen Yuqing to make a fuss, but to his surprise, Shen Yuqing simply ignored him and focused on the lesson.
Pursing his lips slightly, Song Wangzhuo lowered his eyes to the textbook in front of him.
Before being forcibly dragged to the bar to write exam papers for Shen Yuqing, he had barely interacted with him. The few things he had heard about Shen Yuqing were all related to his reputation as a school bully.
So, deep down, he had always despised him.
From their limited recent interactions, he’d discovered this person didn’t seem as malicious as the rumors suggested. In fact, on several occasions, the man had actually helped him out of difficult situations.
He recalled the words spoken by those people at the police station.
They’d been instructed to say Shen Yuqing had sent them if questioned, though none had actually seen what Shen Yuqing looked like.
Someone was trying to make Shen Yuqing the fall guy.
Song Wangzhuo frowned. Why was he overthinking this?
His goals had always been simple: study hard and earn money.
Shen Yuqing wasn’t part of his objectives.
Another memory surfaced – the stray cat he’d accidentally found on campus, which Shen Yuqing had killed and carried away.
If someone wanted to make Shen Yuqing their scapegoat, that was his own problem. After all, with his character, it wouldn’t be unjust for him to take the blame.
Shen Yuqing was struggling to understand the teacher’s lecture when Song Wangzhuo’s data abruptly flashed through his mind:
[Corruption Value: 65, Favorability: -50] Shen Yuqing: “…”
What the hell was wrong with this Song Wangzhuo?
He was the one who sat next to him, stared at him, and now ended up disliking him?
Shen Yuqing expressionlessly assessed this behavior: “Fucking ridiculous.”
