Chapter 44: First High School (3)

After rubbing his head, Ruan Qing finished his water in one gulp. He glanced at Su Zhiwei, who was still on the phone, and without saying a word, he went straight back to the classroom.

After the free activities in physical education class, many students chose to return to the classroom. Although the class was not over yet, there were already many people sitting in the classroom.

Initially, the classroom was somewhat noisy, but as soon as Ruan Qing appeared at the door, it immediately quieted down, even to the point of being eerie.

Ruan Qing had an expression as if he didn’t care about anyone, and he walked straight to his seat, which was in the second-to-last row by the window.

Most people share a table with someone else, but unlike others, he had a table to himself. Sitting behind and beside him were his own lackeys.

Mo Ran sat in front of Ruan Qing. When Mo Ran saw Ruan Qing sit down, he immediately turned his head and asked, “Brother Su, are you okay? Did the principal give you a hard time?”

“Give me a hard time? Would he dare?” Ruan Qing smiled disdainfully at the words, his tone full of arrogance, forcefully destroying the sense of beauty brought by his delicate face.

Only he would dare say such things. It was the confidence brought by his identity. Although everyone despised Su Qing, they all envied him.

The other students in the class listened to their conversation and lowered their heads even further, afraid of being noticed by them.

However, there were some who still remembered the scene on the playground and cautiously glanced at the teenager with the corner of their eyes.

The teenager sat by the window with a contemptuous and disdainful expression on his face. If an ordinary person made such an expression, it would undoubtedly be very repulsive and hateful.

Something that should be a normal reaction.

But the teenager’s side profile was exquisite and flawless. His long eyelashes trembled slightly as he blinked. The way he appeared to ignore everyone was like an arrogant little prince, full of lofty arrogance and unparalleled nobility. It made people feel that the teenager held the most precious gem in his hands and it’s natural for him to look down on everyone.

He had the right to look down on anyone.

Because he really was no different from a prince.

His family background was like that, his personality was like that, and even his appearance... was like that.

If previously, few dared to directly face the boy, even sneaking glances at him, but the scene of the other lying on the ground in the playground, so fragile, remained ingrained in the depths of their hearts.

It allowed the darkest side of people’s hearts to grow like wild grass in the darkness.

Mo Ran chuckled upon hearing the arrogant words of the boy and echoed his sentiments, his tone filled with disdain. “He definitely wouldn’t dare. Who is Brother Su? Can he afford to offend you?”

The teenager hummed lightly after listening, clearly pleased with the flattery from his subordinate.

Mo Ran looked at the easily pleased boy, his hand under the table tightening slightly, as if the soft touch of the boy still lingered in his hand.

However, there was no trace of anything unusual on his face. He revealed a brilliant smile and leaned closer to the other, speaking mysteriously, “Brother Su, how about I take you to a nice place after school? You’ll definitely like it.”

Ruan Qing: “...”

This sounded a lot like seeking death...

After all, going with this guy meant being alone.

But if he never stayed alone, it would be difficult to find clues. The enemy operated in the dark, and no one could say when they would strike.

Besides, Ruan Qing didn’t believe he could avoid being alone forever.

For example, when sleeping at night or going to the bathroom, there would always be moments of solitude for a person.

Furthermore, not being alone didn’t guarantee absolute safety either, considering most players entered instances in groups.

If sticking together meant not getting killed, then the completion rate of instances would be close to 100%, at least 90%, as players weren’t that foolish.

And this meant that the game system would be giving away completion points to the players.

Ruan Qing didn’t think the game system would be so generous.

So obviously, even sticking together could still encounter danger.

It was better to be mentally prepared and take the initiative, after all, the first day in the instance was relatively safe.

Moreover, students who commuted to high school didn’t attend evening self-study sessions. They could leave school after the afternoon classes and go home early, which was practically the same as being alone.

After Ruan Qing thought it through, he nodded arrogantly towards Mo Ran and said, “Fine.”

Just as Mo Ran was about to say something else, the dismissal bell rang.

Mo Ran stood up and looked at Ruan Qing, as if waiting for him.

Perplexed, Ruan Qing blinked his eyes, and a few seconds later, he belatedly remembered that the original owner used to go to the rooftop to smoke at this time every day.

Oh no.

He didn’t smoke.

But the original owner always went without fail, so it would be obvious that’s something was wrong if he didn’t go.

Ruan Qing could only stand up and walk ahead with a proud expression, leading the group as they ascended the rooftop.

There were already a few people on the rooftop, all of them the original owner’s lackeys, as not all of them were in the same class as him.

Although the original owner entered through connections, the class division was based on actual performance, and he was in the class with the poorest grades.

He could have entered the best class, but the original owner didn’t like the atmosphere in that class, so he chose the current one.

Just as Ruan Qing arrived on the rooftop, a bespectacled male classmate approached him and handed him a cigarette.

The classmate’s name was Xiao Shiyi, a top student from Class 1, refined and scholarly-looking. On the surface, he seemed like a diligent student. Logically speaking, someone like him wouldn’t become Su Qing’s lackey.

But Xiao Shiyi’s parents owned a company, making them one of the wealthiest families apart from the original owner’s. There was a business partnership between their families, which was why Xiao Shiyi tried to please the original owner by becoming his lackey.

The original owner knew that his lackeys followed him because of his family background, but he didn’t mind; instead, he took pride in it.

Ruan Qing absentmindedly took the cigarette, and Xiao Shiyi immediately took out a lighter and helped Ruan Qing light it.

And thus, Ruan Qing found himself in a dilemma.

In reality, Ruan Qing not only didn’t know how to smoke, but he also disliked the smell of cigarettes. Because of this, many people had tried to quit smoking for him.

But now he couldn’t do without smoking. After all, the original owner had a strong addiction to cigarettes, and not smoking would definitely ruin his character.

Ruan Qing held the cigarette and slowly brought it to his lips. Then, with a resigned expression, he opened his mouth and took a puff of smoke.

“Cough... cough... cough.” The intense coughing caught the attention of everyone on the rooftop, and they all looked at the coughing teenager.

The fair and delicate cheeks of the boy had turned a bright red due to the coughing. There was a hint of redness at the corners of his eyes, and his watery eyes were filled with discomfort.

It was as if he was trying smoking for the first time.

Looking at the exquisite and beautiful teenager, everyone was stunned. They were so engrossed in looking at him that they didn’t even react when their cigarettes fell to the ground. An uncontrollable thought emerged in their minds.

So, the boss... was actually this good-looking...

However, Ruan Qing couldn’t care less about being out of character because he was feeling extremely uncomfortable. His throat was dry, his mouth tasted bitter, and he even felt nauseous, as if he wanted to vomit. He leaned against the railing on the rooftop and continued coughing incessantly.

The people present finally reacted, but they were somewhat shocked.

The boy’s reaction was clearly that of someone who was smoking for the first time.

But the problem was that the boy was supposed to be an old smoker.

Among this group of people, the boy smoked the most fiercely. In reality, many of them didn’t smoke at all, but they did it just to please the boy.

When Ruan Qing coughed, he already knew that something was wrong. He spoke in his mind while coughing, ‘System, what will happen if I go out of character?’

The system’s cold response came, [You will be more prone to danger, and points will be deducted.]

Ruan Qing paused for a moment and directly ignored the first sentence. ‘How many points will be deducted?’

The system replied, “[100 points at once].”

Ruan Qing resisted for a moment, but couldn’t hold back and finally spoke softly, ‘Normal players only receive 100 points as a reward for clearing a level, right?’

He was just receiving three times more points than a normal player, and every time he went out of character, it would cost him 100 points. It was too harsh.

The system mercilessly corrected him, [In the Intermediate Dungeon, normal players receive 100 points for clearing a level, while in the Beginner Dungeon, it’s usually 50 points.]

Ruan Qing: “...” Cunning merchant.

Ruan Qing looked at the others. Although he wanted to make amends, in the end, he didn’t say anything. After all, it was impossible to explain with the original host’s personality.

However, Mo Ran, who was beside him, took a step forward and nervously held Ruan Qing’s hand, his tone filled with concern. “Brother Su, what’s wrong? Is it because of the aftereffects of the fall just now?”

Only then did the people on the rooftop remember that their boss had been bumped and fell during physical education class, hitting his head. Feeling nauseous and dizzy was normal.

Everyone immediately expressed their concern.

“Brother Su, do you want to go to the hospital? Shall we take you?”

“I have a car. I can drive.”

“Make way, don’t crowd Brother Su.”

Xiao Shiyi extinguished the cigarette in his hand and calmly spoke, “Brother Su, are you okay?”

Upon seeing this, others also extinguished their cigarettes, afraid of making the young boy feel even more uncomfortable.

“I’m fine.” Ruan Qing retracted his hand and responded dissatisfiedly to Mo Ran’s words, “Probably just hit my head earlier.”

Mo Ran’s face twisted into a fierce expression as he spoke, “Brother Su, rest assured, I won’t let that guy off easily!”

“No need,” Ruan Qing casually said, his tone filled with fierceness, “I’ll handle it myself. Help me find out who pushed him. Whoever dared to crash into me, don’t let a single one go.”

The most important thing was that Ruan Qing didn’t believe it was a coincidence. He had just walked past, and someone fell into him. It was too much of a coincidence.

The others immediately expressed their understanding.

During the break, which lasted only ten minutes, the school bell quickly rang to signal the start of the next class.

Ruan Qing was the first to leave the rooftop, and the others also returned to their classrooms.

When Ruan Qing returned to the classroom, the teacher had already started the class.

Upon seeing Ruan Qing entering, the teacher didn’t say anything, as if they hadn’t seen him, and continued with their lesson.

Originally, Ruan Qing no longer felt sleepy because of what happened on the playground earlier, but due to smoking, he now felt unusually nauseous and dizzy. After sitting down, a strong sense of sleepiness overwhelmed him once again.

Although the class was still in session, Ruan Qing directly leaned on the desk and closed his eyes.

As a special player and due to the collapse of the character setting, he had undoubtedly become the first target.

However, even if he was now the primary target, it was highly unlikely that the killer would be able to kill him in broad daylight in the classroom. The most probable scenario would be to attack him when he was alone.

So, it would be best to rest as much as possible now. Once school was over and he was alone with Mo Ran, danger would likely be lurking.

Moreover, the original owner never paid attention in class, so if Ruan Qing started paying attention, it would ruin the character setting even further.

Therefore, Ruan Qing gradually lost consciousness again, and he didn’t notice some people in the class looking at him with evasive gazes, different from how they used to look at the original owner.

He also didn’t notice the faint reflection of his own shadow on the window glass to his left, and that the shadow seemed to be... not in the same position.

***

“Hey, you, wake up and answer this question.” A man’s stern voice sounded in Ruan Qing’s ear, accompanied by the sound of someone forcefully knocking on the desk.

Ruan Qing slowly opened his eyes, still feeling a bit drowsy. However, his brain had started to function clearly. Instead of immediately raising his head, he frowned and looked at the floor.

Wasn’t he Su Qing, the leader of the school bullies? Since when did a teacher dare to call him to answer a question?

Who was it?

Ruan Qing took a deep breath in secret, then lifted his head with a displeased expression, his tone filled with arrogance and arrogance, “What’s wrong with you?”

The male teacher standing in front of Ruan Qing had a serious expression. Ruan Qing felt no impression of him, but caught a glimpse of the mathematical formulas on the blackboard, deducing that he must be the math teacher.

The math teacher was staring at Ruan Qing without any expression at the moment, looking somewhat eerie. “This student, please answer my question.”

Instead of answering, Ruan Qing sneered, stood up arrogantly, and reached out to overturn the table directly.

However, the math teacher’s hand pressed on the table, preventing Ruan Qing from flipping it over. Ruan Qing exerted more force, but the table remained motionless.

Ruan Qing: “...” This shouldn’t be happening.

Even if his strength was inferior to that of the math teacher, he should still be able to move the table a bit.

Could it be that the table was specially made? Was it exceptionally heavy?

Just as Ruan Qing fell silent, the math teacher spoke again, staring directly at Ruan Qing, enunciating each word, “Student, can’t you answer it?”

Both his voice and tone sounded somewhat eerie and dangerous, giving people a creepy feeling.

Moreover, the surrounding classmates were all staring straight at him, wearing peculiar smiles on their faces, without anyone coming forward to help, including Su Qing’s few lackeys.

Ruan Qing’s heart sank, feeling that something was amiss. His intuition told him that he should answer the person’s question quickly.

His intuition had always been very accurate.

But the problem was that he didn’t know what the teacher had just asked, and the original owner’s character didn’t allow him to ask what the teacher had just asked, let alone obediently answer the question.

Ruan Qing could only squint his eyes and speak in a menacing tone, “Do you know who I am? How dare you speak to me like this! Don’t you want to live anymore!?”

The math teacher suddenly laughed, his laughter sending chills down people’s spines, “You can’t answer, you’re not a good child.”

He finished speaking and reached out his hand, grabbing Ruan Qing’s hand and dragging him forcefully in the direction of the platform.

Ruan Qing widened his eyes. This person had incredible strength. He struggled a few times but couldn’t break free. Even if he exerted all his strength, he couldn’t escape the clutches of the math teacher.

Ruan Qing could only struggle and harshly command, his tone filled with a condescending order, “Let go of me!”

However, the person in front of him completely ignored Ruan Qing’s words and continued dragging him towards the platform.

Ruan Qing gritted his teeth, his face full of malevolence. “Do you know who I am? How dare you treat me like this? I won’t let you go!”

The math teacher dragged Ruan Qing and threw him onto the lectern on the platform, wearing a sinister smile. “Disobedient students must face punishment.”

As soon as the math teacher’s words fell, the previously quiet students immediately spoke up in unison, their voices filled with eerie excitement.

“Punishment!”

“Punishment!”

“Punishment!”

 

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