Ever since that day, Lian Qiguang had been completely isolated and rejected within the academy—not just by Class One, but by the entire school.
Since he himself had said he didn’t need friends, then why should anyone shamelessly try to get close to him? If he didn’t appreciate it, so be it. Who knew—maybe one day he’d stab them in the back for no reason at all.
Classes ended, tasks were assigned, and Jin Anqi gave Lian Qiguang a faint glance before turning and leaving the classroom.
Resting his chin lightly on one hand, Lian Qiguang stared blankly out the window, expressionless, his mind empty as he drifted off into who-knew-where.
“Ku Mu…”
Mi Xiaobao timidly shuffled over, nervously wringing his chubby little hands.
“Class is over… want to go eat together?”
Lian Qiguang withdrew his gaze and looked at Mi Xiaobao with an emotionless stare, saying nothing.
Mi Xiaobao had already gathered a great deal of courage to approach him. Under that stare, he became even more nervous, his small face stiff as he didn’t even know where to put his hands.
“Little Fatty! Are you asking for trouble?!”
Qingyi stepped forward and hooked an arm around Mi Xiaobao’s neck, glaring at Lian Qiguang with displeasure.
“He doesn’t care about you, so why are you sticking your face in there? What if one day he kills you and you’re still grinning like an idiot?”
“No way. I believe Ku Mu isn’t that kind of person.”
Mi Xiaobao struggled, trying to escape Qingyi’s hold.
“How would you know? How long have you even known him? Ever heard of judging a person by appearance but not by heart?”
“Qingyi…”
They’re so noisy. I kind of want to chop them up.
Watching the two argue, Lian Qiguang stared blankly at the air above them. Then he stood and left without a word.
“Ku Mu!”
Seeing him leave, Mi Xiaobao panicked and tried to chase after him, but Qingyi held him back.
“He left, so let him go! Why do you care?”
“Qingyi, let go! I need to talk to Ku Mu.”
“You’re not going!”
Qingyi put on a stern face, pressing a hand on Mi Xiaobao’s head with the air of a strict big sister.
“Are you stupid? He doesn’t care about you at all! Aren’t you afraid he’ll sell you off someday?”
“Qingyi! No, Ku Mu isn’t like that!”
“What kind of person is he, then? Can you even say?”
“I…”
Scene Change
Walking expressionlessly through the academy, Lian Qiguang kept his head lowered, staring at his own footsteps as he continued his great life mission—
Spacing out.
“Junior.”
A figure blocked his path.
Lian Qiguang paused, then slowly raised his head and looked at the boy standing before him.
The moment Ji Renlin saw his face clearly, his eyes tightened.
That strange sense of unease and familiarity in his heart intensified.
This guy looks familiar.
Lian Qiguang lowered his head, thinking blankly.
But in Ji Renlin’s eyes, that was blatant disregard.
Suppressing the strangeness in his heart and the irritation in his eyes, Ji Renlin smiled warmly.
“Hello, junior. I’m your senior by two years. My name is Ji Renlin.”
So it really was an acquaintance.
A faint light flickered in Lian Qiguang’s eyes.
This was the bastard.
The one because of whom the original Lian Qiguang had died.
How should he kill him?
Slash him directly?
Or dismember him piece by piece?
Tilting his head, Lian Qiguang calmly weighed his options.
“Junior? Junior!”
Being ignored again and again, Ji Renlin’s expression stiffened.
Still forcing a gentle smile, he raised his voice.
Snapping back to attention, Lian Qiguang looked at him blankly.
“What?”
“I noticed you didn’t seem well just now, so I was worried and came to check on you. Are you feeling unwell?”
“No.”
Within the academy, he couldn’t kill people.
Lian Yucheng had specifically warned him about that.
Wait until no one was around.
For some reason, Ji Renlin felt chills under Lian Qiguang’s gaze.
“Are you heading to eat? I’m going too. Let’s go together.”
“Not hungry.”
He couldn’t kill him.
That made him unhappy.
After tossing out those words expressionlessly, Lian Qiguang walked past him.
Ji Renlin’s smile froze.
A dark, vicious glint flashed through his eyes.
“Junior?”
How could he let him go before getting his answers?
Still wearing that warm smile, he turned and reached for Lian Qiguang’s arm.
But just as he was about to touch him—
A flash of cold light cut through the air.
Ji Renlin’s heart jolted.
He immediately retreated, summoning water into a shield before him.
A black engraved Tang blade stopped firmly at his throat.
The sudden change shocked not only Ji Renlin, but also all the bystanders watching the show.
“Junior, I only asked whether you needed help. I don’t know what I did to make you so angry.”
Suppressing the shock and fury inside, Ji Renlin wore a pained expression.
As expected, the moment he said that, whispers erupted all around.
The disgust in everyone’s eyes toward Lian Qiguang deepened.
“I forgot to tell you something.”
Lian Qiguang looked at the theatrics before him and spoke flatly.
“I have another name.”
“Lian Qiguang.”
Lian Qiguang? That sounds familiar. Wait—Lian Qiguang?!
Ji Renlin’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Lian Qiguang? That name sounds familiar.”
“Yeah, I think I’ve heard it before.”
“Ah! I remember! Wasn’t there a useless double-failure in both ability and combat in the Rescue Department last semester named Lian Qiguang who suddenly disappeared?”
“He was from Rescue too, wasn’t he?”
“Could it really be him?”
One sentence stirred up a thousand waves.
The surroundings exploded with chatter.
“You… weren’t you already…”
Ji Renlin couldn’t believe it.
He clearly remembered Lian Qiguang had already—
“Dead?”
A dark glint flashed in Lian Qiguang’s eyes.
The Tang blade spun in his hand and vanished.
As Qianming returned to his spatial storage, Ji Renlin’s water shield shattered instantly.
Looking calmly at the undisguised panic in Ji Renlin’s eyes, Lian Qiguang turned and left.
He had once wondered why Ji Renlin wanted to kill the original Lian Qiguang.
If it was only because the original Lian Qiguang liked him and annoyed him, that made no sense.
There had to be another secret.
But to the current Lian Qiguang, it no longer mattered.
Whether there was another reason or not—
Ji Renlin was already a dead man in his eyes.
Not just him.
The others too.
Not a single one of them would escape.
Watching Lian Qiguang’s departing figure, Ji Renlin slowly clenched his fists.
The warmth in his eyes had long been replaced by rage and vicious hatred.
Lian Qiguang… Lian Qiguang…
Scene Change
(Dorm Room)
Lian Qiguang stared expressionlessly at the holographic screen where Lian Yucheng was furiously lecturing him.
But his mind had already wandered elsewhere.
Everything Lian Yucheng said went in one ear and straight out the other.
He wasn’t listening to a single word.
“Lian Qiguang!”
A furious roar pulled him back.
Lian Qiguang looked up blankly.
“What?”
“Why did you choose the Rescue Department?”
Lian Yucheng glared at him while suppressing his anger.
He had assumed that even if Lian Qiguang refused Command, he would at least choose Combat.
Instead, he had gone right back to Rescue.
Hearing the news, he had nearly torn his company apart.
“Because I like it.”
“You think one sentence like ‘because I like it’ solves everything?!”
Lian Yucheng gulped water to suppress his anger.
“If you don’t want Command, fine. Combat would still be acceptable. Why go back to Rescue?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
Leaning lazily in his chair, feet propped on the desk, Lian Qiguang watched him calmly.
“What future do you have in Rescue? Stay in the rear waving flags for the front lines?!”
“I’ll be a military doctor on Buluo Star.”
Lian Qiguang stared at the intelligent computer on the desk.
He wanted to play games.
Bulou Star?
Lian Yucheng froze.
His anger gradually subsided.
“Did Major General Xiahou tell you that?”
“Mm.”
“Is this your idea or his order?”
Lian Yucheng’s expression darkened.
“I want to stay here.”
Otherwise, he wouldn’t even bother attending school.
He’d go straight to becoming a mercenary or bounty hunter.
More money.
Faster improvement of his abilities.
Looking at Lian Qiguang’s emotionless face, Lian Yucheng fell silent.
As an older brother, he didn’t want Lian Qiguang to live in danger.
He wanted him to live safely and peacefully.
But as the eldest son of the Lian family, he also wanted Lian Qiguang to have a future.
To rely on his own strength to enter District One.
To become their father’s pride.
But…
After thinking for a long while, Lian Yucheng sighed.
Why was he even overthinking this?
Given Lian Qiguang’s temperament, once he made up his mind, when had he ever listened to anyone?
Rubbing his brow irritably, Lian Yucheng looked up, about to say something—
Only to find the holographic screen completely black.
Lian Qiguang had already hung up.
“……”
Lian Yucheng stared.
“LIAN QIGUANG!!!”