Yan Juexia: “Huh?”
The boys around him all turned to look at him.
He blinked in confusion, the tips of his ears turning as red as blush, flushing silently: “N-no, I thought you were a new student. I didn’t expect it to be you, so I didn’t recognize you at first. That’s why I took a few extra glances.”
Chi Ye let out a cold snort through his nose.
Li Xinghao and Li Yanlang rolled their eyes dramatically.
It wasn’t that he didn’t recognize her—he was just staring.
But Li Zhiyin frowned slightly.
Why were Yan Juexia’s ears red?
Was he nervous? Or lying? Or maybe he disliked her?
It seemed… she couldn’t read people’s emotions and feelings anymore.
She concealed the flicker of darkness in her eyes and gently probed, “My mother said we’re in the same class. Since I’m new here and don’t know where the classroom is, could you take me there?”
Beside her, Chi Ye’s eyelids twitched as he stared at Li Zhiyin in astonishment.
Yan Juexia’s ears were still red as he lifted his chin proudly. “Since you’re asking me, fine, I can take you.”
Li Xinghao: “No way!”
Li Zhiyin raised an eyebrow and looked toward the source.
Li Xinghao stood at the edge, glaring at her with hostility. “Li Zhiyin, are you trying to seduce Yan Juexia?!”
Yan Juexia widened his eyes in shock. “Li Xinghao, what are you talking about?! She just doesn’t know the way to our class!”
Li Xinghao grew even angrier. “Are you stupid? She’s trying to get close to you! Can’t you see that?”
Yan Juexia: “?”
Nearby, Li Yanlang sneered as he stared at Li Zhiyin. “You really are cunning, trying to worm your way into our circle by targeting the dumbest one first—Yan Juexia.”
Yan Juexia: “? I’m dumb?”
Li Wuyou sniffled, sobbing softly. “Little sister, I know you’re ambitious and want to get to know us, but Yan Juexia is a very naive boy. Please don’t use him like this.”
Yan Juexia: “? I’m naive?”
Li Zhiyin wasn’t angry. Instead, she smiled gracefully. “You’ve seen right through me.”
Yan Juexia: “?”
Li Xinghao scoffed, pointing at her. “I knew your fox tail would show eventually!”
She shrugged indifferently. “As someone new here, I thought Yan Juexia was a good person—cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Is it a crime to want to be friends with him?”
“Or maybe…”
She walked up to the two Li brothers and looked up at their faces, which bore an eighty percent resemblance to her own. “Do you two want to take me instead?”
Li Xinghao’s eyes widened as if he wanted to devour her. “Why should I take you?! You’re just a sly, cunning thing! Don’t think just because we’re related by blood that I’ll go easy on you!”
Li Zhiyin nodded approvingly. “Right, that’s exactly how you should be. I didn’t come here planning to get along with you nicely. Otherwise, it would’ve been harder for me to make my move.”
The two brothers froze.
Her smile was radiant. “Actually, I’ve always wondered—what if it had been you and Li Yanlang who were swapped?”
She looked at their pampered, privileged demeanor, and threads of hatred began to spread. “Then you would’ve been the ones beaten, the ones burned, the ones kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, the ones almost sexually assaulted. You would’ve been so happy.”
Li Xinghao: “…”
Li Yanlang: “…”Li Zhiyin smiled with hidden daggers in her words. “But it’s fine. I have hands and feet. Making you, Li Wuyou, and your father experience the same kind of suffering as I did shouldn’t be a problem.”
A flicker of guilt had just surfaced on the two brothers’ faces, but upon hearing this, anger swiftly took over. “How dare you!”
Li Zhiyin didn’t respond. Instead, she turned to Yan Juexia. “Since your friends don’t like me, forcing my way in won’t lead to anything good. I won’t disturb you any further.”
Yan Juexia stared at her blankly.
Li Zhiyin, like a fox wagging its tail, tilted her head and smiled at the Li brothers again.
“Let’s take it slow, brothers.”
The two were momentarily stunned by her smile as they watched her stride into the school building.
Yan Juexia felt an emptiness in his heart and glared angrily at Li Xinghao. “Just because you don’t like your biological sister doesn’t mean she’s a bad person, right? She just wanted to be friends with me! What did she do wrong?”
Li Xinghao snapped back to reality and laughed incredulously. “Yan Juexia, didn’t you hear what she just said?! She wants me and my brother to suffer!”
Yan Juexia retorted, “So what? If Li Wuyou’s mother hadn’t switched the children, she would be your sister now, someone who grew up with us! She suffered so much for no reason, and you still won’t acknowledge her. Is it any wonder she hates you?!”
Chi Ye sneered. “They weren’t the ones who went hungry. They weren’t the ones who got beaten. It’s easy to talk when you haven’t suffered.”
Li Xinghao fell silent and looked at Chi Ye. “Even you’re saying this about me?”
“What you did was wrong,” Chi Ye said coldly. “No matter how much you dislike Li Zhiyin, she’s a victim in your family. Instead of pitying her, you bully her. It’s disgusting.”
He turned away, unable to hide his disdain. “If we hadn’t grown up together and been brothers through life and death, I would’ve kicked both of you out long ago.”
Li Xinghao: “…”
Li Yanlang laughed in anger. “Fine, we were wrong in this matter. But I’m also curious—Li Zhiyin’s Humanity Value is ten. How can you still defend her? Aren’t you afraid she might kill you?”
Yan Juexia didn’t hesitate. “The doctor said she can be reformed. What if I’m the one who reforms her?!”
Li Yanlang: “?”
Li Xinghao: “?”
Chi Ye: “?”
Others: “???”
They looked at Yan Juexia as if he were the biggest fool in the world.
Unfazed, Yan Juexia strode away and plopped down in his seat in the classroom.
Several boys quickly surrounded him. “Prince, did you see that girl with the Tenth-Grade Combat Prosthetic? She’s so pretty! And she came in a hover car. I wonder which class she’s in!”
“If only she were in our Class Six! Having a Level Ten combat expert as our classmate would be so impressive!”
“Yeah, I thought it was a guy, but it turned out to be a girl. The school’s forums are blowing up! Everyone’s talking about this new student!”
Yan Juexia leaned back in his chair, annoyed, ignoring his followers’ chatter.
A boy wearing thick black-framed glasses walked past him with his head down.
In a foul mood, Yan Juexia stretched out his leg to block the boy’s path.
The boy, holding books, acted as if he didn’t notice and simply walked around him.
Yan Juexia watched him take a seat in the last row and suddenly noticed the empty desk beside him.
Their class had two students per desk.In the entire class, only his and that guy’s seats were empty.
If Li Zhiyin came to this class… wouldn’t she end up sitting right next to him?
Realizing this, Yan Juexia suddenly felt a bit restless. He looked at his followers and said, “Get back to your seats. Don’t you know class is about to start?”
The followers thought they had misheard: “Huh? What did you say?”
Yan Juexia frowned. “I told you to get back to your seats!”
The followers looked as if they had seen a ghost. They quickly shuffled away, muttering under their breath, “How strange. Since when does the boss care about classroom rules?”