“As a scumbag, you are still somewhat lacking. Please continue to work hard.”
Watching the system’s prompt fade, Rudius tidied his hair in the mirror, then left home for school.
Arriving in the classroom, Jasmine was already seated, staring blankly into space.
She noticed his entrance, her expression shifting subtly before she looked down at her book with forced nonchalance.
But Rudius caught her sneaking glances at him from the corner of her eye.
He didn’t think much of it—it was only natural to be hated after what he’d done.
And given that Jasmine was the type to pry into others’ privacy, his guilt wasn’t particularly strong.
Still, seeing her at school put him at ease.
Last night, he’d worried that Jasmine might not be able to bear the humiliation and take a leave of absence.
It seemed he’d underestimated her resilience.
Just then, the teacher entered through the back door.
Spotting Rudius standing there, he said, “Rudius, could you take this document to the principal’s office for me?”
The teacher handed him a stack of papers, then walked to the podium.
Rudius inwardly cursed his bad luck.
With a resigned sigh, he took the documents and left the classroom.
The principal’s office wasn’t in the teaching building—delivering this would take a while.
He might as well treat it as an officially sanctioned late arrival.
With that thought, Rudius made his way to the principal’s office.
He knocked on the door—no response from inside.
Not in?
He hesitated.
He couldn’t exactly take the documents back.
Since this was a delivery, leaving them on the desk should be fine, right?
Noticing the door was slightly ajar rather than fully shut, Rudius tried pushing it open.
The door swung inward.
It seemed empty inside.
The curtains were drawn, casting the interior in dim shadows.
Rudius stepped inside.
“You’re finally here.”
A cool voice rang out from behind the desk as he entered.
The office chair facing the window suddenly swiveled around.
Emma sat there, her deep eyes fixed on Rudius.
A chilling ripple was subtly hidden beneath their calm surface.
Rudius froze.
He looked down at the documents in his hand, then back up at her, realization dawning.
Emma was just a student—why would a teacher help her with something like this?
Emma regarded him with undisguised disdain.
“Some people are born to be beasts of burden, while others are born in Rome. The gap between classes is unimaginably vast. And yet some fools still manage to offend those they cannot afford to cross.”
Rudius frowned.
“So you’re saying you’re one of those born in Rome? What does that have to do with me?”
Privately, he thought Emma sounded a bit delusional—like a chuunibyou with no grasp of reality.
Class divides like that weren’t something most people mentioned, nor were they allowed to.
Emma’s eyes turned cold.
“I am an extremely suspicious person, especially when it comes to things that shouldn’t be seen by others. I always leave marks on my belongings. And yesterday, only you and Jasmine were late to PE. Jasmine is neither a pervert nor a lesbian—she wouldn’t open my backpack for no reason. That leaves only you.”
Rudius kept his thoughts to himself: You’ve got that wrong.
Jasmine is absolutely a pervert.
The moment he’d walked in and seen Emma, he’d understood what was happening.
Now, watching her eyes, he knew this wouldn’t end well.
Her privileged background seemed to give her the confidence to deal with him easily.
If he couldn’t overpower Emma today, he’d face endless trouble in the future.
“What do you want?” Rudius asked.
He didn’t bother explaining that he hadn’t done it.
Emma was the type of person who was incredibly self-assured—once she believed something, it wouldn’t change easily.
“Close the door,” Emma ordered.
Rudius went and closed it.
Seeing him so cooperative, Emma’s eyes grew even more disdainful.
She looked at him like he was a bug, a pile of trash, her tone dripping with disgust.
“Having someone like you know my secret is absolutely sickening. I really want to smash your head in.”
“That’s impossible—someone would die. Let’s discuss a better solution.” Rudius sighed, but his face showed no trace of worry.
“Don’t use your filthy mouth to speak my name, you disgusting pervert. You sewer-dwelling maggot!” Emma spat, her tone full of contempt.
A flash of anger ignited in Rudius’s chest.
Damn it—did she think he had no temper?
He took a deep breath, suppressing his fury, and let a strange smile curl across his face as he scrutinized her.
He chuckled.
“As a pervert, I’m still far inferior to Student Jiang. I wonder where she buys those toys—and are they any good to use?”
Emma’s eyes turned icy, her gaze piercing through him like a blade.
Her face was as cold as snow.
She spoke slowly, each word dripping with menace: “You dare to be so stubborn when death is imminent? Even the principal listens to me. All I need is for him to issue an announcement that you molested a female student—and you’ll be disgraced and expelled.”
Hmm?
Rudius thought, surprised to encounter it firsthand.
To be honest, he was a little scared—but then he remembered the video on his phone, and his worries immediately subsided.
“If you dare to do that, aren’t you afraid I’ll reveal your secret?” Rudius shot back fiercely.
The role of the villainous scumbag should have been his, but at this moment, compared to her, he seemed almost tame.
Emma smiled easily.
“What evidence do you have to prove it?”
Rudius fell silent.
After a long moment, he sighed.
“What exactly do you want to let me go?”
Emma didn’t answer immediately.
She stood gracefully, arms crossed, and stepped out from behind the desk to stand before him.
She looked down at him and said lightly: “Kneel down and lick my shoes.”
Rudius was stunned into silence, his eyes appraising her strangely.
Emma was completely indifferent to his gaze, watching him like a female cat toying with a mouse.
At the same time, new route choices appeared in his vision.
“Option One: Is there such a good thing? You are overjoyed, eagerly kneeling down to passionately kiss her shoes, even deliberately letting saliva drip from your mouth onto them, intending to wet her jade feet encased in socks.”
“Option Two: As a hunter, you quietly watch your prey perform. At this moment, the prey believes she has the upper hand. She begins to arrogantly make unreasonable demands, attempting to humiliate your character and crush your dignity. You think, ‘That’s enough,’ then bare your fangs at the prey before you, humiliating her severely and letting her witness the terror of a true scumbag.”
Rudius’s lips curved into a smile.
There she is.
Without hesitation, he chose Option Two.
He pulled out his phone, opened yesterday’s video, and pressed play.
He dragged the progress bar to a frame where the backpack was clearly visible, paused it, took a screenshot, then scribbled out Jasmine’s portion.
Seeing him start fiddling with his phone, Emma’s willow-like brows furrowed.
Just as she was about to scold him, Rudius suddenly looked up, flashing her a very strange smile.
“I’ll send you something. Accept my friend request.”
Emma looked at his smile, an inexplicable unease creeping up on her.
At that moment, her phone rang.
She picked it up, lit the screen, and saw Rudius’s friend request.
She frowned, thought for a moment, then clicked ‘Agree.’ No matter how much Rudius struggled, she was confident she could make him submit to her will.
Then Rudius sent her a picture.
Emma opened it.
She saw a familiar backpack—and a hand pulling a grotesque object out of it.
Her face changed.
She stared intently at Rudius.