Why Do All the Villains Look at Me Like This? - Chapter 13

As soon as Meng Xuexiao stepped out of the dorm building, he felt a gaze shadowing his every move—like a hunting wolf. When he looked up, he saw Wu Zian sitting on the steps. The young man had one leg propped up, half a cigarette in one hand,
and a small bag of buns in the other.

Upon spotting Meng Xuexiao, he lifted one of the buns slightly with a smirk, “Want one?”

Meng Xuexiao’s eyes flickered.

He remembered Shen Zekai’s warning, he definitely couldn’t get close to Wu Zian. But this guy wasn’t someone an F-rank like him could afford to offend, either.

Maybe he could just pretend he hadn’t noticed?

After all…

Wu Zian hadn’t exactly spoken loudly.

Meng Xuexiao quickened his pace, but behind him, Wu Zian sneered, casually tossing the bun he’d raised into a nearby trash bin.

“What’s the rush? Trying to get front row seats in class or something?”

This time, Wu Zian’s voice rang out loud and clear. There was no pretending not to hear it anymore.

It’s just a question about why he was in a hurry, answering it probably wouldn’t cause any harm, right?

This time, Meng Xuexiao responded, “Mm.”

But Wu Zian’s tone was laced with mockery, “Just for a lousy front row seat, huh? And you’re scrambling to get it yourself? Looks like Representative Shen didn’t give you any perks after all. Typical—he’s so petty. So? Come with me instead. I’ll save you a seat.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Meng Xuexiao immediately shook his head, “I’m more used to handling things myself.”

Wu Zian responded with another mocking snort.

Meng Xuexiao was the first to arrive in the classroom. He placed his books on the front row desk and was about to open them for some early review when he spotted a hurried figure through the corridor window. He recognized the person—it was one of Shen Zekai’s subordinates, someone who often helped him run errands. The hurried pace suggested he was busy again.

Meng Xuexiao stepped outside, “Is there anything I can help with?”

He knew small favors like this wouldn’t repay all the help Shen Zekai had given him, but if he could return a little, that was something.

The subordinate’s eyes lit up instantly. He had been fretting over the task, “Can you help register these students? The school’s breathing down our necks, but both Shen and I are swamped today.”

“No problem.” Meng Xuexiao quickly confirmed the registration format, page after page, asking clearly about every detail.

Meng Xuexiao wasn’t bothered, but the subordinate started to feel a bit guilty as he flipped through the list, “Isn’t this kind of a lot? You’re still a new student and probably don’t recognize most of the names here.”

“It’s fine. If I don’t know someone, I can just ask around.”

The subordinate gave him a solid slap on the shoulder and a thumbs-up, “Alright, you’re a real bro!”

The force of the slap was a bit much—it made Meng Xuexiao’s shoulder drop slightly. But he knew the guy was just overly enthusiastic and didn’t know how to express it properly, so he gave a faint smile in return. Just as that smile began to form, he felt a sudden chill at the nape of his neck. He instinctively glanced back, toward the rooftop.

The rooftop of the Federal Military Academy was planted with many trees. Their lush leaves almost completely blocked out the sunlight, splitting the canopy into two distinct worlds. One bathed in golden light, the other shrouded in deep shadow.

Meng Xuexiao squinted toward the rooftop, but the overlapping shadows drastically cut down his visibility, and for a moment he wasn’t sure whether what he sensed had been real or imagined.

Shen Zekai’s subordinate noticed his change in demeanor and followed his line of sight, “What’s wrong?”

Meng Xuexiao hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to double-check, He raised his hand and pointed toward the patch of shade opposite them, “Is there… someone over there?”

Shen Zekai’s subordinate squinted as well, “Looks like… not really?”

Meng Xuexiao nodded, so maybe… it was just his imagination?

…

Before afternoon classes began, Meng Xuexiao finally finished filling out that form. He wanted to hand it over to Shen Zekai or his assistant, but both of them were quite busy and nowhere to be found, so he simply placed the form on their desk.

Though the morning and lunchtime had been hectic, Meng Xuexiao was actually quite satisfied. It helped him shift his focus, and even his lingering concern about Wu Zian had lessened. He had previously kept a close eye on Wu Zian’s schedule, deliberately avoiding any overlap. After all, if he couldn’t afford to provoke him, then the least he could do was stay out of his way.

But soon, Meng Xuexiao realized something, aside from this morning’s “Want a bun?” comment, Wu Zian hadn’t done anything out of line. In fact, he hadn’t even shown up near him again. As if… he’d completely forgotten about him.

Meng Xuexiao breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Maybe Wu Zian really did only act that way toward rivals like Shen Zekai. As an insignificant F-rank, someone like him probably wasn’t even worth Wu Zian’s attention.

With that thought, Meng Xuexiao felt noticeably more relaxed by the time his first afternoon class began, a feeling of total lightness and clarity.

The first class of the afternoon was Mecha Theory, which happened to be his best subject.

The class was split into two parts. In the first half, the teacher lectured, in the second, students were divided into small groups for an in-class competition. The team that ranked last would be punished.

To students at the Federal Military Academy, theory classes were far more tedious than combat training. The teacher hadn’t even made it halfway through the lecture before many were already dozing off. Even those who managed to stay awake were struggling to keep track of the lesson.

Meng Xuexiao held his pen, writing slowly but steadily, keeping pace with the lecture. Unknowingly, he had already filled several pages of notes. His desk mate beside him stared wide-eyed in disbelief, “Wha—how do you even manage that?”

“Maybe because I used to have theory-heavy classes all the time,” Meng Xuexiao replied calmly. Before transmigrating into this world, he had been a liberal arts student. Used to memorizing and studying huge amounts of information every day. Compared to that, the academy’s theory classes were barely average.

His desk mate, on the other hand, couldn’t even begin to imagine such a thing, “Wait, so you used to study only theory courses? That sounds like torture!”

The interstellar world was far too chaotic, and the Federation was a tempting prize in the eyes of other nations. Children here were taught how to fight from the moment they were born. Making them sit and read textbooks felt more brutal than throwing them into battle.

“So that’s it. You’re Meng Xuexiao, huh? The one who allegedly got in with a perfect score in Theory and was admitted as a special exception?” A cheerful voice chimed in—it was their class monitor, Xue Chen.

“No way—people actually get perfect scores in theory classes?” That comment instantly perked up a few students who had been struggling to stay awake.

Xue Chen smiled at Meng Xuexiao and extended his hand, “Mind joining our group for the test?”

Meng Xuexiao looked at him, but didn’t immediately say yes or no.

Xue Chen gestured toward his team members and scratched his head a little sheepishly, “Our whole group is made up of big, burly types—we’re pretty bad at pure theory stuff. We’re just worried we’ll end up in last place during the test. I mean, no one wants to get punished, right?”

“If you help us out this time, we’ll team up with you during the next combat class. Then we’ll carry you. We might not be top three in combat skills, but we can at least make top ten.”

Teaming up in combat class, now that was a tempting offer for Meng Xuexiao.

He hadn’t been at the academy long, but news of his F-rank physical stats had already spread throughout the class. It was a massive disadvantage for combat classes, and almost no one wanted to team up with him.
But if he couldn’t find a group, he’d be forced to fail the team-based combat assignments—and at the Federal Military Academy, too many failed classes meant expulsion.

This was a real opportunity. Meng Xuexiao agreed to Xue Chen’s proposal.

The test the teacher organized was in written form. Electronic exams were quickly transmitted to every student’s computer. Most questions were drawn directly from the lecture, with only a few requiring real-world application. For Meng Xuexiao, it was no challenge. The teacher allotted 40 minutes for the test—Meng Xuexiao finished in just over 20. After carefully reviewing the entire test and refining a few answers, he set down his pen.

Just then, Meng Xuexiao felt a tap on his back. He tilted his head slightly and met the sneaky gaze of Xue Chen, the classmate sitting behind him.

Xue Chen, sharp-eyed as ever, noticed that Meng Xuexiao had taken his hands off the keyboard. He leaned in and whispered, “Xuexiao, you’re done already, right? What did you put for question five…? Lend me a little help, yeah?”

He stealthily tilted his screen toward Meng Xuexiao, revealing several unanswered blanks. Meng Xuexiao glanced at his own screen to compare answers, only to find that their questions weren’t identical, clearly a deliberate measure by the teacher to prevent cheating.

He hesitated for a moment, “How about this—tilt your screen a bit more. I’ll take a look and guide you through it.”

It was all for the sake of having a reliable team in combat class.

Xue Chen lit up instantly, practically ready to swear an oath on the spot, “Bro, if this works out, I swear I’ll get you into the top ranks of combat class—even if it costs me my life!”

After submitting the test, Xue Chen was practically floating, nearly bumping into a nearby classmate. The classmate looked at him in confusion, “Xue Chen, what—did you have one too many drinks?”

“Drink? Hell no! I just met a lifesaver!” Xue Chen said, beaming, as he threw an arm around Meng Xuexiao’s shoulders.

Meng Xuexiao shifted slightly to the side, unused to the contact, but Xue Chen didn’t notice. He winked smugly at the other student, “First place in this competition? Already ours.”

Then he called out to his teammates, “Bros, we’re going out to eat later—split the bill, yeah? I’m only treating Meng Xuexiao!”

In truth, whether or not he got treated to a meal didn’t matter to Meng Xuexiao. His eyes were fixed on the teacher seated at the podium. Before releasing the test, the teacher had already pre-set the correct answers for each question, so the grading was progressing quickly.

He just hoped the results would come out soon, so he could ask Xue Chen to honor his promise—his combat class grades couldn’t afford any more delays. Up to now, he had attended four combat classes, one of which already included a team project. Unfortunately, he hadn’t found any teammates for that class, and his grade had been crushed to rock-bottom. If it dropped any lower, expulsion would be right around the corner.

He had to make up for it in the next combat class, no matter what.

Meng Xuexiao paced in place for a bit, then drifted toward where the teacher sat. The grading was mostly done, and the teacher was now organizing the group rankings.

“Xuexiao, hey—Xuexiao, what’s up? I called you three times already,” Xue Chen’s voice finally broke through to him.

Meng Xuexiao started scanning from the top of the list downward, first place, second, third, fourth…

The further down he went, the more tightly wound he became, a creeping sense of unease growing in his chest. He paused, then changed tactics and looked from the bottom up and there he froze. Xue Chen noticed something was off, quickly walked over, and glanced at the screen.

There, their group name sat—firmly in last place.

Xue Chen frowned and turned to the group members behind him. “What the hell happened with you guys? That kind of dragging really tanked our score!”

The rest of the group was in it together with Xue Chen, for better or worse. Seeing the result, they immediately lowered their heads in guilt, though they still seemed a bit unwilling to accept it. A few of them lined up and walked over to the teacher, “Can we take a look at our test papers…?”

The teacher didn’t refuse and pulled up the detailed records, “Go ahead.”

Xue Chen and the others carefully reviewed all their test papers. But… there really weren’t any major problems. Sure, the scores weren’t high, but they weren’t that bad either.

How could this still add up to last place?

Some of the group members grew skeptical, “Maybe we should scroll a bit further…?”

They were subtly hinting that Xue Chen still hadn’t looked at Meng Xuexiao’s test.

“You blockheads! When something goes wrong, you don’t look at yourselves—you go picking at others instead!” Xue Chen scolded, clearly frustrated. Then he turned to Meng Xuexiao, “Don’t mind them, man. They’re just being dumb.”

From how Meng Xuexiao had helped him during the exam, Xue Chen knew he wasn’t some airhead.

But Meng Xuexiao simply shook his head, “It’s fine—check it.”

Not just Xue Chen and the group, even he himself was starting to suspect that something was off. These scores alone shouldn’t have dragged them down to dead last. The cursor scrolled down, and Meng Xuexiao’s test appeared on the screen, right at the top was a glaring, bold red X.

The expressions of the group instantly darkened.

Xue Chen smacked them hard on the back. “What are you guys doing? Why the long faces? Everyone makes mistakes sometimes!”

He turned to look at Meng Xuexiao, just about to say something comforting, when he saw the young man suddenly step forward and grip the mouse, scrolling down all at once.

Question after question scrolled past their eyes like flowing water, each followed by a glaring red X—a brutal sight, like a graveyard of failures.

Meng Xuexiao’s hand tightened on the mouse, his curled knuckles pressing hard against the buttons, triggering multiple error prompts to pop up on the screen. Even the smile that had lingered on Xue Chen’s face slowly faded.

The corners of the boy’s eyes drooped, as if he were a wounded bird shot through the wings by a hunter, “These answers… they’re not the ones I submitted,” Meng Xuexiao said softly.

Xue Chen froze for a moment, then turned to the teacher, “Is it possible… that someone altered his answers?”

The teacher shot him a sideways glance, his demeanor shifting instantly, voice stern, “Once a student clicks submit, the paper is automatically stored in the question database. Are you questioning the school’s integrity?”

Even though he was just a theory instructor, his presence was too much for a group of freshly enrolled cadets to handle, especially when he was a part of the Federal Military Academy, which valued its honor above all. Such a slanderous suggestion was intolerable.

Xue Chen instinctively shrank back, then immediately shook his head.

The Federal Military Academy’s question bank was isolated and supported by the most advanced system in the Federation, even if the sun rose in the west, it wouldn’t make mistakes.

Yet at that moment, Meng Xuexiao looked up, meeting the teacher’s gaze directly. The teacher shifted his eyes toward him, propping himself slightly off the desk, increasing the pressure in his stance.

Meng Xuexiao swallowed but stubbornly repeated what he had said earlier. His voice trembled a little under the oppressive atmosphere, but it was clear, “The answers on this sheet are not what I originally submitted.”

If it had been his own mistake, he would accept it. But if they wanted to pin a baseless fault on him—no way. Under no circumstances would he take the blame.

To the teacher, this attitude was rare. But unfortunately, he saw it as sheer defiance.

The teacher frowned deeply, “So now you’re trying to argue with me? I haven’t even held you accountable for getting so many questions wrong, and here you are questioning the Academy’s credibility. That counts as deliberately disrupting class, doesn’t it? Makes me wonder whether your perfect score on the entrance exam was even real.”

The classroom exploded into gasps.

The teacher’s tone was icy, “I will personally write a report and submit it to the school today, requesting a formal review of your test results. Just wait for their notice.”

Meng Xuexiao opened his mouth to say something, but the teacher cut him off directly, “Class dismissed!”