Why Do All the Villains Look at Me Like This? - Chapter 14

Not long after class ended, an Official Investigation Notice stamped with the school seal was delivered directly into Meng Xuexiao’s hands. The Academic Affairs teacher also summoned him to the office. It was currently dinnertime. The teacher was sitting leisurely, an exquisite meal laid out before him, with an aromatic candle flickering beside it. Under the candle’s wavering light, even the rice on his plate seemed to glow enticingly.

“You’re here, huh.” The Academic Affairs teacher looked up at Meng Xuexiao, barely acknowledging him, and instead spooned some soup into his mouth.

The teacher’s chair sat high off the ground, so that when he looked down, it gave off an innate sense of superiority, like a judge seated above the courtroom. That kind of posture silently imposed pressure on the person standing below.

Meng Xuexiao felt this must be a deliberate show of authority.

Being made to stand in silence like this, anyone who was already feeling guilty would become even more flustered. Anyone timid would start losing their nerve and even begin to question whether they had truly done something wrong. Unfortunately for the teacher, Meng Xuexiao was neither of those types.

He stood quietly to the side, calmly waiting, listening to the scraping of the cutlery against the plate as the Academic Affairs teacher ate, a kind of silent confrontation in its own right.

In this standoff, neither side yielded nor retreated, the usually effective show of dominance had failed. The Academic Affairs teacher soon lost interest in dragging things out. He pushed the plate aside, dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin, then tilted his chin toward Meng Xuexiao, still carrying that air of superiority.

“So you’re that F-rank? Explain the situation.”

The Federal Military Academy was notoriously strict about academic fraud, expulsion was considered a lenient outcome. So from the moment Meng Xuexiao stepped into the office, he had already prepared his statement.

He began directly, “I didn’t cheat. My score is real—”

Before he could finish, the teacher impatiently raised a hand in a cutting-off gesture, “Did I ask you that?! Nine out of ten students under review start off with that same line! Long-winded excuses, all garbage from the first word!”

“You brats, dumb and useless, you’ve got the guts to cheat but not to admit it? Now that your teacher’s reported it, guess who’s getting dragged down with you? Me!”

“I could’ve been enjoying a decent dinner and resting after hours, but no—I have to waste my time dealing with trash like you!”

After venting enough to feel better, the Academic Affairs teacher jerked his chin at Meng Xuexiao again, “Keep talking.”

Meng Xuexiao had barely started, “I…”

And again, he was cut off.

“—And another thing!” the Academic Affairs teacher suddenly remembered something and added, “Get to the point. If it’s useless nonsense, don’t bother saying it.”

The room fell into silence. After a few seconds, the teacher’s brows furrowed hard. He slammed the table, “Why are you standing there like a statue? Speak!”

“If that’s the case, then I truly have nothing to say.”

It wasn’t a loud voice—quiet, calm, flat. Like a stone dropped into a lake that couldn’t stir even the smallest ripple.

The teacher’s eyes widened in disbelief, staring at the student he’d just labeled “trash.”

Meng Xuexiao stood there with the appearance of someone meek and compliant, a face that showed no hint of resistance or aggression. His arms hung loosely at his sides, fingers resting along his pant seams, like a docile little lamb in a pen. It was as if anyone could drag him out, cook him, and serve him on a platter.

The teacher had assumed that the earlier silent resistance to his intimidation tactics was the limit of Meng Xuexiao’s nerve. He hadn’t expected him to come out with something this defiant. If the student file didn’t clearly label him as F-rank, the teacher might have mistaken him for a proud S-rank student.

Inside, though, Meng Xuexiao felt no waves—no panic, no rage—only a chilling calm. Meng Xuexiao had encountered people like the Academic Affairs teacher before. In front of such people, any explanation was meaningless—it was simply… a waste of time.

“You’re welcome to give me a new set of questions. I can answer them on the spot.”

He was indeed just an F-rank student, the so-called hopeless trash in their eyes. Even if he chased after them with all his might, he’d never match the so-called A- or S-ranks in raw ability.

“You…!” The teacher was momentarily struck speechless, rare for someone like him. And yet, the student hadn’t used a single harsh word.

But theory, that was his domain.

After a pause, the teacher angrily pulled up several test papers from the question bank and threw them onto his computer’s desktop. “Fine, do it! You want to do it? Go ahead! I’ll be watching you myself. Just try cheating—I dare you!”

The teacher’s chest rose and fell with fury. This offer had been a bluff to vent his anger. He hadn’t actually expected Meng Xuexiao to use his computer.

What a joke, letting an F-rank student touch a teacher’s computer? Such insolence, who would dare?

But Meng Xuexiao simply nodded slightly, eyes serious and focused. He walked around the desk and, without hesitation, sat down beside the teacher’s computer. The teacher’s half-finished meal and utensils were still piled up on the desk like a small hill, making the already cluttered surface even more chaotic, sticky with leftovers and sauce stains…

The bowls and utensils from the teacher’s meal hadn’t yet been cleared away, forming a small hill on the desk. The clutter made the desk look especially messy, and a fork coated in sauce hovered just inches from the sleeve of Meng Xuexiao’s school uniform—the sauce looked like it might drip at any moment.

Disgusting.

Meng Xuexiao frowned slightly and reached out to pull the monitor closer to himself, steering clear of the food remnants. His look of distaste was nearly written all over his face.

Then, he began answering the questions.

Academic Affairs Teacher, “…..”

His vision darkened ever so slightly.

But what’s said is said, spilled water can’t be taken back. As a teacher, he couldn’t very well yank the student away from the desk.

He could only hope that everything Meng Xuexiao was showing now was just a front—and that the answers he was writing were complete nonsense.

Forty minutes later, the test was done.

Meng Xuexiao stood up from the computer and, as he backed away, glanced once more at the pile of leftover food on the desk, still carefully avoiding it.

Academic Affairs teacher, “…..”

The teacher finally couldn’t take it anymore. Using the desk cloth, he bundled up all the food remnants on the desk and tossed them straight into the trash. He didn’t even bother keeping the cloth. Only after doing all that did he exhale sharply and slump back into his seat. Now, the situation had flipped. Meng Xuexiao was standing while the academic affairs teacher was sitting.

In theory, the seated one should have held the upper hand, but Meng Xuexiao didn’t show a hint of fear. Rather than a student under suspicion, he looked more like a warrior waiting to be awarded a medal.

This is ridiculous! The teacher cursed silently—he’d never seen anything like this.

Desperate to regain composure, he forced himself to focus on checking Meng Xuexiao’s answers against the question bank.

No matter how many times he checked, there was only one result. A perfect score.

His final hope shattered.

Like a balloon that had just been popped, the teacher could only take out his frustration by waving Meng Xuexiao away, “Go, go already!”

But Meng Xuexiao didn’t move.

The teacher felt another headache coming on, “What now?”

An inappropriate thought crept into his head, is this what people mean by “easy to invite, hard to send away”…?!

“I’m not asking for much,” Meng Xuexiao said calmly, “It’s just that earlier, you issued me an investigation notice because of the grading error.”

The teacher’s words came out at lightning speed, “Ah, that? Don’t worry about it. We’ll correct your grade, and I’ll personally take care of the registry and the appeal process for the investigation!”

So get the hell out of here already!

Meng Xuexiao still seemed skeptical. He narrowed his eyes at the teacher. “This won’t affect me in any way, right?”

The world outside the military academy was far too risky for him—getting expelled was absolutely not an option. He had to make sure.

“Relax, it won’t.” The teacher’s words were tired, almost lifeless.

After a pause, seeing that Meng Xuexiao was still staring at him without blinking, the teacher hurriedly added, “I promise!”

Only then did Meng Xuexiao finally leave. On his way out, he even thoughtfully closed the door behind him.

The teacher wiped the sweat from his forehead, “Damn it, finally gone! Why are kids these days so serious about everything? Couldn’t even save me a bit of face!”

But for the sake of the academic affairs office’s reputation, some things still had to be dealt with.

He picked up the phone and called the Theory Course Instructor, “We’ve already double-checked on our end. Meng Xuexiao didn’t cheat. Go correct his grade immediately.”

The Theory Instructor listened for a while and replied with only one word, “Huh?”

It was his break time, he was watching TV with the volume cranked up, so he honestly hadn’t caught a word of what the academic affairs teacher was saying. His leisurely tone instantly ignited the other man’s fury.

He’d just been wrecked by a student on his end, and the idiot who caused it all was out there enjoying himself?

“You’re watching TV? What the hell are you watching for?! You’ve probably gone blind from all that screen time! Screwed up a grade, botched a test, even with automated systems helping you out! Do you have any idea how much face I just lost in front of that student?!”

“Hurry up and fix Meng Xuexiao’s grade for me!” the academic affairs teacher roared. “I’m telling you, if a mistake like this happens again, say goodbye to your year-end bonus!”

He vented all his fury squarely on the Theory Course teacher.