Why Do All the Villains Look at Me Like This? - Chapter 27

“Wu, class is still in session,” the instructor couldn’t help but speak up to remind him.

But in truth, he himself knew that the words didn’t carry much weight, after all, Wu Zian hadn’t been paying attention to the lesson in the first place and had just been fiddling with his communicator.

But… at least it hadn’t been this blatant before!

He glanced around at the rest of the class, at some point, the other students had also stopped listening to his explanation. One by one, their gazes turned to Wu Zian, their eyes filled with unease and concern.

See? Even the rest of the class had been disturbed.

“Wu…” the instructor finally spoke again, but before he could finish his sentence, the sound of hurried footsteps cut him off.

Wu Zian didn’t even glance at him as he strode quickly out of the training room.

Instructor, “……”

What kind of karmic retribution is this?!

At first, he had even been a bit pleasantly surprised, Wu Zian had, unexpectedly, not skipped his class this time. But now this…? Still, what could he do? After all, Wu Zian had already been capable of beating him a year ago.

Out in the corridor next to the training room, Wu Zian stood there, agitatedly tapping the heel of his shoe against the ground.

The student group chats were all flooded with news of Meng Xuexiao’s duel. But most of them were emphasizing his F-grade physical constitution and the recently leaked recording, very few even mentioned who the opponent was.

Wu Zian didn’t have the patience to read through all that messy, repetitive chatter, so he simply muted the group chats that were flooding his screen with “ding ding ding” notifications.

In fact, he somewhat understood Shen Zekai’s original intention. After Meng Xuexiao was bashed in one of his fan groups, Shen Zekai had immediately come to him, clearly hoping to use Wu Zian’s authority, along with Shen Zekai’s own status, to boost Meng Xuexiao’s standing.

But how did it still turn into something like this…? Can’t even handle such a minor issue properly and still let someone exploit a loophole. Truly worthy of the title “student representative.” What a disgrace to the S-rank name!

Wu Zian opened his communicator, scrolled a bit, and found the contact labeled “AAA” — Li Hao.

This person, although a bit timid and annoying, was at least more useful than most people and could be summoned at any time.

He dialed the call and instinctively gave an order the moment it started ringing, “Find out who initiated the duel.”

But no response came from the other end.

Frowning, Wu Zian realized the call hadn’t even connected.

…Useless trash, every last one of them!

On the other end, Li Hao wasn’t deliberately ignoring Wu Zian’s call. He was simply too excited, too thrilled, to even notice his communicator vibrating. His eyes were almost entirely focused on Shen Zekai’s look of displeasure, even sharp disapproval. His heart pounded faster and faster, and he even felt a trace of secret delight.

Looking at it now, challenging Meng Xuexiao to a duel had really been the right move! Not only could he use this to embarrass Shen Zekai through tormenting Meng Xuexiao, but he’d also stepped right on one of Shen Zekai’s sore spots! And Shen Zekai’s sore spots weren’t exactly easy to step on! If he sent some photos to report back to Brother Wu, he might even get a few words of praise!

Thinking of this, Li Hao puffed up like a victorious rooster. He pointed at Shen Zekai and Meng Xuexiao from a distance and declared, “I made this challenge in front of so many people today, you two better not try to deny it! After all, Representative Shen is known for being the kind of guy who can cover the sky with one hand!”

Meng Xuexiao could tell, something was off with Li Hao today.

In previous encounters, even though Li Hao’s dissatisfaction with Shen Zekai was apparent, he had always held back somewhat, never to the extent of such direct provocation. This was practically a slap to the face. As if… the other side was certain Shen Zekai wouldn’t be able to interfere this time.

Was Li Hao so full of confidence because of… this so-called duel?

Meng Xuexiao didn’t really understand the tradition of dueling.

He tried hard to recall the original book’s scenes about duels, but unfortunately, the Federal Military Academy hadn’t been a major setting in the novel. The whole concept of duels had only been briefly mentioned in passing.

Maybe… he should try probing for more information first?

But judging from Li Hao’s arrogant attitude, there was a real risk of falling into a trap.

Besides, the more he said in a situation like this, the more likely he was to make mistakes. If he ended up exposing the fact that he didn’t understand the duel process at all, he would be completely and utterly put at a disadvantage.

He had never felt as clearly as he did at this moment, he wasn’t a native of this place, just an outsider unfamiliar with the terrain and the people.

As expected… it was troublesome.

Even though he had already been here for several months, this world still felt far too foreign to him.

Meng Xuexiao’s fingers tensed, and he suddenly felt a dampness at his fingertips, turns out, at some point, his palms had begun to sweat. But he didn’t have time to hesitate any longer. If he didn’t speak soon, the other side would probably grow suspicious.

He licked his somewhat dry lips, just about to say something, when Shen Zekai beat him to it.

“Duels have always been a tradition upheld by the Federal Military Academy. Naturally, I won’t interfere.”

He spoke with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, then shifted the tone in the next second, “However, since you’re the one who proposed the duel, isn’t it fair for us to decide the time?”

“After all, isn’t fairness the most important principle of a duel?”

Li Hao was momentarily blocked by that statement, and the excitement he’d been riding on was instantly deflated quite a bit. He had originally planned to finish the duel today, capitalize on all the attention, settle it quickly, and then rush off to give Brother Wu the good news. Now that plan was ruined!

But on second thought, duels were strictly about absolute fairness. They were strictly one-on-one, any form of substitute was strictly forbidden. No matter how well-connected Shen Zekai was, he couldn’t fight in Meng Xuexiao’s place. And Meng Xuexiao was just an F-rank. He couldn’t fly, couldn’t escape, just a duck that was already cooked.

Given that, the timing of the duel didn’t really matter.

It’s just… Brother Wu would have to wait a little longer…

But Li Hao still stood with his hands on his hips and issued a final ultimatum, “I’m a senior, it’s only right that I show some leniency to a junior. You can pick the time, but it can’t be too long. The duel must happen within one week!”

Shen Zekai let out a cold laugh, “That’s not something you need to worry about. To deal with you, we don’t need a week. The duel will take place in three days.”

With that one line, he completely trampled Li Hao’s earlier attempt at appearing generous.

Li Hao was so angry he laughed, “Fine, I’ll be waiting to see how this goes!”

He didn’t forget Meng Xuexiao, either. Before leaving, he threw out a few more sarcastic jabs, “And you—putting your trust in him like that. I was being nice, trying to give you more time to prepare, and now half of its gone just like that. If you get screwed over, you’ll have no one but yourself to blame!”

Shen Zekai instinctively turned to look at Meng Xuexiao, “That’s not what I meant. This duel was something Li Hao started on a whim. If we drag it out too long, we’ll have more time to prepare, but so will he. Who knows what dirty tricks he might come up with…”

Noticing that Meng Xuexiao was also looking at him, Shen Zekai’s voice gradually trailed off. Somehow, it even began to sound… just a little guilty.

“Ah—no, no, that’s not what I meant,” Meng Xuexiao snapped out of it, finally understanding what Shen Zekai meant. He immediately shook his head, “I didn’t think anything of it. I just think you’re really professional.”

Compared to himself, someone still unfamiliar with this world, Shen Zekai truly seemed reliable. It gave him a kind of… feeling that everything was being taken care of. Just like how their homeroom teacher used to praise that “very mature, model student from someone else’s family.”

Meng Xuexiao thought, if someday he could become someone like Shen Zekai… that would be nice. At the very least, it might help the caretaker aunt rest easier, right?

Professional. Very professional. That was what Meng Xuexiao said.

It was the kind of phrase Shen Zekai had heard many times before, usually exchanged with a few close bros while throwing arms around each other’s shoulders. You could call it a familiar kind of teasing, really.

But this time, the feeling it gave him was strangely off. It made him both want Meng Xuexiao to hurry up and finish what he was saying and also want him to slow down. Just a little more. Slower still.

Yet Meng Xuexiao spoke with unusual seriousness, his pace especially slow, like a cat’s tail brushing gently across the tip of his heart again and again.

Shen Zekai could feel the blood in all his internal organs rush straight to his head. It was even harder to control than the adrenaline rush during combat training in practical class.

“Uh, cough… Actually, it’s not that professional. It’s just… cough, stuff you get used to with enough practice. You can do it, too,” he coughed a few times, then started counting on his fingers as he explained the details of duel preparation.

Shen Zekai explained things in great detail, it was clear he had done plenty of research and had witnessed many duels firsthand.

“The Federal Military Academy’s rules on dueling, well, you could say they’re strict, or not so strict. You can’t have someone else fight in your place, but there are still some support tools you’re allowed to bring.”

“I remember, you’ve taken the mecha operations course, right? Come with me for a bit.”

Shen Zekai led Meng Xuexiao out of the room, heading toward a location at the center of the school. The Federal Military Academy was very deliberate in its layout, the more high-tech the equipment, the closer it was to the center of campus. The lower-tech and less frequently used gear was relegated to the outer areas.

Meng Xuexiao had a faint premonition, Shen Zekai was probably taking him to the Mecha Maintenance Center.

The Mecha Maintenance Center wasn’t open to school-issued mechas. It was only available for students’ private mechas. But ordinary students rarely set foot in that place, because the center had strict requirements on mecha grade, any mecha below a certain level wasn’t even allowed in.

By all rights, Meng Xuexiao should have had nothing to do with that place. But he had been there once, because… Chu Sinian had gifted him a mecha.

Of course, even if a student’s mecha met the grade requirement, they still had to pay a hefty maintenance fee each year to use the facility.

Back then, he’d been targeted by Xu Gao, and the training mecha he’d received from the school had been destroyed in a match with Xu Gao. Chu Sinian reported the incident to the school and then gave him a replacement.

Chu Sinian was far too dangerous a person. Meng Xuexiao hadn’t wanted to accept anything from him, but to refuse, he’d have to meet with Chu Sinian again and create further ties to that dangerous man.

In the end, he decided to at least go see the mecha.

He had originally thought that the one Chu Sinian sent would be more or less the same as the standard school models, after all, Chu Sinian had given it under the pretense of “replacing damaged property.”

But once he saw it, he realized, the mecha Chu Sinian had given him was privately purchased, and not just any model, it was the latest version on the market at the time, several grades above the school’s standard-issue mechas. It had been stored at the Mecha Maintenance Center.

Back then, Meng Xuexiao had stood at a distance, separated by the high bomb-resistant glass walls of the maintenance center, and looked at that mecha, just once.

That sleek, high-end mecha was displayed right in the center, with countless mechanical arms moving back and forth over it. Even the lubricant applied to the screws was the most expensive kind. It didn’t feel like a combat mecha at all, but rather, like a luxurious work of art.

Just looking at it from a distance gave off an awe-inspiring feeling, as if one were gazing at a masterpiece in the Louvre.

If it had been an ordinary mecha, that would’ve been one thing. As long as it meant no further contact with Chu Sinian, Meng Xuexiao could’ve accepted it with his eyes closed, gritting his teeth.

But this kind of thing, how could he possibly dare accept it?

It was clearly a case of a weasel paying respects to a chicken, no good intentions at all!

In the end, he only took one glance from afar, then quietly left.

Afterward, he mulled it over for a long time and finally chose a compromise. He placed the key into an envelope and mailed it back to Chu Sinian. In very formal and polite language, he expressed his gratitude for the gesture and made it clear that the item was too valuable for him to accept.

But a few days later, the key returned to his hands again, also by mail, and in the very same envelope Meng Xuexiao had originally used.

At the bottom of the envelope, Chu Sinian had written in the same elegant cursive he used to sign contracts, “You don’t need to be so polite with me.”

Looking at those graceful words, Meng Xuexiao could almost hear the man’s low, gentle voice, as if wrapped in thick honey, hiding a trap beneath. No one could tell when it might suddenly spring.

Meng Xuexiao bit his lip and stayed silent the whole afternoon. In the end, he still didn’t return the key. That key ended up lying at the very bottom drawer of his cabinet, buried beneath layers of clothes and miscellaneous items.

Now, even Meng Xuexiao hadn’t expected that he would once again find himself outside the Mecha Maintenance Center.

Thinking of the top-of-the-line mecha Chu Sinian had once given him, he instinctively came to a halt.

This was the kind of place he was never meant to set foot in.

Shen Zekai, noticing his hesitation, paused as well and looked back at him in confusion.

That sudden stop made Meng Xuexiao feel a bit embarrassed.

He knew that as the student representative, Shen Zekai was extremely busy, always on a tight schedule, and didn’t have time to waste here.

In the end, he still lifted his foot and followed Shen Zekai through the entrance of the Mecha Maintenance Center.

The mecha Chu Sinian had given him was still parked there, taking up quite a bit of space. Meng Xuexiao spotted it almost instantly.

The moment he saw it, it was as if he’d been burned. He quickly looked away, unwilling to even glance at it again.

Fortunately, Shen Zekai’s destination wasn’t anywhere near that area.

Meng Xuexiao followed him around several corners, heading to another side. As that mecha gradually disappeared from view, Meng Xuexiao finally let out a breath of relief, and his steps noticeably quickened.

But in the next moment, another mecha appeared before his eyes.

This one was even several meters taller than the one Chu Sinian had given him, and it was outfitted with numerous high-tech weapons, many of which Meng Xuexiao had never even seen mentioned in the book. Judging by its appearance, it seemed to be custom-made.

“This is my mecha,” Shen Zekai said, “You’ll be using it for now.”

Meng Xuexiao’s vision went dark for a moment.

At this very moment, looking at that mecha felt like standing in an art gallery, staring at the Mona Lisa.

He really should’ve seen it coming. After all, Li Hao had already made such harsh threats, and Shen Zekai was the type of person who was especially kind and warm-hearted, of course he’d choose to lend him a mecha for self-defense.

But….

On the dueling grounds, blades and weapons show no mercy. Meng Xuexiao was an F-rank, and his own combat ability wasn’t strong. In the heat of battle, he would inevitably have to rely heavily on the mecha.

That would unavoidably lead to significant damage to the machine.

If he were to use the mecha in front of him for the fight, if it got damaged, never mind ten Meng Xuexiaos, even a hundred wouldn’t be enough to pay for it!

He didn’t want to owe Shen Zekai another favor. Because once you owe too many favors, you can never pay them back.

“I absolutely can’t accept this mecha,” Meng Xuexiao said firmly, with no room for negotiation in his tone.

Shen Zekai gave a helpless smile and pulled out the explanation he’d already prepared.

“You don’t need to worry about breaking it. This mecha is experimental by nature. My father entrusted it to me specifically for testing its performance, so improvements can be made on the original design. Even if I weren’t lending it to you, I’d still need to push it to its limits. After all, it’s a military prototype. If we don’t test it thoroughly now, and it malfunctions on the battlefield later, it could cost even more lives.”

“Just treat it as doing me a favor, I want to collect combat data from your fight with Li Hao,” Shen Zekai said with genuine sincerity, so sincere that it reminded Meng Xuexiao of the big golden retriever that used to live next door before he transmigrated into the book.

Whenever the golden retriever saw him, it would run over excitedly with its tongue hanging out, throw its front paws around his leg, and slowly sweep a “gift” in front of him with its long tail.

Sometimes it was a big beef bone it had secretly hidden for a week. Other times it was half a hot dog sausage. It always left Meng Xuexiao laughing and crying at the same time.

But this time, the “beef bone” and “sausage” felt a little too expensive.

“Then… do you have any specific requirements for the data you want to collect? I’ll make sure to fulfill all of them.”

Shen Zekai immediately froze.

That had just been an excuse to convince Meng Xuexiao to accept the mecha. Now that Meng Xuexiao was actually asking about the requirements… he really didn’t know what to say.

But as a student representative, and someone with top-notch scores in the mecha division, he figured he could probably make something up with a few technical terms and not get caught…

So, adjusting his expression, he casually threw out a few specialized terms that only upperclassmen would typically know.

As expected, Meng Xuexiao didn’t quite understand them, but his attitude was unexpectedly serious and focused, even eager to study them carefully, almost as if he was afraid of collecting the wrong data.

A strange wave of guilt washed over Shen Zekai.

Five minutes later, Meng Xuexiao even pulled out his notepad.

At that point, Shen Zekai felt like his conscience had been severely condemned.

Finally, Shen Zekai coughed lightly and forcefully stuffed the notepad into Meng Xuexiao’s bag, “Let’s not talk about that now. We only have three days to prepare. Get inside the mecha, I’ll walk you through the basic operations.”

Meng Xuexiao hesitated.

He actually wanted Shen Zekai to finish explaining the parts that needed to be collected for the data. After all, that was a pretty crucial part of this duel for him. But Shen Zekai seemed to be in a bit of a rush.

In the end, he still got into the mecha.

The interior of this mecha was much more spacious than any of the ones he had used before, and it was also equipped with far more diverse and sophisticated systems. The moment Meng Xuexiao sat down, lights flickered on all around him, and complex data began rapidly scrolling across the electronic screens.

The sheer volume of information was massive, and it all looked extremely high-tech. Most importantly, the control switches were all within arm’s reach. Just a slight bend or lift of the leg and he’d touch something.

Convenient? Sure. But what if he hit the wrong button…

Meng Xuexiao immediately recalled a video their instructor had shown during the mecha operations course, one misstep by the pilot, and not only did the mecha explode, it brought down three or five military buildings with it.

In that moment, Meng Xuexiao finally understood why Shen Zekai had chosen not to keep explaining the data collection and instead prioritized teaching him the basic operations.

He instinctively glanced toward the walls of the maintenance center. Sure, they were solid, but still a maintenance center couldn’t possibly compare to a military-grade facility, could it? Now he didn’t dare move at all.

He was like a cat caught over open flames, limbs stiff, doing everything he could to shrink into the seat.

Just as Meng Xuexiao felt he had settled into a secure position, the seatback suddenly shifted, pushing his slightly hunched back upright.

It actually… moved on its own?!

Meng Xuexiao wasn’t sure if he had accidentally triggered something. He was just about to jump out of the mecha entirely, but the seat had been custom-made for Shen Zekai, and it was too high for someone like Meng Xuexiao.

The boy’s legs swung uselessly in the air a couple of times, but he wasn’t able to get down right away. He quickly craned his head out of the mecha, trying to spot Shen Zekai, “Is this… normal?!”

Just as he finished speaking, the seat suddenly dropped downward with a jolt. A loud “click” sounded as it locked into place.

By the time he came to his senses, Meng Xuexiao’s feet were already touching the floor of the cockpit.

“This is… so advanced!” Meng Xuexiao widened his eyes and craned his neck to look down at the seat beneath him.

There was no way such a thing could be pure coincidence, the only logical explanation was that this was one of the mecha’s built-in features.

Naturally, the boy’s exclamation of wonder reached Shen Zekai’s ears. But Shen Zekai didn’t look pleased by the praise, instead, his expression had grown serious.

The moment Meng Xuexiao had poked his head out, clearly about to hop off, Shen Zekai had already been ready to go in and help, but for some reason, the mecha rejected his access and locked the entrance shut.

Shen Zekai hadn’t lied earlier, this mecha had been a gift from Colonel Shen. To ensure his son’s safety, Colonel Shen had embedded numerous backup protocols into the system. Just for entryway failures alone, there were five or six different contingency measures.

But at this moment, all of those measures had failed.

As if suddenly realizing something, Shen Zekai backed away to a distance where he could take in the entire mecha, and sure enough, a pattern resembling an eye unfurled on the back of the mecha, accompanied by a cold-toned electric current.