Why Do All the Villains Look at Me Like This? - Chapter 5

This was the first good dream Meng Xuexiao had had since transmigrating into the book. In all his previous dreams, he was either being hunted down or dying in some unknown corner. But this time, he dreamed he was lying on a lounge chair on the balcony, gently rocking back and forth. Morning glories climbed up along the curtains, scattering bursts of vivid color.

The caregiver auntie sat beside him on a small stool, humming an off-key tune, and told him, “Everything will be alright.”

For some reason, Meng Xuexiao’s nose stung slightly, and the scent of sunlight filled the air.

Lying on the bed, Meng Xuexiao slowly opened his eyes, staring directly at the patterns on the ceiling. It wasn’t the reception room, nor the medical pod, he had been moved to a completely unfamiliar room!

He flipped over and sat up on the bed, his toes touching the floor. Not only was there no trace of the previous numbness or soreness, but he also felt an unusual lightness, as if he had slept for dozens of days and was now brimming with energy.

At that moment, a soldier knocked on the door from outside.

“Mr. Meng Xuexiao, your old school uniform was torn and soaked in therapeutic liquid, so it’s no longer wearable. A new uniform has been placed on your bed.”

Meng Xuexiao looked over at the bed, and sure enough, there was a brand-new school uniform laid out neatly, not a single wrinkle on it. He reached out and touched it, though it was the same style as the military academy’s standard uniform, the fabric and texture were completely different. It was clearly a very expensive custom-made version.

But Meng Xuexiao did not put on the new uniform. He remained dressed in the damaged old one. No one would offer benefits to someone else for no reason, let alone to someone like him, an F-grade.

Meng Xuexiao opened the door. The soldier was still standing outside. Seeing that Meng Xuexiao was still wearing the clothes from the medical pod, the soldier opened his mouth as if to say something, but, considering Colonel Shen’s ambiguous attitude, he didn’t dare speak.

Instead, he quickly followed Colonel Shen’s instructions and led Meng Xuexiao to the dining hall. Inside, Shen Zekai and Colonel Shen were already seated, but their utensils were still neatly placed beside their trays, unused—as if they had been waiting. Meng Xuexiao stopped at a spot not far from the table, not daring to approach recklessly.

Colonel Shen held a very high military rank. Anyone who could make him wait must be an important figure within the Federation. Meng Xuexiao had no intention of attracting the attention of such people. He was just an ordinary F-grade, with no particularly high ambitions. His greatest wish was simply to survive, intact and whole.

“Why aren’t you sitting?” Colonel Shen gestured with a slight tilt of his chin toward the chair across from him.

Meng Xuexiao was about to refuse, but the soldier had already pulled the chair out for him. If he refused again at this point, it would be seen as disrespectful, a failure to recognize kindness.

So Meng Xuexiao sat down, imitating Colonel Shen and Shen Zekai by not touching the utensils.

They ended up sitting like that for over ten minutes. The atmosphere at the dining table was oppressively silent. Meng Xuexiao used his peripheral vision to glance at Colonel Shen and Shen Zekai, their hands were still properly placed on either side of their trays, completely motionless.

…It had to be said, the discipline in the military was truly strict.

Even though the guest hadn’t arrived yet, they had to prepare so early and wait so formally.

“Gurgle.”
A faint sound echoed in the dining hall, a protest from someone’s stomach. Meng Xuexiao followed the sound and looked toward Shen Zekai.

Shen Zekai seemed a bit embarrassed. He coughed lightly and stiffened his legs. But his stomach betrayed him again, letting out another “gurgle,” this one even louder than before.

Having been kidnapped, Shen Zekai hadn’t properly eaten for several days, and now the hunger was coming on stronger and stronger.

Meng Xuexiao calmly withdrew his gaze.

As expected, life in the military wasn’t easy—with food placed right in front of them but forbidden to eat, it was practically a form of torture.

Finally, Colonel Shen gave a light cough, breaking the heavy silence.

“What’s going on with your clothes? Didn’t they put a new uniform in your room?”

“It’s nothing,” Meng Xuexiao replied with the excuse he had thought up when he left the room, “The military academy issued us spare uniforms. Once I get back to my dorm, I can change into one.”

Colonel Shen rubbed his chin, then suddenly leaned forward. Meng Xuexiao instinctively leaned back, his neck tracing a graceful arc through the air. The chair beneath him scraped harshly against the tiled floor, making an ear-piercing sound. His obsidian-like eyes stared unblinkingly at Colonel Shen, full of guarded alertness—just like a wary little animal.

Colonel Shen couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

This kid was quite interesting.

He quickly withdrew his earlier intention of probing with the uniform and said, “Little Meng, you’re too polite. During the kidnapping, Shen Zekai said you looked after him. At the end, you even risked yourself to draw attention away from the others.”

So that’s what it was.

Meng Xuexiao understood now, Colonel Shen was trying to use the uniform as a way to settle the favor between them. It was a typical move from someone in a position of power. Favors were valuable, and people like them always preferred to pay with something tangible.

Naturally, Meng Xuexiao wasn’t going to offend someone like Colonel Shen over such a small matter. He nodded slightly and said, “Then, I’ll accept the new uniform.”

Colonel Shen showed a satisfied smile.

As expected, only by handling it this way could he get the other party to accept the gift.

He spoke again, “Shen Zekai also wanted to thank you for helping him get in touch with me.”

Colonel Shen motioned to a nearby soldier, who immediately brought over a backpack that reflected the latest fashion trends. It was a soft, light beige-gray color, understated yet luxurious, very fitting for Meng Xuexiao.

Meng Xuexiao hugged the backpack to his chest, but he could feel something hard inside, as if something had been stuffed into it. He unfastened the buckle to check, and saw a few books placed inside. They were the textbooks required by the school.

Of course, Meng Xuexiao recognized them immediately, these few thin books were the very reason he had been kidnapped!

When he had escaped from the warehouse, he had been in such a rush that he hadn’t had time to retrieve his books. He had originally thought he would have to make another trip to get them before returning to school, but unexpectedly, here they were—delivered right into his hands by a twist of fate.

He hadn’t expected to be this lucky!

Seeing the faint smile that appeared at the corners of Meng Xuexiao’s mouth, Colonel Shen also slightly curved his own lips.

“Then let’s start the meal. After we finish eating, I’ll send you both back to school.”

To Shen Zekai, this sentence was nothing short of a pardon. He immediately grabbed his chopsticks and started eating furiously.

Wait… they were starting to eat?

Weren’t they waiting for an important guest?

Meng Xuexiao glanced around, there was no one else in the dining hall, still just the three of them. He hesitated about whether to pick up his knife and fork, but then he saw that Shen Zekai had already devoured more than half of his meal in a whirlwind, brown sauce smeared around his mouth, completely lacking any of the decorum he had displayed earlier when sitting rigidly upright.

…

Meng Xuexiao had originally thought Colonel Shen would choose a simple method to send them back to school, he hadn’t expected that they would actually take a starship. Looking down at the military academy’s main gate, which was now almost just a tiny black dot below them, Meng Xuexiao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He only wanted to lay low here, he had no intention of becoming the headline sensation the moment he arrived.

Meng Xuexiao felt he had to fight for his future quiet life and suggested, “Maybe we should land somewhere near the school instead? The academy has extremely strict surveillance systems overhead, any foreign objects would be intercepted immediately.”

This was also one of the reasons why the military academy was considered the safest place in the entire Federation.

But in the next second, he heard the monitoring system’s announcement.

【Starship No. 20516, scan complete. Colonel Shen, the Alliance Military Academy welcomes your arrival!】

Layer upon layer of defensive barriers dissipated, and the starship instantly entered the academy’s airspace.

Meng Xuexiao, “……”

He opened his mouth, but in the end, couldn’t say a word.

Fine. This was the unstoppable force of authority.

The starship was steadily descending. Meng Xuexiao could already faintly see students walking along the paths below.

A boy and girl were walking side by side. The boy had picked a flower and was trying to tuck it behind the girl’s ear. The girl smiled brightly and tilted her head slightly. But then, from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Meng Xuexiao’s direction.

She widened her eyes and started frantically slapping the boy’s shoulder, all while pointing vigorously at Meng Xuexiao’s side. The boy, stunned, followed her gaze and the flower in his hand fell to the ground.

“A starship—it’s really a starship!”

They immediately started running toward the starship, waving as they ran.

At this distance, they probably couldn’t see his face… right?

Meng Xuexiao quickly estimated but still wasn’t sure. He immediately pulled back the hand that had been resting against the window and lowered his body, crouching down a little. Shen Zekai, clearly used to this kind of situation, casually waved out the window. It was only when his gaze fell on Meng Xuexiao that he noticed the other boy curled up into a ball.

Somewhat confused, he reached out to pull him up. “What’s wrong with you?”

At that moment, the Federation Military Academy’s patrol light happened to sweep over, completely illuminating Shen Zekai, making him look like a giant glowing lightbulb. More and more people within the academy began to look up, their eyes fixed tightly in their direction.

Meng Xuexiao took a small step back, staying hunched over. “Nothing… just… a little afraid of heights.”

Shen Zekai, “…Huh?”

He clearly remembered that Meng Xuexiao wasn’t afraid of heights before.

The starship finally landed on the Federation Military Academy’s docking platform. The platform was extremely spacious and much higher than the surrounding buildings, like an enormous open-air stage. Meng Xuexiao gave it a quick glance, then immediately lowered his eyes.

This level of ostentation was really a bit excessive, making Meng Xuexiao feel extremely insecure.

What if someone saw him?

As someone with such an ordinary rank, he would definitely be seen as an easy target and struck down.

Meng Xuexiao made a swift decision, he had to leave this place of trouble immediately. “Can I go back to the dormitory first?”

Colonel Shen didn’t refuse. The mouth that usually only uttered harsh and cutting remarks softened slightly, “Be careful on the way.”

Once Meng Xuexiao had walked away, Colonel Shen smacked Shen Zekai on the back of the head. “Stop staring, it’s embarrassing! Didn’t you see how Meng Xuexiao kept his eyes straight ahead? Only you were gawking at all the starships!”

Shen Zekai mouthed a reluctant “Yes,” but his eyes were still lingering on the starship across from them.

After all, what man didn’t love starships?! Especially since every starship parked at the Federation Military Academy had its own unique prestige!

The ship he was looking at belonged to the Academy’s headmaster, a vessel that had achieved glorious military feats before the headmaster’s retirement, with every single scratch on its hull bearing the marks of hard-won honors.

Colonel Shen, “……”

Truly, there was no comparing people. As someone connected to the Enforcer, Meng Xuexiao’s vision and self-restraint were indeed unlike most. Meanwhile, Shen Zekai, the heir to the Shen family, still had much to learn.

Before leaving, Colonel Shen warned his son once more, “Don’t provoke him. Help him out if you can while at school. If you can’t, then let me know.”

“Got it!” Shen Zekai finally snapped out of his daze, though a trace of dissatisfaction lingered on his face.

“Even without you telling me, I would’ve helped him anyway!”