Why Do All the Villains Look at Me Like This? - Chapter 82

“What are you doing here?” Shen Zekai’s voice carried a dark, hoarse edge, half his face buried in shadow, obscuring his expression.

His current appearance nearly startled Meng Xuexiao. If not for the faint familiarity in his features, he might not have recognized him at all.

The sudden shift in atmosphere made Meng Xuexiao freeze. He swallowed the words he had been about to say, intending to stop the Silver-Haired Man and Raven.

“Ah, it’s you.” The Silver-Haired Man tilted his head slightly, as if finally dredging up Shen Zekai from the depths of his memory—one of his fragments from Academy City.

When this fragment had been split off, it had been cut a bit too small, barely reaching S-Class level. As a result, the Silver-Haired Man had forgotten about it entirely.

He only remembered now because of a recent, extraordinary event.

This fragment had forcibly broken through to 2S-Class using its own power.

Such a feat was considered nearly impossible. From the moment of division, each fragment’s potential was thought to be predetermined.

“…It’s me,” Shen Zekai said, his voice strained under the Silver-Haired Man’s gaze.

They were never meant to meet. One was a being dwelling in the deep sea, contemplating self-destruction; the other was born into the Shen Family, raised under Colonel Shen’s tutelage, and rose steadily through the ranks to reach the Federation Military Academy.

Neither the Silver-Haired Man nor Shen Zekai should have ever crossed paths. Until—

Shen Zekai broke through to 2S-Class.

At the time, Shen Zekai had been searching for Meng Xuexiao in the Empire without success, plunging him into deep self-blame. Between searches, he pleaded with Colonel Shen to let him train at the Alliance Military Department, deliberately choosing missions that pushed him beyond his limits.

He didn’t know if he would ever find Meng Xuexiao. All he knew was that if he did manage to bring Meng Xuexiao back, but his own abilities still lagged behind, he would have to watch helplessly as Meng Xuexiao disappeared again.

During that period, his obsession with becoming stronger became his sole pillar of support.

During one mission, Shen Zekai was truly pushed to the brink. His body was hacked to pieces by Alien Beasts. Because he had snuck out to train on his own, the Federal Military Department was completely unaware of his actions and couldn’t send rescue.

In that critical moment of life and death, Shen Zekai broke through.

The sensation was like a tightly binding membrane tearing apart, as if he had ascended from one dimension to another.

During this process, he realized he was merely a fragment.

The silver-haired man before him was his Main Body.

The Main Body—a being on the same plane as the world’s consciousness. The mere mental liberation during his breakthrough was enough for Shen Zekai to recognize the Main Body’s unparalleled power.

Yet Shen Zekai felt a surge of excitement.

If this was the Main Body, surely he could easily locate Meng Xuexiao?

Since Meng Xuexiao’s disappearance, Shen Zekai had never felt such joy.

Thanks to his training in the Military Department, countless strategies flooded his mind: gentle persuasion, interrogation, imprisonment…

“Shen Zekai…” Meng Xuexiao finally couldn’t help but speak.

Shen Zekai’s gaze at the silver-haired man was unsettling, like a wolf staring at a piece of meat, its eyes seeming to glow with a green light.

The target of their attention was the Silver-Haired Man, a figure of immense danger. Even mercenaries like Raven couldn’t gain an advantage against him, let alone Shen Zekai.

Shen Zekai was still just a student!

Meng Xuexiao’s impression of Shen Zekai had remained unchanged since their departure from the Federation Military Academy—that of a gentle and considerate senior.

Hearing the familiar voice, Shen Zekai froze. His pupils, which had been constricted to pinpricks in his extreme excitement, began to dilate slowly, gradually returning from oval shapes to perfect circles.

The Silver-Haired Man sensed the wolf-like gaze that had been fixed on him suddenly withdraw. He pursed his lips slightly.

Tch, Shen Zekai’s current demeanor was like that of a wolf baring its fangs in pursuit of prey, only to instantly retract its claws and transform into a dog at the sound of its master’s whistle.

Such a dramatic scene would have seemed utterly absurd to anyone watching. Even the man himself might have smirked at it in the past.

But now, he found nothing amusing about it.

“Meng… Xuexiao?” Shen Zekai blinked slowly, his voice hesitant.

He slowly shifted his gaze toward Meng Xuexiao’s position.

The moment he entered the room, his attention had been immediately drawn to the two dangerous intruders, completely overlooking the silent young man standing to the side, almost blending into the shadows. Even his breathing was barely audible.

In the next instant, Shen Zekai abruptly stepped forward and reached out his hand.

The movement was incredibly swift, at such close range, Meng Xuexiao’s eyes couldn’t even fully track it.

Now that Shen Zekai was a 2S-Class, his full-power speed far surpassed what it had been when he was an S-Class.

Meng Xuexiao instinctively took a step back.

“Did I… did I scare you?” Shen Zekai’s hand, which had been about to touch Meng Xuexiao’s, froze mid-air. The hand, moving at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, even trembled slightly.

Then, Shen Zekai swiftly retracted his hand behind his back, awkwardly wiping it against his pants, like a flustered young boy with a hint of embarrassment.

“I-I’m sorry. I just…”

Just thought this was a dream.

After all, similar scenes had played out in his dreams a thousand times over.

But Meng Xuexiao didn’t need to know that.

Finally, Shen Zekai flashed a radiant smile, like the sun breaking through the clouds after a storm, warm and bright.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“I just wanted to say, welcome back.”

It was… the Shen Zekai he remembered from the past.

For a moment, Meng Xuexiao even wondered if the sharp, gloomy Shen Zekai he had just seen had been a figment of his imagination.

However, it had been some time since they parted, and Shen Zekai’s strength had grown considerably. It was only natural for him to have changed.

Besides, Shen Zekai’s earlier odd behavior could simply have been due to a bad mood. After all, he had always been like the sun, and perhaps he had just recovered his usual cheerfulness.

So Meng Xuexiao smiled back, a slight curve to his lips, “I’m back.”

It was almost a signal. As if the months of separation had been erased, Shen Zekai took another step forward.

This time, his movements were slow and deliberate, as if afraid of startling the person before him. With utmost care, he took Meng Xuexiao’s hand.

Warm and tangible.

Not a dream, but reality.

This time, finally, it wasn’t just wishful thinking.

Shen Zekai tightened his grip on Meng Xuexiao’s hand and asked, “You’ve just returned. Would you like to rest for a few days first, or…?” I’ll handle things at the school.

Uh, well…

Meng Xuexiao instinctively glanced at the Silver-Haired Man. After all, he was the only one who could make decisions here.

But the Silver-Haired Man didn’t look at him. His silver-white eyes remained fixed on Shen Zekai, unblinking.

He said nothing, his expression unchanging.

Whether it was a habitual tic or something else, his thumb very slowly rubbed against the knuckle of his index finger for a moment.

A silent, ordinary gesture.

Yet Meng Xuexiao felt a sudden, inexplicable pang in his heart.

It reminded him of watching familiar old men play Chinese chess. Their opponents would rub their knuckles, pondering intently and meticulously, torn between capturing the piece before them with a chariot or a pawn.

Meng Xuexiao shivered. If the Silver-Haired Man were the chess player, wouldn’t the piece about to be captured be… Shen Zekai?!

The moment Meng Xuexiao realized this, his hands and feet turned icy cold.

What… what should he do?

Faced with such a situation, what would the old man he knew so well have done?

But… he couldn’t even remember whether that old man had ultimately won or lost!

Still, he had to… warn Shen Zekai!

Just as Meng Xuexiao thought this, the Silver-Haired Man blinked. Even the slight flutter of his eyelashes as his eyes closed seemed to carry a sharp edge in Meng Xuexiao’s eyes.

The next moment, when the Silver-Haired Man looked in his direction, Meng Xuexiao felt that sharpness… seemed even more intense.

It was like a blade drawn from its sheath, sweeping directly toward him with brutal simplicity, colliding with Meng Xuexiao’s gaze.

Meng Xuexiao’s pupils contracted, while the other man’s pupils dilated slightly.

As if… he had been momentarily stunned.

At the same time, the chill that had been coiling in Meng Xuexiao’s heart seemed to dissipate slightly, showing signs of gradually warming.

Meng Xuexiao instinctively touched the mark on his collarbone, and a very faint voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

Finally, you remember who brought you back.

Meng Xuexiao blinked involuntarily. The words sounded… so strange.

Fortunately, the sharpness in the Silver-Haired Man’s eyes seemed to have softened considerably, like a wild beast whose fur had been smoothed.

He paused, then looked at Shen Zekai and spoke with relative calm, “You must be Yao Huai?”

Raven had once mentioned that this so-called Yao Huai shared a close relationship with Meng Xuexiao. Moreover, Raven had admitted that even he, let alone Zhuoyue or Huai Sui, couldn’t compare to Yao Huai.

One by one, these details aligned with the person standing before him.

The Silver-Haired Man loathed having his possessions coveted and refused to tolerate anything that displeased him. As an entity born alongside the world’s consciousness, he had the right to indulge his whims.

And this Yao Huai embodied both offenses.

The moment he began rubbing his fingers together, he was genuinely contemplating how to eliminate the man before him. Not because he doubted his ability to do so, but because—

He wanted to make Yao Huai’s exit as humiliating and disgraceful as possible.

Before Meng Xuexiao.

Though he didn’t know exactly why.

Perhaps it was the natural competitiveness of the strongest species, or perhaps he simply disliked Yao Huai.

But that didn’t matter.

Just as he was about to act, Meng Xuexiao turned to look at him.

Only moments before, the young man had been showering the person who resembled Yao Huai with concern and warmth.

In the end, Meng Xuexiao had chosen him over “Yao Huai.”

In that instant, His competitive spirit—or whatever else it might have been—was satisfied.

So he didn’t act, but merely waited for an answer.

“Yao Huai…?” Shen Zekai frowned at the unfamiliar name.

It sounded utterly foreign, but since it had come from the Main Body’s mouth, it couldn’t be a simple name.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know,” Shen Zekai replied cautiously.

During their earlier communication, he had repeatedly observed Meng Xuexiao’s expression and noticed that the young man seemed very anxious about the relationship between him and the Main Body.

Although he disliked the Main Body and had no intention of improving their relationship, since they were now in front of Meng Xuexiao, he decided to put the young man’s mind at ease first.

The conflict between him and the Main Body could be resolved privately later.

He gave the Main Body what was almost a friendly smile and extended his hand. “My name is Shen Zekai.”

Seeing Shen Zekai take the initiative to show goodwill, Meng Xuexiao breathed a small sigh of relief. He was finally certain that his earlier impression of Shen Zekai having become a stranger must have been a misunderstanding.

Meng Xuexiao cast Shen Zekai a grateful glance.

He was genuinely relieved that the considerate and kind Shen Zekai stood before the Silver-Haired Man at this moment.

If it had been anyone else, the situation would have become hopelessly awkward.

Then, he turned his hopeful gaze toward the Silver-Haired Man.

Although he didn’t know why the man had suddenly withdrawn his chilling aura, he was certain that part of the reason must be Shen Zekai’s lack of malice.

The Silver-Haired Man frowned slightly, as if puzzled. “You are not Yao Huai either.”

Who exactly was this Yao Huai?

He had never been one to dwell on trivial matters, especially when this name “Yao Huai” kept appearing and disappearing, like a slippery fish. Every time he thought he was about to grasp a clue, it vanished into thin air.

He loathed this elusive feeling.

Very well then,

I shall claim this name—the one that holds such intimacy with Meng Xuexiao, the one that stirs envy in all these onlookers.

“Hello, Shen Zekai,” the Silver-Haired Man said, adopting Shen Zekai’s own flat, emotionless tone.

“I am Yao Huai.”