Why Do All the Villains Look at Me Like This? - Chapter 88

The instructor’s whistle echoed through the vast classroom.

“Group A has successfully completed this round of written tests! Group B students, you need to practice more! Groups C and D, prepare yourselves! Each group, send one member forward!”

The students from Groups A and B, who had just finished a friendly match, packed up their gear and retreated from the competition platform at the center of the classroom. Members from Groups C and D immediately took their places.

A male student from Group D was exceptionally skilled at piloting mechas. Many classmates were his fans, and when he stepped onto the platform, the cheers in the classroom reached a fever pitch.

Meng Xuexiao, however, sat off to the side, seemingly detached from the excitement.

Yao Huai sat beside him, leaning casually against the wall.

Many students had witnessed Yao Huai’s commanding presence during the previous class. While fear was a factor, the young men’s competitive spirit burned fiercely. Who wouldn’t want their team to dominate the competition?

Several daring students cautiously approached Yao Huai, offering substantial rewards if he would join their teams. They even promised to provide a mecha if he didn’t have one, covering all expenses and losses themselves.

For these elite students of the Military Academy, this was the height of humiliation.

Yao Huai didn’t even glance at them, let alone speak. The few daring students held their breath, their hard-won courage deflating like a punctured balloon.

It was clear he had no intention of accepting their invitation—he didn’t even acknowledge their presence.

The students huddled together, preparing to slink away unnoticed, when the silver-haired man suddenly spoke.

Yao Huai gestured toward Meng Xuexiao, “Why didn’t you invite him?”

He was sitting right next to Meng Xuexiao. If they had seen him, there was no reason they wouldn’t have noticed Meng Xuexiao.

This time, the students fell silent.

After a moment, they began to laugh awkwardly, hunching over as they tried to slip away unnoticed.

“I’m going to the restroom,” Yao Huai said to Meng Xuexiao, who was sitting alone nearby.

But Meng Xuexiao didn’t respond.

The young man remained seated, frozen in his original posture.

Meng Xuexiao’s seat was indeed in a remote corner, but it faced directly toward the competition platform at the center of the classroom.

He knew why his classmates hadn’t invited him to participate.

The Mecha Operation Class had always been his weak point. With an F-Class physical aptitude, he lagged far behind the rest of the class. Only through relentless practice outside of class had he managed to keep from falling too far behind.

Still, he couldn’t participate in the class competitions.

His classmates felt that competing against him would be nothing more than bullying, offering no challenge. Even the teacher hesitated to let him participate, fearing he might accidentally injure the other careless students.

They all advised him that if he truly wanted to practice, he should choose a time when the classroom was empty or reserve a study room—those would be the most suitable options for him.

Thus, despite being a Mecha Operation Class, Meng Xuexiao’s actual practice time came after class.

He couldn’t help but glance up at the electronic clock on the wall. There were still a full thirty minutes until the end of class.

Every minute felt like an eternity.

Just then, a cool finger pressed lightly against the young man’s shoulder, giving him a gentle tap. Meng Xuexiao startled back to awareness, his eyes widening as he turned to meet the silver-like gaze of the man behind him.

The man repeated his earlier words, “I’m going to the restroom.”

Meng Xuexiao froze, momentarily stunned.

He wasn’t deaf; he had clearly heard the man’s words earlier. It was just…

He hadn’t even considered that Yao Huai was speaking to him.

Why would he need to announce his restroom trip to him?

This is so weird!

We’re not elementary school kids sharing secrets!

Though… the man’s earlier behavior had been rather… elementary school-ish.

“Then… go?” Meng Xuexiao ventured cautiously.

“Mm,” the man nodded slightly, his expression earnest.

This earnestness was almost endearing. Meng Xuexiao nearly burst out laughing, his earlier impatience for class to end completely forgotten.

But…

The man was heading in the wrong direction.

“You’re going the wrong way,” Meng Xuexiao couldn’t help but call out. “The restroom is in the opposite direction.”

The man paused slightly, nodded to acknowledge he’d heard, but didn’t change course.

He continued at a steady pace in the same direction as the group of students who had awkwardly laughed their way out earlier.

Then, he cornered them around the bend.

Though seated in a wheelchair, the man’s silhouette loomed intimidatingly large. The dim lighting made him resemble a backlit plaster statue.

The group of teenage and twenty-something boys instinctively huddled together.

They weren’t fools, they knew they’d been caught because of their earlier evasive laughter.

After much shoving and prodding, they finally managed to push one of them forward, “Brother, about your question earlier…”

The man tilted his head slightly, the light and shadow carving a sharp, angular shape beneath his jaw. “I don’t repeat questions.”

The boys froze, but the next moment, crimson blood began gushing from their seven orifices. Their pupils dilated wildly, then rolled upward until only the whites of their eyes remained.

“Clang, clang, clang”

The sound of bodies collapsing echoed through the room.

Yao Huai maneuvered his wheelchair slightly to avoid a convulsing leg, then began sifting through the memories he had forcibly extracted from their minds.

He couldn’t help but glance at Meng Xuexiao’s distant figure. The young man sat cross-legged, propping his chin on one hand, his eyes fixed blankly on the Duel Arena at the center of the classroom.

Yao Huai turned back, his icy hand landing on Meng Xuexiao’s shoulder, “Want to go up and give it a try?”

Startled out of his reverie, Meng Xuexiao jerked his head around to see Yao Huai again. Before he could ask, “Did you find the restroom?” he was cut off by the man’s question.

“Uh…” Meng Xuexiao hesitated, unsure how to explain. Admitting his physical aptitude was only F-Class, and that others looked down on him for it, felt… embarrassingly awkward.

Meng Xuexiao simply buried his face in his knees, his voice muffled, “I don’t like the Mecha Operation Class.”

Normally, when he gave this answer, the classmate asking would quickly leave.

But the silver-haired man stood motionless, one eyebrow arching high. “You asked me to come to the Mecha Operation Class with you. I thought you liked it?”

That’s a rather annoying way to put it…

Most students who got into the Federation Military Academy were tactful and knew their place. But this guy…

Wait a minute…

Meng Xuexiao was suddenly struck by a chilling realization.

How had he unconsciously started treating Yao Huai like an ordinary student at the Federation Military Academy?!

Was it because Yao Huai had been acting so childish lately?

The distance between them seemed to have shrunk rapidly…

Meng Xuexiao had no idea if this was a good or bad thing.

Look, now they’re even casually discussing the classes he’s interested in…

The silver-haired man’s lips twitched as he gazed at the young man’s fluffy hair. He leaned closer, his thin, slightly cold lips almost brushing Meng Xuexiao’s ear.

“What if I told you I could make you win?”

Almost as soon as Yao Huai finished speaking, another roar of cheers erupted from the competition arena. The exceptionally talented boy from Group D had secured yet another victory.

At that moment, he stood tall, his fist raised high, surveying the entire arena with a radiant and confident smile. “Anyone else want to challenge me?”

Combined with the dazzling spotlights suspended from the ceiling, he seemed almost impossibly radiant.

Yet Yao Huai casually reached out, pointing a finger at the boy. “I can make you win against him.”

It was almost hypnotic.

Meng Xuexiao instinctively tensed, his gaze toward Yao Huai hardening as if he were staring at one of those demons who coax young girls into sacrificing their virtue through deceit.

What kind of free lunch falls from the sky? Everything comes at a price. Meng Xuexiao felt that trading an unknown cost for a victory over a classmate simply wasn’t worth it.

As expected, Yao Huai’s next words confirmed his suspicions, “But this victory won’t come without a price.”

Meng Xuexiao breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, he didn’t fall for it.

After all, well, Yao Huai was… someone who didn’t care about winning or losing, and he wasn’t easily provoked.

But the Silver-Haired Man continued, “I need you—”

Yao Huai’s gaze swept across the vast classroom, finally settling on the inconspicuous vending machine against the wall.

“Buy me a bottle of water.”

A bottle of water…?

Meng Xuexiao instinctively glanced at the vending machine, his eyes lingering on the prices.

Dirt cheap. In the Federation Military Academy, such supplies were the lowest-grade and most affordable. Even buying ten bottles wouldn’t strain Meng Xuexiao’s finances.

But… why would Yao Huai need something like this?

Throughout their journey, Meng Xuexiao had been observing Yao Huai. He rarely ate anything—no, it wasn’t so much that he ate little, but rather that as a higher-dimensional being, he had transcended the need for sustenance.

In the end, Meng Xuexiao could only attribute Yao Huai’s strange behavior to the fact that he had never seen a vending machine before, and his actions were simply driven by curiosity.

After all, that dazzling D Group boy, though formidable, was only a threat within their class. To Yao Huai, he was merely an ant, and helping Meng Xuexiao defeat him would be as effortless as snapping his fingers.

If all it took was a bottle of water to enlist Yao Huai’s help… that would be an incredible bargain.

Meng Xuexiao secretly rubbed his fingers together, feeling a shameful… stirring of excitement.

Though he had previously insisted he wouldn’t fall for provocation and didn’t care about winning or losing, which boy at this age truly wants to be underestimated?

Before agreeing to Yao Huai’s offer, he cautiously asked, “You’re not going to teach me how to cheat, are you? Or just take over for me?”

If it involved cheating, the entire exercise would be meaningless.

Yao Huai shrugged, simply saying, “Trust me.”

Such a victory would be meaningless to Him anyway, because Meng Xuexiao wouldn’t be happy.

If that’s the case…

Meng Xuexiao gritted his teeth and decided to take a gamble, “Deal.”

Almost the instant he made that decision, he strode over to the vending machine in long, purposeful strides.

The prices inside the vending machine were clearly displayed. Yao Huai hadn’t specified which bottle to buy, so the most sensible approach would have been to grab the cheapest one.

But Meng Xuexiao’s gaze swept from the first shelf to the third, scanning the price tags. With a final clench of his jaw, he bought the most expensive bottle.

With a dull thud, the water rolled out of the vending machine. Meng Xuexiao snatched it up and shoved it directly into Yao Huai’s hand.

Yao Huai paused slightly, studying the bottle’s shape.

In truth, He hadn’t actually wanted anything from Meng Xuexiao. The man seemed so agreeable, sometimes even willing to humble himself to avoid offending Him.

Yet on certain matters, Meng Xuexiao displayed a stubbornness that bordered on obstinacy.

For example… he insisted on making some kind of deal before he’d feel comfortable cooperating.

Though Yao Huai was born into a position of extraordinary privilege, he wasn’t completely ignorant of what a vending machine was. Initially, he’d intended for Meng Xuexiao to simply grab the cheapest item, just to go through the motions.

But Meng Xuexiao chose the most expensive one.

Though… the difference between the most expensive and the cheapest was only a few yuan.

Yao Huai twisted open the bottle and took a sip.

It was just ordinary mineral water, yet it tasted surprisingly sweet.

It made him wonder if the young man’s lips before him tasted the same—like candy.

Yao Huai unconsciously quickened his breathing, but quickly regained control before Meng Xuexiao could notice.

Like a seasoned hunter, he licked his lips, his voice still slightly hoarse. “Come closer.”

The wariness Meng Xuexiao had managed to suppress resurfaced slightly, “What is this…?”

Yao Huai waved him over again, deliberately lowering his voice even further. “How can I tell you if you don’t come closer? If the whole class hears, how are we supposed to win?”

The moment those words were spoken, a sense of forbidden intrigue filled the air.

If not for the inappropriate time and place, Meng Xuexiao might have genuinely believed he and Yao Huai were members of a villainous clique, plotting some grand scheme.

They were accomplices, conspirators in a shared…

Intention:

To surpass all the other students present and defeat the star player of Group D standing on the Duel Arena stage.

Meng Xuexiao instinctively licked away the sweat trickling down his lip, feeling an inexplicable…

Thrill.

He glanced at the man again, whose beckoning hand still hung in mid-air.

The air suddenly felt thick and stifling. As he gazed at the man’s face, half-hidden in shadow, his heart began to race.

Meng Xuexiao leaned in close, almost pressing against the man, creating a scene that resembled… intimate whispers.