A Stubborn Wang Yizhi

"Wang Yizhi's house key should be in her school bag in the classroom. Never mind, I'll go tomorrow. Who knows how angry Lu Ba is right now. Ugh. I just hope she doesn't call my mom." Zhang Chen drove Wang Yizhi out of the old city and headed straight for the residential area along the river.

It was already 5:45 PM. Zhang Chen parked his bicycle outside the residential area and locked it. He carried Wang Yizhi to the spot where he had climbed over the wall last night. After checking that no one was looking and noting the un-repaired surveillance camera, Zhang Chen used telekinesis to send Wang Yizhi inside first, then leaped over the wall himself.

Carrying Wang Yizhi, he reached the front door. His gaze fell on the lock, and with a "click," the door opened.

He placed her in the bedroom and, after confirming she was unharmed, went to the living room alone and plopped down on the sofa.

"Phew, it's finally over. I thought of everything, but I never considered that the 'Blood Beetle' and Yang Zi weren't connected. If Master Pu Hu hadn't helped, Wang Yizhi and I would have likely died there," Zhang Chen shook his head and sighed.

"Also, thinking back, the heartbeat sound from the wall before we entered the basement must have been the entire basement. Yang Zi's body had merged with the whole basement. He usually used Xie Wen to lure some disciples to his home and then slowly tortured them to death." Zhang Chen couldn't help but recall the man in his 40s hanging above him when he first entered.

Furthermore, nine out of ten of the corpses hanging like dead pigs in the basement were men.

"Yang Zi must have had deep-seated childhood trauma. Without parental upbringing or family care, the shadows in his heart never faded, only deepening. Once he had the means, these inner demons gradually spread throughout his body, turning him into a murderer."

"And Xie Wen was likely one of the people he wanted to rape and kill when he was alive. However, after being caught by the police, he was immediately executed. Only then did he become a vengeful spirit after death, kill Xie Wen's entire family, and then control Xie Wen to do his bidding."

Zhang Chen rubbed his nails and levitated the water glass in front of him with his mind, shaking it back and forth. Finally, he sighed and put the glass down.

"I wonder if I'm human or a ghost," Zhang Chen suddenly remembered what happened half a year ago. "If I hadn't become like this, I probably would have died long ago, let alone be with Wang Yizhi."

"If I had the chance, I'd really like to thank that man. But I'm too weak right now. In the basement, if it weren't for the 'Faceless Man's' help, I would have been dead for sure. If I can't even protect Wang Yizhi, what can I do?" Zhang Chen clenched his fists. "I need to keep getting stronger."

"There should be quite a few people like me. That 'Faceless Man' is one of them, and Master Pu Hu likely is too, unless it was an accident. In three days, Master Pu Hu wants me to meet him at Sanxue Temple. I guess he'll talk to me about these things. And that phrase 'entrusted by someone' – is someone protecting me behind the scenes?"

"Forget it, I've thought enough for now. I'll know in three days. The most important thing now is how to spin a story that explains why I missed class and appeared at the crime scene, and ties it all together logically with Wang Yizhi. Otherwise, it'll be trouble."

"Gurgle!" Zhang Chen's stomach growled.

It was almost six o'clock now, and after the exhausting battle this afternoon, it would be strange not to be hungry. He patted his pockets; his only ten-yuan bill had been torn into four pieces by the Nail Man.

"I wonder if Wang Yizhi's family has any ingredients?" When Zhang Chen got hungry, his mind went blank. He went to the kitchen to start searching for ingredients.

Before long, two tomatoes, two eggs, a bundle of noodles, and two scallions were laid out in front of Zhang Chen.

"Hehe, it seems heaven hasn't given up on me. I can make tomato and egg noodles. If Wang Yizhi wakes up, she can also eat this light, healthy, and delicious food." Zhang Chen often cooked for himself when his parents weren't home, and tomato and egg noodles were his best dish.

He first cut the tomatoes into small pieces, stir-fried them, and set them aside. Then, he cracked the eggs into the pan and stir-fried them until they were about seventy percent cooked. He poured in the fried tomatoes, added water, and put in the noodles. Soon, a small pot of tomato and egg noodles was ready. The aroma filled the entire kitchen, making Zhang Chen's mouth water.

As he was about to sprinkle the chopped scallions on top for the final step, a voice sounded.

"Zhang Chen, what are you cooking? It smells so good, I'm so hungry."

Zhang Chen dropped the cleaver in his hand and turned around. He saw Wang Yizhi standing at the kitchen doorway, rubbing her eyes as she spoke.

Tears welled up in Zhang Chen's eyes with excitement. He immediately hugged Wang Yizhi. They stood in silence.

"How long are you going to hug me? Your cooking is going to burn." Wang Yizhi said.

Zhang Chen snapped back to reality, quickly turned off the heat, and served the noodles. Fortunately, they weren't burnt. After sprinkling the scallions, Zhang Chen carried two bowls of tomato and egg noodles, took Wang Yizhi with him, and they sat down at the dining table to eat.

"Yizhi, why aren't you asking how you got back home?" Zhang Chen said while eating.

"I was hungry and smelled the aroma from the kitchen, so I came over. Can't I ask after I've eaten? Besides, Zhang Chen, your noodles are really delicious, even better than my mom's."

Zhang Chen was stunned by Wang Yizhi's words. The previously untouchable goddess of academics was not only stubborn but also a foodie.

"Okay, you win!" Zhang Chen gave her a thumbs-up.

"Ah!~~" Just as they were about to finish eating, Wang Yizhi suddenly let out a scream.

Zhang Chen was startled and immediately scanned Wang Yizhi, finding nothing unusual. He asked, "What's wrong?"

"I... my clothes have been changed!"

"You're only noticing that now?" Zhang Chen was truly speechless.

Wang Yizhi nodded, then glared at Zhang Chen with a flushed, angry face and slowly said, "Did you change them?"

Zhang Chen didn't know what to say. Seeing his silence, Wang Yizhi suddenly twisted his arm.

"You little scoundrel, how dare you change my clothes!"

Zhang Chen cried out in pain, "Wang Xueba, you have to let me explain! So many things happened this afternoon, and I haven't had a chance to tell you yet."

"Don't call me that, it sounds awful. I don't care, we can talk about what happened later. But you took off my clothes, so... you have to take responsibility for me!" Wang Yizhi said with a red face, making Zhang Chen both amused and exasperated.

"You're still laughing? Do you not want me anymore? Wuwuwu~~~~!" Wang Yizhi actually started crying, leaving Zhang Chen helpless.

"Hey, Yizhi, I'll explain everything after we finish eating. And I didn't say I don't want you. Let's finish eating first, weren't you hungry?"

Wang Yizhi, who had been crying until the beginning, stopped when she heard about eating. She rubbed her eyes and started eating the last few strands of noodles. After finishing, she added, "Is there any more? I'm still not full."

After hearing this, Zhang Chen was completely convinced by this foodie academic.

Zhang Chen and Wang Yizhi were sitting on the living room sofa. Zhang Chen didn't want to hide anything from Wang Yizhi, especially since Xie Wen was dead, and that fact couldn't be kept secret anyway.

After telling Wang Yizhi the whole story, he expected her to be unable to accept it at first. To his surprise, Wang Yizhi didn't care about Yang Zi, the murderer who had killed dozens of people, nor about her own near-death experience. She was only sad about Xie Wen's death.

"Don't you believe what I'm saying?" Zhang Chen thought she didn't believe him when he saw her expression.

"No, I just feel that Sister Xie Wen is so pitiful."

"Why aren't you worried about yourself? You were almost the same as your cousin." Zhang Chen felt a pang of fear recalling the long Blood Beetles being pulled out of Wang Yizhi's forehead.

"What's there to worry about? I'm fine now, aren't I?"

Zhang Chen shook his head, completely convinced by this top student Wang.

"Next, I'll tell you about changing clothes," Zhang Chen suddenly brought up the topic.

"Mhm."

"Watch this," Zhang Chen said, pointing at the glass of water in front of him.

Following Zhang Chen's gaze, the glass slowly floated up and flew towards the automatic water dispenser in the living room. Soon, a cup filled with water slowly flew into Wang Yizhi's hands.

"Wow, you're amazing." Wang Yizhi hadn't paid much attention at Xie Wen's place last time to how Zhang Chen had opened the protective bars to get into the room. This was the first time she saw this scene.

"So, when I changed your clothes, I was standing outside your bedroom door and used this ability to change your clothes," Zhang Chen said calmly.

As expected, only the single-minded Wang Yizhi was easily fooled by Zhang Chen. Her face turned red, and she ran to Zhang Chen's side. She looked at the spot he had twisted earlier and quickly rubbed Zhang Chen's arm with her hand.

"You didn't say so earlier, or I wouldn't have twisted you. Oh my, I was wrong." Wang Yizhi looked at Zhang Chen's eyes, embarrassed.

Zhang Chen also smiled without saying much.

"Zhang Chen, are you going home tonight?" Wang Yizhi suddenly said.

"I will. Otherwise, Mom will worry. Plus, I skipped class this afternoon and evening. My homeroom teacher might have already called home." Zhang Chen understood what Wang Yizhi meant, but going home tonight was certain.

"Oh."

"Silly, if you're scared, call me. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning, okay?"

Wang Yizhi nodded, then linked her arm with Zhang Chen's, and they stayed together until nine o'clock. Seeing Wang Yizhi's reluctant expression, Zhang Chen really wanted to stay there.

When he returned home, his parents were sitting together watching TV. Seeing Zhang Chen return, they only asked what he wanted to eat and didn't say anything else. This made Zhang Chen very confused. After taking a shower and finishing his call with Wang Yizhi, he lay down on the bed.

"It's impossible. Even skipping one class would get Lu Ba to call my parents to the office and scold me for a long time. I skipped an entire afternoon and an evening study session, and they didn't call my house. What's going on? Forget it, forget it. I'm so tired today. I'll find out when I get to school tomorrow. At worst, I'll lose a layer of skin, but I won't die."

The next day, Zhang Chen woke up early. He went to the forest park behind the residential area for a workout, then rode his bicycle to pick up Wang Yizhi. Feeling Wang Yizhi's arms around his waist, Zhang Chen seemed to have forgotten that he had just wandered around the entrance of the underworld yesterday.

When they arrived at school, something strange happened. The school security guard, who had never even glanced at students, walked up to Zhang Chen and patted his shoulder, saying, "Not bad, you've brought honor to our school."

"Heh heh," Zhang Chen could only smile slightly, not knowing what he was talking about.

He stopped his bicycle and went to the classroom. Before he could even enter, Er Wa ran over and slapped Zhang Chen on the backside.

"Brother Chen, you're awesome! We're all benefiting from you."

"Er Wa, what's going on? How come I don't know?" Zhang Chen asked.

"You're still pretending. When Lu Ba comes, let's see how you pretend!" Er Wa gave Zhang Chen a contemptuous look and returned to his seat.

When Zhang Chen and Wang Yizhi walked into the classroom, everyone stared at them with envious eyes.

"Zhang Chen, do you know what's going on?" Wang Yizhi tugged on Zhang Chen's sleeve and whispered.

"I don't know either. We should find out in a bit." Zhang Chen analyzed everyone's words and expressions and thought about how his homeroom teacher hadn't contacted his parents last night, so he had a rough guess.

A moment later, the sound of high heels echoed, "Dang dang dang!" and the homeroom teacher, Lu Wei, walked in, accompanied by a man in a police uniform.

As the man entered the classroom, he immediately spotted Zhang Chen and smiled slightly at him. If Master Pu Hu were here, he would definitely recognize this policeman as the man he mentioned named 'Ding Jian'.

Welcome, fellow book lovers, to read the latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works all at!