Chapter 25

Lin Xiang realized he had left his watch on his desk. His face went pale with panic as he hurried back to the classroom.

When he saw that the watch was gone from the desk, his heart skipped a beat. He turned the desk inside out several times, but there was still no trace of it.

Lin Xiang's face turned deathly pale. Where the hell had that watch gone?!

The watch was not, as he had claimed, something he had asked his cousin to buy for him. Its true owner was his father, who believed that this model would likely appreciate in value in the future. That was why his father had gone to great lengths to ask his cousin to buy it for his collection.

Lin Xiang did not even dare imagine how his father would react if he found out he had lost the watch. His father would probably beat him to death when he got home. If he had known, he would not have brought it to school just to show off.

When homeroom teacher Teacher Tang heard that Lin Xiang had lost a watch worth nearly ten million in the classroom, he was utterly shocked as well.

Teacher Tang accompanied Lin Xiang in thoroughly searching his desk again, but they still could not find the watch.

By then, quite a few students had already returned to the classroom to prepare for their lunch break.

When they heard that Lin Xiang's watch had been stolen, everyone looked stunned.

Theft was something Huiying High School had never heard of before.

"Who could have done something so awful?"

"Should I buy a small safe and put it under my desk? I'm scared my things might get stolen someday too."

"You're right. I'm bringing a small safe tomorrow and putting it under my desk."

"This is the first time something like this has happened at our school."

"This is terrifying. There's actually a thief in our class."

Teacher Tang said, "Lin Xiang, think carefully. See if you can remember any details."

Lin Xiang's eyes widened, and he suddenly pointed at Li Guigu, who was sitting not far away.

"I remember now! I was the last person to leave the classroom for the cafeteria. There was already no one in the classroom when I left, but when I realized my watch was missing and ran back, Li Guigu was the only one here. He must have stolen it! We had an argument just this morning, so he deliberately stole my watch to target me!"

Teacher Tang looked at Li Guigu in surprise.

Li Guigu rose leisurely to his feet and explained calmly, "Teacher, I didn't steal his watch. If you don't believe me, you can search my backpack and desk. I haven't left the classroom once since I came in, so there was no chance for me to move the watch elsewhere."

Lin Xiang hurried over to Li Guigu's desk and searched it thoroughly, inside and out, not missing a single corner. Even so, he still did not find his watch.

Lin Xiang's voice was almost tearful with anxiety. "It's not here, and it's not there. Did it really just disappear?"

Li Guigu comforted him, "Maybe you could check the hallway surveillance footage and see who entered the classroom before you did. That might make it easier to find the real thief."

Teacher Tang said, "I can use my teacher authorization to view the hallway surveillance outside the classroom through the app on my phone."

A group of people gathered around Teacher Tang, watching the footage on his phone with bated breath.

In the footage, Lin Xiang was indeed not wearing the watch when he left the classroom. Not long afterward, Li Guigu entered the room. Then the next person to enter was Lu Yao!

Not long after Lu Yao left, Lin Xiang appeared in the hallway, looking anxious as he jogged back.

So Lu Yao was the thief?!

Lin Xiang let out a breath of relief. They had finally found the culprit, and he could get his watch back.

He said guiltily to Li Guigu, "Sorry, Li Guigu. I shouldn't have suspected you."

Li Guigu smiled. "It's all right. We're classmates, so I understand how anxious you were after losing something. As long as we know who the real thief is now."

When Lu Yao and Jiang Bai returned to the classroom, they happened to run into each other by the stairs, so they walked in together.

Seeing a large crowd gathered around Li Guigu, Lu Yao did not pay it much attention and headed straight for his seat.

The moment Lu Yao entered, Li Guigu took the initiative and shouted, "Lu Yao, what's on your wrist? I saw something covered by your sleeve just now."

Jiang Bai, who was walking behind Lu Yao, frowned. Lu Yao's wrists had been completely covered by the long sleeves of his jacket the whole time. Which eye had Li Guigu used to see anything?

Hearing Li Guigu's words, Lin Xiang rushed over anxiously and blocked Lu Yao's path.

Lin Xiang shouted, "Lu Yao, you'd better hand over my watch right now, or I'm calling the police."

Teacher Tang was most afraid of things getting out of hand, so he hurriedly tried to mediate. "Don't call the police yet. Just have Lu Yao hand over the watch."

[Honestly, I've recently been using reading apps to follow updates. They have source switching and many narration voices, available on both Android and Apple.]

Lu Yao said, "..." What were these people even talking about, rushing over and rattling off nonsense at him?

A trace of coldness appeared in Jiang Bai's eyes. "Can you explain what Lu Yao did first? You rushed over and started babbling without distinguishing right from wrong. How is anyone supposed to know what you're trying to say?"

Lin Xiang said angrily, "My new nava watch was stolen. But aside from Li Guigu, Lu Yao was the only person who entered the classroom before I did. I was the third person to enter. Li Guigu has already proven his innocence, so the only possibility is Lu Yao."

Although Xia Yue, who had watched the situation unfold, knew it was unlikely that Lu Yao would do such a thing, both she and the system shared the goal of suppressing Lu Yao and secretly stealing his fortune. Therefore, she was more than happy to see him falsely accused.

[System: Seize this chance!]

[You don't need to tell me. I know what to do.]

Xia Yue spoke gently, as though she were advising Lu Yao out of concern. "Lu Yao, if you took it, return the watch to Lin Xiang quickly. You really can't just take other people's things. Even if you like it, you can't simply claim it as your own."

The moment Xia Yue spoke, it seemed as though she had already decided that Lu Yao had stolen Lin Xiang's watch.

Chu Jiaojiao had just entered the classroom and heard what Lin Xiang and Xia Yue said. She did not believe that the Lu Yao she had come to know would do something like this.

Chu Jiaojiao crossed her arms. "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. What evidence do you have? Can surveillance footage alone prove that Lu Yao is a thief? Isn't that far too rash?"

At that moment, Li Guigu suddenly interjected, "I think I saw a flash of light from his wrist just now, but it was quickly covered by his long sleeve."

The moment Lin Xiang heard that, he said, "Lu Yao, can you roll up your sleeve and let us see?"

Lu Yao said, "..."

He slowly rolled up his right sleeve, revealing a watch on his wrist. Its appearance was exactly the same as the model Lin Xiang had lost.

Everyone present erupted in shock.

"It really was him?"

"But why would he wear it on his wrist? Wouldn't it be better to hide it somewhere else?"

"The most dangerous place is the safest place. If he hid it somewhere else, he'd have to worry about someone finding it. But if he wore it on his wrist, with his sleeve covering it, who could possibly guess it was on him as long as he was careful?"

"Exactly. If Li Guigu hadn't happened to see it, we probably never would have noticed."

Lu Yao swept his gaze over the people around him. In their hearts, they had already decided that he was the thief.

At that moment, Jiang Bai gently placed a hand on Lu Yao's shoulder and said in a low, firm voice, "I believe you."

Hearing Jiang Bai's words, Lu Yao pressed his lips together and nodded slightly.

His voice was low. "This watch is mine."

A flicker of barely noticeable satisfaction appeared in Li Guigu's eyes. "Lu Yao, just admit your mistake. We're all classmates, and no one will hold it against you too much. You say this watch is yours, but did anyone see you wearing it this morning?"

Lu Yao said, "I was wearing a jacket this morning."

His jacket had covered his watch completely. No one had X-ray vision, so how could they possibly have seen it?

Li Guigu said, "See? Even you can't prove whether your own claim is true or false. No one is perfect. You should hurry up and return the watch to Lin Xiang, then apologize to him."

When Lin Xiang saw that Lu Yao still refused to admit it, he began to panic as well.

Remembering the rumors he had heard before, he cursed furiously, "So this is how shameless an illegitimate child is? If you don't take off that watch and give it back to me today, don't expect to have an easy life in the future!"

Lu Qi had just entered through the classroom's front door with Ye Muqing when he heard Lin Xiang's words. Seeing Lu Yao surrounded so tightly that he seemed unable to fight back against their bullying, a surging rage instantly shot to his head.

He viciously shoved through the crowd of onlookers, grabbed Lin Xiang by the collar, and snarled, "Bastard, what did you just say?! Illegitimate child? Bullshit illegitimate child! He's my little brother! And what were you asking him to do just now? Give you the watch on his wrist? Who the hell do you think you are, demanding something like that from him? I bought that watch and gave it to him. What, do you have a problem with that?"

Lin Xiang was frightened by Lu Qi's sudden, fierce attack. Then, once he processed what Lu Qi had said—that Lu Yao was actually his biological brother—he stammered, "He, he, I, I..."

For people like Lu Qi, "illegitimate child" was the most insulting label possible. Yet Lin Xiang had dared treat Lu Yao this way!

The more Lu Qi spoke, the hotter his anger burned. He clenched his fist and swung it at the stunned Lin Xiang.

Lu Yao immediately reached out and grabbed his arm. "Forget it, Brother. He didn't mean it. It's just a misunderstanding."

That single "Brother" from Lu Yao instantly turned the fire-breathing "Tyrannosaurus" into a "Husky."

Lu Qi turned around and stared at Lu Yao in disbelief.

Lu Yao had just called him "Brother"! He had called him "Brother"! This was the first time Lu Qi had ever heard that word from Lu Yao's mouth.

The heart that had been spitting fire moments ago instantly burst into fireworks.

Whether it was a misunderstanding or not had already been thrown to the back of Lu Qi's mind. All he could think about was Lu Yao calling him "Brother."

The rest of the class, including Teacher Tang, was equally shocked.

When Lu Yao had completed his transfer procedures, Ms. Li had dealt directly with the principal. Therefore, Teacher Tang had not known anything about this student's family background.

Lu Yao and Lu Qi were brothers? The transfer student was not an illegitimate child, but the young master of the Lu family.

The sudden twist left everyone in the class wide-eyed and dumbfounded.

Ye Muqing was the same. He finally understood why Lu Qi had been spending so much time with Lu Yao lately. He had previously thought the two simply got along well.

Ye Muqing asked again to make sure, "Brother Qi, when you say Lu Yao is your brother, you mean the kind with a blood relationship?"

Lu Qi rolled his eyes and answered righteously, "What other kind could there be?"

Ye Muqing said, "Then why didn't you come out and refute the rumor on the school forum that Lu Yao was an illegitimate child?"

Lu Qi said, "I never browse the forum. Is this the first day you've known that? And how was I supposed to know your imaginations were so wild that you'd misunderstand it this badly? Just looking at our names, can't you tell we were made to be brothers?"

Lu Yao said, "..." If he did not know how to use idioms, he should use them less. Otherwise, Lu Yao would be the one embarrassed.

Seeing public opinion seemingly turn toward Lu Yao, Xia Yue pretended to hesitate before saying, "But that still doesn't seem to clear Lu Yao of suspicion. After all, Lin Xiang just lost his watch, while the watch on Lu Yao's wrist looks exactly the same. And no one saw Lu Yao wearing a watch this morning."

nava's previous watches had all been handmade, so they did not have the serial numbers found on mass-produced mechanical watches. It was impossible to tell the difference between watches based on appearance alone.

Hearing Xia Yue's words, a barely noticeable trace of smugness appeared in Li Guigu's eyes. Just as Xia Yue had said, even if Lu Yao's identity had been revealed, he still could not clear himself of suspicion. The hardest thing in the world was proving that one had not done something.

When Lin Xiang heard that, it did seem to make sense. Lu Yao being from the Lu family did not mean he was innocent. It was not impossible that he had some hidden compulsion.

Hearing Xia Yue's words, Lu Qi rolled his eyes without the slightest politeness and snapped, "Who told you they looked exactly the same?"

Having already learned what had happened from the bystanders, Lu Qi suddenly said to Lu Yao, "Lu Yao, take off your watch and lend it to me."

Li Guigu's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Impossible. Weren't all these watches exactly the same model?!

Lu Qi took the watch from Lu Yao, turned its face over, and pointed the metal back toward Lin Xiang.

"See for yourself. There's an English word engraved here: 'sun.' I specifically had them add it. You definitely won't find this design on any other watch."

Lu Yao looked at Lu Qi in surprise. He had actually put that much thought into it.

"Yao" meant sun.

Lin Xiang widened his eyes. After checking it repeatedly, he nodded dejectedly.

"This really isn't my watch."

His watch indeed did not have that unique design.

What Lin Xiang had not known was that his father had bought the watch as a collectible. Although he knew there was an engraving customization option, he had deliberately kept it in its original condition because he might sell it in the future.

At that moment, Lu Yao explained evenly to Lin Xiang, "I came back just now because I forgot my phone."

Every line of suspicion fell apart.

Lin Xiang grabbed his head with both hands in despair, his voice on the verge of tears. "Then what am I supposed to do? Did the watch really just vanish from this classroom? I never should have brought it to school. Then I wouldn't be this unlucky now!"

Seeing Lin Xiang like this, the students in the class felt bad for him too.

Lin Xiang's family was not as wealthy as the Lu family. It was a watch worth nearly ten million, and he had lost it right after buying it. If they were in Lin Xiang's shoes, they would probably collapse onto the floor and cry too.

Seeing Lin Xiang in such a state, Teacher Tang hurriedly comforted him. "Lin Xiang, don't panic. Let's look again. Maybe we overlooked it earlier."

Lin Xiang said, "We can't find it! It's nowhere! I searched for so long already. How could I have missed any place?"

Teacher Tang said, "This time, we'll expand the search. We'll search the entire classroom."

When they heard Teacher Tang say they would search desks, some students felt that their privacy was being violated and objected.

"Teacher, I checked mine already. Lin Xiang's watch isn't there, so you don't need to search my desk."

"I can't accept people rummaging through my things. It makes me uncomfortable."

"Same here. I didn't see his watch in my desk either."

But when people were desperately searching for something, if they did not search it themselves and see the result with their own eyes, they would always feel that others had not searched carefully enough and could not be trusted.

Seeing the class seemingly about to turn against Teacher Tang and Lin Xiang over the desk search, Lu Yao sighed helplessly.

"Don't you read the product manual before using something?"

Lin Xiang looked confused. "What?"

Lu Yao said, "Go get your watch box. You brought it, right?"

Still dazed, Lin Xiang handed the watch box to Lu Yao. Lu Yao took out the instruction manual, flipped to a particular page, then took out his phone and fiddled with it for a while before returning the box to Lin Xiang.

Lu Yao said, "Close the door and draw all the curtains."

Seeing how calm and composed Lu Yao was, Lin Xiang's drifting, panicked heart gradually settled.

Once the curtains were drawn, the room was plunged into darkness. Just as everyone was about to question Lu Yao's actions, a faint glow slowly emerged from the soil of a potted plant on the windowsill. Then, a blue, planet-like sphere was projected into the air.

"Wow, that's so cool!"

"Cool!"

"That effect is insane!"

"It has full marks for sci-fi vibes!"

Lu Yao walked over to the windowsill and found the watch in the soil of the potted plant.

When Lu Yao picked up the watch, he smelled a faint yet peculiar fragrance on it. It seemed familiar, but he could not remember where he had smelled it before.

After Lin Xiang took the watch, his ears reddened as he awkwardly thanked Lu Yao.

Lu Yao said, "You're welcome. Just remember to read the instruction manual before using it next time."

To prevent users from randomly setting down their watches after taking them off and then being unable to find them, nava's developers had specially equipped this watch with a lost-item recovery function.

Every product manual came with a unique key for that particular product. As long as the key was entered into the nava app, the watch would display the floating planet effect from earlier.

Perhaps because this new model was so rare, the person who had hidden the watch in the potted plant's soil apparently did not know about this special function.

Seeing the watch had been found, Li Guigu smiled. "That's great. The watch has finally been found, so you can relax now, Lin Xiang. Remember not to leave it lying around on your desk in the future."

At this point, the students in the class could no longer tell who had deliberately hidden the watch.

After all, according to the surveillance footage, only Lu Yao, Li Guigu, and Lin Xiang had entered the classroom during that time.

But Li Guigu and Lu Yao had both been cleared of suspicion, while Lin Xiang was the victim. What would he gain by staging this whole scene himself?

All they could say was that one of those three was acting, and doing so flawlessly. Li Guigu was probably the most suspicious, but there was currently no evidence to prove it.

When Jiang Bai walked toward him, Lu Yao suddenly remembered where he had smelled that fragrance before.

Lu Yao asked Jiang Bai, "Do you remember the first time you showed up at my door holding your dog, Coffee?"

Jiang Bai said, "I remember. What about it?"

Lu Yao said, "After you left that day, I smelled a faint, unusual fragrance. It was the same smell I detected on Lin Xiang's watch just now."

Lu Yao raised his index finger beneath Jiang Bai's nose. "Smell this."

Lu Yao's sudden action made Jiang Bai's heart race for a moment. His ears instantly turned red and hot.

Jiang Bai steadied himself, took a careful sniff, then leaned close to Lu Yao's ear and whispered something to him.

Even though the watch had been found, Li Guigu was not worried in the slightest. Even if Lin Xiang wanted to check for fingerprints on the watch, there would be no way to trace them back to him. He would not leave behind such a stupid flaw.

Li Guigu sneered disdainfully in his heart. A bunch of idiots, all dancing in the palm of my hand.

"The watch was stolen by you, wasn't it, Li Guigu?"

Lu Yao leaned against the windowsill and calmly said this to Li Guigu, who was about to return to his seat.

The people who had already been preparing to leave instantly stopped in their tracks.

Li Guigu panicked for a moment, but quickly forced himself to remain composed. He spoke calmly, "Lu Yao, don't falsely accuse people without evidence. I could even say that you or Lin Xiang staged this whole act yourselves."

Hearing Li Guigu say that, Lin Xiang said angrily, "Why would I do something so boring? Just wait, I'll go check the fingerprints! I seriously suspect that you were the one who hid my watch."

Li Guigu said, "Who knows what you two are thinking? If you want to frame me, then find evidence that convinces everyone. Being louder doesn't mean you're right."

Seeing how calm and composed Li Guigu was, the other students who had begun to suspect him because of Lu Yao's words gradually started taking Li Guigu's side again.

Lu Yao said, "Lin Xiang, bring me your watch."

Lin Xiang obediently handed his watch to Lu Yao with both hands. "Here, Yao."

Lu Yao said, "..." This kid's attitude had done a complete one-eighty.

Holding the watch, Lu Yao coldly said to Li Guigu, "There's a distinctive scent on this watch. Didn't you notice it when you were painting in the Art Club? You think you're clever, but you're just being too clever for your own good."

At Lu Yao's words, Li Guigu instantly remembered the special nature of that drawing paper. His face went deathly pale, and a trace of panic showed in his eyes.

Li Guigu's voice turned shrill. "Y-You're slandering me! I didn't do it!"

Seeing Li Guigu like this, everyone present realized that what Lu Yao had said might well be the truth.

Lu Yao said, "Jiang Bai, you know more about this. Sorry for the trouble, explain it to them."

After hearing Jiang Bai's detailed explanation, the people around them finally understood Li Guigu's method.

Although he had been careful to avoid leaving his fingerprints on the watch and had deliberately used paper to handle it, he had chosen the wrong kind of paper. The distinctive scent left on the watch directly exposed his identity.

The unique scent Lu Yao had smelled earlier came from drawing paper Jiang Bai had specially commissioned in a small foreign town using Art Club funds back when he was still in the club. Besides Jiang Bai, who had already left the club, the only person in the class who could access that paper was Art Club member Li Guigu.

Moreover, since Jiang Bai had left the Art Club, the stock of that paper had been steadily dwindling. The club had therefore begun strictly controlling it. Any member who wanted to take some had to register it and record the quantity. All they had to do was ask the Art Club, and they would quickly know that Li Guigu was the real thief.

After hearing Lu Yao and Jiang Bai's explanation, Lin Xiang was practically furious. "I'm calling the police! What he did is absolutely awful."

Hearing Lin Xiang mention calling the police again, the homeroom teacher, afraid that things would blow up, hurriedly tried to persuade him. "Student Lin Xiang, you've found your watch anyway, and no actual loss was caused, so let's not call the police. I'll give Li Guigu a severe punishment over this matter, so don't worry."

Lin Xiang also knew that his homeroom teacher loved smoothing things over and spent all day afraid of getting himself into trouble. In that case, even if Li Guigu was called to the office, he would at most get scolded and be made to write a self-criticism.

Seeing the homeroom teacher doing his best to persuade him to let the matter go, and remembering that he had also helped look for the watch earlier, Lin Xiang sighed inwardly and turned to Li Guigu.

"If it weren't for Teacher Tang, I'd definitely call the police today and teach you a lesson. You'd better watch yourself from now on."

Hearing that Lin Xiang had given up on calling the police, Li Guigu lowered his head, a barely noticeable hint of smug relief appearing in his eyes.

Hearing Lin Xiang's words, Jiang Bai frowned deeply.

It was one thing for Lin Xiang to be willing to forgive Li Guigu, but they should not forget that Lu Yao was also a victim in this incident. Was the homeroom teacher really going to make such a serious matter as Li Guigu framing Lu Yao into something that was handled so lightly?

Lu Yao's thoughts were exactly the same as Jiang Bai's.

He looked steadily and calmly at Li Guigu. From the moment he had entered the classroom, Li Guigu had been controlling the direction of public opinion, constantly guiding everyone into suspecting him and pinning the stigma of being a thief on him.

Lu Yao was not curious about why Li Guigu had done this. He had only one thought: Li Guigu had to receive the punishment he deserved.

Lu Yao's expression remained calm as he spoke the harshest words in the coldest tone.

"Whether Lin Xiang chooses to forgive Li Guigu is his choice, but I'm calling the police and suing Li Guigu for defamation."

Li Guigu looked up in shock. What had he just said?!

The homeroom teacher was practically going insane inside. He had only just managed to calm Lin Xiang down, and now Lu Yao was causing another problem.

It was like plugging one hole only for another to spring open.

The homeroom teacher said, "Student Lu Yao, it's not that I think what Li Guigu did was right. But now that his actions have been exposed and you haven't suffered any loss, why not let a big matter become small, and a small matter disappear? I promise you and Lin Xiang that I'll fairly give Li Guigu a severe punishment and make him realize the mistakes he made. When the time comes, I'll also have him apologize to both of you in front of the whole class. What do you think of the teacher handling it this way?"

Lu Yao said, "Not much. Those are things he should do anyway, not punishment for his wrongdoing."

The homeroom teacher opened his mouth and was about to continue persuading Lu Yao when a voice suddenly came from the classroom door. "Teacher Tang, why is your whole class gathered here?"

Hearing the principal's voice, everyone turned around in unison.

Seeing that Lu Yao's father was actually standing beside the principal, Lu Yao and Lu Qi both called out, "Dad," at the same time.

Although they already knew the two were biological brothers, seeing it confirmed with their own eyes was another matter altogether.

It had to be said that the fact that these two people with completely different styles were actually brothers still shocked the classmates greatly.

Seeing Lu Yao and Lu Qi, Father Lu's gaze softened slightly beneath his impeccably tailored suit.