Lin Xiang realized he had left his watch on his desk. Panic flashed across his face as he hurried back to the classroom.
When he saw that the watch was not on the desk, his heart skipped a beat. He turned the desk inside out several times, yet there was still no sign of the watch.
Lin Xiang's face went pale with fright. Where on earth had that watch gone?!
The watch was not, as he had claimed, something he had asked his cousin to buy for him. Its real owner was his father, who believed this model might appreciate in value in the future. That was why his father had gone to great lengths to ask Lin Xiang's 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. He would probably be beaten to death when he got home. If he had known, he would not have gotten carried away and 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 badly startled 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 returned to the classroom to prepare for their lunch break.
Hearing that Lin Xiang's watch had been stolen, everyone looked shocked.
Theft was something Huiying High School had never heard of before.
"Who could it be? That's way too much."
"Should I buy a small safe and put it under my desk? What if my things 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 again. See if you can remember any details."
Lin Xiang's eyes widened, and he suddenly pointed at Li Guigu, who was sitting nearby.
"I remember now! I was the last person to leave the classroom for the cafeteria. When I left, there was already no one in the classroom. But when I realized my watch was gone and ran back, Li Guigu was the only one here. He must have stolen it! He had just argued with me 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 even once since I came in, so there's no way I could have moved your watch elsewhere."
Lin Xiang hurried to Li Guigu's desk and searched it thoroughly, inside and out, not missing a single corner. He still did not find his watch.
Lin Xiang was so anxious that his voice took on a tearful edge. "It's not here, it's not there—did it really just disappear?"
Li Guigu consoled him, "Maybe you should check the hallway surveillance footage. See who entered the classroom before you came back. It might make it easier to find the real thief."
Teacher Tang said, "I can access the hallway surveillance outside the classroom directly through the app on my phone with my teacher authorization."
A group of people gathered around Teacher Tang, staring intently and holding their breath as they watched the surveillance footage on his phone.
In the footage, Lin Xiang was indeed not wearing the watch when he left the classroom. Shortly afterward, Li Guigu entered the classroom. Then the next person to enter was Lu Yao!
Not long after Lu Yao left, Lin Xiang appeared in the hallway, looking anxious and jogging back.
So the thief was Lu Yao?!
Lin Xiang breathed a sigh of relief. At last, the real culprit had been found, 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 fine. 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 at 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 he saw Lu Yao enter, Li Guigu took the initiative and loudly stopped him. "Lu Yao, what are you wearing on your wrist? I saw something covered by your jacket just now."
Jiang Bai, who was walking behind Lu Yao, frowned. Lu Yao's wrists had been completely covered by his jacket's long sleeves the entire time. Not even a sliver of skin had been exposed. Which eye had Li Guigu used to see anything?
Upon 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 the situation escalating, so he hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Don't call the police yet. Lu Yao can just hand over the watch."
[Honestly, I've recently been using this app to read and follow updates. It has multiple sources and plenty of narration voices, available on both Android and Apple.]
Lu Yao said, "..." These people had rushed over and started rattling off a bunch of things. What were they even talking about?
A trace of coldness appeared in Jiang Bai's eyes. "Can you explain what Lu Yao did first? You charged over and started talking nonsense 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. I was the third person to enter. Li Guigu has already proved his innocence, so it can only have been Lu Yao."
Although Xia Yue, who had watched the situation unfold, knew Lu Yao was unlikely to do such a thing, both she and the system shared the goal of secretly stealing his fortune by suppressing him. She was therefore happy to see Lu Yao being falsely accused.
[System: Seize this opportunity!] [You don't need to teach me. I know what to do.]
In a gentle voice, Xia Yue seemed to be persuading Lu Yao for his own good. "Lu Yao, if you took it, give the watch back to Lin Xiang quickly. You really can't just take other people's things. Even if you like it a lot, you can't simply claim it as your own."
The moment Xia Yue spoke, she seemed to have already decided that Lu Yao had stolen Lin Xiang's watch.
As soon as Chu Jiaojiao entered the classroom, she heard what Lin Xiang and Xia Yue had said. She did not believe the Lu Yao she had come to know through observation would do something like that.
Chu Jiaojiao crossed her arms. "You can eat recklessly, but you can't speak recklessly. What basis do you have for saying that without evidence? Can surveillance footage alone determine that Lu Yao is a thief? Isn't that far too hasty?"
At that moment, Li Guigu suddenly cut in, "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 would 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 found out."
Lu Yao swept his gaze over the people around him. In their hearts, they had already decided he was the thief.
At that moment, Jiang Bai gently placed a hand on Lu Yao's shoulder and spoke in a low, firm voice. "I believe you."
Hearing Jiang Bai's words, Lu Yao pressed his lips together and gave a slight nod.
His voice was low as he said, "This watch is mine."
A nearly imperceptible trace of smugness appeared in Li Guigu's eyes. "Lu Yao, just admit your mistake. We're all classmates, so no one will hold it against you too much. You say this watch is yours, but tell us this: did anyone notice 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 anyone possibly have seen it?
Li Guigu said, "See? You can't even prove whether your own story is true or false. No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. You should return the watch to Lin Xiang and apologize to him."
Seeing that Lu Yao still refused to admit it, Lin Xiang began to panic.
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 the watch on your wrist and return it to me today, you can forget about having an easy life from now on!"
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 to be bullied without any ability to resist, a torrent of rage surged straight to Lu Qi's head.
He violently shoved aside the onlookers, grabbed Lin Xiang by the collar, and snarled through gritted teeth, "Bastard, what did you just say?! Illegitimate child? Bullshit illegitimate child! He's my brother! And what were you just telling him to do? Give you the watch on his wrist? Who the hell do you think you are, demanding something like that from him? I bought this watch and gave it to him. What, do you have a problem with that?"
Lin Xiang was frightened by Lu Qi suddenly charging over and grabbing him so viciously. Then, realizing that Lu Yao and Lu Qi were actually biological brothers, he stammered as he tried to explain, "He, he, I, I..."
To people like Lu Qi, "illegitimate child" was the most insulting label imaginable. Yet Lin Xiang had dared treat Lu Yao like that!
The more Lu Qi spoke, the more his anger burned. He clenched his fist and swung it at the terrified Lin Xiang.
Lu Yao instantly reached out and grabbed Lu Qi's arm mid-swing. "Forget it, brother. He didn't mean it. It was 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 astonishment.
Lu Yao had just called him "brother"! He had called him "brother"! It was the first time Lu Qi had ever heard that word from Lu Yao.
The heart that had been spewing fire moments ago instantly burst into fireworks.
Whether this was a misunderstanding or not had already been tossed to the back of Lu Qi's mind. Lu Yao's "brother" was now playing on an endless loop in his head.
The rest of the class, including Teacher Tang, was equally shocked.
When Lu Yao had completed his enrollment procedures, Ms. Li had dealt directly with the principal, so Teacher Tang had not known anything about this student's family background.
Lu Yao and Lu Qi were actually 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 staring wide-eyed in stunned silence.
Ye Muqing was the same. He finally understood why Lu Qi had been spending so much time with Lu Yao lately. He had thought the two simply got along well.
Still uneasy, Ye Muqing asked again, "Brother Qi, when you say Lu Yao is your brother, you mean biologically related?"
Lu Qi rolled his eyes and replied matter-of-factly, "What other kind of relationship could it be?"
Ye Muqing said, "Then why didn't you come forward to refute the rumors on the school forum when people claimed Lu Yao was an illegitimate child?"
Lu Qi said, "I never browse forums. Is this your first day knowing that? And how was I supposed to know your imaginations were so wild that you could misunderstand things this badly? Just look at our names—can't you tell we're practically destined to be brothers?"
Lu Yao said, "..." If he could not use idioms properly, he should use them less. Otherwise, Lu Yao would be the one embarrassed again.
Seeing public opinion apparently shifting toward Lu Yao, Xia Yue spoke with feigned hesitation. "But that doesn't seem to clear Lu Yao of suspicion, does it? Lin Xiang just lost his watch, and the watch on Lu Yao's wrist looks exactly the same. Besides, no one saw Lu Yao wearing a watch this morning."
nava's watches had traditionally been handmade, so they did not have the serial numbers found on mass-produced mechanical watches. It was impossible to distinguish the watches from their appearances alone.
At Xia Yue's words, a barely noticeable hint of satisfaction appeared in Li Guigu's eyes. Just as Xia Yue had said, even if Lu Yao's identity had been exposed, 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 seemed to make sense. Lu Yao being part of the Lu family did not mean he was innocent. It was not impossible that he had some hidden obsession.
Hearing Xia Yue's words, Lu Qi rolled his eyes without reservation and snapped, "Who told you they look 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 raced. Impossible. Weren't all the watches exactly the same model?!
Lu Qi took the watch from Lu Yao, turned its face over, and pointed the metal back at Lin Xiang.
"See for yourself. There's an English word engraved here—'sun.' I specifically had it engraved. 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" carried the meaning of the sun.
Lin Xiang widened his eyes. After checking 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 intended to buy the watch as a collectible. Although he knew it could be customized with an engraving, he had deliberately kept it in its original state because he might sell it later.
At that moment, Lu Yao calmly explained to Lin Xiang, "I came back earlier because I forgot my phone."
Every line of suspicion fell apart.
Lin Xiang grabbed his head with both hands in despair, his voice trembling with tears. "Then what am I supposed to do? Could this watch really vanish from this classroom into thin air? I never should have brought it to school. Then I wouldn't be this unlucky!"
Seeing Lin Xiang like this, the classmates felt bad for him too.
The Lin family was not as wealthy as the Lu family, after all. It was a watch worth nearly ten million, and he had lost it right after buying it. If they were Lin Xiang, they would probably collapse onto the floor and burst into tears.
Seeing Lin Xiang in that state, Teacher Tang hurriedly comforted him. "Lin Xiang, don't panic. Let's look again. Perhaps we missed it because we weren't paying enough attention earlier."
Lin Xiang said, "We won't find it! It's nowhere! I searched for so long—how could I possibly have missed anything?"
Teacher Tang said, "This time, we'll widen the search. We'll search the entire classroom."
When they heard Teacher Tang say they would search everyone's desks, some students felt their privacy was being violated and objected.
"Teacher, I already checked mine. Lin Xiang's watch isn't there. You don't need to search my desk."
"I can't accept other people rummaging through my things. It's too uncomfortable."
"Same here. I didn't see his watch in my desk either."
But when someone was desperately searching for something, if they did not search it personally 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 searches, 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 with you, right?"
In a daze, Lin Xiang handed the watch box to Lu Yao. Lu Yao took out the manual inside, flipped to a particular page, then took out his phone and fiddled with it for a while before returning the watch 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 became pitch-black. Just as everyone was about to question Lu Yao's actions, a faint beam of light slowly shone from the soil of a potted plant on the windowsill. Then, a blue globe resembling a planet was projected into the air.
"Wow, that's so cool!"
"Cool!"
"This effect is insane!"
"Maximum futuristic vibes!"
Lu Yao walked to the windowsill and found the watch buried in the soil of the potted plant.
When Lu Yao picked up the watch, he smelled a faint yet peculiar fragrance on it. The scent seemed familiar, but he could not remember where he had smelled it before.
After taking the watch, Lin Xiang reddened at the ears and awkwardly thanked Lu Yao.
Lu Yao said, "You're welcome. Just remember to read the product manual before using it next time."
To prevent users from losing track of the watch after casually setting it down when taking it off, nava's developers had specially created a lost-and-found feature for this model.
Each product manual contained a unique key for that product. As long as the key was entered into nava's app, the watch would display the same floating planet effect from before.
Perhaps because the new model was so rare, the person who had hidden the watch in the potted plant's soil did not seem to know about this special feature.
Seeing the watch had been found, Li Guigu smiled. "That's wonderful. The watch has finally been found. Now you can relax, Lin Xiang. Remember not to leave it lying around on your desk in the future."
By this point, the classmates 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 period.
But Li Guigu and Lu Yao had both been cleared of suspicion, while Lin Xiang was the victim. What would he gain by staging such a performance himself?
All they could say was that one of those three was acting, and doing it 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 in a flash where he had smelled that fragrance before.
Lu Yao asked Jiang Bai, "Do you remember the first time you appeared at my doorstep holding your dog, Coffee?"
Jiang Bai said, "I remember. What about it?"
Lu Yao said, "After you left that day, I smelled a faint, distinctive fragrance. It was the same scent I smelled on Lin Xiang's watch just now."
Lu Yao raised his index finger beneath Jiang Bai's nose. "Smell this."
Lu Yao's unexpected 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 test the fingerprints left on the watch, he would not be traced. Li Guigu would never leave behind such a foolish loophole.
Li Guigu sneered disdainfully in his heart. A bunch of idiots. I've got them all dancing in the palm of my hand.
"The watch was stolen by you, wasn't it, Li Guigu?"
Leaning against the windowsill, Lu Yao casually said this to Li Guigu, who was about to return to his seat.
The people who had been ready to leave immediately stopped in their tracks.
Li Guigu panicked for a moment, but quickly forced himself to remain calm. He said evenly, "Lu Yao, don't falsely accuse people without any evidence. I could just as easily say that you or Lin Xiang staged this whole thing yourselves."
Hearing Li Guigu say that, Lin Xiang said angrily, "Why would I do something so pointless? Just wait, I'll go check for fingerprints! I seriously suspect you're the one who stole and hid my watch."
Li Guigu said, "Who knows what you two are thinking? If you want to frame me, then find evidence that actually convinces everyone. Being loud doesn't mean you're right."
Seeing how calm and composed Li Guigu appeared, the classmates who had begun to suspect him because of Lu Yao's words gradually started siding with Li Guigu 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: "..." This kid's attitude had done a complete one-eighty.
Holding the watch, Lu Yao said coldly to Li Guigu, "There's a distinctive scent on this watch. Didn't you notice it when you painted 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 what was special about that kind of drawing paper. His face turned pale in an instant, and panic flickered in his eyes.
Li Guigu's voice turned shrill. "Y-you, don't make baseless accusations! I didn't do it!"
Seeing Li Guigu like this, everyone present realized that what Lu Yao had just said might indeed be the truth.
Lu Yao said, "Jiang Bai, you know more about this. Sorry for the trouble, but explain it to them."
After hearing Jiang Bai's detailed explanation, the people around them finally understood how Li Guigu had committed the theft.
Although he had carefully avoided leaving his fingerprints on the watch and deliberately used paper to hold it, he had chosen the wrong kind of paper. The distinctive scent left on the watch directly exposed his identity.
The distinctive smell Lu Yao had caught earlier came from drawing paper Jiang Bai had once specially commissioned in a small foreign town using Art Club funds. Aside from Jiang Bai, who had already left the Art Club, the only person in the class who could access that paper was Art Club member Li Guigu.
Moreover, after Jiang Bai left the Art Club, the stock of that paper had begun dwindling day by day. The Art Club had therefore started strictly controlling it. Any member who wanted to take some had to register it and record the quantity. As long as they asked the Art Club, they would quickly learn 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 disgusting."
Hearing Lin Xiang mention calling the police again, the homeroom teacher, afraid the situation would blow up, hurriedly tried to persuade him. "Student Lin Xiang, you've found your watch anyway, and you haven't suffered any loss. Why not let this go? I'll make sure Li Guigu receives a severe punishment for this. Don't worry."
Lin Xiang also knew that his homeroom teacher loved smoothing things over and was always terrified of getting dragged into trouble. If that was the case, then at most, Li Guigu would be called into the office, scolded, and made to write a self-criticism.
Seeing the homeroom teacher trying so hard to persuade him to let the matter rest, and remembering that he had also tried his best to help find the watch, Lin Xiang sighed inwardly and turned toward Li Guigu.
"If it weren't for Teacher Tang's sake, 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 trace of barely noticeable smugness and relief appearing in his eyes.
Hearing Lin Xiang's words, Jiang Bai frowned deeply.
Whether Lin Xiang was willing to forgive Li Guigu was one thing, but they should not forget that Lu Yao was also a victim in this incident. Was the homeroom teacher really going to make a big show of punishing Li Guigu, only to let him off lightly after he had so seriously framed Lu Yao?
Lu Yao felt exactly the same as Jiang Bai.
He watched Li Guigu with a calm, steady gaze. From the moment Li Guigu had entered the classroom, he had been manipulating the direction of public opinion, continuously guiding everyone into suspecting Lu Yao 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 delivered the harshest words in the coldest tone.
"Lin Xiang choosing to forgive Li Guigu is his choice, but I'm calling the police to report Li Guigu for defamation."
Li Guigu raised his head in shock. What had Lu Yao just said?!
The homeroom teacher was practically losing his mind. He had only just managed to calm Lin Xiang down, and now Lu Yao was causing another problem.
It was like pressing down one gourd only for another to bob up—solve one problem and another appeared.
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 make a big issue small and a small issue disappear? I promise you and Lin Xiang that I'll punish Li Guigu fairly and severely, so that he realizes the mistake he has made. When the time comes, I'll also have him apologize to both of you in front of the entire class. What do you think of that arrangement?"
Lu Yao said, "Not much. Those are things he should be doing anyway. They're not a punishment for what he did."
The homeroom teacher opened his mouth and was about to continue persuading Lu Yao when a voice suddenly sounded from the classroom doorway. "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 called out together, "Dad."
Although they already knew the two were biological brothers, seeing it confirmed with their own eyes was another matter entirely.
It had to be said that the fact that these two people, whose styles were so completely different, were actually brothers still greatly shocked the class.
Seeing Lu Yao and Lu Qi, their father's gaze softened slightly beneath his immaculate suit.