That was all he was capable of

When class finally ended, Tang Yun and Gao Yuyang dragged Yan Wen off toward the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was huge and offered plenty of dishes, so there was no risk of going hungry no matter when they arrived. Their habit of rushing there as soon as class ended had formed back in high school.

The three of them were waiting for their food at a cafeteria table when Gao Yuyang asked, "Hey, don't we have the afternoon off?"

Tang Yun nodded and let out a contented sigh. "No classes in the afternoon, every single day. This is amazing!"

Yan Wen asked Xiao Qi to check whether Class Thirteen had any classes that afternoon.

Xiao Qi replied, "Host, Class Thirteen has physical training this afternoon, on the soccer field. Tao Niannian is in Class Six, and they also have physical training on the soccer field this afternoon."

Yan Wen raised an eyebrow. "So there's going to be some juicy drama this afternoon?!"

"Yes, host! This round of drama will earn us more points than before, and we'll be able to get Xiao Qi another new feature!"

Yan Wen asked curiously, "Just how many features do you systems have?"

"Xiao Qi doesn't know either. Once we earn points, we exchange them with the Main System, which gives us features worth the same number of points."

"That's pretty humanlike."

The three collected their food and chatted as they ate.

Yan Wen was bringing a spoonful of soup to his mouth when someone walking past caught his chair. His hand jolted, spilling the soup all over his clothes.

Yan Wen looked Xiang behind him and saw Mu Huai'an. Apparently, the past few days had left him so frustrated that he had resorted to this sort of petty troublemaking.

Gao Yuyang pulled out some tissues and handed them over. Tang Yun frowned deeply. "What's wrong with Mu Huai'an?"

Yan Wen wiped away the soup. "That's all he's capable of. There's no point getting angry with someone like him. I'll just go back and change in a bit."

The Mu Family villa

Xie Yunshu scrolled through her phone with a grim expression. On the screen was Shengyuan Academy's official website, displaying the video of Mu Huai'an, Zhang He, and Cao Dong plotting to frame Yan Wen in the infirmary.

Beside her, Mu Xu Xi also looked troubled. After a long while, she finally put down her phone and wearily rubbed between her brows.

"Mom, stop watching it. The experts already said there's no possibility of the video being edited or faked. Besides, have you forgotten what Xiao Wen can do? This definitely happened."

Xie Yunshu felt her chest tighten, as though she could barely breathe. "Why on earth would Xiao An do something like this? Framing his own brother—is this what we get after raising him in the Mu Family for fourteen years?"

Mu Xu Xi reminded her, "Mom, don't blame me for bringing up old grievances, but didn't Xiao An cause plenty of trouble during those first few days after Wen came home? He even tried to frame Wen for stealing from our second brother. If Wen hadn't had that system or whatever it is, An probably would have succeeded long ago."

Her head aching, Xie Yunshu propped it up with one hand. "I've always treated Xiao An as my own son. I never denied him anything you children had. Even when Wen first came home, I still instinctively favored Xiao An. Our Mu Family has never mistreated him. How did he turn out like this? Plotting with his classmates to frame his own younger brother—how could he do such a thing?!"

Mu Xu Xi rubbed Xie Yunshu's back to calm her down. "Mom, let's deal with this properly when they come home on break."

"That's all we can do. When your dad gets back, tell him about this too, so we can discuss what to do together. Xiao An needs some serious discipline, or who knows what he'll do next."

Yan Family home

After reading the comments and watching the video, Yan Lin tossed his phone onto the bed.

"What does that adopted son of the Mu Family think he's doing? They've treated him well, yet he still came up with such a nasty scheme!"

Su Huilan brought him some hot tea. "Don't get so angry. It's bad for your health. I'm sure the Mu Family will handle it properly. Our Xiao Wen isn't the sort to let himself be wronged, either. He might even have posted that video himself."

At that, Yan Lin's mood instantly brightened. "Right! That's the son I raised. Just like me—he won't let anyone get the better of him."

Su Huilan sat down beside Yan Lin. "The mission should be wrapping up soon, right?"

Yan Lin nodded. "Yes. All the preparations are complete. We're just waiting for the final moment. This mission looked simple, but it's taken so much time and effort. We've been tangled up in it for three months, and it's finally almost over."

"Shall we go visit Dad together afterward?"

"What is there to see that old man for? I've waited so long for some leave. I don't want to waste it practicing with him."

"Dad's just worried you'll get rusty, isn't he? Let's go back and see him."

"All right, all right. Whatever you say. It would be nice if we could take Xiao Wen along. The last time he saw his grandpa was before the college entrance exams."

Su Huilan smiled. "Come to think of it, Dad and Xiao Wen really do have a special bond. The old man is stern with everyone, but whenever he sees Xiao Wen, he becomes so much gentler. He even slips the boy money behind our backs and tells him to buy some candy."

Yan Wen returned to his dorm room, changed, and casually tossed his dirty clothes into the washing machine.

Doing a load of laundry and playing a game during his lunch break should take him right up to the time for the drama.

He couldn't hear any rumbling from the washing machine; he could only see the clothes washing through its clear glass door. Using voice control, he had the water dispenser pour him a cup of warm water, then launched his game and began leading his teammates on a killing spree.

Unfortunately, they had an utterly useless teammate that round. There was no miraculous comeback—the teammate cost them the game. Another teammate sent a long voice message cursing that player out, then logged off.

Seething with frustration, Yan Wen drained his large cup of water in one gulp and slammed it back onto the desk.

Xiao Qi hurried to comfort him. "Host, don't be angry. Head to the soccer field now, and you'll be just in time for the drama."

Yan Wen shook his head and sighed. "Without you, how would I ever catch so much fantastic drama?"

Three classes were having physical training on the soccer field. Professional runners trained on the track alongside people jogging for exercise, while quite a few others sat scattered across the grass.

Yan Wen climbed into the stands, where he had an unobstructed view of the entire field.

Xiao Qi said, "Host, the class in the middle is Li Zhaoxi's Class Thirteen, and the one on the right is Tao Niannian's Class Six. Li Zhaoxi is in the row toward the right—the girl wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with a high ponytail and neatly arranged clothes."

With Xiao Qi's facial tracking feature, Yan Wen spotted the main character at once.

Yan Wen clicked his tongue. "I still can't believe her biological parents could do something like this. Just look at Li Zhaoxi—she clearly doesn't belong in Class Thirteen. Such a well-behaved girl, thrown into a class where fights and trouble break out every other day. Won't they bully her to death?"

Li Zhaoxi suddenly looked up, glancing around as though searching for something. Only when the teacher called her name did she snap out of it.

Li Zhaoxi thought she had imagined it, but then the voice spoke again.

"Li Zhaoxi obeyed the Tao Family without question, doing whatever they told her, but even that never earned her their love. The Tao Family ruined her health. Three years later, when she went to the hospital for a follow-up examination, she was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer. Only then did she decide to give up on the Tao Family and return to her adoptive parents to spend the last part of her life with them. The Tao Family finally regretted what they'd done, but Li Zhaoxi lived for only another five months."

Li Zhaoxi's eyes widened in shock. She looked around and saw that everyone else appeared perfectly normal. She was the only one who could hear this voice.

Yan Wen asked, "What's the drama that's about to happen?"

Xiao Qi replied, "During the break, Tao Niannian and two other girls follow Li Zhaoxi to the restroom and lock her in a stall. She isn't discovered and rescued from the stall until eight that evening."

"Li Zhaoxi doesn't have her phone with her, so she misses the calls from the overseas fashion design company. They call three times, decide she has an unprofessional attitude, and withdraw their job offer. Only when Li Zhaoxi calls them back does she discover that all her years of hard work have gone down the drain. Furious, she goes to confront Tao Niannian, only for the Tao Family to lock her in a dark room and starve her for two full days. They even demand that she kneel and apologize to Tao Niannian before they'll let her out."

Li Zhaoxi glanced toward Tao Niannian without betraying any emotion. If what this voice said was true, she absolutely couldn't let Tao Niannian harm her.

The LNN Fashion Design Company overseas had always been her goal. Joining the company as a fashion designer had been her dream all along.