Back to School

After leaving the alley beside the Internet Cafe, Qin Siyang did not go home.

Leaving had only been a cover.

He hid on the other side of the Internet Cafe, listening closely to the soft footsteps in the alley.

Liu Dazhi was leaving.

He concealed himself and quietly followed Liu Dazhi.

Although Liu Dazhi kept a wary eye out for anyone following him, Qin Siyang never entered his line of sight.

Using his keen hearing to track Liu Dazhi's position, he followed cautiously, keeping enough distance to remain unseen.

Only after Liu Dazhi opened his front door and Qin Siyang firmly committed the location of his home to memory did he quietly leave.

On the way home, Qin Siyang could think of nothing but Liu Dazhi's threat.

"Scheduled emails. That really is a problem."

He knew little about Liu Dazhi, so he had no idea how the man had set up his scheduled emails.

Which email service had he used? How many accounts had he used? And when did he push back the scheduled send time?

Qin Siyang knew none of the answers.

Killing Liu Dazhi would be easy. Keeping his secret from being exposed afterward would be much trickier.

One careless move, and all Qin Siyang's painstaking efforts would go to waste.

"I can't let Liu Dazhi ruin such a brilliant start to my new life."

He needed to devise a plan as soon as possible to eliminate the threat Liu Dazhi posed.

After arriving home, Qin Siyang glanced at the calendar again.

[Earth Era, January 4, 2010]

[Gregorian calendar, Monday.]

[Traditional calendar, year of the earth ox, eleventh month, twentieth day. Auspicious for planting; inauspicious for marriage.]

Then he gathered his things and left for school.

He had burned his schoolbag and had no spare, so he put a few lunch boxes in a cloth bag and headed out.

As for his textbooks? He had long since forgotten where he had thrown them.

He had no need for those things. He would never get into an academy anyway, so there was little point in keeping up appearances.

After leaving home, Qin Siyang took a detour past the Internet Cafe, deliberately avoiding the camera at its entrance.

Through the doorway, he saw Liu Dazhi still sitting at the counter by the entrance.

Liu Dazhi was staring intently at the computer screen, his expression tense yet excited, his hands tapping rapidly at the keyboard. There was no telling what game had him so engrossed.

Absorbed in his game, Liu Dazhi did not notice Qin Siyang passing by.

Qin Siyang glanced at Liu Dazhi, turned away, and headed straight for school.

Today did not seem like a good day to kill Liu Dazhi.

"The almanac didn't say today was suitable for burials. Looks like there was a reason for that."

On school days, this main road along the edge of the Safe Zone was a little busier, unlike the deserted streets on weekends.

Quite a few students walked together.

Qin Siyang walked alone without greeting anyone.

When he reached the school gate, he noticed several figures dressed like adults standing there, inspecting the school.

Qin Siyang recognized the principal of [Ju'an School], along with several administrators and teachers at his side.

He had no idea what had gotten into the principal to make him suddenly decide to conduct an inspection at the school gate today.

Perhaps it was just his personality, making him want to remind everyone of his presence now and then.

"Good morning, Principal!"

"Good morning, Principal!"

The students greeted the principal on their own initiative, and he responded with a smile.

Qin Siyang did not want to attract attention. Even though he had no particular fondness for the principal, he still smiled and greeted him.

The principal smiled back at Qin Siyang.

But the king of hell was easier to deal with than his petty underlings.

One teacher frowned and immediately shouted at Qin Siyang, "You! Stop!"

The students turned at the shout. Seeing the teacher pointing at Qin Siyang, they went on toward their classrooms, since it had nothing to do with them. Being stopped by a teacher inspecting students at the gate was an everyday occurrence, hardly worth watching.

After all, the worse the school, the more rules it had.

The teacher stepped forward. "Why didn't you greet the principal loudly when you saw him? Don't you know you're supposed to respect your teachers?!"

Huh? I'm being grilled just because I didn't greet him loudly enough? Qin Siyang's fingers curled involuntarily twice, as though he wanted to clench his fists.

With a deadly weapon in hand, murderous thoughts came naturally.

After killing someone, his mindset had changed as well. He very much wanted to give this teacher a punch and show him exactly how he understood "respecting teachers."

He owed the United Government for his free meals and schooling, but he owed the teachers nothing.

Yet Liu Dazhi's disgusting smile immediately surfaced in Qin Siyang's mind.

Forget it. Put up with it a little longer.

If I hit a teacher now, I'll have to reveal that I'm a Sequence Ability User. Liu Dazhi might go straight to the police and spill everything that happened before... What a hassle.

Everything would have to wait until after he killed Liu Dazhi.

Fortunately, Qin Siyang had swallowed plenty of humiliation in his previous life, so playing the coward came easily.

He immediately put on an apologetic smile. "Sorry, sir. I didn't sleep well last night, so my voice is a little weak this morning. Let me say it again. Good morning, Principal! Good morning, sir!"

The principal smiled graciously, not caring in the slightest how loudly Qin Siyang greeted him. "Make sure you get proper rest from now on. That's all. Go to class."

"Thank you, Principal."

"Wait!" The teacher stopped Qin Siyang again.

"Why aren't you carrying a schoolbag? What's in that bag you're holding? Let me see."

Seemingly eager to demonstrate his keen powers of observation to the principal, the teacher snatched the bag from Qin Siyang's hand and opened it to inspect its contents.

"Why are there only lunch boxes? Where are your books? Don't you do homework on weekends?"

What use are textbooks? All that studying is just a waste of time. Don't you know how few people get into the United Government's academies each year?

Don't you administrators already know all the promising students at the top of the grade? Just focus on nurturing your star pupils. Why go out of your way to hassle an ordinary student like me?

Faced with the teacher's stern questioning, however, Qin Siyang once again suppressed the urge to punch him straight into his next life.

Every time he endured it, his hatred for Liu Dazhi deepened a little more.

Qin Siyang was about to speak when a girl's voice suddenly sounded behind him:

"Sir, Qin Siyang went with me to a classmate's house for tutoring over the weekend, and he left his books there. I arranged with our classmate to bring his books for him today."

Qin Siyang looked back and discovered that the person speaking up for him was actually Li Jingwen.

"Hmm? Is that so?"

Qin Siyang did not know why Li Jingwen was helping him out, but he nodded along. "That's right."

The teacher gave the two of them a suspicious look. Seeing no trace of romantic affection in Qin Siyang's eyes, he decided there were no signs of an underage romance and let them go.

"Thank you, sir."

"Thank you, sir!"

Qin Siyang also caught the teacher's scrutinizing gaze, making him sneer inwardly all the more.

This lousy school even cracks down on student romances? Who are they trying to impress?

Most people go straight to work after graduating from high school anyway. If they date now and get married after graduation, wouldn't that let them devote themselves entirely to work?

He could not understand why a place with such a low academy admission rate as [Ju'an School] had so many pointless rules.

Li Jingwen quickened her pace for a couple of steps, catching up to Qin Siyang and walking beside him.

"Qin Siyang, don't you have something to say to me?"

Qin Siyang looked at Li Jingwen's bright smile and said flatly, "You think I should thank you?"

"I helped you. Isn't it only right for you to thank me?"

"When I used to bring you breakfast and do your homework, you never thanked me. You just said it was a test of our relationship."

"Consider what just happened a test from me. Of course, I'm not testing whether you're fit to be my girlfriend. I'm testing whether you have any decency left."

Li Jingwen's smile stiffened for a moment, then she adopted a slightly pleading, coquettish tone. "I was wrong before. You've helped me, and now I've helped you, so let's call it even, okay? You really hurt my feelings when you talk so coldly."

Even?

Qin Siyang found that laughable.

In his memories, he had often stayed up late doing Li Jingwen's homework. He had also regularly gone hungry so he could bring her breakfast.

One trivial favor, and we're even?

My efforts really were worthless in Li Jingwen's eyes.

Fortunately, after his rebirth, he had cut his losses in time.

Calling it even was fine, too. Once they were square, he could sever ties with Li Jingwen completely and spare himself the nausea of seeing her every day.

"Fine. We're even."

"Since we're even, let's start over. Qin Siyang, I'll take more initiative with you from now on. Could you..."

"Keep bringing you breakfast and doing your homework?"

Hearing Qin Siyang finish her sentence, Li Jingwen completely missed the accusatory tone and thought he had agreed. She smiled and nodded. "Yes, yes! Could you? I really love seeing how much you care about me. You're what keeps me going all day! I've realized I can't live without you."

Then she gave him a smile she believed would sweep him off his feet.

Li Jingwen and her close friend had worked out this syrupy confession over the weekend. Based on their understanding of Qin Siyang, they were certain it would win him over.

But Qin Siyang merely said calmly, "Li Jingwen, there's something I've always wanted to ask you."

"Go ahead. If I know the answer, I'll definitely tell you!"

"Why do you insist on picking on me alone to scam? Aren't there any other boys willing to be your dog?"

Li Jingwen had not expected Qin Siyang to say something like that. For a moment, she was at a loss for words. "You... What do you mean?"

"If you want to pursue Zhou Yang, put in the effort yourself. Could you stop trying to use me to do it?"

"You bring him breakfast, but make me prepare it. You want to compare homework answers with him, so you make me do the homework. If I have to do everything, I might as well marry him myself."

With utterly ruthless words, Qin Siyang exposed Li Jingwen's intentions, leaving her momentarily flustered, shock spreading across her face.

"Li Jingwen, stop pestering me. Find another dog to do your homework. If you bother me again..."

Qin Siyang gave her a contemptuous smile.

"You wouldn't want Zhou Yang to find out about this, would you?"