Qi Dong lunged forward like a madwoman, aiming to grab Shen Mosi’s collar.
Shen Mosi dodged her hand, swiftly moving behind Xunian and gently pulling her hand before cautiously peeking out from behind her.
“Shen Mosi!”
Qi Dong tried to grab her again but was forced back by the dagger Xunian brandished.
Yuan Shen watched coldly from the sidelines, not intervening, only looking on as Qi Dong stomped around like a clown.
Xunian remained vigilant, guarding against Qi Dong’s next move while her peripheral vision lingered on that pile of things.
There was a button phone there—if she wasn’t mistaken, it should be an important clue.
Seeing Xunian glance that way, Qi Dong unintentionally gave herself away by lunging forward to shield the pile. “These are my things. You’re not allowed to touch them!”
Ran Feng stopped the crazed Qi Dong, pulling her aside, and said to Xunian,
“Sharing these clues should be fine, right?”
“Ran Feng! Let go of me!”
Qi Dong struggled in his grip, her long nails leaving red marks on his skin.
The strong scent of makeup on her made Ran Feng frown in disgust, pulling her even further away.
Xunian nodded and sheathed the dagger back into her pocket.
The cooperation was sealed.
Ran Feng sneered coldly, releasing Qi Dong and stepping forward to pick up the phone from the table.
Just as he was about to unlock it, Qi Dong’s expression changed sharply and she rushed forward to snatch it away.
He immediately raised his arm to dodge her and shouted,
“What? Not letting us see it? Are you feeling guilty?”
Finally holding the upper hand over Yuan Shen and Qi Dong’s misdeeds, he was determined to get revenge for the false accusation from the last class.
Qi Dong, realizing she couldn’t win against Ran Feng, turned and scolded the silently watching Yuan Shen, “What are you just standing there for? Do you want everyone to know the dirty things you’ve done?!”
Yuan Shen seemed to be suppressing his anger, clenching his fists tightly. “What did I do? Aren’t those things all your doing?!”
Like two grasshoppers tied on the same string, they began to argue.
“Whoever did it, it’s obvious.”
“Wait,” Yuan Shen hesitated and tried to intervene, “This involves other people’s privacy. Isn’t this inappropriate?”
Ran Feng smirked, “You’re just scared because you have something to hide.”
With that, he unlocked the phone in front of everyone. Surprisingly, the battery was fully charged.
The screen lit up instantly, as if someone had charged it in advance, waiting for him to open it.
The lock screen popped up several notifications:
“Missed call? The contact is labeled ‘Mom.’”
“Can you tell whose phone this is?” Xunian asked.
“There’s a wallpaper as the background. It looks like a girl around seventeen or eighteen. That should be the owner,” Ran Feng explained, showing the wallpaper to the others.
The image showed a girl with a shy smile.
Qi Dong and Yuan Shen still scowled.
“By the way,” Qi Ye pulled out a photo, suggesting, “I have the Graduation Photo here. Let’s compare it to see who it is.”
An A4-sized photo had black printed text at the top:
“Daiai Academy First Year Class 1 Graduation Photo”
Below was a group photo of the whole class, including the teacher.
Everyone was posed side by side, all smiling brightly, but their eyes were hollow, as if staring beyond the camera.
The moment Qi Dong saw the Graduation Photo, her complexion worsened. Even the usually composed Yuan Shen’s face changed.
Yuan Shen seemed unable to hold back any longer and suddenly ran over.
“Qi Dong, Yuan Shen, you two are in this photo,” Shen Mosi said casually, standing beside Xunian.
Qi Dong seemed triggered by some switch and started screaming hysterically at Shen Mosi,
“Shen Mosi, it’s you! Don’t think I won’t recognize you just because you look different now!”
“What are you talking about?”
Shen Mosi looked as if she was about to cry, her clear and innocent eyes blinking without pause. Her slightly reddened eyes stirred sympathy.
Xunian’s heart trembled as she looked at her. Usually indifferent to meddling in others’ affairs, she couldn’t help but say to Qi Dong, “You… shouldn’t go too far.”
“Too far?! It’s all because Shen Mosi’s ghost won’t leave me alone. Back then, I just—uh uh uh uh—”
She was cut off halfway as Yuan Shen clamped his hand over her mouth, biting his teeth.
“Enough. Class is about to start!”
With that, ignoring Qi Dong’s fierce glare, he dragged her back to their seats.
Almost discovered…
Fortunately, Yuan Shen was smart enough to stop Qi Dong from exposing herself foolishly.
Xunian’s gaze darkened slightly. She roughly guessed Qi Dong was one of the bullies tormenting the top student Shen Mosi, and Yuan Shen was likely involved too.
But she still didn’t know exactly what they had done.
Lost in thought, she returned to her seat and waited for class to begin.
Shen Mosi sat obediently beside her, folding her arms on the desk, looking like a model student.
So cute.
Xunian’s heart was melting and breaking all at once.
She tried not to care about Shen Mosi, but couldn’t help constantly watching her every move.
Even though she knew Shen Mosi’s pitiful act was somewhat fabricated, every little gesture still tugged at her heartstrings.
If Xunian were the type to hold a grudge, she would have cut it off without hesitation.
Emotions clouded her mind too much.
Forcing herself to focus back on the clues, she noticed something she’d overlooked before.
If Ran Feng wasn’t lying about “seeing a blonde woman,” and assuming that woman was the Duke’s Daughter, did that mean the Duke’s Daughter had been around here last night?
The Duke’s Daughter came here but Xunian didn’t see her—that was very unusual.
She was here on the first day, after all.
Something was wrong. Very wrong…
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became, even feeling a little dizzy.
Her condition had been a bit off lately, though it didn’t affect her much.
With those thoughts, Xunian dozed off, resting her head on the desk.
“Bang!”
A familiar face burst through the door—a scar-faced, fierce-looking man barged in, holding something recognizable in his hand.
A long, black-scaled object.
If Xunian had looked up, she would have seen it was the Black Unicorned Snake, the Duke’s prized pet from the last world, known for its exquisite meat.
Shen Mosi, ever alert to Xunian’s mood, immediately noticed her abnormality and leaned close to whisper in her ear, “Xunian, the teacher’s here.”
But there was no response.
She was used to it by now. After all, Xunian had a cold personality, but calling her a few more times usually got a response.
She moved closer again, her voice like warm honeyed water, soothing as it brushed past Xunian’s ear, “Desk mate, if you don’t get up soon, you’re not being very cute~”
Still, Xunian didn’t respond.
Had she taken offense?
Without hesitation, Shen Mosi slid down to her knees and pleaded, “Desk mate, I’m sorry.”
Still, no response from Xunian.