The youth had sharp, narrow eyes, and his voice was cold and clear. His tone seemed casual, almost teasing, yet his serious expression made it feel like he was just giving a proper response.

Ning Xi finally understood why Director Liu was so convinced that he was a student here.

After half a day, this old man was so confident in the school’s security system ah.

“Here, take this.” Song Yize handed the broom to Ning Xi, his light-colored eyes looking at him impassively. “You start sweeping first. I’ll go get another one.”

Holding the broom in his hand, Ning Xi had a feeling he wasn’t getting out of this anytime soon.

That being said, he was quite satisfied with being called “gege” just now.

A soon-to-be college student returning to high school and looking at a bunch of little brats—this feeling was practically the same as coming back from outer space and telling Earthlings how vast the universe was.

The sheer sense of superiority ah.

But sweeping the streets was still absolutely impossible.

Ning Xi put on a big, friendly smile, tilting his slightly upturned eyes. His double eyelids stretched open little by little, making him look like the very picture of innocence. “Uh, my bad about earlier ah.”

Song Yize raised an eyebrow.

Ning Xi wanted to explain what had happened just now, but after thinking it over, he couldn’t come up with a reasonable excuse. In the end, he simply said, “I really was just going to the restroom.”

Song Yize looked at Ning Xi but didn’t say anything.

“Believe it or not, but about your measurements—I really just heard it from someone else.”

Song Yize still didn’t say anything.

Ning Xi glanced at the person, then his cheap mouth couldn’t help but add, “But from the looks of it, your chest measurement doesn’t seem like 101 ah. Doesn’t it seem thinner?”

Song Yize: “…You really should go see Director Liu.”

Ho. Song Yize definitely thought he was a hooligan now.

But it wasn’t his fault ah. He just had a good memory—his deskmate had fangirled about it so many times that it got stuck in his head.

Song Yize didn’t bother being polite anymore. He shoved the broom into Ning Xi’s hands and said, “Go sweep.”

Ning Xi couldn’t stand that serious yet inexplicably arrogant attitude of his. He let out a heavy sigh, slung an arm over Song Yize’s shoulder, and tilted his head. “I’ll be honest with you.”

Song Yize felt the warmth of Ning Xi’s palm against his shoulder and caught the faint scent of his Omega pheromones. The slightly hot breath brushing against his ear sent a hint of ticklish sensation.

Only Ning Xi hooked up the corners of his mouth, his voice lazy and teasing.

“You want me to sweep? Not a chance.”

*

Ning Xi climbed over the wall on Xulin Road and ran out of the school.

Song Yize didn’t stop him. In fact, he acted as if nothing had happened, not caring at all where Ning Xi went.

Ning Xi knew there was no way he could just walk out through the front gate, so when he reached Xulin Road, he realized that he had reached the school’s perimeter wall.

He climbed up the wall. Once at the top, he realized the drop wasn’t too high, he could completely escape.

It was just that outside was a narrow, enclosed alleyway.

The opposite wall was old and yellowed, covered in half-torn small advertisements. The uneven ground had dried mud that still carried a faint damp smell.

Ning Xi jumped down, glanced around, and wasn’t entirely sure if this alley actually led anywhere.

The whole place was in shadow, giving off a slightly eerie chill.

Ning Xi decided to just walk and figure it out, but after only a few steps, a group of people appeared ahead.

“School’s out early enough today ah. What, did you know we’ve been waiting for you and decided to come out early just for us?” The leader, a buzz-cut guy with a ghostly talisman tattoo on his arm, was smoking a cigarette, his attitude arrogant and domineering.

Ning Xi frowned, watching as the three of them stepped closer.

Their uniforms were yellowed and the buttons on their collars were wide open and loose, just like their attitudes.

Where did these thugs come from?

“Yo, looks like we’ve got a new one this time,” the buzz-cut guy said in mock surprise, taking a drag of his cigarette. “This Omega’s all pale and clean-looking, must be loaded. Come, come, come, let gege see how much you brought.”

These guys should be the bastards who regularly bullied students into handing over money.

What a coincidence. Ning Xi hated thugs the most.

Noting that their uniforms were different from the one Song Yize had worn earlier, he raised an eyebrow and asked, “High school students?”

Buzz-cut guy acted like he’d just heard some big joke. He hooked an arm around Ning Xi’s neck and tugged at the emblem on his uniform. “What, are you saying No. 19 High School isn’t a real high school?”

“Heh.” Ning Xi let out a disdainful laugh. “I thought you were just cosplaying.”

“Mother*****.” The guy spat his cigarette onto the ground and shoved Ning Xi hard, cursing, “Who the f*** are you calling old!”

“No ah. Did I say that?” Ning Xi shrugged. “Sounds like you’re just overthinking it.”

Buzz-cut guy took a deep breath and shouted, “I’m not gonna bull*** with you. Where’s the money! Bring it!”

Ning Xi lazily kicked a pebble on the ground, his expression open and honest. “Money? I don’t have any money ah.”

“F*** you’re this cocky and you don’t even have money!”

Enraged, the buzz-cut guy swung his fist straight at Ning Xi—fast and fierce, with no hesitation.

Ning Xi didn’t even blink. He caught the punch with one hand, then ruthlessly twisted the guy’s arm down, flipping him over completely and locking his arm tightly behind his back.

“Wearing a school uniform to blackmail and bully students from other schools. Real nice way to make your school proud,” Ning Xi said, his tone a mix of roguish indifference and icy calm. He executed the move effortlessly, as if it took no effort at all.

The buzz-cut guy yelped in pain, yelling, “What the hell are you all standing around for? Beat him for me ah!”

Ning Xi was wrapped in a strong scent of rust, irritating his nose. Added with the pain on his neck, it gradually spread to his entire body. Ning Xi slowly became annoyed. He tightened his grip on the back of the man’s neck.

“But h-he’s an Omega ah. And his pheromones are really strong. If we hit him now, we could end up in the police station…” said a gangster in the back.

“You still haven’t listened to what I said! You can’t even take down an Omega!”

At this time, Ning Xi suddenly let go of the buzz-cut guy.

Two thugs lunged at him. Ning Xi took one down with a swift side kick. The other threw a punch, but Ning Xi dodged it with ease, grabbing the guy’s wrist before he could pull back. He drove his knee straight into the thug’s abdomen, perfectly avoiding any vulnerable organs.

Ning Xi kicked the back of the buzz-cut guy’s knee, forcing him down again, twisting his arms behind him. Snatching the folded knife from his pocket, Ning Xi twirled it around his finger by the ring. “You still have the nerve to hold a knife ah.”

Buzz-cut guy’s hands were pinned down, his back pressed against Ning Xi’s knee, the full weight of the boy above him making it impossible to move.

Frustrated, he gritted his teeth and asked, “F*** which road are you from…”

Ning Xi found it absurd. “Go back and reread your political science textbook. Such a simple question and you still have the nerve to ask me.”

“…”

“If you’re in high school, then study properly. Think being a thug is cool? Do you guys plan to end up in a police station or squat in jail later ah?” Ning Xi gave him a sharp slap on the head.

“Why are you talking so much nonsense…”

“Hm?” Ning Xi forcefully twisted the buzz-cut man’s arm harder.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!” Buzz-cut guy winced, his face twisting in pain. “Got it, got it, got it!”

Ning Xi let go of the thug and lazily tossed out a single word. “Scram.”

The thugs got up, sucking in sharp breaths from the pain.

Buzz-cut guy spat on the ground, still unable to process the fact that an Omega had just taught him a lesson.

This Omega acted like he was completely unaffected by pheromones, and his combat skills were ridiculously strong. He had just obviously released his pheromones.

Ning Xi shook out his wrist, feeling unbearably thirsty.

“Hey, wait.” Ning Xi suddenly called after them.

Despite being thugs, they were still just high schoolers, and their annoyance was written all over their faces. “What now?”

Brushing the dust off his clothes, Ning Xi flashed them a bright smile. “You guys got any money left? Lend me two yuan?”

*

Ning Xi’s throat was so dry it hurt, and even his head was starting to ache.

He didn’t know if this world was rejecting him, but he felt like some kind of test subject—like a voodoo doll bound and being manipulated by a master holding a needle.

Stepping out of the alley, he finally felt a bit better as the wind from the main road brushed past him.

Rows of plane trees lined the street, their leaves rustling as the breeze passed through, bringing a touch of coolness. Sunlight filtered through the branches, casting shimmering reflections on the glass windows of old-fashioned houses.

It seemed like the area outside the school was an older residential district.

Ning Xi spotted a snack corner and lifted the hanging curtain to enter. “Boss, a bottle of water.”

The boss, an elderly man wearing reading glasses, was absorbed in his newspaper. “Fridge’s over there. Get it yourself.”

Ning Xi grabbed a bottle of cold water, paid, and tilted his head back to take a long gulp.

The dryness in his throat finally eased, and his irritation subsided a little.

Wiping his mouth, Ning Xi noticed a telephone sitting on the counter and asked, “Boss, can I make a call?”

The boss was engrossed in his newspaper and didn’t even look up. “Call yourself ah.”

Ning Xi picked up the receiver, but for a moment, he had no idea who to call.

He couldn’t remember Old Zhang’s number, and his own phone was broken. The only numbers he could recall clearly were his parents.

Ning Xi hesitated for a moment before dialing.

Not that it mattered—Ning Kaiwei was always too busy to answer his calls.

His whole family was busy, mostly living abroad, so it wasn’t unusual for them not to pick up.

“Beep… The number you have dialed is not in service…”

Ah.

Even though he had already considered the possibility and was trying to accept the reality of transmigrating into a novel, hearing this “not in service” still sent a chill through him.

Ning Xi took a deep breath and hung up the phone.

Alright. Now it was confirmed.

He really wasn’t in his original world anymore.

What to do now?

Who was he in this book? Did he have an identity? Did he have a family?

He didn’t even have any money right now.

Ning Xi sighed, about to lift the curtain and leave when the boss called after him. “Hey, hold up. You haven’t paid yet ah.”

Ning Xi stopped and replied, “I’ve paid ah.”

“For the phone call. You haven’t paid for that.” The boss said.

“The phone?” Ning Xi followed the owner’s pointing finger.

—”Phone calls: 0.50 yuan per minute, 1 yuan for over a minute.”

Ning Xi: “…” He really hadn’t noticed the sign.

But right now, he was completely broke.

“Uh, boss, my call didn’t even go through. Can I not pay?” Ning Xi asked.

“How do I know whether your call went through or not?” The boss frowned. “What’s with young people these days, trying to dodge even 50 cents?”

Ning Xi was speechless. “Come on, boss, it’s just 50 cents. It’s not a big deal.”

“50 cents isn’t money anymore? If you don’t learn to value small amounts, you’ll suffer for it later!”

“…” Ning Xi really couldn’t be bothered to argue anymore. “How about this—let me owe you for now? As soon as I have money, I’ll pay you back, alright?”

“How do I know you’re not just running off on your tab?” The boss tapped the counter.

“I swear, I—”

Before Ning Xi could finish, a hand reached out from behind him, sliding a five-cent coin onto the counter.

“Here, 50 cents.”

The scent of ebony and citrus was too recognizable. Ning Xi whipped around, only to see Song Yize, one hand in his pocket, slightly bent over as he placed the coin in front of him.

“You, you, you, you, you…” Ning Xi pointed at Song Yize’s face.

“Why?” Song Yi Ze said coldly.

Ning Xi took a step back, “You followed me?”

Song Yize glanced aside, “Your imagination is quite rich.”

“Yize, you know him ah?” The boss leaned on the counter, asking.

“Sort of.” Song Yize replied indifferently. “Uncle Zheng, 20 boxes of chalk and 20 blackboard erasers.”

“You’re buying supplies for school?” Ning Xi asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Song Yize said.

“Ah… oh, thanks.” Ning Xi felt like his brain was a mess. “Then, I’ll get going?”

Song Yize nodded.

What was with this guy ah?

Ning Xi scratched his head, lifted the curtain, and walked out.

The plane trees blocked half of the scorching sunlight, while cicadas chirped noisily.

Walking down the street, Ning Xi looked up at the blue sky.

Ever since he transmigrated into this book, it felt like he had been hit with a string of ridiculous bad luck. It was like every possible unlucky event had decided to happen to him. Nothing was going smoothly.

Before he could even finish complaining, his foot caught on his own shoelace, and he fell flat onto the ground.

Ning Xi: “…”

Was this the legendary tripping on flat ground?

Ning Xi was done. Everything that had happened today had drained his energy.

He sat on the ground, not even wanting to get up.

There couldn’t be anything more unlucky than this, right?

In the next second, an out-of-control fruit cart rushed down the slope, heading straight for him.