Chapter 30
Ying Liu didn’t think as much as his older brother.
Although they were born only a few minutes apart, their personalities were polar opposites. Ying He played it safe, always moving steadily with a plan in mind. Ying Liu, on the other hand, lived in the moment, a true hedonist who went wherever the wind took him.
However, there were certain lifelong principles that Ying Liu adhered to strictly. For example:
What my brother has, I must have too. What my brother wants, I definitely want as well.
Luo Shizhen hadnât yet realized what Ying He was doing, but as his twin, Ying Liu had already keenly sensed it.
His brother had taken the initiative to extend an olive branch to the new classmate.
This simply wouldn’t do. Especially since his own Qi clearly liked the new classmate too.
Ying Liu had always known that while he and his brother shared the same face, people generally preferred his flashy, extroverted personality.
Sure enough, Luo Shizhen agreed happily.
“Okay, thank you!”
Ying Liuâs eyes darted with hidden triumph as he cast a provocative glance at his twin.
Ying He remained impassive, though his gaze darkened slightly.
He knew very well that his younger brother was merely competing with him out of habit, not because he genuinely wanted to get close to Luo Shizhen like he did. That guy only knew how to have fun; he believed in entertaining himself to death, enjoyed being single, and had always scoffed at the concepts of love and marriage.
However, one could never be too sure.
After all, growing up, their tastes had always been remarkably similar. What he liked, his brother would inevitably end up liking too.
In a way, Ying He was a rigid person. He lived a disciplined life, followed orderly plans, and only acted after everything was decided.
He could accept sharing other things with his brother, but a lover? Absolutely not.
I have to get this eyesore away from here.
While Ying He remained composed, Ying Liu laughed and tried every trick to ingratiate himself. Luo Shizhen, sandwiched between the twins on his left and right, remained completely oblivious, burying his head to diligently copy the Red Featherâs notes.
The shape and structure of the red feather were almost identical to the white one.
However, the feeling they gave off was distinct. The white feather was calm, while the red feather was blazing hot. If the white feather were to tickle Luo Shizhenâs hand, it would be a faint, cool sensation; the red feather, however, was so enthusiastic it felt like it had given Luo Shizhen a big bear hug right from the start.
Aside from Zhang Chuan, Luo Shizhen rarely encountered friends who expressed their emotions so directly. Surprised and delighted, he gently stroked the feather.
Without him realizing it, his own Qi happily went out to meet it, actively winding around the red feather as if returning the hug.
Ying Liu got even more excited.
He propped his chin on his hand and sat unceremoniously to Luo Shizhenâs right, staring at him with burning eyes.
Luo Shizhenâs facial features were soft. As he looked down to focus on his notebook, the corners of his eyes drooped slightly. To Ying Liu, he looked as obedient and innocent as a porcelain doll.
No wonder his brother approached him. Just staying by his side was enough to improve one’s mood.
Though Ying Liu found it hard to distinguish whether this pleasure came from Luo Shizhen himself, or from the joy of snatching away someone his brother liked.
“Shizhen, where are you from?”
Luo Shizhen, who was trying hard to memorize his notes, paused and had to put down his pen temporarily. “I’m from Hongxi City.”
“Oh~ Hongxi City. I’ve never been there. Is it fun? What are the local specialties? I’m from Source City. Our preserved fruits are very famous. do you like preserved fruit?”
Luo Shizhen had just picked up his pen and hadn’t even started writing when he was forced to answer again. “I don’t know what the local specialties of Hongxi City are. I like to eat everything.”
He answered quickly, intending to resume his work, but Ying Liu spoke again.
“Next time, I’ll bring you some preserved fruit from our hometown.”
Luo Shizhen pursed his lips. “Thank you, but could you please stop talking? I am taking notes.”
Ying Liu didn’t take it seriously. back when he was in school, he could multitaskâdoing two or even three things at onceâwithout it affecting his performance.
“It doesn’t matter. You can take notes while talking to me. Shizhen, tell me, whose hair color looks better? Mine or my brother’s?”
Ying He sat quietly to the side, watching his twin brother dig his own grave.
Although he had only sat close to Luo Shizhen for three days, he could tell that Luo Shizhen did not like being disturbed while studying. Even that roommate, Lu Qiujin, knew to be quiet when Luo Shizhen was studying.
Ying Liu remained oblivious. “After class, let’s go to the school cinema together. My brother doesn’t need to come; he doesn’t like movies.”
Luo Shizhen looked up, feeling stifled. He no longer felt that Ying Liuâs enthusiastic attitude was a pleasant surprise.
Enthusiastic people talk way too much.
Ying Liu was still immersed in the joy of stealing his brother’s friend. “There’s a movie recently that’s pretty good. Do you like popcorn? I really like it…”
As he rambled on, the person beside him suddenly stood up.
Ying Liu looked over in confusion, only to hear Luo Shizhen say seriously, “I’m sorry, Ying Liu, you are disturbing my studies. I’m going to study at the front.”
Ying Liu: “?”
He watched helplessly as Luo Shizhen, having said his piece, actually gathered his reference books and notebooks and walked away.
Then, he sat directly in the very first row.
Student Awakeners generally disliked being too close to the powerful, older Awakeners, so the first row of the classroom was usually empty.
After Luo Shizhen sat down, Chen Heyan patted his shoulder and whispered some guidance on a part he didn’t understand.
The guy looked up and gave Chen Heyan a soft smile, then buried his head back in his studies, not even turning around to glance at Ying Liu once.
Ying Liu: “…No, wait. What does he mean by that?”
He instinctively looked back at his brother. Ying He didn’t dodge his gaze, his eyes as calm as a lake. “I don’t know.”
Ying Liu was completely bewildered. He had been good-looking since childhood and, instinctively competing for attention with his twin, had mastered the art of sweet-talking. Compared to his dull brother who didn’t interact much with people, the extroverted Ying Liu was the one who received more attention and affection wherever he went.
What was wrong with this Luo Shizhen?
Why was he fine hanging out with his brother, but the moment it was his turn, the guy just walked away?
Wasn’t he better at being likable than his brother?!
Ying Liu didn’t believe it was just because Luo Shizhen wanted to study. He had never met anyone like that growing up. Even the biggest bookworms wouldn’t turn hostile just because they exchanged a sentence or two with someone while studying.
There had to be another reason. Ying Liu was both angry and annoyed, but a glance at his calm brother made him feel he couldn’t let him see the joke.
He gritted his teeth and racked his brain, trying to figure out what he had done wrong to make Luo Shizhen angry.
âLuo Shizhen actually wasn’t angry.
He purely and simply wanted to study properly.
Because Ying Liu was disturbing his studies, he chose to stay away from Ying Liu during study time.
The answer was that simple.
In Luo Shizhenâs simple and straightforward brain:
Brain is slow at learning = Need more time to study = Need zero distractions = If disturbed, must quickly find a new distraction-free environment.
The clumsy bird flies early. It was precisely because he was slower than others that he needed to put in more effort and invest more time in learning.
Other people could study while sparing a moment to chat casually, then immediately dive back into immersive learning.
But Luo Shizhen couldn’t. He entered the “study zone” very slowly, and his speed of inputting knowledge was also slow. If someone kept talking to him, he might memorize a point one moment and forget it completely the next.
So, how could he not work harder than others?
When entering high school, if not for this kind of perseveranceâand Chu Xiao’s tutoringâLuo Shizhen would never have passed the entrance exams.
During the next class, undisturbed, Luo Shizhen successfully memorized the data on White Feather and Red Feather, and even reviewed previous lessons.
Great!
It was rare for Luo Shizhen to be this efficient. When class ended, his whole body was relaxed.
Ying Liu refused to give up and approached him thick-skinned. “Luo Shizhen, let’s walk together in a bit.”
To his surprise, the person who had just walked away with a tight face now revealed a big smile. “Okay!”
Ying Liu was completely thrown off.
He scrutinized Luo Shizhenâs expression and found that he really couldn’t detect a trace of anger, which confused him even more.
Ying He had already packed his things and walked up naturally. “Let’s go.”
Luo Shizhen nodded and took two steps before suddenly remembering something. “Why don’t you guys go first? My roommate is still at the training grounds. I need to go find him.”
Roommate?
Ying Liu spoke directly, “It’s fine. We can go find your roommate with you.”
Luo Shizhen was pleasantly surprised. He hadn’t expected them to be so helpful. “Okay, but I can’t watch a movie. I still have to go back to the dorm to study.”
Ying Liu, still unable to figure out Luo Shizhenâs pattern, agreed readily. “Sure. Which dorm are you in?”
“I’m in Yuheng.”
“Oh~ Yuheng.”
Rong Nian and Xiao Shan were both in confinement. That meant the roommate he was talking about was that gloomy weirdo, Lu Qiujin.
Lu Qiujin was quite famous in the class, mainly for making deals with students.
Money, resources, favorsâanything could be traded. And the content of the trade, without exception, was always some body part of his younger brother.
He clearly could have crushed his brother easily, but he just didn’t want him to die that quickly. He wanted to torture him slowly, like a fine stream flowing long, while maintaining the facade of a loving family. After his brother was beaten by people he hired, he would go and comfort him with a perfect act.
How did Ying Liu know this?
Last holiday, he had taken an order to beat up the brother.
After he finished the beating, Lu Qiujin came out looking shocked, feigning gentle concern and asking what happened. It disgusted Ying Liu to no end.
However, fake as he was, Lu Qiujin had always ranked among the top in training scores. Why would he still be at the training grounds now?
Luo Shizhen didn’t think much of it. “Everyone has their ups and downs. People aren’t robots; it’s normal.”
Naturally, this was something he had copied from a teacher in his third year of junior high.
The teacher had said this to comfort Luo Shizhen when his exam grades slipped.
Luo Shizhen remembered it firmly. He planned to use this sentence to comfort Lu Qiujin later if he was sad.
When Luo Shizhen arrived at the destination, he didn’t see anyone.
Ying Liu: “Could something have happened? Like drowning in the lake, being killed by an Anomaly in the jungle, or falling and dying while climbing the mountain?”
“That won’t happen.”
Luo Shizhen said seriously, “The teachers won’t let anything happen to the students.”
He tapped his watch and found Sui Anâs number directly.
Ying Liu saw Sui Anâs name and his eyelid twitched. “What are you doing?”
Young Awakeners refused to approach the older ones unless absolutely necessary. Not to mention, this was a Supervisor. Just getting close made their bodies’ instincts ring alarm bells.
Luo Shizhen dialed naturally.
In his logic, they were students. If there was a problem, surely they should call the teacher.
“I’ll ask Teacher Sui. He said we all have trackers on us. Teacher Sui definitely knows where Lu Qiujin is.”
The call connected quickly.
Sui Anâs smiling voice came through. “Shizhen? You don’t usually call me. Calling now… is it to find that roommate of yours?”
Luo Shizhen was delighted. “Teacher Sui, you’re amazing! I just wanted to ask, do you know where Lu Qiujin is?”
Sui An said, “He’s at the field training ground. His state is a bit off, probably in a bad mood, but his vital signs are fairly normal.”
“You want to go find him? Do you need a map?”
The Awakener school’s training grounds were ridiculously large. Without a map, Luo Shizhen really wouldn’t be able to find him.
“I do. Thank you, Teacher Sui.”
“Sent.”
Luo Shizhen thanked him obediently again. “Thank you, Teacher Sui. Goodbye, Teacher Sui.”
The voice on the other end laughed. “Goodbye. Contact me anytime if you have questions.”
Seeing Luo Shizhen hang up, Sui An looked at the computer screen, which showed medical personnel in full gear preparing to approach Lu Qiujin.
He switched to the internal channel.
“Medical team, hold off for now. Stay nearby. I’ll contact you if medical attention is needed.”
The voice of the lead doctor came through the headset. “Are you sure? Lu Qiujin’s current state is judged to require immediate treatment. If treatment is delayed, it may trigger internal pollution.”
Sui An: “Don’t worry. The field training ground is currently within my Domain.”
In places invisible to the naked eye, transparent threads carrying a chilling killing intent formed an overwhelming net, densely encompassing the entire field training ground.
“If Lu Qiujin falls into alienation, I will beat him half to death to interrupt the process.”
“If you go now, you can only treat his physical wounds. To Lu Qiujin, a few wounds are nothing. His impending alienation is what needs treatment.”
Sui An looked at the surveillance monitor showing Luo Shizhen walking toward the field training ground, a smile slowly curling on his lips.
“So, let’s let our little doctor try first.”
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