Chapter 53: Charm — Giving Rise to the Thoughts of “Locking Him Up” and “Pressing Him Down to Make Him Behave”… part 1
Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue’s expressions both darkened. Jiang Chenyan curled his lips into a smirk. “What? Can’t even be bothered to act anymore?”
Frederic kept his eyes lowered, his fingertips casually stroking his cuff. He gave Jiang Chenyan a faint, sideways glance. “I have no idea what Student Jiang is talking about.” Then, as if offering a word of advice from an elder, he added, “Instead of wasting time on these irrelevant matters, you’d be better off going back and working hard. Given your academic standing, you really ought to improve a bit.”
A flash of cold light crossed Jiang Chenyan’s eyes. “I won’t trouble you to worry about that. I’ll see to it myself.”
Clearly, both sides held the trump cards of each other’s identities, yet they insisted on putting on this act of being total strangers. That hypocritical posturing was enough to make anyone feel sick.
Frederic didn’t want to spare any more attention for the two of them. “I’ve said my piece. Ultimately, you’re just children; I won’t lower myself to your level.”
As he spoke, he clicked his tongue twice and deliberately checked the time.
“It’s getting late.”
Under the heavy, watchful gazes of Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue, he walked straight toward the classroom door.
Just as his foot crossed the threshold, he suddenly turned back, the corners of his mouth curving upward. “By the way, since you didn’t pay attention in class today, copy the new lesson ten times and hand it in tomorrow. Otherwise, when it comes to your final academic evaluation, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”
Jiang Chenyan’s breath hitched in his throat, and his clenched fists tightened and loosened repeatedly.
Threatening them already? “We won’t move a single word.”
“Is that so?” Frederic chuckled. “Suit yourselves.”
Then he disappeared through the doorway.
Jiang Chenyan didn’t look toward the door again. He turned to Shen Shiyue. “Let’s go back to the dorm first.”
The moment they stepped into the dorm, the door locked automatically. Jiang Chenyan walked to the desk and tapped on his light-brain.
The cold glow of the screen reflected on his tense face as his fingertips heavily tapped several commands onto the virtual keyboard. “Since he dares to tear off the mask, there’s no need for us to wait. I’ll crack the military’s information layer password first and get some leverage on him.”
Shen Shiyue raised an eyebrow. He knew Jiang Chenyan had the ability to do this.
His gaze returned to the scrolling code on the light-brain. Jiang Chenyan’s fingertips didn’t stop clicking. “I want to thoroughly investigate Frederic’s background. I don’t believe Lode has a twin brother.”
How could it be such a coincidence? Such a perfectly timed “identity blind spot”? Rather than a coincidence, it felt more like a meticulously laid trap.
No one would believe it.
Jiang Chenyan’s brow furrowed tightly, his fingertips hovering over the light-brain screen for two seconds. It wasn’t that simple.
The code on the screen suddenly became a chaotic mess. He quickly tapped the keyboard. The situation was more complex than expected; he had to switch to his hacker identity to bypass the firewall and exit the school network.
Shen Shiyue leaned against the desk. Noticing his tense profile, he picked up his jacket. “I’ll go to the cafeteria and bring back some dinner for you.”
Jiang Chenyan didn’t even look up. Staring at the data stream, he gave a vague “Thanks.” The speed of his fingers on the keyboard increased by several notches.
As night deepened, the light-brain screen flickered between blue code and red alerts. He rapidly entered commands to mask the tracking signals.
His fingertips hammered out a string of complex commands on the keyboard, forcefully tearing a small hole in the defense network of the military information layer. He immediately grabbed the internal data, not missing even the slightest abnormal fluctuation on the screen.
Shen Shiyue returned with dinner, placing the meal box on the corner of the desk in front of Jiang Chenyan. He took the opportunity to glance at the light-brain screen.
In the next second, his footsteps halted.
Jiang Chenyan stared fixedly at the screen, his expression even more solemn than before.
“It really is… a twin.” Jiang Chenyan’s voice was somewhat dry as his finger unconsciously traced the entry on the screen: Lieutenant Lode had a twin brother who went missing as a child.
Shen Shiyue’s brow furrowed instantly. This was an outcome neither of them had anticipated.
They had originally thought the so-called twin was a smokescreen laid by the other side, but they hadn’t expected the information page to state it so clearly.
Jiang Chenyan let out a soft sigh and set the light-brain to sleep mode. “This isn’t how you play the game.”
He picked up the meal box. While opening it, he said to Shen Shiyue, “Let’s eat first. This matter can’t be rushed; we need to untangle it slowly.”
He needed to think carefully…
Where exactly did the problem lie?
While chewing, he suddenly thought of something and looked up. “Do you think it’s possible someone hacked into the information system and intentionally altered the data?”
“That operation is illegal,” Shen Shiyue pointed out calmly.
“Like he hasn’t done enough illegal things already?” Jiang Chenyan set down his chopsticks. “One more wouldn’t be surprising.”
Shen Shiyue nodded. “That’s true.”
The two exchanged a look. In their hearts, they both knew that the only thing they could be certain of right now was that Lode was Frederic.
Tossing the meal box back into the trash, Jiang Chenyan carried his wash cup into the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face, suppressing all his fatigue and irritability. He felt much more awake.
He tidied his wet bangs in the mirror, his profile lines looking cold and hard—at first glance, no different from usual.
It wasn’t until he leaned down to wring out the towel, his collar sliding down an inch, that the redness on the back of his neck was revealed. It wasn’t a patch of swelling, but rather a faint pink, like skin rubbed by fine down, slowly blurring into a light red. It extended down the curve of his neck, soaking into the cold white skin. it was exceptionally eye-catching.
Jiang Chenyan raised a hand to touch it. A slight itchiness came from his fingertips.
He seemed to have had this feeling at noon as well? He had been in such a rush to get to class then that he hadn’t paid much attention.
His fingertips remained on the red marks on his neck as Jiang Chenyan stared dazed at the strange redness in the mirror…
Suddenly, a light sound of footsteps came from behind him. Before he could react, Shen Shiyue’s silhouette appeared in the mirror, standing unexpectedly behind him.
“Holy f*ck!” Jiang Chenyan’s hand jerked in fright. He spun around, his heart still thumping.
“Why don’t you make a sound when you walk?”
Shen Shiyue didn’t respond. His gaze was firmly locked onto the patch of red exposed by Jiang Chenyan’s open collar. His brow furrowed, his eyes very dark.
The neck was snowy white, the skin tone leaning toward a cold palette.
The lines were perfectly slender—one hand could easily wrap around it—making the red marks upon it look very…
Shen Shiyue’s eyes grew increasingly deep, as if he wanted to see through that patch of red entirely.
His hand at his side quietly curled, a slight itchiness rising in his fingertips.
“Sorry.” Shen Shiyue’s voice was lower than usual, carrying an undetectable rasp. He moved his gaze from Jiang Chenyan’s neck to the water stains on the sink.
Jiang Chenyan raised his hand to touch the red marks on his neck again. “Sorry for what? My body is just a bit strange. Look, why is my neck so red? Was it like this yesterday after we finished drinking?”
Shen Shiyue paused. “It might be an alcohol allergy. It’ll be better in a few days.”
“Is that so?” Jiang Chenyan stared at the red marks in the mirror, his fingertips lightly brushing over his skin. That slight itchiness always made him feel it wasn’t that simple.
Why did they look a bit like bite marks, or… hickeys?
The moment this thought surfaced, he was stunned. He hastily suppressed it. Impossible. Shen Shiyue wasn’t that kind of person.
Jiang Chenyan leaned against the sink, his fingertips pressing into the cold surface, trying to calm himself down.
How could Shen Shiyue possibly touch a drunk person?
He was definitely overthinking it. It was probably just a specific reaction to an alcohol allergy.
After a moment to steady himself, Jiang Chenyan suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind and held his forehead. “It’s late. Let’s go to sleep.”
Shen Shiyue didn’t say much. He only nodded and turned back to his own bed.
Only the sound of breathing remained in the dorm as the night scenery outside drifted in.
When Jiang Chenyan lay on the bed, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of the gap in the curtains. It was a very clear day. The river of stars sparkled in the night, a diamond-like starlight spread across the ink-blue sky. Even the wind carried a gentle chill.
Perhaps because the night was so quiet, Jiang Chenyan rare fell into a deep sleep the moment his head hit the pillow, without even a single dream.
The next morning followed the usual schedule. On the podium, the professor droned on with boring theories. Jiang Chenyan propped up his chin and stared at the blackboard, his fingertips unconsciously twirling his pen, his mind mostly elsewhere.
Just after class, a liaison from the school leadership sought him out. “Student Jiang, the school hopes you will find a time to publicly clarify the matter of being mistaken for an SS-grade Omega.”
Jiang Chenyan caught the subtext. “Does this mean you want me to hold a microphone and clarify in front of the entire student body?”
The liaison laughed to smooth things over. “That is the general idea, but it’s flexible. If you have another, more suitable way to clarify, we can discuss it.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chenyan only curled his lips and gave a light chuckle, saying nothing more.
Looking at this reaction, the liaison suddenly had an ominous premonition.
Sure enough, within less than a day, the school’s chat groups were in a total uproar. The campus forum, which had been jammed for months, had quietly and wordlessly recovered. Not only could people post normally, but the old posts that had been deleted were also perfectly intact.
The groups instantly exploded:
[No way? Did the school finally find its conscience? They’re finally willing to fix the forum for us?]
[To be honest, the school definitely could have fixed it long ago. They just thought the posts were too messy and reflected poorly on them, so they kept dragging their feet.]
[Who cares? As long as it’s fixed! Maybe it’s because we haven’t caused trouble lately and our behavior was too good, so the school relented, haha.]
The discussion in the group quickly veered off track until a message suddenly popped up:
[To be honest, I still hate Jiang Chenyan. If it weren’t for him, there wouldn’t be all this mess.]
Immediately after, messages of agreement flooded the screen:
[+1. This matter really has the most to do with him. It’s annoying.]
[By the way, he isn’t in this group, is he? Don’t let him see this.]
[He was kicked out long ago. Feel free to talk.]
For a time, the group was filled with public condemnations of Jiang Chenyan.
Just then, a message suddenly cut in like a bucket of cold water:
[Jiang Chenyan was the one who fixed the forum.]
The flood of condemnations stopped instantly. The group fell into a deathly silence; no one made another move.
The silence in the group didn’t last long before a new post on the campus forum was suddenly pushed to the top. it was a clarification post from Jiang Chenyan. Without any redundant pleasantries, the post clearly organized the cause and effect of being mistaken for an SS-grade Omega, from the initial misunderstanding to the communication process with the school. It was a long, sweeping essay.
The comments below quickly exploded:
[Finished reading. So Jiang Chenyan was purely a victim of a disaster from the heavens?]
[So, he restored the forum just to post this clarification? I thought the school found its conscience earlier; it turns out I was overthinking.]
[…]
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