Luo Qi looked at Mo Jue with expectant eyes, his expression full of grievance.
"Didn't you admit yourself that you made a mistake back then? What's this all about now?"
Mo Jue's nose was so crooked with anger he could barely speak. "Now you're talking about how you passed the assessment using some unknown means, and you're bringing up all this irrelevant stuff?"
The surrounding crowd looked from one person to another. With one person flailing his arms and the other looking wronged, their internal scales naturally tipped to one side.
"Sigh, he's just a child. Why are you being so aggressive?"
"Yeah, I think he just got lucky."
"According to the little one, why are you still holding onto this after so long? You're not very generous."
Luo Qi pouted, nodding vigorously without saying a word. His pitiful and adorable appearance easily won over a large group of sympathetic onlookers.
A few bold senior students pulled Mo Jue aside from behind, then squeezed to the front and scooped Luo Qi into their arms.
"Come on, let's ignore him. Come with your seniors for some candy."
Held by the pretty senior girls, Luo Qi slyly looked at Mo Jue. "Then we'll be going now."
Mo Jue tried to reach out and stop him, but was blocked by four or five other pretty senior students who had followed him.
Only after the group had walked far away and the uninterested had dispersed did Mo Jue exhale a breath and exclaim,
"He's acting so strangely, and not one of you wants to ask him for clarification!"
A tall, thin freshman standing closest to him sneered,
"I say, you should stop trying to sow discord here. You've been played and you don't even realize it?"
Mo Jue's face darkened. "What do you mean by that?"
The other person crossed his arms, looking at Mo Jue with increasing disdain. "I ask you, what is your rank on the leaderboard?"
Mo Jue's anger subsided, replaced by a hint of smugness. "I'm third."
He did have the capital for such pride; a third-place ranking was even higher than Ye Mu's.
The other person's expression didn't change upon hearing he was third. He glanced at Mo Jue.
"You, a third-placer, why are you always making trouble for the last-place person?"
Mo Jue choked. "I was just..."
The other person continued, "Even if you're not on the leaderboard, those with ambition will climb up through their own abilities. Who is like you, instigating others to target someone?"
Mo Jue's face turned ashen. "What do you know? What, have you been bewitched by him too?"
The other person looked at Mo Jue as if he were an idiot.
"I've been talking for so long, and you haven't understood anything? I don't know what kind of fool you are."
Mo Jue clenched his fists and swung. "You're asking for death!"
The other person easily blocked Mo Jue's punch and shoved him back forcefully.
"If you have the ability, challenge me on the training grounds. What is this, fighting here?
Fighting outside the training grounds will result in expulsion."
Mo Jue panted, his eyes bloodshot. "Who do you think you are, telling me to challenge you?"
The other person smiled slightly and brushed off his sleeve, as if Mo Jue were some kind of dirt.
"I'm not particularly talented, just second on the leaderboard."
Mo Jue felt a surge of anger that he couldn't release, his teeth grinding in hatred.
What was worse, the second-place person turned and walked away with his friends, not even looking back. Their voices, discussing and laughing, could still be heard from a distance.
"That little round face is quite cute."
"Yeah, much more fun than that black-eyed crow from earlier."
...
Mo Jue, the black-eyed crow himself: "..."
The faint murmurs from his surroundings felt like mockery. Mo Jue left with a dark expression.
He just didn't understand, what was so special about Luo Qi? Wasn't it just a cute face and a mouth that only knew how to speak sweet words!
Why was everyone on his side? Clearly, he had gained things without effort, using some unknown means, yet these people were still willing to help him.
He had seen plenty of underhanded and ruthless things since childhood, and he didn't believe in gentlemanly conduct or contractual spirit.
These were all fake; only what you held in your own hands was real!
Just as Mo Jue walked out of the gymnasium, Luo Qi, who was being escorted by the senior students to get candy, bumped into Ye Mu and a few others who had come looking for him.
Ye Mu's forehead was beaded with sweat. Seeing Luo Qi holding a little girl's hand and surrounded by a group of young girls, his face darkened.
He Yuan glanced at Ye Mu, then at Luo Qi, nudging Ye Mu and teasing, "See, I told you there was no need to rush?"
Ye Mu, with a dark little face, called out, "Luo Luo, come here."
The senior students who had been surrounding Luo Qi with concern lit up upon seeing Ye Mu. "Oh, a little handsome guy with a dark face from the 'little wolfdog' type."
Pushing and shoving each other, a group of them parted, and one stepped forward to rub Ye Mu's head.
"Little classmate, what's your name? Are you calling the little cutie?"
Ye Mu's face darkened further. They were already calling him a little cutie?
Ignoring the senior student's words, he bypassed her and pulled Luo Qi, who was still smiling and talking to them, out.
The young academic prodigy was already exquisitely featured, and even at such a young age, one could tell how handsome he would be when he grew up. His current cold expression was quite intimidating, and the senior students instinctively let go.
However, no matter how frightening Ye Mu appeared, Luo Qi was not afraid. He was busy asking the senior students about which cafeteria window had the best meat and where the best pastries were.
When Ye Mu grabbed him, he was still somewhat reluctant, muttering incessantly,
"The food these past few days hasn't been very good. Turns out I haven't found the right window."
Ye Mu gritted his teeth. "Luo Luo dislikes the food I buy?"
He looked intently at this little insect cub who could easily attract a crowd of admirers wherever he went, wishing he could carry him back to the dormitory.
He patiently said, "Didn't I tell you not to come here to watch the excitement? What if you meet a bad person and they can snatch you away with just one hand?"
Luo Qi pretended not to hear. "I asked the senior students, and they told me where to find a lot of delicious food. Shall we go eat there for lunch?"
The little prince of the Insect Race had a delicate stomach. In the few days he had been here, the food was either too salty or too bland, never quite to Luo Qi's liking.
Moreover, the cafeteria at the primary school was truly inferior to Bella Kindergarten. It felt less like it was for students to eat their fill and more like it was for tempering their willpower.
Luo Qi mumbled for a long time, completely ignoring Ye Mu's words, which made Ye Mu smile with exasperation.
"Alright, I won't report you. Let's go back."
Luo Qi blinked his eyes and whispered, "Hmph, I'm not afraid of you reporting me."