After being treated to lunch and dinner by Song Jin for three consecutive days, Li Xiao couldn’t take it anymore. When he tried to leave immediately after class on Friday, he was caught red-handed by Song Jin.

Li Xiao called Jiang Hao over and said to Song Jin, “I’m going to Restaurant No. 8 with Jiang Hao at noon; you can’t eat there.”

Song Jin blocked the door. “What happened to ‘we’ll eat together forever’?”

Li Xiao walked around him. “I never said that.”

Song Jin chased after him. “Saint-Ya’s marriage law stipulates that spouses must eat together. Eating separately is illegal.”

Li Xiao: “…Then you can come to No. 8 with us.”

Restaurant No. 8 served dishes heavy on oil and spice, and it sold no desserts—to Song Jin, that meant no food at all.

“So, who’s more important: me or the chili?”

Li Xiao: “The chili.”

Behind them in the corridor, Qian Can, Jiang Hao, and Da Bei followed at a distance.

Qian Can rubbed his chin with a chuckle. “I really feel like the Boss’s offensive has been aggressive lately.”

Jiang Hao: “Hasn’t he always been aggressive?”

Da Bei stared blankly at the front. “Taking advantage of the fact that their feelings aren’t deep yet, dismantling them wouldn’t be a loss.”

Qian Can and Jiang Hao looked at him simultaneously. “Dismantle?”

Da Bei snapped back to reality and gave a dry laugh. “No, I wasn’t talking about them.”

Qian Can gave him a long look. “Don’t get any suicidal ideas about secretly sabotaging them. I’m warning you: my Boss is terrifying when he gets mad.”

Da Bei: “…” I haven’t even started and I’m already warned? How am I supposed to play this?!

After sending those reports the past two days, he’d received a reply from the palace saying the Emperor was intent on breaking up Song Jin and Li Xiao and told him to find a way. Thinking about the potential for Song Jin’s insane retaliation, he couldn’t come up with a single plan. Maybe I should just dismantle myself instead.

As the five arrived downstairs, they saw Qin Le rushing over, still in his training gear from practical class.

“Since you’re all here, I have something to discuss.” Qin Le looked at Song Jin and Li Xiao. “We’ve found suspicious points in the Jiang Mu case. The Student Council has officially accepted it and needs to question the students who were present.”

Song Jin was puzzled. “Was Jiang Mu’s account true?”

Qin Le: “We can’t be 100% sure yet, but there is indeed a strong suspicion of malice.”

Li Xiao: “In that case, let’s go.”

Song Jin grabbed Li Xiao just as he was about to slip away. “Eat first, then go to the Student Council office.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Seeing Li Xiao’s reluctance, Song Jin draped an arm over his shoulder and smiled sweetly. “After we eat, there’s a reward.”

Li Xiao asked without much expectation, “What kind of reward?”

Song Jin: “It’s a secret. I’ll give it to you back at the dorm, when it’s just the two of us.”

Li Xiao: “…” Is he fishing for me?

Qian Can and the others: “…” Whatever the reward is, we really don’t want to know!

During the lunch break, Wei Ming and several exchange students were heading to eat. Passing the bulletin board outside the cafeteria, a companion tapped him and pointed at the screen: “The Student Council has a new notice.”

Wei Ming looked over, and his steps faltered. At the top of the screen was a case acceptance notice:

[The Student Council has received a complaint that freshman exchange student Jiang Mu was suspected of being maliciously betrayed by his teammates during the field assessment, threatening his life. The case has been officially accepted. We will contact students present at the time for questioning. Thank you for your cooperation.]

“Freshman assessment? Could it be that Q303 field test?”

“Don’t tell me it’s the group that got chased by the wild boars?”

“Is this for real? Playing dirty on the battlefield? Do they have a blood feud or something?”

“I’m going to wait and see. I don’t really trust the Danshi people right now, except for Li Xiao.”

Seeing his companions whispering, Wei Ming made an excuse about having business and hurried away. He found a quiet corner in a secluded garden, sat on a bench, and waited. Soon, another Alpha in a Danshi uniform approached and sat on the other side of the bench, back-to-back with him.

“You saw the Student Council notice, right?”

Wei Ming played with the bracelet on his wrist and said in the Hai language, “That kid really doesn’t know the rules. To be so defiant in this situation—I don’t get it. What is he trying to do?”

The Alpha flipped through a military theory textbook. “The handover was postponed. Maybe the Yi family thinks they still have a chance?”

Wei Ming smiled with disdain. “Death throes. They think they’re worthy? Once the Meng family is in power, they’ll be the first to fall.”

“That’s not for us to worry about.” The Alpha lowered his voice. “Our target is Li Xiao. Qi Ge failed to take him down several times and ended up getting himself deported. What a piece of trash.”

Wei Ming’s expression darkened. “If he hadn’t failed, I wouldn’t have had to…”

“I heard you went out of your way to humiliate Li Xiao. What was that? Are you an idiot?” the Alpha mocked.

Wei Ming snapped, “If you’re so smart, why don’t you do it?”

The Alpha closed his book and stood up leisurely. “If I do it, I do it. I never counted on you lot anyway.”

Wei Ming glared at the Alpha’s departing back. I’ve been in Saint-Ya for a while now, and Li Xiao is still jumping around perfectly fine. Are we just incompetent, or are we underestimating him too much?

In the Student Council office, Qin Le projected the surveillance video.

In the first clip, Jiang Mu and the five exchange students were discussing where to set camp. The Alpha named Zhang Zhen said something to Jiang Mu, gestured in a direction, and Jiang Mu nodded and headed that way.

The second clip showed the rain intensifying and the camp flooding. Zhang Zhen and his four companions decided to move. In a split-screen, Jiang Mu was crouching on a tree branch observing his surroundings, showing no intention of moving.

The third clip showed Zhang Zhen’s group discovering the wild boar tracks and fleeing. In the split-screen, Jiang Mu still hadn’t reacted. Three minutes later, he discovered the herd himself and finally started to retreat. His position was closest to the boar herd, and he was surrounded before he could get far, widening the distance between him and the main group.

Qian Can cursed, “If everyone plays like this, who can trust their teammates?”

Jiang Hao watched the footage with contempt. “Where I’m from, people like this get their hands chopped off and are kicked out.”

Qian Can glanced at him. “Your local law enforcement is that barbaric?”

Seeing everyone looking at him, Jiang Hao realized he’d slipped up. “Just gang stories from the slums I heard my brother tell as horror stories when I was a kid.”

Li Xiao: “This is attempted murder.”

Da Bei looked at Li Xiao and asked pointedly, “But why would Zhang Zhen and the others want to harm Jiang Mu?”

Li Xiao shook his head. “We’ll have to ask them to know, but regardless of private grudges, selling out teammates is never justified.”

Song Jin said to Qin Le, “Call them in.”

Qin Le nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”

Half an hour later, all students present at the time were gathered in the Student Council conference room. Jiang Mu sat in the corner, secretly glancing at Li Xiao sitting across from him before lowering his head.

Qin Le played the first video. “Zhang Zhen, what were you saying to Jiang Mu at the time?”

Zhang Zhen stiffened. “Jiang Mu said he wanted to leave the squad and go in that direction. I confirmed it with him and told him it wasn’t safe, but he insisted, so he left.”

“That’s not true!” Jiang Mu jumped up. “I had no intention of leaving! He was the one who told me to go in that direction!”

Zhang Zhen stood up as well, his voice rising an octave. “How can you be so black-hearted?! We were kind enough to take you into our squad, but you were picky about everything. I respected your decision to leave, and now you’re trying to pin this on me?!”

Jiang Mu: “The others were there; they all heard it!”

Li Xiao and the others looked at the three students sitting next to Zhang Zhen. Qi Ge had been among them, but he’d already been sent home. The three exchange students sat in silence, heads down.

Qin Le looked at Zhang Zhen. “If Jiang Mu had left the squad, why was he still on your team’s public channel?” A split-screen popped up showing the time Jiang Mu joined and left the channel.

Zhang Zhen stuck his neck out. “He didn’t remove himself—how could we be rude enough to kick him out immediately?”

Qin Le played the next two clips. “Then why didn’t you alert him when you discovered the danger?”

“He wasn’t a team member anymore; what obligation did I have?” Zhang Zhen retorted loudly. “Besides, everything was discussed on the public channel. If he didn’t hear it or didn’t want to hear it, that’s not my problem!”

“I didn’t hear any information!” Jiang Mu snapped. “If I had known the boar herd was approaching, would I have sat there stupidly?!”

Zhang Zhen: “You didn’t hear it, so that’s my fault?!”

An Alpha student next to Zhang Zhen whispered, “Maybe the heavy rain affected the monitor signal?” Another Beta added, “Or maybe the monitor had a technical fault from the water.”

Jiang Mu scanned the four of them, his voice choking with grievance: “You all colluded. I can’t out-talk four of you!”

The room was tense. The charge of selling out teammates was heavy, and no one wanted to jump to conclusions. In the stifling silence, a lazy laugh broke out. Everyone turned to see Song Jin. The “Big Boss” was actually laughing.

Feeling everyone’s gaze, Song Jin said languidly, “Sorry, I tried to hold it in, but I really couldn’t.”

Qin Le: “…Do you have something to add?”

Song Jin looked at the Alpha and Beta who spoke earlier. “Your Danshi Military Academy equipment fails in the rain? You guys use bargain-bin gear? Our academy’s stuff is cheap, but at least it works in extreme conditions to ensure student safety.” He intentionally slowed down his speech on the last few words.

Qian Can jumped in: “Exactly! Don’t blame the equipment, as if we in Saint-Ya are trying to sabotage you.”

Song Jin stood up and looked at everyone. “President, I recall that monitor usage can also be tracked, right?”

Qin Le nodded and projected the prepared materials. “According to the system’s operation logs, you were not using the public channel at that time.”

Zhang Zhen’s group paled.

Zheng Lin saw Zhang Zhen panicking and stood up. “The rain was sudden and heavy, and everyone was panicking. Maybe they thought they had the channel open, but it wasn’t. Jiang Mu had already left the team, so if he didn’t hear the retreat notice, that’s just bad luck, isn’t it?”

Zhang Zhen nodded frantically. “Yes! I was so panicked—the flooding, the mudslides, the boars—I was only focused on getting my teammates to safety; I didn’t have time to check the channel!”

“That’s not right, is it?” Li Xiao looked at the screens overhead.

Zheng Lin’s brows twitched. “What’s not right?”

Li Xiao pointed at a screen. “Jiang Mu left the group one minute before he discovered the boars. The terminal that operated the kick-out belonged to Zhang Zhen. You were escaping the boars at that exact moment. You were so panicked, yet you still had time to kick out a former teammate?”

Song Jin added slowly, “Since you had time to kick him out, why not just send one sentence telling your former teammate about the approaching danger?”

Zhang Zhen’s heart hammered against his ribs. I forgot about that.

Li Xiao: “Since you were going to kick him out anyway, why wait so long?”

Song Jin leaned against the desk. “Maybe if you kicked him out too early, Jiang Mu would have noticed.”

Zhang Zhen, terrified and angry, clenched his fists to stop them from shaking. “What nonsense are you spouting?!”

“Who’s spouting nonsense?!” Jiang Mu lunged forward and grabbed Zhang Zhen’s collar. “You intentionally left me there to die!”

“Let go!” Zhang Zhen struggled, his temper flared, and they began brawling. The student council members rushed to pull them apart. Once they calmed down, Qin Le looked at Zhang Zhen’s group. “You had the ability to alert Jiang Mu but didn’t, and even kicked him out of the group. This constitutes malicious intent. The Student Council will issue appropriate disciplinary measures.”

Zhang Zhen exploded: “For what?! He wasn’t my teammate; am I his nanny?!”

Qin Le: “If you disagree, you can appeal after the disciplinary notice is issued.”

After finishing, Qin Le left with the Student Council members. Li Xiao’s group of five prepared to head back to class. Before they even reached the corridor, they were stopped by Zheng Lin.

Zheng Lin glanced at Song Jin and the others. “I have something to say to you.”

Li Xiao told his group to head on ahead and walked with Zheng Lin to the end of the hall. Once the area was clear, Zheng Lin hissed, “Why are you helping the Saint-Ya people?! We are your companions! What do you get out of siding with them against us?!”

Li Xiao was about to speak when he caught sight of Zhang Zhen stepping out of the conference room, glaring at him with pure venom. Li Xiao couldn’t help but find it funny.

“I thought your brain wasn’t as good as Meng Tao’s, but I didn’t realize it was this murky.”

Insulted so bluntly, Zheng Lin’s face flushed with blood. “You—!”

“I can read lips,” Li Xiao interrupted. “I believe there are far more people in Saint-Ya Military Academy who can read lips than just me.”

Zheng Lin and Zhang Zhen’s expressions shifted.

Li Xiao: “There’s a clearer version of the first clip. Do you need me to repeat what Zhang Zhen said?”

Zheng Lin’s eyes flickered; he couldn’t tell if Li Xiao was bluffing.

“Do you really not understand why I didn’t call out Zhang Zhen’s lie immediately, or why the Student Council is taking such a roundabout way instead of interpreting the lip-reading publicly?” Li Xiao looked toward Zhang Zhen. “I don’t need to spell out the difference between malicious murder and procedural negligence among exchange students, do I?”

Zheng Lin denied it through gritted teeth. “Zhang Zhen wouldn’t harm Jiang Mu!”

Li Xiao: “I have no interest in your petty drama, but if the reputation of exchange students continues to deteriorate, it affects everyone, including you and me. Qin Le is willing to help cover it up this time, but what about the next?”

Over there, Zhang Zhen had a mental breakdown. He rushed over to Li Xiao and hissed, “I told him to stand guard, I didn’t tell him to stay put! He was just too slow to react, that’s why he was swarmed!”

Li Xiao, taller than Zhang Zhen, looked down at him. “Then I hope you aren’t the slow one next time.”

With that, Li Xiao walked away without looking back.

Zhang Zhen kicked the wall in a rage. “What’s he so arrogant about? I’m appealing this afternoon!”

Zheng Lin thought for a moment. “Don’t appeal. Let it end here.”

Zhang Zhen: “Won’t that make me look guilty?”

Zheng Lin gave him a dark look. “If it really gets interpreted, have you thought about the consequences?”

Zhang Zhen froze and went silent.

Li Xiao walked downstairs alone, surprised to find Song Jin and the others still waiting.

“Didn’t I tell you guys to go back?”

Song Jin: “With a wife as beautiful as a flower standing here, if I don’t keep a close watch, what if someone steals you away?”

Li Xiao walked alongside him. “So what if they do? I’ll just find another one.”

Song Jin: “Did you get your hands on it?”

Li Xiao turned his head to look at him. “What?”

Song Jin: “Don’t play dumb. The evidence.”

Li Xiao smiled and didn’t answer, a silent confirmation. It was true that he could read lips, but in the video, Zhang Zhen’s mouth was almost entirely obscured. Even an AI couldn’t have read it, let alone him.

Jiang Hao: “With evidence, can we give them a heavier penalty?”

Qian Can chuckled: “Of course. We have to make sure it goes on their permanent record. Best to send them all home.”

During the break after the first afternoon class, the Student Council released the investigation results. In addition to the previously shown video footage, they added a segment of hallway surveillance and audio. They gave Zhang Zhen and the four others a major disciplinary mark for “malicious harm to a comrade” and reported it to the Danshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Zhang Zhen was stunned. He hadn’t realized that he’d been the one to nail his own coffin.

In another classroom, Zheng Lin was also dazed. Was I tricked? When did the calculation start? I didn’t sense a thing!

Li Xiao!

Zheng Lin stood up to confront Li Xiao, but was pushed back down by Meng Tao.

“What are you doing?!” Zheng Lin hissed.

Meng Tao: “What good will rushing over there do?” He glanced at Li Xiao sitting in the distance. Trouble. This opponent is much stronger than we imagined. We need to deal with him sooner rather than later.

Cases of “selling out teammates” had almost never happened at the Central Military Academy. This incident created a stir across the entire school.

A palace aide forwarded the announcement to the palace. Liu, the special assistant, shook his head and sighed: “Eighteen years old and still so immature.”

“Immature?” Li Ji sneered, lifting his teacup. “I’d say they’re too mature. Mature in all the dirty dealings of the power circle.”

The aide opened the military academy forum; the post was already pinned at the top. Seeing Li Ji staring intently at the surveillance video, the aide said cautiously, “The Second Highness doesn’t stir up trouble and knows how to prioritize the big picture. He’s much better than the other little cubs.”

Li Ji: “Secretly finding an Alpha to marry—you call that ‘not stirring up trouble’?”

The aide shut his mouth.

A knock at the door, and an attendant reported: “Your Majesty, General Yi is here.”

Li Ji set down his teacup. “He’s fast today. If he were this quick normally, he wouldn’t be mocked by the old guard.”

Yi Yongning burst in, bawling his eyes out. “Your Majesty, they’ve gone too far this time! How dare they pull stunts here in Saint-Ya! What are they thinking?!”

Li Ji rubbed his throbbing temples. “Go out and cry if you want to. Come back when you’re done.”

Yi Yongning sniffled and finally calmed down after a long time. “Actually, Xiao Mu told me when it happened, but I didn’t believe him. I thought they would at least consider the situation between our countries and wouldn’t dare act recklessly in Saint-Ya. I didn’t expect it to be true!”

“If Xiao Mu had suffered an accident, and the relations broke down, provoking Saint-Ya, we would be in a very passive position! Their actions show absolutely no regard for the Second Highness’s safety!”

Half an hour later, Yi Yongning left the King’s office. Once in the car, his eyes turned cold. “The Qiu Yuefeng bribery case has fermented enough. It’s time to put an end to it.”

The butler nodded. “I’ll arrange it immediately.”

Yi Yongning: “Qiu Yuefeng’s arch-rival is from the Wei family, right?”

Butler: “Yes, Wei Yuan. Part of the Meng faction.”

Yi Yongning: “Start with him.”

The butler looked at Yi Yongning in the backseat. “Sir, this step is very risky. The enemy of an enemy can also be an enemy.”

Yi Yongning looked at the sunset outside the window. “How many eight-year cycles does a man have? This is likely my only chance. If I miss it, I will have let down many people.”

King’s Office.

Li Ji propped his chin on his hand, looking at the surveillance video playing on a loop. Long after, he called the special assistant.

“Postpone the handover for another month.”

The assistant was stunned, then responded respectfully: “Yes.”

Central Military Academy.

Li Xiao and Song Jin returned to the dorms after dinner. Before they even reached the door, Li Xiao was dragged by Song Jin into the latter’s room.

Song Jin: “I promised you a reward.”

Li Xiao, feeling Song Jin’s intense gaze, felt his back crawl and turned to leave: “Forget it, I’m not looking forward to it.”

Song Jin: “Really?”

Just as Li Xiao was about to speak, Meng Tao’s voice echoed in his ear. He paused and turned around. A virtual screen in mid-air was playing an audio clip—a communication between Meng Tao and someone else. The line, “Who dares to oppose the Meng family?” was articulated so clearly that it would be impossible to misinterpret.

Li Xiao: “Where did this come from?”

Song Jin spread his hands. “Surveillance, obviously. Didn’t you know?”

Li Xiao looked at him deeply. “Why are you giving this to me?”

“I thought you’d want it.” Song Jin brought up the delete page, his finger hovering over the delete key. “If you don’t want it, I’m deleting it.”

In the stalemate, just as Song Jin was about to press it, Li Xiao gripped his wrist.

Li Xiao: “Send it to me.”

Song Jin: “How’s that for a reward?”

Li Xiao didn’t answer. “I’m curious why you’d give me something like this voluntarily.”

Song Jin sat at the bar and poured himself a glass of water. “Let’s call it a return gift for the loan of your nose.”

Li Xiao sat beside him. “Is it really that simple?”

Song Jin turned his head to look at him. “Otherwise?”

Li Xiao: “You mentioned me to Song Yu. What did he say to you?”

Song Jin: “Can’t it just be that my conscience suddenly struck and I want to treat you better?”

Li Xiao: “No.”

Song Jin: “…”

Song Jin huffed, his tone cold. “He said you were robust and fertile, that if I missed out I’d regret it for a lifetime, and told me not to let you get away.”

Li Xiao: “…”