Chapter 116: Chapter 105: Feel the Wrath of Ai Mu

A light rain fell on Sunday morning.

The fine rain fell like silk threads, and the white steam spilling from the steamer baskets billowed into a pale dragon in the morning light.

Shen Yuan stepped into the steamed bun shop, one hand in his pocket. The tip of his shoe sent a circle of ripples across a shallow puddle.

The steamed bun shop owner rested one hand on a steamer, his five fingers gripping the wooden handle as steam coiled up along the knotted muscles of his forearm.

The owner fixed Shen Yuan with a piercing gaze.

"What’ll it be today?"

The question was like a declaration of war, and a competitive fire instantly ignited in Shen Yuan’s eyes.

The gentle breeze stirred the stray strands of Shen Yuan’s hair.

"Boss! One of each: vermicelli, pickled vegetable, meat, preserved greens, and vegetable. And a cup of salted soy milk!"

The moment the words left his mouth, a plastic bag came flying with a WHOOSH, the five steamed buns tracing an elegant arc through the steam.

"Fifteen!"

The owner’s voice boomed as the steamer lid slammed shut.

The young man’s Adam’s apple bobbed. When he scanned the QR code, his fingertip moved so fast it left a blur in the steamy air.

"Sent."

The steam drifted over the ends of Shen Yuan’s hair, blurring the young man’s features, but it couldn’t hide the competitive fire dancing in his eyes.

Li Zhi grabbed his egg pancake and walked away.

’I don’t want to know this guy. This is just outrageous.’

’It’s just buying a few steamed buns. How did it turn into... this?’

Ever since he came into contact with that headband, Shen Yuan’s eighth-grader syndrome had been getting more and more severe.

Before they left the house today, Li Zhi had specifically checked Shen Yuan’s bag to make sure he hadn’t brought the Exclamation Mark Lamp.

And yet, the moment they got to the steamed bun shop, he started having one of his episodes.

Li Zhi even suspected that this guy wasn’t just buying steamed buns for breakfast anymore.

’And you, Boss! Why are you playing along with this dumbass!’

The moment he saw Shen Yuan, a joyous smile bloomed on Chen Mingyu’s face.

He shouted excitedly, "Yuan! I finished the quest!"

His voice was filled with irrepressible joy.

Shen Yuan’s reaction, however, was a stark contrast.

The corner of his eye twitched slightly as he grumbled to himself, ’Seriously, man? It’s just turning in a quest. Do you have to be this happy?’

Shen Yuan recalled Ai Muyu’s fervent zeal for yesterday’s "Master’s Quest," and a shiver went down his spine.

He was genuinely afraid that no matter how outrageous the quests he set, a guy like Ai Muyu would complete them earnestly and without question.

That was why he had lowered the difficulty of all the quests yesterday.

Otherwise, there was no way Ai Muyu would be this energetic right now.

Shen Yuan composed himself and forced his expression to remain calm. He nodded at Chen Mingyu and said, "Very good. Your attitude is exemplary! I am most gratified."

Chen Mingyu was about to shower Shen Yuan with praise when he suddenly noticed that the quest-giving Exclamation Mark Lamp was missing from Shen Yuan’s head.

His smile froze instantly, replaced by a look of suspicion.

"Hey, where’s your quest lamp?" There was a hint of displeasure in Chen Mingyu’s voice.

Shen Yuan, seemingly expecting this, replied calmly, "Oh, that. I didn’t bring it. Forgot it at home."

After Shen Yuan delivered his three-part excuse for forgetting, he saw Ai Muyu’s expression darken.

Ai Muyu’s eyes widened as he glared at Shen Yuan. He slammed both hands down on Shen Yuan’s desk with a loud BANG.

"Why?" Chen Mingyu’s voice was low and terrifying, as if he were suppressing a great rage.

Shen Yuan jumped at the sudden outburst, his delicate frame trembling involuntarily.

Faced with Chen Mingyu’s questioning, he stammered, "Huh? I, I forgot."

"Why didn’t you bring it?! Do you have any idea?! I woke up extra early just to be the first one to turn in my quest! I didn’t even eat breakfast! I came straight to school, straight to this classroom, all so I could be the first one to report to you!"

Ai Muyu’s voice trembled with agitation. He glared at Shen Yuan, his eyes practically spitting fire, wide with fury.

"Look in my eyes!! Tell me! WHY!! Answer me!! If you don’t, I’ll make you feel the wrath of Ai Mu!!" Ai Muyu’s roar echoed through the classroom. His fists clenched, looking like he might swing at Shen Yuan at any moment.

Shen Yuan blinked. ’I’m actually a little curious. I kind of want to see what this ’wrath of Ai Mu’ is all about.’

However, when he saw Ai Muyu’s hostile gaze, he immediately dismissed the thought.

’After all, this guy’s level of ’Ai Mu’ for other guys didn’t seem to be very high. If I really piss him off, I’ll probably be in for it.’

’So, here’s the question... when Ai Mu gets angry, will he turn into Ace?’

Shen Yuan couldn’t help but shudder. He quickly tried to placate him, saying, "It’s fine, you can turn it in tomorrow. There’s no time limit for the quests."

However, his words failed to placate Ai Muyu. In fact, they only made his glare more furious.

Seeing this, Shen Yuan grew even more flustered and quickly added, "Besides, speaking of which, you’re not the first person to turn in a quest to me anyway!"

Ai Muyu froze, as if struck by a club. He grabbed the front of Shen Yuan’s school uniform, his face twisted in a rage as he demanded, "Who? Who was it?! Tell me! Who could possibly have been faster than me?"

Thoroughly intimidated by Ai Muyu’s intensity, Shen Yuan shakily raised a weak, powerless little hand and pointed tremblingly at Li Zhi, who was standing off to the side.

Seeing this, Ai Muyu blinked, as if in disbelief, but soon he deflated like a punctured balloon, snapping out of his rage mode.

"Tch. In that case, forget I said anything."

With a look of resignation, Ai Muyu let go of Shen Yuan’s uniform. He then spun around, pointed a finger at Shen Yuan, and said viciously, "I’ll spare you the death penalty, but you can’t escape a living punishment. Just you wait!"

At that moment, Shen Yuan had no idea what Chen Mingyu’s warning meant; he just felt his skin crawl.

However, as more and more students filled the classroom, Shen Yuan’s sense of unease grew stronger. Fine beads of sweat started to form on his forehead, and his back gradually became soaked.

’Completely unlike yesterday, this bunch of dumbass kids have an exceptionally high completion rate for the quests!’

Aside from Ah Jie, who was still a blockhead who couldn’t seem to memorize his English vocabulary, basically everyone else had successfully completed their quests.

What was even more surprising was that even Yang Ze—someone who hadn’t even wanted to do the quest in the first place—had completed it flawlessly!!

Shen Yuan’s heart began to pound. A single thought echoed in his mind: ’Run. I have to run.’

Amid the drone of voices reading aloud during morning self-study, Shen Yuan suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

He felt that in the seemingly peaceful classroom, countless pairs of eyes were hidden in the shadows, staring at him like hungry wolves with sinister intentions.

The feeling made Shen Yuan’s blood run cold. He realized he had to find a way to escape this perilous situation.

Shen Yuan’s heart began to race, and various possible escape plans flashed through his mind.

The seconds ticked by. The bell signaling the end of morning self-study was about to ring, and Shen Yuan’s anxiety intensified.

Just a split second before the bell rang, Shen Yuan’s feet were already coiled like springs beneath him. He leaned forward slightly, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

But just as he was about to launch himself from his seat, a hand suddenly clamped down on his arm.

Shen Yuan whipped his head around in shock. Ah Jie was staring at him, a sinister, wicked smile playing on his lips.

"Thinking of running?" Ah Jie’s voice was mocking. "It’s useless, kid. You can’t escape our clutches. Even if you get away today, we’ll get you eventually."

"You can run, but you can’t hide! Running will only make your punishment more severe!"

Shen Yuan’s throat went dry. He swallowed hard, knowing there was likely no escaping his fate.

The moment the bell rang, ending morning self-study, Shen Yuan spread his arms wide, bracing for the inevitable storm.

The menacing crowd saw his posture and immediately lost their momentum.

As everyone knows, a punishment is only a punishment if you get to see the punished party looking remorseful.

Now, Shen Yuan’s expression, which practically screamed ’do your worst,’ had already robbed the punishment of fifty percent of its satisfaction.

When the others hoisted Shen Yuan into the air, he still wore a look of utter resignation, all his fight gone.

By the time they carried Shen Yuan to the back door of the classroom, his eyes were already closed.

’I’m dead either way. Might as well face it with dignity.’

Then, Shen Yuan found himself being put down.

"Huh?"

"Boring, so boring."

"Yeah, forget it. This is lame."

"There’s no fun in it if he doesn’t fight back at all."

Watching the dispersing crowd, the corner of Shen Yuan’s mouth twitched.

’What a fucking masterpiece.’

Seeing the crowd about to disperse, Ah Jie grew anxious. "Wait, we’re not gonna mess him up? He’s the one who wouldn’t let you turn in your quests!"

"Hey now," Shen Yuan said, glancing at Ah Jie. "Ah Jie didn’t finish his quest, did he? You all finished, but he didn’t. He’s the one who betrayed you."

The group of burly guys stopped in their tracks.

In the next second, Shen Yuan had Ah Jie in a headlock.

"You can turn in the quest tomorrow, but this traitor who didn’t even do it is the real enemy! While you were all working hard on your quests, he was fast asleep!"

"Get him!!"

Ah Jie was quickly hoisted into the air.

"I didn’t betray you!! I really can’t memorize the words! I’m just terrible at English!!"

"AAAH!!"

And so, the evil Ah Jie met his doom.

Afterwards, Ah Jie was sprawled on his desk, whimpering, looking resentfully at Shen Yuan and muttering something under his breath.

Shen Yuan leaned in to listen and burst out laughing.

"I hate... I hate..."

...

Perhaps because they had the afternoon off, Sunday morning always seemed to fly by.

In the blink of an eye, two class periods had passed.

During the long break between classes, Shen Yuan was scrolling on his phone, messaging his Eldest Female Cousin.

Shen Yuan: "It’s the weekend. Any movie recommendations?"

Yang Yishui: "With Li Zhi?"

Shen Yuan: "Just me."

Yang Yishui: "Pleasant Goat, Boonie Bears, Ne Zha."

Shen Yuan: "Something with a bit of depth."

Yang Yishui: "You think you could understand it?! [shocked]"

The corner of Shen Yuan’s mouth twitched. ’Come Monday, I’m definitely scamming a meal out of you.’

But despite the teasing, Shen Yuan did end up getting a few movie recommendations from his Eldest Female Cousin.

After getting his answer, Shen Yuan turned to look at Li Zhi.

"Young Master Li, want to watch a movie this afternoon?"

Li Zhi’s brow furrowed. "Watch what? At home?"

Shen Yuan nodded. "Movie theaters are too expensive these days. No point in going unless we have to. I have a premium Bilibili account."

Li Zhi nodded. "What are we watching?"

"Wanna watch *Oppenheimer*? It’s three hours long. We can finish it, take a nap, and then get ready for school."

Looking at Shen Yuan’s expectant gaze, Li Zhi sneered inwardly.

’Tch. And he claims all he does is play games.’

But despite his thoughts, when Li Zhi finally spoke, he still agreed.

"Fine. My place or yours?"

Both their families had bought projectors, so they could watch it anywhere.

Shen Yuan answered without hesitation. "Your place. The environment in your study is better."

"Okay."