Do Villains Have to Be Heartthrobs Too? [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 3

“You in these shoes are truly…”

Xu Chi felt flustered. He had the distinct, unsettling sensation that he had offended a girl. Instinctively, his hand moved to let go, but the person before him seemed unwilling to give up. Ignoring the obvious difference in their builds, the person kept shifting, so Xu Chi tightened his grip instead.

With a slightly firmer pressure, his thumb unconsciously traced the fine fabric of the stocking, sensing the contour of the slender bones beneath.

Yun Zhixue, meanwhile, was the one truly panicking. Losing his footing, his first instinct was to pull his leg back, but the hand gripping his ankle tightened. To his horror, the look in the other person’s eyes became increasingly intrigued; it was as if he were being hunted by some monster. He felt entirely exposed and uncomfortable.

Xu Chi looked at Yun Zhixue, who was wobbling on one leg after missing his footing, his cheeks flushed with a mix of shame and anxiety. A smile, more playful and significantly more sinister than before, curled the corners of Xu Chi’s mouth.

“Tsk,” he made a long, meaningful sound, his gaze burning intensely as he stared at Yun Zhixue’s reddened face. “Yun Zhixue, you in these shoes…”

He paused intentionally, savoring the sight of the other’s helplessness, before leaning in and lowering his voice to add, “Are truly cute.”

Those three words brushed against his heart like a feather, yet they carried a hook, heavy with the weight of teasing.

The system was beginning to doubt its own existence. This was not supposed to happen.

“You, let go!” Off-balance and wobbling on one foot, Yun Zhixue tried to pull his leg back again. But Xu Chi held on tightly, and in his struggle, Yun Zhixue nearly lost his balance, forced to reach out and grab the nearby desk to steady himself. This posture only made him feel more humiliated. His eyes turned red again; this time, it was from pure frustration.

“Cute? You are such a jerk! Let go of me!” His voice trembled, lacking any real threat; instead, it sounded like the whimper of someone who had been bullied to the brink of tears.

Xu Chi was finding this quite amusing and was about to tease him further when a harsh, reprimanding shout erupted from the classroom doorway.

“What are you doing?!”

Teacher Wang stood at the door, her face a mask of shock and fury. Beside her stood Yun Zhiqiue, who had just rushed over after receiving the teacher’s call.

When Yun Zhiqiue had received the call claiming his younger brother was causing trouble and bullying a new student, he had felt a headache coming on, full of resignation. He had come prepared to clean up the mess and apologize for his brother’s behavior yet again.

But what did he see?

He saw the new student his brother was allegedly bullying firmly gripping his brother’s slender ankle. And his brother, Yun Zhixue, standing on one leg, eyes rimmed with red, his skirt ruffled; he looked exactly like someone who had been bullied to the point of crying.

The visual impact was immense, completely overturning his assumption that Yun Zhixue was the aggressor.

Yun Zhiqiue’s face darkened instantly. He strode over in a few steps, his tone cold and hard: “Student, please let go of my brother immediately!”

Hearing this, Xu Chi slowly and leisurely released his grip. He even gave Yun Zhixue’s ankle a light, supportive nudge to help him stand steady; the movement was so natural it looked as though he were simply helping him stand up.

He turned to the teacher and Yun Zhiqiue. The playful smile on his face had faded slightly, but his gaze remained calm, almost indifferent. He shrugged. “Teacher, brother, don’t misunderstand. We were just exchanging pleasantries.”

Once his ankle was released, Yun Zhixue immediately pulled his foot back. Seeing his brother—who, according to the original host’s memories, was his older brother—he hid behind Yun Zhiqiue, his fingers clutching the hem of his shirt. He whispered in his defense, “Brother, he was bullying me.”

His voice was soft and aggrieved, matching his reddened eyes and the expression of a frightened animal. The credibility was, without a doubt, two hundred percent.

Teacher Wang looked at the scene before her: a rebellious, arrogant new transfer student and a beautiful, delicate young master who looked terrified and ready to cry. Even though he had a bad reputation, he looked like a complete victim right now.

Her expression was strange, as if something did not quite add up. But unable to pinpoint what was wrong, she glared at Xu Chi. “Exchanging pleasantries? Is that how you exchange pleasantries, by grabbing a classmate’s ankle? Xu Chi, you are causing trouble the moment you arrive! Come with me to the office!”

Xu Chi raised an eyebrow. His gaze swept past Yun Zhixue, who was peeking out from behind Yun Zhiqiue with only his wet, glistening eyes visible. The corner of his mouth twitched in another smirk before he lazily replied, “Oh.”

As he left, he shot one last meaningful glance at Yun Zhixue, a look that seemed to say, “We will continue this next time.”

Yun Zhiqiue shielded his brother, staring with hostility at Xu Chi’s departing back. Then, he looked down at Yun Zhixue, his voice filled with concern. “Xiao Xue, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Yun Zhixue shook his head, still shaken. He whispered, “No.” Though the mission seemed to have failed again, the process was so strange.

The system in his mind had gone completely silent, struggling to figure out where things had gone wrong.

Seeing his brother’s state and recalling the scene he had just witnessed, Yun Zhiqiue’s brows furrowed. The way this new transfer student looked at Xiao Xue made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

He noticed his brother’s skirt was still a bit messy, and he felt a wave of relief that Xiao Xue was wearing a long skirt. He knelt down to straighten it naturally while asking, “School is over, why are you still lingering at school instead of going home?”

Yun Zhixue was startled by his brother’s question and instinctively clutched Yun Zhiqiue’s shirt tighter. He could not exactly tell his brother that the system had assigned him a mission to bully a student and it had backfired, could he?

His long lashes fluttered in panic. His gaze wandered, finally landing on the lace trim of his skirt. His voice was as thin as a mosquito’s hum. “I was waiting for you to pick me up.”

It was a clumsy and stiff excuse, laced with a childish reliance. Yun Zhiqiue looked at his brother’s slightly bowed head, revealing a section of fair, fragile neck. Recalling the moment that transfer student had grabbed his brother’s ankle, the doubt he had felt due to his brother’s past misdeeds was instantly replaced by heartache and lingering fear.

He sighed, his tone softening with an imperceptible indulgence. “In the future, go straight home after school. Stop making friends with unsavory people.”

He paused, implying something specific. “Stay away from that student earlier. He is not a kind person, do you understand?”

Yun Zhixue nodded obediently, though he felt a bit bewildered. Not a kind person? But he did not actually hit him, did he? Although his actions were very strange, he did not seem that scary.

However, if his brother said so, it must be right. He gave a soft, obedient reply: “I know, brother.”

Watching his brother’s obedient, beautiful, and harmless appearance, and comparing it to the aggressive gaze he had seen from Xu Chi, the alarm in Yun Zhiqiue’s heart rang even louder.

He stood up and naturally took the delicate little backpack from Yun Zhixue’s drawer. “Let’s go home. Zhang Ma made that soufflé you like today.”

“Really?” Yun Zhixue’s eyes brightened slightly. In the late stages of the apocalypse, food was scarce, and desserts were an unreachable luxury; the food in this world held a fatal attraction for him.

The anxiety from the failed mission was immediately cast aside. He even instinctively tugged on his brother’s sleeve, urging him, “Then, brother, let us go quickly.”

His dependent little action pleased Yun Zhiqiue, bringing a hint of a smile to his face and temporarily suppressing the unpleasantness caused by that classmate. “Mm, let us go.”

Yun Zhixue quietly spoke to the system in his heart: “System, although the mission failed, the soufflé seems really good, and these colleagues are all very nice people.”

In Yun Zhixue’s eyes, this was no different from work; everyone else was just his colleague.

The system, watching Yun Zhixue’s lack of ambition, silently vomited blood. He had been bought off by a mere soufflé.

After everyone left, the little follower finally crawled out of the corner, shivering with lingering fear. How did Teacher Wang come, and why did she call the parents? Who snitched?

He gave the desk leg a fierce kick, his expression twisted in a sneer, and stormed out, slamming the iron door with a deafening crash. He immediately looked left and right, afraid of being discovered, before scurrying off like a thief.

Inside the classroom, the curtains were not drawn. Even at six in the evening, the summer sun remained bright. A person who had been hiding behind the curtains emerged and lazily pulled the desk back into place.

He thought of that gorgeous, snow-white face, which looked even purer because the person was so quiet and obedient.

Truly cute. He wondered why he had wanted to teach this desk-mate a lesson in the first place.

Yun Zhiqiue’s car was a sleek black sedan with a spacious and comfortable interior, smelling faintly of leather and perfume.

Yun Zhixue sat obediently in the passenger seat, his seatbelt neatly fastened. He curiously examined the sophisticated dashboard, then turned his head to look at the streetscape flying past outside the window.

In the apocalypse, such scenes had long since vanished, replaced only by broken walls and silent ruins. The flashing neon lights and the flowing crowd; this vibrant world left him a little dazed, but filled with a secret joy. He tilted his head slightly, his temple resting against the cold car window, silent as a painting.

Yun Zhiqiue glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye. The sunset’s afterglow shone through the car window, gilding Yun Zhixue’s exquisite profile with a soft golden edge. His long lashes cast shallow shadows, making him look obedient and fragile.

He seemed like a completely different person from the loud, garish, and annoying brother he remembered.

Because his brother was young and physically weak, the family’s only expectation was for him to grow up healthy and happy. They had never wanted to restrict his freedom, but the result of such over-indulgence was that the child had grown astray.

Perhaps it was after entering puberty that his health gradually improved, but he had become spoiled and lawless. His aesthetics and behavior had spiraled in an incomprehensible and worrying direction, eventually turning into the girl-clad, heavily-painted, trouble-making version of himself.

Occasionally, it caused his parents and him headaches, but they all knew one thing: it was the result of their over-indulgence, and they had to bear the consequences. They still loved Yun Zhixue deeply, though sometimes, that love was mixed with too much helplessness and exhaustion.

Yet, today’s Yun Zhixue seemed exceptionally different. No pungent perfume, no pretentious tone, and even his attire; although it was still a skirt, it highlighted a clean aura, like an innocent little aristocratic princess.

Yun Zhiqiue gripped the steering wheel, his eyes on the road, but his mind drifted. He remembered the scene in the classroom: the way that transfer student, Xu Chi, had looked at Xiao Xue when he gripped his ankle. There was no pretense, just pure, aggressive possession. It was not merely the anger of someone who felt offended, but more like the interest and possessiveness one feels when discovering interesting prey.

As an adult male, Yun Zhiqiue knew exactly what that look meant. Considering Xiao Xue’s current refined, beautiful, and defenseless appearance, and the light impression his past black history might have left on others, a strong sense of worry surged in his heart.

He weighed his words, trying to speak in a way that would be as gentle as possible without triggering his brother’s resentment. After all, in the past, every time they tried to educate Xiao Xue, the result was often counterproductive, only stirring up his defiance.

“Xiao Xue,” Yun Zhiqiue’s voice slowed, carrying an imperceptible caution, “today, what was that about with the transfer student?”

Yun Zhixue was looking at the sign of a dessert shop outside the window. Hearing this, he turned his head, still carrying a hint of anticipation for the soufflé. He answered honestly, “He said he wanted to pay me back for the skirt.”

Yun Zhiqiue was momentarily speechless.

He cleared his throat, trying to steer the conversation back on track. “I am not talking about that. I am saying he grabbed your ankle. That is very inappropriate. Boys should keep their distance from one another. Such physical contact is too intimate and disrespectful.”

Yun Zhixue blinked, his long eyelashes fluttering like little fans. He thought back. Was it strange? He did not feel the act itself was strange, but rather that Xu Chi’s words were strange and his gaze was terrifying, which had made him feel an inexplicable sense of shrinking away at the time.

Yun Zhiqiue looked at his brother’s eyes, which were as clear as water, filled with pure confusion, as if he could not comprehend why grabbing an ankle would be a problem at all.

His heart tightened. The sense of powerlessness surged again. The old brother used to annoy people on purpose; the current brother was like a blank sheet of paper, completely oblivious to certain potential dangers.

He took a deep breath, trying to keep his tone calm and patient, like guiding an ignorant child. “Xiao Xue, the point is not the skirt, nor whether he apologized. It is his behavior. A boy, grabbing your ankle without permission and saying frivolous things; that is an overstepping of boundaries. It is impolite, and it may even carry bad intentions.”

“Bad intentions?” Yun Zhixue tilted his head slightly, his long hair sliding over his shoulder. His eyes were even more puzzled. In the apocalypse, physical contact between companions was common; it was how they confirmed if someone was injured or offered comfort.

But he suddenly understood his brother’s meaning. Was he afraid that Xu Chi would hurt him?

With a serious expression, he nodded at his brother.

“I understand, brother. I will protect myself.”

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