“You can’t kill me, so why bother threatening me?”

But Su Yao’s threats didn’t faze Lin Qing.

He spoke calmly, without a trace of fear.

If Su Yao had really wanted to kill him, she wouldn’t be making these “tough” threats now.

And the reason she’d gone to such lengths to kill Li Mei last night was that accidentally killing someone in self-defense while dealing with a murderer wouldn’t count as a black mark on her record.

Even though the penalty for accidental manslaughter wasn’t light, with the Comet Group backing her, she could settle it by paying to smooth things over.

Su Yao had never worried about being punished for murder. She was only worried about getting a black mark on her record.

That could affect her right to take over the group one day.

That was exactly why Lin Qing was certain Su Yao wouldn’t kill him. She was just venting her frustration over her failed plan.

Lin Qing didn’t plan to fight back. He was prepared to endure it in silence.

This was a much better outcome than Su Yao becoming a murderer.

He’d already made up his mind.

He was going to transfer schools.

Even if he didn’t have any money to spare, he could get a part-time job. He didn’t want to keep getting tangled up with Su Yao.

Before things got any worse, he’d get out in one piece.

It was definitely the sensible choice.

He’d get out while Su Yao’s skulls were still white… Wait, what was that???

When Lin Qing looked up at Su Yao’s head, he saw that one of the ten white skulls wasn’t changing expressions like the other nine. It stayed perfectly still, its face blank.

The skull had been white, but now it had turned red.

The sudden change left Lin Qing rooted to the spot.

He had no idea what was going on.

He’d seen white skulls and black skulls before, but never a red one.

Su Yao hadn’t killed anyone last night. She hadn’t committed any crimes.

So why had the skull above her head changed?

“You’re pretty clever.”

Lin Qing’s dazed expression didn’t catch Su Yao’s attention. After speaking, she let go of his throat, but didn’t move off him.

She stayed sprawled comfortably across his chest, tugged open his hospital gown, and slipped a hand inside without hesitation, touching his bony chest.

Compared to other boys his age, Lin Qing always seemed especially frail.

As if a gust of wind could blow him away.

And yet, this frail boy had the nerve to stand in front of her.

He’d even reached out to block the knife…

It really made her curious!

Without last night’s rush of excitement, Su Yao was much more clearheaded. She knew that no matter how much she took her anger out on him, she still wouldn’t get what she wanted.

She couldn’t kill him.

So she’d just have to keep playing with her toy.

“Lin Qing, don’t even think about transferring schools or moving away. I was able to dig up the truth about Li Mei’s murder. Unless you’re dead, you’re not escaping me.”

As Su Yao spoke, she lay on her side with her cheek against Lin Qing’s chest.

Her warm breath brushed his chest, making him shiver.

But Lin Qing was too stunned to pay attention to anything else.

Things had taken an unexpected turn. Which part had gone wrong?

“What did you do while I was unconscious?”

Lin Qing ignored what Su Yao had said and asked the question in a grave voice.

He looked so urgent that Su Yao couldn’t help feeling confused.

Had something happened?

“Thanks to you, the dose of anesthetic was pretty strong. I only just woke up, so I haven’t had a chance to do anything yet.”

“What about these handcuffs?”

“Just a little present from the bodyguards before they left. Don’t worry about it.”

“…”

Lin Qing knew Su Yao had no reason to lie about something so trivial. But if she hadn’t done anything, how had the skull turned red?

Could the red skull have appeared because he’d stopped Su Yao from killing someone?

“What is it? Did something interesting happen?”

Su Yao stopped lying on Lin Qing and pulled her hand out from beneath his clothes. Then she braced herself on either side of him and pushed herself up, looking down at him.

Lin Qing’s hair was still too long and irritating, but that didn’t matter right now.

Thinking about how unusual Lin Qing was made Su Yao’s eyes shine with excitement. She stopped keeping score over what had happened last night.

“Nothing. I just remembered I should get back to school.”

Faced with Su Yao’s sparkling eyes, Lin Qing only shook his head and gave her a thoroughly disappointing answer.

Su Yao puffed out one cheek in annoyance. The adorable expression suited her perfectly, but the strength in her arms vanished, and she lay back down on Lin Qing’s chest.

Anyone could hear how dismissive his answer was. Lin Qing was definitely hiding something from her.

Luckily, there was plenty of time.

Besides, school was her home turf.

“Right. But it seems you’ve forgotten something.”

“?”

“Your class was in chaos after you fainted. The two students who tried to scare you that day have been behaving themselves, but your deskmate’s been having a pretty rough time.”

As if she’d just remembered something amusing, Su Yao gave a wicked grin. Instead of keeping it to herself, she brought it up just to make Lin Qing miserable.

Women could be very vindictive.

The more she thought about it, the funnier it seemed. Su Yao couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

Would someone beat Lin Qing up?

Su Yao laughed so hard her body shook. The soft, ample weight against Lin Qing’s chest did nothing to distract him.

He was back to facing the cruel reality.

Just thinking about the mess waiting for him at school gave Lin Qing a headache.

When Lin Qing first arrived at school and reported to his class, he’d planned to get to know his classmates and enjoy school life, making up for the ten years he’d missed.

So the night before, he’d read a lot of books.

Books like The Art of Conversation, How to Save Someone with No Social Skills, and Be My Friend…

And plenty more like them.

But after the teacher assigned the seats, it turned out his deskmate wasn’t an easy person to get along with.

Even without looking at the skull above his head, Lin Qing could tell from their brief interactions that Wang Fanran made no effort to hide his disdain for him.

And just like that, all Lin Qing’s preparation had gone to waste. He never got the chance to use it.

Lin Qing had no intention of sucking up to anyone, and he wanted nothing to do with someone like Wang Fanran. Even if that meant becoming a gloomy loner in class, he wasn’t going to force himself to make bad friends.

Thinking about it, that awful woman Su Yao was actually the classmate he’d talked to the most.

And he’d meant to avoid her and stay away from that terrifying woman.

As Lin Qing thought it over, he looked at Su Yao, who was lying obediently against his chest. His hands were bound by a pair of kinky handcuffs, but he could slip them free with ease as soon as he clenched his fists.

The moment his frail hands were free, Lin Qing’s first move was to push Su Yao away.

He needed to have a serious talk with her.