The Interrogation and the Feeding Game

“Doesn’t that just prove even more that Li Chen stole it?!” the teacher shrieked. “Who doesn’t know that Li Chen is an Omega?”

“No,” Jiang Mo continued, “The scent on this is different from Li Chen’s pheromones. Moreover, as far as I know, Student Wen Xiaoyi is a Beta. A wallet is such an important item; she certainly wouldn’t let anyone other than herself touch it.”

His eyelashes fluttered. “This proves that someone else must have handled Student Wen Xiaoyi’s wallet before this.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Xiaoyi’s face turned paper-white. She swallowed hard, her expression drifting into panic. “I…”

“How do you know those aren’t Li Chen’s pheromones?” The teacher’s gaze was sharp as she looked Jiang Mo up and down. “Student Jiang Mo, you only transferred into this class recently, didn’t you?”

Jiang Mo turned and gave the teacher a slight smile. “I’ve caught the scent by chance, that’s all. Besides, I’m an Alpha; I’ve always been sensitive to Omega pheromones. Student Li Chen’s scent is very unique. It’s like…”

He paused suddenly, seemingly unable to find the right word. Just then, Shi Ji, who had been silent, spoke up: “Iris.”

“Right! Iris!” Jiang Mo echoed, shooting a grateful look toward Shi Ji.

On the other side, Li Chen snapped his head up to look over. He stared fixedly at the man’s profile, sweat beadlets clinging to his skin.

‘How does Shi Ji know what my pheromones smell like?’

‘Isn’t he a Beta?’

More and more mysteries were piling up, making Li Chen want to rush over, grab Shi Ji by the collar, and demand answers to every single question.

He quietly gripped the hem of his shirt, his fingertips rubbing the coarse fabric. His heart hammered heavily against his ribs, the sound so loud he could barely hear anyone else.

“The pheromones on Student Wen Xiaoyi’s wallet aren’t the scent of Iris,” Jiang Mo said, holding up the wallet. “It’s more like… mint. If the teacher doesn’t believe me, we can find a few Alphas or Omegas from the class to identify it.”

He finished in one breath and walked over to return the wallet to Wen Xiaoyi. His movements were gentle and gentlemanly, making him look every bit the humble, refined young master.

Jiang Mo’s argument left the teacher speechless for a long moment. Shi Ji caught a glimpse of her face turning a deep shade of red and silently gave Jiang Mo a thumbs-up in his mind.

As expected of the original protagonist Alpha. I can rest easy entrusting Li Chen to you.

With that thought, Shi Ji’s gaze toward Jiang Mo filled with even more approval. Suddenly, he felt a sharp, aggressive gaze shooting from an unknown direction—like a jagged blade aimed straight at the back of his head.

He frowned in confusion; the sensation was truly bizarre. Shi Ji couldn’t help but turn around to look, but behind him, there was nothing but that kid, Li Chen.

‘An illusion?’

Shi Ji muttered inwardly.

His attention returned to the group in the hallway. Jiang Mo was expressionless; Wen Xiaoyi’s hands were trembling as she held the wallet, perhaps out of guilt; Teacher Lin was glaring at Jiang Mo, her face contorted with rage; and the principal stood by, wiping cold sweat, unsure of what conclusion to draw.

The scene was truly farcical. Shi Ji arched an eyebrow and was about to speak, but the principal cut him off: “Since Student Jiang Mo has a point, let’s leave it at that.”

“But…” the teacher started. She opened her mouth only to be glared down by the principal, leaving her to shut it and retreat sulkily.

Then, as if unable to vent her frustration, she glared viciously at Li Chen, her clenched knuckles cracking.

“But the victim here is Wen Xiaoyi. Shouldn’t we ask for her thoughts first?” The teacher forced a smile and turned to the girl.

The girl hunched her shoulders, looking timidly at the teacher. She shivered and spoke in a trembling voice, “I… I… I’ve always kept my wallet very safe. I wouldn’t let just anyone touch it.”

“But… why it ended up in Student Li Chen’s backpack, I… I really don’t know how that happened.” Her voice broke into sobs again, and as the last word fell, tears spilled over.

“It’s simple. We just need to find an Omega student whose pheromones smell like mint and ask them,” Jiang Mo said. “Teacher Lin, if you find it too troublesome, I can handle it.”

“Fine, you handle it.”

Shi Ji’s sudden voice startled both the principal and the teacher.

He straightened his cuffs and looked at the principal. His gaze was calm, but held a cold, distant tone.

“You’d better investigate thoroughly and clear my brother’s name.”

His voice was steady, without a single ripple of emotion. Shi Ji paused for a few seconds, then turned to look at Li Chen behind him, his naturally upturned eyes narrowing slightly. “You should all be well aware of what happens to those who try to smear the name of the Shi family.”

As those words fell, a bone-chilling wind seemed to blow through the sweltering midsummer heat. The principal swallowed hard and forced a placating smile. “We know, we know. Please don’t be angry, Mr. Shi. We will definitely get to the bottom of this.”

With that, he signaled to the teacher, who nodded and led Wen Xiaoyi back into the classroom.

“This is all thanks to Student Jiang Mo.” Once the teacher was gone, the principal began praising Jiang Mo to Shi Ji. “If he hadn’t noticed those details, Student Li Chen would have been wrongly accused.”

He had completely changed his tune, reverting to Shi Ji’s lackey, determined to elevate Jiang Mo in Shi Ji’s eyes so he could look good in front of both the Shi and Jiang families.

“Student Jiang Mo is indeed quite capable,” Shi Ji said flatly.

However, as soon as he spoke, Li Chen—who had been standing behind them—lowered his head and walked past the three of them without a word. He even intentionally bumped his shoulder hard against Jiang Mo’s as he passed.

His behavior was overtly hostile. Jiang Mo clutched his shoulder in pain, looking confusedly at Li Chen’s retreating back.

Seeing this, the principal was fuming but didn’t dare speak up, cursing that “brat” Li Chen in his head for potentially ruining his career.

But with Shi Ji there, he didn’t dare do anything. The principal took a few deep breaths to swallow his anger and walked respectfully to Shi Ji’s side. “Mr. Shi, shall we continue our tour elsewhere?”

Shi Ji agreed, allowing the principal to keep feeding him flattery about Jiang Mo as they walked out of the teaching building.

What he didn’t know was that at the window of Class 2-3, a seventeen-year-old youth was looking down, watching his departing figure with lowered eyes.

The turbulent emotions in those misty-blue eyes could not be hidden. The sound of the English teacher reading vocabulary words drifted past his ears. It wasn’t until Shi Ji’s shadow disappeared from view that Li Chen snapped back to reality, staring at the clean pages of his textbook.

Only one sentence circled in his mind.

—”You should all be well aware of what happens to those who try to smear the name of the Shi family.”

Li Chen pursed his lips and picked up his pen, writing four words: Member of the Shi family.

…Was he?

In the blink of an eye, it was time for the midday break. As the bell rang, students carrying lunchboxes rushed toward the cafeteria like a flock of birds escaping a cage.

But Li Chen didn’t eat at the cafeteria. The principal had made arrangements for him long ago; during his stay at the school, all his meals were provided at a fixed, high-end restaurant.

This restaurant was located on campus but had special regulations; students were not allowed, so it was generally reserved for teachers or administrators.

The restaurant was divided into two floors. The first floor mainly served Chinese cuisine, while the second floor had a bit of everything.

The principal held the menu and ordered two portions of every signature dish for Shi Ji—he knew well that Shi Ji didn’t like being watched while eating. Even so, he had heard that Shi Ji had a large appetite, always ordering double portions and finishing every bit.

Once the table was covered in a rich spread of food, the principal excused himself. Shi Ji picked up a plate of pasta, twirled a forkful into his mouth, and after eating a bit more, he set down his cutlery and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

Shi Ji stared at the vast amount of untouched food, having no desire to eat more. He leaned back in his chair and tilted his head toward the door.

Before long, the closed door of the private room opened, and a slender figure slipped in quickly. His movements were so light and fast that even the bell hanging on the doorframe barely noticed his presence.

Shi Ji arched his eyebrows. “You’re here?”

Li Chen sat down across from Shi Ji in silence. Looking at the mountain of food on the table, he couldn’t help but frown. “You ordered this much?”

“Is it much?” Shi Ji tilted his head nonchalantly. “You’ll finish it anyway.”

Li Chen fell silent. He wordlessly took a fork and started eating a salad nearby. Across from him, Shi Ji played with his phone, not even giving him a glance.

He lowered his lashes, staring at the fresh green lettuce in the glass bowl. During these few days at school, Shi Ji always made him come secretly to the restaurant to help “finish the leftovers.”

Shi Ji called them leftovers, but in reality, he barely touched them. He would order two of everything, and after watching Li Chen finish, Shi Ji would even let out a sigh of admiration.

Li Chen found it bizarre. It didn’t feel like Shi Ji was bossing him around; it felt more like some strange “feeding game.”

The greens were tasteless, and the dressing was too sweet. Li Chen rarely left food, but he pushed the salad aside and pulled another plate closer. He watched Shi Ji while mechanically chewing, his gaze scanning down from the man’s brow bone.

There were too many things about Shi Ji that didn’t make sense.

Li Chen blinked and set down his fork. His lashes fluttered as he said to himself, “The matter has been cleared up. Wen Xiaoyi’s wallet fell on the floor, and the class monitor picked it up. My seat is close to hers, and the monitor got the seats mixed up, which is why it ended up in my backpack.”

His tone was flat, as if he were narrating a story that had nothing to do with him. After finishing, Li Chen looked at Shi Ji. The man was still tinkering with his phone; whether he had heard a word was unclear.

Li Chen knit his brows, his tone shifting: “So why didn’t you believe me just now?”