"Oh, I know him too... Who is he?"
Li Hao feigned curiosity, though he already knew the answer in his heart. In his past life, he had been manipulated step by step by this bitch, ultimately ending up as an ATM for her and that scumbag.
"A-hao, he's our classmate too. It's just that he's in a different class from us. He's the top student of our sophomore year—Meng Baichuan. You must know him, right?"
"Oh, Meng Baichuan..." Li Hao pretended to ponder for a moment, then said decisively, "Never heard of him! Why should I know him?"
"How could you not!"
Liu Yanting found it simply unbelievable. Brother Chuan was a celebrity in their grade, how could Li Hao possibly not know him!
Hearing this, Li Hao's gaze turned sharp, appearing somewhat displeased.
Catching Li Hao's look, Liu Yanting realized she might have said the wrong thing. Hurriedly, she explained, "A-hao, it's not that I don't believe you. It's just that... Baichuan, he..."
"Are you very close with him?" Li Hao asked flatly.
"Oh, close... not close... n-no, not really!"
Liu Yanting realized that no matter how she explained it, it sounded wrong, and she was momentarily at a loss for words.
If she said they were very close, she worried Li Hao would misunderstand, which wouldn't help her keep reeling in this fool. But if she said she and Meng Baichuan weren't close... Li Hao would surely think: If you aren't even close, why are you recommending him to me? Aren't you just trying to pull a fast one on him?
At that moment, Liu Yanting's mind was in turmoil.
...
Suddenly, she realized that the Li Hao sitting in front of her seemed to have gotten smarter!
"Is this really that clueless Li Hao?!" Liu Yanting rubbed her eyes, beginning to reevaluate the person before her.
"No doubt about it, it's Li Hao himself!"
Yet in her eyes, Li Hao now possessed a calm and poised demeanor. He swirled the red wine glass in his hand from time to time, and his posture and air while drinking were completely on point—like an experienced, seasoned hunter.
Looking at herself by contrast, she appeared rather green!
How could this be? Am I seeing things?
When she came yesterday, Li Hao had still been acting like a groveling dog, currying favor with her in every possible way and agreeing to whatever she said!
"Impossible, it must be my imagination!"
Liu Yanting firmly refused to believe that a person could undergo a complete personality transformation overnight; a lapdog could only ever be a lapdog.
Just as a fierce battle raged inside Liu Yanting's mind, Li Hao asked blandly once more, "So which is it—close... or not close?"
"Well..."
"A-hao, Baichuan and I... that Meng Baichuan, we're just ordinary friends. He's a top student, everyone knows him, so naturally I know him too."
"Oh! Just ordinary friends, huh? But you said his name—Baichuan, Baichuan—so naturally. I actually thought... the two of you were boyfriend and girlfriend..."
"No, absolutely not!" Hearing Li Hao mention a boyfriend and girlfriend, Liu Yanting's heart plunged into chaos, and she denied it instantly.
Hastily, she defended herself, "A-hao, how could I have a boyfriend! You're overthinking it... hehe..."
Seeing this bitch smile in a way that looked worse than crying, Li Hao sneered inwardly. "What a total bitch. And she claimed she didn't know him! They've probably already done everything under the sun! Damn it..."
"Oh, since you're just ordinary friends, how is it that you're here looking for a job on his behalf?"
Gazing playfully at Liu Yanting, Li Hao felt much better inside, though a fierce and intense killing intent also lurked beneath the surface.
Hearing that the question was about this, Liu Yanting settled down slightly. Before coming, she had naturally done her homework.
With a charming smile, she slowly replied, "A-hao, haven't you been recuperating from your injuries all this time? You haven't been going to school either, so a lot of things have happened at school that you don't know about..."
"Oh? What happened?" Li Hao asked with feigned curiosity.
"After you were attacked by an Exotic Beast, the school worried that other students might be targeted, so they set up shuttle buses and an escort team."
"The escort team has six members, consisting of one teacher and five students. The team leader is a Martial Dao teacher from each class, and the deputy leader is chosen from students with top grades and outstanding Martial Dao achievements. The remaining members are also students at the very top of their class in Martial Dao."
"We have quite a few boarding students at our school who stay on campus and don't need to be escorted. So, the main job of the escort team is to escort day students to and from school."
"Every class has an escort team, and to reduce everyone's workload, they take turns on escort duty."
"Um... A-hao, actually, I'm a member of the escort team too..."
"Oh, you are too..." Li Hao said, putting on a sour tone.
"Ah, well... A-hao, don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to show off to you..."
"What I wanted to say is that after the escort teams for each class were formed, we had a meeting, and that's how Baichuan... Meng Baichuan and I got to know each other."
"During the introductions at the meeting, I learned about Meng Baichuan's family situation."
"It turns out Meng Baichuan comes from a single-parent family. When he was very young, his father was killed by an Exotic Beast while exploring a Lost Zone. His mother relies on odd jobs to support his education, and it's been extremely difficult for him."
"After I found out about his situation, I decided I wanted to help him. I even mentioned you to him, and he's very willing to come work at your house!"
"Oh, is that so? This Meng Baichuan really has had it tough!"
"Right! He really has..."
Before Liu Yanting could finish, Li Hao cut her off, his tone shifting as he continued: "However, whether he's had it tough or not is none of my damn business! This isn't a charity organization—do I have some kind of obligation to take care of him?"
Li Hao was already well aware of Meng Baichuan's family background. In his past life, it was precisely because of his soft heart, having listened to the lies of this bitch Liu Yanting, that he had hired Meng Baichuan as his bodyguard—thus inviting a wolf into his home.
In this life, Li Hao would never repeat that mistake.
"A-hao... you..."
Liu Yanting could hardly believe her ears. The fool who had always hung on her every word was actually refusing her...
Was this really that easy-to-manipulate wealthy second-generation fool?
How could he say no? What right did he have to say no?!
How... how had he suddenly gotten so smart...
"No, for my own cultivation and Baichuan's, to get a great score in the martial arts exam and smoothly enter a prestigious university, she had to reel this fool in! Ugh, why is cultivation so damn expensive? Otherwise, why would I bother playing games with this idiot!"
With these thoughts, Liu Yanting took a deep breath, forced out an awkward smile, and said with an aggrieved air, "A-hao, how can you talk like that? Are you even the A-hao I know?"
Li Hao thought to himself, "You guessed right—I'm not the same person anymore!"
Having wasted this much breath on the bitch, Li Hao's patience was completely exhausted. Now that he knew her purpose for coming today, he could let her get lost!
As for the blood debt owed by this pair of scumbags, he would make them pay it back slowly, bit by bit.
"Hmph! What kind of person do you take me for? Put away that hypocritical act of yours and get lost!"
"Right now, immediately..."
"Xiaoyao, show the guest out!"
With that, Li Hao heavily set down his wine glass and slowly closed his eyes.
The moment his eyes closed, Li Hao seemed to travel back in time to the moment of his death in his past life. A boundless fury instantly surged through his entire body, and the air around him seemed to radiate a biting chill...
"A—"
Li Hao's sudden transformation left Liu Yanting stunned. Especially the terrifying aura emanating from him—it felt as though it could tear her to pieces. She couldn't help leaning backward, quickly standing up to distance herself from him.
"Miss Liu... please!"
At that moment, Xiaoyao popped out from somewhere, looking at Liu Yanting with a gloating expression.
"Bitch..."
Furious, Liu Yanting found that not only had she failed to achieve her goal today, but she had also been repeatedly mocked and sneered at by this lowly maid. It made her blood boil!
Yet, looking at Li Hao's icy attitude, she knew there was no chance today. It seemed she would just have to wait for another time.
Right at that moment, however—
"Ding-dong, ding-dong!"
Hearing the doorbell ring, Liu Yanting acted as though she had found a way out. Hurriedly putting on an indifferent expression, she walked slowly toward the door, then turned back to Li Hao and said, "A-hao, don't be too angry! I know that because of your injuries, you must be having a hard time. I won't mind you yelling at me; I just hope you recover soon. Since guests have arrived, I won't disturb you any longer. I'll come check on you another day!"
"Miss Liu, your skin is truly thick... Wasn't what the young master said obvious enough? Please be mindful of yourself and stop coming to bother our young master! After you!" Xiaoyao retorted coldly.
"Wretched slave... don't get too full of yourself!"
"Miss Liu, though I'm only the young master's servant, I still have some self-respect—unlike certain people... who are utterly shameless to the core!"
Seething with rage, Liu Yanting abruptly raised her right hand, intending to slap Xiaoyao across the face...
"Don't you dare!" Li Hao opened his eyes and said coldly.
The icy tone caused Liu Yanting to shudder for no apparent reason, as if in the next second, Li Hao might actually kill her. She didn't understand why Li Hao had undergone such a sudden transformation, but she didn't dare linger any longer.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort directed at Xiaoyao, she shoved the door open hard.
Instantly, Liu Yanting froze in her tracks once more!
Seeing the person standing outside the door, Liu Yanting stammered:
"You... you are... why are you here..."
At the sight of the newcomer, Liu Yanting was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, or a student caught red-handed cheating on an exam, instantly wilting...
Then, tucking her tail between her legs, she scurried away in disgrace.