Early the next morning.
Qiao Xi packed a bento and two prepared drinks into her school bag.
When she arrived at school, everything seemed normal, yet the newcomer gave her a quiet jolt of surprise.
"What the—? I just saw him last night, and now he's here this morning? Does that mean the storyline with Rex has already begun?"
Wang Dadong excitedly pounced on Rex. "Why does this feel so much like a big golden retriever jumping on its owner??"
As soon as he stepped through the door, Rex noticed Qiao Xi and gave an imperceptible frown.
"Oh right, Rex! Look who this is!" Wang Dadong slung an arm around Rex's shoulders and led him right up to Qiao Xi.
She smiled at Rex. "Long time no see, Rex. Do you remember me?"
Rex wore a hesitant look, as though he knew who she was but didn't dare say it out loud.
Thinking Rex simply hadn't recognized her, Wang Dadong excitedly blurted out, "Rex! Don't you remember? This is Xiao Xi! My mom and dad's goddaughter, we used to play together all the time when we were kids!"
Rex put on a look of sudden realization. "Xiao Xi! It really is you, long time no see."
"Yeah."
Wang Dadong then took Rex over to introduce him to Arthur and Xiao.
Arthur showed obvious hostility toward Rex—something probably only an airhead like Wang Dadong, who seemed to have handed his entire brain over to Rex, could miss.
When class started, Teacher Tian Xin walked in, spotted Rex, and excitedly greeted him before beginning her lecture.
Down in the seats, Qiao Xi used Voice Transmission to speak with Ding Xiaoyu and Wang Arthur.
"Xiao Yu, don't you think this Rex looks a bit familiar?"
Ding Xiaoyu pondered for a moment.
"I know what you're thinking, but that's impossible. He doesn't look like the fighting type."
Qiao Xi and Wang Arthur spoke up in unison, speechless.
"You don't look like it either, Xiao Yu."
"Still, the vibe Rex gives me is really weird. Even though I've known him since we were kids, there's definitely something strange about him."
Both of them fell silent, and the Voice Transmission ended.
Only Rex sat quietly scheming to himself.
"So she really is Xiao Xi. She recognized me right from the start. Will she figure out my identity and stand in my way? Whoever tries to block my plans, she will definitely be mine."
After class, Teacher Tian Xin called Qiao Xi and Rex over. "Rex, Xiao Xi, although Dadong has invited Arthur and Xiao to serve as our English and math tutors, I know the two of you have the best grades in the whole class. So I'd like to ask you both to be our overall review tutors and help the class review together. What do you think?"
Rex readily agreed, "Yes, I will give it my all."
Qiao Xi could only resign herself and agree, "Fine."
After school, the five of them headed over to Stops-Gut-Man's stall.
"Rex, this stall is brand new and super cool. No matter what you order, the boss can pull it out."
Rex chimed in, turning to Wang Dadong. "Wow, I was only gone for one summer, and a cool stall like this popped up right near the school."
Stops-Gut-Man leaned his elbows on the table, lowered his upper body, and eyed Rex up and down.
Rex lowered his head, pushed up his glasses, and offered Stops-Gut-Man a faint smile.
Qiao Xi chimed in casually, "Stops-Gut-Man, did you fall in love with Rex or something??"
Arthur, Xiao, and Dadong all burst out laughing.
The first to recover was Ding Xiaoyu. "Stops-Gut-Man seems to know you."
Stops-Gut-Man gave a mysterious smile. "I'm familiar with everyone, especially those I don't know."
Chuckling to ease the atmosphere, Stops-Gut-Man asked, "What would you like to eat today?"
"Then let's order... sashimi." Wang Dadong shot Stops-Gut-Man a provocative look.
This guy seemed to have made a hobby out of teasing Stops-Gut-Man by ordering dishes designed to give him a hard time.
In a flash, Stops-Gut-Man put on a diving suit and leaped straight down beneath the stall, kicking up an actual splash of water.
And as luck would have it, the water splashed all over Qiao Xi.
Since she was wearing a shirt, the fabric turned completely transparent the moment it got wet. Blushing furiously, she hugged her arms to herself and yelled angrily, "Stops-Gut-Man!"
Ding Xiaoyu and Rex simultaneously took off their school uniform jackets, both lifting their heads to watch the other's movement.
Xiao Yu's inner thoughts: "Rex... does he like Xiao Xi? Then should I... let go? After all, they've known each other for a long time, their bond must be really deep."
Rex's inner thoughts: "Ding Xiaoyu, I never expected you to like Xiao Xi too. But I'm not going to let her go."
Ding Xiaoyu quietly pulled his hand back and watched as Rex draped his jacket over Qiao Xi's shoulders.
Whether Qiao Xi was missing a screw in her head or had simply caught something from Wang Dadong, she remained completely oblivious to the bizarre atmosphere, continuing to curse Stops-Gut-Man in her heart.
"Damn it, Stops-Gut-Man, you just wait! See how I fix you next time."
Sensing that the atmosphere had frozen solid, Wang Arthur spoke up to break the ice. "I never figured a goody-two-shoes like Rex would hang out with a violent thug like you. No wonder even Stops-Gut-Man thinks it's weird."
Wang Dadong threw his arm around Rex's shoulders. "What are you talking about? Rex and I complement each other perfectly."
"You're Rex's fists, and Rex is your brain. I've heard about it."
Wang Dadong wore an expression that screamed, *Xiao Yu, you're the only one who gets me.*
"No wonder Brother Dadong's grades are so terrible—turns out he gave them all to Rex." Qiao Xi tossed in a teasing remark, still harboring a trace of lingering resentment.
"Hey, what kind of talk is that? My grades were bad long before I met Rex, Xiao Xi, didn't you know?"
Qiao Xi shot him a fierce glare. "Brother Dadong, I'm really curious. I always knew your grades were terrible, but I didn't think your memory was scrambled too. By the time I met you, you already knew Rex."
Wang Dadong habitually rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, right. Hehe."
Ding Xiaoyu spoke in his usual aloof tone, "I hear Rex's grades are good—so good he has no business being in Ultima Class."
Rex raised a hand to push up his glasses. "Don't let appearances fool you, I'm actually quite violent myself. It's just that my constitution is too poor, so I don't dare fight."
"Rex, do you still have asthma?" Qiao Xi asked, making it sound like she was showing concern for Rex, while actually probing about the KO.2 whose Battle Power Index reached 10,000 points.
Rex understood the hidden meaning behind her inquiry and care. "Yeah, it's still pretty bad. I always keep my medicine on me."
At that moment, Stops-Gut-Man suddenly popped back up from beneath the stall and said pointedly, "That's not important. What's important is that violence doesn't always refer to fists."
Thinking of the person who had ambushed him last night, Wang Arthur chimed in, "That's right. As Aristotle said: mental violence can take a life without shedding a single drop of blood." He turned his head to give Rex a meaningful look.
Wang Dadong looked at Wang Arthur with dissatisfaction. "Narcissist, what's wrong with you today? You're acting so weird."
Rex deployed his lethal acting skills. "Dadong, it feels like you're slowly starting not to need me anymore, because Arthur and Xiao are definitely talented individuals who excel in both pen and sword."
"Aren't I one too??"
Wang Dadong comforted Rex. Those few words went straight for a fujoshi's heart—things like *I can't live without you*, *without you my entire summer was a blank slate*, *the person you love most isn't Angel, it's Rex!* Remembering the fanfiction she'd read in the previous world where the male lead was bottom, she felt like her nosebleed was about to burst out.
After leaving Stops-Gut-Man's stall and heading home, for some reason Xiao Yu said he had some business to take care of and couldn't walk home together today. When she asked what was wrong, he didn't answer and simply left.
Qiao Xi's inner thoughts: "Why is Xiao Yu acting so weird today??"
Still, she didn't dwell on it. After taking care of some newly arrived documents, she enjoyed a refreshing bath, changed into an oversized shirt that draped down past her thighs, and lay back in the balcony hanging chair, closing her eyes to comfortably enjoy the cool breeze.
Sensing a strange gust of wind and realizing someone had dropped down beside her, she smiled cutely at the newcomer. "Looking for me, Brother Rex?"
Qiao Xi opened her eyes and flashed a sweet smile at the visitor.
"Don't you need to manage the Black Cat Bar today?"
He maintained his gentle, refined smile, yet that very smile made Qiao Xi feel a trace of a chill.
"Xiao Xi, you knew it was me all along, didn't you? You just pretended not to know. You knew I was the owner of the Black Cat Bar, which is why you went there that day, right?" Although phrased as a question, his tone carried a hint of absolute certainty.