Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Ning Shuo’s hand was going a little numb from solving the problem.

Thank goodness it hadn’t appeared while he was in the bathroom. That would have been truly disgusting and obscene.

Though it was already disgusting enough as it was.

Seeing that he had solved the problem, the homeroom teacher gave him an eerie smile. Then that head vanished from above the partition with a whoosh.

After Ning Shuo returned, Ning Wang latched onto him again to ask him to solve problems. Ning Shuo handed him the slip of paper that might demand they solve problems anytime, anywhere, and told him to pass it to Rao Lin and the others while he was pestering them, making sure as many people as possible knew about it.

Dinnertime was when the classroom had the fewest people. Almost all the NPCs had gone to eat, while the Players stayed behind in tacit understanding. For the first time, Zone F and Zone B gathered to discuss things.

With remarkable coordination, they each took up half the classroom and even used an item to block out sound.

Rao Lin was the first to ask, “Who on our team is the Murderer?”

For a long while, no one spoke. The atmosphere abruptly turned heavy.

In an Arena Match PK, the Murderer needed their teammates to cover for them. The Murderer should have made themselves known to their teammates.

But if the Murderer had never revealed their identity to their teammates, that could only mean one thing: the conditions for killing were extremely harsh. It might even mean that completing their mission required sacrificing the lives of their own teammates.

While the atmosphere froze, Ning Wang raised his hand. “It’s not me.”

“…” Rao Lin slapped the back of his hand with a sharp smack. “If it’s not you, why are you raising your hand?!”

Ning Wang pointed at Zone B on the other side, where they had been craning their necks and peeking at their team the whole time. “Isn’t this to mislead them a little?”

The mood eased slightly. Only Ning Shuo remained silent from beginning to end. At that moment, the Chūnibyō God said nothing at all.

During evening self-study, Ning Wang came to ask him questions again. Ning Shuo suddenly snapped, grabbing him by the collar. “I told you not to bother me, not to bother me! How many times have you come looking for me today?!”

Ning Wang was stunned for a moment. Then Ning Shuo dragged him out by the collar. Along the way, they could still hear other NPCs gossiping.

“Hey, hey, the legitimate young master finally can’t stand him anymore!”

“People who never get angry are really scary when they finally lose it.”

“Ning Banxian likes doing practice problems alone in the first place. He hates it when people waste his problem-solving time, let alone when the person constantly coming to him is that illegitimate son.”

The younger brother was dragged to an empty corner, then pinned against the wall. His elder brother’s voice was very low, but his tone was fierce. “You’re the Murderer. What are your killing conditions?”

Ning Wang froze, then gave a helpless smile. “Brother, I really can’t hide anything from you.”

“Since I didn’t say anything, that means the conditions are far too harsh. Brother, I won’t tell you.”

Ning Shuo let go of him and said to himself, “If you won’t tell me, that’s fine. The information we have right now is basically the same. I can deduce it.”

“We’ve played so many Scripts, and I’ve been the Murderer before too. The killing conditions won’t directly say that you have to step over your teammates’ corpses to complete the murder mission. Today is only the first day, and the only death condition we know is that the person in last place on the weekly exam will fall from the building and die on Monday.”

“Your killing condition requires you to kill with the help of the person in last place on the weekly exam, doesn’t it?”

Ning Wang fell silent for a moment and made one last dying struggle. “How could that be?”

Ning Shuo continued, “You don’t have to lie to me. Before the homeroom teacher announces the results, the person in last place is always unknown, unless someone deliberately turns in a blank paper.”

In fact, if there were truly no other options, Ning Wang might very well turn in a blank paper himself and stage a Murderer’s suicide.

If the Murderer and the person in last place were both himself, how would suicide not count as completing a Murder Case?

Ning Wang had nothing to say. He could only reach out and hug his elder brother. “Brother, it’s not a big deal. Maybe some NPC will come in last one day. I can borrow their hand to kill someone, and it’ll be fine.”

Ning Shuo cursed, “Idiot! By then, they’ll already have run to the rooftop. Where are you going to find a second person on the rooftop-”
The conversation abruptly cut off.

Almost at the same time, both of them thought of another possible solution. Ning Wang smiled. “See, ge? We do have a way, don’t we?”

Concern had clouded his judgment. Ning Shuo hadn’t noticed it before.

The person who committed suicide would have been in last place anyway. Pushing someone who had already planned to kill themselves off a building… it wasn’t necessarily off the table. It was just an especially risky path to take.

—

It had been a long time since Ning Shuo had felt this dizzy from studying. Chinese and math were manageable enough, but he had chosen the pure sciences, and those formulas and logical relationships practically chased him through his dreams.

A High School held weekly exams on Saturdays, then gave students the afternoon off. They returned to school on Sunday afternoon.

After a week, Ning Shuo had gained a rough understanding of his family situation.

For example, the car sent by the family had come to pick up Ning Wang. The driver was ready to take Ning Wang and leave, but Ning Wang suddenly waved at him. “Ge, hurry up and get in!”

Seeing him act as though he and Ning Shuo were on good terms, the atmosphere around the driver instantly froze. His heavy gaze pressed down on Ning Wang. “Young Master…”

Ning Wang took out the newest model phone and smiled with particular malice. “Ge, hurry up and get in. I’ll show you the latest phone Dad just bought me!”

His tone turned sharply mocking. “Oh, right, I forgot. You’re not still using a model from two years ago, are you?”

The tension in the air eased at once. The driver calmly opened the door and waited for Ning Shuo to get in.

Ning Shuo got into the passenger seat with an indifferent expression, looking as if he had no desire to say another word to Ning Wang.

When they arrived home, the Servant assigned there behaved much the same way: they practically only had eyes for Ning Wang and treated Ning Shuo as if he didn’t exist.

Logically speaking, even if it was a business marriage, a perfectly respectable young lady from a prominent family shouldn’t have been bullied by a mistress to this extent.

Only when Ning Shuo went upstairs to the second floor and heard the argument coming from the master bedroom did he understand.

“You’re nothing but the Wen Clan’s fake heiress! If the Wen Clan hadn’t found their real daughter only after I married you, do you think I would have married you at all?”

“Jiang Shixian! You live off a woman. What makes you think you’re any better?!”

Ning Shuo: “…”

Wow. High society really was messy.

Ning Shuo went into his room and pulled out a chemistry test paper.

This week, he had practically abandoned chemistry entirely to study other subjects. Now, learning chemistry was like starting from scratch. It took him two hours, flipping through the textbook, before he finally understood the entire test paper inside and out.

After checking the answers, he felt a little hungry. When he left his room, Ning Shuo noticed that the Servant on duty were already washing the dishes.

Even after seeing Ning Shuo, not a single Servant asked him about dinner.

No matter how unfavored he was, he was still the legitimate young master. Yet he could be ignored to this degree.

Ning Shuo rummaged through the refrigerator. A voice suddenly came from behind him. “Tell me, what use are you besides burying your head in books? You’re the legitimate young master, yet you can’t even compete with that illegitimate son for favor!”

Ning Shuo turned around, his expression indifferent. “Mom, even if all I do is study, at least I can find another way out. If Dad gives all his shares to them, take a guess-will the Wen Clan give you enough money to let you keep living with dignity in the future?”

“All they know how to do is fight for favor. But at least fighting for favor is better than screaming insults at each other every day.”

Wen Nuan froze, then said instinctively, “Aren’t you only good at studying? Also, has Jiang Shixian already decided to give them the shares?”

Ning Shuo pushed his glasses up slightly. “If I didn’t have a brain, I wouldn’t be able to study either. As for the shares, I’ve already had them flaunted in front of me at school countless times. Everyone around me knows. Are you really this far behind on the news?”

Wen Nuan frowned. Before she realized it, Ning Shuo had led her along. “Then what should I do next?”

“Make me dinner.”

Wen Nuan’s temper instantly exploded. “What did you say?!”

Ning Shuo said calmly, “Mom, if I starve to death, you’ll lose your last bargaining chip. Are you sure about that?”