Futile Devices Scans

Today, Xia Jia Zuo unexpectedly prepared a hot pot feast for everyone at the hideout. He brought an induction cooker, a pot, and all kinds of ingredients. Everyone gathered around as the broth bubbled and the aroma filled the room. Stirring the pot with his chopsticks, Chu Hao Yu said, “Since we went to Ying Xiu Jie’s place during National Day, then for winter break, let’s all come to my house. I’ll show you the true essence of breasts! Come to think of it, Zhi Li hasn’t visited my house in a long time.”

“Zhi Li has already been to your house?!” Gong Zhu widened his eyes in shock. Something this good had actually been snatched up by Chu Hao Yu first.

“Of course. Back in high school, we had passionate discussions about breast shapes and sizes.”

That statement was met with distrustful looks from everyone. Even Zhou Xin He said, “Hao Yu, you should just tell the truth.”

Deflated, Chu Hao Yu lowered his head. “He threw all those DVDs at my head and scribbled all over the revealing posters I put up in the guest room where he slept. I welcomed him with all the enthusiasm of a proper host.”

“Isn’t that going a bit too far? Weren’t you angry?” Xia Jia Zuo asked.

“Why would I be angry?” Chu Hao Yu asked blankly.

Xia Jia Zuo looked at the group in disbelief. “You’ve all been scolded by Zhi Li before, right?”

Like an idiot, Chu Hao Yu grinned and scratched his head. “Scolded badly.”

“And beaten by him too, right?”

Ying Xiu Jie also grinned foolishly and scratched his head. “Beaten badly.”

“Then if that’s the case, why do you still stay with him? Is it because he’s so strong that you don’t dare resist? From my perspective, he’s terrifying. Don’t all of you live in constant fear? Even without Zhi Li, things would be fine, wouldn’t they? Isn’t this much better? Everyone seems happier when they’re with me. Since Zhi Li dislikes me, it would probably be better if I simply stopped appearing wherever he is. I don’t like violence either. Besides, he hardly comes here anyway, and he’s never even tried to improve his relationship with all of you. Isn’t he making things difficult for everyone? Since he isn’t forcing you to stay with him, isn’t this the perfect opportunity? Get rid of Zhi Li.”

The moment Xia Jia Zuo finished speaking, everyone’s chopsticks stopped moving.

After a long silence, Chu Hao Yu set down his chopsticks. “Honestly, I’m happy you bought me things. Free stuff is free stuff. And if you genuinely wanted to be friends, I wouldn’t mind. But if you think you can replace Zhi Li, sorry—you’re not qualified.”

“Hao Yu, you…”

“Back in high school, I was obsessed with women’s breasts. I didn’t care about my image at all. My hair was always greasy, I wore thick glasses, dressed sloppily, and spent all day buried in those kinds of books, living in my own world. Everyone in class—boys and girls alike—thought I was a pervert. To be fair, becoming a pervert was kind of my dream anyway. Nobody understood me. They even reported me to the teachers. Back then, schools were strict about that sort of thing. Even though I hid them, the teachers confiscated plenty of my books. The last time, a teacher threw one in my face and said, ‘People like you disgust me.’ Then one day, Zhi Li appeared carrying a huge stack of H-books the teachers had confiscated. They’d told him to dispose of them, but he couldn’t be bothered walking to the trash can. Before leaving, he told me, ‘Even if you want to be a pervert, don’t be such a pathetic one.’ From that, I gained strength. He showed me the path of life. From then on, I reinvented myself. I became handsome, more cheerful, more willing to talk to people, and gained more friends. Even though I still talk about breasts all the time, girls in class now blush and laugh when I joke around.”

So Chu Hao Yu and Zhi Li actually shared such an unbelievably perverted memory. And the person responsible for allowing Chu Hao Yu to openly be himself today was somehow Zhi Li!

Ying Xiu Jie also put down his chopsticks. “As for me, I was an idiot who only cared about fighting and never about consequences. I didn’t even have anyone I could call a friend. I thought my whole life would continue like that. Fighting made me lonely, and loneliness made me want to fight even more. Then Zhi Li showed up. Sure, he beat me up plenty of times, but honestly, I brought that on myself. Whether it was during military training or any other time, whenever we caused trouble, he cleaned up the mess afterward. He’d even pay for things when we stole stuff. Because of him, I never ended up constantly getting my parents called in or collecting disciplinary records like I did at my old school.”

Ying Xiu Jie remembered something from not long ago. He had beaten up a group of bastards in the bathroom for bullying a girl. Afterward, he happened to run into Zhi Li. Afraid Zhi Li would discover what happened, he slipped away. Yet for some reason, before getting far, he turned back and hid outside the bathroom door.

He watched as Zhi Li stepped on the stomach of one of the boys Ying Xiu Jie had just beaten and asked coldly, “Who hit you just now?”

“Y-Ying Xiu Jie.”

“What?” Zhi Li pressed down harder.

“Ying Xiu Jie.”

“What?”

“Ugh…” The boy groaned in pain.

Bending down, one hand resting on his knee as he stared directly into the boy’s eyes, Zhi Li asked, “Then I’ll ask one more time. Who hit you?”

“I-I don’t know.”

Only then did Zhi Li remove his foot. “Since you understand, I won’t say any more.”

At that moment, Zhi Li shone with a dazzling golden light in Ying Xiu Jie’s eyes. Something blurred his vision. His blood boiled with excitement. This is what a real man is! A true man! Compared to Zhi Li, he still had a long way to go.

That said, Ying Xiu Jie’s standards for being moved were a little strange.

Zhou Xin He set down her chopsticks as well. “All you ever do is praise my cooking. The first time I heard it, I was happy. But after a while, I got numb to it. I like every piece of advice Lord Zhi Li gives me. I can’t always tell myself whether my dishes are good or bad, but after he points things out, even I can tell they taste better than before. That’s why when Lord Zhi Li simply says ‘good,’ I know he truly means it’s good. It gives me a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. Besides, I’m stubborn and troublesome when it comes to cooking. Whenever I come up with a new dish, I always make him taste-test it, whether he’s busy or not. Yet he’s never once looked annoyed.”

Gong Zhu set down his chopsticks. “As the eternal backup option, I don’t really have much else to say. I’ll follow Lord Zhi Li for the rest of my life. No one else will do. He gathered together a group of people who couldn’t make friends and somehow balanced us out. He keeps Hao Yu from getting too carried away and stops Ying Xiu Jie from going berserk. Honestly, I can’t even imagine how chaotic we’d be without Lord Zhi Li.”

At that moment, Zhang Luo walked in and handed back the computer Xia Jia Zuo had bought him.

“You can’t just replace a wife whenever you feel like it. Besides, Zhi Li once said my wife’s name sounded beautiful. He was the first person who didn’t laugh at the name I gave my wife.”

“Unfortunately, we aren’t good people either. Of course we’d choose to follow someone even more evil than us. We originally planned to tell you after we finished this meal, but you should leave. If Zhi Li doesn’t like you, then he must have his reasons. And we respect those reasons.”

“So this was your goal all along, wasn’t it, Xia Jia Zuo?”

Su You Yan appeared in the doorway, looking at the stunned Xia Jia Zuo.

“Why are you so surprised? Suggesting I remove my scar means you think it’s ugly too, doesn’t it? That’s why you’ll never compare to Zhi Li. Zhi Li thinks my face is beautiful. It’s true that he never flatters us, but he accepts us. In his eyes, our flaws aren’t flaws at all. You clearly don’t like the things Chu Hao Yu talks about. You clearly don’t like violence. So why force yourself? It’s because you wanted to take everything away from Zhi Li, isn’t it?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Xia Jia Zuo smiled calmly. That warm smile looked like an angel’s. Yes, very much like an angel.

“Let me tell you three things.”

Su You Yan walked over and circled behind him. Her slender fingers rested on his shoulder.

“First, I hate angels—especially hypocritical angels.

Second, smiling brightly doesn’t heal people.

Third, angels shouldn’t wander into a demon’s lair on their own. Doing that only leads to self-destruction.”

“I only wanted to correct the way you all live. Following Zhi Li around and causing trouble every day—couldn’t you be doing other things instead? Helping people?”

Chu Hao Yu and Ying Xiu Jie couldn’t help laughing.

“Helping people? Are you out of your mind? How we choose to spend our school lives is our business. Don’t you think you’re the strange one here?”

“Exactly,” Gong Zhu added solemnly. “Do you really want what’s best for us, or are you using that excuse because you envy Zhi Li? Even if you have lots of friends, I doubt many of them are genuine. Classmate, maybe you should start looking for the problem in yourself.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Angry now, Xia Jia Zuo stormed out of the building—only to run straight into Ke Bu, who had been standing outside the whole time with his arms crossed against the wall.

“So that’s what this is really about.”

“Ke Bu, y-you understand me, don’t you? I really do like you. Aren’t we the same?”

“Don’t disgust me.”

Ke Bu sneered.

“No wonder I couldn’t figure it out. You’re both kind and not kind at all. Your parents’ constant fighting made you seek balance outside your home. That pressure twisted your mind. You placed all your hopes on the school, wanting it to become peaceful. A few days ago, we caused a huge scene because of those challenges, and you couldn’t sit still anymore. You thought we had disrupted the balance. You wanted to change us using your own methods.”

“Xia Jia Zuo, you’re wrong. Completely wrong.”

“This school isn’t yours. We aren’t yours either. You want to control everyone. You want to control your friends and keep them tucked safely inside the warm little nest you built, away from conflict and arguments. Your mistake is that you’re too naive. Can people really change the world? Your mistake is that you aren’t realistic enough. We have plenty of flaws. We argue all the time. But at least we’re real.”

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