I Am The Villain 03

Gu Panxi whispered, "It's not me. I'm on duty tomorrow."

The girl snorted coldly, "I don’t care. Your sister said you’d take over her shifts." She lowered her voice, "Don’t make trouble for yourself."

Gu Panxi lowered her head, recalling Fang Zhiyi’s threats, then mustered the courage to look up again. "Can I skip duty today...?"

A boy walked over and slung an arm around the girl. "What’s up, Xiaoya?"

Xiaoya pouted and swatted his hand. "It’s this nuisance. She’s supposed to be on duty but hid in the bathroom, leaving me to do everything alone."

The boy glanced at Gu Panxi and sneered. "You’re still doing duty? Just dump it all on her. Hey, ugly, you hear me? If you skip duty..." He reached out to shove Gu Panxi’s head, but his hand was caught mid-air.

"Who the hell—?" The boy turned and met a face full of hardened muscle.

His bravado instantly deflated. "X-Xu... Xu Jiabo."

"I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You got a death wish or what?" Fang Zhiyi swayed over, eyeing the boy. "Damn, your face looks punchable..."

He didn’t expect Xu Jiabo’s fist to slam into the boy’s face the next second, sending him crashing into the bathroom.

"Huh?" Fang Zhiyi blinked.

As Xu Jiabo moved to follow, Fang Zhiyi barked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Huh? Boss, you said he looked punchable."

Fang Zhiyi rolled his eyes. "That was a figure of speech, you idiot. It means his face is annoying, not that you should actually punch him!"

Xu Jiabo nodded blankly. "Oh." But Fang Zhiyi knew—this guy didn’t get it at all. How could someone be so brainless?

Well, too late now.

"Listen up," Fang Zhiyi growled. "I’ve got unfinished business with her. I’m taking her. Any objections?"

Xiaoya shook her head frantically.

"Hey, Jiabo, check if that idiot’s knocked out."

Xu Jiabo ducked into the bathroom. A dull thud followed.

"He’s out!" Xu Jiabo announced, popping his head back out.

"You—!" Fang Zhiyi nearly choked on his rage. Whatever. This guy was a brute, a purebred musclehead.

"Tell that moron: no one touches who I bully. Got it?" Fang Zhiyi spat. Xiaoya nodded, terrified. She glanced at Gu Panxi, trembling in fear, and pitied her—how awful to be targeted by such a tyrant.

Dinner was the same as the past few days, except this time, Fang Zhiyi collected homework while Gu Panxi ate.

"Seriously? You think Mid-Autumn Festival commemorates Qu Yuan? Did his ghost whisper that to you?"

"No, the rabbits and chickens are in cages..."

One lackey grinned proudly. "Boss, I nailed this one. I even asked the top student in class."

"Nailed your ass! The question asks how many cages are needed, and you counted legs?!"

"Uh..."

Fang Zhiyi turned to berate another guy. He had to hand it to the original owner of this body—what kind of idiots had he recruited? Not a single useful one!

"It’s just basic multiplication," Gu Panxi mumbled through a mouthful of rice.

The lackey eyed her skeptically, then reread the problem. A lightbulb went off.

Fang Zhiyi squatted by the door, grumbling curses. Behind him, his lackeys bombarded Gu Panxi with questions.

Despite her timid nature, Gu Panxi was sharp. What they saw as impossible homework was child’s play to her.

But the punishment still loomed.

The Gu family had low expectations for Gu Panxi. Her late returns earned only scoldings—

"Now that you’re back with the Gus, drop your old habits."

"What kind of girl wanders around after school?"

—but Gu Xiaoxiao’s smooth-talking always shut them down, redirecting their praise to her "thoughtfulness."

Gu Panxi’s heart ached, but she bore it silently.

Fang Zhiyi never expected Gu Panxi to seek him out.

She offered to do his homework—if he stopped ambushing her.

Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "Nah. I finish what I start."

Gu Xiaoxiao also approached him. "Bro Fang, isn’t harassing Gu Panxi every day going too far?"

Fang Zhiyi waved her off. "Too far? Ha! I’ve got worse. Don’t worry—this year, she’ll live in terror."

Gu Xiaoxiao’s eyes gleamed.

"Though her family might cause trouble..."

Gu Xiaoxiao patted her chest. "Leave that to me. I’ll handle them."

Fang Zhiyi pivoted. "I’m short on cash. It’s risky out there."

Gu Xiaoxiao was no fool. She knew Fang Zhiyi was scum—money talked. So she handed over her allowance. The Gus weren’t rich, but they spoiled her, and her allowance was hefty. To her, Gu Panxi’s misery was priceless. If she could drive her out of the Gu household? Even better. She’d never return to that shabby hovel with her greedy birth parents and that bleach-blond "brother."

She even struck a deal: periodic payments to fund Fang Zhiyi’s campaign.

With Gu Xiaoxiao’s backing, Fang Zhiyi grew bolder.

Yet things took a weird turn.

"Tietou, check this—is this the perimeter formula?"

"Does this verb need a continuous tense?"

"An 800-word book report? Can I just repeat one word 800 times?"

Fang Zhiyi’s lackeys, under his relentless pressure, traded weapons for textbooks. His methods were brutal—laps were just the warm-up. Next came weighted frog jumps, free-climbing, and threats of "testing skulls vs. bricks."

Even Gu Panxi wasn’t spared.

Refuse? Fang Zhiyi demonstrated brick-splitting with his bare hands.

Under his iron fist, everything changed.

They seized every chance to ask Gu Panxi for help. She answered patiently, seeing them as fellow victims of Fang Zhiyi’s tyranny.

As time passed, Gu Xiaoxiao felt her status solidify. With her covering, the family ignored Gu Panxi’s late returns, scolding her only in passing—moments Gu Xiaoxiao milked for her "kindness."

Gu Panxi, she knew, could never rival her now.

But something felt... off.

A rumor spread: a gang of delinquents was terrorizing students—brazenly cornering them after school.

Oddly, though, they never stole a dime.

They handed out the examination questions for others to solve.