Chapter 3: After the soul swap, I switched back.
Si Qi ignored the girl's coquettishness, slowly finished his breakfast at his own pace, put down his coffee cup and said, "I'm going to school."
Mr. Si stood up. "I'm going to the company too."
Mrs. Si got up and saw the three of them out the door. She smiled and wondered whether she should go to have tea with her friends or take them to get a beauty treatment together.
She wanted to brag to everyone that her son had won first prize in yesterday's competition.
"Brother, you're amazing! You got first place again!" Inside the flying car, the little girl showered Si Qi with compliments, praising him from every angle for winning first prize in the swimming competition.
Si Qi let it go in one ear and out the other, his eyes fixed on the projected textbook of this world, not paying attention to what the other person was saying.
The girl didn't mind and continued talking enthusiastically, "Mom went to watch the competition yesterday, and she must have been so happy to receive the medal you gave her! It's a pity I have to go to school and can only watch the live broadcast, otherwise I would definitely have been on TV! Oh, by the way, Mom took you to buy a gift yesterday, and you even picked out a necklace for me. It's so pretty, you have such good taste!"
Si Qi closed the high school math textbook he had already finished reading and opened the chemistry textbook to start flipping through it.
He had traveled through countless worlds and attended high school hundreds or even thousands of times; Si Qi could recite this knowledge even with his eyes closed. However, the same items might have different names in different countries, and even if the knowledge was essentially the same, the spelling would vary from world to world. Si Qi needed to adjust these details to avoid making mistakes in formal settings.
Seeing how focused Si Qi was on his book, the girl finally quieted down for a moment. Then, noticing how quickly he was flipping through the pages, she couldn't help but shower him with compliments: "The provincial joint exam is coming up soon, are you reviewing, bro? You're always first in the grade, and you're still so diligent, bro, that's amazing! I want to learn from you!"
Hearing this, Si Qi raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled enigmatically: "Si Ding is also a very good student, often ranking first in the grade."
"Him? He's six years older than me, just an old man! He has the nerve to take the same test as us! He's just taking advantage of his age." The girl's face immediately fell, and she crossed her arms unhappily, saying, "Besides, his grades are so inconsistent, they're nothing special. Just wait and see this exam, he'll definitely be at the bottom again!"
The little girl spoke with great certainty.
Si Qi gave a half-smile and a half-humph.
Judging from her expression, she was clearly no stranger to discussing Si Ding with her brother. And every time "Si Qi" mentioned Si Ding, the child would immediately get angry and say with certainty, "It's impossible, he's definitely at the bottom." It was obvious that whenever "Si Qi" praised Si Ding, she would make Si Ding suffer a setback in some way.
Otherwise, given Si Ding's initial gentle and friendly attitude towards the little girl, and his subsequent attempts to avoid her at all costs, he would never have had such a big conflict with Si Nan, and would have been repeatedly harassed and bullied at school.
In this family, only the beneficiary "Si Qi" wished Si Ding would die as soon as possible; the others at most just felt disgust.
After all, the fake young master who had taken over the other's identity could only truly feel at ease once he was certain that the real young master was completely dead.
Otherwise, Siding's existence would be like a time bomb, and who knows when someone would find out that he had usurped the body of a rich young master from the slums.
Because of the presence of Si's parents, he couldn't directly attack Si Ding, so sowing discord and using others to do his dirty work became his most effective tactic.
Si Nan is the one with the most confidence and qualifications to target illegitimate children. Moreover, she has a worthless brother-obsessed look, believing whatever her brother says, and is eager to be used as a tool by others with just a little provocation.
If others targeted Si Ding, even if Si Ding's parents didn't value their son, they would still help to resolve the situation to some extent, as it represented the Si family's reputation. Si Nan was different; she was their daughter, and the reason for the targeting was simply the belief that Si Ding was an illegitimate child, a way for them to vent their anger. They couldn't mediate this, as they couldn't very well tell Si Nan the truth.
An elder's casual remark, "Don't always target your older brother," was of course not going to make Si Nan listen; instead, it only made her resent Si Ding even more. Seeing that their persuasion was ineffective, the couple simply stopped talking, turning a blind eye and pretending they hadn't seen anything.
It's just kids playing around; as long as no one gets killed, it's fine.
At this moment, Si Nan's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing Si Qi's "praise," clearly indicating that she was plotting something again. Si Qi remained expressionless, closed the chemistry book, and picked up another book to continue reading.
The flying car quickly arrived at the school. Students passing by saw Si Qi and their eyes lit up. They instinctively smiled and came over to greet him.
It's clear that the previous "Si Qi" was extremely popular at school, and his reputation and status made people eager to befriend him.
The little girl followed Si Qi with a proud look on her face. When she waved goodbye to Si Qi, she skipped and jumped, clearly in a very happy mood.
Her good mood lasted until the moment she saw Siding at the classroom door.
Her bright smile instantly turned vicious. She walked over and, without even hearing Siding's "Nannan," kicked Siding hard in the leg and then slapped him across the face.
"You dare tell my brother?!" the girl shouted angrily.
Siding was stunned by the beating.
He was tormented by excruciating pain for more than half an hour last night, enduring pain he had never experienced before, and finally passed out. He finally regained consciousness around four or five in the morning. At that time, the pain had not subsided, but he was at least able to use his hands to support himself and get up from the ground.
He was soaking wet, his clothes sticky with cold sweat. He wanted to take a shower but didn't have the strength, so he slumped into a chair and thought about what to do next.
The sudden return to his original body was completely beyond Sting's expectations. He couldn't believe it was real, yet it had indeed happened.
He knew better than anyone how bad Sting's health was; due to a genetic disease, he would die in two or three years at most.
Si's parents only told him about this in private; even Si Ding himself didn't know, but he knew everything. At that time, he was incredibly excited, eagerly hoping that Si Ding would die soon so that he could rightfully take over the Si family completely. But now, thinking about it, all he felt was despair.
He couldn't just sit and wait to die, trapped in this body. But given Si Ding's identity, he was a despised illegitimate child, and there was no outsider who could help him. The only people he could turn to for help were his parents and Si Nan.
He didn't have the contact information for Si's parents, and the only person he could contact quickly was Si Nan, who was from the same school.
Si Nan admires him so much that if she knew about his current predicament, she would definitely do everything in her power to help him. Even the painkillers that Si Nan stole yesterday—she would absolutely take them back and give them to him without hesitation.
So he made up his mind, and with his frail body, he limped to the bathroom, endured washing himself in front of the simple shower facilities, and waited for Si Nan at the entrance of her classroom early in the morning.
He had spent a long time crafting his words, figuring out how to explain things to Si Nan, and even envisioned the scene of Si Nan hugging him and crying with heartache. But he never expected that Si Nan would not listen to him at all and would hit him directly as soon as she saw him.
You should know that after his soul was swapped with Si Qi's when he was ten years old, he was never beaten by anyone again.
His cheeks burned with pain, and he could hear the students' gloating laughter beside him. Si Ding gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, and silently retaliated against Si Nan. He quickly raised his head and said, "Nannan, it's me, it's your brother."
"You dare call yourself my brother?" Si Nan said with disgust, raising her arm to punch him in the head again. "I warned you, don't call yourself my brother in front of me, do you want to die?!"
Si Ding was caught off guard and received another hard slap on the bridge of his nose. He barely dodged the second blow, and grabbed Si Nan's wrist, both angry and furious: "Enough! Listen to me! I am Si Qi, and you are—"
"You! Are you looking for death!" Si Nan was completely enraged. She called over her girlfriends and friends who had come out of the classroom to watch the commotion, and pointed at Si Ding: "Hold him down!"
A group of people, clearly used to doing this, ran over laughing and joking, grabbed Sting's arm, pulled him by the neck, and shoved him to the ground.
Si Nan walked over and stomped on Si Ding's face, which was pinned to the ground, pressing down hard and crushing it. Her face full of disgust, she warned, "I've told you countless times! Don't say these things in front of me."
Siding had never been so humiliated in his life. He was so angry that his eyes turned red, but he was so weak that he had no strength at all. Even if he wanted to struggle, his strength was so weak that it was a joke.
"I really am Si Qi, your brother!"
Si Nan kicked Si Ding in the head with such force that it slammed his head from one side to the other, making him dizzy and his ears ring. It took him a long time to catch his breath.
Si Nan: "You're saying that again. Didn't I warn you years ago? If I ever hear you say you're my brother Si Qi again, I'll cut out your tongue!"
A girl next to me grinned and reached into her pocket: "Great, I brought a utility knife."
Si Ding's mouth was full of blood from being kicked out, and in a daze, he understood what Si Nan meant.
Clearly, without his knowledge, the real Si Qi had privately tried to explain to Si Nan more than once that he was Si Qi, Si Nan's biological brother.
But Si Nan didn't believe this absurd claim at all, and repeatedly warned Si Qi not to say such disgusting things to her.
She thought it was Si Qi's excuse, that he was lying to her using something she hated most—how could she remember anything before she was four years old? Even if Si Qi's story sounded true, she still found it absurd. How could there be a soul swap in the world? This guy was probably delusional, trying to steal his older brother's position with such a lie!
So now, her brother "Si Qi," who has lived with her for over a decade, has truly returned to Si Ding's body and is once again trying to explain things to her in this way, hoping to make her believe him, but she simply won't listen.
Forget believing her, she thought Si Ding was back to his old ways, picking fights for no reason. She kicked Si Ding for every word he said, leaving him with a mouthful of blood and unable to speak.
Siding was so angry that his eyes turned red.
"I really—" Seeing Si Nan reach out and take the craft knife her friend handed her, Si Ding finally panicked and hurriedly said, "It really is me! I even went with Mom to buy you a necklace yesterday! Me—!!!"
Si Nan pressed a sharp razor blade against Si Ding's face and forcefully sliced it open. Her once beautiful peach blossom eyes were now filled with malice: "Do you think I'm easy to fool? Hmm?"
Although she didn't know why Siding had gone crazy again, she remembered that she had sent someone to take away his medicine yesterday, and he had been in pain all night and even complained to her brother. She felt that this man was definitely up to no good and was planning to do something.
Now, in front of the whole class, he's claiming to be her brother as her illegitimate child—this retaliation is truly humiliating. If she doesn't beat this guy into submission and make everyone understand that she, Si Nan, doesn't care about this kind of scum, who knows if others will use this to mock her and laugh at her later.
Si Nan warned, "If you say anything like that in front of me again, I'll cripple you!"
Sdin was in excruciating pain, tears streaming down his face, screaming in agony. Blood covered half his face and neck, and his wretched appearance gave many a sense of pleasure in bullying the weak. They treated this act of violence as a celebration, clapping and laughing at him from the sidelines.
Sting collapsed to the ground, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.
They've gone mad, they've really gone mad.
Having grown accustomed to being superior, Siding was well aware of the cruel class divide in this world. However, standing on high ground, he couldn't see the suffering of those at the bottom. The memories of the past ten years in the slums, where he was hungry, cold, and beaten by his alcoholic father, had long been buried deep in his mind. He never imagined that after so many years on the clouds, he would fall back into the abyss.
Even this valley bottom was dug out by him personally for "Siding" in the past, fearing that the other party would not fall hard enough.
Si Nan disgustedly threw away the utility knife and carefully wiped the blood off her hands with a handkerchief. Finding it wasn't clean enough, she irritably threw the handkerchief down and kicked Si Ding, then ordered her friend, "Come on, go wash your hands."
The young ladies surrounded the young lady as she left. Seeing that the person they had been trying to curry favor with was gone, the younger men kicked Siding a few times as a last-ditch effort, then dispersed laughing and joking.
Only Siding, his face pale and ashen, his hands weakly covering the bleeding wound, limped away from the place.
His disheveled appearance drew strange looks from all the students as he walked.
Some freshmen, unaware of the situation, instinctively wanted to come and help, but were held back by other students.
"Don't go over there. That guy has offended someone. Helping him will only make you more trouble."
"Huh? Who did he offend?" the freshman asked, bewildered.
"The two siblings in the Si family—this person is an illegitimate child and has never been well-liked. His parents don't care about him either, so don't worry about him."
"But his face was covered in blood..."
"So what if there's blood? He's not dead anyway. Or have you never killed a few lowly people in your life? This guy isn't much different from those lowly people."
"Well... all that worrying for nothing." The freshman shrugged.
Listening to the students' discussion, Siding lowered his head in shame, avoiding the gloating gazes of the group.
He wasn't like this when he was walking around school yesterday.
He simply changed bodies; his wisdom, his knowledge, his experience, his temperament—everything that people admired and worshipped—came with his soul. Why are these people targeting him so much based solely on his appearance?
If Si Nan won't listen to his explanation, then what about the others?
There are many people at school who are close to him, and those people should be able to see the difference between him and the fake Si Qi. As long as he can confront the fake Si Qi face to face, everyone will definitely realize that something is wrong and that he is the real Si Qi, the eldest young master of the Si family.
He limped to the infirmary, dragging his crippled left leg. The school doctor glanced at him, recognized him, and asked in surprise, "Why are you here again?"
Si Ding: "..." Since he came to this school, he has never been to a place like the infirmary.
The school doctor scolded her impatiently, "I've told you to keep a low profile and not cause trouble. Those young ladies and gentlemen have bad tempers, why do you always go around getting involved?"
Siding gritted his teeth. He hadn't heard anyone speak to him like that in over a decade. Suppressing his anger, he said, "My face is slashed. Please treat it for me."
"Why bother treating you? If you suddenly get better, those rich kids will definitely not let you off the hook." The school doctor was already familiar with this procedure and kindly advised Si Ding, "Just keep going to school like this. They won't bother you anymore if they see you're in trouble. If you're completely fine and unharmed, they'll definitely mess with you again if they don't like you. You'd better not add to my workload."
Sting was completely taken aback by this turn of events. He paused for a moment, then questioned, "But I'm still bleeding, and it hurts so much!"
“The blood will scab over on its own as it flows, this little wound isn’t fatal at all. As for the pain—” The school doctor looked Sting up and down, and asked strangely, “You have a genetic disease, and you’re telling me it hurts?”
Compared to the excruciating pain of a genetic disease flaring up, what is a small wound from a razor blade?
Siding was speechless.
Last night's experience was indeed unforgettable for him; just recalling it made him break out in a cold sweat and feel weak all over.
But he couldn't bear the burning sensation on his face at all. He could only cover the blood that kept gushing out and impatiently urged, "Never mind that, just put some medicine on me first."
"..." The school doctor chuckled and said indifferently, "Fine, whatever you want."
Anyway, he wasn't the one who suffered; his kindness was limited to offering suggestions, whether Siding believed it or not.
The school doctor quickly bandaged Siding's wound with a nano-spray, and it showed signs of healing soon. Seeing Siding leave in a huff without even a thank you, the school doctor shook his head and muttered, "I don't know what's wrong with him."
The previous Sting was completely different; his appearance after each injury was always heartbreaking to see. But this time…
Why does it feel like Siding deserved to be beaten?
Si Ding left the school clinic and walked straight towards the senior classroom.
He wanted to confront Si Qi in front of his classmates and expose the guy's true colors!
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com