The Sickly Villain Only Wants to Survive

6

The boy standing in front of the courtyard smiled without the slightest flaw in his expression.

Zhu Tong had figured it out—Shao Ming, the more he had something on his mind, the brighter his smile.

A smile hiding a dagger.

A needle concealed in cotton.

Never believe the attitude he shows!

The system said: "You should be grateful your mother gave you such a face; otherwise, you'd already be meeting King Yama."

Zhu Tong: "..."

He felt the system should be renamed Old Iron.

Old Iron 666.

Ouch, Old Iron.

But the system had a point.

If not for that initial 5% favorability, his progress bar would already be in the negative.

Thanks, mom, thanks to all those face-obsessed people.

While he was still dazed, the landlady had already let out a surprised "Oh?" and looked at Zhu Tong, saying, "You two know each other?"

Zhu Tong: "We..."

"We know each other." Shao Ming spoke from not far away, parking his bike next to the courtyard gate and walking over, "Not only are we in the same class, we're also deskmates."

"..."

Though it was a perfectly normal statement, Zhu Tong couldn't help but hear an eerie chill in it.

The landlady continued in surprise, "Really? What a coincidence!"

Zhu Tong really wanted to cover her mouth.

Please, I beg of you, stop talking!

He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly felt a strange sensation in his throat. A rush of air surged up.

Cough!

He couldn't stop himself from coughing. Once he started, it was like flipping a switch—he couldn't stop.

Cough, cough, cough...

Zhu Tong coughed so hard he could barely catch his breath, instinctively using one hand to brace himself against the doorframe.

The landlady, startled by the sudden situation, hurried over and asked, "Are you okay, student? What's wrong?"

Shao Ming, who had just walked over, also furrowed his brows.

Recalling that Zhu Tong had a high fever in the morning, any lingering suspicions were temporarily replaced by concern, and he stepped forward too.

Zhu Tong had already covered his mouth, forcing himself to stop coughing.

He took a deep breath and waved his hand at the landlady, "N-nothing, I just need to rest a bit."

Without looking at Shao Ming's expression, he turned to the landlady and said, "Could you... please step outside?"

The landlady paused, then quickly said, "Alright, alright, you rest."

She stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Zhu Tong leaned tiredly against it, thinking with a mix of exhaustion and confusion, "Is this the punishment for the drop in favorability?"

System: "..."

Probably.

Zhu Tong looked at his hand, which had been covering his mouth.