Chapter 84: A Strangely Familiar Scene

First person: “Handsome!”
Second person: “Very handsome!”
Third person: “Extremely handsome!”
The three of them answered with utter seriousness, even raising their thumbs in approval.
Tang Shen responded just as seriously, “Thank you for the compliment.”
Bai Xue: “...”
The teachers: “...”
The students: “...”
Somehow, this exchange felt oddly familiar! As if they'd witnessed it before among a certain quartet of peculiar individuals.
Would the students from the special department please maintain your dignity? Could you not stoop to flattery like certain others?
“No need to thank us.”
“It’s our duty.”
“We mean it sincerely.”
The three replied swiftly, with great solemnity.
Everyone’s lips twitched involuntarily—indeed, this was exactly as expected. This was a bunch of shameless fellows with no sense of propriety.
Tang Shen grinned and said, “So, am I supposed to cooperate with your investigation now? Have you retrieved the surveillance footage?”
“We have. We’ve watched it already,” one of them replied.
Tang Shen immediately leaned in, “So? Was I amazing or what? Wasn’t I dashing at the time?”
Whoosh!
Three thumbs shot up simultaneously, giving him another round of praise.
“Incredible!”
“Absolutely awesome!”
“Too cool!”
The four of them chatted away happily, utterly engrossed, seemingly forgetting where they were.
Everyone watched this scene unfold, feeling as though Tang Shen was simply going through the motions, as though he was the one from the special department. In their minds, a thousand wide-eyed, shocked llamas galloped past.

At this point, everyone just wanted to shout, “666!”
Even the four gene warriors responsible for escorting the awakening serum were dumbfounded. There were actually people even more shameless than themselves—unbelievable!
“Let’s head out, then. Time to follow procedure,” Tang Shen declared, striding forward at the lead.
“Yes, yes, yes!”
The three men from the special department followed behind, nodding repeatedly, following his lead as if he were their commander. They felt their brains couldn’t quite process the situation.
“Tang Shen, I’ll have my driver go with you. If there’s any trouble, you can tell him everything.” Seeing that Tang Shen was about to leave, Bai Xue bit her lip and stepped forward.
She had already given her driver detailed instructions. Now, the driver regarded Tang Shen with a strange look. He wasn’t stupid—he’d pieced together the whole story from Tang Shen’s earlier exchange with the special department.
So now, he too was questioning reality, feeling that his own life was nothing like Tang Shen’s. Yes, they were worlds apart.
Tang Shen paused, noticing Bai Xue’s concerned gaze. After a moment’s hesitation, he nodded.
A beauty’s kindness is hard to refuse!
The three from the special department watched this scene with undisguised envy.
Just look at his life—how perfect can it get? Now he’s got a young heiress of a prominent family showing genuine concern for him. And she’s truly beautiful—a classic rich, pretty, and privileged girl. The disparity between people is just too great.
Then, somehow, the three from the special department seemed to become four.
Bai Xue’s bodyguard walked over to stand beside Tang Shen and the other three, blending in seamlessly, as if he belonged there.
“Oh, I almost forgot something. Wait a moment,” Tang Shen suddenly remembered something he hadn’t done and hurriedly spoke up.
“No problem.”
“We still need to clean up the bodies.”
“Take your time! We’ll wait.”
The three answered quickly, their attitudes humble to the extreme.
They then donned gloves, produced some kind of mysterious bags, lifted the bodies from the ground, tossed them in, picked up the shattered heads, threw those in as well, and, when finished, stood quietly to the side, waiting.
The three, plus the bodyguard, plus the four gene warriors escorting the serum, formed a line, exuding an impressive aura.
Bear in mind, all eight of them were gene warriors; any ordinary person would have been trembling before them.
Yet now, all eight stood quietly, waiting for one man. The scene was truly striking.
All eyes were on Tang Shen; some were curious, others envious, some held him in awe, and others in fear. No one dared show any trace of jealousy or disdain anymore.
Tang Shen calmly met their gazes, unfazed by the myriad emotions reflected in their eyes.

He couldn’t help but muse inwardly, “I really am too handsome. Even when I try to keep a low profile, they still notice me. It’s so hard to be a humble man.”
His gaze shifted to a few people who had earlier looked at him with contempt, mockery, or disdain—namely, those who had spent money to buy the lowest level awakening serum. The moment Tang Shen looked their way, they shrank back like mice before a cat, quickly turning their heads and hunching their shoulders, silently praying he wouldn’t trouble them.
Tang Shen curled his lip; he’d seen too many people like that to bother with them, never giving them a second thought.
He raised his hand and beckoned toward the students at the back, “Hey, little girl, come here.”
All at once, every head turned in that direction, as if anyone in that group could be his target.
Most people were simply perplexed.
Who could it be?
In truth, everyone was at a loss, because most of the girls in that direction had never interacted with Tang Shen—aside from one-sided admiration or infatuation, of course.
So who was it?
A few girls got excited, hoping they’d been singled out by Tang Shen.
But everyone was still utterly confused.
Little Xue Jiayi had been watching the radiant Tang Shen with envy, feeling as if the gap between them had widened from an unbridgeable chasm to an endless sea.
Their worlds were so far apart. She was just a struggling student, still underdeveloped, unable to afford even the lowest grade awakening serum.
Dejection. Disappointment. Bitterness. Despair.
But suddenly, Tang Shen turned around, his gaze locking onto her, signaling for her to come over.
Others may not have known, but she did! Because he’d addressed her like that earlier today, and his eyes were fixed on her, beckoning.
She wanted to step forward but forced herself to stop. She felt awkward and self-conscious, overcome by a wave of inferiority. Suddenly, she didn’t want to go up there anymore.
“Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t go. How embarrassing! Someone like me could never stand beside someone like Tang Shen—we’re from two different worlds. Maybe he wasn’t even calling for me,” Xue Jiayi tried to convince herself.
“I mean you, little girl—yes, my deskmate, Xue Jiayi, come here. Don’t hang your head, I see you. I’m calling you.”
That bold, unrestrained voice sounded in everyone’s ears.
Tang Shen rolled his eyes in exasperation. This little girl was just too timid. But he understood—life was already hard enough, enduring scorn and struggling just to survive in this world. He knew just how difficult that could be.