Chapter 17: The “Villain” Sven

A week passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the regular holiday was over.
It was time for the “Light of Hope” to start its term.

In the classroom of Class 1, second year, the atmosphere was uncharacteristically gloomy.
The children had all arrived, but no one was speaking.
Everyone sat quietly in their seats.

The podium at the front of the classroom, where the teacher should have been, was now empty.
The sixteen children in the classroom all had their heads bowed, as if they didn’t want to see the empty podium for even a second.

The news of Xia Lixing’s disappearance and unknown fate had long been publicly released in the “Central Tower’s” information center.
Those who were closer to Xia Lixing had received special notifications from the higher-ups.
For example, Xia Lixing’s best friend, and for example, Xia Lixing’s students.

Although the news only said “Xia Lixing is missing,” everyone understood that in the apocalypse, especially for most “Guardians,” “missing” was basically no different from “dead.”
The only difference was perhaps that the former was a case of “not seen alive, not found dead.”

Even in the apocalypse, these young children were very far from death.
Perhaps they understood the severity and horror of the apocalypse, but many of them had never experienced the death of a close relative.
Although Xia Lixing had only been their teacher for a year, in the hearts of these children, he had long become a respected elder.
Now, for such an elder to suddenly leave like this was undoubtedly a considerable blow to these children.

The silence in the classroom did not last long.
The classroom door was suddenly opened from the outside, and a young man strode in.

This man was about half a head taller than Xia Lixing.
His short black hair pointed chaotically in all directions, giving off a spiky impression.
The standard-issue black long coat of the “Guardians” covered his well-built figure.
His not-so-handsome face had sharp features, giving him a resolute temperament.

A few of the children looked up at the man, but most still kept their heads bowed, as if they hadn’t noticed his arrival.

Xia Lixing was gone, but Class 1, second year, couldn’t be without a teacher.
The man was undoubtedly the newly assigned teacher.
But the children were completely uninterested in him.
Perhaps in their hearts, Xia Lixing was their one and only teacher.

Looking at the lifeless classroom, the man frowned.
He walked to the podium and stood still, tapping the desk. “Is this the genius class? Are these the students Xia Lixing taught? I thought the students of Class 1, second year, were so amazing, but it turns out they’re all like this!”

The man’s words only made a few boys glance up at him, and it didn’t elicit a bigger reaction.

“I see Xia Lixing is nothing special either. Useless in battle, and even the students he taught are a bunch of trash. Serves him right for dying at the hands of Aberrant Beasts!”

The man’s words finally got a reaction from the students below.
A dozen or so angry gazes turned towards him.
It didn’t matter if the man looked down on them; at a time like this, they didn’t care what he thought.
But to dare to slander Teacher Xia Lixing, that was something they would never forgive!

“What are you looking at? Am I wrong?”
A cold smile appeared on the man’s lips.
“No matter how famous Xia Lixing was, dying at the hands of Aberrant Beasts makes it all for naught.
And you so-called geniuses, you get all listless just because someone died.
If you’re not trash, what are you?
To be able to teach trash like you, I’d say Xia Lixing was trash himself!”

“Shut up!”

A hoarse roar, followed by a faint breeze.
The man raised an eyebrow and looked at the child who had spoken.
Having read the files in advance, he quickly recognized her.

Esther, ability: “Fluid Manipulation.”

“Student Esther, I must remind you that using abilities in the school building is against the rules.”

The use of abilities was generally prohibited in the school building of the “Light of Hope.”
Moreover, the entire school building was enveloped in an interference field, and under normal circumstances, an ability user’s mental power could not control an ability that had left their body.
The faint breeze just now was undoubtedly an attack from Esther, but it had become very weak in the interference field.

“You shut up! You b*stard! What do you know about Teacher Xia Lixing? What right do you have to slander him!”

Unable to use her ability, Esther could only stand at her seat and glare at the man, her eyes showing no concealment of her disgust for him.
As she spoke, the other children in the classroom also stood up one after another, glaring at the man on the podium.

“Maybe we really are trash, but Teacher Xia Lixing is definitely a thousand times, ten thousand times better than someone like you!”

Where was the initial dejection in these children now?
Even the usually somewhat timid Erin stood up firmly.
Although her eyes were still red, she still stood up to defend Xia Lixing’s honor.
Although these children knew that in the “Light of Hope,” teachers generally had a lot of power, especially “Guardians” assigned to teach.
Opposing him would definitely not end well, something every child knew, but they still stood up without hesitation.
Because this man was slandering their most beloved Teacher Xia Lixing!

The scene was at a stalemate for a moment.
Although the children didn’t say anything more, their looks of disgust clearly indicated that they did not welcome this new teacher.
The man on the podium was still smirking, but a hint of triumph seemed to flash in his eyes.

All the commotion in the classroom was heard by Xia Xingli outside the door.
She sighed and gently knocked on the door. “Teacher, may I come in?”

The tense silence was broken.
The children couldn’t help but look towards the door, and the man was also stunned for a moment, then seemed to click his tongue in annoyance, but still replied, “Fine, you can come in.”

Pushing open the classroom door, Xia Xingli walked into this familiar yet strange classroom for the first time as a student.
She walked straight to the podium and wrote her name on the screen with a stylus.
Only then did the man have time to introduce her.

“This child’s name is Xia Xingli. From today on, she will be your new classmate.”

“Xia Xingli?”

After seeing the name on the screen, the students below were all stunned.
The names Xia Xingli and Xia Lixing were too similar.
Anyone who saw these two names would think they were definitely related.

“She is the younger sister of the teacher you all admire, Xia Lixing,” the man added, but his tone sounded somewhat sarcastic.

However, the students below didn’t care at all.
Their attention was completely drawn to the information the man had revealed.

‘Teacher Xia’s younger sister?!’

Before the students could process this information, Xia Xingli on the podium dropped another bombshell. “Teacher Sven, you’ve done enough. If this goes on, my brother probably won’t want to acknowledge you as a friend anymore.”

…This person who had been belittling Teacher Xia Lixing was actually his friend?!!

That’s right, Sven was indeed Xia Lixing’s best friend, the friend Xia Lixing had been closest to.
As for why he had been slandering Xia Lixing before, the children in the classroom couldn’t figure it out for a moment, but Xia Xingli understood it very well.

The news of Xia Lixing’s disappearance was a huge blow to these children, but they couldn’t stay dejected like this.
They needed something else to stimulate them out of their depression.
So this guy Sven came up with this act, playing the villain to get the children to move on from the shadow of losing Xia Lixing.

They had already met and learned of each other’s identities before, so Sven had asked Xia Xingli to wait outside the classroom for a while, so as not to disrupt his “plan.”
But Xia Xingli, feeling that it was enough, decided to explain everything on her own.
Otherwise, if the misunderstanding got too big, it wouldn’t be easy to resolve.

“Hey, why did you have to spill the beans…”
His identity exposed, Sven no longer maintained that smirk, and scratched his nose in helplessness.

“You’re kidding… someone like this is actually the teacher’s friend…”
The change was a bit too fast, and many people couldn’t accept it for a moment.

“Hey, hey, what do you mean by ‘someone like this’? Do I look like that bad of a person?”
Sven seemed to retort with some dissatisfaction.

“Yes, with such a bad taste for playing the villain, Sven is really terrible,” Xia Xingli suddenly interjected.

“Call me big brother! No manners.”
Sven reached out to rub Xia Xingli’s head, but she dodged it warily.
“You little girl… you’re really not cute at all.”

The students below were not stupid.
When everything was laid bare, they could figure out the reason behind it.
They hadn’t expected to fall for Sven’s “cunning plan,” and it was a “cunning plan” for their own good.
After figuring everything out, most of the students sat back down in their seats with some frustration.
Only Esther, after seeming to be lost in thought for a long time, suddenly raised her head and pointed at Sven.

“Even if you are Teacher Xia Lixing’s friend, and even if your intentions were good, you still spoke ill of the teacher, so you must apologize!”

Esther’s words stunned everyone present.
Only Xia Xingli, unnoticed, held her forehead.

“As expected… should I say, as expected of Esther…”

Xia Lixing knew the personalities of the students in his class like the back of his hand, and Xia Xingli, who had inherited Xia Lixing’s memories, naturally knew them as well.
It wasn’t that Esther was deliberately holding on to it, but it was just in her nature.
If this matter were just left like this, Esther would feel that she couldn’t back down, even though no one actually cared about her initial accusation.

Just like now, although she was still standing up straight, with a righteous expression, her slightly flushed face and somewhat wandering eyes had already betrayed her.

According to Sven’s personality, he would probably tease Esther a little more.
Although it was harmless, Xia Xingli, worried that the two would create a bigger conflict, decided to step in and end this matter.

But what Xia Xingli hadn’t expected was that after being stunned for a moment, Sven agreed readily.

“You’re right. Even as Xia Lixing’s best friend, after saying those words, I should give you all an explanation.”

As he spoke, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Sven solemnly gave the students below a deep bow, then turned to Xia Xingli.
That face, which had never been serious in her memory, was now serious and sorrowful.

“Here, I, Sven, extend my highest apology to Xia Lixing’s sister, Xia Xingli. Please forgive me for insulting your brother with my words.”

Watching Sven bow before her without rising, Xia Xingli suddenly felt a warm feeling in her chest.
At this moment, it was as if Xia Lixing’s will had descended upon her, watching his best friend with a smile.

“On behalf of my brother, I forgive your transgression, Sven.”

Placing her small hand on Sven’s shoulder, Xia Xingli also said very solemnly.
At this moment, even she herself didn’t notice that a smile had formed on her lips.