Autistic Genius and His Childhood Friend (1): As soon as it came, it dominated the charts

The bodyguard’s concern left Si Qi momentarily speechless. He replied earnestly, “That won’t be necessary. I’ll be fine after talking with my brother for a bit.”

The bodyguard still looked tense, clearly worried that a young boy like Si Qi, suddenly facing such a situation, would be scared for a long time.

In the end, it took some convincing from Si Qi to finally send the bodyguard away.

However, even though Si Qi was unharmed, the Son of the World, who had attempted to murder Si Qi and previously framed him, was now in serious trouble.

Si Qi thought it over and decided it would be best to inform his grandfather and his parents about the situation.

His grandfather’s reaction was exactly as Si Qi had expected. He was so furious he nearly cursed out loud, then anxiously asked if Si Qi was in any danger. Finally, he assured Si Qi that the culprit would definitely pay and told Si Qi not to worry about such trivial matters, leaving the dirty and tiring work to him and the others.

The reaction from Si Qi’s parents, however, was somewhat unexpected. Si Qi had thought they might feel sad, complain, or even beg him to show mercy and help their son.

But the two adults simply wept quietly, not saying much, not even mentioning their son’s name. They only asked a few times if Si Qi was okay.

Si Qi, feeling a bit unwilling to see them suffer, he took the initiative to say: “Are you really okay with this? If you ask, I might be able to…”

Mom Si choked back a sob and said sorrowfully, “He’s our child, raised by our own hands. How could we not care… But if we begged you for leniency, what would that do to you? Wouldn’t that put you in an impossible position, hurting you even more? We’d just be taking advantage of your kindness and trampling on your feelings!”

Dad Si sighed and said to Si Qi, “Xiao Qi, don’t dwell on this too much. It’s that boy who’s in the wrong… We never imagined he’d dare to do something as terrible as murder! We failed to raise him properly. You’ve done nothing wrong from start to finish—you’re the victim here. So don’t blame yourself or feel guilty, okay?”

After hearing this, Si Qi was left speechless.

His respect for Si’s parents only grew stronger. After a moment of thought, he said, “I’ll do my best to spare his life.”

Though, under the protection of the world’s will, the Son of the World wouldn’t die anytime soon anyway.

What else could Si’s parents say? With mixed emotions, they replied, “Okay, thank you,” before awkwardly hanging up the phone. The two of them clung to each other, silently shedding tears.

They couldn’t understand how their son, who had taken over such a privileged life and favorable conditions, not only failed to show gratitude but repeatedly schemed against Si Qi and even resorted to attempted murder when his plans failed! What kind of madness was this?

If it weren’t for the fact that he was their own flesh and blood, raised by their own hands, they would have wished him dead out of sheer anger and their growing fondness for Si Qi!

But now…

All they could do was sigh in silent sorrow.

In the end, with the tacit understanding and cooperation between Grandpa Wang and Si Qi, the news of “Wang Jiu attempting to run someone over with a car” was suppressed and didn’t spread too widely.

However, the fact that Wang Jiu had been stripped of his inheritance rights by the old man and had disappeared from the public eye for a long time eventually came to light.

People were puzzled as to why the old man had suddenly become so ruthless. Was it really because Wang Jiu had offended Si Qi that he had abandoned his once-beloved grandson to such an extent? It seemed a bit too harsh.

The Wang family’s branch, however, knew about Wang Jiu’s attempt to run someone over with a car and his subsequent arrest. After being warned by the old man, they felt they had gained a significant advantage by losing a competitor and didn’t deliberately spread the family’s dirty laundry, as it wouldn’t reflect well on them.

Instead, they took great pleasure in mocking Wang Jiu’s parents, frequently bringing up Wang Jiu’s misdeeds to sting their hearts. They would gleefully mention how Si Qi, whom they had deeply offended, had accomplished some incredible feat, how he was cherished by the nation and revered by the people. Watching the couple’s faces darken instantly, they would burst into laughter, thoroughly enjoying this form of entertainment.

It wasn’t until the third year after arriving in this world that Si Qi completely stripped the Son of the World of all his world energy. After developing the HIV cure, he went on to create an effective treatment for cancer.

When the news broke, the global uproar was no less intense than when the HIV cure had been announced.

With the emergence of cancer treatment, people became utterly convinced that Si Qi’s abilities were no fleeting phenomenon. They realized that in the coming years, Si Qi would undoubtedly develop more life-saving drugs to benefit all of humanity.

And indeed, Si Qi did just that.

Si Qi discovered that every time he developed a new drug, the world energy he gained was substantial and long-lasting, with benefits that would continue to flow even thousands or tens of thousands of years later.

Unlike the one-time transaction of advancing technological civilization, this kind of long-term, life-saving, tragedy-reversing behavior seemed to be far more favored by the world’s consciousness.

Coincidentally, after inheriting the original owner’s personality, Si Qi developed a deep fondness for the uplifting feeling of healing and saving lives, and he reveled in the affection and admiration he received from everyone.

He became enamored with this life of saving the world, even finding it intoxicating.

As a result, in the following years, he immersed himself in the research institute, tirelessly developing a variety of miraculous drugs.

From life-saving treatments for terminal illnesses to smaller remedies like nasal sprays for chronic rhinitis and shampoos to rescue night-owl programmers from baldness, he covered every aspect.

Many high-ranking officials and dignitaries from abroad, desperate for a cure for their incurable diseases, were willing to pay exorbitant sums to come to the country and seek Si Qi’s help in developing treatments.

There were so many such cases, and the rewards they offered were so substantial, that Si Qi often referred them directly to the national authorities, letting them negotiate on their own. Patients, eager to survive, were always willing to offer significant concessions to gain Si Qi’s favor.

According to Xiu Xiu, the country now regarded Si Qi’s intellect as a strategic resource to be handled with utmost care. The resources obtained due to Si Qi’s abilities had far exceeded the limits of imagination, and even top-tier equipment that couldn’t be bought with money was easily acquired through negotiations.

It could be said that the most valuable treasures in this world, aside from boundless wisdom, are people’s own lives.

Si Qi officially got together with Chu Feng when he turned twenty, the legal age for marriage in the country.

In recognition of his contributions over the years, the Grand Elder, at Si Qi’s request, personally issued a marriage certificate for him and Chu Feng.

Throughout these years, Si Qi had never tried to hide his relationship with Chu Feng, and people had long since noticed the signs.

Si’s parents were easygoing, and Grandpa Wang was even more open-minded than anyone else. As for Chu Feng’s side, it was essentially his own domain, and no one could oppose him.

As a result, the two of them came out very smoothly, and everyone was happy for their marriage.

Si Qi also took advantage of the fact that Chu Feng had not yet regained all his memories to tease his young and naive lover for a long time.

However, after the Lord God returned and regained his memories, the dynamics between the two instantly reversed, and it was Si Qi’s turn to be teased by Chu Feng until he often blushed.

Every time they saw Si Qi being coaxed by Chu Feng into complete submission, their friends and family were amazed, thinking that Chu Feng truly lived up to being the youngest billionaire in the country—his skills were indeed extraordinary.

They spent their lives happily and fulfilled.

…

…

When choosing a new world to travel to, Xiu Xiu discovered a world that had just been incorporated into the Lord God’s territory and had not yet had time to give birth to a Child of the World.

For other quick travelers, such a world would be something to avoid at all costs, as they wouldn’t know how to deliver the “golden finger” or complete the mission.

But Si Qi felt no pressure at all about such a world. Xiu Xiu asked: [Master, do you want to go play in a world like this?]

Si Qi thought it sounded interesting and said: [Sure.]

So, after the dizziness of the transmigration faded, a loud *bang* sounded in front of Si Qi. A man slammed a bowl on the table, his face filled with anger as he shouted at Si Qi: “Eat? Eat what? The soup is spilled all over like this! You eat it for me, huh?!”

In a stylish, somewhat bourgeois-themed mahjong parlor, a group of people turned their heads to watch the commotion.

Among them was a teenager about the same age as Si Qi, his eyes filled with schadenfreude as he stared in their direction.

Si Qi coldly glanced at the boy and began to accept the memories transmitted by Xiu Xiu.

Soon after, he realized who this person with messy, non-mainstream yellow hair and a malicious gaze was.

His stepbrother.

Though calling him a stepbrother might be a stretch, as they shared no blood relation whatsoever. In fact, Si Qi wasn’t even on the same household register as the current parents in this family.

He was an orphan.

To be precise, he was a child picked up by the ex-wife of the current family’s foster father.

At the time, the couple had been married for many years without children, and the woman was deeply troubled by this, often feeling depressed. One day, she happened to find a crying baby boy, less than two months old, at her doorstep. Overjoyed, she took the boy in and raised him as her own.

The husband had long known he was infertile and had no expectations of having children, burying himself in work all day. When his wife brought home a child, he didn’t object much, as he never had to worry about raising the child anyway—his wife, overflowing with maternal love, would naturally take care of everything.

Unfortunately, the wife’s health began to deteriorate after that. Not only was she unable to help with her husband’s business, but she also struggled to take care of the child.

The husband, who resented having one less helper and two more burdens at home, was very dissatisfied. After his wife passed away, he quickly remarried a capable and shrewd woman.

This woman also brought with her a five-year-old child, the same age as the original owner. Around the time the two children were supposed to start elementary school, the woman noticed that the original owner had never attended kindergarten and wasn’t even registered in the household registry. Seeing an opportunity, she registered her own son under her husband’s name, ensuring he could inherit the family’s shop and assets in the future. At the same time, she persuaded her husband to register the original owner as an orphan, allowing them to receive a monthly government subsidy of over 800 yuan. That amounted to nearly 10,000 yuan a year, and by the time the child reached adulthood, it would total a whopping 180,000 yuan!

The husband figured that since the child wasn’t biologically his, it didn’t matter whether he was registered in the household or not. He owned a restaurant, and the chefs, waiters, and dishwashers all ate at his place. Adding one more child to feed wouldn’t cost much. On the contrary, he could pocket nearly 200,000 yuan—it was definitely a profitable deal.

Pleased with the arrangement, the husband praised his shrewd wife, and the couple promptly registered the five-year-old Si Qi as an orphan, immediately receiving a lump sum of 50,000 yuan for the past five years.

Although the account was in the original owner’s name, the monthly subsidies were regularly transferred by the couple. The original owner didn’t even know such an account existed. All he knew was that he was an orphan, with no parents, and had been “kindly” taken in by his foster parents, who provided him with food, shelter, and schooling.

As the saying goes, a stepmother often brings a stepfather, and in this case, the stepfather wasn’t even biologically related to him. From the moment the stepmother arrived, the young original owner had to start working in the restaurant—washing dishes, sweeping floors, and wiping tables. He had to do whatever he could. The father was pleased to save on hiring an extra waiter, while the mother was solely focused on ensuring her own precious son lived a comfortable life. She bossed the original owner around while doting on her own child. Though both children called them “Mom” and “Dad,” their treatment at home was worlds apart.

To outsiders, they claimed that their eldest son was naturally dull, didn’t like studying, and that they were teaching him a trade early so he could inherit the family business in the future—though this was just lip service. In reality, everything would go to their younger son, and the original owner wouldn’t get a single penny.

Meanwhile, the younger son was portrayed as a treasure by his mother. Although he was too frail to work, he was lively, cheerful, filial, and sensible. He excelled in school and was perfect in every way, destined to attend a prestigious university and give his parents a comfortable life.

Over time, everyone in the neighborhood came to know about the two children in the restaurant. One was slow-witted, good only for manual labor, and dull in personality, while the other was lively, cheerful, academically outstanding, and deeply loved by everyone.

What they didn’t know was that the eldest son’s poor academic performance was because he had to work at home until two or three in the morning every day. On weekends when the restaurant wasn’t busy, his mother would send him to do various labor-intensive jobs like moving bricks or transporting goods—jobs that were hard but paid well. He earned at least a thousand yuan a month for the family.

While the mother told both the original owner and his father, “I’m saving the money for the child,” she actually used it all to enroll her own son in tutoring classes, buy expensive nutritional supplements, brand-name clothes and shoes, and her own cosmetics. Not a single penny was left for the original owner.

She was indeed a shrewd woman, keeping all this hidden so well that no one ever noticed anything amiss.

Unfortunately, even the shrewdest woman can slip up. In her excessive doting, she failed to notice that her son, raised in luxury and indulgence, had developed an arrogant, entitled personality. From a young age, he learned to lie from his mother, using the money meant for tutoring to hang out with delinquents. The more he grew, the more twisted he became. Eventually, he latched onto a rich second-generation heir as his “boss,” spending his days causing trouble and disrupting social order.

Then, in his final year of high school, while trying to teach someone a lesson with the rich heir, they accidentally killed the person.

Seeing that the person had truly stopped breathing, the younger brother and the rich heir—both in their teens—realized that murder meant jail time or even the death penalty. In a panic, the rich heir contacted his family to find someone to take the blame. Naturally, the younger brother, as an accomplice, became the first to fall victim.

But the younger brother was quick-witted and used to bossing his older brother around, always making him do everything. He immediately brought up his brother’s existence, saying he was stupid and easy to frame. With a little manipulation, they could make him a suspect. Then, the younger brother would step forward to “righteously” expose his brother as the murderer, and with the rich heir pulling strings behind the scenes, the case would be closed quickly.

The rich heir was overjoyed to hear this and eagerly agreed, promising the younger brother a hefty sum of hush money as thanks once the matter was resolved. The younger brother became even more enthusiastic.

When he went home and told his mother, she was shocked and furious that her son had killed someone, but her first reaction wasn’t to scold him—it was to quickly solve the problem for her precious child. She thought her son’s plan was brilliant and immediately added many details to frame the stepson, such as how to get him to the crime scene and how to leave evidence there. She also coached her son on how to coordinate their testimonies as witnesses.

Poor original owner was thus inexplicably framed by multiple parties. The next day, while still at school, he was approached by the police in front of his entire class, handcuffed in full view of everyone. He panicked, repeatedly pleading his innocence, saying he had done nothing wrong, hadn’t killed anyone, and was being wrongfully accused.

But no matter how much he explained, the evidence and testimonies all pointed to him. His stepmother sat at the entrance of the restaurant, wailing loudly, telling the gathered neighbors how she had raised such a heartless son and how blind she had been. The neighbors chimed in, saying the original owner had always been gloomy and hard to get along with, likely mentally unstable, and they never expected him to commit murder. They were terrified.

The original owner was thus taken away, unable to defend himself, and at a young age, he became a convicted murderer. By the time he was released forty years later, what use was freedom at the age of sixty?

Just as the crowd was buzzing with condemnation, accusing the original owner of being a monster, a young man around the same age suddenly rushed out. He shouted at the stepmother and younger brother, insisting that the original owner couldn’t have killed anyone and that it must have been their doing—another one of their schemes to frame him.

The people around thought the young man was crazy. How could the police’s verdict be wrong? They said the young man must also be no good, probably just as mentally twisted as the original owner.

The mother and son, guilty and afraid things might go wrong, took the hefty sum of money from the rich heir and immediately reported the incident to him. Not long after, the young man who had caused a scene at the restaurant also disappeared. It was said that he had gotten into a fight with a group of people outside because he couldn’t stand hearing others slander the original owner, and he was arrested.

By the time the young man was bailed out by his family and went to investigate the original owner’s whereabouts, he learned that the original owner had been beaten to death by his cellmates in prison. The original owner had kept shouting about his innocence, annoying everyone, and his reclusive, socially awkward nature made him a target. No one ever admitted to who had done it.

The prison authorities, seeing that the deceased was a deranged murderer and an orphan with no one to stand up for him, decided it was better to let the matter drop. The original owner, who had worked hard his entire life, ended up paying for his stepbrother’s crime with his life, dying without justice and living a life full of bitterness.

Now, Si Qi had arrived in this young man’s body, just half a month before he was about to be framed. At this moment, he was delivering food for his family, and the customer in front of him, having lost all his money at the mahjong parlor, was trying to avoid paying by complaining that the soup had spilled a little during delivery.

Not far away, his stepbrother was playing cards with his delinquent friends, gleefully watching the commotion. This boy, always dressed in brand-name clothes and spending money recklessly, never admitted that his parents ran a small restaurant and had never called Si Qi “brother” in public. Of course, he wouldn’t step in to help Si Qi now.

He knew his brother’s stubborn personality—Si Qi would definitely pester the customer for the money, or else he’d get an earful from their parents later.

Thinking that the family wouldn’t lose money and that it wasn’t him who’d suffer, the younger brother sat back comfortably to enjoy the show.

After absorbing the memories, Si Qi, staying true to the original owner’s personality, silently lowered his head and began packing up the delivery box. Once he was done, he looked up at the angry man and said, “This meal is on the house.”

The man’s face lit up with surprise, though he kept grumbling, “You think I care about the money? I just can’t stand seeing the food spilled like this!”

The younger brother, who had been watching the scene, was not pleased. He jumped up, scowling, and said, “Why aren’t you charging him?!”

That meal was worth nearly a hundred yuan! And that money would eventually be his!

Si Qi glanced at him and asked, “Who are you?”

The younger brother choked on his words, realizing he couldn’t bring himself to say, “I’m your brother.”

Si Qi was dressed in dirty, old clothes, and in front of his friends, the younger brother couldn’t bear the embarrassment. He was about to glare and change the subject to start berating Si Qi, but Si Qi turned his gaze back to the man and said, “See? He doesn’t seem happy about it.”

The man immediately slammed the table and started cursing, though this time his target was the younger brother who had been watching the commotion.

“Who the hell do you think you are, meddling in my business?!”

The younger brother, being yelled at by a burly, intimidating adult, turned red in the face and stammered, “N-no, I’m not asking you for money, that’s not what I meant… It’s fine if you don’t pay…”

Si Qi watched the younger brother’s flustered expression with a cold gaze, then picked up the delivery box and left the mahjong parlor without bothering to intervene in the argument that erupted behind him.

When he got home, his stepmother didn’t pay any attention to the obvious dirt and grime on Si Qi’s clothes or the large tear in his pants that revealed a bleeding knee. She simply held out her hand and demanded, “The money.”

Si Qi put down the delivery box and replied calmly, “I didn’t get any.”

The stepmother was stunned for a moment, then her voice immediately turned shrill. “Are you trying to die? You delivered the food but didn’t collect the money?!”

Si Qi, mimicking the original owner’s honest and clumsy tone, said, “My brother said not to charge him.”

The stepmother was stunned again. She was quick-witted and immediately stood up, asking, “Where did you run into him?”

She knew where Si Qi had gone to deliver the food, so she already had an idea.

Si Qi replied, “The mahjong parlor.”

The stepmother’s face changed. She pursed her lips, glared, and stormed out the door, clearly heading to the mahjong parlor to find her “precious son,” who was supposedly studying diligently at a tutoring center.

Si Qi ignored his father’s shouts from nearby, telling him to hurry up and get back to work. He went up to the fourth floor of the restaurant, the area reserved for the family’s living quarters, found a first aid kit to clean his wound, and then went to his room to change into a pair of faded jeans.

Looking around the room, he noticed how few personal belongings there were aside from basic necessities like towels. It was clear just how marginalized the original owner had been in this household.

In the original timeline, the original owner would have been fighting with the customer at this point because the customer refused to pay, and the original owner, being stubborn, would have insisted on getting the money. The hot-tempered customer would have started a fight, leaving the original owner beaten and bruised. In the end, the original owner would have stubbornly packed up the now-cold food and taken it back home, much to the customer’s fury.

When he returned home, his parents didn’t show any concern for his injuries. Instead, they scolded him for causing trouble while delivering food, saying he was useless at everything and couldn’t be relied on. They then made him help out in the kitchen and continue delivering orders, forcing him to run around in the freezing winter weather, injured and in pain.

After returning home, the original owner developed a high fever and was too weak to get out of bed for several days. No one took care of him. Instead, he was berated for not working and having his meals brought to him, as if he were some spoiled young master. They even threatened that if he didn’t work, he wouldn’t get to eat—no one would wait on him.

The original owner’s life was truly miserable. Living in such a household, he was constantly being ordered around to work, leaving him no time to study properly. The restaurant usually stayed open until two or three in the morning, and the original owner had to stay until closing. After the restaurant closed, he had to clean up the tables, take the dishes to the kitchen for the dishwasher to handle the next day, change the tablecloths, stack the chairs on the tables, and sweep and mop all three floors of the restaurant. By the time he finished, it was already four or five in the morning.

After showering, covered in sweat and grime, the sky would already be lightening. He then had to rush to the market on his electric scooter to buy fresh ingredients and prepare breakfast for his parents and younger brother.

Once breakfast was done, there was no chance to go back to his room to sleep. The original owner could only sleep at school. His teachers and classmates all knew him as the kid who fell asleep as soon as he entered the classroom. He didn’t pay attention in class, didn’t interact with his peers, and had no presence whatsoever. On top of that, his grades were abysmal, dragging down the class average.

Growing up neglected by everyone, the original owner became somewhat withdrawn, but he wasn’t someone who truly didn’t care about improving himself. If given the chance, he would have liked to study and learn something. However, in this era, students didn’t use textbooks—they relied on data stored in terminals. They studied by looking at virtual screens projected from their desks, using software to follow lessons and answer teachers’ questions. Homework and textbooks were all stored in the terminal, which they could take home to study and complete assignments.

The problem was, the original owner didn’t have a terminal because his parents had never bought him one.

Without even a textbook, the original owner had no way to study at home, and his grades remained consistently poor. Even when he tried to stay awake during class, his weak foundation made the lessons on the screen incomprehensible. Within minutes, the teacher’s voice would lull him to sleep, and he’d end up snoozing at his desk. He’d sleep until the end of the school day, only waking up during lunch break to eat before dozing off again.

His entire life could be summed up as just getting by, with no one caring about him or telling him how to live a better life. He was the type who muddled through, honest to a fault and completely unaware of how to improve his situation.

But Si Qi wasn’t like that.

It was already nine in the evening, and Si Qi was lying on the bed, fully dressed, ready to sleep. The door slammed open violently, and the younger brother, his messy hair even more disheveled and a red slap mark on his face, stormed into the room. He grabbed the first thing he could find and hurled it at Si Qi, shouting, “How dare you betray me?!”

Si Qi dodged the thrown object and calmly glanced at the stepmother who had chased after the younger brother. When the stepmother had rushed to the mahjong parlor earlier, she had seen her precious son being slapped and yelled at by a man. At that moment, all thoughts of scolding her son vanished, and she immediately charged at the man, pushing and shoving while screaming, “How dare you hit my son?!” She then used the spilled food on the table as an excuse to demand payment, threatening to call the police if the man refused.

The commotion was huge. The younger brother, humiliated in front of his friends who had witnessed the slap and his mother’s outburst, felt deeply embarrassed. Without a word, he stormed out of the mahjong parlor, determined to confront Si Qi, whom he blamed for the whole mess.

The stepmother, worried that her son might do something drastic in his anger, abandoned the money issue and chased after him, following him all the way back home.

Si Qi, staying true to the original owner’s stubborn and inflexible personality, said, “But Mom asked me, and I had to answer honestly. I can’t lie. Besides, you were the one playing cards at the mahjong parlor, and you were the one who told the man not to pay.”

The younger brother, who had never expected his usually submissive brother to talk back like this, was instantly furious. He kicked over a box of miscellaneous items in the room and pointed at Si Qi’s nose, shouting, “Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you talk to me like that!”

The mother behind the younger brother didn’t care at all whether Si Qi was being scolded or bullied. She kept trying to pull her son away, insisting on applying medicine to his injuries and checking if he was hurt. She also nagged incessantly, saying things like, “Why did you go to such a place with those bad kids? Only losers hang out there. You mustn’t learn bad habits!” She repeatedly made her son promise not to go back, annoying him so much that he didn’t even have the energy to keep yelling at Si Qi and instead turned to deal with his mother.

Si Qi ignored the two of them and continued lying in bed, trying to sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before the stepmother, still fussing over her son, rudely pushed the door open again. She glared at Si Qi, who was still in bed, and sneered, “Lying there playing dead, huh? Get up and go downstairs to work! Do you want your father to work himself to death down there? You’re so heartless!”

Si Qi didn’t even open his eyes. He just rolled over to a more comfortable position and casually said, “My leg is injured, and I’m exhausted.”

The stepmother’s face darkened, and she continued to berate him, “You’ll go if I tell you to! So what if you fell? It’s not like your leg is broken! I’m telling you, even if your leg were broken, you’d still have to work on crutches! No one’s going to let you freeload here!”

Si Qi spoke slowly, his voice lazy, as if he were about to fall asleep, “I do more work than anyone else. How is that freeloading? The wages I’ve earned should more than cover my rent. And don’t forget, I’ve also left a lot of money with you.”

The stepmother’s face changed, her expression a mix of resentment and guilt. She muttered curses under her breath, calling him an “ungrateful wretch” and “heartless,” but for once, she didn’t force Si Qi to go downstairs and work, afraid he might bring up the topic again. She slammed the door and went downstairs, loudly complaining to her husband and the restaurant staff about how lazy Si Qi was and how he never helped out at home.

Xiu Xiu, witnessing Si Qi’s behavior, asked in surprise: [Master, aren’t you going to play the role of the original owner in this world?]

Si Qi: [No, this family has no respect for the law. I’ll eventually send them all to prison, so why bother putting in the effort?]

Xiu Xiu let out an [Oh] and said cheerfully: [As long as you’re happy, Master~~]

[Mhm.] Si Qi lay in bed, closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep as quickly as possible.

The original owner’s reversed circadian rhythm wasn’t easy to adjust to, and it took Si Qi over half an hour to finally drift off. He slept straight through until the next morning.

At some point during the night, the original owner’s foster father seemed to have come looking for him, but Si Qi just pretended to be asleep and ignored him, staying in bed as if nothing could wake him. The man was furious but, not being completely heartless, didn’t drag Si Qi out of bed to force him to work. He eventually left.

The next morning, after washing up and brushing his teeth, Si Qi went downstairs and saw the original owner’s father, who had been busy cleaning the restaurant all night and hadn’t had a chance to sleep.

The man had dark circles under his eyes, his complexion sallow, and he glared at Si Qi several times before finally saying, “Come eat,” in a tone that made it clear he wasn’t happy.

The meal, of course, wasn’t something the “big boss” had prepared himself. It was just store-bought steamed buns and soy milk.

The younger brother came over, took one look at the food on the table, and frowned in disgust, declaring that the store-bought stuff wasn’t good enough.

The mother, heartbroken for her son, sided with him. She took his hand and said, “Then don’t eat it. Here, Mom will give you some money. Go outside and buy whatever you want to eat.” She then handed him a hundred yuan.

The father, watching this, didn’t say anything, though his expression clearly showed his displeasure.

He had worked hard all night without sleep, bought groceries, and even thought about bringing breakfast for the family, only for them to complain that the food wasn’t good enough. It was like he was raising a bunch of spoiled brats!

Si Qi silently finished his steamed bun and got up to head to school.

At school, Si Qi opened the learning system on his desk, which contained textbooks from first grade all the way up to the third year of high school.

Unlike his classmates, who immediately opened the third-year high school textbooks, Si Qi started from the first-grade materials, flipping through them by subject, all the way up to the third year of high school. After confirming that the knowledge points in this world were things he already knew, Si Qi’s eyes scanned the screen rapidly, taking in the information at an astonishing speed.

As he read, Si Qi found his bangs too long, blocking his vision. He rummaged through his desk drawer and found a pen from who-knows-when. He took off the white cap and used it to clip his bangs to the side, revealing his smooth forehead and a pair of sharp, phoenix-like eyes.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Unlike the original owner’s dull and hazy gaze, Si Qi’s eyes were like icy glass under the sunlight, exuding an innate aloofness, with a hint of pride flickering in them from time to time.

Many classmates noticed his actions and were surprised that the “sleeping demon” was actually awake today. Curious, they peeked at his screen and saw him rapidly flipping through middle school textbooks, clicking the screen once per second. They shook their heads in amusement, whispering and laughing among themselves while pointing at him.

Meanwhile, the younger brother, who had just walked into the classroom laughing and joking with his friends, froze when he saw Si Qi sitting at his desk, wide awake. He walked over, kicked Si Qi’s desk, and tossed twenty yuan at him, ordering him to go buy drinks for him and his buddies.

This younger brother never called Si Qi “brother” in public, but he never hesitated to bully and order him around. The original owner, having grown up in such an environment, had become submissive and withdrawn, never fighting back or complaining. The classmates only thought Si Qi was being bullied by a few people in class and didn’t dig deeper, completely unaware that the two were actually brothers living in the same household.

Si Qi had just finished reviewing the third-year high school math materials and was about to move on to physics when the younger brother came over with the money. Without a word, Si Qi took the cash, got up, and went to the vending machine in the hallway. He bought two cups of hot coffee and headed to the library, which was quieter and free from distractions, sipping his coffee as he walked.

He was going to skip class.

The library could roughly be divided into two areas: one was the book section, filled with rows of books, and the other was the study area.

The study area could also be split into two types. One was the traditional section with ordinary tables and chairs for reading physical books, similar to libraries from decades ago. The other was the modern, tech-savvy electronic reading area, commonly known as the computer zone.

Si Qi headed to the latter.

After spending half an hour skimming through the textbooks, Si Qi saw the “Test” dialog box pop up on the screen for the fifth time.

Since he had nothing else to do after finishing the books, Si Qi casually clicked the test button, opened the exam papers for the previous subjects, and started solving the questions.

The questions were all quite simple. Aside from the reading comprehension section in Chinese, which took a bit more effort, the rest were so easy that Si Qi’s fingers were clicking the correct answers almost as soon as his eyes scanned the questions.

In just one class period, he had completed and submitted all seven subject papers.

Unsurprisingly, he scored full marks on all of them.

Looking at the shining “Highest Score” on the report card, the software prompted Si Qi to enter his name. Si Qi typed in his name, submitted it, and closed the dialog box. He then went online to browse scientific journals from this world, curious to see the level of the most brilliant minds of this era.

Since worlds differ, so do their technological advancements. There were always one or two things that Si Qi found particularly interesting or hadn’t encountered before.

He downloaded a few journals and read them line by line, occasionally opening a notebook to jot down calculations or take a sip of the rich, aromatic coffee. His mood was calm and content.

Meanwhile, in places unknown to Si Qi, as soon as he submitted his exam papers, the top 100 rankings on the national scoreboard all shifted down by one spot. The new name at the top was someone completely unknown, instantly capturing the attention of students across the country.

Every student using the school software for classes noticed the change in the rankings as soon as they opened the homepage. The names on the leaderboard had all been replaced by the same one, and it was impossible to miss.

After the initial shock, they turned to their classmates and asked, “Who is Si Qi? How did he suddenly jump to the top of the rankings?”

One student opened the software, saw the scores, and blurted out, “What the—700 points? Is this a joke? Is the system glitching?”

“Holy—it’s someone from our school!! Who is this guy? How have I never heard of such a genius in our school before?!”

“Full marks in all subjects? Damn…”

“Class 2, Grade 12? Si Qi? Who’s that?”

In this country, every school used the same learning software, and the curriculum wasn’t adjusted based on region.

To encourage students to study hard, the Ministry of Education had set up several leaderboards at the school, city, provincial, and national levels to show students their current rankings and the names of the top-performing students they should strive to emulate.

Every student who logged into the software and finished reading an entire book would be prompted by the system to take a test. The testing software would automatically gather questions from the question bank that matched the student’s academic level, randomly generating various problems. The difficulty was absolutely fair, and the scores were highly authoritative.

If points were deducted, it simply meant the student hadn’t mastered that particular knowledge point and needed to work harder.

As for Si Qi, who had scored full marks, there was no doubt that he had thoroughly mastered the high school curriculum inside and out, without a single flaw.

Everyone knew that the exams generated by the system could easily be used as college entrance exam papers. In fact, past exam papers, being human-made, often had issues with being too difficult or too easy, but the system’s exams were always precise and consistent.

So, imagine the treatment a student who scored full marks on a college entrance exam would receive at school?

They would be treated like a golden child, carefully cherished wherever they went.

Si Qi, still in the library researching papers, had no idea what was happening outside. Xiu Xiu, though aware, didn’t want to disturb Si Qi’s good mood with such trivial matters, so he kept quiet.

Thus, Si Qi sat quietly in the empty library, engrossed in his research, completely unaware of the uproar his casually completed exam papers had caused in the outside world.

The dean immediately contacted Si Qi’s homeroom teacher to inquire about the student’s details.

Upon hearing the specifics, the teacher’s first reaction was disbelief. He sneered and declared, “It must be a system error. This student sleeps through every class, never turns in homework, and always scores zero on exams. He’s the school’s most notorious underachiever. Scoring full marks in all subjects? Ha! Impossible!”