Monday morning at Wolven High brought a heavy, suffocating silence to the classroom of Class 9. The results of the physics mock exam had been posted, and the atmosphere was thick with the scent of chalk dust and teenage anxiety.
**Xavier**, the school's revered top student and the Physics Representative, stood by **Lily's** desk. He held a test paper in his hand, his knuckles white from the grip. Xavier was known for his cold composure, a trait befitting a high-ranking Alpha, but at this moment, his eyes were wide with a rare expression of utter bewilderment.
"Lily," Xavier said, his voice low. "This fill-in-the-blank question... the final one. How did you solve it?"
Lily was busy stuffing her textbooks into her bag. Hearing Xavier's intense tone, she jumped. She glanced at the paper—it was the notorious final question, a university-level problem involving complex gravitational mechanics.
"Oh, that?" Lily scratched her head, looking embarrassed. She pointed a trembling finger at the figure sleeping on the desk beside her. "I... I didn't do it. I left it blank because I panicked. But right before the timer ran out, **Ren** grabbed my pen. She said she hates seeing blank spaces because of her OCD, so she just scribbled something in."
Xavier's gaze slowly shifted to **Ren**.
The girl was buried under her school blazer, radiating a "do not disturb" aura.
"Ren," Xavier said, tapping his knuckle against her desk.
The lump under the blazer shifted. Ren pulled the jacket down, revealing a face that was annoyed and still half-asleep. She didn't even look at Xavier properly, just squinting at the paper.
"What?" she rasped.
"This answer," Xavier pointed at the numbers in the margin. "Where did you get it?"
Ren yawned. "Are you an idiot? It's a freebie question."
"A freebie?" Xavier's eye twitched. The answer was **2.5√11**. It was a surd—an irrational number. Who in their right mind would guess a number like that?
"It's obviously a giveaway," Ren said, leaning back. "I was doing the math exam earlier. You know, the first multiple-choice question?"
Ren reached into Lily's desk, pulled out a crumpled math test, and slammed it onto the table. "Look."
Xavier leaned in. The first question of the math test was simple; the answer was 36. But on Ren's scratch paper, the margins were filled with a chaotic storm of complex formulas and calculus integrals. At the very bottom, circled three times in black ink, was the result: **2.5√11**.
"See?" Ren spun her pen between her fingers. "I calculated this stupid math problem for twenty minutes and got this ugly number. Then I realized I made a mistake. But the number was stuck in my head. When I saw the empty spot on Lily's physics paper, I just wrote it down to get it out of my system. Who knew it was actually the right answer for physics? Total coincidence."
Xavier stared at the math paper, then at Ren.
The explanation was absurd. It implied she was so bad at math she turned a simple addition problem into a complex calculus disaster. And yet... it was the only explanation that made sense for a student who scored a 12 on her last exam.
"I see," Xavier said stiffly, walking away with his worldview slightly shaken.
Ren watched him go, a small, lazy smirk playing on her lips. She tossed the math paper back into the desk, hiding the fact that the formulas on the scratch paper were actually the correct derivation for the physics problem.
***
While Ren was busy fooling the school genius, **Alpha Juan** was busy securing her future.
In the administrative building, the office of **Principal Gale** was quiet. Juan sat on the leather sofa, his long legs crossed, holding a porcelain teacup with an elegance that spoke of dangerous power.
"**Principal Gale**," Juan said calmly. "Change Ren's emergency contact."
The elderly principal adjusted his glasses nervously. He was one of the few people in Moon City who knew exactly who Juan was—the youngest Warlord of the Capital.
"Change it?" Gale blinked. "Currently, it is listed as her mother, **Vera**."
"Change it to **Luke**," Juan commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Or use my private number."
Principal Gale hesitated. "Master Juan, Vera is her legal guardian. It is school policy..."
Juan raised his eyes. They were dark and cold. "Vera does not care for her. Ren works part-time in the school infirmary just to buy lunch. If something happens to her, calling Vera will only bring trouble. If anything happens to Ren, the **Lu Family** of the Capital will take full responsibility. Is that sufficient for your policy?"
Principal Gale swallowed hard. The Lu Family. And behind them, the Cheng Family. These were titans.
"I understand," Gale said, reaching for his phone. "It will be done immediately."
Juan stood up, smoothing out his shirt. "Good. And keep this between us."
He walked out, his expression grim. He was systematically cutting the strings that tied Ren to her toxic family.
***
Juan returned to the school infirmary, but he wasn't alone.
Standing in the middle of the room was a man who looked like he was carved from granite—**Mook**, Juan's personal bodyguard from the Capital.
Mook was currently staring at **Luke** with wide, disbelief-filled eyes.
"**Lone Wolf**?" Mook's voice cracked. "Master Luke, are you serious? Boss actually found the legendary Number One of **Agency 129**?"
Luke sat on his swivel chair, tossing a scalpel into the air. He grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Yep. The ghost of the intelligence world. We found him."
Mook swallowed. "How? The entire underworld has been looking for Lone Wolf for sixteen months. How did Boss do it?"
Just then, the door to the small kitchenette opened.
Ren walked out, wearing a generic apron over her school uniform, carrying a bowl of freshly washed grapes.
"Boss is just that good," Luke winked at Mook.
Mook looked at Ren. He saw a teenage girl with a pretty face, looking bored and domestic. He immediately dismissed her as some student volunteer.
"Be careful what you say," Mook warned Luke in a low voice, glancing at Ren. "Don't talk about Agency 129 in front of civilians."
Ren paused. Her hand slipped.
*Smash.*
A glass cup fell to the floor, shattering.
Juan, who had just entered, moved instantly. He was by her side in a blur, grabbing her wrist. "Did you get cut?"
Ren shook her head. "No. Just... slippery hands."
In reality, she was startled. It was a surreal comedy to stand there washing grapes while a professional bodyguard discussed her secret identity as a legendary super-spy five feet away. If Mook knew that the "civilian" he was disregarding was actually the Lone Wolf he worshiped, he might have had a heart attack.
"I'll clean it up," Ren mumbled.
"Don't touch it," Juan ordered. He looked at Mook. "Clean this up."
Mook blinked. He was an elite guard who killed people for a living. And now he was sweeping up glass for a high school girl? But an order was an order. Mook grabbed a broom, grumbling internally about how the Boss was wasting his time on a pretty vase of a girl.
***
That evening, the sun set in a blaze of orange and gold.
Ren walked out of the campus with Lily, her headphones blasting heavy metal music.
Near the curb, a small crowd had gathered. **Vera** stood there, dressed in her finest silk, beside **Madam Vivian**, a noblewoman from the Capital visiting the Lin family. **Lance** and **Faye** were there too, looking like the perfect elite family unit.
They were waiting for their driver, posturing to show off their connections.
Ren walked past them without slowing down. She treated them like air.
Vera's face tightened. "Ren!" she hissed, trying to get her daughter's attention so she wouldn't look bad in front of Madam Vivian.
Ren ignored her.
Just then, a vehicle approached. It wasn't a sleek sports car, but a heavy, modified black Jeep. It looked like a tank disguised as a car.
What caught everyone's attention was the license plate: a white plate with red lettering. A Capital plate reserved for high-ranking officials.
"My goodness," Madam Vivian whispered, eyes widening. "That license plate... isn't that **Principal Gale's** car?"
Vera froze. Principal Gale was a figure of mystery in Moon City; even the Mayor had to make an appointment to see him.
The Jeep slowed down and pulled up right next to Ren. The window rolled down.
Principal Gale, known for his stern demeanor, leaned out with a warm, grandfatherly smile. "Ren."
Ren stopped. She pulled one headphone away. "Principal Gale?"
"Are you heading home?" Gale asked kindly. "I'm heading to the city center for dinner. Do you want a ride?"
The silence at the school gate was deafening. Vera's jaw dropped. Faye stared in disbelief. Madam Vivian looked at Ren with a new, sharp intensity. Principal Gale never gave rides.
Ren shifted her backpack. She looked at the Principal, then at the stunned Lin family standing a few meters away.
"No thanks," Ren said casually. "I'm going to the bookstore with my friend."
She rejected him. She rejected the most powerful figure in the school without a second thought.
Principal Gale just chuckled. "Alright. Study hard."
He waved, and the heavy Jeep rumbled away.
Ren put her headphone back on and walked away, leaving her family standing in the dust.
Madam Vivian turned to Vera, her eyes narrowing. "Vera... you told me your eldest daughter was a failure from the countryside."
Vera stammered, flushing red. "I... she is..."
"A failure doesn't get invited to dinner by Principal Gale," Vivian said coldly. "It seems there are many things you don't know about your own daughter."
**[Chapter 24 End]**