The First Change in the System

"The sky is a clear blue, and outside the window, paper cranes flutter..."

Ye Shuang was jolted awake by a ringtone. When he groggily opened his eyes, he found a short-haired girl sitting by his bed, holding a phone.

The sunlight streaming through the window was a bit harsh, making it hard for Ye Shuang to fully open his eyes and see the expression on the girl's face.

"Ha~" Ye Shuang stretched and sat up, noticing An Shiyu sitting at the edge of the bed, playing with her phone.

"What are you doing here?"

"Mmm..." An Shiyu averted her gaze before replying, "Breakfast is ready, so I came to wake you up."

"Thanks, but you didn’t have to use that kind of ringtone." Ye Shuang ruffled his hair and glanced at the spot beside him. Yu You must have sneaked in last night—she was probably downstairs eating breakfast now.

Such a clingy little thing.

"You don’t like this ringtone?" An Shiyu pressed a button, and the phone immediately played a tune:

"Up at dawn to gather dung~"

"I return to find my woman gone~"

Ye Shuang: "..."

No, I didn’t mean the song was bad and you should change it.

An Shiyu stood up. "Well, I’m off. Your breath stinks."

"Uh..."

Ye Shuang had no choice but to head downstairs to freshen up. Several girls were sitting on the sofa, and the dining table was laden with a freshly made breakfast, steam still rising faintly. When they saw Ye Shuang, they immediately greeted him:

"Good morning, Brother!"

"Good morning, Teacher Ye!"

"Ye Shuang, hug..."

"Did you sleep well last night?" Ye Shuang held the girl in his arms and asked, "Was it too crowded?"

"Not at all! It felt even comfier than my bed at home!" Tang Keke chimed in. "Like there were only two people sleeping!"

The moment she finished speaking, An Shiyu’s gaze locked onto Tang Keke, as if she were looking at some brainless creature.

Probably because Yu You had snuck in.

Ye Shuang thought to himself, then smiled and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

As he brushed his teeth, he stared at his reflection in the mirror, his eyes drifting to Bai Yuyou’s Pikachu-themed yellow cup. A few seconds later, a faint window popped up:

[Item: Girl’s Toothbrush Cup

The cup for mouthwash should be used properly—spit it out, don’t swallow it. Even if it’s white, it’s not meant to be ingested...]

Ye Shuang: "..."

His gaze wandered, but then he noticed something odd.

"Huh?" Ye Shuang squinted slightly and spotted a clock-like icon in the top-right corner of the window. It was faint, but he was absolutely certain it hadn’t been there before.

After all these years, this was the first time the system window had ever changed.

Ye Shuang kept brushing while observing it, only to realize the clock wasn’t moving clockwise like a normal one—it was ticking backward, like a countdown.

"What the hell is this?" Ye Shuang muttered to himself.

"Don’t tell me it’s a time machine?"

This weakling system probably didn’t have anything that impressive.

After studying it for a bit longer and still failing to figure it out, Ye Shuang finished washing up and left the bathroom.

Breakfast was lavish, prepared by Zhixia and Bai Yuyou.

"Looks delicious. Thanks." Ye Shuang picked up a plate of fried rice—it smelled amazing. If only Chen Qin could learn to cook half as fast as Yu You.

Then Tang Keke wouldn’t have been traumatized.

"Hehe." Zhixia, still wearing her apron, blushed slightly at Ye Shuang’s praise.

After breakfast, Zhixia and Linlin had to leave—they had other plans and couldn’t stay today.

"Oh, I’m leaving too." An Shiyu slipped on her shoes without hesitation.

"Want to go swimming together?" Ye Shuang asked.

"Mmm." An Shiyu lifted her head slightly, her bangs framing her eyes. When she noticed Ye Shuang’s smiling face, she suddenly lowered her head, as if hiding her expression, and murmured in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s:

"Just... goodbye."

And with that, An Shiyu was gone.

"She left in a hurry," Tang Keke remarked, watching her retreating figure.

"Yeah."

"Teacher Ye, we’re off too," Zhixia said, putting on her shoes with a smile.

"Alright, be careful on the way."

"Don’t worry!"

After Zhixia and Linlin left, the house suddenly felt much quieter.

"They’re gone..." Bai Yuyou stood beside Ye Shuang and whispered.

"Did you have fun with everyone?" Ye Shuang reached out and ruffled her hair.

"Yes."

"We’ll invite them again. There’ll be plenty of chances." Ye Shuang smiled.

Bai Yuyou nodded lightly.

"Brother, are you going swimming today?" Tang Keke asked curiously, then pointed at herself. "Can I come too?"

Ye Shuang replied, "Sure, but do you have a swimsuit?"

"And will your parents be okay with it?"

Tang Keke shook her head. "They trust you a lot. When I told them I was staying over last night, they didn’t even question it."

"They just told me not to cause trouble. As for the swimsuit..."

"I’ll buy one. There’s a big supermarket downstairs with tons of swimsuits." Tang Keke turned to Bai Yuyou. "What about yours?"

Ye Shuang explained, "We already bought ours."

"Oh, so you planned to go swimming from the start?"

"Uh..." Ye Shuang coughed awkwardly.

He couldn’t exactly say it was for bathing together with Bai Yuyou—wearing swimsuits was better than being completely naked.

"Let’s go pick out a swimsuit first. Yu You, you can choose one you like too," Ye Shuang told Bai Yuyou. "Go with Keke and pick something you’d like."

"Swimsuit. Okay." Bai Yuyou nodded.

After tidying up a bit, Ye Shuang took the two girls out.

The place they were heading to was a water park. Since Tang Keke had joined last minute, Ye Shuang booked a group package for three online—299 in total, a reasonable price.

"This is the place." Tang Keke pointed at the swimwear shop. "Let’s go."

"Alright, I’ll wait outside," Ye Shuang said.

He didn’t need to buy a swimsuit—a simple black swim trunk would do.

"Okay, Yu You, let’s go in."

"Mm."

Though Bai Yuyou wanted Ye Shuang to come with them, she obediently followed Tang Keke into the shop.

While waiting, Ye Shuang sat on a bench outside. He rummaged through his pocket, pulled out a candy, and popped it into his mouth.

"Come to think of it... does Keke even have the right size?"