"Sure enough, they issued an announcement." That evening, Yinshan Academy released an official statement, and the police also published their investigative report shortly after, quickly suppressing all the rampant rumors.
Still, some people insisted on theories of foul play, but the conspiracy theories ultimately gained no traction.
Pulling his gaze away from his phone, Ye Shuang glanced up and noticed a girl sprawled on the floor. Her soft, long hair cascaded around her, its waist-length strands sprawling across the wooden floor like tangled roots.
Lying beside her was an orange, ball-shaped, fluffy creature of unknown origin.
The girl and the cat remained motionless in their sprawled positions.
Ye Shuang: "……"
Staring at Bai Yuyou’s expressionless face, he couldn’t help but ask, "Yuyou… what are you doing?"
"It’s hot. Yīwàn says the floor feels nice," Bai Yuyou murmured softly.
"Meow!" Yīwàn voiced its agreement.
Having just taken a bath, the girl was only wearing an oversized T-shirt, and in her current position, her underwear was completely exposed. Ye Shuang caught sight of the Pikachu print on them and sighed helplessly. "Get up already. I’ll turn on the AC for you."
Beep.
With a press of the remote, cool air soon filled the room, easing the stifling heat.
Bai Yuyou shifted into a seated position, legs folded beneath her, and closed her eyes contentedly.
"You should learn to turn it on yourself when you’re hot," Ye Shuang said. He had been lost in thought earlier and hadn’t noticed the stuffiness.
"Ye Shuang, what were you thinking about?" Bai Yuyou turned her head to ask.
"Hm?" Hearing her question, Ye Shuang chuckled faintly and shook his head. "Nothing much. Want to watch a movie today?"
"Okay." Bai Yuyou stood up and scooted closer.
Perhaps because of the day’s events, Ye Shuang decided to show Bai Yuyou a film about time travel and parallel worlds—concepts that remained vague and abstract to the girl.
Curled up on the sofa together, they ended up watching the entire movie without realizing it.
"Yuyou, let me ask you something," Ye Shuang said.
"Mm?" The girl tilted her head.
"If someone could go back in time and save you when you were kidnapped as a child… would that make you happy?"
Bai Yuyou looked at him, then shook her head.
"Why?" Her immediate refusal surprised him.
"Because then… I wouldn’t have met you." Her words struck Ye Shuang like a weight.
"Being kidnapped… being locked away… it was cold, painful, miserable… and I was always hungry."
"But meeting you made all of that okay." Her voice was soft, yet the words settled heavily in his heart.
"If I had to choose, I’d still want to meet you." Bai Yuyou’s tone was firm.
Ye Shuang fell silent for a moment before reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Alright, time for bed."
"Mm."
Late into the night, Ye Shuang lay with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.
Bai Yuyou was already fast asleep beside him, curled up like a small, peaceful animal.
His mind wandered through countless thoughts until exhaustion finally pulled him under.
---
The next day, determined to understand the clock’s function and how to activate it, Ye Shuang made his way to the first-year building during a break between classes and stopped outside Classroom E.
The first-years were far livelier than the third-years, with students chatting and laughing boisterously in the hallways—a stark contrast to the upperclassmen, who mostly collapsed onto their desks the moment class ended.
"Excuse me, is Gu Manman here?" Ye Shuang stopped a girl to ask.
"Gu Manman?" The girl glanced into the classroom. "Yeah, she’s inside. Want me to call her out?"
"Please."
The girl strode in and announced loudly, "Hey, Gu Manman! Some hot older guy’s here to see you!"
"Hot older guy? Where?"
"Isn’t that the school doctor? He is kinda handsome."
"Pfft, he’s just average. Barely better-looking than me."
The girl’s loud voice drew the attention of the entire class. Gu Manman, sitting at her desk, blinked in surprise before stepping out.
"School doctor?"
For some reason, her voice sounded off—almost flustered.
"Got a minute to talk?" Ye Shuang asked.
"Sure." As Gu Manman spoke, the familiar window and the reversed clock appeared before his eyes again.
Mimicking his first encounter with the clock, Ye Shuang fixed his gaze on the spinning hands—
Bzzzt!
The next moment, the clock’s hands whirled backward at blinding speed.
A flash of white light engulfed his vision, and Ye Shuang knew—he had succeeded.
……
……
"……"
The surroundings were noisy, as if he were in a bustling marketplace, with crowds of people passing by.
Ye Shuang glanced at the now-forward-moving clock. Once the hands reached twelve, he’d return.
Then he took in his surroundings—a large crowd had gathered ahead, angry shouts and scolding voices rising from within.
Pushing through, he saw a ragged girl kneeling on the ground, her body covered in bruises and wounds.
Gu Wanqing?!
A middle-aged woman stood over her, face twisted in fury.
"I told you not to stay out so late! Look what happened!"
"Who’s going to want you now?! Our family’s reputation is ruined!"
The woman—clearly Gu Wanqing’s mother—continued berating her daughter, indifferent to the girl’s tattered state.
Gu Wanqing knelt silently, her eyes hollow, lips cracked and dry.
"Tch, who’d take her now?" a bystander muttered.
"Serves her right for running around with bad company."
"I heard she was kidnapped by criminals?"
"Then why her and not someone else?"
Ye Shuang shoved through the crowd and draped his white coat over Gu Wanqing’s shoulders. The warmth of the fabric seemed to bring a flicker of awareness back into her dull eyes as she mouthed a silent thank you.
"Your daughter is hurt! Shouldn’t you take her to a hospital?!" Ye Shuang snapped at the mother.
"Who the hell are you?! This is none of your business!" the woman retorted. "She’s the one who embarrassed us!"
Before Ye Shuang could respond, another girl’s voice cut in.
"Mister, this is a family matter. And honestly, Gu Wanqing brought this on herself. Who told her to stay out so late?"
Ye Shuang turned to the source of the voice and seemed to pause for a moment.
Gu Manman?
The girl standing before her now, arms crossed and radiating hostility, was a far cry from the fragile, sweet-talking cousin who had called her "cousin" so affectionately in the school infirmary.
In an instant, Ye Shuang realized—
Gu Manman's demeanor during their conversation in the infirmary yesterday had all been an act.
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
