To confirm, Ye Shuang looked at the girl before him and asked, "Are you Gu Manman?"
Gu Manman, hearing her name called out, gave Ye Shuang a strange once-over. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"
"Your cousin is in such a state. If you two were so close, why are you standing by and doing nothing?" Ye Shuang questioned.
"Who told you we were close? Weirdo." Gu Manman rolled her eyes at Ye Shuang, then pointed at Gu Wanqing, who was kneeling on the ground. "It’d be best if she died."
Just as Ye Shuang was about to speak, he noticed the clock in the upper-right corner had already struck twelve.
"That fast?"
His vision was once again engulfed in blinding white, and his ears erupted with a deafening buzz, as if his eardrums were about to shatter.
……
……
By the time he returned to his own timeline, his surroundings had reverted to the entrance of Class 1-E. Ye Shuang steadied himself, looking at Gu Manman, who stood by the classroom door with a puzzled expression.
"Gu Manman."
"Yes, Doctor Ye, what is it?" Gu Manman smiled sweetly, her face radiating innocent charm.
"You mentioned earlier that Gu Wanqing’s suicide attempt was connected to your uncle and his family. I’ve already informed the reporters," Ye Shuang said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Really?! That’s wonderful." Gu Manman’s eyes lit up, her shoulders relaxing as if a weight had been lifted.
Ye Shuang observed her reaction before asking, "Did you visit Gu Wanqing yesterday afternoon?"
"Of course. She was still in critical condition—I was so worried." Gu Manman sighed, her eyes instantly reddening. "She’s my only cousin, and we were so close… I never thought something like this would happen…"
"I see. You can head back to class now," Ye Shuang said with a faint smile. "We’ll talk another time."
"Okay~" Gu Manman replied cheerfully, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.
The two turned away simultaneously—but the moment their backs faced each other, the smiles on both Ye Shuang and Gu Manman’s faces vanished in an instant.
Ye Shuang shoved his hands into his pockets and headed straight back to the infirmary.
He was starting to piece things together. Gu Wanqing’s suicide attempt was almost certainly tied to Gu Manman, but how much of what Gu Manman had told him yesterday was true remained unclear.
Ye Shuang suspected that Gu Manman hadn’t anticipated Gu Wanqing’s suicide attempt. Fearing she might be implicated, she shifted the blame onto Gu Wanqing’s parents—her uncle and aunt—since their relationship with their daughter was already strained.
As for why she had confided in Ye Shuang, it was likely under the guise of seeking psychological counseling. Given that Ye Shuang had been involved in the rescue, reporters might approach him for comments. By feeding him misleading information, she could manipulate the narrative.
That would also explain why Gu Manman had gone out of her way to visit his infirmary instead of the one near her own grade.
"What a scheming little girl," Ye Shuang mused, slightly taken aback by his own deductions.
"Tch…"
The image of Gu Wanqing kneeling on the ground, surrounded by onlookers, flashed through his mind, and he shook his head.
The rhythmic clicking of a game controller beside him paused. An Shiyu, sucking on a candy that crunched between her teeth, glanced at him with dull, unimpressed eyes.
"Why the long face? Dying or something?"
"…" Ye Shuang sighed. "Can’t you say something nice for once?"
"Fine, something nice." An Shiyu lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, revealing sheer stockings. "Wanna guess the color of my panties?"
"No thanks," Ye Shuang replied flatly. That wasn’t the kind of "nice" he had in mind.
"Must be trouble in the bedroom, old man." An Shiyu gave him a pitying look, as if to say, "Three seconds is already impressive."
"That’s not it at all!"
Ye Shuang stood and walked to the window, hands in his pockets, tilting his head at a 45-degree angle as he gazed solemnly at the sky. "Sometimes, I feel like I might be the protagonist of some story."
"Protagonist?" An Shiyu resumed fiddling with her controller, her tone lazy. "You mean the kind who’s pushing thirty and still single? Or the kind whose startup collapsed after two and a half years?"
Ye Shuang: "…"
He suddenly felt the urge to spank her.
Knock knock knock. "Doctor~ Can you check me out?" A sugary voice called from the doorway. Ye Shuang turned to see a familiar face.
"Come in and take a seat," he said.
"Carry me~ I’m too tired to walk~"
"…I’ll close the door, then."
"Mean~"
Ye Shuang knew this girl wasn’t actually sick, but out of professional duty, he checked her records. However, he suddenly noticed something—when he pulled up her information, the inverted clock in the corner seemed to tick forward slightly.
What did that mean?
A realization struck him, and he turned to look at An Shiyu.
[Character: An Shiyu
A girl with hyperthymesia. Maybe kissing her would make her remember you forever.]
The clock in the upper-right corner advanced another notch.
"So… viewing people’s information charges the clock?" Ye Shuang muttered. He rarely used this ability intentionally, preferring to respect others’ privacy—most of his past uses had been accidental.
But ever since becoming a school doctor, he’d been checking students’ conditions almost daily.
Which meant…
He could’ve unlocked this ability much earlier if he’d used it more often?
The thought left him speechless.
Nobody had told him any of this. There wasn’t even a tutorial—it felt like some half-finished feature.
"Alright, you’re fine. Drink more water," Ye Shuang said after finishing the examination.
"Doctor, everyone’s freaking out about that stalker lately. Rumor has it the police can’t even confirm his identity or appearance," the girl said with a giggle.
"That can’t be right," Ye Shuang replied. With surveillance everywhere these days, how was that possible?
"Well, that’s what I heard. Don’t know the details, though."
After some more small talk, the girl finally left, albeit reluctantly.
"Such a popular man, Doctor~" An Shiyu teased.
"…" Ye Shuang shot back, "Says the one who loafs around here the most."
An Shiyu stretched her stocking-clad legs onto the table. "Wanna go out instead, old man?"
"No."
"Then I’ll go alone." She shut her laptop and sprang to her feet.
"Where to?" Ye Shuang asked.
"The rooftop. Gonna jump off."
"Ah. Be careful." Ye Shuang watched her leave before suddenly processing her words. "Wait—you said where?!"
He bolted after her.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
