The day passed just like that.
"Is it really okay to skip class?" Ye Shuang glanced at the girl beside him, who was engrossed in a fighting game with her controller, and couldn't help but ask. "It's the first day of school, after all. At the very least, you should show up in class to check in or something."
"That kind of thing… doesn’t matter," An Shiyu replied nonchalantly as she effortlessly defeated her opponent.
"You should at least take it a bit seriously."
The girl gave him a deadpan look. "Says the school doctor who’s slacking off with me."
"..." Ye Shuang set down his controller and cleared his throat awkwardly.
"You were the one who said you needed an extra player. I was just being nice."
"More like a punching bag than a player."
"I don’t even play fighting games!" Ye Shuang retorted.
"Then what do you play?" An Shiyu asked casually.
Ye Shuang thought for a moment before answering, "Well… I used to play Pokémon and stuff."
"No wonder Game Freak keeps slacking off and outsourcing without going bankrupt—it’s because of uncles like you funding them."
"..."
Ye Shuang continued pressing buttons on his controller as he fought against An Shiyu, but he didn’t forget to ask, "How’s the other An Shiyu doing?"
"I’m right here, aren’t I?"
"I mean the other one—your twin sister." In the middle of their conversation, Ye Shuang got KO’d again.
"I don’t have a twin. I’m an only child," An Shiyu shot him a glance before turning her attention back to the screen.
Ye Shuang fell silent.
"Then…"
"Is there still a wish list?" he asked.
An Shiyu’s fingers gradually stilled. She paused before saying, "That wasn’t fun, so I stopped."
Ye Shuang: "..."
The two characters on the screen remained motionless, as if they had mutually agreed to a ceasefire.
"I’m tired. Going home." Perhaps unable to bear the strange atmosphere, An Shiyu suddenly dropped her controller, swayed to her feet, and stood up.
"..."
But before leaving, the girl stopped in her tracks.
She turned her head slightly.
"Why do you want to know so much? It’s not exactly a happy story."
"Stop asking about it…"
With that, the door slowly closed behind her, and the sound of An Shiyu’s footsteps faded into the distance.
Ye Shuang gently set down his controller and reached out to press the power button on the console.
He stared quietly at the darkened screen, his faint reflection barely visible on its surface.
"Haah…"
It was true—he had no reason to dig deeper.
But why did it hurt so much?
Ye Shuang genuinely considered that quirky girl a friend. But the things she had gone through…
Was it pity?
...
"Buzz… buzz…" His phone suddenly rang, snapping him out of his thoughts. Dazed, he fumbled in his pockets for a while before realizing his phone was on the desk.
"Is it Yu You?" Ye Shuang picked it up, only to see Chen Qin’s name on the caller ID.
Seeing it was her, he cleared his throat slightly, trying to sound more composed.
"Hello?"
"Ye Shuang, Ye Shuang, guess where I am~~~" Chen Qin’s cheerful voice instantly brightened the mood—somehow, just hearing her made him feel a little better.
Ye Shuang asked, "At home?"
"NopeNopeNopeNope, wrong."
"Don’t tell me you’re at the school gate?"
"Hehehe, bingo! Wow, today’s the first day of school, so it’s packed… When are you coming out? Let’s go for a drive." Chen Qin asked.
"What drive? Isn’t sitting in traffic every day enough for you?" Ye Shuang replied as he grabbed his phone and stood up.
"I’m still at the infirmary. I’ll head out now."
"Okey-dokey."
After sending a quick message to Bai Yuyou and the others, Ye Shuang took off his white coat and hung it up. He only needed to wash it every few days—it wasn’t like it got dirty just sitting in the infirmary.
"Hmm…" Ye Shuang walked toward the door.
The moment he stepped outside, a pair of warm, soft hands covered his eyes, followed by a deliberately hushed voice:
"Guess who~~~"
Ye Shuang: "..."
"Well, this is a tough one." He pretended to think hard before saying, "Hmm, that scent… could it be Xiao Lan?"
"Xiao Lan?" The hands tightened slightly.
"No, no, the softness of these hands… maybe it’s Xiao Li?"
"Oh, Xiao Li?" The fingers pressed down even harder.
Ye Shuang suddenly stopped. "Alright, alright, I know it’s you—"
"Xiao Meng!"
"Crack." The fingers curled into claws, digging into his eye sockets.
"Xiao Meng, huh?!"
"Owowowow…"
Once she let go, Ye Shuang rubbed his eyes and looked at the impeccably dressed, long-haired girl standing beside him. "Seriously… it was just a joke. Did you have to go that far?"
"Hmph, serves you right for throwing out random names like Xiao Lan and Xiao Li," Chen Qin huffed.
"Tch." Ye Shuang sighed and then asked,
"Weren’t you supposed to be waiting at the school gate? Why are you here?"
"It’s called a surprise, got it?"
"Poking my eyes out is your idea of a surprise?"
Chen Qin lifted her chin slightly and pouted. "Well, that’s what happens when someone can’t keep their mouth shut."
Then she asked, "I found this amazing roasted chicken place today. Wanna grab some and catch a movie afterward?"
"Sure, no problem. Should we invite Yu You?"
"Little Bai already has plans today. I checked earlier." Chen Qin waved her phone, showing their chat log.
"Then let’s go." Ye Shuang said.
Chen Qin grinned, flashing her pearly whites. But almost immediately, she seemed to sense something and reached out to touch the area around his eyes.
"Hmm… Ye Shuang, are you feeling down?"
"Ah." He froze for a second before shaking his head. "No, maybe just tired."
"You can’t fool me, you know." Chen Qin smiled knowingly but didn’t press further. She wasn’t the type to push people when they weren’t ready.
"Come on, let’s go. A good roasted chicken will fix that mood right up."
"Mm."
Since Chen Qin had driven over, Ye Shuang didn’t take his own car and instead climbed into her pink Porsche.
Along the way, his thoughts kept drifting back to An Shiyu, leaving him slightly distracted.
Even after getting out of the car, he stared at his shoes for a long time.
"Ye Shuang?"
"Hey, Ye Shuang…" Chen Qin noticed his absentmindedness and blinked.
"Hm? What’s up?" Ye Shuang finally looked up.
But the next moment, he saw Chen Qin crouch down and tie his undone shoelaces into a neat little bow.
Once she stood back up, she flashed him a carefree, sweet smile.
"Let’s go."
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
