What the hell is this

"What... what brand of system are you?"

Su Cheng hesitated for a long moment before finally giving in to his curiosity.

He was so shocked that he forgot to mask his trembling voice, though his face remained composed. The implications of what she had just done were staggering.

Gu Ruoxue lifted her gaze to meet his, her tone icy and firm. "I don’t have anything like that."

Hearing this, Su Cheng took a deep breath, barely suppressing the storm of emotions inside him. He knew she wasn’t lying.

If it wasn’t a system, then did she have some kind of spatial storage item?

Su Cheng forced himself to steady his nerves. "Alright, then what did you just use? How did you do that?"

Gu Ruoxue glanced at him. "I’m afraid I can’t tell you."

Su Cheng fell silent, ultimately choosing not to press further, though he couldn’t help feeling a pang of disappointment.

After all, when it came to anything about his past, this woman never gave him straight answers. She either left him to figure things out on his own or dropped the vaguest of hints.

There had been times when Su Cheng couldn’t take it anymore and tried to confront her directly, but her response was always the same—she had promised someone not to reveal anything.

Thinking about it now, he realized he’d grown lax lately, no longer putting effort into uncovering the truth. So, had Gu Ruoxue deliberately displayed her ability today to remind him?

It was like a son returning from military training, eager to show off his new skills!

"You—how could you just use special abilities at school like that? You’ll attract trouble!"

Seizing the opportunity, Su Cheng immediately put on a stern, fatherly tone, scolding her as if she were a misbehaving child who didn’t know better.

Gu Ruoxue’s expression didn’t change. She tilted her head slightly, watching him with calm indifference.

Her silence strangled his words midair, making Su Cheng choke on his own lecture. He coughed twice, then shook his head in denial. "Look, the soup’s about to spill. What if you burn your hand? What then?"

"Has it spilled?"

"Not yet."

"Then there’s no need for ‘what then.’"

With that, she ladled a bowl of soup and set it beside him.

"Thanks."

Su Cheng stared at the bowl, filled with broth and ribs, his emotions tangled with a faint sense of loss.

"Drink."

Gu Ruoxue’s voice was soft.

Nodding, Su Cheng picked up the bowl and sat down on a nearby chair, sipping slowly.

To his surprise, the soup was seasoned—salty, with a bitter herbal undertone. But more than anything, it was rich and savory, impossible to resist.

"Thanks."

He took another sip, flashing Gu Ruoxue a bright, unguarded smile. "It’s really good."

"Hm."

She nodded, her eyes softening like sunlight dancing on a lake, pulling Su Cheng into a daze.

"I still want to know—was that ability yours, or was it given to you by someone else?"

Su Cheng finally asked.

"The latter."

She sipped her own soup, her voice quiet, as if she had already understood the deeper meaning behind his question.

The answer made Su Cheng pause. He didn’t know how to respond, so he simply lowered his head and drank in silence.

Because that ability—or the item behind it—might very well have been something he had given Gu Ruoxue in the past.

The thought made his head spin.

Once he finished the soup, Su Cheng set the bowl back on the table.

"More?"

Gu Ruoxue glanced up at him.

Su Cheng patted his stomach and grinned. "I’m full."

"Hm."

With that, she stood and—with another effortless display of her ability—cleared everything away, returning to her usual detached demeanor as she picked up the book she’d been reading earlier, as if nothing had happened.

Watching her, Su Cheng’s lips parted slightly, but he swallowed his words and forced out, "I’m going for a walk to digest."

"Hm."

Gu Ruoxue didn’t look up from her book, responding with nothing more than a syllable.

………………………………

Leaving the clubroom, Su Cheng’s mood grew heavy again. The gazes of passersby only added to his irritation.

He wandered aimlessly through the campus until he spotted a pavilion where a school administrator and Xu Tianyi were playing chess.

Considering Li Guanqi wasn’t around and his own chess skills were practically nonexistent, Su Cheng decided to keep his distance and find somewhere quiet to rest.

But Xu Tianyi noticed him—his hesitant approach, then his retreat. She guessed he might have wanted to play.

So, she pulled out her phone and started messaging someone.

…………………………………………

Inside the abandoned sports equipment room.

When Su Cheng stepped inside, he found the space relatively clean despite the old, unused gear. Clearly, someone still maintained it.

He walked to the corner where gymnastics mats were stacked, dusted one off, and lay down.

At once, all the frustration, weight, and relentless curiosity surged through him.

Slowly, he raised his right hand to his left shoulder, then closed his eyes.

"Did I already have a system back when I was with her?"

Su Cheng murmured, his heart pounding. "Could my memory loss have been caused by the system too?"

The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt. No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t make sense of it, only growing more agitated.

"Don’t worry, no one’s here."

A male voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Su Cheng lifted his head slightly and saw a boy leading a girl inside by the hand. The girl clung to her own shoulders, nervously scanning the dim room. "But it’s so dark in here… I’m scared."

"Relax, I’m here. No hall monitor’s gonna find us!"

"…Okay."

The two settled in, soon slipping into sickeningly sweet couple behavior—feeding each other, whispering cheesy lines, and escalating toward the kind of scene that would usually require a paywall.

Su Cheng’s irritation spiked. He strongly condemned such shameless public displays!

Why? Because he’d never gotten the chance to try it himself!

Unable to take it anymore, he slammed his fist against the mat beneath him—a warning that they weren’t alone.

CRACK—

The mat split, startling the girl into a shriek. She clung to her boyfriend, trembling. "What was that?! I’m scared—protect me!"

"Tch. Don’t worry. No ghost or monster’s getting near you while I’m here. I’ll beat the hell out of anything that tries."

The boy spoke with exaggerated bravado, pulling her close so her face pressed against his chest.

Feeling his firm warmth and steady heartbeat, the girl blushed like an apple, giggling.

"Mmm… you’re so mean."

Su Cheng stared.

That was their reaction?

As someone who strictly adhered to school rules, how could he, a righteous person, turn a blind eye to such improper behavior?

Furious, he slapped the gym mat beneath him again, finally making the two of them completely nervous.

"Who's pretending to be a ghost?!"

The young man abruptly opened his eyes, his sharp, icy gaze scanning the surroundings before landing on the source of the sound.

His girlfriend clung to his arm, her entire body nearly shrinking into his embrace as she trembled and whispered, "Could it really be a ghost? I'm so scared."

"Don't let your imagination run wild."

The young man patted her back a few times, then looked toward where the gym mat had been—only to see scattered fragments on the floor, with no trace of anyone.

The reason? Su Cheng had drawn his ghost blade and vanished into stealth.

"Stop playing tricks, you bastard! Get out here!"

The young man roared at the empty air, trying to bolster his own courage.

Seeing this, Su Cheng hooked his foot under another gym mat and hurled it toward them.

"Whoosh—!"

The mat suddenly flew through the air, cutting through the void. Both of their pupils shrank in shock.

"Holy shit!"

The young man reacted swiftly, shaking off his girlfriend's hand and bolting for the door in terror.

His girlfriend froze for a second before scrambling after him, screaming, "Ahhh! Help! There's a ghost here! Wait for me!"

But the young man didn’t even glance back, sprinting straight for the exit and yanking the door open, ready to flee.

Yet the moment the door swung open, his soul nearly left his body in sheer terror.

Standing in the doorway was a disheveled woman, her entire figure radiating an oppressive, chilling aura as she stared right at them.

"GHOST!"

The two shrieked and stumbled away in a panic.

Su Cheng raised an eyebrow.

They ran just like that?

How pathetic.

He smirked, but when he glanced at the door, his expression instantly froze.

Because there really was a long-haired figure standing there. His eyes widened, and his mind buzzed with disbelief.

"What the hell?"

…………………………………………