In the dream world, it was impossible to distinguish the flow of time.
By instinct, it felt like an eternity had passed.
"Lin Yu..."
"Can you let your big sister here take a break?"
"My legs are sore from all this standing..."
Shen Buyao couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke up.
Not only that.
She also noticed that Lin Yu’s hand had shifted significantly from where it had started.
This shift didn’t happen all at once.
Instead, it was a slow, almost imperceptible change.
Now.
It was dangerously close to creeping past her knee!
No matter how naive she was, she wasn’t foolish enough to just stand there and let him take liberties.
Lin Yu instantly withdrew his burning hand.
"Buyao, you’re really such a good person."
"Before, I only thought you were spoiled and hard to approach."
"But today, I realized you’re actually a sweet and gentle girl at heart."
Shen Buyao: "..."
Wow. Such blunt praise.
She was used to guys treating her like some kind of menace.
So when a guy suddenly showered her with such shameless flattery,
For a moment.
She didn’t even know how to respond.
So… she did the right thing just now, right?
"Tch, smooth-talker, you—"
"Hey?! What—what are you doing?!"
Before Shen Buyao could even finish reacting,
She was shocked to find Lin Yu reaching out, one arm high and the other low, as if to pull her into an embrace.
A startled yelp escaped her.
Lin Yu obediently paused and said,
"I’m carrying you to the pavilion up there?"
Shen Buyao reflexively shot back,
"Your big sister isn’t a cripple!"
"I can walk on my own!"
Lin Yu blinked innocently, pressing further:
"Can’t I carry you? I thought it’d be okay."
"Aren’t guys supposed to show off a little in front of their girlfriends?"
"Did I mess up again…"
Shen Buyao, already numb from his relentless "questioning,"
Felt her brain short-circuit.
No matter what bizarre request Lin Yu made, she couldn’t find a way to argue back.
Curse her lack of experience!
A hug… wasn’t that something all couples did?
Her legs were practically rubbed raw—what was there to fear from a hug?
"It’s not about messing up, it’s just that I’m heavy, and you’re so skinny—"
"Wha—ahh!!"
Before she could finish, Lin Yu swept her up effortlessly.
A textbook princess carry, so forceful that Shen Buyao even felt a brief moment of weightlessness.
Lin Yu looked down at the antique-loving girl in his arms and said earnestly,
"Don’t let my slim frame fool you—I’m pure muscle down to the bone."
Shen Buyao wrapped her arms around his neck and couldn’t help but laugh.
Who knew this deadbeat Lin Yu had the strength of an ox?
As they walked toward the pavilion,
Lin Yu locked eyes with Shen Buyao for a moment before launching another interrogation:
"Buyao, why aren’t you closing your eyes?"
Shen Buyao: "???"
"What do you mean? The sun isn’t even in my eyes?"
Lin Yu furrowed his brows:
"I heard from my guy friends that when you really want to kiss a girl, you stare into her eyes."
"If she’s okay with it, she’ll close them."
"And when a girl closes her eyes, it means she wants you to kiss her!"
Shen Buyao pondered this and asked,
"Was that really your guy friends, or was it Miss Duan who told you that?"
Lin Yu: "Both did."
A sweet warmth bloomed in Shen Buyao’s chest: "So… you want to kiss me?"
Lin Yu: "Obviously."
Shen Buyao: "Then go ahead?"
Lin Yu: "I will."
Shen Buyao: "Do it."
Lin Yu: "I’m doing it now!"
Shen Buyao: "Then what are you waiting for?"
Lin Yu: "Here I go!"
Shen Buyao: "Go!"
"..."
Honestly.
Lin Yu had kissed plenty of times in his life.
But this one.
Felt like a grand, sweeping epic.
The next moment.
The scene abruptly shifted.
The two of them bypassed the treacherous steps and ended up sprawled on a bench inside the pavilion.
Lin Yu prided himself on being a seasoned expert when it came to undressing—so much so that he considered himself beyond buttons.
But the intricate ribbons of Shen Buyao’s fairy-like dress slowed him to a crawl.
Who the hell designed this?!
Why so realistic?!
A symbolic little tie would’ve been enough!
Why the layers upon layers of convoluted knots?!
"Lin Yu! Lin Yu!!"
"Wait, wait—shouldn’t we slow down a little?"
"Your guy friends couldn’t have told you that most people don’t go this far on their first date, right?"
Shen Buyao wasn’t stupid enough to believe otherwise.
She knew full well that most couples didn’t cross certain lines on their first outing.
Faced with her sudden return to rationality,
Lin Yu didn’t have a good way to deflect.
"Buyao, it’s just… the mood is right, isn’t it?"
"Isn’t it important for a couple to be in sync?"
Not being able to seal the deal earlier was a real shame.
If they’d just gotten past that hurdle, things would’ve been so much simpler.
This time,
Lin Yu’s rushed explanation didn’t fully convince Shen Buyao.
She hurriedly said,
"That may be true, but do we really have to test our ‘sync’ here?"
"Aren’t we… here to take photos?"
Phone!
Lin Yu pointed to the side:
"Didn’t we agree on recording? You didn’t object."
"I even set up the tripod. You know what they say—"
"Capture the beautiful moments!"
Shen Buyao was stunned, clutching her waistband tightly:
"Lin Yu, you idiot, ‘capture the beautiful moments’ doesn’t mean—"
"Recording a damn porno!!"
A faint buzzing noise echoed in Lin Yu’s mind.
Oh no.
This was the precursor to the dream world collapsing.
Damn these ribbons—should’ve conjured scissors instead!
He quickly pulled back, helping Shen Buyao up from the bench:
"Buyao, you’re right."
"I’m willing to hold back for you!"
If they kept going,
Not only would he fail to score,
But he might also leave some serious "collision damage" in the dream world.
Dreams were just dreams.
He couldn’t let them mess with reality.
Shen Buyao took deep, steadying breaths and nodded:
"Exactly, no need to rush like some wild monkey, I—ahh!"
A sudden scream cut her off.
Shen Buyao lost her balance in the most bizarre way and tumbled off the bench—straight down the mountain.
Lin Yu stared in shock: "???"
Dammit!
Since when was the bench next to a cliff?!
——
Back in Shen Buyao’s room.
The sensation of falling and the shock of the dream
Sent her bolting upright in bed.
"Haah…"
"Thank goodness… it was just a dream!"
She patted her chest, calming her racing heart.
Then, suddenly,
She remembered something and glanced to the side—
Shen Jiuyi sat there,
Her sharp eyes gleaming like a Persian cat’s in the dark:
"Buyao, you said ‘Lin Yu, don’t’ 52 times in your sleep."
"Did he… brutally whip you in your dream?"

ial death, also known as "shè sǐ" in Chinese, generally refers to... well, never mind, it's not important. My name is Ye Cheng, and I'm about to experience social death firsthand. ... 【Host, your mission is to confess your love to the young lady of the Dongfang family, the current student council president, in a way that will be unforgettable for everyone at the freshman ceremony!】 【Host, assist the girl with a sprained ankle in front of you to reach the infirmary, and fulfill the wicked thoughts in your heart!】 【Host, act on your desires and punish the arrogant young lady before you mercilessly!】 【Host, follow your instincts—abandon shameful surrender, begging, or groveling, and ruthlessly criticize the domineering, ill-mannered young lady in front of you!】 【Host...】 Ye Cheng: "Here, here, you take this host role—I quit!" Wait, why is the girl with a sprained ankle the daughter of a mafia boss? And what kind of punishment method is this for the arrogant young lady? Also, who the heck said anything about wicked thoughts in my heart? Come out here, let’s settle this one-on-one!!! ... The haughty student council president, the scheming mafia princess, the fragile yandere young lady, the airheaded maid-in-waiting, the mixed-blood loli/...

world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...

【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.)

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!