Back in the classroom from the office, Shen Nian pulled a few duck feet from his backpack and gave one each to Xia Yanchun and Li Shiyan.
Li Shiyan immediately tore open the packaging and started nibbling on it bit by bit, like an old lady with no teeth left. She ate very slowly, meticulously cleaning off all the skin and meat before discreetly spitting the bone out into her hand—very ladylike.
Shen Nian felt he must have a bit of a gluttonous gene in him. When eating duck feet, he only spits out the biggest bone; all the other small joint bones get chewed up and swallowed.
Xia Yanchun wasn't that greedy. She stuffed the duck foot into her pocket. After a moment's thought, she looked at Shen Nian.
"Don't you want to buy a water bottle too?"
"Huh?" Shen Nian shook his head. "I usually prefer to just buy bottled water."
"Then you should keep an empty bottle to refill, don't throw them away so fast."
Shen Nian grinned, realizing Chun Bao was afraid he'd keep using her water bottle.
"That was an accident at noon, I was too lazy to go downstairs."
"It's not about that other thing, I'm just reminding you it's better to have your own bottle." Xia Yanchun smoothed her hair and turned her face away. After saying this, she didn't continue the conversation with Shen Nian.
Because class was starting, and as the class monitor, she had to manage the classroom discipline appropriately.
Perhaps wary of Su Kexi in the office, everyone was quite well-behaved today. Rarely did anyone make unusual noises, and the occasional bit of talking quickly died down.
Evening self-study ended.
Shen Nian walked out of the classroom feeling glum and said, "Maybe I should just go buy a water bottle after all."
"What made you change your mind?" Xia Yanchun raised an eyebrow.
"I got a bit thirsty just now, no water bottle, no drinks either."
He wasn't shameless enough to ask Xia Yanchun for her water bottle during class. Even if he dared, she definitely wouldn't lend it.
Damn duck feet make me thirsty every time. The black duck flavor is just too salty. Next time, I'll switch to our light savory flavored Kun-style feet.
"Hmph, serves you right," Xia Yanchun said with a hint of schadenfreude. "So, are you going to buy water now?"
"I'll buy a bottle and get water at the same time."
"Oh."
Usually, trendy little shops by the roadside sell this kind of water bottle—quite flashy ones. They sell everything: hair ties, DIY stickers, stationery, and the prices are reasonable.
Shen Nian picked a black one with a Batman-themed soft lid. "This one's so cool it hits me in the face."
But Xia Yanchun was disdainful.
"This one is nice," Xia Yanchun picked out a sunflower-patterned water bottle. "Much better looking than your pitch-black one. A transparent one is nicer."
"Isn't this for girls? It even has a straw..."
"It's all for drinking water, as long as it looks good, right?"
Shen Nian felt Chun Bao's words made some sense.
Since Chun Bao liked it, he'd just buy it.
Counting his scholarship, he was starting to feel like a bit of a rich kid. Some college graduates who've been working for two years might not even have as much savings as him.
He was already planning whether to just go all-in and buy a car outright in the future.
"Don't you want to buy anything else?"
"No need, I'm not lacking anything."
"Alright, alright, I'll just swipe a couple more next time I'm at your place."
"Oh, you! So that's why my hair ties keep disappearing! It was you stealing them all along, you little thief!"
"Hey, hey, you lost them yourself, don't blame everything on me. I only took one blue one from you!"
"It was definitely you."
"Blaming me for everything, using me to balance the books, huh..."
Xia Yanchun happily sat on the back of his bike. It wasn't far from home, so both she and Shen Nian were too lazy to wear helmets.
There were many barbecue stalls along the road. Some people who had been drinking were easily riled up. Not sure what conflict arose, but the two tables were getting heated, looking like they were about to fight.
Shen Nian immediately found a spot to park. Lowering his voice deliberately but with a hint of excitement, he nudged Xia Yanchun with his elbow. "A fight!"
"Don't leave yet, let's watch..."
"Tattoos too. You should ride further away!"
"Scared of what? If they come at us, I'll have the bike 50 meters away in no time."
Xia Yanchun was also someone who enjoyed watching fights. If there was a spectacle on the road, she would definitely watch from afar for a while.
Keeping a distance was because if things got out of hand and the fight started involving bystanders, you never knew what could happen.
The two groups argued back and forth but were eventually persuaded to separate by others. They still hadn't come to blows by the time Shen Nian rode away.
...
Thursday, the temperature dropped, with a low of only eleven degrees Celsius.
Shen Nian put on the light-toned autumn jacket that Xia Yanchun had picked out for him during the parent-teacher meeting.
It was slightly long, very layered, and looked pretty good paired with just a pair of trousers.
A top-tier jacket. Chun Bao's eye was just too sharp.
Xia Yanchun bundled herself up tightly, like a little sparrow.
Opening the lid, a puff of steam rose from the thermos of millet porridge. Xia Yanchun cupped it in her hands to warm herself. Her two delicate little hands were red from the cold. If she didn't apply some hand cream, her skin would easily chap.
"Whew, it's really getting cold," Shen Nian said, blowing into his cupped hands, then gently covered the girl's pink ears with his big hands to warm them.
"Well, it is winter after all," Xia Yanchun replied casually, inserting the straw and slowly sipping the hot porridge, her eyes curving into happy crescents.
In the middle of winter, a mouthful of hot porridge was truly satisfying, warming the stomach and the ears too.
Chun Bao's expression looked like it was melting.
Little brother should warm up big sister's mouth/teeth!
While Shen Nian was riding, she played with her phone behind him, switching hands when the one holding onto him got cold from the wind.
When both hands got cold, she mischievously pinched Shen Nian's earlobe.
"That's going too far," Shen Nian was thoroughly annoyed. Haruki Chun was dropping the act. "If I accidentally crash later, you'll regret it."
"Who told you not to wear a helmet?"
"Pfft, not necessary. It's only a few minutes' ride. You didn't wear one yesterday either."
"But I'm wearing one today, and you're not."
"I'm not talking to a hypocrite like you." Shen Nian stopped talking and grabbed Chun Bao's little hand, stuffing it into his own pocket.
Ancient mountain bandit kings plundered like this—once caught, they wouldn't let go. Xia Yanchun tried to pull her hand back, but Shen Nian showed no intention of releasing her.
With the back of her hand against his warm palm, Xia Yanchun's hand was enveloped warmly by Shen Nian's.
Xia Yanchun humphed, put her phone away, and slipped her other hand into Shen Nian's other pocket too, making both his pockets bulge.
At the school gate, after parking the bike, Shen Nian quickly caught up to Xia Yanchun, who had walked ahead a bit, and slipped his hand against the back of her neck.
"Eek!!"
Xia Yanchun immediately hunched her shoulders, grabbed Shen Nian's hand with a huff, and threw it away. "Are you crazy?!"
"Hehe."
"Hehe my foot. If I step in dog poop, I'll stuff it in your mouth."
Shen Nian's smile vanished. No more hehe-ing.
During the long break between classes, Shen Nian capped his pen. The test papers were done for now.
Ten sets of papers were a lot to write. He thought he could finish them quickly, but in the end, it dragged on until Thursday.
That said, it was still much faster than before.
A system message followed.
[Main Quest: Promotion, Advanced Adventurer! (Completed)
Reward: 10,000 Gold Coins, Title: Advanced Adventurer (Charm +3, Stamina +3, Agility +3)]
【Unlock Main Quest: Demonic Energy Erosion!
A Demon General under the Demon King has descended. Its terrifying demonic energy will corrupt all things. As a high-level adventurer, the lights of countless homes rest upon your shoulders...
Draw your sword, and vanquish the Demon King's subordinate, the Demon General!
Reward: 50,000 Gold Coins.】
Yan Xi reminds you: Due to Tomato's request for over three million daily views causing excessive server pressure, it is now recommended that you use sources provided by other esteemed seniors.
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)
] [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!"
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
