Did I really stand on my tiptoes yesterday?
Did I really?
Xia Yanchun had no memory of such a small action at all. She suspected Shen Nian was deliberately saying it to mess with her; after all, he was just that kind of awful person.
Feeling both angry and embarrassed, Xia Yanchun thought that even if she had really stood on her tiptoes, she would grit her teeth and never admit it.
Standing on tiptoes implied taking the initiative... the idea of her actively leaning in to kiss Shen Nian or something... was just unthinkable!
Her mind in turmoil, Xia Yanchun gave herself a lot of mental pep talks before finally mustering up a righteous air. "Not a single word out of your mouth is true."
"So you really didn't stand on your tiptoes?"
"You think I'm like you?"
Shen Nian rubbed his chin.
Looking at Xia Yanchun's pink, flustered yet defiant little face, he decided to just go along with it.
She was like this, so why not just indulge her?
Shen Nian stayed silent, simply holding Xia Yanchun's small hand the whole way, listening to her chattering and scolding him all along the road.
Only when they reached the school gate did Xia Yanchun pull her hand out from his pocket and tuck it into her own.
The classroom was warmer. Once back, Xia Yanchun took out her small pillow to rest on.
It was now lunch break.
Shen Nian didn't plan to disturb Xia Yanchun's nap. He just sat beside her, also leaning down on the desk to watch her for a while.
"I advise you to keep any mischievous ideas to yourself, you know. The surveillance cameras for the mock exams are definitely on!" Xia Yanchun, afraid he might try something, pointed this out to him with great seriousness.
"What mischievous ideas? My thoughts are perfectly proper."
"Keep your proper thoughts to yourself too. Go play somewhere else, don't disturb my sleep."
"Got it. I'll take a nap with you, okay?"
"Whatever."
Outside, she wouldn't say what Shen Nian wanted to do, but in the classroom, especially under the surveillance cameras during important exams like the mock ones, she absolutely, positively would not let Shen Nian mess around.
If Shen Nian got himself a disciplinary record, that was his problem. He better not drag her into it.
The day Shen Nian got punished and his name was announced to the whole school, she would be the first to throw stones at him while he was down.
No particular reason, just pure pettiness—giving him a taste of his own medicine.
Seeing Shen Nian quiet and seemingly well-behaved, Xia Yanchun stopped nagging him. There were still exams in the afternoon, after all.
"Good afternoon," she murmured softly, resting her cheek on her hand with a little hum.
"Sleep, sleep. I won't stare at you creepily today at noon."
"Pfft."
...
The sun had come out outside. Today, breaking all precedent, Xia Yanchun woke up before the lunch break bell rang.
Her vision was blurry. Xia Yanchun rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawned, and sat dazedly for a moment before coming to her senses. A girl just woken up often feels a bit low and hazy.
Napping on a school desk was never comfortable. Sometimes if your posture was wrong, your neck would get sore and achy, and it was easy to get a one-sided headache.
If only she had agreed to Shen Nian's suggestion before—to drive home for lunch break.
Ugh.
Xia Yanchun glanced sideways at Shen Nian next to her. He wasn't awake yet, lying face down on the hard desk. He only had two books as a cushion, yet he seemed to be sleeping so soundly.
Does he have such good sleep quality?
Xia Yanchun had heard that some people have surprisingly high sleep quality; they only need six hours a night to feel refreshed all day. Conversely, those with poor sleep quality can still feel tired after twelve hours.
Shen Nian probably belonged to the former type.
But he used to sleep in class a lot during his first and second years of high school...
Xia Yanchun still remembered having to write down Shen Nian's name several times a day back then, either for sleeping or talking.
It seemed like he suddenly started becoming excellent.
Do boys undergo a major change in temperament at a certain special age?
It was like... he suddenly started liking her very, very much, becoming extremely clingy...
Xia Yanchun lay on her little pillow, her almond-shaped eyes blinking, a pink bubble seeming to pop in her mind, a little flower blooming in her heart, inexplicably feeling a touch of sweetness.
Looking at Shen Nian's sleeping face, she felt an impulse to pinch his nose and wake him up.
She wanted to draw a pig's nose, cat whiskers, blush, and write the character for "little brother" on his cheeks twice...
...Wouldn't that be exactly like when they were kids? She'd really become a mean girl then!
Speaking of which, was this considered staring creepily?
Xia Yanchun fell into thought and decided not to be so cringe. In her mind, Shen Nian was perfectly safe, not suffering at all.
The bell rang soon after. Shen Nian opened his eyes, his big hand groping around until it found Xia Yanchun's side. He casually pinched the girl's soft cheek, then just as casually took her water bottle and, right in front of her, gulped down the entire bottle of water.
The long-cold water was quite refreshing as it washed into his mouth.
"Comfortable sleep, huh? You even drooled."
"Eww, no way."
"Hurry back to your seat. People will be coming in soon."
"Emmmm..."
Shen Nian, because he had stood up, found that he couldn't stand up properly.
Guys are like that sometimes; a ten-minute nap in class can lead to this.
A little-known fact: given the choice between being called on to answer a question right after waking up and wiring 200 yuan to the First Emperor of Qin, most guys would choose the latter.
Shen Nian gave an awkward laugh. "Chunbao, do you have a wet wipe?"
"Here, take it yourself."
"Ah, haha, do you have any oil-blotting paper? Feel like my face is getting oily."
"Why so fussy? Getting oily in the middle of winter... Here you go."
"..."
Shen Nian was sweating bullets, stalling and covering up. Luckily, Xia Yanchun didn't become suspicious.
Shen Nian chatted goofily for a while before daring to get up and go to the restroom.
The afternoon exam was math, so everyone came quite early. As Shen Nian came out of the restroom, he bumped right into Chen Dong.
Seeing Chen Dong looking depressed and listless, Shen Nian immediately stepped forward to show concern, patting his back with a big hand.
"Chen Dong, what's wrong? You don't look so good."
"Dammit, using me as a towel again."
"Haha, little Chen, remember, 'endure small things to avoid messing up big plans.' Even though we don't have any big plans, you still shouldn't fail to endure. Just bear with it, sorry to trouble you."
"Just saying whatever comes to mind, huh? Later, I'll sacrifice ten years of your sex drive to pray the final problem isn't about hyperbolas and eccentricity."
"Damn, that's too cruel. Better sacrifice my lifespan instead."
"Even willing to lose ten years of life rather than sacrifice your sex drive? You, Shen Nian..." Chen Dong's expression turned serious. "I acknowledge you. Really. You'll definitely become a social elite, a driving force for the motherland."
"We're bros, no need to say more. If you're struggling after we enter society, just call me."
"You have connections?"
"No, at that time, just give me your phone. I'll handle your troubles for you."
"You bastard, trying to get me into debt?"
"What are you two talking about?" Ma Mingfan had arrived at some point, looking full of energy, like he could pilot a battleship.
"What did you do at noon? You're even more energetic than me." Shen Nian gave him a light elbow jab.
"Training my willpower." Ma Mingfan waved his hand. "Resisting sleepiness during lunch break is part of willpower training too."
"Amazing. You better not doze off later."
Who do you think you're looking down on? If I doze off, I'll treat myself to a Korean BBQ buffet this weekend. If I don't, I'll have a hotpot buffet.
"Just say you want to eat."
Yanxi reminds you: Due to the Tomato Novel App requesting over 3 million daily visits, which is causing excessive server pressure, it is now recommended that you use sources from other big shots/master uploaders:
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)
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
] [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!"
