Shen Nian tactfully pretended nothing had happened. What captain? You must have seen wrong. Got any proof that I’m a captain? Show me the evidence—witnesses or hard facts.
"Let’s go. Did you finish your summer homework?"
"Done ages ago. Unlike you." Xia Yanchun’s voice carried a hint of playful sweetness, crisp and youthful.
"What’s that supposed to mean? I finished mine too, alright? One night, one miracle—ever heard of it?"
With that, Shen Nian’s heart settled firmly. They were both adults; some things were better left unspoken.
Xia Yanchun scoffed dismissively. "I do my homework every night. Unlike you, sneaking around doing who-knows-what in the dark." She paused, then added, "Take care of yourself. Maybe brew some goji berries to replenish your energy."
"Damn, you’re really shameless!"
This girl was playing dirty. How could she just say that out loud?
Shen Nian was annoyed. Seriously, was this girl devoid of shame? He’d already brushed it off, and now she was the one bringing it up? Did she think he had no dignity?
Xia Yanchun curled her lips in smug satisfaction and ignored him, turning to sling her backpack over her shoulder before nudging him toward the elevator.
The elevator mirror flattened and distorted their reflections into something comically ugly.
She fished a cotton candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and let it melt in her mouth.
Shen Nian reached for it, but Xia Yanchun twisted away with a teasing hum, refusing to share.
"Really? You’re gonna hoard it?"
"Dogs can’t eat cotton candy."
"Then how come you’re eating it?"
"Because I’m human, and you’re a dog."
After two months without bickering, she was finally getting her fill today. In a rare act of mercy, she tossed him a piece.
Shen Nian unwrapped it and popped the cotton candy into his mouth—sweet and fluffy.
Their school was close to the neighborhood, a twenty-minute walk away, practically a quasi-school-district home.
Ci’nan was a third-tier city, and Ci’nan No. 2 High ranked as the second-best in the area. Shen Nian was in Class 11 of the senior year.
Today was the last day for registration, and familiar faces dotted the campus.
Two months apart had turned some into tanned jocks, while others looked more mature. Shen Nian shook his head with a sigh—no one had magically transformed into the petite, adorable Xiao Nanliang.
Since Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun were in the same class, they registered together. The classroom desks were haphazardly arranged, but the early birds had already tidied their spots.
Their homeroom teacher, Su Kexi, handed them two forms. "You’re here? Fill these out. Tuition payment’s over there."
"Teacher, is evening self-study mandatory tonight?" Shen Nian was more concerned about this.
"Day students don’t have to come. Boarders need to attend a short class meeting."
"Got it."
They filled out the forms swiftly, handed them in, and scanned the QR code to pay the senior-year tuition.
"Shen Nian, you need to study harder this year. Your grades were great before the class reshuffle!" Su Kexi sighed, eyeing him meaningfully.
In a way, Shen Nian was a fallen prodigy—once a top student, now struggling to keep up.
That was just how things went. Everyone started at the same level, but in two short years, some surged ahead while others gave up. Shen Nian wasn’t exactly slacking off, but he wasn’t thriving either.
The gap between top-ten rankings and barely scraping into a decent university was huge. She doubted he didn’t realize it.
Shen Nian scratched his head. "Got it, teach. No problem. I even finished my summer homework this time—usually, I’d gamble on teachers not checking."
"And you’re proud of that?" Su Kexi laughed in exasperation. This little rascal.
Xia Yanchun chimed in, "Bet you crammed it all on the last day."
"Bold words! Do you ever not lie?"
"Teacher, look at him!"
"Alright, enough. Go tidy your desks. We’re rearranging seats tomorrow."
After organizing their spots, Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun left the classroom.
Shen Nian was miffed. The system had the audacity to show up now, after the most leisurely summer break, when senior year left little free time for tasks.
So much for being user-friendly.
"What’s… what’s wrong?" Xia Yanchun blinked, rubbing her face absently.
Shen Nian stayed silent, studying her intently—stroking his chin, frowning.
Between them now stood a tragic, insurmountable barrier—the system interface.
[Main Quest: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer (Completed)
Title: Rookie Adventurer (Auto-equipped)]
[New Main Quest: Courage is Humanity’s Anthem!
Defeat a Beginner-Level Monster for the First Time. Reward: 1,000 Gold]
??
They’d only been here half an hour, just for registration.
And the quest was already done?
So… enrolling in school counts as becoming an adventurer?
His sister is the saintess.
Yogurt is holy water.
And signing up for the new semester is equivalent to joining the adventurer’s guild?!
Damn system, running on sheer willpower in this glitched world, huh? You…
His focus shifted to the reward.
Wait, where’s my gold?
Shen Nian patted himself down before realizing—the system didn’t even have an inventory. Where would the gold go?
Did it end up in some otherworldly transmigrator’s stash?
Cuckolded by a system!
Fine, I hijacked your system, but you stole my gold? Die!
Buzz.
His phone vibrated. He pulled it out—his bank balance had jumped from 6.37 yuan to 1,006.37 yuan.
No sender info, no notes, timestamped just now.
So… the system’s "gold" just wired straight to his account?
Could’ve said so earlier. My bad, system.
The [Rookie Adventurer] title was auto-equipped, granting +1 Charm. Shen Nian didn’t feel any different, and no weird title hovered above his head.
Baffling.
"Do I seem… different to you?" Shen Nian put on a serious face, staring at Xia Yanchun, who’d already walked ahead.
Xia Yanchun frowned, scrutinizing him head to toe.
After two months apart, he seemed even dumber, more cringey, more of a clown.
Should she say that?
When she stayed silent, Shen Nian pressed, "Like, hotter or something? No change at all?"
"Nope. Still ugly."
"Liar. I’m serious—no difference?"
"Fine, fine. You went from normal to full-on dumbass. Your sister should take you to a therapist." She rolled her eyes, now convinced he’d lost it.
Hotter? He wasn’t bad-looking, but this was next-level delusion. Who gave him the audacity—Teresa Teng?
Shen Nian was puzzled. Wasn’t Charm +1 supposed to do something?
Xia Yanchun had known him since childhood—if there was a change, she’d notice.
But he quickly let it go.
If the charm stat is already maxed out, adding more won't make a difference, right? That makes sense—it has to be the case.
Charm level overflowing? That’s basically me.
·
Yanxi reminds you: Due to Tomato’s daily requests exceeding 3 million+, the server is under heavy strain. We now recommend switching to other top-tier sources.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
