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.
·
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] [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!"
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)
