Shen Nian had always been generous.
Even if the loli girl might have drawn a caricature of him in her notebook and mercilessly mocked it, he could brush it off with a laugh.
Being tolerant and magnanimous was a traditional virtue of rookie adventurers like them—perfectly normal.
A seating rearrangement chart was posted at the back of the classroom, with several classmates crowded around it, chattering noisily. Shen Nian found it too loud, so he dragged Chen Dong out to the hallway for a chat.
"You really have a childhood sweetheart?"
"Yeah, she goes to the neighboring No. 1 High."
"Damn, a top student too? What's her name?"
"None of your damn business. You’re not actually thinking of cucking me, are you?"
Shen Nian pointed at him like an accusatory husky.
"Piss off. I’d beat up any cuckold I see, or maybe even join them—wait, no! Anyway, I’m not a cuck, so don’t slander me, alright? Isn’t it normal for a father to care about his son’s love life?"
Chen Dong frowned, suddenly realizing that the third floor wasn’t all that high, and contemplated letting Shen Nian test the durability of concrete.
"I’ll end you."
"Damn, patricide now?!"
"Fine, fine, you bastard." Chen Dong started with a suppressed curse. Though he didn’t smoke Rick No. 5, he still had a bit of that untainted innocence in him.
"Why haven’t you mentioned her before?" Shen Nian pressed.
It was hard to believe Chen Dong had a love interest—or even a fling. His social media was all game shares, and he never brought up the topic. Some people couldn’t wait to announce their crushes to the world, but Chen Dong kept his tightly under wraps, like a hidden treasure.
"Nothing worth mentioning. You never asked."
"Fair enough. Buy me a drink."
"?"
Zero hesitation, straight to mooching? Fine, fine.
Shen Nian successfully scored a free cola. On the way back, Chen Dong wouldn’t stop ranting, cursing both the school principal and the convenience store owner.
This damn school charged exorbitant rent, and the store jacked up prices accordingly. A three-yuan soda outside cost four-fifty here—a 50% markup.
"Damn, why not just rob us outright? Bunch of idiots."
"Exactly, exactly," Shen Nian agreed. Because of the inflated prices, he preferred stocking up on snacks outside and stuffing them in his backpack, only buying ice cream at school.
Rumor had it the store was run by a relative of the principal, monopolizing business at No. 2 High.
Between the school’s sky-high rent and the store’s outrageous prices, Shen Nian refused to take sides—both could go to hell.
During the last self-study period before exams, no one was in the mood to study. Su Kexi was on duty at the podium but mostly ignored the low murmurs, pretending not to hear the quiet rustling.
But some people pushed their luck, openly playing tic-tac-toe right under the teacher’s nose, and not even quietly.
"Huang Chen, quiet," Su Kexi scolded, calling him out by name.
Huang Chen immediately clammed up, but it wasn’t long before he started whispering again.
He clicked his tongue, half-turning to chat with the girl behind him. "Lin Xiyuan, we’re in the same exam room tomorrow."
"Yeah." Lin Xiyuan replied indifferently, barely glancing at him.
"We’ll be sitting pretty close, heh."
"...What’s your point?"
"Just, y’know, don’t block my view, alright?"
Ah, so cheating was the plan.
"I’ll be doing my own test."
"No problem, no problem." Huang Chen flashed an OK sign.
Lin Xiyuan was in a sour mood.
Ever since her fight with Xia Yanchun, she’d barely spoken during self-study. Even when she wasn’t studying, she kept to herself.
Only after quieting down did she realize how noisy she used to be.
Huang Chen now was just an amplified version of her past self—except louder and more relentless.
Ugh, so annoying. She really wanted to snap at him:
"Stop talking to me. Can’t you see I’m studying? I don’t want to talk to you, and by the way, your breath stinks."
But she couldn’t. Huang Chen was part of her social circle, and saying something that harsh would ruin the delicate balance.
Even if he weren’t, blurting that out would destroy their classmate relationship.
As the queen of social circles, maintaining harmony was crucial.
She didn’t want to ruin relationships—which was why, even after clashing with Xia Yanchun, she’d been the one to apologize first.
Exhausted, she buried her face in her hands.
Huang Chen stole a glance at Lin Xiyuan, his heart racing. "Xiyuan, after the exams, it’s the sports festival. Any plans?"
"Uh... just staying at school, I guess."
"On the third day, we’re going out to eat. Are the girls joining?"
"No idea. Ask someone else." Lin Xiyuan waved him off as the teacher began patrolling the aisles. She shot Huang Chen a look and stopped talking.
Exams were tomorrow. She needed to focus.
When self-study ended, she grabbed her water bottle for a refill, only to find the dispenser empty. Instinctively, she looked at Shen Nian.
"Shen Nian, can you change the water for me?"
"Sure." Shen Nian swiftly swapped in a new bottle—part of the throne’s responsibilities.
"Thanks."
"No problem." He grinned, then patted Xia Yanchun’s shoulder. "Let’s go."
"Okay." Xia Yanchun nodded, hoisting her backpack and walking out with him.
Lin Xiyuan stood frozen, lost in thought, as water overflowed from her cup.
Outside, street vendors lined the roads. Shen Nian bought a skewer of fried snacks for about ten yuan.
"Don’t look at me. You’re not getting any."
"Who wants yours? Like I can’t afford my own." Xia Yanchun rolled her eyes and bought her own portion, finishing most of it on the way home.
"Which class are you in?" Shen Nian nudged her with his elbow. Even with little force, Xia Yanchun swayed like a doll in the wind.
Ever since realizing how intimate their interactions were, Shen Nian couldn’t help noticing how soft and delicate she seemed.
Chun, you’re a sweet, silly little idiot.
"Class 3," Xia Yanchun muttered, ignoring him.
"Damn, I’m in 18. Sixth floor."
"Serves you right. Hope you run yourself ragged."
"Bastard. Don’t sleep too soundly tonight."
"But Li Shiyan’s in your class."
"The loli girl? Sweet."
"Not sweet at all. Stop teasing her, okay? Li Shiyan’s not good with that."
Shen Nian scratched his head. He didn’t think he was that bad—it wasn’t like he gave her a mean nickname. Before he called her "loli girl," that was already her online handle.
Maybe tomorrow he’d let Li Shiyan call him by his own cringey username—[I’ll Marry Eight Wives]. He wouldn’t mind.
"Depends. Today she drew some unflattering art of me, and I didn’t even care. What’d she draw, anyway?"
"You eating ten pounds of crap."
"?"
Too lenient on her.
Yanxi Reminder: Due to Tomato’s demand for 3M+ daily requests straining the servers, we now recommend switching to other big players’ sources.
] [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!"
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
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)
