Xia Yanchun fumed and quickly withdrew her voice message.
Who in their right mind saves someone else's laughter? What a total creep!
She angrily sent an "Amigos" meme, pure aggression.
But Shen Nian didn’t take the bait—instead, he video-called her.
Xia Yanchun hesitated for a moment before burrowing back under her blanket, covering her chest with the edge, and finally hitting the answer button.
Girls rarely wear bras at home when sleeping, so better safe than sorry.
Shen Nian’s face suddenly filled the tiny screen, and Xia Yanchun felt like he was trying to crawl out of the phone like Sadako. She quickly minimized the video and pinned it to the top-right corner.
"You’re insane."
"Still alive. Doing homework," Shen Nian said, panning the camera to show his desk.
"Do it then. What’s it got to do with me? Say what you need or I’m hanging up. Ugh, calling every single day."
"If you hate video calls so much, why’d you answer? Tsundere much, you—"
Beep—
She hung up in a second. Xia Yanchun couldn’t help rolling her eyes. What nonsense was he spouting? Acting like she’d answer if it weren’t him calling.
After putting on a bra, Xia Yanchun went downstairs for breakfast. Her parents were off who-knows-where again. She thought about helping with chores, but the house was oddly spotless.
The first day back home, students usually don’t lift a finger—just laze around.
Second day: minor chores.
Third day: unpaid labor.
That’s how it was at Shen Nian’s place, but not at Xia Yanchun’s. She did chores willingly, and there weren’t many to begin with.
Back in her room, she pulled out her homework and sat up straight. Might as well finish the National Day assignments first...
At 10:15 AM, she’d solved two multiple-choice questions. She cracked open the balcony window and could hear her neighbor blasting videos from next door.
By 10:40 AM, she’d absentmindedly done two more problems. The video sounds were still going, now accompanied by random thuds and clatters.
At 11:00 AM, Xia Yanchun frowned and stepped onto the balcony. "Shen Nian, what the heck are you doing?!"
Footsteps approached, and Shen Nian popped his head out from his balcony window. "Cleaning up some junk. Why?"
As usual, he was in a casual T-shirt and shorts—even more relaxed now that they were back in their hometown. His shorts barely covered his knees, revealing the defined muscles of his thighs and calves.
The two balconies were separated only by thin iron railings, which might as well not exist for Shen Nian. He’d been able to climb over since they were kids; now it was a piece of cake.
The houses had always been built like this, their families so close they even shared the same well out front.
Shen Nian figured he was just too well-behaved—climbing into Xia Yanchun’s room without ever causing trouble. Otherwise, they’d have installed security bars or even an extra wall by now.
"You’re so loud!"
"Then close your window, genius. Who leaves it open with the AC on in this heat? Planning a heist or something?"
"I’m studying!" Xia Yanchun huffed. She’d opened the window to give the AC a break—not to "plan a heist." What an accusation.
"You’ve got yours open too."
"Because I’m cleaning the AC filter, dummy," Shen Nian said, squinting. "You need something?"
"No. Just keep it down. Every time you bump into the wall, it sounds like you’re renovating over here."
"Got it, got it." Shen Nian waved her off and went back inside, soon closing both his window and curtains.
If Xia Yanchun said it was noisy, he’d keep quiet.
Xia Yanchun blinked, sighed, and shut her own window before returning to her desk—but her focus was long gone.
Around noon, Shen Nian texted her again.
She checked her phone and nearly facepalmed.
[Shen Nian]: Open the window. (Your dad’s here.jpg)
A faint rustling came from the balcony. In broad daylight, Shen Nian’s shadow was unmistakable.
He—he actually climbed over!
She always claimed to hate when he did this, but her heart raced anyway.
It felt like something out of a teen drama—the bad boy scaling the balcony to see the girl. Flustered, she slipped on her sandals and shut her bedroom door with a click, double-checking her parents weren’t home before parting the curtains. But she didn’t open the window.
"You idiot! Couldn’t you just use the front door?!"
Climbing was dangerous! They’d been reckless as kids, but how was he still this dumb?
Muffled through the glass, Shen Nian dug at his ear and shrugged. "Why waste time going up and down three flights when I can get here in three seconds? It’s not like I’ll fall."
He wasn’t stupid—he always hugged the wall side. The balcony was wide enough for extra clotheslines, potted plants, even cilantro. He could’ve done a backflip if he wanted. If he ever fell, it’d be because the universe decided to ban his account for cheating.
"It’s still dangerous!" Xia Yanchun crossed her arms, refusing to back down. Skipping the front door for the balcony? It was like some sketchy affair. The neighbors would talk.
"Fine, next time I’ll come from below. Now shh—open up."
With a whoosh, she slid the window open, and Shen Nian strolled in like he owned the place. A faint sweat scent hit her, and her face warmed inexplicably.
When was the last time he’d pulled this stunt?
Too long ago to remember.
"What’re you here for? Spill it."
No books or pens—if he claimed it was for studying, she’d call him out. Admit it, Shen Nian, you just wanted to see me!
She braced for some lofty excuse, followed by him playing with her hair and crowding her space—just like on the bus.
But she wouldn’t indulge him anymore. Yesterday was the last time.
...Okay, maybe just the hair.
"Missed you, dummy." Shen Nian grinned, blunt as ever. "Did homework this morning, finished chores, got bored. Can’t I visit?"
His schedule was packed—workouts, studying, breaks, and killing time with Xia Yanchun. Those four things ate up his day.
But he had way more energy than most. Already exercised, studied, even cleaned the AC filter...
Now it was Xia Yanchun time.
"Should I take that as harassment?" She forced a smile, suspecting a double entendre.
"Chun as in Xia Yanchun. The ‘spring’ in your name."
"Ew. So cringe..." She fake-gagged, then snapped a photo of him at her desk with her phone.
"Wait, what’re you—?" Shen Nian squinted.
"Going on Xiaohongshu."
"Cool. Don’t blur my face. And make sure you mention I’m a 6-foot-tall, ultra-handsome, sunshine high-school hunk."
Xia Yanchun is a bad woman, truly wicked.
"I'll write that you have the same god-tier muscle definition as Uma+7 to drive traffic."
Shen Nian: ?
The sky is falling.
Girl, I’m begging you, don’t do this—I’ll do anything.
Before Shen Nian could respond, the system abruptly appeared.
[Side Quest Triggered: Revisiting the Past
You’ve returned to a place filled with memories of her. Rest here and prepare for the battles ahead.
Reward: 1,000 gold, Passive Skill: Healing Hands (Minorly repairs physical injuries through touch)]
Holy—!
A passive skill!
Yanxi reminds you: Due to Tomato’s demand for over 3 million daily updates straining the servers, we now recommend switching to other major 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!"
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)
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
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...
