Gu Niannian's Puzzlement

Zhou Yi followed the system's prompt and looked over.

In the last row of the classroom sat a girl dressed in black.

She wore black-rimmed glasses, and her bangs were long enough to cover half her face. She was bundled up tightly, not even a sliver of her neck visible.

If not for the system's prompt, he probably wouldn't have even noticed someone was sitting there.

"System, are you sure you didn't make a mistake? That girl is an SSS-rank capture target?"

"That's correct, Host. It's her. Her name is Gu Niannian."

At first glance, Zhou Yi almost thought she was a carbon copy of the original host.

Her face was obscured, she had zero presence, and she was basically a background character in the crowd.

For a girl like her to become an SSS-rank target, there had to be a reason.

He wondered if this girl, just like Daisy... would become a lingering regret in his heart.

If something like that were to happen again, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to accept it.

077 noticed Zhou Yi's distraction and said directly, "Host, if you are worried, you don't have to approach her or try to capture her. Then, nothing will happen."

This was giving Zhou Yi a choice.

He was indeed hesitating.

"If—and I'm just saying if—if I don't approach her and don't capture her, what will happen to her?"

"Do you want to know? I can give you one chance to see, but then your reward for capturing Xia Qiuzhi will be gone."

"I want to see."

Zhou Yi was truly afraid. He was afraid of another Daisy appearing, leaving him filled with regret.

After Zhou Yi finished looking, he fell into a heavy silence.

If he did nothing, this girl's ultimate fate was death.

She would leap from a tall building, dying under the watchful eyes of a crowd.

"She isn't much happier than Daisy. Whether or not you capture her is up to you. Regardless, if you don't, this is how her life will end."

Zhou Yi felt a twinge of resentment toward the system for always assigning him such SSS-rank targets.

If he didn't capture her, this girl would definitely die.

Now that he knew the outcome, could he just stand by and watch her die?

Zhou Yi still had a bit of a conscience left; he couldn't just watch her die.

"So, you knew I would definitely try to capture her, which is why you showed me her future."

If he captured her, perhaps he could change her ending.

This was the system's temptation.

Tempting him to capture Gu Niannian.

"Not entirely. It's because she has a deep connection with you, an inextricable bond."

Zhou Yi didn't know what kind of riddle the system was playing at this time, so he could only sigh.

"I get it. Let's take it one step at a time. I need to know what happened to her before I can capture her."

Zhou Yi tried to figure out this girl using the original host's mindset.

As a background character in the crowd, what would she want?

It should be...

Attention.

Zhou Yi discreetly cast a glance at her.

She sat at the very back of the classroom. From the moment he entered until now, she had barely looked at him.

She just kept her head down, writing something. It wasn't until the teacher announced the start of class that she looked up to listen.

Her face was still obscured. He couldn't tell what kind of expression was hidden beneath her hair.

She was hiding her emotions and her inner self.

After class, everyone else left the classroom. Only Gu Niannian remained sitting alone in the corner.

Zhou Yi pretended to rest on the balcony outside the classroom. When Gu Niannian came out, he feigned passing by and bumped into her.

Gu Niannian's books scattered all over the floor.

She didn't say a word, nor did she look at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi apologized while helping her pick up the books. "I'm sorry, miss. I didn't mean to. Are you okay?"

His gentle voice fell upon Gu Niannian's ears, causing her to freeze for a moment.

She looked up and gave Zhou Yi a glance.

The girl pursed her lips, lowered her head, and whispered, "I'm sorry."

After saying that, she hugged her books and prepared to leave.

When Zhou Yi spoke to her, she had actually recognized him. He was the school's celebrity, Zhou Yi.

She didn't dare have much contact with someone like him. She was extremely nervous and only wanted to escape as quickly as possible.

However, that gentle voice lingered in her heart.

She hadn't taken two steps when she suddenly heard a voice.

It startled her.

[What a cute girl.]

Gu Niannian stopped in her tracks and looked around. There was clearly no one beside her. Where did that voice come from?

Until she looked at Zhou Yi again.

He was leaning against the balcony and seemed to have noticed her gaze.

The voice sounded again.

[Is she looking at me?]

Gu Niannian was completely dumbfounded.

The voice she heard... came from Zhou Yi?

But he clearly hadn't spoken. Where was that voice coming from?

Gu Niannian almost thought she had seen a ghost.

[Why isn't she saying anything?]

Gu Niannian took a step back and bolted.

After going downstairs, she stared blankly ahead, still not having recovered her senses.

Had she really seen a ghost?

At that moment, the sudden sound of pouring rain snapped her back to reality.

She hadn't brought an umbrella, so she simply held her books over her head and ran toward the cafeteria.

Zhou Yi watched her running figure from the balcony.

She appeared very timid in front of Zhou Yi.

Or rather, she didn't like having contact or communicating with people.

After running to the cafeteria, Gu Niannian got her food and found another corner to sit in.

All the way there, she hadn't heard that strange voice again.

So, that voice definitely had something to do with Zhou Yi.

Gu Niannian was still pondering the reason while she ate.

Such a thing was simply too magical; she found it hard to believe.

Unable to figure it out, Gu Niannian could only put it aside for now.

After finishing her meal, the rain gradually subsided. Gu Niannian braved the drizzle and went to her part-time job at the supermarket.

Her petite and thin body was surprisingly strong; moving boxes and stocking goods were no problem for her at all.

The boss praised her a few times, but she didn't say a word.

Gu Niannian knew she was an outcast. She didn't have the courage to integrate into this world, so she could only stay away from everything and be an obscure background character in the crowd.

At noon, after finishing stocking the shelves at the supermarket, Gu Niannian returned to the classroom to read and study.

As she read, she stared at the rain outside the window and spaced out.

In truth, she didn't like studying. Not one bit.

After a sigh, she returned her gaze to her textbook.

Classmates gradually arrived in the classroom for the next lesson, but not a single person spoke to her.

Gu Niannian had no friends.

Perhaps she once had the chance to have them, but it had been ruined by that person.

When Zhou Yi arrived at the classroom, he sat down in front of Gu Niannian.

Gu Niannian was originally staring at her book and didn't know Zhou Yi had arrived.

Until she heard that voice again.

[So boring.]

The voice sounded as if it were right next to her ear; it was impossible to ignore.

Gu Niannian abruptly looked up and saw that familiar back.

Zhou Yi was sitting alone in the second-to-last row.

No one dared to approach him either.

She was just like him, sharing a wide and spacious area.

She was also like him, completely alienated from this class.

To this day, she still hadn't remembered the names of her classmates.

A little while later, the teacher arrived.

Gu Niannian took notes as she listened to the lecture.

But that voice kept appearing.

[Such simple questions. I don't really want to listen, but that doesn't seem very good.]

[Why isn't anyone in the class talking to me? Am I unlikable?]

Hearing those words, Gu Niannian twitched her lips, almost speaking out loud.

A golden boy like you is easily one of the top elites at University A, so who would dare approach you?

She replied silently in her heart, though the person sitting in front of her could not possibly hear it.

Her eyes were fixed on the book, but her mind was wandering.

So... she could hear Zhou Yi's inner thoughts?

Why?

She did not understand.

Gu Niannian shifted her gaze from the book to Zhou Yi's back once again.