After Xia Baiyi’s words fell, the classroom became so quiet
that one could hear a pin drop.
However, Xia Baiyi seemed completely unaware of the
atmosphere in the classroom. Shyly, she looked at Ruan Qing, her timid
expression contrasting with her bold actions just moments ago. The phrase “Can
I come to your house to play?” became somewhat ambiguous with her bashful
demeanor.
It seemed to carry a deeper meaning.
Perhaps it wasn’t just seeming, but indeed held a deeper
implication. After all, when a woman said something like that to a man with
such a posture, it could be said that her intentions were as clear as day.
If it were in the past, perhaps other classmates would have
insulted Su Qing, comparing him to a beast. But at this moment, as they looked
at the boy and girl embracing each other without regard for the occasion, they
fell into silence.
They all had a lingering feeling of being taken advantage
of... and it didn’t necessarily have to be Xia Baiyi, who was being taken
advantage.
They even had a strange sense that Xia Baiyi was defiling the
young man...
When Xia Baiyi’s words fell, Xiao Shiyi directly snapped the
pen in his hand, breaking the eerie silence in the classroom.
He stood up and walked to the two of them, firmly grabbing
Xia Baiyi’s hand that was wrapped around the boy’s neck, mercilessly pulling
her down. Xiao Shiyi coldly spoke, “Classmate Xia, I hope you understand that
this is a classroom, not a place where you can behave recklessly. Please do not
disturb other students’ studies.”
After saying that, he didn’t even glance at Xia Baiyi, but
instead looked at Ruan Qing, his voice and expression softening, filled with
apology. “Brother Su, I’m sorry. Please don’t be angry. After all, I am the
class monitor, and classmate Xia, as a fellow student, has disregarded the
dignity of the class by saying such shameless words. I cannot ignore it.”
Xiao Shiyi’s words sounded helpless, as if his position forced
him to act this way.
Ruan Qing glanced at Xiao Shiyi, his expression cold as he
uttered a cold “Oh,” seemingly dissatisfied with Xiao Shiyi’s recent actions.
In reality, Ruan Qing had no real dissatisfaction. After all,
this “Xia Baiyi” might not be the real Xia Baiyi, and her heart still resided
on the right side.
So, at the moment when she embraced him, if Xiao Shiyi hadn’t
reacted quickly, he would have been frightened enough to go out of character.
Although he had barely managed to avoid breaking character
just now, Ruan Qing couldn’t guarantee that he could remain indifferent while
embracing a monster. Therefore, after Xiao Shiyi pulled Xia Baiyi away, Ruan
Qing let out a relieved sigh.
Xiao Shiyi’s actions towards Xia Baiyi were not gentle at
all. He directly threw Xia Baiyi, almost causing her to collide with another
row of desks. Fortunately, Xia Baiyi reacted quickly and steadied herself by
holding onto the desk, avoiding public embarrassment.
Xia Baiyi turned around, giving Xiao Shiyi a cold and disdainful
glance. Then, with a pitiful expression, she leaned close to Ruan Qing and
spoke with a tone of grievance, “Brother Su Qing, my hand hurts so much. The
class monitor was too forceful. Even if I did something wrong, couldn’t he have
told me nicely? He was too rude.”
After expressing her grievances, she looked at Ruan Qing with
a reddened hand that was pulled by Xiao Shiyi and said, “Brother Su Qing, could
you help me massage it?”
In fact, it couldn’t be called a massage at all. Ruan Qing
casually touched her hand for a moment, not even three seconds. But Xia Baiyi
blushed and shyly covered the hand that Ruan Qing had touched.
Her expression made it seem as if Ruan Qing had done
something extremely inappropriate to her.
Xiao Shiyi’s gaze towards Xia Baiyi turned even colder,
resembling the way Mo Ran looked at her on the basketball court.
However, Xiao Shiyi’s gaze was more subtle, not as direct as
Mo Ran’s.
In First High School, there were three individuals whom
everyone knew not to provoke. The first was the school bully, Su Qing; the
second was Xiao Shiyi, the class monitor of Class 1-1; and the third was Mo Ran
from Class 1-26.
But now, there seemed to be some tension between the first
and second individuals.
The other students in the class trembled in fear, not daring
to make a sound, afraid to ignite the oppressive atmosphere.
Pei Yan, who was seated not too far back, had a clear view of
the actions between those two by the window. His already indifferent expression
turned even colder, and it felt like the temperature in the surrounding air
dropped a few degrees.
In the live chat room, the barrage of comments kept flashing.
[Don’t look, God Pei. Even if you look, you’ll end up being
dumped by someone too. You personally made the breakup call. You were so
straightforward, a single phone call saying ‘break up,’ really cool (dog
emoji).]
[Tsk tsk, if God Pei hadn’t broken up, I bet he would have a
place next to our school bully now. Maybe he could even sit in the bully’s
embrace, hugging his neck and saying in a sweet voice, ‘Brother Su Qing, can I
come to your house to play?’]
[Hahaha, it’s hilarious! I might not have been able to
imagine God Pei’s expression before, but ever since he called Su Qing ‘Brother’
with such a cold face, I can instantly picture it.]
[Finally, my conscience kicks in and I give you a good match,
but you rejected it. Now it’s too late for regrets.]
[Brother Pei, let’s not be angry. It’s just a relationship,
right? You can find another one. There’s no need to snatch my wife.]
Other players glanced at the stern-faced Pei Yan and then at
the seemingly affectionate couple nearby. Rarely seen in their eyes were a hint
of amusement and schadenfreude.
A perfect identity card, yet he insisted on breaking up. If
it were them, they would never break up.
After all, the identity card of a campus bully boyfriend was
completely different from that of a lackey.
The lackey would follow Su Qing to bully others, but the
campus bully boyfriend didn’t need to. It was generally difficult for him to
directly provoke the ghost, and his level of animosity was not as high as the
lackey’s.
Moreover, as the campus bully’s boyfriend, no one dared to
bully him.
Unlike their ordinary identity cards, they had only been here
for less than two days and had already been provoked several times, while the
other classmates in the class completely ignored them, displaying extreme
indifference.
This was an extremely pathological school, and Class 1-1 was
an extremely pathological class.
Either participate in bullying or passively observe.
Although they had the ability to resist NPCs, they didn’t
dare to confront them directly.
It wasn’t about maintaining a certain image; it was because
the instance strictly prohibited inflicting harm on NPCs.
Even if it was possible to harm NPCs, very few players would
do so. If an NPC died and turned into a ghost due to being harmed, the player
who harmed them would accumulate immense animosity.
Therefore, these past two days had been extremely difficult
for the players. They were being bullied and had to search for clues while
discreetly protecting other bullied students.
Having been here for two days, they had only learned about
the existence of the ghost in this instance, but hadn’t found any useful clues.
If things continued like this, it would become dangerous.
This was the second day of entering the instance, and it’s
still relatively safe.
During the early stages, the monsters in the dungeons were
still relatively constrained. As long as you didn’t trigger the prerequisite
for death, it’s unlikely to be targeted by the monsters.
However, the problem was that if they didn’t quickly figure
out what the death trigger was, it would be very difficult to survive in the
later stages of the instance.
All the players understood the importance of this death
trigger because no one knew if they might inadvertently trigger it. So during
the first two days of entering the instance, the players cooperated and worked
together, searching almost the entire First High School, but they hadn’t found
anything suspicious.
Apart from the widespread school violence and the unusual
school bully, Su Qing, who didn’t seem like a typical school bully, there’s
also the majority of players being in Class 1-1.
During midnight, when no one was around, they searched the
entire Class 1-1, nearly tearing down the blackboard and walls, but they didn’t
find any useful clues.
Only Pei Yan found a worn-out notebook somewhere, missing
several pages, as if it had been soaked in water. Moreover, the notebook itself
seemed to be a cheap one, giving off a feeling of age. It was filled with
knowledge points from the first year of high school.
They compared the handwriting in the notebook with the
handwriting of their classmates and it didn’t seem to belong to any of the
students in the class.
Apart from that, they couldn’t find anything else.
Xia Baiyi seemed to be immersed in her own world, as if she
could only see Ruan Qing alone, paying no attention to Xiao Shiyi. She shyly
looked at Ruan Qing and said, “Brother Su Qing, you haven’t answered my
question from earlier. Can I come to your house and play?”
“No, you can’t,” Ruan Qing replied, seemingly bothered by
Xiao Shiyi’s interruption and recalling the words Mo Ran had said about Xiao
Shiyi wanting to betray him. Ruan Qing directly refused, with an unpleasant
expression.
After Ruan Qing finished speaking, he looked at Xiao Shiyi
with a cold expression, his tone full of questioning, “What have you been doing
lately?”
Xiao Shiyi knew that the teenager still cared about the
incident on the basketball court. He calmly spoke, “Brother Su, you
misunderstood me. When we were playing basketball before, I just wanted to
perform a bit better and not embarrass you, especially since it was the first
time you watched us play basketball. I got a bit excited and lost control.”
As Xiao Shiyi spoke, he pushed his glasses and changed his
tone, “And I didn’t expect Mo Ran to be so weak, playing basketball so poorly.
If he had put a little more effort, the score shouldn’t have been so lopsided.”
Xiao Shiyi’s tone was not that of someone tattling like a
petty person, but rather very composed and calm, as if objectively stating
facts. Even though he’s clearly distorting the truth, he managed to be
convincing, making it seem as if Mo Ran was truly weak.
[Friends, I have truly misjudged this class leader! I always
thought he was the stable and reliable type, but he’s actually badmouthing
people behind their backs!!?]
[Class Leader: That’s right, it’s all because Mo Ran is too
weak. It’s not my problem. How was I supposed to know he was that weak? He
didn’t inform me in advance.]
[In front, God Pei coldly calls Su Qing “older brother,” and
behind, the class leader calmly badmouths people. Nothing that happens now will
shock me anymore.]
[His way of distorting facts and smearing others is just like
a scumbag.]
[He clearly specializes in suppressing Mo Ran, and now he has
the audacity to say that Mo Ran is weak? Tsk, people who play dirty tactics
have dirty hearts.]
Although Ruan Qing’s health was not good, his vision was
still fine. Naturally, he knew the actual situation of the basketball game and
knew that Xiao Shiyi was talking nonsense. However, he acted like Xiao Shiyi
persuaded him, and his complexion improved significantly.
The players over there were unreliable. It’s best to use Xiao
Shiyi to suppress Mo Ran.
After all, they were both his lackeys, but Xiao Shiyi’s
background and status were higher than Mo Ran’s, and his skills were equally
unpredictable. He was a valuable asset.
Seeing Ruan Qing’s improved complexion, Xiao Shiyi directly
pulled over a classmate sitting in front of Ruan Qing and sat down himself.
“Brother Su, are you still going to the basketball game tomorrow?”
The basketball games would span several weeks, and the
matches were usually held on weekends.
Ruan Qing casually twirled his bank card in his hand. “I’m
not going. Not interested.”
Xia Baiyi saw Xiao Shiyi sitting in the front row, turning
around to talk to Ruan Qing, and let out a dissatisfied hum. She pulled over
the chair of the absent classmate and sat next to Ruan Qing, even clasping his
arm in a demonstrative manner, appearing very intimate.
Xiao Shiyi glanced at her expressionlessly, completely
ignoring her display, and continued chatting with Ruan Qing.
Occasionally, Xia Baiyi would interject a few words.
Although Ruan Qing was chatting with the other two people, he
was constantly multitasking, carefully observing the classroom with his
peripheral vision.
The classroom seemed to be normal, with no apparent
anomalies.
The only thing that seemed out of place was the white wall
behind the classroom, but it fell within Ruan Qing’s blind spot, and he
couldn’t turn his head to look at it. He could only chat with the two people
and try to find an opportunity to see if there was any issue with that white
wall.
So, the three of them continued to chat intermittently in
such an eerie atmosphere, and the whole classroom was filled only with their
voices.
Other students pretended to be studying, but in reality, they
couldn’t focus and were listening to the conversation among the three.
The voice of the school bully was distinctive. Even without
looking at them, it was easy to distinguish which voice belonged to him.
His voice was like a beautiful jade dropping on a plate,
crisp and melodious, with a chilling quality that was indescribably
captivating, making it hard for people to resist being immersed in it.
Both his appearance and his voice were somewhat inconsistent
with his nasty personality.
After entering the instance, the players formed a group chat
and shared any information or analysis through it.
After listening for a while without hearing any useful
information, they all switched to the group chat. One of the players was
analyzing the current situation in the group.
［There are too few clues at the moment; we can’t determine
who the ghost is. Although Class 1-1 seems suspicious, we haven’t found any
clues despite searching for so long. Could it be that we are looking in the
wrong direction?］
Without waiting for other players to speak, that player
continued expressing his opinion, ［I think we can approach this from a
different angle. Maybe we don’t have to prioritize Class 1-1; we can also
consider the NPCs. There might be unexpected discoveries.］
［The most contradictory character at the moment is the
school bully, Su Qing. Although he is not a student of Class 1-1, he is
undoubtedly a special NPC. I think we can start with him.］
Other players found it reasonable and also thought that the
NPC named Su Qing was indeed peculiar. Perhaps he was the core NPC of this
instance.
However...
Was this the fucking reason for delivering a love letter?!
The other players widened their eyes in disbelief, looking at
the player who had been analyzing the situation for them just a second ago, now
holding a love letter in his hand and walking towards the school bully. He then
handed over the love letter with both hands.
The three players in the chat all looked at him, with a hint
of confusion in their eyes, as if they hadn’t fully grasped what he intended to
do.
The player blushed slightly, shyly glancing to the side, and
stammered, “B-Brother Su, I... I like you. Can... Can we date?”
His shy and anxious appearance didn’t seem like a pretense at
all. It didn’t look like he was merely trying to get close to the teenager to
investigate the clues.
The other players: “!!!”
Just a moment ago, he was analyzing everything for them, and
now he’s confessing to someone?!
He really wanted to date the young master?!
The other players had mixed expressions, and they no longer
cared about Su Qing’s reaction to the confession. They turned their heads
abruptly to look at Pei Yan, and indeed, Pei Yan’s face had not only turned
cold, but even darkened.
So... bold...
It should be noted that there had never been a prohibition on
player killing among players. Unless it’s a special instance, even if a player
was killed directly, it would only deduct some points to the killer.
Perhaps those points were significant for a new player, but
for an experienced player like God Pei, they were just a minor inconvenience.
There were also quite a few extreme players who took pleasure
in wiping out other players in instances.
Although there was no news of God Pei being such an extreme
player, there was also no news of him being a kind player.
Digging into his territory right in front of him, it seemed
like this player didn’t hold him in high regard.
Moreover, wasn’t that player afraid of retaliation from other
NPCs? After all, if Su Qing rejected him, he would definitely face intensified
bullying from other classmates.
Just by looking at the gloomy expressions of Xia Baiyi and
Xiao Shiyi, one could tell that this matter wouldn’t be easily resolved.
In a dungeon, you couldn’t act as you wish. Once you took a
wrong step, you would be irretrievably lost.
So, in the eyes of other players, that player was obviously
seeking death. How could the school bully be so easy to pursue? There’s no need
to think about the outcome; it’s already known.
Although that’s the case, those few players, just like the
other people in the classroom, also looked towards the confessed teenager and
inexplicably became nervous. The already suppressed atmosphere became even more
stifling.
Ruan Qing looked at the love letter in front of him,
momentarily stunned. He lifted his head to look at the male classmate, who
confessed to him.
It’s... a player.
Was he here to investigate clues from him?
Ruan Qing didn’t believe that this player came solely to
confess, considering the uncertain nature of the dungeon where life was on the
line every moment. It’s impossible for anyone to think about dating someone.
Clearly, the player had been sent by the player’s side to
investigate and gather information about the dungeon.
Not too foolish of them.
Although he’s not a special NPC, he knew quite a bit.
Ruan Qing pondered for a moment, reached out, and accepted
the love letter from the male classmate.
Other classmates: “!!!”
Other players: “!!!” Damn!
Damn damn damn!!!
He accepted it! He actually accepted it!!!
The love letter was written on a piece of pink paper. Ruan
Qing opened the letter.
He examined it back and forth, but couldn’t find any hidden
meaning or codes. It’s probably just a genuine love letter.
Apparently, this group of players hadn’t discovered his
player identity, even though he had exposed so many flaws...
Well, as long as this player was by his side, there would be
opportunities to convey the two pieces of information: the monsters in the
mirror and the erased data, and let them figure out how to investigate and
solve it.
It wouldn’t be bad to be a rogue who only provided clues.
Moreover, this male player didn’t seem dominant, and his
strength appeared to be weaker compared to Xiao Shiyi and Mo Ran. Even if he
had some inappropriate thoughts, it shouldn’t be difficult to suppress him.
Therefore, after Ruan Qing finished reading the love letter,
he looked up and nodded arrogantly at the male player, saying, “Alright.”
Others: ‘!!!!’ Ahhh!
Oh. My. God. Not QingQing making sure to say that the other player wasn't dominant... Lol this funny little thing xD
ReplyDeleteOther players (and probably everyone else): THAT SHOULD BE ME!
ReplyDelete