Yu Zhi pulled up the System’s plotline progress.
The current completion rate was twenty percent. Only when it reached one hundred percent could she completely free herself from the threat of being pulled into the plotline.
She closed the panel again.
This novel wasn’t just about endless drama and doting, of course. Later in the plotline, the relationship between the male and female leads genuinely became strained due to the female lead’s antics.
In a fit of anger, the male lead decided he wouldn’t indulge her anymore. Meanwhile, the female lead realized the male lead’s good qualities and, for the first time, swallowed her pride to make amends.
Was this the start of the “chasing the husband through hell” phase?
At that time, the System had spoken in a profound tone, practically wagging a finger.
“No, no, no.”
“What happens next is the appearance of an even more doting second male lead, who nearly steals her away. This sparks a sense of crisis in the male lead, making him realize that compared to his girlfriend being a bit dramatic, what he truly can’t stand is her directing that drama at someone else. He then has an epiphany, defeats his rival, and wins the beauty back.”
The second male lead…
The second male lead was pretty good too—definitely better than Chen Yihan. She really wished she could fast-forward.
Chen Yihan wasn’t paying attention in class either; he was watching his girlfriend.
For some reason, his girlfriend seemed to be in a better mood. The corners of her eyes lifted slightly, softening anyone who saw her.
Yu Zhi had thick hair. Today, she wore it half-down, casually tying back only the outer layers.
Chen Yihan’s hand quietly reached over, brushing the ends of her hair that fell just above her waist. He didn’t dare let Yu Zhi notice his movements—to Her Majesty, her hair was absolutely off-limits.
He really wished he could graduate sooner. Once they graduated, they could get married.
They could be together forever.
He longed to stay together always.
He didn’t know where this obsession came from, but it felt as if a voice in his head kept repeating: they were meant to be together forever.
Weren’t they?
They had been companions since birth. Naturally, they were meant to accompany each other for a lifetime.
Bored, the girl began twirling her pen, the pen dancing skillfully between her slender fingers.
Chen Yihan smiled.
As soon as he smiled, Yu Zhi glanced over.
The boy propped his head on his hand, looking at her with a grin. “I taught you that, remember?”
Yu Zhi’s pen-twirling stopped.
The book naturally didn’t detail every aspect of their childhood friendship, but the versions of them inside and outside the book seemed to share the same memories.
Though there were slight discrepancies.
Yu Zhi’s pen-twirling had indeed been taught by Chen Yihan.
Back then, it had suddenly become a trend in their class. That semester, Chen Yihan was her deskmate and started showing off his skills beside her.
His incredibly elegant fingers spun the pen effortlessly, and Yu Zhi found herself staring, mesmerized.
“Want to learn?” The boy noticed, looking pleased. “I’ll teach you.”
Yu Zhi lowered her hand.
Annoying.
The next two periods were specialized courses.
Chen Yihan had his own classes to attend and couldn’t accompany her, but he still walked Yu Zhi to her new classroom first. As usual, he wiped the desks and chairs clean and filled a cup with hot water, placing it nearby.
“Wait for me here after class. I’ll come find you as soon as I’m done.”
Yu Zhi gave a noncommittal hum in response.
Only after he left did Yu Zhi finally relax. After all, with the male lead not around, the OOC alert wasn’t as strict.
But Chen Yihan sent several messages in the meantime.
So naggy. Yu Zhi didn’t reply. After all, the Yu Zhi in the book would have done the same—replying only when she felt like it, ignoring messages when she didn’t.
Chen Yihan stared at his phone, motionless for quite some time.
Fu Bin beside him glanced at the screen and chuckled in a low voice, “What’s wrong? The young miss ignoring you again?”
Chen Yihan grunted in acknowledgment.
“Hey, isn’t that just the usual? It’d be strange if she actually paid attention to you, right?”
That was indeed the case, but today, as Chen Yihan stared at the chat page filled only with his own messages, he felt inexplicably irritable.
After some thought, he gave up on sending another message and instead began transferring money.
“You initiated a transfer: 1314.”
“You initiated a transfer: 5200.”
“You initiated a transfer: 52000.”
…
Yu Zhi accepted every transfer.
She couldn’t refuse—as a perk for being the female lead, the money she received in the plotline could be taken into the real world.
Who would ever complain about having too much money?
“What do you want?” Having taken the money, she had to at least acknowledge him.
A faint smile finally appeared on Chen Yihan’s face. “Nothing, just missed you.”
For some reason, Yu Zhi thought of Chen Yihan’s proud, aloof face in the real world. Would he ever speak like this in reality?
Before Yu Zhi could reply, another message came through.
“The student council is having a team-building event next weekend. Want to go together?”
With a reminder from the System, Yu Zhi knew the next plot point was approaching. During this event, the two would have a major argument, leading to a cold war.
So of course she had to go, but a drama queen like her wouldn’t agree directly.
“Depends on your performance.”
At noon, Yu Zhi didn’t wait for Chen Yihan.
So when school ended in the afternoon, he slipped out a few minutes early to wait for her. He didn’t complain, just naturally took the bag from her hands.
“My dear, what do you want for dinner?”
“What do you think I want?”
The tricky question was tossed back to him, leaving Chen Yihan to guess. He tried and tried but couldn’t get it right—of course he couldn’t—and Yu Zhi ignored him for a long time again.
Of course, in the book, Yu Zhi’s temper flared quickly but faded just as fast. So by the time they parted ways to return to their dorms in the evening, they were once again a hand-holding “loving couple.”
Even at the dormitory entrance, Chen Yihan still hadn’t let go of her hand.
“I need to go upstairs.” Yu Zhi tried to pull away but couldn’t. “Still not letting go?”
“Sweetheart.”
Standing in the shadows under a tree, Yu Zhi couldn’t clearly see his expression, but the cheesy nickname sent shivers down her spine.
She couldn’t help but wonder what expression Chen Yihan would make if he heard this himself.
“Look how inconvenient it is for you to live in the dorm. No one to take care of you. You have to wash your own clothes, pour your own water. Why don’t you move off-campus with me? I’ll make sure you’re comfortable and well taken care of from now on.”
It’s not like I’m disabled.
But this line successfully hit the right notes for the book’s Yu Zhi, so she didn’t immediately reject it. Instead, she pretended to be slightly swayed.
“Depends on your performance. Alright, let go. I need to go upstairs.”
Chen Yihan still didn’t release her hand, only bending slightly at the waist. “Just leaving like that?”
With a hint of grievance, Yu Zhi looked at his face so close to hers—a familiar face, yet wearing an expression the real Chen Yihan would never make.
If he were in a relationship, would he be like this?
For a moment, that thought flashed through Yu Zhi’s mind.
“Sweetheart?” The boy was displeased with her distraction. In that instant, his girlfriend seemed to be looking at him, yet also at someone else.
Chen Yihan instinctively clenched his hand into a fist.
Yu Zhi snapped back to reality and, as usual, quickly pecked Chen Yihan on the cheek. Whatever, she comforted herself, considering his looks, it wasn’t a loss for her.
However, before she could pull back, she was suddenly pulled forward again.
In the next moment, a soft sensation touched her lips.
Yu Zhi’s body stiffened. Even though they had been the most intimate couple in the plotline over the past six months, this was their first kiss. Moreover, kissing Chen Yihan was just too surreal.
The flawless face so close to hers made her freeze for a moment. She could even see the undisguised affection in the boy’s eyes.
In truth, Yu Zhi could immerse herself in a completely unfamiliar relationship, but with someone like Chen Yihan, who was neither a stranger nor close…
Awkward. Yu Zhi only felt awkward.
When his tongue tried to pry open the gap and delve deeper, she snapped back to reality, pushed him away without hesitation, and slapped him.
“Who said you could kiss me without my permission?” She tried not to sound too Out of Character. “We’re breaking up!”
The last two words were spoken with genuine emotion. Without looking back, she hurried toward the dormitory building.
What she didn’t know was that Chen Yihan behind her watched her retreating figure until she disappeared.
The boy pursed his lips, as if savoring the lingering taste.
So sweet. But his girlfriend… was becoming more and more distant. Was she starting to tire of him?
This wouldn’t do. Indeed, they had to get married.
They had to get married.
Yu Zhi woke up again to the sound of her alarm.
Today, she didn’t linger in bed. Perhaps because something was on her mind, her eyes snapped open instantly.
She glanced at the calendar: October 8th.
She opened the chat window with Chen Yihan—all the cringey messages were gone. Then, she checked her bank account balance.
A new deposit of 66,974 had arrived.
It seemed she was out of the plotline.
She touched her lips, trying hard to push that memory out of her mind.
Yu Zhi scrolled through the chat history, which had returned to normal.
Thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t entirely a bad thing. Her life now had one more October 8th than others.
“Yu Zhi, why are you up so early today?”
It was Shen Manqing from the opposite bunk.
Yu Zhi smiled. “I want to have breakfast with you all today.”
She usually skipped breakfast because she couldn’t wake up in time.
“The sun must be rising from the west today.”
The speaker was Liang Ruyan, who was putting on makeup below. She always went out with a full face of makeup, so she was the earliest riser in the dorm. By now, she had already washed up and was applying a pre-makeup mask.
“Really, really. I’ll treat you all.” Yu Zhi thought about her balance. Whatever, this round wasn’t a loss.
At that moment, Chen Yihan sat motionless on his bed, lost in thought.
He felt like he had a dream. What dream? He couldn’t quite remember, only that…
The boy pursed his lips. At one point, the absurd scene from the dream became exceptionally clear—so clear he could almost see the face that had been so close to his.
“Damn it!” He slammed his fist on the bed, cursing in frustration and embarrassment.
What kind of ridiculous dream was that?
How could he possibly be with Yu Zhi…
His roommate, who had already gotten out of bed, was startled.
“What’s wrong, Brother Han?”
Chen Yihan looked strangely conflicted and didn’t respond.
Movement came from the opposite bunk. Seeing the person sitting up, the roommate was taken aback.
“Hey, boss, you’re still in the dorm? Why are you up so late today?”
The boy called “Boss” had slightly disheveled hair, yet even so, one could see his face was on par with Chen Yihan’s. It was just that his cold demeanor made him seem unapproachable.
Right now was no different. Lost in thought, his entire presence felt so chilly it could freeze a layer of ice, and naturally, he didn’t respond to his roommate’s question.
What’s going on with these two? Especially Boss—usually the first one out the door, by this time he’d normally be finishing his morning run. Yet here he was, spacing out.
As for Chen Yihan, he was irritably running his hands through his hair, opening his phone to look at something.
Forget it. He shook his head and didn’t dwell on it.
Just like in the plotline, the first two periods were large lectures as usual.
Yu Zhi and her roommates sat together, though not in the same row—two in front, two in back. With so many people in the lecture, seats around them quickly filled up.
She kept her head down, focused on her phone, and didn’t notice until she looked up and saw Fu Bin in front of her.
Fu Bin had taken up four seats, clearly saving them for his roommates.
Just as she thought this, the three of them appeared together at the classroom door, entering one after another. The boy behind Chen Yihan also had a striking face, but his expression was even colder.
“Tsk tsk,” Yin Hua, sitting beside her, sighed. “Seeing those two faces together is truly a feast for the eyes.”
Fu Bin spotted them too and quickly waved. “Over here, over here!”
As the boys approached, Chen Yihan’s gaze met Yu Zhi’s. After their unpleasant parting that day, the two hadn’t been in contact. Now, Yu Zhi couldn’t tell what Chen Yihan was thinking, but she caught a flicker of unease in his eyes.
Yu Zhi looked away. She had just emerged from the plotline and genuinely didn’t want to see him in person right now.
“Brother Han,” Fu Bin said, though for some reason, he felt Chen Yihan’s eyes darken slightly. “Where do you want to sit?”
Chen Yihan withdrew his gaze and casually took an empty seat, which happened to be diagonally in front of Yu Zhi.
Another roommate sat down as well. Fu Bin pointed to the last empty seat and called out to the final boy. “Boss, you sit here.”
Zhong Shiyu glanced at the empty seat but didn’t stop. “I’ll sit a bit further back.”
And he meant just a bit—the row directly behind, right next to Yu Zhi.
Yu Zhi didn’t react. She truly wasn’t familiar with him, so wherever he wanted to sit was fine.
But looking up, she inevitably saw Chen Yihan.
Come to think of it, this “The Spoiled Childhood Sweetheart” made no sense. In reality, their Character Personas should be reversed.
The more Yu Zhi thought about it, the more convinced she became. If it were changed to “The Spoiled Childhood Friend” and Chen Yihan played the role, he’d be perfect for it—no risk of going Out of Character.
She pushed aside these random thoughts and pulled out her textbook. Her roommate beside her asked, “Where did we leave off last class?”
Yu Zhi flipped to the page where she’d taken notes and told her. Truthfully, she’d just drawn a few lines—usually, she took pictures of the slides with her phone, planning to write her notes later.
But “later” never happened.
“Do you have an extra pen?”
It was Zhong Shiyu’s voice, directed, of course, at Fu Bin in front.
Fu Bin grimaced. “Boss, do I look like someone who carries pens?”
Yu Zhi kept her eyes fixed on her book. After a moment, the voice seemed to turn toward her.
“Yu Zhi, do you have an extra pen I could borrow?” Yu Zhi stopped her scribbling and doodling in the book.
Author’s Note:
None