Morning arrived, and looking at the time traveler who had been exhausted by her rough handling, Luo Xizhi finally felt at ease. She wore a coat that blurred gender lines, and to keep her true identity hidden, she also wore a helmet. She had tried simpler disguises like masks before, but they were easily seen through. Luo Xizhi’s eyes were too distinctive, yet she couldn’t wear sunglasses in the dark of night.
After all, she was just a handler, not a deity.
“Who are you?”
Time Traveler X was on the verge of tears, unable to understand why Luo Xizhi always showed up whenever he tried to commit a crime. The contents of his backpack were scattered on the ground, revealing various tools meant for harm.
But without a word, Luo Xizhi knocked the time traveler unconscious and turned to the pale-faced girl nearby. Coincidentally, Luo Xizhi recognized her it was Xiao Lin, the girl she had met briefly the day before, the one who sat behind Hua Lian.
“Call the police.”
Luo Xizhi adjusted her voice to sound completely neutral. Xiao Lin snapped out of her shock and tremblingly dialed the emergency number. However, when she tried to express her gratitude, the person who had helped her had already vanished.
Soon, law enforcement arrived, and Xiao Lin learned that the man had already killed over a dozen high school students before targeting her. A chill ran down her spine, and she felt even more grateful to the righteous hero from earlier.
Noon arrived, and Xiao Lin returned to school after spending the morning giving her statement. She vividly recounted her morning ordeal to her classmates. She had mainly wanted to tell Hua Lian, but Hua Lian pretended to sleep every noon, forcing Xiao Lin to share the story with others, hoping the message would reach Hua Lian indirectly.
Perhaps Hua Lian’s demeanor from the previous day had stirred a protective instinct in Xiao Lin, or maybe it was simply Hua Lian’s striking beauty whatever the reason, Xiao Lin desperately wanted to become friends with her. In any case, she was trying to capture Hua Lian’s attention. But even after the story ended, Hua Lian maintained her feigned sleep.
Xiao Lin hadn’t initially realized Hua Lian was pretending until she noticed that Hua Lian’s body trembled involuntarily whenever someone passed by. To test whether Hua Lian was truly asleep or just pretending, she deliberately had a friend walk back and forth, ultimately concluding that Hua Lian wasn’t sleeping she simply didn’t want to interact with anyone. Perhaps it was because Hua Lian stood out in Class A, but Xiao Lin thought having someone different in such a class wasn’t a bad thing. And Xiao Lin wanted to be Hua Lian’s first friend in the class.
“Xiao Lin, you’re so brave! I would’ve been terrified if it were me.”
“I was scared too. If it weren’t for that hero, I might not be here either.”
Xiao Lin forced a bitter smile, unable to help but think of the kind stranger who had helped her that morning. Yet, for some reason, the more she looked at Hua Lian’s back, the more it reminded her of that person.
“…”
Unaware that her feigned sleep had also been misunderstood, Hua Lian’s mind was in turmoil. Especially since she didn’t regard this world as real, hearing about terrifying things like serial killers inevitably made her anxious. Leaving aside the safety of the female lead, Luo Xizhi, Hua Lian also remembered that the original host had undergone a drastic personality shift during her second year of high school. This meant that if Hua Lian wasn’t careful, she might encounter something even more disgusting than being killed.
This unease consumed her heart. More than death, she feared a fate worse than death. If she had to face such dark events, she might as well perish together with the other party. As this thought took root in her mind, Hua Lian stopped pretending to sleep. She sat up, took out her phone, and contacted the retired boxer she had met through the animal trainer the day before.
[Private Chat] Hua Lian: Ms. Zhang, do you know anyone else who can teach self-defense?
[Private Chat] Ms. Zhang: Is the young lady dissatisfied with me?
[Private Chat] Hua Lian: No, I want to learn something too, but my stamina is poor, so I can only rely on other methods.
[Private Chat] Ms. Zhang: Then I’ll ask my lover for you.
Hua Lian found the term “lover” strange. Most people would say “husband” or “boyfriend,” but rarely use “lover” to refer to their partner.
[Private Chat] Hua Lian: If it’s a man, then forget it.
After some thought, Hua Lian chose to refuse, especially since the original host had a charm that attracted countless admirers. She was always worried it might trigger some melodramatic plot.
[Private Chat] Ms. Zhang: No, my lover is female. She’s quite petite, but sometimes even I can’t beat her. I think you should give it a try, young lady. After all, you really should learn some self-protection.
Hua Lian didn’t respond immediately, feeling somewhat incredulous at what she had read. She thought that aside from the female lead Luo Xizhi, NPCs wouldn’t engage in things like same-sex relationships. But it seemed this world’s setting was quite normal, even overly realistic.
[Private Chat] Hua Lian: Alright, then I’ll look forward to your reply.
With that, Hua Lian ended the conversation. She began searching for information about same-sex relationships and discovered that, aside from the Kingdom of Heaven, other countries were extremely tolerant toward homosexuality. Everything seemed too similar to Earth, yet there were many differences. The Kingdom of Heaven had a king and worshipped deities. But at the same time, it meant many people used religion as a pretext to carry out all sorts of strange activities.
As for Luo Xizhi’s harem, it was far too large. Hua Lian couldn’t remember exactly how many men were involved, but they were all part of this sinister organization. Perhaps because she had searched for “Is the Kingdom of Heaven safe?”, numerous incidents immediately popped up. Murder cases were rampant, and incidents of public assault were everywhere.
Hua Lian couldn’t help but swallow hard. She wanted to die if possible, she hoped for a happy death, dying of old age, or any painless way to go. But reality was telling her that in a world born from such a dark setting, achieving an easy death was an extremely difficult thing.
“Luo Xizhi is here again.”
A teasing voice came from somewhere, announcing the female lead’s grand arrival once more. Hua Lian had no time to turn off her phone. She wanted to continue pretending to sleep but realized that this time, Luo Xizhi paid no attention to courtesy, charging aggressively toward Hua Lian.
Hu Lian was so frightened she wanted to run away. Although she hadn’t done anything wrong in fact, she had even helped Luo Xizhi a lot, going against the system’s wishes Luo Xizhi couldn’t possibly know or sense such a small secret. That meant there was no way she could help Luo Xizhi change her passive situation.
But now, with Luo Xizhi charging over aggressively, Hu Lian’s second reaction was to instinctively grab a pen, as if holding it could somehow alter her predicament.
“What do you want?”
Hua Lian looked at Luo Xizhi without any emotion, clutching the pen yet feeling utterly unsettled. The pen was too light; if it were something like a knife, Hua Lian felt she would have more confidence. The moment this thought crossed her mind, Hua Lian froze. Luo Xizhi had already slammed something down on her desk with a thud.
Hua Lian was dazed. Only when she realized she hadn’t been harmed did she instinctively look at the object. It was a book specifically, the Chinese textbook, which Hua Lian considered the source of all evil. But this one was different: an ugly doodle was scrawled in one spot.
Hua Lian’s mind went even blanker. Of course, she hadn’t drawn it, but what she couldn’t understand was why such a doodle would appear on Luo Xizhi’s book. Coincidentally, she was the only one who had taken Luo Xizhi’s backpack yesterday, and Luo Xizhi was likely here to confront her.
Hua Lian’s lips felt dry, unsure how to explain. She remembered back in elementary school when someone falsely accused her of stealing. The accuser’s parent showed up, berating her in front of everyone, saying things like, “XXX treated you as a friend, and you stole from her!” Hua Lian stood alone, helplessly crying. Even though the so-called stolen item was later returned to the office by someone else, she never received an apology from that parent. Instead, her former friend distanced herself from her.
Later, Hua Lian heard that the parent had even complained to her own parents. Her parents didn’t believe her and instead apologized to the accuser. After that, Hua Lian realized no one was on her side and gradually closed herself off. With more incidents piling up over time, by the time she became aware of it, she had grown fearful of conflict and social interactions. Even when she did nothing wrong, she felt deeply uneasy, terrified of being falsely accused again.
“I…”
“You’ll help me, right?”
“What?”
But none of the expected accusations came. Instead, she heard Luo Xizhi ask her this. Hua Lian felt strangely moved, as if she had been affirmed. And what was even more surprising was that this affirmation came from Luo Xizhi someone she also feared.
Hua Lian looked up but immediately averted her eyes after meeting Luo Xizhi’s gaze. “You don’t think I did it?”
Luo Xizhi shook her head. “If the young lady wanted to harm me, she wouldn’t use such childish methods.”
Hua Lian’s feelings were complicated. The tiny crack in her heart that had just begun to open immediately sealed shut again. She had almost been charmed by Luo Xizhi’s personality, but now she was left speechless by such a blunt response. For a moment, she didn’t know whether to be grateful for the original owner’s arrogance and pride or for Luo Xizhi’s understanding of the original owner. But in any case, this trust had nothing to do with her Hua Lian.
“Do you have any ideas?”
“I think it was done by that group of people.”
Luo Xizhi pointed to the injury on her face. Just yesterday, the wound had been so large, yet now only a faint trace remained, not detracting in the slightest from the beauty of her face. It was unclear whether this was due to the absurdity of the female lead’s halo or some special constitution. But one had to admit, Luo Xizhi’s skin was exceptionally flawless, like fine mutton-fat jade, leaving Hua Lian gazing with envy.
“Young Miss?”
Strangely, seeing Hua Lian lost in thought seemed to lift Luo Xizhi’s spirits a little. Hua Lian, with inexplicable sensitivity, felt the subtle shift in mood. She appeared puzzled, but Luo Xizhi had already continued, “Should we really be talking here?”
Only then did Hua Lian remember the presence of the others around them. Class A’s lunch break was usually quiet, but the current commotion was far too intriguing, and everyone was watching them.
Hua Lian’s face flushed instantly. She quickly said, “Let’s go, we should talk outside.”
With that, the two prepared to leave. Xiao Lin, sitting at the desk behind them, also wanted to follow but noticed that Luo Xizhi’s back view bore a striking resemblance to the person who had saved her that morning.
“How strange. Do all beautiful people have the same kind of back?”
In the end, she didn’t follow, sensing an aura around Hua Lian and Luo Xizhi that seemed to exclude outsiders. Especially Luo Xizhi she practically enveloped Hua Lian within her own protective circle.
‘It’s actually kind of sweet.’
Xiao Lin silently added this thought in her mind and opened the forum, only to discover many like-minded fans. Because just today, all the boys and girls who had bullied Luo Xizhi had been expelled. Although Paradise City was the center of power, in such an elite school, only the four major families could accomplish something like this so effortlessly. Everyone believed it was Hua Lian who, in a fit of anger, had done this for Luo Xizhi.