Song Jiaru was like a frightened little deer, desperately fleeing the suffocating scene of onlookers just now.
She only wanted to find an absolutely quiet corner without any gazes, bury herself deeply into it, and let the whole world forget her.
However, "fear" followed her like a shadow.
Because she discovered in horror that no matter where she ran, there was always a young man wearing loose cartoon dinosaur pajamas following her at a leisurely pace!
He looked to be in his early twenties, like a social youth who had just woken up, his hair messy, his face carrying a bit of curiosity and... playfulness? He was looking with great interest at her back as she fled in panic.
When exactly did he appear?! How could there be someone wandering around the school in pajamas?!
"Ah—!"
Song Jiaru was scared out of her wits, letting out a short scream. Her footsteps instantly stumbled, almost tripping.
When did he start following behind me?
Why is he swaggering around the school wearing such ridiculous pajamas?Why is he following me? What does he want to do?
She desperately quickened her pace, almost breaking into a trot, her slender figure swaying unsteadily in the summer wind.
When she turned a corner, he also turned it.
When she accelerated, he also slightly increased his speed.
Always maintaining that distance—not far, not close, yet enough to make her hair stand on end.
Like a silent ghost wearing comical pajamas, lingering and refusing to disperse!
The campus was already empty during summer vacation. Song Jiaru was even more afraid to run toward places with many people; that would only bring more gazes.
Finally, in a dark, inconspicuous corner behind the laboratory building piled with discarded desks and chairs, Song Jiaru ran out of physical strength. She slid down to sit with her back against the cold, rough wall.
She tightly covered her mouth with both hands to prevent herself from screaming out loud again, but tears surged out like a flooding river bursting its banks, her thin shoulders trembling violently.
And that man wearing cartoon dinosaur pajamas also stopped a few steps away.
He... he's coming over!
Song Jiaru closed her eyes in despair, shrinking herself into an even smaller ball, waiting for the unknown terror to descend.
However, the expected violation or harm did not arrive.
A young male voice, lazy yet carrying a bit of teasing, abruptly sounded directly in her mind:
"Tsk, what are you running for? It's not like I'm going to eat you."
"Raise your head and look at me."
Song Jiaru trembled all over. Having reached the extreme of fear, she instead birthed a trace of numb courage.
Trembling, she extremely slowly, little by little, raised her wet eyelashes.
Through her blurred vision, that man wearing ridiculous green dinosaur pajamas was standing in front of her.
His gaze... was very strange. It didn't have the lust, greed, or violence she imagined, but instead was very... clean?
Carrying a kind of pure curiosity and exploration, as if observing some interesting creature.
What made her heart stop even more was that a few streaks of mottled sunlight shining through the dense gaps in the leaves happened to fall on his body—the light passed directly through his body, leaving no shadow at all where he stood!
What... what exactly is he?
A ghost? A hallucination?
Just as Song Jiaru felt she was about to faint from fear, the other party's voice sounded:
"Congratulations Host, the Super Big Pop Star System binding is complete."
"From today onward, this System will be with you. I will be your best friend."
Song Jiaru widened her tear-filled eyes, her small head full of huge question marks and fear that had yet to dissipate.
Sys... System? Isn't this something that only exists in novels?
And... friend?
This word was too unfamiliar and distant to her, even carrying a trace of instinctive resistance.
"Don't believe me?"
That voice seemed to perceive her doubt, carrying a faint hint of a smile,
"You can... try touching me."
Along with the words, that man wearing dinosaur pajamas took a step closer to her.
Trembling, Song Jiaru mustered up her life's courage and extended a finger, cautiously probing forward—her fingertip actually passed directly through the middle of his body without any obstruction!
No physical body, like passing through a projection of light and shadow!
She froze, looking at her completely normal finger, then looking at the "human figure" existing realistically before her eyes. The extreme shock instead calmed her chaotic thoughts a bit.
"Are you... are you really... a System?"
Outside the screen, Xu Yunzhou was somewhat surprised. This child's speed of accepting new things was actually faster than Lin Ruoxuan back then.
Was it because she was too lonely, making it easier to accept this kind of "non-human" existence?
He didn't answer, but with a thought, clicked that [Reward] button emitting a gentle green light.
An invisible, warm energy, like a gentle hand, brushed over the top of Song Jiaru's head. Carrying a soothing power, it strangely smoothed out her wildly beating heart and tense nerves.
"From now on, just call me Big Brother."
That lazy voice carried a reassuring magic,
"Big Brother will cover you."
(TL: "Cover you" translates the ubiquitous urban Chinese slang Zhào zhe nǐ [罩着你], which colloquially means to act as someone's reliable shield, protector, or authoritative backing power.)
Feeling that peculiar warmth, Song Jiaru subconsciously wiped the tear marks on her face and timidly responded:
"Th... thank you..."
"Now, go back to the classroom and finish filling out your application form."
Big Brother's voice carried unquestionable guidance,
"Remember, from now on, you are no longer alone. I will be behind you, backing you up, solving troubles for you, and accompanying you until you step onto an unreachable peak."
He knew that for a girl with social anxiety to this extreme, establishing unconditional trust and providing an absolute sense of security was the first step.
Song Jiaru nodded forcefully, as if obtaining some invisible power and promise.
She took a deep breath, mustered up unprecedented courage, and walked toward the teaching building.
However, trouble always arrives unexpectedly.
On the tree-lined path leading to the teaching building, four fashionably dressed girls with unfriendly expressions blocked her way.
The one leading was the notoriously famous "queen bee" of the school, and also a crazy secret admirer of Zhou Zhe.
At this moment, she was glaring angrily at Song Jiaru, clearly putting all the anger of the campus hunk's failed confession onto the head of this "unappreciative" socially anxious campus belle.
"Song Jiaru! What kind of thing do you think you are? You dare to embarrass Zhou Zhe?!"
"It's your honor that Zhou Zhe took a fancy to you. What are you pretending to be pure for? Are you deliberately stringing him along playing hard to get?"
"Crying? What else can you do besides cry? It's disgusting to look at!"
"If we don't teach you a lesson today, do you really think you're some amazing campus belle?"
Filthy words mixed with shoving, the four girls formed an encirclement, trapping Song Jiaru in the middle, like a shivering, pure white little sheep that had wandered into a wolf pack.
The little bit of courage Song Jiaru had just mustered dissipated instantly, tears swirling in her eye rims again. She subconsciously looked at the man wearing dinosaur pajamas beside her, whom only she could see, her eyes full of helplessness and a plea for help.
Xu Yunzhou's calm voice sounded in her mind:
"Tell me, do you need my help?"
He needed her to ask for help herself, to proactively take the first step of resistance, rather than forever enduring passively.
Looking at those malicious faces, feeling the force of the shoving on her body, an unprecedented feeling of grievance and anger, mixed with the newly established reliance on "Big Brother," violently broke through the shackles of fear.
Carrying a crying tone, she said wordlessly:
"Big Brother! Please help me!"