Romain Rolland wrote, in his Michelangelo: "There is only one heroism in the world: to see the world as it is, and to love it."
Fang Tian used this line to spur himself on.
Say what you would, Position 5 was still a cut above being a spectator on the sidelines.
Dragging his weary body back to the dorm, he found his roommate still sleeping like the dead, not the faintest sign of stirring. Fang Tian couldn't help feeling that this future roommate of his very likely kept hours in perfect sync with the ghosts of Qingkong.
He tiptoed to the desk, opened his computer, and did a rough search of the more popular horror games. An hour or so of horror gaming a day didn't seem difficult to him.
After yesterday's registration, the freshmen still had a weekend before classes officially began, time to settle into campus life. Although he'd been thoroughly knocked out cold by daybreak yesterday, Senior Hao had completed his registration formalities for him, sparing him from becoming the very model of a truant on his first day.
He downloaded several horror games at once, then went to the bathroom for a cold shower.
Before he formally began the daily quest, there was some preparation to take care of.
For instance: a good meal.
Fang Tian had nothing against horror games — in fact, before he'd crossed over, he'd kept an eye on every new horror release. Buying horror games to play himself was out of the question, of course; at most he'd watch playthroughs, and only the kind with a jump-scare warning at that. Once, feeling bold, he'd worked up the nerve to watch a livestream and hadn't recovered for a full hour. Then for the rest of that life he'd been buried in studying right up to the college entrance exam, with little time to spare for games.
So Stamina 3 and Sanity 5 were understandable, really. He couldn't help marveling at how devious the system was — not only had it seen through his weaknesses at a glance, the quests it handed out went straight for his soft spots.
That said, he was a different man now. He'd seen real ghosts, and had even witnessed an aberration with his own eyes down on the third basement level; an ordinary horror game could surely no longer shake his heart.
Fang Tian changed into clean clothes and went downstairs. After a stroll around the Qingkong campus he ended up at the student cafeteria after all. It happened to be lunchtime; from far off he could already smell the fragrance drifting through the air.
Even before he'd seen the daily menu, Fang Tian could tell this university cafeteria was leagues above his high school one.
Different worlds, the same high school cafeteria.
The downside of crossing over was that Fang Tian had been subjected, all over again, to three years of bitter greens, over-salty oyster-sauce beef, and red-braised pork with the hairs still on.
What had drawn Fang Tian here, though, wasn't the wafting aromas of the university cafeteria, but a familiar figure.
After that figure went inside, he deliberately waited at the entrance a good while — until someone laid a hand on his shoulder from behind, forcing him to break off his thoroughly stalker-like behavior.
Fang Tian turned around, and another familiar face met his eyes.
What a small world.
He knew a grand total of two living people at Qingkong, and in the span of a single lunch he'd run into both. Only he wasn't a bit pleased right now, and the near-sparks flying from the girl's eyes proved exactly what mood she was in.
"You're......?"
Fang Tian put on a baffled expression, asking what he plainly knew.
"Playing dumb, are you!"
The girl hadn't expected Fang Tian to flatly deny it even caught red-handed. Her eyes went round at once, and the grip in her hand tightened a few degrees. "I'd know you even if you burned to ash!"
"Calm down!"
Fang Tian grimaced in pain — this girl was insanely strong! He quickly judged that with his Stamina-4 stat he was no match for her. "We can talk this out!"
"Talk what out?"
"I'm just asking — will you cut me a break?"
"In your dreams!"
After Fang Tian's hit-and-run last time, the girl wasn't about to let go for anything now — and not only did she not let go, she clapped her other hand on his shoulder as well. The two of them struck a pose like a pair of professional wrestlers right there in the bustling cafeteria entrance.
Their curious stance quickly drew the eyes of passing students, and before long someone recognized Fang Tian and started pointing.
"Hey, look, isn't that Senior Hao's rumored boyfriend?"
"What? He's got Senior Hao and he's still tangled up with another girl?"
"Damn it — does being handsome mean you get to do whatever you want?"
"Pah, what a scumbag!"
As a handsome guy, Fang Tian once again became the center of attention in a public place. A pity that this time, the reason he'd drawn the spotlight was nothing good.
"Quit it. At this rate we're both going to get taken for weirdos!"
Fang Tian quietly reminded the girl of their present situation.
"The only one being taken for a weirdo is you!" The girl had clearly heard the chatter around them too. She gave a cold snort. "Hmph. Pervert!"
After Fang Tian had gotten away from her yesterday, she'd been fuming. Back at her dorm she'd gone over that news report again, carefully this time, only to realize that, in the dim light back then, she'd missed one detail in the photo —— going by the picture, it was this guy!
The photo had spread far and wide on the forums. According to some anonymous insider, the leading man in the picture and the vice president came from the same high school, so the students had all guessed Fang Tian was Hao Xue's boyfriend — and along the way exposed the astonishing secret that Senior Hao had a thing for younger guys.
More than a few second- and third-year boys reckoned this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
And the only one who'd seen through the truth was a freshman who'd come to register at Qingkong on his very first day.
This person had admitted with his own mouth that he wasn't Vice President Hao's boyfriend — he was nothing but an ordinary pervert!
What was more, she'd just been observing Fang Tian on the sly: this guy had been loitering at the cafeteria entrance ever since the vice president went in — plainly a furtive stalker!
Last night she'd come off the worse in their war of words, so today she absolutely had to win the field back. Her gaze didn't yield an inch, and she pressed her advantage. "The only one being called a scumbag is you. You're the one they're all talking about."
There wasn't a shred of pity in her eyes; as the girl saw it, Fang Tian's present plight was entirely of his own making.
"At this point, do you really think I'm the only one they'll be talking about?"
"Heh. Feeble."
The girl gave a cold little laugh; she'd long since foreseen Fang Tian would say something like that.
"No. I'd advise you to take another careful look."
Fang Tian's suddenly grave expression made the girl's heart give a "thump." This was the second time the other party had given her an unexpected answer in a dead-end spot.
She even caught a trace of pity in Fang Tian's eyes, as if the one being pointed at and whispered about now were her instead.
Fang Tian pointed behind the girl. "Look at the way they're staring."
Reluctant as she was, she instinctively glanced back.
It proved Fang Tian hadn't lied to her.
While the onlookers were lambasting Fang Tian for his scumbag ways, they were also casting shocked looks at her, one after another.
Fang Tian promptly pointed out the crux of the matter. "You've been taken for a professional wrestler."
At that, the girl flushed red all the way to the roots of her neck. She finally registered how unseemly her current stance was, shot Fang Tian a hateful glare, seized his wrist, and dragged him into the cafeteria. "Don't you run! If you run this time, I won't go easy on you!"
"You've actually studied wrestling?"
Fang Tian paled in alarm.
"You shut up!" The girl's face was iron-dark, the look of someone who, in her fury and shame, wanted to sew Fang Tian's mouth shut. "It's sanda!"