Trash cans don’t run, but NPCs definitely can—they have legs.
Wen Qian didn’t think much and decided to focus on the NPC first. After listening to the boy’s mission briefing, she concluded that he wanted her to go with him because the Student Council President had something to discuss with her.
Student Council President?
Wen Qian couldn’t help but recall those Student Council members who chased her the moment they met, and her expression turned a bit strange.
Taking advantage of the boy’s pause, she quickly opened her system panel’s mission tab to confirm that she had indeed completed the chase mission.
—So this isn’t some kind of payback later, right?
Regardless, she had to go this time. After all, she didn’t want to give up the mission rewards, even if it was just a small quest giving experience points and coins.
Following Zhao Fu upstairs, Wen Qian passed by the wall of blooming irises again. She slowed her steps and fixed her gaze on the countdown timer above the flowers.
Only a few hours left until the next resource refresh. She’d have to come back after the refresh.
Zhao Fu led her to a lounge. Compared to He Ling’s lounge, this one had a different style and seemed larger.
The biggest difference was the absence of the “Locked” sign hovering over the door.
Level 5 was a watershed moment; once past this level, many academy buildings were no longer locked and covered by a dull gray filter.
Inside, the first thing that caught Wen Qian’s eye was the dark walnut bookshelf occupying almost an entire wall. The normally oppressive design was transformed into a grand sight thanks to the high ceilings.
Behind an unadorned dark wooden desk, Lu Yanbai looked up indifferently at Wen Qian, who was brought in by Zhao Fu.
“Wen Qian.”
The simple two words were spoken in a flat, emotionless tone, creating a sudden sense of unfamiliarity.
After stepping inside and receiving the system notification that the mission was complete, Wen Qian frowned and looked at Lu Yanbai.
With Zhao Fu’s surprised gaze, she asked confusedly, “Classmate, have we met somewhere before?”
“Are we in the same class?”
The Student Council President looked somewhat familiar. Wen Qian thought for a moment but couldn’t remember where she had met him.
She saw mostly her own classmates around the academy—was he one of them?
“You don’t remember your classmates?”
His voice was distinctive, his cold expression like a sculpture of ice and snow. When he said this retort, it carried an inscrutable sense of distance.
“No, I don’t. Is that important?” Wen Qian answered bluntly without seeing a problem.
NPCs all had decent faces—even the worst looked above average—but as a gamer, forgetting faces was common.
If someone was extremely ugly, she might remember better.
Lu Yanbai didn’t continue the topic but looked up at Zhao Fu. Zhao Fu understood and stepped forward to hand Wen Qian a specially prepared test paper.
Wen Qian looked puzzled as he told her it was her assessment.
【Mission — Sudden Assessment
An unexpected test. What does it mean? Perhaps no one knows until it’s passed.
Mission requirement: Perfectly pass the test (requires Intelligence 15+)
Reward: Experience +50, Mysterious Map ×1】
Zhao Fu expected Wen Qian to ask more questions but was surprised when she took the test paper directly, found a place to sit, and prepared to start.
He was stunned. Didn’t she want to ask why?
“Aren’t you curious why they want you to take this test?” he asked.
Zhao Fu’s tone was puzzled, and Wen Qian, just receiving the mission, looked even more confused.
Is that something to be curious about?
She never thought about the reasons behind NPC missions; as long as there was a mission, that was enough—no complaints.
Besides, game quests usually have no logic.
“They just brought me here to take a test, not suddenly ask me to save the world. What’s there to be curious about?” Wen Qian replied casually.
Even if it were something like that, she wouldn’t be curious—she had been through too many games.
Logging into games meant saving the world, saving cities, saving companies, saving villages, saving all sorts of things.
Players—just useful tools.
Zhao Fu choked a bit—what kind of analogy was that, saving the world?
What did those two things even have to do with each other?
“Zhao Fu,” Lu Yanbai glanced at him.
“Give her a pen.”
Zhao Fu was about to act but saw Wen Qian shake her head.
“No need, I have my own.”
Not wanting to use ordinary stationery, Wen Qian took out her pencil case from her system backpack, casually put it aside, and began writing.
Seeing Wen Qian pull a whole pencil case out of her thin coat pocket, Zhao Fu’s expression twisted for a moment.
He couldn’t understand what kind of person would carry a pencil case everywhere—just like he couldn’t understand why Wen Qian would go around beating trash cans.
Before this, he didn’t understand why the President was interested in a mediocre scholarship student.
Now it seemed she wasn’t ordinary, or at least not quite sane.
Lu Yanbai’s expression didn’t change much, but if one looked closely, his expression seemed to freeze for a second just now.
It was a slight movement, and since he usually showed little emotion, it looked like he accepted Wen Qian’s behavior just fine.
Lu Yanbai looked at Zhao Fu. Zhao Fu nodded knowingly, then slowly stepped out of the room and closed the lounge door.
Inside, only the sound of turning pages and pen scratching on paper remained.
The test was not easy, but still acceptable for Wen Qian.
Sure enough, she worked diligently every day completing missions to earn attribute points just to handle these randomly appearing advanced assessments!
Stopping her pen, Wen Qian placed the test paper in front of Lu Yanbai and returned to her usual idle state.
She wasn’t curious about the result because she already knew it.
【Mission — Sudden Assessment (Passed)Rewards issued: Experience +50, Mysterious Map ×1】
Ignoring everyone around her, she found a place to sit and took out the reward she just received to study it carefully.
Lu Yanbai glanced at the test paper, and when Wen Qian casually half-reclined on the lounge sofa, his gaze momentarily paused, almost imperceptibly.
The map showed the layout of various areas in the academy, with a conspicuous red line marking a route.
At the endpoint, a glaring message read: “For Skipping Classes (Security Disabled Version)”
Wen Qian was stunned by this abstract mission reward.
She seriously completed the test, and after finishing — a little trick for skipping classes, just a click away.
As expected from this game!
Wen Qian sighed and loaded the map into the game system’s navigation.
Lu Yanbai didn’t realize that his efficiency in reading the test had dropped considerably—his attention was distracted by the other person in the room.
This lounge was equivalent to a restricted area in the eyes of the students. Everyone who entered felt uneasy; not to mention sitting down, even standing was tense, afraid of offending Lu Yanbai.
But the girl in front of him paid no mind. She casually wandered around the room, leaned against the bookshelf, and flipped through a book, seeming completely unconcerned with the lounge’s owner.
“Put it back after you finish reading,” the man behind the desk said coldly, lifting his eyes.
The girl holding the book gave a half-hearted “Mm” and soon got distracted by other things. She returned the book to the shelf and quickly walked to a dark golden bronze-framed mirror at the edge of the bookshelf.
She leaned close to the mirror and looked at herself. It was still the same school uniform. After looking for several days, she was a bit tired of it.
The academy issued two sets of school uniforms for each season—spring, summer, autumn, winter—so it seemed like a lot, but Wen Qian still felt resentful.
—Because she didn’t have pajamas.
So when will the appearance customization system finally unlock? She sighed, her expression drooping.
This low mood was even sensed by the other person present.
Lu Yanbai put down his pen. The perfect test paper in his hand confirmed that his previous suspicion was correct.
The entrance test wasn’t her true level.
“All correct. Congratulations,” he said, his narrow eyes looking at Wen Qian calmly.
“I will have someone deal with your issue.” He didn’t like people without self-awareness, but he didn’t dislike capable people.
“In exchange, I need you to—”
Before he could finish, the girl interrupted with an excited voice.
“You’re going to give me a set of pajamas?”
Wen Qian hadn’t expected the game’s arrangements to be so thoughtful—whatever she wished for appeared.
Whenever she had a bit of trouble, an NPC said they would help her.
“What do you want to exchange with me?” Wen Qian said cheerfully, “No need to be polite, just say what you want!”
This must be the trigger for the next mission, and the pajamas were probably the next reward.
Lu Yanbai’s expression was a bit awkward: “…Pajamas?”
“Yes.” Wen Qian unconsciously leaned close to him, propping herself on the desk. “Clothes you wear to sleep, you know?”
Lu Yanbai’s gaze fell on the girl’s slightly trembling eyelashes and paused.
The silent room even felt a little quiet.
After a moment, he lowered his eyes slightly and leaned back in his chair. “Are you sure you want to tell me this?”
His expression was indifferent, tinged with a subtle, unconscious irritation. He hated feeling out of control but didn’t know where the irritation came from, eventually blaming it on the weather.
“What else?” The player didn’t catch any of this and was still fixated on her pajamas.
“You said you would help me solve my troubles, right? One set—cough—two sets of pajamas, thanks.”
Little Wen politely thanked him, then eagerly looked at the NPC about to give her a mission.
Lu Yanbai rarely felt at a loss for words, but he could tell she was serious.
Seriously wanting two sets of pajamas.
“Aren’t you worried about He Ling’s matter?” Lu Yanbai thought the other’s troubles were related to He Ling and didn’t understand why the topic veered to pajamas. “Aren’t you afraid she’ll come after you again?”
He Ling?
Remembering who she was, Wen Qian cheerfully said, “She’s going to look for me? Seriously, why doesn’t she just come to my classroom—”
Suddenly realizing she had been skipping class all day, Wen Qian’s voice trailed off.
Lu Yanbai saw clearly that she wasn’t afraid of He Ling; after hearing the name, she even seemed a bit eager, quietly silent for a few seconds.
“There’s an intra-school competition at the end of the month. The academy will award prize money based on rankings,” he said emotionlessly. “Buy whatever you want with it.”
“Your prize will double if you get first place.”
“There’s prize money?!” a joyful voice exclaimed. “Got it, thanks!”
“You may leave now.” After saying this, Lu Yanbai lowered his head and continued handling the unfinished documents.
Bang—
Lu Yanbai reflexively looked up toward the sound.
Wen Qian, who didn’t know when she’d pulled out a stick, stood in the corner of the room facing the trash can she had just found.
Originally ready to leave, she was suddenly forced to stop upon seeing the trash can.
What is this? Trash can, poke it.
What is this? Trash can, poke it again.
What is th—?
“…What are you doing?”
“Opening a treasure chest?”
“…”