Wen Qian looked at the silent passerby in front of her who didn’t speak, feeling a bit puzzled.
Was there anything strange about what she said?
Wen Qian recalled her earlier words — very polite and courteous, basically a textbook-level way of requesting help.
The stranger raised a hand and pointed behind Wen Qian: “The return area is just behind you.”
Surprised, Wen Qian turned around to look. Although she had passed by many times, the previously ignored empty small bookshelf suddenly appeared before her as if the fog had been lifted.
Is this negative aura from being directionally challenged or just plain blind?
“Thank you.” Wen Qian nodded at the stranger and hurried toward the small bookshelf with a “Return Area” sign hanging on it.
She looked as if if she didn’t hurry, the bookshelf might suddenly sprout legs and run away.
Only after placing the book on the shelf did Wen Qian finally breathe a sigh of relief.
【Congratulations, host, on completing the weekly task — reading a book】
【Achievement unlocked — A Small Trial (complete one task)】
【Reward: +1 freely assignable attribute point, +20 experience】
【Experience full, level up from Lv1 to Lv2】
Listening to the celebratory jingling sounds, Wen Qian’s smile almost couldn’t be contained.
But that joy slowly stiffened when she turned and saw the library’s complex branching paths.
Returning a book wasn’t hard; the real challenge was still ahead — getting out of the library.
Wen Qian thought about the kind passerby who had helped her just now. He seemed to be leaving, so she only needed to follow him out.
She turned to look at where passerby F was standing, and immediately fell silent.
…Who exactly was passerby Z?
Looking at the stranger’s blurred face and clothes, which had merged into blocks of color, Wen Qian took a deep breath.
System, I want to complain! If you’re face-blind, that’s fine, but why blur the clothes too?!
【Player complaint received. The system will respond within three working days.】
Wen Qian: Playing this trick?
She hesitated and glanced at passerby Z, suspecting he might be the same person as passerby F.
After all, no one else had passed by here — it’s not like passerby F teleported away, right?
But the ID card above the stranger’s head…
A thought crossed Wen Qian’s mind. To verify it, she suddenly turned her head, then sharply looked back at passerby Z.
Sure enough — the ID card above passerby Z changed.
The ID card changed to passerby K.
Wen Qian once again felt the system’s meticulousness — it was even afraid she would recognize people by these already blurred codes. As soon as she looked away, all the labels above people’s heads would be shuffled.
Hah, luckily Detective Wen had already noticed this.
Luo Lun looked at Wen Qian, who after returning the book suddenly began examining him up and down. The smile at his lips deepened.
Did she recognize him? Well…
That amused smile froze on his face when he saw Wen Qian performing an exaggerated sunflower-like head-turn right in front of him as if no one else existed.
It turned into deep puzzlement — what on earth was she thinking?
“Are you going out? Let’s go together.” The girl who had just made that strange move walked toward him casually.
As if she didn’t care about anyone else’s gaze, her expression didn’t change at all.
“Then let’s go together.” Luo Lun had been watching Wen Qian’s expression and naturally noticed the confused look she gave the surroundings.
So she was lost?
Luo Lun slightly shifted to the side and raised his hand, signaling Wen Qian to walk beside him. He suddenly felt choosing the library as the meeting place with Lu Yanbai was the right decision.
Otherwise, how could he have encountered such an interesting situation?
Whether she was pretending or genuine — Luo Lun didn’t care as long as it was entertaining.
“Are you a student of Saint Thorn?” Luo Lun naturally started talking to Wen Qian.
Facing the stranger’s chat, Wen Qian no longer felt the initial surprise — anyway, no missions would be given to her.
“Ah, sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“I haven’t officially enrolled yet,” Wen Qian said frankly. “So I can only say sort of.”
“Did something delay you? It’s fine, being one day late probably won’t matter.”
Luo Lun changed his mind — if Lu Yanbai tried to make her quit school over this, he would stop him.
After all, interesting people like her were rare and added some fun to his otherwise dull school life.
Wen Qian glanced at the NPC who seemed to be comforting her and again marveled at how smart the NPCs in this game were.
They even knew how to console people!
“You went the wrong way.” A slender finger pressed on Wen Qian’s shoulder. “It’s this way.”
Luo Lun only slightly looked away, and the person beside him seemed to have lost their sense of direction, heading straight to a different turn.
“I’ll take you there.” He reached out his hand to Wen Qian.
Wen Qian looked at Luo Lun and slowly fell into thought.
Was he going to hold her hand to lead her? They had just met, right?
Could this be the game’s “welfare” feature for players?
Thinking of this as a game, Wen Qian immediately relaxed. Holding hands in a game was nothing; she’d even married eighteen people within three days before.
She indulged in her thoughts for a while, but the person in front of her did not urge her, still holding out his hand.
Wen Qian understood well that NPCs remain on standby before the player makes a choice. This was normal.
Just like the noodle shop owner before, who ignored her carrying a cartload of flour until she handed in a mission.
“No need.” Wen Qian declined regretfully. “Wait until I can see you clearly.”
Not now — with the debuff, she couldn’t even clearly see his outstretched hand, only a bunch of blurred color blocks.
Luo Lun watched as the girl sank into her world, then after a while said something puzzling.
A smile hovered on his lips as he paused, “Alright, that was presumptuous of me.”
Exiting the library, Wen Qian said goodbye to the kind passerby and prepared to hail a taxi home.
Taxis were a fixed transportation option in the game. When players wanted to go out, they could choose to walk or take transport.
Walking consumed stamina; riding cost money.
There was no waiting for a vehicle in the game; as soon as players wanted a ride, a vehicle would appear the next moment.
As soon as Wen Qian thought about calling a taxi, a system prompt floated before her eyes.
【Travel options — Taxi / Bus (locked) / Subway (locked) …】
【Taxi selected, cost: 2 money】
Wen Qian winced at the cost but followed the prompt to wave her hand. The next moment, a red taxi suddenly appeared before her from nowhere.
To avoid the terrifying possibility of getting lost in the neighborhood, Wen Qian set the taxi’s destination as the noodle shop.
Cautiously entering the noodle shop and hearing a fuzzy figure say “Welcome,” Wen Qian nearly burst into tears.
Great, she hadn’t gone to the wrong place!
With half an hour left before the debuff wore off, Wen Qian decided not to go anywhere during this time and just wait until she recovered to normal.
Time passed by second after second as Wen Qian silently studied her personal panel.
The task of reading the book had given her a total of 6.5 intelligence points, and now her intelligence had reached an impressive 9.5!
Although she was still a bit short, there was also a freely assignable attribute point from the achievement reward, which would bring her total to 10.5.
The entrance exam was secured!
Jiang Zhi, who pushed open the door and came in, was momentarily stunned when he saw Wen Qian.
It was her again — did she live nearby?
He withdrew his gaze and frowned slightly when he met Wen Qian’s politely distant look.
“Beef noodles, to-go,” Jiang Zhi said, his eyes half-lowered as he looked at the owner.
“All right, please wait a moment!”
Wen Qian rested her chin on her hand idly, quietly waiting for the last few minutes of the countdown.
As if only now noticing there was a customer, the noodle shop owner looked at Wen Qian and said, “You haven’t eaten yet, right? Want a bowl of noodles?”
Wen Qian glanced at the stamina bar marked in red on the system panel and declined, “No thanks, I’m going home to sleep soon.”
No matter how much stamina was left, a good sleep would restore her to full health.
Who would waste money replenishing stamina in such a situation?
“Be careful not to faint from hunger,” the noodle shop owner said the game’s prompt line.
When a player’s stamina runs low, NPCs trigger special dialogue.
“I’ll try to get home before I starve,” Wen Qian responded lazily. Seeing the owner about to say something else, she bluntly added, “I only have 8 bucks left.”
Sure enough, the owner immediately sighed and shook his head, “That’s really too bad.”
Always sticking to his stingy character settings.
“Add another bowl,” a low voice interrupted their conversation, “Pack separately.”
“Got it!”
Wen Qian rested her chin on her hand, silently counting down the numbers floating above her head through the stainless steel chopstick holder on the table.
60, 59, 58…
Bang!
A steaming paper bowl landed in front of Wen Qian, the mist curling against the plastic bag.
She was momentarily stunned, and when she looked up, she only saw a tall, blurred figure walking out of the noodle shop.
【Congratulations, player, on receiving a gift — Beef Noodles】
【Friendship panel unlocked, gifts can increase intimacy between both parties】
The previously gray, locked “Friendship” section on the floating personal panel lit up, and a list of names appeared.
At the top was the noodle shop owner with 10 favorability points, followed by Zhao Xiao Ge and then 【■■】／【■■】／【■■■】.
The three censored names were marked as 【Not Added as Friend】.
Before Wen Qian could be surprised, her eyes locked onto the last one.
Favorability — 20? What’s going on?!
Who on earth was this 【■■■】!?
The next morning, Wen Qian woke up and got up from the floor.
She silently glanced at the bed just a step away, then quietly stood up and brushed off the non-existent dust on her body.
Yesterday at the noodle shop, her stamina had already dropped to a dangerous level. She rushed home and just as she was about to enter, the damned entry verification stopped her.
【Door Verification, please complete the following test】
【36 × 25 — 5 = ?】
Wen Qian, with only 3 stamina points left: …
Fortunately, she got inside before her stamina hit zero, avoiding the tragedy of collapsing outside the door.
That was her limit — she hadn’t even reached the bed when the red stamina bar hit zero and an exclamation mark popped up.
Her vision went black, and she only woke up at six o’clock that morning.
Considering she had received the gift of beef noodles, her stamina shouldn’t have dropped so quickly.
One bowl of beef noodles restores 30 stamina points. The reason her stamina was still low was — she hadn’t eaten it.
The bowl of beef noodles was still perfectly intact in her inventory.
Wen Qian firmly believed such items should be saved for critical moments.
A player would never use a stamina item right before stamina automatically refreshed — that would be a waste of a bowl of noodles!
Frugal Wen never made losing deals.
Everything was according to her plan, though there had been a slight hiccup, the outcome was fine.
What’s the difference between sleeping on the floor or on the bed anyway? Stamina is restored either way.
The system panel showed class started at 9 o’clock. It was only a bit past six now, so Wen Qian decided to take a shower before going out.
Using the system panel as an alarm, Wen Qian glanced at the time and then at her intelligence, which had already reached 10.5, nodding in satisfaction.
She took off her school uniform jacket, happily praising herself repeatedly in her heart — in just one day, she had boosted her intelligence to double digits!
That was amazing!
【School uniform jacket (special equipment) removed, intelligence — 1】
Wen Qian: “…?”