So white and pink, if it weren’t for the clues given by the novel on his own body, Han Shuo wouldn’t have noticed such a tiny red mark. This discovery was like a lifeline in a desperate situation, leaving Han Shuo’s mind buzzing. You see, he’s been in this world for half a year. Although his big brother here treats him quite well, and his five-year-old nephew even brings a bowl of rice to his bed when he sleeps in, Han Shuo, having grown up in the 21st century, can’t possibly endure the lifestyle here.
Living at school without a bathhouse means he can only stand by the sink with a basin of water in the scorching heat. Returning to the rural home is even worse. It’s a two-story wooden house with small windows on the second floor, poorly ventilated and dark. He doesn’t even have his own room; the cramped space is forced to fit two beds. His brother and nephew’s bed is by the window, while his is by the stairs.
At night, lying in bed, he not only has to listen to Han Hong’s snores but also the sound of mice scurrying on the beams. This makes Han Shuo dream of quickly finding the key person. So, when he suddenly found it, Han Shuo was so excited that his whole body trembled. He was about to excitedly grab the other person’s hand and exclaim, “Damn, brother, I finally found you!” But as he looked up and saw the other person’s face, his excitement got stuck like a jammed tape.
“Fate’s trick,” Han Shuo inexplicably thought of these four words. For a moment, Han Shuo even thought the old man wasn’t so bad. At least with the old man, Han Shuo could kiss him whenever he wanted, without needing a reason. Now, at seventeen, he couldn’t handle an old man? But now the key person is Meng Yuxiu. Don’t be fooled by Meng Yuxiu’s gentle appearance; Han Shuo learned his lesson after fighting him once.
What reason could he use to kiss Meng Yuxiu? If the novel’s task only required one kiss, he could grab Meng Yuxiu’s face and kiss him right now, and then he’d be back. But the problem is, this damn task requires a hundred kisses, with a specified duration. If he rashly asked Meng Yuxiu for a kiss, Meng Yuxiu would probably beat him up. Han Shuo could accept a beating for a kiss, but what if he got beaten and didn’t get a kiss? That would be a huge loss.
Han Shuo was full of chaotic thoughts, struggling to find a method, when he accidentally met Meng Yuxiu’s eyes. That look stunned Han Shuo. If he wasn’t mistaken, Meng Yuxiu was also staring at him, with an indescribable expression. Han Shuo began to wonder, if it were a normal person being stared at like this, what would their reaction be? Based on his past experience, most people would jokingly scold, “Are you sick?” or “Don’t you have one too? Why are you looking at mine?” At least it wouldn’t be the reaction Meng Yuxiu was having now.
Meng Yuxiu didn’t speak, just moved his gaze from Han Shuo’s face to below, then back to his face, his brows furrowing deeper. Seeing Meng Yuxiu’s expression, a ridiculous thought suddenly popped into Han Shuo’s mind. No way…
“You…” Han Shuo couldn’t hold back, hesitated for two seconds, then squinted and asked, “11F?” Meng Yuxiu looked somewhat reluctant, lightly twitching the muscles in his cheek, and countered, “00Q?” The two of them were like underground agents exchanging codes in the bathroom, forgetting to zip up after finishing. They stared at each other for at least two or three minutes, neither speaking, the air filled with an eerie silence.
When Han Shuo tentatively mentioned the word “novel,” even Meng Yuxiu stopped struggling. He closed his eyes, opened them again, and finally resignedly uttered two words. “Task.”
Goodness! Han Shuo had guessed right. He thought the 11F mentioned in the novel was a character in this world, never expecting that 11F was also someone who had transmigrated into the book like him. Han Shuo couldn’t even describe his own feelings. He was excited, mixed with a bit of schadenfreude, and almost started shaking his legs in excitement.
“Damn! It really is…” He had been worried about how to complete the task, but now it was clear that the task target also had a task. If Meng Yuxiu wanted to return to the 21st century, wouldn’t he have to cooperate? Han Shuo instantly felt refreshed. Although he didn’t particularly like Meng Yuxiu, and Meng Yuxiu felt the same, he believed Meng Yuxiu could distinguish between what’s important and what’s not.
So he zipped up and raised an eyebrow at Meng Yuxiu, “Hey, wanna talk?” Meng Yuxiu took another deep breath before speaking, “The bell’s about to ring. Let’s talk after evening self-study.” Han Shuo tilted his head and laughed, “You’re really getting into this world, huh? Acting like a good student? If we can go back, skipping class now doesn’t matter.”
Meng Yuxiu glanced at him without speaking, walked to the sink, turned on the tap, and washed his hands. Just then, the bell for evening self-study rang. After washing his hands, he left with a parting remark. “Under the ginkgo tree on the playground after class.”
Han Shuo watched his back, guessing that after finding out the task target was him, Meng Yuxiu needed some time for mental preparation. Back in the classroom, everyone else was reviewing. Han Shuo wasn’t in the mood to study before, and now he was even less so. He twirled his pen, eyes on the moon outside the window.
Evening self-study ended at nine, and the dormitory bell rang at ten. Pidan came over to ask Han Shuo if he wanted to play basketball on the playground after class. “Not going,” Han Shuo had serious business later, so he didn’t even think about it. “Then I’ll go with Doufu.”
“Go ahead, go ahead,” Han Shuo waved absentmindedly, but then suddenly remembered he had to talk to Meng Yuxiu later. They might kiss right after the talk. They were going to the ginkgo tree on the playground, and if Pidan and Doufu saw them, it would be troublesome. These two were naturally curious, and since he had fought with Meng Yuxiu before, if they saw them, they’d definitely follow.
So Han Shuo patted Pidan’s arm, “What basketball? You two go take a shower tonight.” Doufu said, “Didn’t we just shower yesterday?” Han Shuo: “Can you shower every day? It’s so hot, you two smell like pigs. I’m stuck between you two like I’m sleeping in a pigsty.” “Is it that bad?” Doufu raised his arm to sniff, “Seems like there’s a bit of a smell.”
When the bell for the end of evening self-study rang, Han Shuo was the first to rush out of the classroom, heading straight for the playground. The school playground wasn’t big, and the ginkgo tree Meng Yuxiu mentioned was at the end of it, with rice fields on the edge. After evening self-study, there were still a few students wandering around the playground. Han Shuo, like a thief, hid behind the ginkgo tree. After being bitten by mosquitoes several times, he finally saw a tall, thin figure approaching in the night.
Han Shuo lowered his voice and made a few “beep beep beep” sounds. The figure paused, then continued walking over. There were no streetlights in schools of this era, the only light source being the moon. But even in this light, he could see Meng Yuxiu’s gloomy expression. “What took you so long?” Meng Yuxiu said, “A classmate asked me a question after class.”
Han Shuo was really impressed, but he didn’t bother arguing, getting straight to the point, “Let me confirm again, you’re also someone who transmigrated into a book, right?” “Yeah.” “When you came over, did you have a novel?” Meng Yuxiu nodded, “Yes.” “Let’s compare notes, what’s your novel task?” Meng Yuxiu awkwardly coughed, then stiffly said, “Kiss 100 times.”
“Wow! So the tasks are the same.” Han Shuo didn’t beat around the bush, “Well, even though the thought of kissing you is pretty gross…” But before he could finish, Meng Yuxiu coldly turned to leave, “Then let’s not go back.” “Damn! Hey, hey, hey!” Han Shuo quickly grabbed his arm, “What are you doing? I haven’t finished talking.”
Meng Yuxiu stopped. “I’m saying, even though I’m not thrilled about doing the task with you, it’s all for going back, right? So let’s just forget about our past grudges.” Han Shuo paused and asked, “You want to go back too, right? I’m definitely going back.” Meng Yuxiu said, “Then stop running your mouth.”
Han Shuo’s only interaction with Meng Yuxiu was during the cafeteria fight. Otherwise, he only heard from others that Meng Yuxiu had good grades and character. Unexpectedly, this guy had quite a temper. Given the situation, Han Shuo wasn’t confident. Clearly, Meng Yuxiu’s family conditions were much better than his, so maybe Meng Yuxiu would find this place nice and stay. Then Han Shuo would really suffer for his loose tongue.
“Alright, alright.” Han Shuo conceded, “Since we’re on the same page, let’s get started. I can’t stand this place any longer.” Meng Yuxiu didn’t speak, which meant he had no objections. However, once both of them shut their mouths, the awkward atmosphere emerged.
Han Shuo had never kissed a woman or a man, to be more precise, he had never kissed anyone. Of course, neither had Meng Yuxiu. So the two of them stood under the tree, staring at each other for a long time, with a thirty-centimeter gap between them. “…” “…”
There were still faint sounds of students playing on the playground. After being bitten by another mosquito, Han Shuo couldn’t hold back, “Are you gonna kiss?” Meng Yuxiu stiffly replied, “Why don’t you?” Han Shuo awkwardly scratched his head, “Alright, alright.”
He took two steps forward to face Meng Yuxiu. Meng Yuxiu was taller, so Han Shuo had to look up. But Meng Yuxiu didn’t move at all, standing straight and staring ahead. “Seriously,” Han Shuo couldn’t help but say, “Is your neck made of cement? Standing so straight, are you joining the army?”
Meng Yuxiu glanced down at Han Shuo, finally stiffly lowering his head a bit. Han Shuo stared at Meng Yuxiu’s hazy features under the moonlight, feeling more and more uncomfortable. But there was no choice; he had to bite the bullet. He focused on Meng Yuxiu’s pale lips and leaned in.