While waiting for the elevator, Cen Wan crouched by the wall. He looked like he was spacing out, but he was actually secretly chatting with 0813.
Too much had happened today, and it had hit Cen Wan hard. His body had developed the habit of seizing every spare moment to rest given the choice between crouching and standing, he’d always crouch.
0813: [What if the F4 already went back to the dorm?]
Cen Wan: [No way. How else would the protagonist shou have his fateful encounter with them?]
0813: [That’s true, but what if they’ve already left the academic building and the encounter happens somewhere else? Waaah.]
Cen Wan: [It’s fine, it’s fine. If I can’t finish this mission, I still have two days! There’ll definitely be other missions in those two days.]
0813: [But if there aren’t, won’t you die? Waaah, I won’t let you die, I like you, Wanwan.]
Cen Wan chuckled, about to comfort 0813,
“Ding” The elevator arrived.
The noise from outside pulled Cen Wan’s mind back. Still crouching, he turned toward the elevator, and as he pushed off his knees to stand up abruptly, everything went black before his eyes,
[Careful!!]
He’d forgotten he couldn’t stand up too fast. He had hypoglycemia.
Before hitting the ground, besides regret, Cen Wan desperately lifted his legs, trying to take a couple of steps to cushion the fall so he wouldn’t hurt himself badly.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
But before he could touch the cold, hard floor, he made contact with another body tall and supple.
Cen Wan’s face plunged straight into an embrace carrying a faint scent of cedar mixed with the smell of medicine. A cold, broad hand in a leather glove grabbed his arm, letting him stagger two steps and steady himself.
Thankfully, the contact was brief and the hand was gloved, and it let go quickly.
“Who’s there!”
A sharp shout yanked Cen Wan’s thoughts back. He sniffled at his bruised nose and looked up straight into a pair of exceptionally deep, peach-blossom eyes.
The man before him had black hair and black eyes, his skin so pale it was almost like porcelain, with faint dark shadows under his eyes. He was much taller than Cen Wan, nearly one point nine meters. At the moment his brows were furrowed, his expression cold and stern, like a large wolfdog radiating sharp, icy aggression after its territory had been violated.
“Sorry.” Cen Wan pinched his thigh to keep himself alert, apologizing first.
“Which class are you from? Why aren’t you in class?!” The middle-aged man who had shouted earlier demanded angrily. He wore a gray suit with a fountain pen pinned to his chest, his face carrying anger and an expression that was almost nervous.
“Sorry, President Shen. This student looks ill he was probably on his way to the infirmary.” The man spoke up again, shooting Cen Wan several meaningful glances from behind the president.
Cen Wan nodded dazedly, apologized once more, and turned to step aside to let them pass.
Wait. President Shen.
Cold sweat instantly broke out across Cen Wan’s back. Could the man in front of him be that number one figure from the book, the one who had clawed his way to the top of the pyramid through blood and storms?
How had he actually managed to crash into him?! Where was the protagonist shou??
Cen Wan was still lost in thought when the tall man in front of him suddenly spoke:
“Your clothes.”
The voice was deep and magnetic. Cen Wan couldn’t help tilting his head, pinching his palm to stay alert, but he didn’t quite catch what the man meant.
The man continued:
“Dirty.”
Cen Wan finally followed his words and looked at the expensive-looking suit the F4 was wearing.
Then she froze as if struck by lightning,
There was a complete face printed on the front of the suit.
It was Cen Wan’s face.
The middle-aged man beside them also followed their gaze to the man’s wrecked-looking clothes and couldn’t help sighing. Good luck to you, kid.
Heat quickly spread across Cen Wan’s face, reddening from her neck to her ears. “I-I’m sorry, I’m really so sorry, I’ll compensate you how much…”
“Move.”
Cen Wan instinctively stepped aside, but before she could finish speaking, the F4 refused again, as if already tired of further communication. He closed his eyes briefly and strode out of the elevator.
The middle-aged man was stunned for two seconds, then glanced at Cen Wan, turned, and followed him out of the elevator.
In the original story, someone had also tried to catch the male protagonist’s attention by deliberately staging a collision and playing up their fearless-of-the-powerful, delicate-little-flower image.
Of course, they were dealt with, packaged up, and thrown out of St. Rhode in one seamless process.
Not only did no other school dare accept students expelled from St. Rhode,
even that family’s business rapidly declined afterward falling from a rising, influential noble family to yesterday’s news in no time.
Cen Wan was so anxious that sweat beaded on her forehead, dampening her fine black hair so it stuck to her smudged makeup.
[Tong-bao, d-did I have makeup on my face this whole time?]
0813 was also dazed and confused: [We’re doomed, we’re doomed… Oh, oh yes! The original owner does wear makeup.]
Cen Wan rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand, comforting 0813: [It’s fine, it’s fine. F4 doesn’t seem to want to hold us accountable… right? My bow was very proper. We should survive this.]
[Mission Four: You actually met Shen Xianyu! Overjoyed, you secretly resolve to seize this chance and make Shen Xianyu remember you. If you succeed, you’ll rise to fame in one leap!]
[Please greet Shen Xianyu within one minute and make him remember your name. Mission reward: 48h of survival time.]
[Mission failure: 48h of survival time deducted.]
[Countdown: 59]
[58]
This is basically “fail and die,” isn’t it? Cen Wan stammered:
[T-T-T-Tong-tong-tong, your missions are actually keeping up with the times now?]
The system was clearly flustered too, its electronic voice glitching with panic: [H-How can there be a failure penalty ahhh, Sempai never told me about this, waaah, Wanwan, what do we do?]
Greet him and die later; don’t greet him and die right now. Later might still hold a chance of survival. Cen Wan took a deep breath, turned around, and called out to the F4, who hadn’t gone far:
“Wait!”
The tall man actually stopped, and the middle-aged man beside him froze uncertainly as well.
Before he could turn around, Cen Wan said it all in one breath:
“I my name is Cen Wan!”
That tall, jade-like figure stood against the light, the setting sun gilding him in gold. His slightly lowered hair covered his slender nape, strands lifting in the breeze.
Shen Xianyu turned his head with the wind, his sharply lined profile rimmed in gold as he looked toward Cen Wan.
The makeup on the beautiful boy’s face had been smeared nearly all away, but it couldn’t hide her strikingly gorgeous features, nor those cat-like eyes with upturned, sparkling corners. The way she looked over, all nervous, really did make her seem like a little cat with its fur puffed up.
A faint laugh was carried to Cen Wan’s ears by the wind, and she wondered if she’d misheard.
“Shen Xianyu.”
His voice was clear and magnetic, carrying an innate air of aristocratic aloofness. As his words fell, Cen Wan’s heartbeat seemed to skip a beat. After replying, he turned his head coolly, his tall, slender silhouette gradually merging with the ornate outlines of the buildings. In the dusk, he left behind a shattered-gold, breathtaking silhouette, slowly disappearing from Cen Wan’s sight.
[Task completed: Reward 48h of survival time]
[He… he’s actually pretty nice.] Cen Wan stood frozen in place for a moment.
0813 was still cheering joyfully: [Wanwan, you were amazing!]
[Why does F4 wear gloves?]
0813 rustled around in her databanks for a while before answering hesitantly: [I think it might have something to do with his mother. F4 really hates physical contact with others.]
Cen Wan pressed his lips together, fingers twisting the hem of his shirt: [0813, I need to tell you something.]
This was the first time Cen Wan had called 0813 by her name.
0813 made a puzzled sound: [Mm? I’m listening!]
[I have a condition]
0813: [I know, Wanwan’s pretty sick, sniff sniff]
[No, I mean]
[I have skin hunger syndrome. It might affect my ability to do tasks.]
Cen Wan’s voice was very soft.
0813 made an “mm” sound, catching the unspoken implication.
[That’s okay! Even if Wanwan doesn’t do the tasks, I’ll be fine!] What the headquarters had no shortage of was people on the verge of death desperate to stay alive.
[But I like Wanwan, and I hope Wanwan gets to live a new, happy life! So let’s work hard on the tasks together, okay!!]
Cen Wan lifted his eyes, which had grown bright. “Mm!” He didn’t realize he had answered out loud this time.
22:00
Cen Wan returned to the dorm, washed his face, showered, blow-dried his hair, and even finished washing his clothes.
Then he sat listening to 0813 chattering on about how good-looking he was, rambling through all sorts of idle gossip.
The protagonist shou still hadn’t returned.
But Cen Wan’s eyelids were already drooping as drowsiness overtook him. All he could do was tell 0813 to wake him up as soon as the protagonist shou came back.
23:54
[Wanwan]
[Wanwan! Wake up!]
Jiang Xinian returned after collecting his school uniform and saw the small, gently rising mound on his bed. He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. Walking over to the bedside, he stood there for a moment, then reached out and yanked away the thin white blanket covering the figure. The sight before him made his breath suddenly catch,
Moonlight streamed through the window in a layer of silvery white, draping over Cen Wan.
This vicious little madman
actually had a face…
Beautiful to the point of being almost bewitchingly inhuman.
Beneath that gaudy, vulgar mask was a truly gorgeous enchantment. It was as if all that smeared makeup existed only to hide this treasure from others’ eyes or rather,
to wait for him to discover it.
The exquisitely beautiful youth’s cheeks, as creamy white as congealed mutton-fat jade, were sunk softly into the feather pillow. His tender young face carried a faint blush, and his long, thick, curled lashes cast a small shadow beneath his eyes.
His slightly long, soft black hair was scattered across the pillow. The collar of his shirt was a bit loose, and below the graceful, snow-white neck not covered by the blanket, a section of deeply hollowed collarbone was visible. His glossy, peach-pink lips, moist with a sheen of water, were slightly parted; leaning a little closer, one could almost smell the sweet fragrance of his breath, an otherworldly scent that seemed to seep from his very bones.
It left Jiang Xinian unsettled even after being slapped.
Jiang Xinian slowed his breathing to almost nothing.
The boy slept there, oblivious, on his bed a scene like a dream.
As if deliberately seducing him.
The slap mark from Cen Wan’s palm had only just faded from his face, and here he was doing something like this again.
Truly,
truly utterly,
de.bauched.
Jiang Xinian lowered his eyes and reined in his thoughts, brows knitting tight as he prepared to pull his hand back from the blanket,
But at that moment, the youth’s tightly shut eyes trembled at the lashes, two or three flickers, then suddenly snapped open.
Jiang Xinian’s heart skipped a beat.
Those shimmering eyes were veiled in a misty haze. As his pupils slowly came into focus, the mist was parted, his gaze still carrying a trace of bewilderment.
Jiang Xinian’s Adam’s apple bobbed once. Pressing his lips together, he jerked upright and backed away several steps.
A good thirty seconds passed before the sleepy Cen Wan, eyes half-closed, finally let his gaze drift toward the edge of the bed.
All he saw was a tall, thin figure, silhouetted against the light, motionless standing silently a short distance from his bed like a ghost.
！
A g-gh-ghost!!
Cen Wan’s heart nearly stopped, and tears burst out on the spot. After transmigration had actually happened to him, someone who had always been afraid of ghosts now believed in all things supernatural even more fervently.
Right now he was so terrified he clenched his teeth, unable to make a sound. His eyes brimmed with moisture, tears sliding one by one down his cheeks, pooling at his chin into fat drops that pattered onto the bedspread. Utterly pitiful.
“It’s me.” A flat, dry voice.
Seeing Cen Wan frightened into streaming tears, fine beads of sweat even breaking out on his forehead and dampening the hair at his temples so it clung to his face, Jiang Xinian found himself, for once, at a complete loss. He could only speak first to soothe him.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Hearing the voice, Cen Wan only shrank deeper into the covers, more frightened than ever. Only after finally making out who it was did he slowly sniffle, chest heaving as he choked back his sobs. His eyes were rimmed red from the fresh tears, lashes clumped together, wet and sticky.
So it was the protagonist bottom.
Why had he been standing there, silent as a ghost?
Getting scared to tears and being caught at it how humiliating.
Once the crying subsided, Cen Wan belatedly felt a rush of heat flood his face.
Damn protagonist bottom. What a grudge-holder.
Just standing there, who knows what he was thinking, scowling like someone owed him money.
“What are you doing standing by my bed! You scared me half to death!” Cen Wan, nose still stuffed, demanded fiercely, then sniffled again.
The person opposite froze for several long seconds, then finally, gritting his teeth under Cen Wan’s furious glare, corrected him:
“Get off. This is my bed.”
Cen Wan froze.
The fight went out of him all at once.
After a long moment, his face flushing red, he offered weakly, without a shred of conviction: “Ah… i-is, is that so.” The heat that had just faded from Cen Wan’s face came surging back twice as strong, and beneath the covers his toes curled up tight.
Then, biting his lower lip, face burning, he stiffly pushed back the covers and climbed out of the bed.
“Sorry… I took a bath, I’m not dirty oh, wait, no I’ll buy you new sheets and a comforter right away…”
Cen Wan stammered through his apology, eyes darting evasively around the floor, as if he had suddenly discovered the scholarly value of floorboards.
【Task Three countdown: 3:59】
【3:58】
【Host, please hurry and complete the task】