The students who had originally been about to enter the school were all stunned by the scene before them, once again echoing the thematically appropriate exclamation: “How is there a car here?”
As the onlookers continued to gather, a middle aged man who looked like a security guard came storming out from inside the school, fury written all over his face.
“Hey! Who are you? This is the school entrance, parking is not allowed here!”
He banged loudly on the car window. Chu Tianshu rolled it down, rested one hand outside and waved casually. “Hello, uncle. We’re transfer students.”
“Transfer students?”
“…I did hear that some transfer students would be coming today. Didn’t expect them to be this rich, driving to school and all…”
“Wait a minute. Are they even eighteen yet? Do they have driver’s licenses?”
The Unorthodox Master, listening to the discussion: …Who would’ve thought this comic would be so realistic in such a completely pointless place?
Voices of astonishment rose again from the crowd. The guard eyed them suspiciously. “You’re the transfer students coming to the school today?”
“Yes.” Chu Tianshu pointed at himself with his thumb. “Me, Chu Tianshu, three characters. Him, Unorthodox Master, four characters. The one behind, Qu Mei, two characters. The remaining two things are his dolls. The three of us combined are TFBOYS.”
The guard: …
…What an utterly baffling answer. The guard wore an expression that clearly said, “My knowledge has increased in a very strange way!” At the same time, Chu Tianshu received a notification that his “side quest completion progress had increased.”
Chu Tianshu: So that’s it. This is the kind of behavior that raises the confusion level of the plot?
“I don’t care what BOYS you are,” the guard said, rubbing his temples. “In any case, cars aren’t allowed to be parked at the school entrance. Move the car somewhere else…”
“Oh, is that so?”
The young man inside the car seemed genuinely troubled by this. He scratched his head, speaking as though it were all terribly inconvenient. “But finding a parking spot is really such a hassle… how about this, then?”
He pulled out the car keys and tossed them to the guard. “I’ll give this car to you.”
The guard: “Huh?”
“No need to thank me. I’m just too lazy to look for a parking space,” the young man continued in a nonchalant tone, calmly uttering words that were utterly shocking. “Anyway, cars are the kind of thing I can have as many of as I want…”
As he spoke, he glanced up at the dialogue box in the sky, which was still trembling violently.
Giving a car to the security guard simply because he didn’t want to find a parking space, this level of showing off stunned the entire crowd.
Even in domineering CEO novels, such a bewildering scene had never appeared before.
“The plot confusion level has increased!”
The notification sounded once more in Chu Tianshu’s mind.
Under the gazes of all the students that clearly said, “This flex is actually incredible,” he opened the car door and stretched out one leg, preparing to get out.
However, just as the sole of his shoe was about to step down onto something, an intense sense of danger made him stop short.
Chu Tianshu lowered his head. At this moment, his left foot was hovering perilously above a pile of dog shit, the distance between his shoe and the pile measuring only 0.01 centimeters.
“Hidden side instance Easter egg storyline: ‘The Correct Answer Is Kado,’ unlocked!”
“After following the show for two months, Run San, who had once held great expectations for this serious sci fi anime, finally dragged it in anguish into a favorites folder titled ‘Feed Me Shit and Crawl for Me.’ Originally, such a series held no reference value whatsoever. However, for an unpopular intruder, it became the greatest gift of all!”
“Hidden storyline theme: ‘The Correct Answer Is Kado.’”
“Story synopsis: When cars appear, shit will also appear. Just like in the finale of this work, where, in the midst of a tense decisive battle sealed off by aliens, a car belonging to the male lead’s daughter suddenly drove onto the scene without warning.”
“Fortune and misfortune are intertwined. This car not only rendered all previous plot developments meaningless but also caused the poor white haired second male lead, who bent for love, to be suddenly killed by the male and female leads’ daughter, while force feeding all viewers a massive, bewildering pile of shit. Every time the player uses the ‘Summon Car’ ability, rides in the car and then gets out, the player will step on a pile of dog shit. Don’t ask where the dog shit comes from. By the same logic, don’t ask where the car comes from. Watching this show in the first place is already stepping in shit.”
“Comic artist’s evaluation: You are an unanticipated intruder! Go on, make the plot even more bewildering!”
Chu Tianshu: …
He shifted his left foot away and changed position, landing successfully and cleanly.
The onlookers did not notice this tiny movement. In their eyes, Chu Tianshu’s display of arrogance was executed flawlessly, without the slightest crack.
Just as they were rising onto their toes, trying to get a clear look at this rich kid king of swagger so they could plan to ambush him with a sack after school, a sudden disturbance rippled along the edge of the crowd.
“He’s here, he’s here, he’s here!”
“Hey, holy shit, Lin Huai’s here.”
“Run, run!”
The focus that had been centered on Chu Tianshu instantly shifted away. The first person who heard the shout turned around and several others made the same movement almost simultaneously.
Appearing at the far end of the road on the other side was another young man who looked like a student. He was also wearing a black school uniform but his collar was left open, revealing a stretch of pale collarbone.
He was indeed very refined and handsome, though not to a breathtaking degree. However, the small tear mole beneath his eye lent him an additional quality: a cold, eerie allure that seemed as though it would slowly ferment and deepen with time.
“…I don’t know why…” one person murmured. “But it feels like Student Lin has been getting prettier these past few days…”
As soon as he said it, he felt something was off. Why would he think a male was pretty? It was a kind of beauty that made one’s heart itch uncontrollably, a beauty that made one want to scratch and claw at it fiercely, a beauty carrying an incurable temptation.
“Shh, ” another person warned him. “Lower your voice. Don’t let Student Lin hear that.”
He immediately shut his mouth. After all, their Lin classmate, who had a strange and sharp temperament, seemed to really hate being called pretty.
Just yesterday, in the restroom, he had personally witnessed Student Lin drag a man who had called him pretty into one of the stalls. Only after beating him until his face was bruised and swollen did he let him out.
From inside the stall came not only the sounds of fists striking flesh but also Student Lin’s cold, sinister voice:
“Dare to call me pretty again? Dare to call me pretty again, huh? Want me to gouge out your eyeballs? Want me to rip out your tongue? Want me to pull out your fingernails one by one?”
“Ah… ah… help… ah!… I won’t dare again… ah!”
“Say it. Say I’m ugly. Hurry, say I’m an ugly freak.”
“Lin… Lin Huai is an… ugly freak… wuwu, I said it! Stop hitting me, stop hitting me!”
“Mhm. That’s more like it.”
He hadn’t dared to listen to everything and had fled the restroom midway through. Later, he convinced himself that it must all have been a dream. After all, someone like Student Lin… someone so beautiful, how could he beat people up? And besides…
That kind of dangerous beauty was like a flame. Even knowing you were a moth, you would still be bewitched by its allure and sink deeply into it.
…Still, rumors said that Student Lin was a delinquent, someone who often got into fights outside school as well. Just as this thought crossed his mind, a cold, low voice sounded out:
“Move.”
…That was Lin Huai’s voice!
Oh! Student Lin was talking to him!
A surge of wild joy flooded his heart. Then he heard Lin Huai continue, “What, are you deaf, you blockheaded idiot? Get the hell out of my way.”
Ah! As expected of Student Lin! Even when insulting people, he was so domineering and cute!
The student he had been blocking, as if hearing his inner thoughts, kicked him in the calf and walked straight into the crowd without looking back. Only a nameless extra remained behind, clutching his leg and feeling inexplicably delighted at having been kicked.
Lin Huai pushed through the crowd. There were plenty of people pointing at him and whispering. He did not understand why everyone was crowding around the school gate, he only knew that it made him extremely irritated.
Yes. Unlike the other players, he had entered this instance half a month ago.
After entering this instance, he received a slip of paper with the words “Tomie” written on it and along with it, his own theme skill, weaknesses and missions.
“Item Theme: ‘Tomie’”
“Theme Ability: Extraordinary charm and extraordinarily annoying resurrection ability! After being injured, every single one of your cells has a chance to differentiate into a new you. Your increasingly demonic charm makes everyone fall madly for you… and love you so much that they want to kill you.”
“Theme Weakness: Fortune and misfortune are intertwined. You not only love money and crave collecting wealth but your vain self also enjoys being surrounded by others, having immense fame and becoming the most well known person in town. Playing with other people’s feelings is what you enjoy doing most.”
“Theme Tasks:
Task One: Set a small goal first, obtain assets worth 【one million】 before the game ends through fraud, trickery and emotional manipulation. Avoid all legitimate methods of earning money. Getting something for nothing is what you love best!
Task Two: Bewitch hearts, manipulate emotions, deceive feelings and provoke their anger. Before the game ends, play with the emotions of 【100】 people, leaving them infatuated and sleepless because of you… At the same time, win the title of 【Miss Liangchuan】 during the school festival and become the most famous person in the entire town. Let your name become their favorite topic of gossip. Do not allow anyone else’s fame to surpass yours!
Task Three: I’m the one, your intense jealousy does not permit the existence of any other copies. Eliminate all replicas and survive until the end as the 【original body】!”
Vanity, narcissism, jealousy, emotional manipulation and a love for unearned gains… The moment he received this set of tasks, Lin Huai’s expression twisted into something bordering on exaggerated facial comedy.
In the end, after a long stretch of silence, he asked Run San, “I can understand all the other tasks but why is it that I, a man, have to run for ‘Miss Liangchuan’?”
________
Author’s Note: After discussing things with my bestie for an entire night, I finally decided to change the originally planned point style ending into a Jin style ending and I’ve also finalized the title for the final volume:
The Tyrant and the Clown (bu)
Because of this, there will be a very, very tiny revision to earlier chapters later on but don’t worry, it’s not something drastic like Wuling Village suddenly being rewritten into Longevity Village or anything like that. It’s just a few extremely small details, those kinds of things where you’d definitely never guess I was laying down foreshadowing anyway… (^_ )
*Explanation of the memes:
“How can there be a car here!”: From The Correct Answer Is Kado. This anime tells the story of a life and death romance between a beautiful white haired alien and the male protagonist. Its entire aura is steeped in the unmistakable fragrance of luosifen.
Yagami Light: The protagonist of the JUMP manga Black Little Notebook. Famous for reaction memes, ghostly (harmonized) videos and good looks. Possesses a demonic laugh comparable to Lelouch’s, rising and falling in waves, surging and crashing in endless climaxes.
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
(´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ a little coffee would be lovely
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 111 · Although the author really didn’t want to writeChapter 112 · An explanation of the main storylineChapter 113 · Lin Huai’s QuestionChapter 114 · Hello classmateChapter 115 · Let me introduce the protagonist’s family backgroundChapter 116 · The innocent and naive Lin XiaohuaiChapter 117 · The Trisolarans ArriveChapter 118 · He Isn’t Fighting AloneChapter 119 · Why Here?Chapter 120 · A World Where Everyone Is Sculpted in ClayChapter 121 · How Could It Be YouChapter 122 · I want to sell my carChapter 123 · The Mysterious Transfer StudentsChapter 124 · Gu BeichenChapter 125 · The Male Lead of This StoryChapter 126 · A Voice Never Heard BeforeChapter 127 · You’re Tomie, aren’t you?Chapter 128 · I’ll give youChapter 129 · I just want to be with youChapter 130 · The Principal’s OfficeChapter 131 · Chu: I Disbanded Your Hate GroupsChapter 132 · Speak ProperlyChapter 133 · A Trisolaran Enters the Grand View GardenChapter 134 · Ji FengjianChapter 135 · About Me and YouChapter 136 · Kayako Likes ItChapter 137 · YouChapter 138 · I’ll Beat MyselfChapter 139 · I Want to See MyselfChapter 140 · The Trisolarans’ First Experience of Love and SexChapter 141 · The Trisolarans Try Romance Once MoreChapter 142 · The Trisolarans Try Romance for the Third TimeChapter 143 · It’s All This Buff’s FaultChapter 144 · The Way You Straight Men TalkChapter 145 · Why are you taking it so seriously?Chapter 146 · Chu Tianshu Shows Off His MusclesChapter 147 · Enter the DreamChapter 148 · Leave a little secretChapter 149 · Shadow StreamerChapter 150 · Don’t Look at MeChapter 151 · The Trisolarans betrayed StalinChapter 152 · Then I WillChapter 153 · The Trisolarans rewrite the Book of Life and DeathChapter 154 · What Career Could Be More Important Than Your Wife?Chapter 155 · Aren’t We Already Together?Chapter 156 · MVP of the Entire FieldChapter 157 · Meeting the FamilyChapter 158 · A Phone Call Across Time and SpaceChapter 159 · Lu Jin, You’re So MiserableChapter 160 · The Lands Of DaughtersChapter 161 · The So Called Pregnancy StreamChapter 162 · The Street Where Only the Two of Us ExistChapter 163 · No bare faceChapter 164 · Question 1: Do you have hair loss?Chapter 165 · LaxativesChapter 166 · Where Exactly Do You Exist?Chapter 167 · Seven ZeroChapter 168 · The issue of 0 and 1Chapter 169 · Wind ChimeChapter 170 · Visa and Wind ChimesChapter 171 · Continue to persecute Lu JinChapter 172 · Examiner: I’ve fallen in love with himChapter 173 · Lin Huai intimidates scalpersChapter 174 · Night of EvilChapter 175 · Congratulations to the Male Guests on Successfully Finding Their PartnersChapter 176 · Before ThisChapter 177 · The gong says he is terrifiedChapter 178 · The Tasker CampChapter 179 · I’m So ScaredChapter 180 · The Final Transitional ChapterChapter 181 · Four Beauties Among the FlowersChapter 182 · Plum FragranceChapter 183 · Dry Weather and Flammable ThingsChapter 184 · The Heartless Sword ManualChapter 185 · Only MeChapter 186 · The North PoleChapter 187 · Let Brother Lin Learn to Meow Like a CatChapter 188 · Good Night