He lifted his chin slightly, gesturing toward the boy carrying a bucket. “Just look at him, does he really think a toad like him can eat swan meat? Did Lin… beat him up or not?”
“Lucky for the kid. No.”
“Tsk. I thought he’d get the crap beaten out of him. Didn’t expect Lin Huai to actually go easy on him.” The boy shrugged with disappointment. “Oh right, have you heard those rumors? What do you think about the ‘fallen from grace’ version of the male god?”
“A black swan is still a swan,” the other boy said with a grin. “I don’t know why but after hearing about his messy private life, it actually feels more exciting and…”
“I feel like… I’ve got a better chance now.”
Amid this hushed gossip, the boy carrying the bucket walked step by step back into the classroom.
He heard voices from all directions, voices that loathed Lin Huai, voices that admired him, voices filled with jealousy, voices offering excuses on his behalf… every single sentence sank into his heart.
Since childhood, he had been isolated for his gloomy personality and poor social skills, as well as his frail physical condition. He had long since grown accustomed to surviving within the tides of rumors.
But now, the one being discussed had become Lin Huai.
A subtle, almost imperceptible sense of joy rose within him. It was as though, at last, he could share the same suffering as that person he had always found untouchable.
The boy gripped the cover of the diary in his hands. It seemed to still carry traces of that person’s scent. Lowering his head, he inhaled deeply, as if trying to absorb the lingering fragrance from the paper.
Lin Huai, arrogant, irritable and dismissive toward everyone, had not beaten him up over this diary…
That realization filled him with an uncontrollable sense of pleasure and excitement.
He, who had always been ignored, neglected and bullied by everyone and Lin Huai, who, despite being surrounded by scandals, was still the center of attention, admired and envied by all, standing high above,
At this moment, it felt as though their fates had intertwined.
This illusion of shared fate, this faint semblance of goodwill, made him suddenly feel that Lin Huai was no longer so untouchable.
They were… on the same side.
Lowering his head, he quietly opened his phone.
Messages in the group chat continued to pop up.
“So is there actually a video or not?”
“Let me see, let me see!”
He buried his head beneath the desk, out of sight of everyone else, watching the scrolling messages with a secret, almost guilty pleasure.
The group where the messages were flying back and forth was none other than the last remaining anti fan group centered around Lin Huai, the one always at the heart of controversy.
And he was the group owner.
Yet the reason he created this group was not out of jealousy or hatred, reasons that would have been far easier to understand but rather…
‘When he stands so high above, I will never have a chance to get close to him,’ he thought expressionlessly. ‘Only by dragging him down, pulling him into the mud. Ruining his reputation. Making everyone hate him, ignore him, stop seeing him…’
‘Only then will he truly be the same as me and belong only to me.’
The thought was twisted, subtle and filled him with a strange sense of delight.
At the same time, Qiu Ran, who had just returned from downstairs, pushed open the classroom door.
The moment she saw the dark expression flicker across the face of the boy sitting by the window, she was startled.
But the expression vanished in an instant. The boy quickly returned to his usual timid, honest demeanor. Qiu Ran rubbed her eyes, suspecting that it had only been her imagination.
Whether it was real or not, however, this ordinary NPC’s reaction had nothing to do with her task. She glanced around and seeing that Lin Huai was not in the classroom, quickly turned and stepped back into the corridor.
That’s right, she had left the group earlier, making an excuse to slip away from Ye Xiangxiang’s watchful eye, all for the sake of confirming Lin Huai’s identity.
She wanted to know whether “Lin Huai” was the same player she had once encountered at Minghua High School. More importantly, she wanted to determine whether Lin Huai was the “Tomie” of this game.
She was certain she wasn’t the only one who had realized this. That very afternoon, Zhang Mingge and Ye Xiangxiang had also begun investigating everything about Lin Huai at school.
As for Qu Mei and Master Bufei, the two of them had maintained an extremely ambiguous attitude toward the matter. When she tried to question them, they avoided her inquiries in a strangely withdrawn, almost closed off manner.
…Such reactions were far too suspicious and that man who called himself “Chu Tianyu” had even followed Lin Huai out of the classroom.
She had every reason to suspect that Chu Tianyu had already uncovered Lin Huai’s true identity and perhaps had even gotten ahead of them while they weren’t paying attention.
If this “Lin Huai” were just an ordinary NPC, Qiu Ran would have had no hesitation in making a move but if Lin Huai was a player, then this so called “mutual slaughter” mission became highly questionable.
If they were all players, was killing Lin Huai truly the optimal solution? Was it really the method the examiner preferred?
Qiu Ran didn’t think so.
Moreover, she still owed him a favor.
Therefore, she had to find Lin Huai before anyone else did and get the truth from him directly. Ever since being used and manipulated by Xia Xingye in the previous instance, she had sworn to herself that she would never again be treated as a pawn, never again be pushed along by others.
She would play this game according to her own will.
After asking around, Qiu Ran finally learned Lin Huai’s whereabouts.
“He got into a fight with that red haired guy,” someone said. “Then he, the redhead and another transfer student with brown hair all went into the chemistry lab together…”
“Thank you.”
The chemistry laboratory was located at the end of the corridor. Qiu Ran took out her longbow from her pack and approached the door cautiously.
‘Could they have already gotten there before me?’ the thought crossed her mind.
She quickly dismissed it. “That’s impossible. Otherwise, the system would have notified me.”
At that moment, a sudden noise came from inside the lab.
“Ah!”
It sounded like a scream, distorted, almost inhuman, filled with indescribable pain.
She couldn’t identify the source of the voice but her heart began to pound violently.
‘That scream… could it be Lin Huai?’ she thought. ‘Let me see…’
Another cry rang out.
“Don’t!”
Holding her breath, she pressed her ear against the glass of the door. More sounds of distress followed.
“Don’t…”
Qiu Ran: ?
“Did you like the dress I gave you?” A low, amused voice echoed from inside the lab. “This morning, did you wear it properly while walking back to the dorm? Oh, right, I forgot… after lying in the alley all night, walking must have been a little uncomfortable, wasn’t it?”
Qiu Ran: …
For some reason, this conversation felt extremely inappropriate…
Her face flushed inexplicably.
“No! No!” Ji Fengjian’s screams continued, sharp and unrelenting. “Don’t… don’t say it anymore! Ah!”
“That’s a psychological attack,” another male voice remarked from the side.
Qiu Ran: …
It sounded incredibly lively inside the laboratory… For a moment, she felt like she shouldn’t be here at all, she should be hiding under a car somewhere.
At that exact moment, the ground beneath her seemed to vanish.
The laboratory door was suddenly pulled open. Qiu Ran stumbled forward, losing her balance as she fell inside and then,
An extremely bizarre scene unfolded before her eyes.
Ji Fengjian was tied to a water pipe with a necktie, struggling desperately as he let out pained, hoarse cries. Meanwhile, a slender young man with black hair and black eyes sat calmly on a chair. Beneath his smiling peach blossom eyes was a small black tear mole.
Qiu Ran: …
He, was, so, handsome,
That was the very first thought that appeared in her mind.
Chu Tianshu reached down and pulled her up from the floor. Qiu Ran immediately waved her hands in panic. “Y…. you’ve got the wrong idea! I’m not here to cause trouble!”
She was just about to explain her purpose when Lin Huai had already turned his face toward her.
In the next instant, struck by a full force visual “buff,” Qiu Ran froze again, her face flushing bright red.
“…” Lin Huai casually stuffed a rag into Ji Fengjian’s mouth, silencing his ongoing screams. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he put on a mask and a pair of sunglasses, covering his face completely. “Go on.”
His considerate gesture restored Qiu Ran’s ability to speak. Just as she was about to stammer through her explanation, Lin Huai shrugged.
“Yeah,” he said in a muffled voice. “I’m Tomie.”
Qiu Ran: …I haven’t even asked yet.
The sheer shock crushed her. It took her a full minute before she finally let out a startled scream.
“What do you mean, it really is you?!”
“What’s so strange about me being Tomie?” Lin Huai said without the slightest embarrassment, in fact, with a hint of pride. “Look around this school. Is there anyone more surrounded by chaos and rumors than me? Didn’t you already guess it? What, did you need me to go to the broadcasting station and announce it? Something like, ‘I am Tomie, from Class 2 A, sitting in the second to last row by the window. Anyone who wants to kill me, feel free to come. Anyone who wants to confess to me, please line up accordingly’?”
“But you…” Qiu Ran’s face twisted. “Aren’t you… a guy…?”
Lin Huai: …
In a burst of irritation, he pulled off his mask.
Qiu Ran immediately covered her eyes and shouted, “Talk properly! Don’t show your face!”
Lin Huai: …
“To think there would come a day when I’d be disliked for being too good looking…” he said in a hollow, almost ghostly tone, obediently covering his face again with a piece of black cloth.
Ji Fengjian continued making muffled “%@T#%DSGFA!!” noises against the pipe. Qiu Ran, still trembling slightly, went on.
“So our mission… is to kill you?”
“Yes, miss,” Lin Huai replied casually. “You’ve just walked straight into the main base of the stage boss.”
Qiu Ran looked at Lin Huai, who was sitting there as if nothing mattered, then glanced at Chu Tianshu, who stood freely beside him.
“You two… are working together?”
“Bingo.” Lin Huai snapped his fingers.
“He’s… helping you?”
“Bingo.”
“But isn’t he… also a player?”
“What’s the problem with that?”
“Then those photos…”
Qiu Ran fell silent. She turned to look at Chu Tianshu with a deeply suspicious, almost scandalized expression. Before he could speak, Lin Huai narrowed his eyes and cut in.
“Don’t overthink it. We have a perfectly pure friendship.”
Qiu Ran: “…Oh.”
“He’s straight,” Lin Huai added, raising one finger for emphasis. “Don’t go imagining weird things…”
“Really? I don’t believe it.”
She delivered the line with complete sincerity. Chu Tianshu scratched his head awkwardly. “Well… it’s the kind of thing that’s open to interpretation…”
“What are you planning to do now?” Qiu Ran suddenly asked. “Do I really have to kill you to complete the mission?”
Lin Huai gripped the sides of his chair. “Miss, please, don’t barge into the enemy camp and then casually discuss whether or not to kill the boss right in front of him. In any other instance, you’d already be dead without even a trace left, okay?”
“I know,” Qiu Ran said softly. “But… it’s you here.”
Lin Huai: …
“And also, I…”
Before Qiu Ran could finish expressing her gratitude for his help last time, Chu Tianshu quickly spoke up.
“Actually, there might be a way to clear the level without killing him…”
His words instantly diverted Qiu Ran’s attention. She set her longbow aside, dragged over a stool and sat down.
“I can understand the other points,” she said, “but how do we eliminate ‘Tomie’… without eliminating Lin Huai?”
“Actually,” Chu Tianshu said thoughtfully, “if by the end of the manga there’s no ‘Tomie’ left in it, wouldn’t that count as eliminating ‘Tomie’?”
Qiu Ran: …?
“I have a rough idea,” Chu Tianshu scratched his head. “But it still needs some thought.”
The three of them sat in the dim chemistry lab, discussing strategies like a trio of villains plotting their next move.
And after realizing that she could complete the mission without killing Lin Huai, Qiu Ran finally let out a relieved smile.
Qiu Ran might have felt relieved but Ji Fengjian, who was still tied up to the side, certainly did not.
He continued to struggle, letting out muffled “mmph mmph” sounds, looking exactly like the pitiful male protagonist one might only see in certain kinds of books, locked in a dark room, subjected to unspeakable treatment by a group of people. Accompanied by this rather “fitting” background atmosphere, Qiu Ran reminded them:
“Right now, Ye Xiangxiang and Zhang Mingge still seem to be looking for you. As for Qu Mei and Master Bufei…”
“No need to worry about those two.” Chu Tianshu tapped lightly on the chair. “I’ve already had a proper talk with them.”
“And what about the principal…?”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Behind every translated chapter is someone who probably needs caffeine.
☕ 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