Qi Ningze leaned listlessly against his chair, occasionally staring aimlessly around the room with clear, watery eyes that held a innocent beauty.
“So hard, so hard… Ke Feng, what on earth is your weakness?” Qi Ningze drew a cute chibi version of Ke Feng on a sheet of crisp white paper.
Sharp bangs rested casually over the forehead, and the cold, sharp expression transformed into something irresistibly adorable through the chibi art style.
The more Qi Ningze thought about it, the more flustered he became. Lowering his eyes, he playfully tapped his pen against the chibi figure.
The old fan whirred noisily as Qi Ningze propped his head up with his left hand, twirling his pen in the air with his right while muttering softly under his breath, “How can I convince you to join our team?”
The System let out a scoff of disdain, saying slowly: [Don’t waste your breath. Only the protagonist shou has the power to move the supporting characters.]
The implied message was simple: stop worrying needlessly and just focus on doing your own job obediently.
“But… I still don’t feel reassured,” Qi Ningze sighed deeply, a trace of weariness in his eyes.
Qi Ningze had attempted to approach Ke Feng afterward, but before he could even cover half the distance, he was scared off by the man’s intimidating glare.
Ke Feng possessed a level of coldness and solitary detachment that belied his age, his eyes resembling icy pools that radiated an endless chill. Faced with someone like that, Qi Ningze was utterly incapable of persuading him not to mention the fact that Ke Feng had bullied him in the past.
“Forget it, I’ll think about it tomorrow.” Qi Ningze let out another sigh, dragging his weary body into dreamland. Even in his sleep, his brow remained tightly furrowed, wearing a melancholy expression.
The next day after class ended, Qi Ningze couldn’t wait to go look for Ke Feng.
Before he could find his target, however, he was cornered right at the classroom door by a crowd of students. Surrounded by tall, muscular athletes, Qi Ningze appeared exceptionally small and helpless.
“What… what do you guys want?” Qi Ningze took a deep breath and raised his voice, trying hard to project strength, yet in reality, he resembled a trapped beast powerless and frail.
The athletes scanned him up and down. The leader, a man with tan skin, suddenly burst into laughter and asked in a low voice, “Are you that Qi Ningze guy?”
Trapped in their midst, Qi Ningze’s hands trembled uncontrollably as he asked back listlessly, “Yes… what’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
With that, Qi Ningze forced a tight frown, trying his best to look fierce.
The athlete let out a chuckle, a subtle smirk spreading across his brows. “Nothing much. Heard rumors you’re gay is that true or false?”
Qi Ningze’s expression went blank as he stammered, “What? Why is everyone saying I’m gay?”
“Aren’t you? The whole school is talking about it. You must be gay.” The athlete directly grabbed Qi Ningze’s wrist, an ill-intentioned grin gracing his face.
With a hint of malice glinting in his dark eyes, the athlete pretended to ask innocently, “So what’s it like being gay? Are gay people really dirty?”
What on earth are they talking about? Qi Ningze felt completely baffled. He tentatively tried to pull his hand back, only to find the other’s grip locking around him like an iron cage.
Biting his lower lip, a spark of resistance flashed in Qi Ningze’s eyes. “Don’t touch me! Let go!”
Feeling Qi Ningze’s struggle, the athlete’s breathing quickened. Like a massive hound, he kept his eyes locked firmly onto Qi Ningze.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he inquired with malicious intrigue, “Since you’re gay anyway, how about you hook up with me? Hooking up with me won’t be a loss for you no matter how you look at it, right?”
The moment the words left his mouth, the athlete regretted it.
He was still a virgin himself, how could he carelessly give away his first time to someone else?
Qi Ningze’s face flushed red with anger. He began brainstorming foul language in his mind to scare the guy off.
He wasn’t gay! He hadn’t even met anyone he liked in his whole life, so how could he engage in messy relationships with guys?
After searching his mind for a long time, Qi Ningze failed to find any suitable curses.
Staring at the athlete with clear eyes, a clever thought suddenly struck him.
Dressing so scandalously in the heat of summer, deliberately wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, he must be trying to seduce girls on purpose!
After slandering the guy a few times in his mind, Qi Ningze felt much better.
However, just because he didn’t provoke others didn’t mean others wouldn’t provoke him. Seeing his resistant silence, the athletes forced Qi Ningze into the restroom.
Taking a deep breath, Qi Ningze anticipated his fate in his heart.
Based on the Cannon Fodder Survival Manual he had studied painstakingly day and night, he could predict the following sequence of events:
First, they would give him a severe beating. Then, they would douse him with dirty water, and if they were particularly malicious, they would lock him inside the restroom stall.
Lowering his head, Qi Ningze’s black bangs obscured his utterly hopeless expression.
He was no longer the novice Qi Ningze of the past, he was now a trained, courageous cannon fodder veteran ready to face any hardship!
To his surprise, the leader had no intention of beating him. Instead, he smiled and said, “How about a deal with us?”
Fearing Qi Ningze might refuse, the athletes began making promises: “As long as you agree, you can pick any one of us for a one-day date.”
The leader even chimed in: “You can do whatever you want during the date even sleep with us if you like.”
Qi Ningze: “???”
What just happened? He had only zoned out for a few seconds why did things suddenly escalate to that?!
Seeing his clueless expression, the athletes began explaining the background details to Qi Ningze.
The school was hosting a festival celebration this year, and every class needed to prepare a specific activity.
Their class unfortunately drew the maid cafe theme. Since their class consisted entirely of male athletes without a single female student, they could only ask girls from other classes for help.
However, the girls either refused or had activities in their own classes. Even after scrounging around, they were still far short of the required number.
That was when someone came up with a bad idea: use guys to substitute for girls. One thing led to another, and they ended up targeting Qi Ningze.
After hearing the explanation, Qi Ningze stood frozen on the spot, his mind going blank.
It wasn’t until the System repeatedly called out to him inside his head that Qi Ningze snapped back to reality.
Qi Ningze whined aggrievedly to the System: “System… they’re telling me to cross-dress…”
He was a guy! How could a guy dress up as a girl?
Qi Ningze desperately wanted to refuse, but looking at the towering, muscular athletes around him, he silently kept his mouth shut.
The System said with schadenfreude: [It’s fine, you can cross-dress. If it leaves any psychological trauma on you, I’ll apply for a workplace compensation subsidy for you.]
Qi Ningze went completely silent at that point, his eyes turning red as the outer corners of his eyes drooped downward.
Seeing Qi Ningze remain silent for so long, the impatient athletes began pressuring him again:
“Is it a deal or not? Are you dissatisfied with the offer? If you like guys, you can take any one of us away with you.”