Chapter 3
It took the System a long time to come back to its senses.
Its Host was actually a pretty male high schooler with the clean, delicate, and “white moonlight” aura?
Why had no one ever noticed?
The System opened Wen Rong’s past history in disbelief.
It looked like a schedule: studying punctually every day, going back and forth between two points in a straight line, dull, interspersed with cowardly moments of being bullied without daring to fight back. It was easy for the System to overlook the real reasons Wen Rong was bullied: he was secretly loved by the prettiest girl in the orphanage, secretly loved by the girl the school bully liked, secretly loved by the school bully himself…
And Wen Rong himself knew absolutely nothing about any of this.
The System couldn’t believe it. How could someone not know they were being secretly crushed on? The only reason for not knowing is usually disinterest or things left unsaid.
[Host, how did you get along with the girls around you before?]
“They didn’t like talking to me.”
[?]
[Your grades were so good, didn’t any girls ask you for help with questions?]
Wen Rong said shyly, “My communication skills aren’t good; they all said they couldn’t understand.”
The System hallucinated a scene of the Host explaining a problem to someone: You can get the answer directly by doing this and this, it’s very simple. Why don’t you understand yet? Is there something wrong with what I’m saying?
[What about that high school bully? Do you still remember him?]
Wen Rong thought for a moment. “Very tall, very fierce, didn’t talk much, but would grab people’s heads and smash them against the wall. He was a very, very scary person.”
[Toward you, he…]
Wen Rong’s body shuddered. “System, he was scary, even scarier than the Grey Hair today.”
[Okay, okay, let’s not talk about him.]
…
Wen Rong seemed to be an optimist; bad things didn’t linger with him for long, and he could recover his state quickly.
He excitedly touched almost everything in the entire dorm room, touching the laptop on the desk four times. In the end, instead of opening the laptop, he squatted in front of the tattered woven bag in a daze.
[What’s wrong?]
“If I wash these dirty clothes now, they probably won’t be dry by tomorrow morning. I’m wondering what to do.”
[There is a dryer. It should only take about 2 hours to get them done.]
“What is a dryer?”
Its pitiful Host didn’t even know what a dryer was. Too pitiful.
[You can understand it as a stove for roasting clothes.]
Wen Rong seemed to have discovered a new continent. “So there is actually such a thing.”
The System took on the role of a mother hen. [Take off the clothes you are wearing and wash them together.]
“But I don’t have anything else to wear.”
[Close the curtains. No one will see.]
“I…” Wen Rong’s cheeks flushed red. “I’m embarrassed.”
[There is a bathrobe in the bathroom; you can wear that.]
“System, you’re amazing! How can you solve any problem?”
[This is the basic duty of being a System.]
“Do you have any other names?”
Why was the Host asking this? [A System is just a System. It doesn’t have a name.]
Wen Rong’s cheeks were slightly pink as he asked shyly and carefully, “Then can I call you Gege (Big Brother) from now on?”
[…] The System inexplicably lagged for a moment.
“Is… is that not okay? Sorry.” Wen Rong’s voice was low. “This is the first time someone has helped me solve difficulties, just like family members on TV. Thank you so much.”
[You can.] The Host inherently had naming rights over the System.
“Really?”
[Really.]
“Gege!”
[…]
“System Gege!”
The System reluctantly responded: [Mhm.]
Wen Rong happily changed into the bathrobe and followed the System’s instructions to wash the dirty clothes. Finally, he sat down at the desk to use the item he had been anticipating the most.
First, he lifted a small corner of the laptop lid, stuck a finger inside to hold down the keyboard, and gently pried it open with the other hand.
Afraid of breaking it, he only dared to let the screen stand upright at a 90° angle, hunching his back and shrinking his neck to accommodate it.
“Gege, can you teach me how to turn it on?”
[…]
“Gege?”
[Didn’t your school have computer classes?]
“We did in elementary school, but there weren’t enough computers, and I couldn’t grab one.”
[What about junior high and high school?]
“Other teachers took over the class time.”
The System sighed. [The button the size of a fingernail in the top right corner of the keyboard is the power button. Press it once.]
Press.
The screen lit up the light brown eyes behind the black-framed glasses.
When Wen Rong smiled, his eyebrows curved. “Thank you, Gege!”
Being called Gege constantly made the System feel inexplicably laggy.
It felt it should tell Wen Rong not to call it “Gege” anymore; it seemed to affect its processing speed.
“Gege, how do I set these up? I don’t know how.”
[Click register, enter your account and password yourself.]
Wen Rong had never used a keyboard. He extended two index fingers, one left and one right, and carefully poked at the keyboard.
“Gege, I finished registering. What next?”
[Click continue.]
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock on the door suddenly sounded in the room.
Like a cat hearing a noise, Wen Rong stood up instantly, staring cautiously in the direction of the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Knocking again.
He asked carefully, “Gege, is it the plot?”
[No.]
“Who would come looking for me?”
The knocking sounded for a third time, the interval shorter than the previous two, as if the person knew he was inside and insisted he open the door.
Wen Rong had no choice but to get up, walk carefully to the door, and ask, “May I ask what is the matter?”
“I’m a freshman living next door.”
Wen Rong hurriedly asked the System, “Is it really not the plot?”
Because of what happened a few hours ago, he had already categorized all the students in this school as “dangerous.”
He finally had a room of his own and didn’t want those people to ruin it.
[It isn’t.]
The knocking sounded for a fourth time.
[Currently, no one knows you live in this dorm yet. It should just be freshmen greeting each other.]
Wen Rong was silent for a moment, then asked, “Can I not open the door?”
[The students here will basically all inherit family businesses. Having good relationships with them will help your future work.]
Work.
That was a very tempting fruit.
Wen Rong hesitated for a moment, then opened the room door.
Standing outside was a boy wearing a black uniform. He was tall. Wen Rong, hunching his waist, looked straight at the metal nameplate hanging on his left chest—Qi Yuan.
“H-Hello.” Keeping in mind the principle that making friends with them could lead to a job, Wen Rong spoke shyly, “My name is Wen Rong.”
Qi Yuan didn’t answer.
Curiosity emboldened Wen Rong slightly. He gently lifted his eyes to look at Qi Yuan’s face—he was looking at him too, his gaze straight and direct.
Wen Rong inexplicably felt that the gaze wasn’t looking at his face.
[The bathrobe.]
Wen Rong looked down at his bathrobe.
Did he wear it wrong?
[The collar is too low.]
Wen Rong looked down and saw his lower abdomen. Never exposed to the sun, with no muscle, it was just a flat, smooth patch of skin—extremely ugly compared to the cool guy who got out of the car earlier today.
Feeling instantly inferior, he clutched the collar with both hands and apologized, “I’m sorry, I washed all my clothes, so I can only wear this.”
Qi Yuan: “…”
“May I ask…”
[He is the boy who said your underwear was fragrant this afternoon.]
This afternoon!
Underwear!
Wen Rong’s adrenaline spiked. He quickly looked up at the boy’s hair—after confirming the other person had black hair, a big question mark popped up in his mind.
He asked the System internally: “Did he dye his hair? I remember it being grey.”
[Grey Hair is F4. This is the passerby A who snatched your luggage bag and rummaged out the underwear.]
Wen Rong realized belatedly that there was indeed such a person. His hand moved faster than his brain, attempting to close the door.
“Wait—” Qi Yuan slapped his hand on the door. “I want to apologize to you.”
Wen Rong hid vigilantly behind the door, revealing only half his face.
“Shi Ye is the eldest young master of the Shi family. His father is a major shareholder in my family’s company. I have to listen to him.”
“…”
“I didn’t truly want to bully you this afternoon.”
“…”
Qi Yuan said urgently, “I’ll compensate you with a suitcase.”
Wen Rong shook his head vigorously. Because he refused too forcefully, his head even bumped against the door.
“You won’t accept my apology?”
“…”
“What do I have to do for you to forgive me?”
Wen Rong’s gaze darted away. “In the future, he will still ask you to bully me.”
“What?”
“…”
It took Qi Yuan a while to react. He made up his mind and said, “I won’t bully you anymore. Today was my fault. In the future, if Shi Ye bullies you again, I’ll stand on your side. If we get beaten, we get beaten together.”
Wen Rong shrank his neck, still silent.
“I really want to be friends with you.”
“Thank you.”
Thinking Wen Rong’s attitude had softened, a smile slowly appeared on Qi Yuan’s face, and he lowered his hand from the door.
Wen Rong carefully aimed at that hand and seized the opportunity to speak: “But you’d better not get bullied along with me.”
Bam—
The door closed.
Click, click, click. It was locked.
[He seemed to genuinely want to apologize to you. Don’t you want a friend to go to class and eat with at university?]
Wen Rong pursed his lips. “But he bullied me.”
Then he said firmly, “I don’t want a friend like that.”
The System was surprised. The little coward who didn’t dare resist bullying actually had some backbone.
[Then let me teach you how to log in to “Black Pigeon” on the computer. This is Floriman Academy’s official software. You will need to use it to choose classes, submit homework, and communicate with classmates in the future.]
Wen Rong grinned foolishly. “Gege, you’re so good.”
Separated by a door, the corridor light shone down from overhead. Qi Yuan’s entire face was buried in shadow, his expression unclear.
He raised his arm, his thumb pad slowly rubbing against the door handle.
Imagining that the fair skin was as cool as the metal handle, a slippery, greasy tactile sensation flowing through the grooves of his fingerprints.
Following the handle to the lock cylinder, there was a keyhole, recessed, not deep. With a slight exertion of force from his fingertip, the flesh of his thumb pad squeezed inside.
Ah…
Qi Yuan closed his eyes comfortably, threw his head back, and let out a rough breath.
Registration on Black Pigeon was complete, and he was automatically pulled into a group chat.
Group Owner: [Welcome, little fools, to becoming a student of Floriman Prison. I am your Class 10 Assistant, Leon von Löwenstein. You can call me Senior Leon.]
Wen Rong struggled to pronounce the foreign name and asked the System, “Gege, what major am I studying?”
[This academy has no distinction between majors. The class you are in now is temporary; its purpose is merely for upperclassmen to help familiarize freshmen with the campus.]
“T-Then what do I study?”
[Study whatever you want to study. It is up to the Host to choose which teacher’s classes you want to take.]
[There is one point to note.]
“Mhm-hmm.”
[Professional grades and socializing are equally important. In Floriman Academy’s credit requirements, course grades account for 30%, club activity grades account for 30%, and the practical semester thesis score accounts for 40%. This means the Host must participate in social activities.]
Hearing “social,” Wen Rong wilted.
The spirit bar on the numeric panel dropped instantly.
He lost the joy of having an independent room, tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep, feeling as if a huge mountain was pressing down on him.
In the middle of the night, he sat up abruptly.
“Gege, after the plot ends, can I retake the college entrance exam?”
[As a promotional signboard used by the academy to appeal to commoners, transferring schools would affect the school’s reputation. Therefore, upon enrollment, you signed a contract with the academy. You enjoy the right to waived tuition and fees, but you also have the responsibility of not transferring. If you break the contract, you need to compensate the school one billion.]
Wen Rong collapsed back onto the bed in despair.
The System sighed. [Host, no need to be sad. Floriman Academy also welcomes students with extreme talent in certain areas. If your grades are exceptionally good, the requirements for club activities will be slightly relaxed.]
Grades…
Wen Rong’s hope was rekindled.
Teachers always said he had a talent for mathematics, and he planned to choose this major.
He believed he could solve the social score problem through mathematics.
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