Part 2
“No need, no need.”
“…”
Answering “no need” instead of being frightened meant he was genuinely in a state of insecurity.
Based on Zhou Xie’s understanding of himself, he should be satisfied with the joy of “intimidating others,” but right now, he just wanted to smoke a cigarette to calm down.
The wind made his head cold. Zhou Xie returned to the car, cranked up the heater, and casually said something to ease the atmosphere. “Have you eaten?”
“Yes.”
Good. He messaged him after class, and the kid went to the cafeteria to eat before coming here—and even sent security to scout the path first.
Zhou Xie tried another angle to break the ice. “Is Shi Ye not with you?”
“The coach called him away right after class.”
“Have you seen Leon recently?”
“Senior Leon seems very busy.”
“The day after the anniversary celebration, he was picked up by a helicopter and taken to the research base. You can only contact him via the base’s internal line.”
Wen Rong’s eyes widened. His attention seemed completely diverted from “unsafe” to Leon.
Zhou Xie continued, “Because the deployment of helicopters and student outings require Student Council coordination, the Student Council can call the research base’s internal line.”
“That’s amazing.”
“What I mean is, if you join the Student Council, you can contact Leon when he goes to the research base.”
“No need, no need. The research base must be very busy. I won’t disturb the Senior.”
“…”
“…”
For the first time, Zhou Xie felt a mix of amusement and pity for Leon.
Chasing for so long, only to chase a block of wood.
He gave up on easing the atmosphere and cut straight to the chase. “Do you know that Lin Qizheng and Zhang Lin are privately preparing a new project?”
“I know, Senior Lin Qizheng told me.” Wen Rong suddenly grew tense. “You aren’t going to reject their project again, are you?”
“…”
Did he look like someone who sought trouble for others indiscriminately?
Zhou Xie reached into his pocket. “Do you mind if I smoke?”
“Can you not? I don’t want to smell secondhand smoke.”
“……”
Zhou Xie took the cigarette out, held it in his mouth, and took a deep, unlit drag.
His body was in a strange state—irritable yet wanting to laugh, his brain swelling, nearing hypoxia.
Tick tick tick tick.
The silent hands of the clock jumped with time; one second stretched infinitely long.
Zhou Xie flipped the cigarette, pressing his lips against the tobacco, drawing something soothing from the scent.
Looking up, in the dim light, he noticed Wen Rong sitting motionless in the back seat, hands gripping his knees tightly. His knuckles were slender, tense like a drawn bow.
He didn’t seem this nervous even when standing on the podium.
Zhou Xie’s emotions unexpectedly settled.
He raised his chin, looking down at Wen Rong imperiously. “They will form a new club. Zhang Jincheng must also establish a new club to continue using the studio. So—in the future, only you will remain in the News Club. Do you understand?”
Wen Rong answered nervously, “The seniors all have things they want to do. That’s good.”
“I’m talking about you—” Zhou Xie looked him straight in the eye. “What do you want to do?”
“I…”
“You don’t know.”
Zhou Xie finished for him, then added, “I’ve seen many people like you. You haven’t seen anything growing up. Not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth is your most inconspicuous flaw. Your biggest problem is that you don’t know yourself enough, and you don’t understand society enough. The majors you choose are just the subjects you’ve touched in the past eighteen years: Chinese, Math, Chemistry, Physics… After studying, you’ll become a teacher, a doctor, or a lawyer. Finally, in the busyness of work, you will gradually turn into a mediocre person. In short: you’re choosing the wrong path.”
Wen Rong didn’t catch the implication in his words and rebutted literally, “My math is very good. Teacher Xu Qiu even asked me to go to her side for the third semester.”
“Do you like Leon’s life? Doing research day after day in the deep mountains and old forests, cut off from the internet and social interaction.”
“…”
“Your personality isn’t suited for that kind of life either.”
“My personality?” Wen Rong paused. “How do you know my personality isn’t suitable?”
“I say one thing, you rebut with another. Isn’t your prejudice against me a bit too big?”
Wen Rong lowered his head guiltily.
Zhou Xie didn’t know why he was saying so much to someone who held prejudice against him.
No wonder so many people privately called Wen Rong a contrarian. Truly a worry-inducing nuisance; even chatting face-to-face triggered a stress response.
Zhou Xie recalled Leon’s words in his mind, forcing himself to explain calmly to Wen Rong. “Based on your performance at school, if you go to the research base, there’s a high probability you’ll be clashing with the leadership every day. It’s basically military-style management there. You can’t change anything just by moving your lips.”
“It was because there were problems at Floriman Academy that I—”
Zhou Xie interrupted him. “Every place is Floriman Academy. There is no difference.”
“…”
“So reconsider whether your personality is truly suitable for research. Figure out what you want to do, and then tell me if you want to join the Student Council.”
Wen Rong hesitated. Zhou Xie continued, “Only one chance. Be prudent.”
“…”
Driving the car to the library and stopping at the entrance, Zhou Xie saw Wen Rong was still thinking, so he ruthlessly added one last thing: “The school is about to issue a 400,000 scholarship to clubs that performed excellently in the first semester. This money is said to be for the club, but it’s actually prepared for you. If you stay in the News Club, then this 400,000 becomes the News Club’s funds, and every expenditure in the future must go through the Student Council’s finance department. But if you leave, and the News Club has no members, the 400,000 can be directly divided. The four people in your club would get 100,000 each.”
…
As Zhou Xie said, the notification was sent to everyone’s phones that night.
After the reorganization of new clubs, a vote for old clubs would be arranged to select the best club of the first semester for a 400,000 scholarship. This score would be combined with the third semester’s new club voting results to count towards the academic year grade.
Wen Rong lay on his bed, his mood complicated.
Is your personality truly suitable for research? What do you want to do?
Two simple questions, yet it was the first time Wen Rong had ever thought about them.
“Brother,” Wen Rong called out softly to the System.
【Mn.】
“What kind of person do you think I am?”
【Why the sudden question?】
“Because Zhou Xie said I’m not suitable for the research base. He made it sound like I’m a bad student who specializes in going against others.”
【…】 He wasn’t wrong.
“But I’ve always felt I was quite obedient.”
【…】
【Host, you have a brave and fearless spirit of resistance.】
Wen Rong was stunned, his mouth slightly open. “So I really am a bad student.”
He actually understood the implication?!
The System tried to salvage it: 【Not really. You just persist in justice.】
It quickly changed the subject: 【What kind of person do you think you are?】
Because he had never thought about this question, he had to think hard, searching for examples in his past memories to judge what kind of person he was.
“A bit annoying to others.” Because both Zhou Xie and Shi Ye seemed to love losing their tempers in front of him, and he had made Senior Zhang Lin angry too.
“Childish, ignorant.” Because there were always many loopholes when making plans before.
“Empty-headed, I don’t even know what I want to do.”
“I don’t have anything I’m good at.”
【Isn’t Host’s math very good? That counts as being good at something.】
“But I’m good at math… because others say I’m good at math, and my math grades are good.”
【That is being good at math.】
Wen Rong shut his mouth and fell silent for a few seconds. He turned over, burying his face in the pillow. “Sorry, I said it wrong. It’s not that I don’t have things I’m good at; it’s that I don’t have things I like.”
“Now that I think about it carefully, I realized… I don’t seem to like math that much.”
【Why?!】 This is completely different from when we first bound!
“When I think of math, I don’t feel happy.”
He paused. “But when I think about going to Room 100 to see the seniors, or going out for team building with them, I feel very happy.”
Thinking for a few more seconds, Wen Rong sat up abruptly. “It’s because I want to connect with the seniors. I like connecting with them. I like them.”
【Everyone likes being with their friends; this is instinct. But this act of cherishing friendship isn’t the same thing as the ‘like’ we are discussing.】
【I think Zhou Xie was asking more about preferences. For example, Shi Ye likes playing tennis. Zhang Jincheng likes design. Does Host have anything he likes to do?】
“…”
The System realized asking was futile. The Host studied, ate, and went to Room 100 every day. Where would he find things he liked to do?
Strictly speaking, he didn’t even have basic desires. He ate repeat meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Aside from necessary expenses, he hadn’t bought anything with the twenty thousand in his card.
The System suddenly realized its Host’s life was so dull and boring!
【No, Host. You’ve finally lived again; you must learn to enjoy life.】
Wen Rong asked strangely, “I’m living very well now; doesn’t that count as enjoying life? I live alone in a big house, I don’t worry about food or drink, and I have friends.”
【Enjoying life refers to savoring the beautiful moments in life, making each day better than the last, and experiencing things you haven’t experienced before.】
“It’s a little… hard to understand.”
【Does Host remember the first time you wore the school uniform? Host looked in the mirror for a long time and was very happy, right?】
Wen Rong nodded vigorously.
【In that moment, Host was definitely enjoying life.】
【And that day on the forum when many people called you a ‘Male God,’ you were very happy. That counts too.】
“I see.”
Wen Rong couldn’t describe the specific content with language, but his heart felt the “enjoying life” the System spoke of.
Recalling carefully like this, there were many moments in the past worth enjoying properly.
When standing on the podium, when hugging Shi Ye, when hugging the Senior…
Early the next morning, at five o’clock, Wen Rong opened his eyes.
He was going to play tennis with Shi Ye this morning, so the first thing was to enjoy playing tennis.
Wen Rong climbed up, grabbing his phone to ask Shi Ye which tennis court to practice at, when a message sent by Shi Ye last night popped up.
[The Athletes’ Association sent a temporary notice for a pre-match physical. I’m going to the competition.] [You must come to watch the finals. You promised me.]
Wen Rong: …
He remembered promising to go only if he had money.
But Shi Ye seemed to really want him to watch the match. Wen Rong could imagine Shi Ye’s expression when typing this paragraph.
He must be very excited, very anxious.
Wen Rong couldn’t help lifting the corners of his mouth, asking the System, “Brother, does going to see a friend’s final count as enjoying life?”
【It counts.】
“I should have to take a plane.” Wen Rong’s voice pitched up, all his inner excitement rushing out. “I haven’t taken a plane before. Should I experience it?”
【Then you definitely must go and try.】
Wen Rong replied “Okay” to Shi Ye and got up to open the curtains.
Whoosh—
His vision was suddenly brightened, as if stung by light.
The sky and Floriman Academy had merged into one, becoming a vast white canvas.
Strips of white silk fell from the window, too many to count. Wen Rong felt as if he were being “covered up.”
It was snowing.
When he was in the welfare home, he used to be afraid of snow because a thick layer of ice would always accumulate on the road. Stepped on over and over, the white snow turned into filth. If you stepped down, with good luck, only your shoes got wet; with bad luck, you’d fall. The whole day would feel like being soaked in mud, cold and sticky.
And it was very, very cold when it snowed, so cold that Wen Rong even started to fear sleeping.
Wen Rong realized belatedly, “Brother, the room is so warm.”
【Central heating started in the dorms as soon as the weather turned cold.】
“Mn.”
Wen Rong knew about the school heating, but for some reason, he hadn’t seemed to pay special attention to it, forgetting to enjoy the toasty feeling.
He also hadn’t paid special attention to how beautiful the snow scenery was.
Click.
Wen Rong took out his phone and snapped a photo of the window.
He immediately sent it to the News Club group: [It’s snowing!]
Thinking about it, he also sent it to Shi Ye: [It snowed right after you left. Isn’t it pretty?]
Sent to Leon: [Senior, it’s snowing here. It’s my first time seeing snow; it’s super beautiful.]
Sent to Jiang Zhiyue: [The snow is super heavy today.]
Sent to Senior Liang Zili: [Senior, the snow is heavy, pay attention to wearing more clothes.]
In his contacts, there was one more cold profile picture.
Wen Rong hesitated for a few seconds, then also sent a message to Zhou Xie: [The snow scenery is super beautiful. Even someone with a bad personality like me has become toasty warm now.]
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