During a few nights of self-study, Zhu Tong finished reading the whole novel.
[Waiting for the Day You Fall in Love with Me] told the story of a girl who bravely pursues a male god.
The female lead was beautiful, and the male lead remembered her beauty in his heart at a first glance. Since then, every move of the female lead has affected the male lead’s mood.
It was a sweet, slice-of-life story, without much melodrama.
The female lead’s pursuit of the male lead was simply a smooth sailing from start to finish.
Zhu Tong also lived in a “novel” setting, so why are their treatment so different?
He didn’t even have such lofty aspirations like the female lead. He just wanted to be a friend of Shao Ming for the sake of his life.
But why is Shao Ming so difficult to serve?
Zhu Tong was puzzled and mumbled to himself, “Why is Shao Ming the target of my mission?”
This was actually a question he had always wanted to ask.
What does the heartthrob’s white moonlight have anything to do with him?
Why is his life tied to the white moonlight’s favorability?
The system replied to his question, ‘Because he is the only one who isn’t attracted to the heartthrob, among the people who are related to the heartthrob.’
Zhu Tong: “…”
In the original novel, Shao Ming’s attitude towards the heartthrob is similar to him – that is to say, he’s cold towards the heartthrob. And even, maybe worse.
But Shao Ming’s ending was completely opposite to him.
After graduating from high school, Shao Ming also went to A City. In order to get rid of the entanglement of the heartthrob, he single-handedly brought down the company of the heartthrob’s family.
No one knew how he did it.
And after he did this, not only was he not hunted down by the throng of heartthrob’s suitors, but he also left the country safely and went abroad to live and work in peace.
The world was so unfair.
So just because of Shao Ming’s luck and fate; he, the villain, had to hug his thigh if he wanted to survive.
Zhu Tong sighed heavily again.
Anyway, a lifeline is a lifeline.
He quietly turned his head and looked to the side, only to find that the seat of his deskmate was empty.
“?”
Zhu Tong was startled. He thought, ‘Where is Shao Ming?’
System 666: ‘By the time you read the finale of your novel, he had already left the classroom.’
Zhu Tong: “…”
Without anything else to do, he decided to simply pack his things. He’s going to go back to his dormitory first.
Before transferring to the dormitory of Gongshui No. 1 Middle School, Zhu Tong saw this dormitory in the campus briefing.
Although it was a dormitory for eight people, the space was not too small. The beds and tables were neatly arranged, and overall, it was tidy.
Now that he had come to this school, he still had to learn to integrate into campus life.
‘It’s just accommodation, so it shouldn’t be a big problem,’ Zhu Tong thought so.
The system, though, was feeling complicated. ‘My host is still too naive, tsk tsk…’
At the door of the dormitory, Zhu Tong realized that the problem was serious!
First and foremost, the corridor was narrow. Secondly, it was very noisy before the lights-out time.
And most importantly—
‘Where is the clean and tidy dormitory promised in the briefing??’
There are eight beds in the dormitory. Only six beds have quilts, except for the one near the door where the quilts are neatly folded, while the other five beds have different patterns of quilts in different levels of disarray.
The bed with the folded quilt should be the bed arranged for him by the head teacher.
And as for people in the dormitory–
Someone just came out of the bathroom, his hair was still dripping water. He stepped into the dormitory with wet slippers, creating a wet splotch on the floor.
In the middle of the dormitory, two people set up a small table and sat directly on the ground, eating malatang hot pot with great enjoyment.
The smell of chili oil permeated the whole dormitory.
There were also two boys laying down on the upper bunk. Both of them were playing with their mobile phones, legs hanging on the edge of the bed.
Zhu Tong: “…”
Young Master Zhu, who had never seen such a messy battlefield before, was dumbfounded.
Just at this moment, someone saw him and greeted him enthusiastically, “Zhu Tong? Are you here? Do you want hot pot? Or do you prefer this barbeque instead?”
“…”
Zhu Tong’s face turned pale.
He tried his best to squeeze a little smile on his face, and said politely, “No, you guys eat. I… I suddenly remembered that I left something in the classroom, I’ll go get it.”
He almost ran away.
‘System system system system system!’ He called 666 while sprinting in the corridor.
The System 666 responded in time. ‘Host, what’s wrong?’
Zhu Tong said, ‘Didn’t you say that the white moonlight is a person who pays attention to his image? He lives in this place?’
The system casually replied, ‘When did I say that he lived here?’
“…”
Shao Ming doesn’t live here? Where does he live?
System 666: ‘…Don’t you know that this school is a day school? Boarding isn’t mandatory.’
Zhu Tong: “…”
He went to boarding schools since he was a child. And he was very used to taking a long time off throughout the year.
The hospital is his second school.
What is a day school?
Never know about it!
He also specifically told his grandfather not to give him special treatment!
And what did he do?
Zhu Tong immediately decided. “I’ll go to the principal.”
He also wanted to go to school like a normal student.
The system reminded him, ‘It’s night now.’
“…”
It’s impossible to go through the day-study procedures at night. Unless you have special “privileges”.
What would Shao Ming think of him if they found out?
Zhu Tong saw that there was only 5% favorability remaining. He’s afraid if he was suspected of having “special privileges”, it would only make things worse.
The system comforted him and said, ‘Is accommodation more important than life?’
Zhu Tong replied, ‘It’s equally important.’
The system: “…”
In the end, Zhu Tong compromised.
After turning off the lights, Zhu Tong lay on the hard wooden bed. Every cell on his body was agitated.
The bed was too hard and uncomfortable.
His roommate snores. So noisy.
There’s also a smelly foot odor.
He couldn’t sleep at all!
After lying down for hours in the night, Zhu Tong couldn’t bear it anymore. He quietly got up from the bed and stood on the balcony.
The moment he breathed in the fresh air, he suddenly felt alive again.
He took out his phone and checked the time.
It’s four o’clock in the morning.
Very good, there were only two hours left before the morning self-study time.
Zhu Tong decided not to sleep.
During morning self-study, Zhu Tong appeared in the classroom with two dark circles under his eyes.
As soon as Zhu Tong returned to his seat, he sat down and fell asleep.
There were many people in the classroom who came to the classroom early to make up for sleep because they were afraid of being late. So his lying down sleeping wasn’t weird.
At first, no one noticed that something was wrong with him. Then, the whole morning self-study period passed. The crowd of hungry students rushed to the cafeteria, trampling the teaching building like an earthquake, while Zhu Tong remained unmoved.
Tang Nuan finished memorizing a text and was about to have breakfast. When she turned around and saw Zhu Tong lying on the table, she smiled helplessly, and pushed Zhu Tong’s arm, “Zhu Tong, let’s have breakfast.”
“…”
No response.
Tang Nuan was slightly startled, and called out again, “Zhu Tong?”
As soon as Shao Ming took off his earphones, he heard someone nervously calling him his deskmate. When he lowered his head, he saw a face that was obviously abnormally red.
“…”
Zhu Tong’s breath was short and erratic. He seemed to have difficulty breathing.
After not seeing each other for only one night, Shao Ming felt that his deskmate seemed weaker than yesterday.
He reached out his hand to touch his forehead, frowned slightly and said, “He has a fever.”
“Fever?” Tang Nuan was startled, and subconsciously stretched out her hand to fell it herself, “My God, why is it so hot?”
“…”
Thanks to the noise, Zhu Tong finally woke up. Seeing his classmates, he waved his hands weakly. “It’s okay…”
He might have caught a cold because of the cool breeze last night.
Shao Ming: “…”
Zhu Tong doesn’t seem all right…
Tang Nuan also became anxious. “You’re burnt up like this and still saying you’re okay? Let’s go, I’ll take you to the school infirmary.”
She’s a responsible class monitor, and proactive one on top of that.
As she spoke, she walked around to Zhu Tong’s desk and reached out to help him up.
She tried to lift him up, but he didn’t cooperate.
She turned her head and said, “Shao Ming, help me quickly.”
Shao Ming: “…”
Is his image of being helpful too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people?
He smiled wryly, and resignedly stood up.
With his body suddenly lifted up, it made Zhu Tong subconsciously struggle. “It’s okay, I can walk by myself…”
But before he could stand up himself, he staggered and fell back heavily.
Shao Ming caught him thanks to his reflex, making the two of them freeze at the same time.
Zhu Tong leaned into Shao Ming’s arms, and a feeling came over his face. He seemed… not as disgusted as he originally imagined.
Shao Ming supported him. He felt the scalding heat pressed against his body, but he couldn’t tell what it actually felt like.
“Why are you going by yourself? What are you trying to do at this time?” Tang Nuan reprimanded him, interrupting the momentary weird atmosphere between the two boys.
Young Master Zhu, who had never been spoken to harshly before, was rebuked by her. Finally, he was helped out of the classroom by two people in a daze.
In the school infirmary, Zhu Tong was arranged to lie on the hospital bed by the school doctor.
His condition, which was left fermenting all morning, seemed to have deteriorated. When he lay down, he was even a little light-headed.
“You caught a cold and had a fever as a result. It’s okay, you’ll be fine with two bottles of intravenous drip.” The school doctor checked him briefly, and then took a look at his collar, which revealed a swath of reddened skin. “Ah, you also have an allergic reaction to your skin. Pay more attention to hygiene.”
Tang Nuan had gone out of the room when the doctor said he would start checking Zhu Tong. Only Shao Ming was watching.
He watched as his deskmate’s collar was ripped open, revealing the delicate collarbone. On the cold white skin, the red and swollen patches made a sharp contrast.
“…”
Looking at the person on the bed, a few words came to Shao Ming’s mind: delicate and weak.
This kind of young master must’ve been like a flower growing in a greenhouse1an idiom for sheltered people. Why did he transfer to their school?
Shao Ming was sure that he had never seen this person before.
What is the purpose of being his deskmate?
Zhu Tong said it was for “learning” — which Shao Ming didn’t believe at all.
An inexplicable irritability surged in his heart, making him frown. But quickly, his face returned to its previous state of indifference.
He didn’t stay in the school infirmary for too long. After the doctor gave Zhu Tong an IV drip, he left.
With a cold and skin allergies, Zhu Tong didn’t go back to the classroom all morning.
“I heard that your deskmate is seriously ill?” In the school cafeteria at noon, Luo Suo and Shao Ming sat face to face at the dining table. Luo Suo asked him with a mouth full of food.
Shao Ming’s movements were much more graceful. He put a piece of potato into his mouth, chewed it slowly, before replying. “He has a fever. About 38.3ºC.”
‘He also had a skin allergy.’
But remembering the red marks on Zhu Tong’s neck –which was easy to cause misunderstanding – Shao Ming didn’t tell Luo Suo about the allergy.
Tsk.
With chaotic thoughts, Shao Ming’s face suddenly became strange for a moment.
Luo Suo looked at him and said, “Why do I feel that you are not very friendly to your new deskmate?”
Shao Ming smiled and said, “Why do you say that? My relationship is okay.”
Luo Suo: “…”
What does it mean?
Luo Suo took another bite of his meal, and suddenly stared at him and said, “Is he really here for you?”
Shao Ming was silent. Instead, he said, “He came from A City.”
“What’s wrong with A City…” Luo Suo paused, then frowned and said, “You suspect that he’s connected to your biological fathe–”
Shao Ming glanced at him suddenly.
Luo Suo immediately changed his words, “I mean, do you think he was arranged to come here?”
“…”
Shao Ming didn’t speak.
Luo Suo said, “But it’s kinda impossible, isn’t it? We just found out last time, and yet, they dare to repeat the same tricks twice? On top of that, they want to monitor you by arranging him to be your deskmate? Are they stupid?”
Shao Ming smiled again and said, “Well, maybe he really wanted to come here for me? After all, I am very handsome.”
Luo Suo: “…”
Luo Suo curled his lips into a wry smile and continued, “Ming-ge, you are too sensitive. There are so many people in A City. You can’t be so vigilant to everyone from that city, right? There’s plenty of people from there that aren’t out to provoke you.”
Shao Ming said, “Treasure your brain, stay away from A City.”
Luo Suo: “…This is regional discrimination.”
Shao Ming didn’t deny that.
Luo Suo felt that they had no other topics to discuss, so he concentrated on eating. As for Shao Ming, he put down his chopsticks and waited for him to finish eating.
–Actually, he didn’t have such discriminatory attitude towards specific regions.
It’s just that he had been stumbled so many times, it was inevitable for him to be more vigilant.
He hated the sudden uncertainty around him. And that person obviously came with a specific purpose.
If that person really came to learn – not for him – and the two of them would not cross each other, he would not mind maintaining a friendly relationship with Zhu Tong.
But if Zhu Tong really had a sinister hidden purpose, then it was another matter entirely.
In the school affairs office, Zhu Tong went to see Shi Wenshu just after finishing his IV drip. Because of his skin allergies, the school gave him a day off without even asking why.
It saved him from going to the headmaster.
After class in the afternoon, he asked Uncle Liu to help him find a place to live off-campus.
Uncle Liu was very efficient in handling affairs and arranged it quickly.
After the evening self-study was over, Zhu Tong followed the navigation sent to him by Uncle Liu and found the place that had been rented for his use.
It was a homestay not far from the school.
The homestay was designed in a courtyard style. Although the condition was not as good as that of a five-star hotel, it was still very clean.
The owner of the homestay is a woman in her thirties. She took Zhu Tong to the reserved room, opened the door after unlocking it, and said, “Little handsome guy, are you also a student of No. 1 Middle School?”
His room was on the first floor, directly facing the courtyard. Zhu Tong followed her in, nodded and said, “Yeah.”
“Which class are you in? Are you also in your 2nd year Class 3?”
Zhu Tong wanted to reply, “Yes, I’m in 2nd year Class 3.”
–Then, he suddenly thought of something weird.
‘…It can’t be such a coincidence, can it?’
During the time he asked for a leave, he casually asked about the living conditions of other students. Besides him, there’s only one person from his class that was staying outside.
Zhu Tong’s heart tightened. “May I ask, what is the name of that student…?”
“Oh, his name is…”
Then, someone walked inside the courtyard, a bicycle in tow.
The landlady’s eyes lit up immediately. “Hey, speak of the devil. Shao Ming, hello, we’re just talking about you.”
Zhu Tong’s heart sank.
‘Ma’am, can you speak clearly?’
‘It is not “we” who talk about him!’
He didn’t even know that Shao Ming lived here!
Shao Ming was standing at the gate of the courtyard, and when he raised his eyes, he saw his deskmate standing with the landlady.
He froze for a moment, and there was a trace of coldness in his eyes.
He smiled and said, “Zhu Tong? Such a coincidence?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Yes, what a coincidence.
It’s really a coincidence!
How can he explain it!
Zhu Tong roared furiously in his heart, but was very calm on the surface.
He paused, and was about to speak, when a system notification sounded in his head: ‘The white moonlight’s favorability has decreased by 5%. Your favorability level is 0%. Host, please make persistent efforts to raise it back up.’
Zhu Tong: “…”
What effort can he make now?
Is he just going to get a one-way ticket to see Lord Yan2the Lord of the Underworld in Chinese mythos. now?
