Head Teacher Li hung up the phone, confirming that the intercom had indeed been switched off, then darkened his face and made his way to his office next door.

Along the way, he felt as though he had forgotten something, but couldn’t quite recall what it was. However, soon enough, he brushed the thought aside.

In his office, the three students were standing in a line.

At first glance, they looked obedient, but a closer inspection revealed that each of them was standing in a way that reflected their individual personalities.

As a student who had been begged by Principal Zheng to join Qingbei, Yan Yi, who wore thin-rimmed glasses, stood there like a stalk of bamboo—tall, poised, and incredibly elegant—except… he was a bit too tall.

Next to him, Nan Jiu, who had been bought as part of a “buy one, get one free” deal by the Education Bureau, wasn’t quite the same. He leaned casually against the desk, like a lazy cat, with an air of rebellion in his expression—still a little too tall.

Head Teacher Li, who was 1.8 meters tall, despaired as he realized he could only compare his height with Ye Wangxing, the pitiful little troublemaker.

The boy who looked like a sad, tearful puppy hadn’t even worn height-increasing insoles.

“Are kids these days all growing up on hormones?” Head Teacher Li couldn’t help but think, though he didn’t stop walking. With a serious expression on his face, he approached the three and sternly said,

“Do you three understand how serious your actions were?! You still look so indifferent!”

He had silently brought the three of them here and made them stand as a way to put psychological pressure on them, hoping they’d reflect on their behavior.

But…

It didn’t seem to have any effect. The other two didn’t react, their faces were blank, staring into the distance.

Only Ye Wangxing, with an innocent expression, spoke up.

“Old Li, I just pulled a muscle climbing a tree. They helped me stretch it out. How could there be any serious consequences? Did the city leaders come for a check-up or something?”

Looking at Ye Wangxing’s innocent face, Head Teacher Li was momentarily speechless.

The flaws in traditional Chinese education really showed in times like this.

He couldn’t bring himself to say that it was the sound of Ye Wangxing’s cries that was the issue.

But was the kid really unaware, or was he just pretending?

Head Teacher Li furrowed his brow, pondering, but he skipped over that topic, saying a bunch of lofty words before finally getting to the point.

“…Ahem, fascia knives are not something amateurs should use, they can hurt the muscles. The teacher is only looking out for you.”

His words sounded a bit weak, and sure enough, he was immediately countered by the boy.

“Old Li, don’t worry about that. Yan Yi already learned this from the gym coach. It only hurts a little, but the technique is definitely fine.”

The boy slapped his chest confidently with one hand and hooked his other arm around Yan Yi’s neck.

Yan Yi, who had no regard for Principal Zheng, silently bent his waist to make the pose more comfortable for the other boy.

“The pain is temporary, it will feel better in three minutes,” Yan Yi said coolly, though there was a hint of gentleness in his tone.

“If your technique was better, he would have run off already, not stayed here.”

At that moment, Nan Jiu walked over casually, his hand resting naturally on Ye Wangxing’s shoulder. With a nonchalant voice, he said: “Old Li, what were so many people doing outside the restroom just now? What happened?”

Head Teacher Li’s mind instantly snapped into focus, like a laser beam of realization—he remembered why he had come here.

—Damn it, he missed catching that couple!

But quickly, Head Teacher Li gave up on the thought. After all, enough time had passed, and the cleaning lady had already done her rounds. There was no way anyone was still hanging around in the restroom.

‘They’re lucky’ Head Teacher Li thought.

He already had a suspect in mind, but kids at this age were too sensitive. Reporting directly to the parents might make things worse.

Still, his sharp eye for detail had never let him down before, and he would certainly catch any student who was acting suspicious.

In the end, Head Teacher Li didn’t answer Ye Wangxing’s question and handed each of them a one-thousand-word self-reflection.

“This is the punishment for bringing dangerous items into the school. None of you had permission to engage in this kind of behavior, understand?!”

Head Teacher Li said seriously. Ye Wangxing nodded readily. He admitted his fault, which was why Head Teacher Li felt that, at heart, Ye Wangxing was a good kid.

But as for the other two…

After Ye Wangxing nodded, Yan Yi reached out and gripped his arm, saying: “Teacher, we need to get back to class.”

With that, he pulled Ye Wangxing with him and turned to leave. Head Teacher Li was furious, but upon thinking about the boy’s academic performance, he swallowed his words.

Meanwhile, Nan Jiu was even more infuriating. He simply said: “Goodbye, teacher,” then casually draped his arm around Ye Wangxing’s neck and started asking what they would have for breakfast the next morning.

Ye Wangxing began to banter back, and Yan Yi chimed in with a few words. They all seemed to have a good relationship.

This made Head Teacher Li feel like his thoughts had become tainted. After all, they were just students, and it was just a close friendship.

Just as he was thinking this, the next second—

—He watched in disbelief as Nan Jiu’s tanned hand slid down to Ye Wangxing’s waist.

The boy with the wolf-like eyes pulled Ye Wangxing closer to him.

At the sight of this, Yan Yi, who resembled a stalk of bamboo, furrowed his brow and reached out to grab Ye Wangxing’s hand.

As for Ye Wangxing?

The silly boy was completely unaware and was just grinning foolishly at the two of them.

Head Teacher Li: “…” Has my mind really become so dirty?

Apparently not.

【Nice job, 19! That was perfectly handled just now! Teacher Li is starting to suspect!】 Ye Wangxing, appearing completely clueless, said cheerfully.

He turned his attention to his task panel.

 

[Task Panel]

Name: [Ye Wangxing]

Gender: [Male]

Age: [24]

Current Role: [Sophomore in Class 3, Baoning No.1 High School]

Attention Value: [0]

Mini World Currency: [10,247.9 yuan]

Gold (transferable to other worlds): [0 grams]

Main Quest: [Gain the attention of the male and female leads]

Progress: [7%]

Rewards: [10,000 attention value]

Side Quests:

Quest 1: [Disrupt the male and female lead’s relationship development by being caught]

Progress: [100%]

Rewards: [50 attention value, 100,000 mini world currency, 100 grams of gold (can be taken to other worlds)]

Quest 2: [Disrupt the male and female lead’s reunion after skipping class]

Progress: [0%]

Rewards: [60 attention value, 200,000 mini world currency, 200 grams of gold (can be taken to the next world)]

 

Seeing the task rewards, Ye Wangxing’s eyes instantly widened.

【They actually gave me 50 for this one! The random tasks before only gave me 20, and I almost couldn’t afford the identity! Side quests really pay well! And I can even take gold with me!】

The random tasks that attracted attention only provided a little attention value. He barely gathered 30, and was almost unable to afford the identities for two biological bodies.

After all, each biological body cost 10 attention value, and the wealthy family identity was 5 attention value — even though this wealthy family identity only had money and no power, it was enough for his purposes.

From the perspective of attracting attention, just the wealthy family identity could draw some focus. Moreover, compared to the love story of the campus goddess and the energetic young man, the rich family love triangle was far more eye-catching.

The mini world currency and the gold he could take with him only made Ye Wangxing murmur with a dreamy tone:

【Now I finally understand why some people are willing to work as guides when the Cybertronian aliens invade. The rewards are really good. I almost want to bring my dad along to join in.】

With the timely rewards in hand, Ye Wangxing was full of motivation. While the chance to revive with 10 billion in value was still far off, it didn’t stop him from starting to plan.

【…Not many days left until the next plot. In the original plot, after Teacher Li found out, he helped cover it up and even advised them to break up temporarily. I wonder if Teacher Li will discover it this time. By the way, 19, next time, be a bit gentler. I almost thought I was going to die earlier.】

Ye Wangxing mumbled to himself.

【The model of Li Qiang’s thinking suggests that he will discover it, but host, next time I hope you carry out these actions under my protection.】

【Only I can ensure your safety.】

The tone of 19 became cold.

Ye Wangxing sensed the underlying unease in its voice and frowned.

【I didn’t mean to blame you. I was just…】

【But even under my hands, you sometimes can’t bear it. How much more uncontrollable would the result be if someone else were to handle it? Host, you need to remember your own race. Humans are really fragile.】

19’s golden eyes flashed with countless data streams. In places Ye Wangxing couldn’t see, scenarios of various accidental deaths played out in 19’s mind over and over again.

Humans were fragile — 19 had known this for a long time. Back then, all it needed to do was calculate how to take the lives of these fragile humans. But now, it needed to protect this fragile human.

A human who could very well die just by walking.

Yet, 19 had seen so many humans like this in other worlds that it never really gave it much thought — until the moment it gained a physical form.

The calculation modules continuously worked, running through all the data in its memory, analyzing the potential for the host’s death.

Climbing a tree and falling might cause the host to hit his brainstem and die.

Bruises under the skin could lead to thrombosis and death.

Jumping down stairs could result in bone fractures.

Fascia knives might cause follicle infections, leading to sepsis and death…

Even though 19 knew these accidents were unlikely, as long as they weren’t impossible, it would continuously observe if there was a chance of Ye Wangxing’s death.

That’s why it wanted the host to stay within its range of observation.

That was the only way to ensure the greatest level of safety.

Now, Ye Wangxing was increasingly puzzled as to why 19 had said all this.

【19, none of my plans are beyond expectations. Under your control, the fascia knife can’t possibly hurt me, and—】

Before Ye Wangxing could finish, he felt his calf suddenly weaken. His body lost balance, and he was about to crash into the stairs.

But as two strong forces pulled, Ye Wangxing found himself standing back on solid ground again, his back pressed against two warm bodies.

He didn’t need to think to know who those two bodies belonged to.

19’s cold voice sounded once again in Ye Wangxing’s mind.

[Host, only I can completely guarantee your safety.]

Ye Wangxing listened to 19’s voice in silence for a long time before he finally spoke.

”…19, have you really never considered joining a talent show?” Ye Wangxing said seriously.

“Your moves and words just now would have captivated thousands of rich women.”

19, who had thought his host was about to discuss something serious: “…”

It was the eighth day since they had entered the small world to complete their mission.

His host still hadn’t given up on persuading him to go into showbiz.

 

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