It was the break between classes. The students in this classroom were not noisy; most were engrossed in their work, while a small number were whispering softly to each other.
The room wasn't particularly loud, so Yu Deng's words were clearly heard by the boy sitting next to him.
The boy froze for a few seconds before he realized what Yu Deng had just said.
...Boyfriend?
He raised his eyes, scrutinizing Yu Deng for the first time.
If someone were to say Yu Deng was being unreasonable, his tone was so soft it almost sounded like he was acting spoiled. But if they were to think he was joking in a friendly way, his expression was so serious that he looked like a little tyrant.
"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?" Yu Deng waited for a while, but his deskmate remained silent. Growing impatient, he urged, "You've already been thinking about it for a whole minute..."
The boy finally spoke, his dark eyes calm and unruffled. "Do you even know what you're saying?"
Yu Deng frowned slightly, clearly unhappy. "Of course I do. What's there to question?"
"No, wait. It doesn't matter if you think about it," Yu Deng suddenly realized his earlier phrasing was incorrect and corrected himself. "I'm informing you. Got it?"
Unconsciously, Yu Deng leaned a bit closer to his deskmate. He hadn't noticed that his slightly longer hair gently brushed against his deskmate's shoulder as he moved.
The boy leaned back a little. "I don't have the habit of casually being someone's boyfriend."
So...he's unwilling?
Yu Deng pressed his lips together, momentarily at a loss for words.
Meanwhile, the live chat, which had been stunned earlier, finally recovered and erupted in chaos.
[Wait!? Why is my darling wife suddenly looking for a boyfriend!? That grin full of teeth just vanished in an instant!!]
[Baby, you're everyone's wife—!! Don't let that scoundrel take advantage of you!]
[It must be a mission, right? Our baby is delicate and pretty, the campus flower! No way he'd take the initiative to give someone such a title!]
[Oh boy, you brat. Our wife offered you a title, and you're being reluctant!? If you don't want it, I'll take it!!]
[Baby, don't bother with him. He just doesn't know how lucky he is!! (Driven to jealousy.jpg)]
Yu Deng sat in a daze for a few seconds before seeking help from the system. "What should I do, Tongtong? He's not agreeing..."
Why wouldn't he agree... Yu Deng needed to complete this mission. Though he wasn't entirely sure what having a boyfriend entailed, wasn't this what the mission required?
If—if he'd said the same thing to the other men he'd encountered earlier, they surely would've agreed right away!
Yu Deng's long, curled eyelashes drooped, making him look both disappointed and aggrieved.
System 01 sighed softly and instructed Yu Deng: [Host, your task is to make him agree by force. You can find his weaknesses and threaten him.]
Weakness? Yu Deng looked at his deskmate in confusion, then shifted his gaze to the items on the boy's desk.
The desk mate's clothes were meticulously clean, but the blue areas of the fabric appeared faded, and the sleeves were too short, exposing half of his wrists. His desk was covered with draft paper, written on neatly and densely, with barely any blank space left.
Huh? What's this? Yu Deng's eyes caught a line of text, and he softly read it out loud:
"Daily wages from construction sites: 300 yuan. Repaid: 5780 yuan. Remaining debt: 230,000 yuan."
The boy immediately shielded the notebook.
Yu Deng processed this slowly, realizing that his desk mate's family might be in difficult financial circumstances and even in debt.
"Hey, if you become my boyfriend, I can take care of you. I'm really rich," Yu Deng said, leaning closer again. His soft lips were nearly brushing against his desk mate's cheek.
Yu Deng tilted his head slightly, imitating a villain he'd seen in TV dramas.
"If you don't agree… I'll tell everyone that your family owes a ton of money! That you're a… a penniless pauper!"
At such a close distance, his desk mate's vision was completely occupied by Yu Deng's refined and exquisite features—a visual impact that was hard to ignore.
Yu Deng's soft fragrance also filled the air, causing his heartstrings to tremble.
The boy was momentarily dazed but soon snapped back to what Yu Deng had said.
He was silent for a few seconds, clenched his fists tightly, and finally squeezed out a response:
"…Fine."
[Ding. Sub-Quest (1) Completed.]
Yu Deng heard the notification sound and leaned back in satisfaction.
Hmph, see? He agreed in the end.
However, Yu Deng found this quest rather baffling. Forcing someone to be his boyfriend—what kind of strange requirement was this? He wondered if there was some kind of trap waiting for him.
Unable to figure it out, Yu Deng decided to stop worrying about it.
[Host, let me remind you, this questline is different from regular sub-quests.] System 01 explained. [It revolves around a specific individual, triggering a series of interconnected quests.]
"Oh… I see," Yu Deng replied. No wonder this quest felt so peculiar.
[Additionally, after analysis, your desk mate is the special target of this dungeon's quests.]
Yu Deng nodded. "Got it."
Well, that worked out perfectly. Both quest targets were the same person, so he didn't have to run around looking for others.
Moreover, whenever he was near his desk mate, the discomfort that occasionally plagued him seemed to lessen significantly.
"Oh, right." Something occurred to Yu Deng, and he turned to ask his freshly minted boyfriend,
"What's your name?"
The boy: "…"
His expression turned even colder.
His unreasonable desk mate had not only forced him to become his boyfriend but didn't even know his name.
"…."
Yu Deng poked him, but his desk mate simply turned away, lowered his head, and focused on his book, ignoring him.
Yu Deng, who wasn't very patient, stopped paying attention to him after getting no response.
"Yu Deng, can I ask you about the solution to this question?"
The boy in the seat in front of Yu Deng suddenly turned around and called his name. He stared at Yu Deng intently, speaking in a faintly probing tone.
"You transferred from a top high school in the neighboring city, so you must know a better method, right?"
Yu Deng: "!?"
Why was he being asked about this question? When faced with problems he couldn't solve, people naturally sought out the most clueless person, right?
The boy in the front row continued staring at Yu Deng with strong curiosity, waiting for an answer.
Nervously racking his brain for a solution, Yu Deng finally mumbled,
"Just look at the characteristics of the shape, and then check the results from the previous step. Use the formula to calculate, and it's, uh, very simple. I don't even want to explain further."
The boy in front looked confused, sensing something was off: "?"
Something didn't feel quite right.
The boy stared at Yu Deng for a few seconds, questioning him internally but also couldn't help but be stunned by his striking appearance.
Why hadn't he noticed before how good-looking this transfer student was?
Yu Deng's desk mate glanced sideways, looking like he wanted to say something, while the boy in the front row still seemed ready to ask more.
At that moment, a girl ran over and knocked on Yu Deng's desk, interrupting the conversation.
"Yu Deng, Mr. Wang wants to see you in the office!"
Yu Deng sighed in relief.
Although he didn't know who Mr. Wang was or what going to the office entailed, escaping from pretending to be a scholarly genius was liberation enough!
"Wait, where's Mr. Wang's office?" Yu Deng asked.
"It's a bit far—in the adjacent administrative building, third floor, Room 307."
Yu Deng got his answer, and without sparing his deskmate a single glance, he lazily stood up and headed toward the administrative building.
The boy watched Yu Deng's departing figure, lowering his gaze.
This wasn't the attitude of someone wanting a boyfriend.
It was treating someone as a toy, a pastime, a dispensable dog.
---
For the first time, Yu Deng stepped out of the classroom.
There was no sunlight outside; the sky was a dull, gray tone. Despite the lack of sun, the air felt stifling. It was currently the big recess period, but the school felt unusually quiet.
Yu Deng didn't like the atmosphere here very much.
This high school's campus was quite large. Along the way, Yu Deng passed many buildings. He cautiously surveyed his surroundings, following the signs to the administrative building.
The leaves in the greenery along the roadside rustled in the wind, with a few falling to the ground. One leaf landed squarely on Yu Deng's head, startling him.
"Tongtong, do you think this instance might have ghosts?" Yu Deng stood in the middle of the empty school pathway, suddenly realizing something important.
[I can't be sure, but there's a possibility of supernatural occurrences.]
Yu Deng shuddered, his eyes slightly moist.
It dawned on him that while, as a special mission participant, NPCs wouldn't prioritize attacking him, if he was the only player in this instance, wouldn't that mean he was the only one they could attack?
Why did it have to be a ghostly instance where he was the sole player…
Yu Deng immediately lost what little courage he had gained in the castle instance. After much difficulty, he finally found Room 307 in the administrative building.
The office was small, with only the math teacher from earlier inside.
Yu Deng peeked his head in for a few seconds, not daring to close the door. Cautiously, he stepped inside. "Hello, teacher."
"Hello." The teacher, Mr. Wang, gestured for Yu Deng to come closer. "No need to be nervous. I'm just here to talk to you about the school rules and your uniform."
Yu Deng obediently stood straight. "Oh, okay."
"The uniform will arrive tomorrow. As for the school rules..." Mr. Wang pointed to his desk, where a piece of paper was taped to the corner. "You've been here for three days now. You should be getting used to the rhythm of Guihuai High School. Since you've confirmed you'll be staying, it's time for you to follow the rules."
[Ding! Core rules of the instance triggered—School Regulations.]
[Guihuai High School General Rules:
1. Students must arrive on time for class. No tardiness or early departures. If you are late, you must reflect in the Self-Reflection Room for one day.
2. Follow classroom discipline; skipping class is prohibited.
3. No cheating on quizzes or exams.
4. Maintain civility and cleanliness, respect teachers, and protect public property. Note: Teachers care for students but only when students have not violated rules.
5. Abide by dormitory regulations (for detailed rules, consult the dorm manager).
6. Specific rules must be followed in designated areas such as the cafeteria, library, and gymnasium.
7. To be supplemented. ]
These rules seemed no different from standard school regulations at first glance. Some were straightforward, while others detailed penalties or supplementary notes for violations.
But upon closer reading, there was something subtly off about them, especially the annotations... They exuded an indescribable strangeness.
Yu Deng spent a long time reading through the lengthy list of school rules. Then, he skimmed through them again from the beginning, trying to memorize everything. But there were just too many rules—there was no way he could remember them all.
"Mr. Wang… um, could I have a copy of the rules?" Yu Deng mustered up his courage to speak to the strict math teacher. "I'm afraid I won't be able to remember them all, so I'd like to carry them with me."
To his surprise, Mr. Wang seemed pleased with his response. "Good. As a student, you should study the rules carefully and follow them diligently."
Mr. Wang pulled a sheet of paper from his drawer, on which the school rules were clearly printed.
Yu Deng took the paper. "Thank you, teacher."
Mr. Wang's expression softened slightly, no longer showing the sternness from earlier in class.
"The review pace at Guihuai is a bit fast, but you have a solid foundation. You'll be able to keep up. Next week's unit test shouldn't be a problem for you."
Yu Deng felt a wave of darkness pass over his eyes. "…"
Ugh, this was praise meant to overwhelm him!
"I'm your homeroom teacher. If you have any questions, feel free to come to me," Mr. Wang added, then reminded Yu Deng, "Oh, and your hair is a bit too long. Make sure to get it cut in the next couple of days."
Yu Deng nodded and left the office with the sheet of rules in hand.
On his way back to the teaching building, Yu Deng came across a large honor board. Curious, he stopped to take a closer look.
At the very top of the board was a photo of the top student in their grade.
The boy in the photo had a blank expression. His delicate features were slightly blurred due to the low resolution of the image.
It was his deskmate.
Yu Deng's gaze shifted to the side, and he finally learned his deskmate's name.
His deskmate—or rather, his boyfriend—was called Lu Yan.
[Ding. Identity information updated.
Side quest target name: Lu Yan.]
---
With a heavy heart, Yu Deng returned to class and sat through two more periods.
Surprisingly, the lessons were perfectly normal review sessions for senior high school students preparing for college exams. No strange supernatural events or ghostly phenomena occurred—just an overload of information assaulting Yu Deng's brain.
When the bell rang for the end of the final class of the morning, the school finally became livelier. Students poured out of their classrooms in droves, heading to the cafeteria for lunch.
"Hey, Lu Yan," Yu Deng called out, "Come eat with me."
He didn't know his way around, nor did he know what kind of food the cafeteria would have. It was better to let this boyfriend lead the way.
Lu Yan seemed slightly surprised that Yu Deng already knew his name. After a moment of silence, he stood up and said, "Let's go."
The cafeteria was over 300 meters away from the teaching building. By the time Yu Deng arrived, the place was already packed with people.
He paused at the entrance.
On the cafeteria's large door was a massive poster with several lines of text written on it:
[Cafeteria Regulations for Students:
1. The food is absolutely safe. Please eat with confidence.
2. Line up to get your meals.
3. No loud talking.
4. No wasting food. Note: If food is wasted, students must compensate double to reflect on their actions.]
Compensate…? How would that even work? Yu Deng, still puzzled, stepped inside the cafeteria.
He glanced at the food-serving windows and noticed several neat and orderly lines of students waiting quietly and quickly to get their meals, one after the other.
"I don't feel like lining up…" Yu Deng looked at the crowded area, tossed his meal card to Lu Yan, and instructed, "You go get my food. I'll wait here."
Lu Yan looked down at his little boyfriend for a moment. "Okay."
Five minutes later, Yu Deng, sitting by the window, saw Lu Yan returning with two trays. A few boys near Lu Yan were unabashedly staring at him.
The trays were placed silently in front of Yu Deng, and Lu Yan sat down across from him, quietly eating his meal.
Yu Deng glanced at his tray. It had meat and vegetables, but the presentation was mediocre, along with a bowl of soup that looked no different from plain water. He hesitantly picked up a piece of meat and put it into his mouth.
The next second, Yu Deng frowned in distaste and struggled to swallow it down.
It was awful—nothing compared to the delicious meals Tongtong made for him.
Yu Deng took two bites and couldn't bring himself to eat anymore. He leaned over to peek at what Lu Yan was eating.
All he saw on Lu Yan's tray was plain white rice—nothing else.
Yu Deng: "?" What's this, three bowls of rice and no dishes…?
Why didn't he use his meal card?
Lu Yan didn't seem to notice Yu Deng's gaze and continued chewing quietly. At his age, his appetite was naturally large, and even plain rice quickly disappeared by half.
Meanwhile, Yu Deng's tray was almost untouched, with only a few bites missing—it still looked practically full. He poked at the food with his chopsticks, stalling and unable to eat.
He had no appetite at all. But the cafeteria rules stated no wasting food, and anyone who wasted it had to compensate. What would happen if he wasted it? Wait… there's a way around this!
Yu Deng glanced at the boy across from him and suddenly had an idea.
"Lu Yan." Yu Deng tilted his chin, gesturing for Lu Yan to look at his tray, and commanded in a soft, light tone, "Hurry up and eat my food."
The way Yu Deng said it was so natural—as if such a humiliating request was perfectly reasonable.
Lu Yan's movements paused for a few seconds, and he looked up at Yu Deng.
The delicate and spoiled little boyfriend, acting so matter-of-factly, issued this kind of order as though it were his right.
After a long silence, Lu Yan finally spoke. "Do you really see me as your boyfriend?"
Yu Deng tilted his head, puzzled. "Huh?" What's that supposed to mean?
For the first time, a hint of irritation appeared on Lu Yan's usually composed face.
"You're treating me like a dog," he said, his tone sharp as he stared at Yu Deng, unsure of what kind of reaction he wanted to see.
But instead of refuting his words, Yu Deng seriously considered them, following Lu Yan's logic.
"Wouldn't that make it even more fitting?" Yu Deng thought for a moment and concluded.
Lu Yan was briefly stunned.
Yu Deng leaned forward slightly, grabbed Lu Yan's hand, and signaled for him to take his tray.
The act of touching Lu Yan made Yu Deng feel inexplicably comfortable, so he didn't immediately let go. Instead, he casually pressed against his hand for a bit.
The faint, sweet scent of Yu Deng lingered around Lu Yan's nose, and the soft touch against his hand made his pulse quicken, though he couldn't tell if it was from anger or something else.
"In that case…" Yu Deng continued slowly, picking up where he left off, "You should definitely eat it."
"After all, dogs are supposed to eat their owner's leftovers."