The balcony door was left ajar, and through the thin panel, Yu Deng could hear the loud sound of running water from the bathroom.
Zhuang Lin, that guy, could he really be taking a cold shower?
Yu Deng shook his head. While he didn't understand it, he still respected his roommate's choice.
[Ding—Scan complete. Host, your roommate is also the special target for this instance's mission.]
Yu Deng blinked.
Hmm, this is the second special mission target already. And, just like Lu Yan, it overlaps with the main character of the side quest.
System 01 observed Yu Deng's furrowed brow as he pondered, its electric currents fluctuating for a few seconds before guiding him: [Host, you might want to pay attention to the commonalities between the missions.]
Commonalities?
Yu Deng recalled the descriptions of both missions and realized the similarity must be... forcing the target to do things.
What a strange mission. Why would it make him do such things?
[Host, this instance is a B-grade difficulty level. Based on the average calculation of challenges, its difficulty is equivalent to or even slightly higher than an A-grade instance.] The system diligently reminded him, [In instances of this difficulty, aside from the explicitly stated rules, there are usually hidden rules as well.]
[Even though this instance appears similar to the campus environment you're familiar with, you must remain cautious.]
"I see..." Yu Deng furrowed his brows in distress. "I understand. I'll be careful and do my best to complete the missions."
Yu Deng tried to follow the hints given by his system to think things through, but after a full day of classes, his brain simply couldn't keep up. He had no choice but to abandon the thought process.
Ugh, why did this instance have to be a solo mission? Thinking through tasks and solving problems was just so exhausting.
The sound of running water continued to echo from the bathroom. Yu Deng zoned out for a moment before glancing toward the balcony.
Why was his roommate taking so long in the shower?
He then looked at the floor in front of him. The ground was a mess; Zhuang Lin had rushed out earlier, leaving the hair clippings from the haircut scattered everywhere.
After thinking for a moment, Yu Deng found a broom and dustpan in the corner, planning to clean up the mess.
Gripping the broomstick, he clumsily swept the floor, trying to gather the hair into the trash.
If someone were to record this scene, it would be a precious early documentary of humanity learning to tame tools.
System 01: [.]
While Yu Deng was cleaning up, Zhuang Lin finally finished his cold shower and walked back into the room, a chill radiating from his damp body.
Zhuang Lin still felt a bit uneasy, avoiding looking directly at Yu Deng, fearing that his roommate might not have dressed properly again—or worse, that he might have another embarrassing reaction.
But when he saw what Yu Deng was doing, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why are you holding the broom... dancing?"
Huh?
Yu Deng froze. Realizing what Zhuang Lin meant, he retorted indignantly, "I-I'm sweeping the floor! Hair is so hard to sweep into this pan..."
Zhuang Lin stared blankly for a few seconds before suddenly feeling an urge to laugh.
His beautiful roommate was truly... beyond delicate. The phrase "ten fingers untouched by spring water" didn't even begin to describe him.
Glancing at the now even messier floor, Zhuang Lin said, "That's not how you sweep the floor."
Yu Deng, realizing he was being criticized, clutched the broomstick tightly and lowered his head in grievance, his eyes turning misty.
He had only wanted to be thoughtful and clean up.
Feeling wronged, Yu Deng decided he wouldn't let himself be bullied into doing chores anymore. He threw the broom at Zhuang Lin and ordered him, "Then you sweep the floor. After all, you cut the hair, so you should clean it up."
"You..." What kind of ridiculous reasoning was this?
Zhuang Lin was just about to retort when he caught sight of Yu Deng's reddened eyes. Whatever teasing words he had in mind evaporated instantly.
The beautiful young man's face was tense, looking as if he were trying to be fierce, but his curled lashes were already glistening with tears, teetering on the edge of falling. It was as if one harsh word would make him silently weep and ruin his delicate features.
Delicate, spoiled, and quick to tears.
Zhuang Lin had always been annoyed by boys like this, but seeing Yu Deng like this, he couldn't help but take the broom from him. "Fine, I'll do it. Just... step aside a bit."
Yu Deng stood far away.
Two small paper figures quietly crept to Yu Deng's side, wildly gesturing to ask if he wanted to deal with Zhuang Lin.
Yu Deng understood their meaning and hurriedly waved them off, whispering softly, "Better not. He's still useful."
If the mission target were eliminated, his mission would probably be marked as failed, right?
Over there, Zhuang Lin had already tidied up the floor with practiced efficiency.
Yu Deng glanced at the clean floor, then his gaze shifted to Zhuang Lin's damp hair tips. Curiously, he asked, "Zhuang Lin, is the hot water at night always this cold?"
"Pretty much. Most people shower after school in the afternoon when the water is hotter," Zhuang Lin replied.
Yu Deng furrowed his brows, calculating. "But there's only forty minutes between school and dinner."
If they had to eat dinner and shower after class, they'd have to rush between the two, moving very quickly.
Zhuang Lin, somewhat surprised, asked, "Your previous high school wasn't like this?"
"Uh, no," Yu Deng mumbled vaguely.
In the real world, back in his high school days, he was often sick and slow-moving. He eventually got a permit to skip evening study sessions, with his older brother tutoring him at home instead.
"Evening time was much more flexible," Yu Deng added offhandedly. "There was a long stretch of time after returning to the dorm before lights out."
Zhuang Lin let out a short laugh. "At Gui Huai, lights out used to be at 10:45 PM. Later, some students requested more study time in the dorm, so lights out was pushed back by half an hour."
Zhuang Lin shrugged and added casually, "Oh, and by the way, the higher floors with private bathrooms often lose water pressure. You'd have to use the public bathhouses instead."
Yu Deng frowned deeper. Just as he was about to say something, the dorm room was plunged into sudden darkness with a click.
Lights out time.
Yu Deng jumped in fright. Thrown into darkness, his eyes hadn't yet adjusted, and he couldn't see anything. Instinctively, he grabbed onto Zhuang Lin and leaned toward him.
Yu Deng's warm skin pressed against Zhuang Lin's, instantly filling his senses with a strange satisfaction and comfort.
As for Zhuang Lin, he had completely frozen, as if some immobilizing spell had been cast on him.
"...Don't move around like that," Zhuang Lin finally said, his voice inexplicably dry. After holding back for a long time, he managed to squeeze out a warning: "I'm straight. And also, remember to keep your clothes on properly in the dorm from now on."
Yu Deng responded indifferently, "Oh..."
In the darkness, he couldn't see the ladder to the upper bunk and was afraid there might be something strange. He whispered, "Can you help me up first? I can't see."
Zhuang Lin: "…" Tsk, this guy doesn't take his words seriously at all.
Yu Deng waited for a few seconds. "Zhuang Lin?"
Zhuang Lin responded, "Got it." Fine, I'll help once more. Otherwise, his pretty roommate will cry again.
After lights out, the already quiet dormitory became completely silent. With his roommate's help, Yu Deng fumbled his way up to the top bunk.
Just before sleeping, Yu Deng felt like he had forgotten something.
— He had been pampered while growing up, and in the previous two instances, there were people taking care of him. He forgot that in a school dorm, he had to wash his own clothes.
...
Late at night.
Yu Deng wasn't sleeping soundly. He was in a half-awake, half-dreaming state.
He wasn't used to the bed. More importantly, he had never slept on such a narrow and hard mattress. He curled up in the blanket, trying to find a slightly more comfortable position.
The entire dormitory building was in darkness, with no sounds to be heard.
Yu Deng turned over, attempting to adjust to a more comfortable sleep position, trying to curl his whole body into the quilt.
Thump, thump, thump.
Suddenly, in his half-dreaming state, Yu Deng heard strange sounds.
It sounded like something was rolling on the floor, or like some heavy object was moving.
The noise disturbed Yu Deng's shallow sleep, and after muttering a few words in frustration, he suddenly woke up with a jolt.
Wait a minute, this didn't seem like a dream. That strange sound… it seemed to be right outside his dorm room door…
The emergency lights in the hallway hadn't gone out. Through the small glass panel above the door, he could faintly see the light.
Yu Deng curled up in the blanket, slightly raising his head to peek out, his eyes glancing toward the door.
Before he could clearly make out anything in the light, the light from the glass panel suddenly disappeared.
The light went out? No, wait!
Yu Deng was slow to realize—it was something outside the door pressing against the glass, blocking the light. If that thing had eyes, it must have been looking inside.
Yu Deng dared not look anymore, his head quickly retracting into the blanket.
Strange surroundings and the darkness always magnify fear, and Yu Deng's heart was racing. His palms were cold and trembling, and he couldn't help but shudder. He pressed his hand over his mouth to prevent making any noise from the shock.
In this frightened state, he couldn't control his tears, and soon the pillow was soaked.
Suddenly, Zhuang Lin from the neighboring bed reached over and gently patted him through the blanket, then a low voice came from him.
"Close your eyes and sleep. Don't worry about it."
Really...? Yu Deng was still scared, but obediently closed his eyes. He didn't know how much time passed, but eventually, he drifted off to sleep in a daze.
...
The next morning.
Yu Deng was awakened by the urgent ringing of the wake-up bell. He opened his eyes for a few seconds, then sleepily went back to sleep.
Zhuang Lin from the neighboring bed had already quickly finished washing up and getting ready, while Yu Deng remained motionless under the blanket.
Zhuang Lin paused in front of Yu Deng's bed for a few seconds and reminded him, "Time to get up."
Yu Deng grumbled in response but still didn't move.
He had been waking up naturally in the previous two instances…
Seeing that Yu Deng was about to continue staying in bed, Zhuang Lin said, "If you don't get up, you'll be late. Being late counts as skipping class."
Skipping class meant going to the reflection room.
Yu Deng jolted awake and finally got out of bed, unsteadily stumbling down.
After coming down from the ladder, he was so tired that he couldn't stand properly, so he leaned on Zhuang Lin.
"Hey, Yu Deng?" Zhuang Lin reflexively supported him, feeling the heat in his palm. He wanted to push Yu Deng away but saw that Yu Deng was half-asleep. He figured if he pushed him away, he would probably fall, so he reluctantly held back, standing stiffly to let Yu Deng lean on him.
Yu Deng yawned widely and remembered something important. "Zhuang Lin, what happened last night?"
Zhuang Lin paused for a few seconds before speaking.
"This dormitory building is quite old, and the walls often make noises. You don't need to worry about it. Just sleep through it."
Yu Deng didn't really believe it, but Zhuang Lin didn't seem willing to explain further.
Yu Deng struggled against his sleepiness, washed up, changed into his clothes, and prepared to leave the dorm. Before leaving, he checked his desk but couldn't find his two little paper figures and became a bit anxious.
"Hey, Tongtong, where are my little red and green ones?"
[Host, your paper figures are flexible-type tools, but they also have usage time limits. Once the usage time expires, they will automatically return to your personal space.]
"Oh, okay."
Yu Deng relaxed and followed Zhuang Lin out of the dorm. He took a few glances at the dorm entrance and observed the door, but didn't notice anything unusual.
Could it be that last night was really just his imagination?
The students in the dormitory rarely greet each other or talk. They quietly and quickly head downstairs, preparing for morning reading in the classroom.
Yu Deng and Zhuang Lin are not in the same class. After watching Zhuang Lin leave for another floor, Yu Deng was forced to continue reliving his high school life. He sleepily made his way to the classroom and attended a few lessons.
His desk mate and boyfriend had arrived early. Upon seeing his dazed appearance, he hesitated to speak, then remained silent, simply turning Yu Deng's textbook to the correct page.
After the third class of the morning, the homeroom teacher, Mr. Wang, came over to tell them to go to the auditorium for a class meeting.
...
Guihuai High School has a large auditorium that can accommodate the entire school. The senior year class meeting was being held there.
Yu Deng followed the crowd, struggling to find their class's area. After looking around for a while, all he could see were a sea of heads, so he gave up on searching and grabbed Lu Yan's sleeve, asking him to lead the way.
Lu Yan glanced down at him but didn't say anything.
"What do you usually do in a class meeting?" Yu Deng asked after sitting down.
Their class was seated in the furthest corner. Yu Deng arrived late, so he and Lu Yan sat in the last row, with the auditorium's large doors behind them.
Lu Yan thought for a moment before replying, "They talk about pointless stuff."
Yu Deng: "?"
On the stage in the auditorium, a short and chubby leader had already begun speaking: "…Guihuai is the pride of our city, and all of you are the pride of Guihuai. The most important exam is just around the corner…"
As the leader droned on in a monotonous tone, Yu Deng found the long-winded speech incredibly boring. After hearing a few sentences, he felt drowsy.
So tired. High schoolers really wake up too early, sigh.
System 01 sighed: [Host, speeches from these NPCs are likely to contain hidden information. Please don't lose focus.]
Alright... Yu Deng forced himself to pay attention.
The leader continued with a long-winded speech and finally mentioned something Yu Deng was interested in.
"Guihuai High School consistently evaluates students through a comprehensive assessment. At the end of each semester, we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of student performance. Although the semester has just passed its halfway point, students must not slack off and must continue to work hard and adhere to discipline..."
Yu Deng caught a key phrase from this part.
Comprehensive assessment? Yu Deng thought hard. Does this mean that in addition to good exam scores, there are other requirements?
Wait, there's another important question—what does "the semester has just passed its halfway point" mean!?
Yu Deng turned his head and whispered in Lu Yan's ear, "What time is it now? I mean, how much longer until the finals?"
Lu Yan looked at him for a few seconds. "The finals are still two months away."
Yu Deng's vision went black. "??!!"
What?! He had to stay in this scenario for that long?!
Just as Yu Deng was about to ask more questions, Lu Yan stood up and walked toward the stage.
Oh, it was time for the outstanding student speech.
Lu Yan's voice, much like his personality, was pleasant and clear, like a stream in winter.
But that didn't stop Yu Deng from getting drowsy again. Only after Lu Yan came back down from the stage did Yu Deng realize what Lu Yan meant by "pointless speeches" during the class meeting.
Meanwhile, the other students all sat upright, quietly listening to one teacher or student after another giving their speeches.
Yu Deng was already so bored that he started picking at his fingers. At this point, it was the turn of a student who had made progress to give a speech. He spouted more of the same empty words, and by the end, he shouted, "We can do it!"
The once quiet students in the audience suddenly shouted in unison, "We can do it!"
... It was clearly an intense and passionate scene, yet Yu Deng couldn't help but shiver. Also, despite so many people being in the auditorium, he couldn't shake the eerie feeling.
Even after experiencing two scenarios, Yu Deng still had a small amount of fear. His overactive imagination scared him, and the overwhelming urge resurfaced, making him whimper softly.
"Lu Yan."
Amid the noisy background, Yu Deng softly called out to the boy next to him.
Lu Yan had a neutral expression, as if he wasn't affected by the passionate atmosphere. Hearing Yu Deng, he turned his head and asked, "What's wrong?"
Yu Deng's voice was soft, with a slight tone of complaint as he ordered his boyfriend without hesitation, "Come closer and hold my hand."
Yu Deng's voice was soft, with the habit of dragging out the ending and a slightly rising pitch.
Therefore, even though his request was unreasonable, it sounded more like he was being affectionate.
... No, this was definitely just being affectionate.
Lu Yan had some vague guesses.
"Why aren't you moving?" Yu Deng raised his moist eyes and glared at Lu Yan. "They're all fighting to hold my hand and hug me."
Lu Yan's thoughts were interrupted.
Who are they? Yu Deng's family and friends, or did he have other boyfriends?
A sense of irritation suddenly rose from Lu Yan's chest.
While his brain was still processing these strange thoughts, his body acted faster, stiffly reaching out a hand to pull Yu Deng into his arms, awkwardly patting his back.
Yu Deng didn't care how much his words made his boyfriend think about.
He was now very close to Lu Yan, his hand pressed against his, their arms touching.
Yu Deng felt much more comfortable, turning his head to gently nuzzle his canine teeth against Lu Yan's neck.
—This was a side effect from the vampire scenario. Occasionally, he had the urge to bite people.
His soft and warm lips brushed against Lu Yan's neck, and the sweet, soft fragrance unique to Yu Deng filled Lu Yan's senses.
Lu Yan's breath deepened, and his hand suddenly tightened, instinctively gripping Yu Deng's soft hand.
"Ugh."
Yu Deng frowned in pain and complained about his boyfriend's incompetence.
"Lu Yan, you're so clumsy. How could you not even know how to hold hands?"
Yu Deng raised his hand.
The lights in the auditorium weren't very bright, and they were sitting in a corner, barely getting any light.
But even in this dim environment, Yu Deng's skin still looked so pale. His delicate wrist and the smooth back of his hand clearly showed a faint circle of red marks from where Lu Yan had gripped him.
"Look, you hurt me."
Lu Yan's throat went dry, and he wisely apologized to his little tyrant of a boyfriend. "…Sorry, I've never held hands before."
Yu Deng gave Lu Yan a critical look and, in a rare act of mercy, decided to demonstrate for his boyfriend.
He reached out to grasp Lu Yan's hand, which was a bit larger than his own, and gently pressed his soft fingertips against Lu Yan's knuckles, demonstrating how to hold hands. His pinky finger unconsciously brushed lightly against Lu Yan's.
"Like this, that's how it should be."