It rained last night, and since he had gone to bed too late, Su Er inevitably woke up with a headache.
By reflex, he first picked up his phone from the bedside table. There was one unread message from Zhao Sanliang: [Take care of yourself.]
Carefully pondering the deeper meaning of these words… it seemed that Ji Heng had rejected his excellent proposal.
Shaking his head, Su Er stuffed his textbooks into his bag, not taking it too seriously. They were teammates, after all—just because a deal didn’t go through didn’t mean there was bad blood. As the team leader, Ji Heng likely wouldn’t hold it against him.
Zhao Sanliang also sent him a document containing important information late at night. Su Er printed it out and pasted it over the answer key of his Five-Three workbook before deleting the email completely.
“Sleep, sleep, my dear baby…”
Humming a little tune on the way, he caused pedestrians to keep their distance.
The walk from home to school took only twenty minutes. The moment he pushed open the classroom door, he heard the rustling of papers. Upon seeing that it was him, several students immediately pulled out their unfinished homework from their desks, still on edge. “Thought it was the teacher.”
Su Er took his seat. The bespectacled student in front of him glanced toward the doorway. “Why isn’t Zhu Yun here yet? I still haven’t finished the last big question.”
Su Er pulled out his workbook. “You can copy mine.”
The bespectacled student refused. “Your problem-solving steps are too brief, and I can’t guarantee they’re right.”
The homeroom teacher, who was usually punctual, rushed in at the last minute before class with a solemn expression. He tactfully spoke a few words about the importance of managing study stress. The moment the class ended, a few girls who were usually close to Zhu Yun were called to the office.
Noticing something was off, the bespectacled student asked Su Er if Zhu Yun was sick. Su Er simply smiled and said he didn’t know.
School rules required senior students to attend evening self-study sessions. The recent bad weather made it get dark early. The moment the dismissal bell rang, many students eagerly grouped up to go home together.
“Su Er, aren’t you leaving?”
Su Er casually made an excuse. “I’m waiting for someone.”
His classmate gave him a knowing look. “Secretly dating someone?”
After some playful teasing, the classroom gradually emptied until only he was left.
Zhu Yun usually only took her homework home, but her desk was still piled with books, and her drawer was packed full. Su Er carefully flipped through the books, their densely written notes looking exhausting to go through.
As more students left, the surroundings grew increasingly quiet. At some point, a faint rustling sound drifted in from the hallway. At first, Su Er paid it no mind, but as the noise grew closer, he frowned and closed the book, listening carefully… It sounded like extremely slow footsteps.
The uncle who locked the doors would usually call out before coming upstairs, but this steady, rhythmic pace didn’t match his style.
Su Er’s hand silently reached for the stun gun. He got up and shifted the desk blocking the back door to the side, ensuring he had an extra escape route in case of an emergency. Once everything was set, he sat back down and pretended to keep reading.
By now, the entire floor was empty. Night wind blew in through the open windows, rustling the scattered papers left behind.
The dragging footsteps finally came to a stop right outside the room. Su Er looked up and, upon seeing the unexpected visitor, his gaze flickered slightly. “Teacher Yao?”
The man was slightly plump, wearing rimless glasses that gave him a somewhat stern appearance.
He glanced at Su Er. “Still here?”
“I was just about to leave.”
Yao Zhi’s steps were slow, almost as if he were pacing, as he approached. Su Er noticed the man’s gaze briefly flicker toward his pocket, where his hand was tucked. Without changing his expression, Su Er casually pulled out two walnuts, offering one. “Teacher, want one?”
Yao Zhi was momentarily stunned. “You carry walnuts around as snacks?”
No wonder his uniform pocket looked a bit bulky.
Su Er nodded and naturally moved to the back door. Using the edge of the desk, he cracked one open and stood by the trash can, eating as he peeled, keeping a safe distance. “Did you need something from me, sir?”
Unexpectedly, Yao Zhi nodded.
Su Er narrowed his eyes slightly. Yao Zhi taught math, and Su Er was somewhat weak in that subject, so the teacher occasionally gave him pointers. However, his instincts told him that Yao Zhi’s visit tonight had nothing to do with academics.
“You rank in the upper-middle of the class, but your math scores are holding you back.” Yao Zhi spoke slowly. “But I’ve always believed you’re a diligent and self-disciplined student.”
“Don’t worry.” Su Er clapped the walnut shells off his hands, grinning cheekily. “I’ll definitely strive for the top.”
“There are different ways to ‘strive.’” Yao Zhi said sternly. “A good student shouldn’t be thinking about cheating.”
“…” Su Er’s smile faded slightly. “Where is this coming from?”
Yao Zhi fixed his gaze on him. “Ji Heng told me someone was planning to use the game’s time mechanics to cheat.”
Su Er’s expression shifted, and a thought struck him. “You wouldn’t happen to be…”
Yao Zhi uttered four words: “Seven Days, Seven Nights.”
The moment he spoke, Su Er unconsciously took a step back, as if deeply shaken. A few moments later, he regained his composure. “Give me a second to process this. So you and Ji Heng know each other?”
Their eyes met, and Yao Zhi suddenly chuckled. “Zhao Sanliang said you were as sly as a fox. Seems he wasn’t wrong.”
His gaze flickered toward a hidden corner of Su Er’s desk. “Stop sneaking around.”
At his words, Su Er raised an eyebrow and, as if accepting his fate, placed his hands where they were visible. “Looks like I’m not cut out for pulling tricks under a teacher’s nose.”
The moment Yao Zhi revealed his identity, Su Er had secretly dialed Zhao Sanliang. If Yao Zhi was bluffing, he could stall for time until Zhao Sanliang sent backup.
With the phone on speaker, Zhao Sanliang’s voice came through: “Kid, you’re pretty sharp. Don’t worry, Yao Zhi’s a veteran player.”
That first sentence eased Su Er’s concerns—only for the next one to shatter his hopes completely. “So, forget about cheating in the game. You might even have to take remedial classes in the future.”
“…” Ending the call, Su Er rubbed his temples lightly.
“It's quite late.” Yao Zhi glanced at the dark sky outside and reminded him to study well before urging him to head home. The uncle in charge of locking the school gates was notorious for his bad temper—anyone lingering past curfew would get scolded, no exceptions.
Su Er agreed readily. As he packed his things, he discreetly took a few books from the bottom of Zhu Yun’s desk drawer and slipped them into his bag while Yao Zhi wasn’t paying attention.
On the stairs, Su Er quickly caught up and said, “I didn’t expect you to be part of the game as well.” He scratched his head a little sheepishly. “Somehow, that makes me feel a lot more at ease.”
Yao Zhi nodded. “If the pressure ever gets too much, you can come talk to me.”
Su Er chuckled bitterly. “To be honest, ever since I entered the game, the pressure from school has eased up quite a bit.”
Yet, he kept a close eye on Yao Zhi’s expression as he spoke.
“That makes sense. I’ve seen plenty of students do foolish things over their grades. It’s never worth it.”
“Yeah.” Su Er sighed dramatically and lowered his gaze. “I wonder if they’ve found Zhu Yun yet. She came to see me before running away from home—she looked so stressed. If only I had stopped her back then.”
A trace of regret flickered in Yao Zhi’s eyes. “Talented people often tend to overthink things.”
Su Er withdrew his probing gaze. For now, it seemed that Yao Zhi wasn’t aware that Zhu Yun was a player.
Just before they parted ways, Yao Zhi suddenly said, “There’s a test tomorrow.”
Su Er snapped out of his thoughts and asked in surprise, “Didn’t we just have one?”
“I heard from Sanliang about your… activities in the game,” Yao Zhi replied.
A bad feeling crept over Su Er.
People who rarely smiled were either breathtakingly stunning or downright terrifying when they did. Unfortunately, Yao Zhi fell into the latter category. “I heard you invented the 'Charm Power’ method for dealing with ghosts.”
“...” The worst-case scenario had happened.
Yao Zhi’s tone remained indifferent. “I haven’t entered a dungeon in a week, so I still don’t know my Charm stat.” He paused and then turned to Su Er. “What do you think my score would be?”
Ji Heng was the most attractive person Su Er had ever met—his looks and aura were impeccable—and even he hadn’t scored above twenty. Let alone Yao Zhi…
“Oh, and plenty of other players have been holding off on entering dungeons recently,” Yao Zhi mused, his gaze resting on Su Er. “When they finally do… they'll be in for a very ‘unexpected and delightful’ surprise.”
One-night fame and becoming a public enemy—Su Er felt like he’d managed to achieve both at once.
Yao Zhi turned away and walked in the opposite direction. His voice drifted over with the night breeze, echoing the same words Zhao Sanliang had said: "You still have a long road ahead of you. Take care of yourself.”
In this fast-paced, economically thriving city, Su Er’s home was nothing extravagant compared to a true millionaire’s. Just a standard three-bedroom apartment.
But now that he lived alone, it felt emptier than ever.
The first thing he did upon returning home was stare at an old family photo. Everyone in the picture had just the right amount of smile on their face. Thinking back to the game—where even an entire family brainwashed by a cult could still smile so genuinely in a photo—left him feeling uneasy.
Where did things go wrong?
Buzz.
His phone vibrated. A text from Ji Heng: Get ready—we’re entering a dungeon the night after tomorrow.
Friday night. Su Er had packed his things in advance. The moment self-study ended, he was the first to leave the school gates.
Under a large tree, two people stood conversing—one with an eye-catching appearance doing most of the talking, while the other merely nodded from time to time.
“Yo!” Zhao Sanliang waved in greeting. “You’ve got guts, not taking time off for this.”
He had seen plenty of people quit their jobs after entering the game, living as if there was no tomorrow.
Su Er’s gaze skimmed over him and landed on Ji Heng. “Why did you inform Teacher Yao?”
“The rules forbid players from harming each other in real life—but there are always exceptions,” Ji Heng said calmly. “Yao Zhi is responsible. He can watch your back when it matters.”
Su Er nodded slightly, accepting the explanation.
Then Ji Heng added, “But you still can’t neglect your college entrance exams. I’ll find a way to put you and Yao Zhi in the same dungeon later. He can tutor you.”
“...” How would that even work? Everyone else would be fighting ghosts, and he'd be solving math problems?!
A bad feeling crept over Su Er. “I heard team-up items are really rare. No need to waste them on me.”
Ji Heng’s expression remained indifferent. “No child should suffer for lack of education, no matter how hard things get. I’ll take care of the items.”
Zhao Sanliang stifled a laugh and nodded in agreement. “That’s right! As the strongest faction, we have the resources to support this!”
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