12 Menggui High School (12)

His hands seemed to have a mind of their own.

He carried the lunchbox back to his seat.

In just this short stretch of road, he had already silently aroused the hatred of the entire class.

Many of the student NPCs who were originally engrossed in their homework turned around as he passed by, staring intently at the lunchbox in Qin Fu'an's hand with their empty eyes, which were filled with a strange greed and madness.

Qin Fu'an had expected a student to suddenly attack him, but no impulsive or bloody incident occurred in the quiet classroom until he sat down in his seat.

It seems that although everyone is an unknown NPC in the dungeon, they are high school students after all, and their thinking is at its peak. Even if they are about to lose their minds, they still remember that Qin Fu'an is not someone to be trifled with.

He could replace Teacher Zhang as their substitute teacher, and he could replace the homeroom teacher to supervise in the cafeteria... His intimidating aura was as obvious as his pair of green eyes.

Qin Fu'an, who had already prepared for the situation, regretfully pulled out a chair and sat down.

The moment the lunchbox was placed on the desk with a soft sound, Qin Fu'an keenly noticed that his deskmate's pen seemed a little unresponsive, unable to write anything on the test paper for quite some time.

Looking again at the tentacles that were already tightly wrapped around his wrist, Qin Fu'an's smile deepened. As if completely oblivious to his little classmate's emotions, he casually opened the lunchbox.

The instant the steaming food, carrying its aroma, rose and spread out from the white expanse, Qin Fu'an heard many distinct swallowing sounds and also saw Xiao Xie trying hard to control the slow movement of his Adam's apple.

And Xiao Xie's dark tentacles, which had twisted themselves into a long, braided shape.

The smile on his lips grew clearer. Qin Fu'an held the chopsticks in his hand and, just like in class that morning, gently poked his seemingly indifferent arm with the tip of the chopsticks.

The moment Xie Yunhuai's arm was touched, he reacted violently, suddenly raising his hand and turning his head to glare at Qin Fu'an, thinking that he was about to do some kind of prank to provoke the class again.

And then, he happened to run into those clear, smiling, light green eyes.

"So sensitive?" Qin Fu'an teased with a laugh. Before his deskmate could change his expression, he moved his lunchbox onto his desk and casually handed him chopsticks. "Here, eat first, then do your endless tests and homework."

Xie Yunhuai's vigilance, which had been lingering in his mind, was completely disrupted by Qin Fu'an's actions and words. After realizing what Qin Fu'an was saying, he straightened his back involuntarily and took a step back, staring blankly at Qin Fu'an, whose eyes were full of relaxed smiles.

Not only was Xie Yunhuai himself stunned, but even the soul tentacles that had just twisted themselves into a pretzel seemed to be shocked by Qin Fu'an's actions. Instead of rushing to the lunchbox immediately, they stood dumbfounded in mid-air, just like Xie Yunhuai.

After what felt like an eternity, it cautiously and tentatively approached the lunchbox little by little.

Once they were sure Qin Fu'an wasn't blocking them, the usually dull tentacles suddenly became surprisingly agile for their massive bodies. Like puppies that had just received a bone, they pounced on the dazed Xie Yunhuai. Their long tentacles coiled around Xie Yunhuai's stiff arms, trying to pull his hands to take the pair of slender chopsticks that Qin Fu'an was offering.

That impatient manner inexplicably made Qin Fu'an hallucinate a happy little dog frantically tugging at its owner's trouser leg and jumping forward. If its whiskers had ears and a tail, it would probably be so happy that it would be leaving afterimages.

Xie Yunhuai found that his hands seemed to be losing their control.

Even though his reason was desperately telling him to restrain himself and not to easily accept Qin Fu'an's kindness, his hands seemed to have their own ideas.

It wasn't until Xie Yunhuai reached out and held the chopsticks in his hand that he seemed to suddenly realize what was happening. He looked up at Qin Fu'an helplessly, wanting to explain and also wanting to return the chopsticks to Qin Fu'an.

But the moment he looked up, he would be met with Qin Fu'an's eyes, which were staring straight at him.

With just a glance, one could see the bright smile in Qin Fu'an's eyes. There was no teasing or joking, no affectation; it seemed to come from the heart, and he laughed whenever he wanted.

And her smile was...exceptionally beautiful.

For some reason, even though Qin Fu'an had no intention of making fun of him, Xie Yunhuai, holding the hot chopsticks, felt his cheeks and ears gradually turn red with embarrassment under the other's amused gaze.

"...I...can't finish all of this." He said with difficulty, but it wasn't the refusal he had prepared.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Qin Fu'an replied nonchalantly, even with a hint of taking it for granted, "It's okay, you eat first. I'll take what's left, it won't go to waste."

Xie Yunhuai: "..."

What he really wanted to express wasn't whether or not it was a waste!

Even so, his embarrassment was inexplicably soothed, though he still had the lingering illusion that his face was burning.

-

My classmate eats very politely.

It was completely different from the soul within him that was frantically trying to get close to him.

Qin Fu'an subtly shifted his wrist, and the next second, black tentacles followed closely. Xie Yunhuai, who had been eating intently with his head down, also looked up instantly as if startled.

Qin Fu'an: "..."

Okay, it really is the same person, the same soul. With such perfectly synchronized movements, it's impossible for him not to have some doubts.

So why is it that Xiao Xie, whom I encountered, is neither a special NPC nor an important monster for clearing the dungeon, yet he possesses the most powerful soul and the weakest, most easily sacrificed cannon fodder identity in this dungeon?

Qin Fu'an didn't have the habit of staring at other people eating. Although his little classmate looked quite well-behaved and a bit silly while eating, he spent more time in thought focusing on the live stream screen with its constantly scrolling comments.

What interested him even more was that, at a certain point in time, the content of the comments on the screen was remarkably consistent.

The messages were all accusing him of inducing other players to their deaths and frantically pleading for help for several other players.

The viewers who posted these comments initially thought they were wasting their time, because Qin Fu'an might not even know what was happening on the other side. According to the live stream's blocking mechanism, any related content posted by the viewers at this time would be completely blocked.

But they sent it out!

The audience was so shocked that the screen went blank for two seconds.

Then came even denser barrages of comments and some wildly provocative donations and star-studded comments.

But no matter how crazy the audience was, whether they were cursing, pleading, or just enjoying the spectacle, Qin Fu'an seemed quite indifferent. The moment his eyelids drooped slightly, he clearly revealed to the audience a sense of world-weariness and extreme indifference towards the lives of his fellow human beings.

This was in stark contrast to the pleasant smile that filled her eyes and brows when she looked at Xie Yunhuai earlier.

The audience was left in a state of utter astonishment, unable to help but wonder if he was truly a high-level monster disguised in human skin.

[Please save them! Those five are really about to give up. If you can save them, I'll send you ten Supermoons!]

[Don't go, streamer! If even one other player dies, I'll send you ten Supermoons. And so on. If they all die, I'll send you ten Haunted Villas!]

[The streamer seems to be on a completely different level from the other players. Is the streamer really just a newbie? Or could it be some pro player using a fake account to smurf in the newbie arena?]

[Is the streamer really not going to rescue them? But I just saw a player steal a jar of honey from the mini-supermarket. With so much pressure from senior year of high school, drinking something sweet should help relieve the stress of the upcoming college entrance exam, right?]

[...]

Amidst the countless noisy comments, one of them suddenly touched a tiny bit of kindness that Qin Fu'an had hidden deep inside. Just as the viewers were giving Qin Fu'an a real-time report that a player was about to be caught, he finally stood up from his seat.

As soon as Qin Fu'an moved, the tentacles that had been frantically sticking to him also stood up, while Xie Yunhuai, with food stuffed in his mouth, looked up blankly with his cheeks slightly puffed out.

[What's wrong?] Xie Yunhuai and his soul tentacles simultaneously expressed their questions through expressions and actions.

Qin Fu'an gently stroked his classmate's soft, limp hair as if petting a puppy, and replied with a smile, "It's nothing. I'm going for a walk; maybe I can catch a few small animals running for their lives."

Xie Yunhuai was caught off guard by the touch, but before he could resist, the warm hand that was very noticeable on his head had already moved away, and Qin Fu'an took a noticeably quicker step towards the classroom exit.

He seemed to be in a hurry to find someone.

Was it the small animal he was talking about, running for its life?

Xie Yunhuai's eyes held a hint of contemplation. When his emotions weren't affected by Qin Fu'an or his grades, he was actually quite good at thinking, rational and calm.

He thought of the girl who had come to see Qin Fu'an that morning.

He also thought of the few classmates who followed Qin Fu'an out in tacit agreement after school at noon.

They were "new students" who transferred to the school in the same batch as Qin Fu'an. According to Xie Yunhuai's previous observations, most of these new students who were taking the college entrance examination would stick together and then either be wiped out or one or two of them would leave in a sorry state.

So, Qin Fu'an went to find them?

What did they do? Why did Qin Fu'an describe it as "fleeing for their lives," as if everything was within his expectations?

And, five days later, during the college entrance examination, will Qin Fu'an also lead them away from here, never to be their deskmates again?

Xie Yunhuai lowered his eyes to hide the indifference in them. After Qin Fu'an's figure disappeared from the corridor, he calmly put down his chopsticks.

[Author's Note]

Yunzai: ...The more I think about it, the angrier I get. I'm not eating anymore.

Anzai: The child I feed is such a picky eater, honey water should make him happier?

Players: Are we also part of your play?

I'm back in Chengdu! *kiss* Thank you all for waiting!

.

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution:

Three bottles of "Clear Rain and Lonely Boat";

One bottle of Tangrong;

Yunzai's tentacles are making a heart shape~