5 Menggui High School (5)

Industrial saccharin, for maintaining sweetness

As the faint smell of blood dissipated, the morning exercises finally came to an end.

Instead of relaxation, Qin Fu'an watched the group stumble and fall towards the classroom. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a slender figure blending into the crowd. After standing on the blood-stained track for a moment, he turned and walked in another direction.

In the classroom of Senior Three (4) Class.

Looking up, all I could see was a scene of students buried in their work, each with an extra test paper on their desk. No one was chatting or looking up. They were like wooden puppets with ropes around their necks and heavy stones hanging from them, filling in the blanks on their test papers in a lifeless and numb manner.

Occasionally, when someone encounters a difficult problem they can't solve, their eyes will turn bloodshot and red in an instant. Anger, unease, anxiety, and pain act as the best catalyst, turning them into irrational monsters within a minute. Even after turning into monsters, they still frantically scribble on the exam paper in a state of anxiety and despair.

Nan Zhu's deskmate was one of the strange creatures that mutated because he couldn't answer the test. Fortunately, these strange creatures did not attack their classmates. They would only futilely scribble on the torn test paper, occasionally letting out desperate growls. They could no longer speak human language.

Nan Zhu felt even more fortunate that, in the dungeon shop before the game started, she did not save her points, but instead prioritized purchasing 5 "Eye Brightening and Mind-Clearing Eye Drops" and 5 "Sketching and Note-Taking Pens" as recommended by the dungeon.

The player who died on the playground earlier was right; Nan Zhu did indeed have a drug that could alleviate his vision problems. Unfortunately, he was too anxious and too frightened, so much so that he paid the price with his life before Nan Zhu could take out the eye drops.

Back in the classroom, Nan Zhu gave one of her eye drops to Zhao Jiayue, a novice player whose eyesight had been severely compromised.

As for the others, Nan Zhu is not a saint, and the other players are not complete novices like Zhao Jiayue who entered the game for the first time without any points. Since they did not buy eye drops for various reasons in the beginning, they can only blame themselves for their past mistakes.

Zhao Jiayue tilted her head back and dripped the cool, gentle liquid into her eyes. After closing and opening them again, her previously deprived vision became clear once more.

“…Thank you.” She thanked Nan Zhu gratefully, and in the extremely quiet classroom, she whispered a promise: “If I survive, I will definitely repay you in the future!”

Nan Zhu always took such promises with a grain of salt. After quickly finishing all her homework with her pen, she looked around the classroom and finally focused her gaze on the only empty seat in the room.

The empty seats left by the deceased student had silently disappeared during the morning exercise break. Now, the only empty seat in the classroom is Qin Fu'an's seat.

Nan Zhu looked up at the clock above the blackboard; there were only two minutes left before class started.

She put down her pen, got up and walked to Bai Song's desk, who was still writing furiously, and handed him a pen.

The moment Bai Song took the pen, he knew what it was for. He was both surprised and delighted. But before he could say thank you, Nan Zhu politely asked, "I'll take up a little of your time. You're sitting in the back row. Did you notice the student sitting in front of you? The boy with the green eyes. If I'm not mistaken, he should also be a player."

Although she had never seen any Chinese person with such green eyes.

But the fact that this player could throw her a note to remind her and kick away the monster blocking the door in a critical moment shows that this player is definitely not weak.

Upon hearing this, Bai Song was momentarily stunned, then recalled, "The person in front of me... was he really a player? But I saw him constantly bothering his deskmate during class, not only passing notes but also staring at him. I thought they were some special NPCs going through a storyline, so I didn't dare to make a sound and disturb him."

Nan Zhu: "??"

Meeting Nan Zhu's surprised gaze, Bai Song nodded firmly, while secretly glancing out of the corner of his eye at Xie Yunhuai, who was sitting alone by the window, writing his exam paper.

Everything was normal; they looked no different from the other student NPCs in the classroom.

But what neither Bai Song nor Nan Zhu saw was that when he blurted out, "He's always bothering his deskmate," Xie Yunhuai's pen almost drew a line on the test paper.

"...That's alright then. When he comes back, keep a closer eye on him." Nan Zhu regained her composure and calmly gave him this advice.

Bai Song nodded knowingly, watched her return to her seat, then lowered his head and frantically filled in the answers on the test paper with the new prop pen.

We have to hurry, there's only a little over a minute left before class starts again.

During the 30-second countdown before class, Xie Yunhuai, who originally wanted Qin Fu'an to die early, glanced at the empty seat next to him and then at the slender second hand of the clock in front of him that was constantly approaching the mark, and his brows furrowed slightly involuntarily.

He didn't go back to the classroom, where did he go?

If the bell rings and the teacher hasn't returned to the classroom yet...

The thought that Qin Fu'an might die because he was late, or that he might have already encountered danger and died in some corner of the campus, made Xie Yunhuai feel a strange sense of unease.

That kind of person doesn't seem like the type to fall off the brink of death.

However, before the thought that flashed through his mind could settle down completely, a familiar figure strolled into the classroom to the sound of the school bell.

Xie Yunhuai looked up.

Still wearing his school uniform impeccably and exuding his usual arrogant aura, Qin Fu'an stood inside the classroom, facing the doorway. He smiled, raised an eyebrow, and politely asked the stranger outside, "Teacher Zhang, how does it feel to successfully lose weight? Do you need my help again this time?"

After hearing his provocative words, the entire classroom fell into a strange and subtle silence.

Even the rustling sound of writing disappeared without a trace.

Meanwhile, the mysterious teacher Zhang, whom Qin Fu'an had mentioned as having successfully lost weight, was standing outside the door, glaring at Qin Fu'an with a truly venomous look.

Unfortunately, there are far too many ghosts and demons in the world who want to kill Qin Fu'an. It is a monster that is not even a minor boss in a beginner's dungeon, so it cannot pose a significant threat to Qin Fu'an.

Seeing that Teacher Zhang remained silent and didn't utter a single harsh word, Qin Fu'an could only chuckle regretfully and walk to his seat in the quiet atmosphere of the classroom.

A clean, white exam paper lay on the table.

Since no name or class was filled in, naturally no one filled in the correct answer.

But as soon as he sat down, a test paper filled with answers was silently moved over to his side.

Qin Fu'an raised an eyebrow and looked over.

Xie Yunhuai's expression was indifferent. After avoiding his gaze, he said in a low voice, "I don't owe you anything."

Qin Fu'an seemed to be deep in thought.

Qin Fu'an suddenly realized.

"I won't cheat." He decisively pushed his deskmate's test paper, which was full of answers, back to him.

The next second, as expected, he met the boy's questioning gaze.

Qin Fu'an smiled at him with a wicked grin, then turned his head and deliberately lowered his voice, saying, "Classmate, cheating is strictly prohibited. I'll pretend I didn't see it this time, but don't let me catch you next time."

Qin Fu'an is mentally ill.

Xie Yunhuai coldly snatched his test paper back, not even wanting to give the other person a second glance.

At this moment, the students also saw Teacher Zhang, who had "successfully lost weight," walk into the classroom.

Upon seeing this, everyone fell silent.

The emptiness and numbness in their eyes that they used to have vanished in this moment of shock.

Is that thin, extra-wide paper figure covered in footprints on the podium really their teacher, Mr. Zhang?

The so-called successful weight loss... isn't that a bit too much of a success?

"This is like turning a 3D model into a flat PowerPoint presentation?!" Ark couldn't contain his shock and spoke the words that echoed everyone's thoughts.

The other players tried their best to suppress their laughter, feeling that they might have contributed to the footprints on Teacher Zhang's body.

Qin Fu'an poked his silent classmate next to him with the tip of his pen.

Xie Yunhuai had clearly been provoked by Qin Fu'an, but as soon as Teacher Zhang came in, he seemed to suddenly forget the proper way to express his anger, and his gaze towards Teacher Zhang appeared somewhat dazed.

Qin Fu'an wasn't amused by Teacher Zhang, but rather by Xie Yunhuai's somewhat bewildered expression.

When he smiled, his features became more open and his original cold and unapproachable demeanor softened somewhat. His clear, light green eyes curved into a smile, and the casual, slightly upturned corners of his lips conveyed a sense of pleasure that made it difficult for anyone who happened to glance at him to immediately snap out of their reverie.

Here, take it.

He smiled and took something out of his school uniform pocket, then casually slipped it into Xie Yunhuai's school uniform pocket.

Xie Yunhuai subconsciously pinched it.

It's sugar.

Seeing that he had that confused look on his face again, Qin Fu'an didn't tease him anymore. He just clicked his tongue and said in a low voice, "I went to the cafeteria to buy this. The candy vendor looked at me like I was a dish, as if he wanted to chop me up and eat me. I had to reason with him for a long time before he finally agreed to sell me this lousy candy."

Xie Yunhuai, clutching the round candy in his pocket, listened to Qin Fu'an's low mutterings and temporarily dismissed his previous thought that Qin Fu'an was mentally ill.

Qin Fu'an is not mentally ill.

He's out of his mind. What normal person would go to the cafeteria just to buy a lollipop?

Qin Fu'an Meeting.

Qin Fu'an is not a normal person.

"Why are you giving it to me?" Xie Yunhuai asked him.

Qin Fu'an tilted his head and stared at him, then replied with a casual smile, "Aren't you a picky eater? If you don't like those dirty things, then eat some industrial saccharin, at least it'll keep it sweet."

He had a seriousness hidden beneath his nonchalant demeanor, but he concealed it very well.

After saying that, he couldn't help but sigh, "Picky kids are the hardest to raise. They won't eat this or that, and they can easily become malnourished."

Xie Yunhuai: "..."

Me? Picky eater? Malnourished??

[Author's Note]

Yunzai: Me and my silly deskmate

Anzai: Feeding a picky eater gives me a huge sense of accomplishment!

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